WorldNetDaily, OR
April 28 2007

Widow of slain Christian: ‘Forgive them’
‘She said what 1,000 missionaries in 1,000 years could never do’

Posted: April 28, 2007
1:00 a.m. Eastern

Editor’s Note: This report contains a graphic description of the
martyrdom of three Christian men.
By Bob Unruh
© 2007 WorldNetDaily.com

In an act that hit the front pages of the largest newspapers in
Turkey, the widow of a martyred Christian told reporters she did not
want revenge against the Muslims who killed her husband and two
others, according to a new report from Voice of the Martyrs.

"Oh God, forgive them for they know not what they do," she said,
agreeing with the words of Christ on Calvary (Luke 23.34), according
to a letter Christians in Turkey have written to the worldwide
church, a letter released through Voice of the Martyrs.

"In a country where blood-for-blood revenge is as normal as
breathing, many many reports have come to the attention of the church
of how this comment of Susanne Tilman has changed lives," the letter
said. "One columnist wrote of her comment, ‘She said in one sentence
what 1,000 missionaries in 1,000 years could never do.’"

Necati Aydin, Tilman Geske and Ugur Yuksel, (L to R) who were
martyred by Muslims in Turkey

She is the widow of Tilman Geske, a German citizen who along with two
Turkish Christians were martyred recently ~V allegedly by five Muslims
who met the three victims at a Christian publishing company for a
Bible study.

Authorities have taken several suspects into custody, and their cases
remain pending.

The letter titled "A letter to the Global Church from The Protestant
Church of Smyrna" was received by VOM shortly after the slayings, and
the ministry organization that works with the Persecuted Church
worldwide is publicizing it.

"The Voice of the Martyrs has already been actively involved in
assisting the families of these courageous Christians. We encourage
you to pray for them as they grieve, and to pray that this will be a
significant turning point for the gospel in Turkey," the organization
said.

VOM noted that 2,000 years earlier, this location of Christians was
addressed in Rev. 2:8-11: "And to the angel of the church in Smyrna
write~E ‘Do not fear any of those things which you are about to
suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison,
that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation 10 days. Be
faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life. He who
has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who
overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death.’"

The letter describes the work Geske, 46, was doing on a new Turkish
Study Bible. That morning, he went to the offices of Zirve
Publishing, which produces and distributes Christian literature to
Malatya and other parts of eastern Turkey, for a Bible study. Pastor
Necati Aydin, the father of two, also left for the same office, as
did Ugur Yuksel.

"None of these three men knew that what awaited them at the Bible
study was the ultimate testing and application of their faith, which
would conclude with their entrance into glory to receive their crown
of righteousness from Christ," the letter said.

Also heading to the Bible study were five men thought to be "seekers"
who had been guests of Pastor Necati at an invitation-only
evangelistic service earlier.

"No one knows what happened in the hearts of those men as they
listened to the gospel. Were they touched by the Holy Spirit? Were
they convicted of sin? Did they hear the gospel in their heart of
hearts? Today we only have the beginning of their story," the letter
said.

"The young men got guns, bread knives, ropes and towels ready for
their final act of service to Allah. They knew there would be a lot
of blood. They arrived in time for the Bible study, around 10
o’clock," the letter said. "Reportedly, after Necati read a chapter
from the Bible the assault began. The boys tied Ugur, Necati, and
Tilman’s hands and feet to chairs and as they videoed their work on
their cellphones, they tortured our brothers for almost three hours."

The letter included the following graphic details of the torture:

"Tilman was stabbed 156 times, Necati 99 times and Ugur~Rs stabs were
too numerous to count. They were disemboweled, and their intestines
sliced up in front of their eyes. They were emasculated and watched
as those body parts were destroyed. Fingers were chopped off, their
noses and mouths and anuses were sliced open. Possibly the worst part
was watching as their brothers were likewise tortured. Finally, their
throats were sliced from ear to ear, heads practically decapitated."

The letter released by Voice of the Martyrs said neighbors thought
the noise was a domestic argument so they did not respond.

Another believer, Gokhan, arrived about 12:30, but couldn’t get in,
so he called.

"Ugur answered his phone. ‘We are not at the office. Go to the hotel
meeting. We are there. We will come there,’ he said cryptically. As
Ugur spoke Gokhan heard in the telephone’s background weeping and a
strange snarling sound," the letter said. He called police.

