The Voice of the Martyrs is partnering with Faithlife TV to offer an exclusive online viewing of the Tortured for Christ movie. Just use the link we have below to register with your email address, and you will receive a link to watch the Tortured for Christ movie on Oct. 22-23 for FREE.
This is the same movie that gained national attention last March, showing in over 550 theaters, many sold out.
This is the dramatic presentation of the bestselling book by the same name, featuring the testimony of The Voice of the Martyrs’ founder, Pastor Richard Wurmbrand, who spent 14 years in Communist prisons because of his work in the underground church. The book and movie tell the story of his stand for Christ and subsequent persecution in communist Romania.
Filmed in Romania, including in the very prison where Pastor Wurmbrand endured torture and solitary confinement, this powerful film uniquely presents the story in a live action format. The dialogue is presented in English, Romanian, and Russian (with English subtitles) to hold to the authenticity of this true story.
Just click on the link below, to register now for this special online event, and view the Tortured for Christ movie for free.
After you register, you will have the opportunity to receive a FREE digital copy of the Tortured for Christ book.
The Voice of the Martyrs presents the inspiring new movie, Tortured for Christ, a cinematic retelling of the testimony of VOM founder Pastor Richard Wurmbrand, as written in his international bestseller “Tortured for Christ.” This movie was produced to honor the 50th anniversary of the book’s 1967 release.
Filmed entirely in Romania, including in the very prison where Pastor Wurmbrand endured torture and solitary confinement, this powerful film uniquely presents the story with live action rather than interviews. The dialogue is presented in English, Romanian and Russian (with English subtitles) to hold to the authenticity of this true story.
The movie opens in theaters on March 5, 2018. Advance tickets can be purchased at www.TorturedforChrist.com.
Richard Wurmbrand dared to proclaim his loyalty to Christ rather than bow to a government hostile to the gospel. For this, he spent a total of 14 years in prison, two of those years alone in a solitary cell. As he sat alone, he dreamed of a mission that would one day help Christians like him. Pastor Wurmbrand would be the one person who would tell the world the truth about Christianity behind the Iron Curtain. Millions of people have been touched by his story.
We are proud to support the work and ministry of “Voice of the Martyrs,” and would like to share in the opportunity to have Richard Wurmbrand’s book “Tortured for Christ” sent to you, and your friends, absolutely free of charge.
“This book was singularly instrumental in awakening the conscience of the free world to the horrors experienced by our brothers and sisters behind the Iron Curtain.” Charles W. Colson, Prison Fellowship
Months of solitary confinement, years of periodic physical torture, constant suffering from hunger and cold, the anguish of brainwashing and mental cruelty – these are the experiences of Richard Wurmbrand, a Romanian pastor, during his 14 years in Communist prisons. His crime, like that of thousands of others, was his fervent belief in Jesus Christ and his public witness concerning that faith. Meeting in homes, in basements, in the woods – sometimes daring to preach on public street corners – these faithful souls persisted in their Christian witness knowing full well the ultimate cost of their actions. Tortured for Christ is their story – a classic account of courage, tenacious faith and unbelievable endurance. This history of the Underground Church reflects the struggle in many parts of the world – a struggle that continues to this day.
“Tortured for Christ is still as important today as it was 30 years ago in calling attention to the plight of persecuted Christians in the modern age.” Frank R. Wolf, U.S. Congressman
Indeed, the message of “Tortured for Christ” remains urgent and relevant today, as thousands of Christians are still being persecuted and tortured around the world today, suffering solely for their belief in Jesus Christ.
Please click on the link below, which will take you directly to the Voice of the Martyrs webpage, where you can order a copy of the book for yourself, and have copies sent to your friends. Please note that, along with the book, they will also receive a free subscription to The Voice of the Martyrs monthly newsletter.
“I have found truly jubilant Christians only in the Bible, in the underground church, and in prison.” Richard Wurmbrand
Richard Wurmbrand was the youngest of four boys, born into a Jewish family on March 24, 1909, in Bucharest, Romania. As an adult, he was intellectually gifted, being fluent in nine languages. Richard was active in leftist politics and worked as a stockbroker.
