People we would be surprised to see in Heaven Part 2

Dr Victor Pearce

'Arise, shine for your light has come and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. See darkness is on the land and deep darkness on the peoples, but the Lord rises upon you and his glory appears over you.' We live in days when this scripture is beginning to be fulfilled. But the time of darkness and light together, will bring about a greater time of 'spiritual warfare' and will necessitate a deeper call to prayer. To help us get a sense of the power of prayer and the revealing of God during warfare we need look no further than WWI and WWII. These were extraordinary days in our nation to live through. Dr Victor Pearce (now 94) lived in both wars and chronicled the amazing stories of the revealing of the power of prayer and the intervention of the Lord during warfare. This is the second in a series of articles revealing these stories. I think you will be moved and inspired, and I pray the Spirit of God will speak into your spirit through what you read - Jonathan Bellamy, Cross Rhythms CEO.

Sauckel the Slave-Driver First

Sauckel was the first to seek Christ. He was very burdened from the beginning of his imprisonment. In the main court among the evidence had been shown horrific scenes of cruelty for which he shared the guilt. He and Hans Fritzsche the propaganda minister, broke down in court and wept at the horrors projected onto the screen. He spent hours in his cell hearing from the chaplain how his guilt could be cleansed away. The Word of God was opened up to him step by step, and eventually he knelt down and cried: 'God be merciful to me a sinner!'

He gladly accepted a Bible and a Luther's catechism, which he read constantly. He was a broken and changed man, but how could he alleviate the sufferings he had caused? He had a large family of ten children; at least he and his wife could bring them to faith in Christ and urge them to bring as much of Christ's kindness into the world as possible.

Sauckel was the first to ask if he could take Communion. Gerecke was deeply moved to see him take the bread and the wine which represented the precious body and blood which Jesus sacrificed for sinners like this convert - and for all converts, whatever their position in life.

The chaplain believed in hearing verbally a convert's testimony so that he would be quite clear about things. He would ask:

• Do you believe that you are a sinner?
  Yes, I believe I am a sinner


• How do you know this?
  From the ten commandments; these I have not kept


• Are you sorry for your sins?
  Yes, I am sorry I have sinned against God


• What have you deserved for your sins?
  His wrath, grief, eternal death and damnation


• In whom do you trust for salvation?
  In my dear Lord Jesus Christ


• What then has Christ done for you that you should trust in Him?
  He died for me and shed his precious blood for me on the Cross for the forgiveness of my sins

Attitudes Begin to Change

Nearly four months went by and the chaplain began to notice a more earnest attitude among the others. The chapel services provided an opportunity for questions about all the important basics for personal salvation. A face-saving tactic by Doenitz was to argue about various aspects, but this seemed to be a cover to his own search. Others were asking for explanations about the passages of Scripture which had been read or spoken about. Fritzsche, von Shirach and Speer asked for a Bible each and a Luther's catechism to take to their cells to study. Frizsche said he was deeply ashamed at having turned against the Church and was hoping to come all the way back to Christ. He asked Gerecke to list certain passages of Scripture which he should read in order to become clear and quite certain that salvation was complete in Jesus who had died for his sins.

Christmas came and fifteen attended the extra service. The story of the virgin conception was read in St Luke's account, and how it was brought about by conception through the Holy Spirit of God, just as it was foretold by God to the prophets centuries earlier. The scripture described how a very important angel told the Virgin Mary how it would happen, and when it did the sky filled with angels singing with joy at this supremely important step God had taken. The unusual congregation listened intently.

Fritz Sauckel, the former slave driver, stood stiffly to his feet and with emotion said, 'We never took time to appreciate Christmas in its biblical sense. Now here we are with no gifts or presents, but we have the only gift that matters!'

At the end of the service the organist played softly:

Silent night, holy night!
Son of God, O how bright.
Love is smiling from your face.
Strikes for us the hour of grace,
Saviour, since you are born,
Saviour, since you are born.

The musician played sensitively and tenderly; nobody would have thought that he was once the colonel of the dreaded SS, callous, cruel and feared. He was a changed man now because even though he was not one of the prisoners, he had been deeply moved and changed in an earlier service which had told him that even 'while we were still sinners Christ died for us ... While we were still enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son' (Romans 5:8).