Snopes, and other sites which consider themselves the last word on reports from around the world, have called the report false-- urban legend. They all mock at the idea that God would single out Bible believers with his favor. I never cease to be amazed at the way filthy sex perverts on the web can dip into the canon of the Word of God just enough to slap God's people in the face and spit in God's face. Virtually all of the sites denying the account are God hating and Christ hating sites. So, to hell with them, and, as always, I say that charitably.

Here is the report I believe:

We know that 80% of the town of Meulaboh in Aceh was destroyed by the Tsunami waves and 80% of the people also died. This is one of the towns that was hit the hardest.

But there is a fantastic testimony from Meulaboh. In that town are about 400 Christians. They wanted to celebrate Christmas on December 25th but were not allowed to do so by the Muslims of Meulaboh. They were told if they wanted to celebrate Christmas they needed to go outside the city of Meulaboh on a high hill and there celebrate Christmas. Because the Christians desired to celebrate Christmas the 400 believers left the city on December 25th and after they celebrated Christmas they stayed overnight on the hill.

As we all know the morning of December 26 there was the earthquake followed by the Tsunami waves destroying most of the city of Meulaboh and thousands were killed. The 400 believers were on the mountain and were all saved from destruction. Now the Muslims of Meulaboh are saying that the God of the Christians punished us for forbidding the Christians from celebrating Christmas in the city. Others are questioning why so many Muslims died while not even one of the Christians died there.

Had the Christians insisted on their rights to celebrate Christmas in the city, they would have all died. But because they humbled themselves and followed the advice of the Muslims they all were spared destruction and can now testify of God's marvelous protection. This is a testimony of the grace of God and the fact that as believers we have no rights in the world. Our right is come before God and commit our lives to Him.

Our right is kneeling down before the Lord almighty and commit our ways to Him. He is our Father and is very capable to care for His children. Praise the Name of the Lord.

Bill Hekman Pastor,
Calvary Life Fellowship in Indonesia.

ACROSS from New Zealand-- Here is the report and a follow up.

More on Calvary Life Fellowship and its pastor

Australian who accepts the reports, possibly with some reservations

Though these people have real problems, this article from the past shows the tension that has been in Indonesia in recent years. I am inclined to believe this account of the saving of the 400 people is in the order of the Holy Spirit's way, on rare occasions, of turning the heathen to be willing to listen to the Gospel. I have no illusions as to the prophetic moment. Ecumenism may well pollute the thing, but I believe God is setting the record straight that he is the God of Bible believers, not Muslims.

Here is a report from a local Indonesian pastor:

Last night in the night service of my church, we got another first hand testimony and brief report/statistics

ACEH
There are 4 big churches in Aceh. 3 Protestant (Methodist, Lutheran and Presbyterian) and 1 Catholic. There are about 5000 Christians (member of those churches). There are also evangelical charismatic churches; and some guests (not including in the data) We lost 148 people from the about 5000 people church member; and 4 people from the evangelical/charismatic church (until now). No victim from Catholic and Methodist. (They have been ordered to make the service on the hills instead of in the church);

On the 26th of Dec they planned to make an interdenominational Christian Revival, but the Muslim ordered them to cancel and make the service on the hills or they die. (Some people said the revival is the trigger, they said it has awaken the sleeping tiger) So they moved to the hills (open air service), except two churches. The Lutheran (HKBP) and Presbyterian (GPIB). They insisted to hold the service in the church building because they had baptism and confirmation. So when the earthquake and tsunami came over on the 26th at 7:35 am, many of these church members were in the building. Not all of them die you know…there are so many testimonies about how God saved people from tsunami. All in all HKBP lost about 100 something people; GPIB about 48 people.

The evangelical churches don’t have church buildings. They hold their services in the meeting rooms or in the house. Since the evangelical churches are also member of the denomination where my church is in, we got recent report that until now…there are 4 member lost. They didn’t attend church on the 26th so they stayed in the city.

Data from: Rev. Danny Supangat. Circa Jan. 30, 2005

Again, there is an ecumenical flavor here, but then we don't know if some spirit of repentance was moving this also. If these people, due to severe persecution, were crying out to God, it may well be that God moved in order to put the devils of Islam on the run emotionally and politically by saving these people. As a missionary's kid, I lived at the epicenter of the Mau Mau massacre and terror in Kenya. I heard daily, in Kenya, of the horrors of the revolution of the Simbas in the Congo in the 60s. As a missionary in later years in Ethiopia I lived through the Marxist coup, and after moving to Kenya, we were poised 24 hours a day to flee from the terror of Idi Amin who promised to invade Kenya where we lived. I can tell you from personal observation that groups who are pretty sloppy back here in the USA and the UK can get very narrow in a hurry when (a) they are under persecution for naming Christ, and (b) when they see God step in and give them deliverance. This sort of suffering is the only thing that could possibly reverse the decadence pervading ALL church groups in the USA.

In any case, something miraculous happened in Indonesia. What happens next is up to all the people involved, born again believers, ecumenical lost do-gooders, Muslims, and agnostics. I do know that I am hearing of the saving of souls and of a great zeal in Bible believing small churches in Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, and in India. I believe God is moving in Asia, and this may be the last event in the Church Age. The fact that they are not Baptists, and they don't seem to consult with us Anglo-Saxon churchianity experts, is a great blessing to Asian Christians. Why should they duplicate the arrogant bigotry of Christendom as we have hatched it?

Let me be more blunt. This is OUTSIDE of the Baptist Heritage, and I don't know one Baptist who cares diddly about Asia. I never hear from Asian Baptists in email from Asia. God may well be making very sure that the jack boot Baptist mystique is NOT part of the mix this time. So be it. I am seeing something revolutionary in Asia-- saints who refer to themselves merely as "Christians." Is that not revolutionary-- shocking? Who would have ever thought........... never mind.

MORE HERE will show you why the Christians were going to the hills. The Muslims burned down their church house. This story gets more and more believable as I learn more. I KNOW from email reports of the terrible rapes and terror and church house burnings all over Asia, including India and Pakistan, by Hindus and Muslims. This is the fiery furnace and the lion's den all over. If God wants to work in this way in Indonesia, and we cannot coerce him into jumping through our sensational hoop, that is just how he works in his almighty way. We have no business tossing out these many reports by local believers in favor of the bigoted Gringo Atheist web sites which mock at this, as if God is their home boy.

I have few personal experiences like the Indonesian event. There have been a couple moments in my time, where I was in Africa, when I saw things I cannot even tell you. Most of my readers would decide I had been to a Benny Hinn rally or imbibed of the devils of Paul Crouch. Just let me say this. I am convinced that God still steps in and does miracles, NOT ON DEMAND, but God will glorify himself, and you and I cannot define what he can do based on our limited theological notions.

LAST THOUGHT: Paul and Jan "Crackers" Crouch will grab this Indonesian event and make it sound like it was their idea and God got their permission to work in Asia. Rodney Howard Brown "Nose" and Kenneth Copeless, John "The Hack" Hagee, Reinhart Bonkers, with Benny "Ghehenna" Hinn, will all make book on this and hype it into their own private property. There will be a mob of Word of Faith Mafia who will trundle over to Indonesia, have their photo taken with some hapless saint, and come back calling for billions of dollars to make it bigger and better by 4:30 tomorrow afternoon. PLEASE don't let these jerks move you on this one. PLEASE !! Just let God do his work through these saints in Asia.