Interviewen (Dutch) — Corrie Ten Boom

Yes, I think it's the most important speech there is. Because this is the climax of everything Jesus did on earth. He went to heaven for his throne ascension. I think that's so important. And also for the assignment he gave us before he left.

Christ’s Ascension and Authority

What do you mean by the throne ascension?

Jesus went to heaven to rule in the right hand of the Father. He gave him all power. And that is very important for us now and especially for the future. We still have to fight with the power of Satan, who still has power on earth.

Christ’s Victory Over Satan

But he doesn't have to try to ascend the throne anymore. He tried to do that during his search in the desert. But now we still have to fight with Satan. But it's wonderful to know that Jesus has already won.

Do we have to say that Jesus has all power on earth? Or does he already have it?

I don't quite understand that. But the Bible says that he already has power in heaven and on earth. But it will be one way that we will understand it. If he comes, if he comes again and he promised to make all things new.

Then this earth will also be covered with the knowledge of the Lord. Like the water covers the bottom of the sea. But now we still have a fight. There is a fight between Jesus and Satan. Because Satan still rules here.

But it is a winning fight. We are on a winning ground. Those who are with us are much more and much stronger than those who are against us. And our side is a mighty high priest and legion of angels.

Christ’s Presence in Suffering

You have been in the concentration camp. Many people find that, the concentration camp and such terrible conditions, the proof that there is no God who is love and almighty. Have you experienced the power of Christ in the concentration camp?

I had always believed. But now I know from experience that the light of Jesus Christ is stronger than the deepest darkness. Those who have been in a concentration camp know how dark it was. But there I experienced that the Lord was always with me.

And that he was here in my life. He is my deliverer and my Lord. And I experienced that so intensely. I could not do it. But I always put my weak hand in the strong hand of him. And that has been a reality.

And now I understand the problem of suffering. Don't tell me that I understand why everything was like that. Because I have seen terrible things. But I know one thing, that one day we will understand.

Now we have to accept that those who have God's love, work with all things for the good. And I actually experienced that for myself. But the Lord was my deliverer, but he was also my Lord. And that is so wonderful that you know that.

Faith as God’s Gift

After your experiences in the concentration camp, you have traveled all over the world with the story of what God has done in your life. And you get invitations from all over the world to come and speak about it.

And people admire it and think it's great that there is such a faith. But is that reachable for others?

Yes, I don't have a big faith, but I have faith in a great God. But it is reachable for everyone, because that faith is not of myself. But that is of the Lord. Through his Holy Spirit, that faith works in my heart.

And the Lord Jesus said, come to me all. And that is why it is reachable for everyone. But not everyone always understands what it is to come to him. And I find it so wonderful that it is described so much more simply in the Bible.

In that great book of Revelation, Revelation 3 verse 20, that the Lord says, I knock on the door of your heart. If you hear me, I open the door and I come in. And that is actually the acceptance of the Lord.

But if the Lord is inside, then you must also give him the government. And then he must also rule in you. And then you really have to leave the dominion to him. That means obedience. And then you will also experience it.

But it is a choice. And if you do not accept the dominion of the Lord and obey him, then you come under the dominion of the enemy. And everyone experiences that.

Christ’s Kingship in the Believer’s Life

So Christ is on the throne and he can already be king in your life. And he will be in the future, all over the world. What do you think is the greatest assignment now for the Christians, who want to be king in their lives?

That is the most beautiful climax, as it were, of the Heavenly Father's Day. That the Lord said, I have been given all power in heaven and on earth. Go then and make all the peoples my disciples. And do them, and teach them, and maintain all that I have commanded you.

And see, I am with you all the days until the end of the world. We have an enormous, wonderful message to bring. And that is to bring the light of the Lord in this dark world. And that is so great, because there is so much darkness in the world.

And then to show that there is a plan of God, that he has such a wonderful future. And it is so very clear that the Lord also said, and the angels also said, when the Lord was ascended to heaven, then the angels said, this one will return to us.

