He was almost seventeen. He was one of the wonderful people. Just by being in his presence, one felt somehow whole, healed of all sorrows, energized to try harder; be a better person. When company came, he would be cooking with his mother. When any of his friends were hurt or troubled, it was to him they would come. He was always there for them, but he never seemed to feed on the pornography and boyish filth that had them bound. In fact, it was hard to find any faults at all except that he wasn't a Christian.

That was to change before long, however. He had told us that he believed everything he understood about the Bible, and had committed himself to accepting whatever we taught him. We laughed, and played and sang and attended church together. We talked about what we would do together in Heaven and rejoiced to see the little seed of faith in his heart grow deeper and larger day by day. Why, his very name, 'Masayoshi' meant 'true righteousness'. The Chinese characters for his name included a picture of 'self' under the Lamb and another of an eye looking up to the cross, and a sacrifice being brought with both hands.

Masayoshi had been taught to stop, clap his hands, and bow to the idols along the road as he went by, but he was getting closer and closer to a commitment to Christ. One day he just couldn’t worship idols any longer, and he told them so. "I'm sorry. I'm going to be a Christian. I belong to Jesus, so I don't
belong to you any more. From now on, I can't worship you. Please understand."

That evidently made the demons behind idolatry angry. Everything began to change. Masayoshi fell into sin. He grew angry and bitter at God about some destructive things our pastor said to him, and about a dear one’s death that broke his heart. His mother had several long talks with him about his duties as the oldest son in an old Japanese family. She threatened to disown him from the family register in the town hall if he didn't please her. He was forbidden to leave the country with us on a summer trip, and then began to show less and less interest in coming to see us. He grew reticent, and seemed to be on edge. Sometimes he was downright rude. Finally, I made the mistake of telling him I was praying for his salvation. He seemed to resent that, and asked me not to contact him again. I thought he would cool down and return in a few days or weeks, but it didn't happen.

It's a familiar story in Japan. Another precious soul lost at the very threshold of the Kingdom. Perhaps it can't be helped. It is a heathen country. One of the hardest mission fields in the world. Second only to the Islamic countries, I'm told. Why do we press on? Perhaps God isn't ready to save the Japanese. Perhaps He never will. Maybe He has already judged them as unsavable; 'kept under punishment for the Day of Judgment' like the people of Noah's day, or the inhabitants of Jerico.

Perhaps. But I don't think so. Neither do a lot of other people, or there would be no missionaries left in Japan. In fact, perhaps the opposite is true. "You shall be My witnesses," Jesus said, “Even to the uttermost parts of the world." (Acts 1:8). Japan just happens to be the farthest nation east of Jerusalem. Could Jesus have meant for the gospel to make a major impact in Japan before His return? Isaiah writes, “Now I declare new things. Sing His praise from the end of the earth! You islands, and those who dwell on them." (Isaiah 42:9,10) It just could be, that one of God's 'new things', is the successful evangelization of Japan!

Are we willing to continue losing the Masayoshis in Japan to some sinister force that snatches them away at the very entrance to God's Kingdom? Are we willing to let missionaries and pastors continue working year after year to maintain the 'less than one tenth of one percent' of Japan's population who are Christians? Or do we want something bigger, more victorious, more vibrant to happen in Japan?

Keith I. Webb, in his small book Overcoming Spiritual Barriers in Japan outlines the probable reason for Japan's coldness toward the gospel. He feels that the answer lies in Japan's history. Nearly 400 years ago, the Tokugawa dynasty essentially blotted out Christianity in Japan by martyring the Christians, or forcing them to recant. They closed Japan’s doors to the outer world. They then built the Toshogu Shrine system, which welcomed and established Tokugawa Ieyasu's spirit - supposedly a manifestation of the mythical goddess Amaterasu Omikami. That name means "the god who illumines the heavens". Could that be another name for Satan himself, Lucifer, Son of the Morning, Bright Star (see Isaiah 14:12-14)? It is quite possible that this act established a spiritual stronghold, and that Lucifer is indeed the spiritual ruler and authority over the nation of Japan.

Daniel 10 indicates that there was a demonic prince of the kingdom of Persia who stopped God's angel from coming to Daniel. It is quite likely that Amaterasu no Omikami is the prince of the nation of Japan. His strong grip over the nation could be the reason why the Gospel has not succeeded in Japan.

Does this mean that our quest of spiritual awakening in Japan is hopeless? No. The Israelites were freed from Egypt after 400 years of slavery, and there is hope for the Japanese people as well. Spiritual strongholds can be broken by taking back the authority that has been given to the enemy. Webb gives a detailed report of the spiritual takeover of Japan, and lists
specific areas of prayer that he feels are necessary to break the enemy's strongholds.

If missionaries to Japan pray, and Japanese pastors pray, and their supporting churches agree to pray... will something happen? Of course! Three or four, or maybe even ten or 20 people will accept the gospel and join our churches. Exciting!

But we at Free Japan imagine something far bigger. Why not have an extended campaign to bind the enemy and free Japan once and for all of its dark lord? What if a time was set for a certain month, say March, 2004 for example, and a great campaign of publicity were to invite every evangelical church in the world to begin praying for Japan a year in advance? What if churches were to make the week before March 2004 a week of fasting and prayer to bind the enemy? And what if Japanese Christians, along with Christians all over the World, were to meet at Toshogu shrine, and the more than 100 related shrines all over Japan to pray down the
strongholds of the enemy? What if churches all over Japan were to agree to canvass their communities and hold evangelistic events during the month?
What if the world were to cooperate by continuing to pray, and storming the nation with various crusades, Christian concerts and other evangelistic campaigns? Would God remain silent? Would He fail to act on our behalf?

The members of Free Japan, with the endorsement of JEMA, have already started working on a plan to make these ideas a reality. Revival has never taken place without many people praying for it in advance. Will you pray right now that God will bind the enemy, and pour out His Spirit on the land of Japan? Will you continue to pray for a great awakening?

Isaiah continues his passage about the 'islands at the end of the earth'. "The Lord will go forth like a warrior, He will arouse His zeal like a man of war. He will utter a shout, yes, he will raise a war cry. He will prevail against His enemies. I will lead the blind by a way they do not know. I will make darkness into light before them and rugged places into plains. These are the things I will do and I will not leave them undone! (Isaiah 42:13,16 emphasis mine)

Debbie Penner