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In North Korea (No. 1 on Open Doors 2024 World Watch List) where Christians are considered a “hostile class,” owning a Bible is illegal. Having a Bible in their possession can be the “evidence” needed to arrest and imprison someone (and their family) for following Jesus.
And yet, we continue to hear that North Korean secret Christians take the risk to own a Bible. We hear how they carefully wrap Bibles in plastic and bury it, bringing it out only at night, with the curtains drawn, speaking in whispers.
Clearly, our North Korean family understands the power of God’s Word in a way we may not always see.
Here, we’re sharing seven especially poignant Scriptures that have specific meaning to them. We hope these passages open your eyes to the danger and hope our North Korean family lives with each day, as well as help you remember and possibly see these verses differently—through the eyes of secret Christians living in the world’s most dangerous place to follow Jesus.
Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my attendants will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish (Esther 4:16).
Queen Esther had to ask the king for a favor, which meant risking her life. She fasted and asked others to do the same. She was content knowing that sacrificing her life to follow God and do what she could to save her people was worth it.
North Korean Christians understand that as well. Life in the isolated country is becoming increasingly difficult, says Simon Lee*, Open Doors’ coordinator for ministry among North Koreans. “The messages we receive from believers reveal that conditions have worsened. The food shortages are severe, and many are struggling just to survive,” he says.
Despite these immense hardships and inhumane conditions, North Korean Christians strive to remain faithful. One North Korean believer shared: “This is our pilgrimage, and we walk it unwaveringly. We can because we’ve inherited the faith from our ancestors, who lived by Queen Esther’s creed: ‘If I perish, I perish.’ This creed is deeply embedded in our lives. We thank you for standing with us.”
The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing (Psalm 23:1).
Before he became a warrior and a king, the author of this familiar Psalm was a shepherd. Alone in the wilderness tending his family’s sheep, David learned to trust the Lord for everything, just as his flock had to trust him.
North Korean Christians live in a spiritual wilderness with potential dangers at every turn. David wrote this Psalm in fear for his life, hiding from King Saul. This is a situation North Korean Christians know all too well.
North Korean believers know that God leads and is watching over them and only He tends to their needs. In Him, they lack for nothing. While she was in prison, North Korean believer Hea Woo* (who later escaped to South Korea) woke up before the morning alarm every morning to spend time reciting Psalm 23.
"The Psalm taught me that Jesus is my shepherd. Always—despite the circumstances, despite the terrible place and pain I was in..."
Hea Woo*, North korean Christian refugee
“The Psalm taught me that Jesus is my shepherd,” she says. “Always. Despite the circumstances, despite the terrible place and pain I was in, Jesus was my shepherd. One day, He would lead me to green pastures. One day, I would sit at His table while my enemies watched. Now, He was leading me through a valley of death. It didn’t matter if I survived or not. God was with me. One day, I’d be free. Whether through [prison] release or through death.”
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze (Isaiah 43:2).
Through the prophet Isaiah, God spoke to the people of Israel about the judgment that awaited them for neglecting Him and their unwillingness to repent. But God also promised them restoration once they turned back to Him. He said that the waters wouldn’t sweep them away. Because God was with them.
The prophet’s words here are poignant and relatable to North Korean Christians, especially when thinking about “passing through the rivers.” All North Koreans know that to escape the country, they must cross water. Over the last 30 years, thousands of Christians have made their way into bordering countries, often looking for jobs to buy food—no doubt, with every step, clinging to Isaiah’s words. Others crossed and later came to faith through the help of Christians and Open Doors’ safehouse ministry in the border countries. God was with them and they survived the deadly waters.
Today, fewer North Koreans are escaping safely. Border checkpoints have increasingly tightened with soldiers ordered to “shoot to kill” anyone trying to cross without permission. Barbed wire fences line much of the land along North Korea’s borders, and watchtowers are hidden in the nearby hills—all the more reason to pray Isaiah 43:2 over our North Korean family.
