Widow of slain Christian: 'Forgive them'
Pastor Dale Morgan
Widow of slain Christian: 'Forgive them'*
'She said what 1,000 missionaries in 1,000 years could never do'
Posted: April 30, 2007
Voice of the Martyrs
Editor's Note: This report contains a graphic description of the
martyrdom of three Christian men.
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 – 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… '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’s 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 – 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… 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 – and urge you to pray – 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.