On October 26, 1936, Richard and Sabina were married, and both converted to Christ in 1938. They both joined the Anglican Mission to the Jews in Bucharest. Richard was ordained, first as an Anglican, and then after World War II, as a Lutheran minister. During World War II, Richard and Sabina saw an opportunity for evangelism among the occupying German forces. They preached in the bomb shelters and rescued Jewish children out of the ghettos. Richard and Sabina were repeatedly arrested and beaten and, at least once, nearly executed. Sabina lost her Jewish family in Nazi concentration camps.
In 1945 Romanian Communists seized power, and 1,000,000 Russian troops poured into the country. Pastor Wurmbrand ministered to his oppressed countrymen and engaged in bold evangelism to the Russian soldiers. That same year, Richard and Sabina Wurmbrand attended the Congress of Cults organized by the Romanian Communist government. Many religious leaders came forward to praise Communism and to swear loyalty to the new regime.
Sabina said, “Richard, stand up and wash away this shame from the face of Christ.”
Richard warned, “If I do so, you’ll lose your husband.” “I don‘t wish to have a coward as a husband,” she replied.
Thus Richard declared to the 4,000 delegates, whose speeches were broadcast to the whole nation, that their duty is to glorify God and Christ alone. Between 1945 and 1947, Richard distributed 1 million Gospels to Russian troops. Richard also smuggled Gospels into Russia. On December 30, 1947, the People’s Republic of Romania was proclaimed.
On February 29, 1948, the secret police arrested Richard while on his way to church and took him to their headquarters. He was locked in a solitary cell and labeled “Prisoner Number 1.” In 1950, his wife Sabina was also imprisoned. She was forced to serve as a laborer on the Danube Canal project, leaving their nine-year-old son, Mihai, alone and homeless. Richard was released in 1956 after serving eight-and-a-half years in prison. He was warned never to preach again. While in prison, he went through horrific tortures at the hands of the brutal secret police. Despite the treatments and the warnings he received from his persecutors, Richard resumed his work with the “underground” churches after his release.
He was re-arrested in 1959 through the conspiracy of an associate, and sentenced to 25 years. He was accused of preaching ideas contrary to Communist doctrine. Due to increased political pressure from Western countries, Richard was granted another amnesty and released in 1964. In December 1965, the Norwegian Mission to the Jews and the Hebrew Christian Alliance paid $10,000 in ransom to the Communist government to allow the Wurmbrand family to leave Romania. Reluctant to leave his homeland, Richard was convinced by other underground church leaders to leave and become a “voice” to the world for the underground church. Richard, Sabina, and their son Mihai left Romania for Norway and then traveled on to England.
Richard began his ministry of being a voice for persecuted Christians in England with Rev. Stuart Harris. Later, Richard moved on to the United States, and in 1966 he appeared before a U.S. Senate Internal Security Subcommittee, where he stripped to the waist and revealed 18 deep torture wounds on his body. His story spread rapidly, leading to more and more speaking engagements.
In 1967, the Wurmbrands officially began a ministry committed to serving the persecuted church, called Jesus to the Communist World (later renamed The Voice of the Martyrs). In the same year, Richard released his book, Tortured for Christ. In October, 1967, the first monthly issue of The Voice of the Martyrs newsletter was published in the U.S. By the mid-1980s his work was established in 80 restricted nations with offices in 30 countries around the world.
In 1990, after the fall of Nicolae Ceausescu in December 1989, Richard and Sabina returned to Romania after 25 years in exile and were warmly received. A printing facility and bookstore were opened in Bucharest, and the officials of the city offered to store Christian books in a room below the palace of Ceausescu, the very site where Richard had been held in solitary confinement.
During his ministry, Richard wrote 18 books in English and others in Romanian, some of which have been translated into 38 different languages. Richard retired from the day-to-day work of The Voice of the Martyrs in 1992, but he continued as a consultant and member of the board of directors, maintaining a keen interest in the work until his death in 2001. Sabina Wurmbrand, who passed away August 11, 2000, is remembered as a woman of great integrity, a student of the Scriptures, a mighty faith warrior, and a true help mate to her husband.
Here, in a rare video from the 1960’s, is a biographical video featuring Richard Wurmbrand, and his experiences being “Tortured for Christ.”
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