I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore, be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves (Matthew 10:16).
Jesus warned His disciples, telling them the they would encounter wolves—and that they needed to act prudently. He goes on to say in verses 17-18: “But beware of men; for they will hand you over to their councils and flog you in their synagogues. On My account, you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles.”
In North Korea, Christians know they’re at risk of imprisonment and even death by the regime because they follow Jesus and their allegiance is to Him. They know that anyone can be a betrayer; neighbors—and even family members—can turn into wolves. From Jesus, they must learn to live faithfully in their difficult surroundings.
“Go in peace,” Elisha said (2 Kings 5:19a).
After the Syrian commander Naaman (an enemy of God’s people) visited the prophet Elisha for healing and God cured his leprosy, Naaman wanted to follow God and no longer bow to idols. But he told Elisha that back in Syria, he had to accompany the king on his visits to the temple and bow with him to the idols the king worshiped. “May the Lord forgive your servant for this,” Naaman said. Elisha’s response was understanding and simple: “Go in peace.”
Our North Korean family can find themselves with the same dilemma, especially in public spaces. If they want to live, they must show honor to the leaders, part of the ruling Kim dynasty. Reportedly, the country has at least 35,000 large-scale statues of the Kim dictators (both past and present), and every North Korean is expected to bow to them. Every North Korean is required to hang portraits of the country’s leaders and former leaders.
Currently, Christians note a rise in the idolization of Kim Jong-un, the latest ruler in the Kim dynasty. “In every farm, company and factory, people are required to practice the song ‘Friendly Father’ daily,” one believer says. “It’s being distributed to every corner of the country and broadcasted on radio and TV. The song praises [Kim Jong-un] as the best father of our nation and claims our families are the happiest in the world, but we know the truth.
“Everyone feels uneasy singing this song, but no one dares to voice their thoughts. It’s just too dangerous. Some even laugh inwardly, rejecting the idea that Kim Jong-un is like a god.” North Koreans find comfort in Elisha’s response to Naaman. They bow out of necessity, not out of worship.
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters (Genesis 1:1-2).
After the Israelites escaped Egypt, the first thing God wanted them to know was that He—not any Egyptian gods—was their creator. North Korea is officially an atheist country. From an early age, North Koreans are indoctrinated, learning that the world and humanity were created with no input from God.
This first verse of the Bible is often a starting point for (secret) conversations about the Bible and the gospel among North Koreans. If someone accepts that God created the universe and that people are created in the image of God, they are much closer to believing other truths of the Bible.
He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away” (Revelation 21:4).
In the book of Revelation, John recorded his vision of a new heaven and a new earth (Rev. 21:1). He saw a beautiful city descend from Heaven: the Holy City, the new Jerusalem. And in his vision, he heard a “loud voice from the throne” saying: “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!”
Our sisters and brothers in North Korea live with great expectation and hope, clinging to this verse and the beautiful vision John describes. In many real ways, the hope of the Kingdom is their food and sustenance. They know and trust—and remind us—that the brokenness of this world is temporary; that one day, their suffering will end. They don’t live for Pyongyang (the capital of North Korea) today. They live for the New Jerusalem, where there will be no more death, grief, crying or pain … where God will wipe every tear they’ve wept and make everything new.
Take time today to pray these verses with your North Korean family, remembering the reality and risks they face every day, as well as the significance of these scriptures in their lives and your own.
Simon Lee reminds us: “We hope that Christians around the world don’t cease to pray for North Korea. If we don’t pray, it means we have given up hope.” Pray that each believer would remember and trust that they have a shepherd who watches over them and that one day, God will make all things new.
Through secret networks outside North Korea, Open Doors secret workers are helping around 100,000 North Korean believers by providing vital food and aid, shelter and discipleship training for North Korean refugees at safe houses in China, and training through Christian radio broadcasting from outside the country.
*representative names and images used for security
