central government of the Congo lost approximately one-third of its territory in the Northeastern sec tion to a communistically-inspired movement of rebels. They were known as Lion's. The plot was as well planned as in during Daniel's day. Their attack was primarily aimed at the educated of the land. Those who were loyal to the gov ernment which included mission aries and African pastors, were among those who had been listed for elimination. General confusion and anarchy was the plan of the day. The revolutionaries were suc cessful in their efforts. The Church of Christ in the Congo literally found itself in the midst of a huge den of "lions." They proved to be more ferocious than any earthly animal. They were possessed by the spirit of Satan who goes about seeking whom he may devour. One of our missionaries re mained under the domination of the rebels for some time. He said that looking into their faces was like looking into the face of hell. Life to them was cheap. The shed ding of blood meant nothing. They were ruthless, torturing their vic tims in most grotesque ways. To be shot, would have been merci ful. Generally their practice was a slow dismemberment of the bod ies. The stench of death, because of unburied bodies, was beyond all description. During this time of testing, a sifting took place. Some did fall by the wayside. For the most part, however, our Christians did not lose faith. They would have said what the three Hebrew children testified in the long ago, "Our God, whom we serve, is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He
In the formulation of the new sovereignty Daniel was given a very important position. He was to be one of the three presidents re sponsible for 120 governors over all the various provinces. Darius was so impressed with Daniel's wisdom that he thought he would make him sole administrator of the entire empire. When the other presidents learned this they were filled with jealousy and plotted against Daniel's life. Since they knew he prayed daily to his God, they craftily appealed to the king to authorize a law which would not permit anyone to petition any man or god other than Darius him self. In his pride the ruler unwit tingly signed the decree. Although Daniel knew the penalty he went up into his prayer chamber, op ened his windows toward Jerusa lem and prayed three times daily. There were spies to report his movements to the authorities. De spite his desire to save Daniel, the king was powerless since the law had been established. We know how he was thereby cast into the lions' den. While Darius spent a sleepless night Daniel was pro tected by the Lord. What a testi mony the next morning when the king went to see if by some quirk Daniel was still alive. The wise prophet explained, "My God hath sent His angel, and has shut the lions' mouths that they have not hurt me." Winds of change have blown especially strong over the continent of Africa over the past decade. Governments have changed radi cally. There has been a grasping for power leading to disruption, civil strife and even bloodshed. Within the last three years the
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