When officers entered, they found, "Tilman and Necati had been
slaughtered, practically decapitated with their necks slit from ear
to ear. Ugur’s throat was likewise slit and he was barely alive," the
letter said.

Several assailants were caught in the room, and two nearby, including
one who apparently tried to jump out a window to flee and was
seriously hurt.

The letter said persecution of Christians ~V bombings, physical
attacks, verbal and written abuse as well as media propaganda —
moved into the intense range following a decision in 2001 by the
National Security Council of Turkey to consider Christians a threat
to national security on the same level as al-Qaida.

The letter described cameras in churches to promote fear and
antagonism towards Christians.

What Turkey witnessed from its Christians was something else.
"Hundreds of believers and dozens of pastors flew in as fast as they
could to stand by the small church of Malatya and encourage the
believers, take care of legal issues, and represent Christians to the
media," the letter said.

When Susanne Tilman desired to bury her husband in Malatya, the local
officials spread rumors it was a sin to dig a grave for a Christian,
so volunteers from the church in Adana dug the grave in an untended
100-year-old Armenian graveyard, the letter said.

Ugur was buried with "his believing fiancée watching from the shadows
as his family and friends refused to accept in death the faith Ugur
had so long professed and died for," the letter said.

"Necati’s funeral took place in his hometown of Izmir, the city where
he came to faith. The darkness does not understand the light. Though
the churches expressed their forgiveness for the event, Christians
were not to be trusted. Before they would load the coffin onto the
plane from Malatya, it went through two separate X-ray exams to make
sure it was not loaded with explosives," the letter said. "Necati’s
funeral was a beautiful event. Like a glimpse of heaven, thousands of
Turkish Christians and missionaries came to show their love for
Christ, and their honor for this man chosen to die for Christ.
Necati’s wife Shemsa told the world, ‘His death was full of meaning,
because he died for Christ and he lived for Christ~E Necati was a gift
from God. I feel honored that he was in my life, I feel crowned with
honor. I want to be worthy of that honor.’"

Then Susanne Tilman expressed her forgiveness in a television
interview that was reported on front pages across Turkey.

The letter said the Malatya missionaries most likely will move, as
they’ve been identified as targets in that hostile city, and the
remaining 10 believers have gone into hiding.

"What will happen to this church, this light in the darkness? Most
likely it will go underground. Pray for wisdom, that Turkish brothers
from other cities will go to lead the leadership church," the letter
said.

"Please pray for the Church in Turkey," wrote Pastor Fikret Bocek.
"Don’t pray against persecution, pray for perseverance."

"This we know. Christ Jesus was there when our brothers were giving
their lives for Him. He was there, like He was when Stephen was being
stoned in the sight of Saul of Tarsus," the letter said. "Someday the
video of the deaths of our brothers may reveal more to us about the
strength that we know Christ gave them to endure their last cross,
about the peace the Spirit of God endowed them with to suffer for
their beloved Savior. But we know He did not leave their side."

"We pray ~V and urge you to pray ~V that someday at least one of those
five boys will come to faith because of the testimony in death of
Tilman Geske, who gave his life as a missionary to his beloved Turks,
and the testimonies in death of Necati Aydin and Ugur Yuksel, the
first martyrs for Christ out of the Turkish Church," the letter said.

Susanne said she planned to remain in Turkey with her children,
Michal Janina, 13, Lukas, 10, and Miriam, 8.

Voice of the Martyrs is a non-profit, interdenominational ministry
working worldwide to help Christians who are persecuted for their
faith, and to educate the world about that persecution. Its
headquarters are in Bartlesville, Okla., and it has 30 affiliated
international offices.

It was launched by the late Richard and Sabina Wurmbrand, who started
smuggling Russian Gospels into Russia in 1947, just months before
Richard was abducted and imprisoned in Romania where he was tortured
for his refusal to recant Christianity.

He eventually was released in 1964 and the next year he testified
about the persecution of Christians before the U.S. Senate’s Internal
Security Subcommittee, stripping to the waist to show the deep
torture wound scars on his body.

The group that later was renamed The Voice of the Martyrs was
organized in 1967, when his book, "Tortured for Christ," was
released.

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