Christ’s Return and the Completion of God’s Work

The return of the Lord, that is such a wonderful certainty. I hardly understood it, but now I understand it so very strongly when I read the newspaper. Because in it I read the signs of the times. And then I see that we live in a time that we can reach the Lord very quickly.

And now, of course, that if the Lord Jesus would come, that I would want to be pure, as he is pure. But that is not yet, in the first place, a striving. It is not striving and trying. But he, who has begun a good work in us, will complete it.

It is the Lord himself who will prepare us for his return. That is so wonderful. He works it out. He has all dominion over us. And I am so glad that for this dark world there is a wonderful future. And the kingdom of God is coming.

It is coming. And I believe that we really live in the moment, in the final battle. But we are on the winning ground, because Jesus was the winner. He is the winner. And he will be the winner. And then everyone will see it.

Every knee will bow in front of him. It is a wonderful future. The best is yet to come.

The Bible in the Concentration Camp

Concentration has been good. We all know the film, Hiding Place. Did the Bible play a big role in that? A very big role, yes.

I have always believed. But now I know from experience that the light of Jesus Christ is stronger than the deepest darkness. And I had my Bible in the camp. It was only a small one, but a very old and new testament.

And I had it on my back, under my clothes. And when I was standing in front of the crematorium I did not know that one week before all the women of my age would be killed I would be saved by a miracle of the Lord.

That is how I saw death in the eyes. And that is such a wonderful thing, when you have the Word of God. All firmnesses were completely unsteady. All certainties of the world were very uncertain. And then it is so wonderful when we have the certainty of the Word of God.

Scripture’s Authority and the Problem of Sin

It is written somewhere in the Bible that heaven and earth will pass, but the Word of God will never pass. This is a piece of firmness. And that this book has helped me so greatly, and is such a great power, is because it gave me the answer, and not only me, but everyone who wants to read it and listen to it, the answer to the great problems of the people.

Look, our best deeds are not good enough in the eyes of God. And if we know ourselves, then we know that we are sinners. And if we do not bow down to the Bible, then a psychiatrist will tell us. We actually all know in the ground that we are sinners, that we have done sin.

And I have now worked in 63 countries among the people, and I must say, I have never met anyone who thought he had done no sin. The Bible is the way, the truth, the life, because it shows the Lord Jesus.

And if you know the Lord Jesus, then you are so safe. And the Bible always gives us the way to the Lord Jesus. It always tells us what it means to know Him. I am actually so incredibly grateful to the Jews who wrote this book.

The whole Bible was written by the Jews. No, Lukas and his actions were not. Lukas was converted by a Jew. Yes, I am so grateful to the Jewish people for this word, for the Bible. And I have now worked in many countries.

I have met many people. And there were people who knew very little, but who could read and write very little. And I have met intellectuals who were very well educated, and who knew a lot about the wisdom of the wise.

But always the foolishness of God, the wise man is the wisdom of the wise, that was the answer for them. And that was such a wonderful wealth. I will never forget that man, a nobleman, in one of the communist countries, whom I gave a Bible in his language.

And he began to cry. And he kissed the Bible. He was a fool who did not have a Bible. What a great wealth it is to have this book. This book. I don't know. It may be that we don't need the whole Bible, but I believe I will take it with me.

For older people to keep up, maybe. Yes, certainly.

And it is, as it were, a certain gymnastics for your brain. And when you are old, you have a little danger that you will live in a circle around yourself. And it is good to read what happens in the lives of others.

But I find it very important that you know what a good book is. Because a bad book is like bad food. It makes you... it changes you. So it is very important what we read. You are 84 years old. I don't want to count you until you are very old, because you are still very fit.

But do you read a lot? Actually, yes. I like to read. I really like to read. And how it comes together, I sometimes don't know. But I read one book after the other. And I don't have the time to really read books for days.

But I do it between everything. And I love it.

And what do you think is the difference between reading the Bible and other books, treatises, books next to the Bible? Do you see a difference?

Do you read the Bible differently? Yes, of course. The Bible is the Word of God. And that is very deep. Because if you think about it, I have known this book for so long. When I was 5 years old, I asked Jesus to come into my heart.

And He made me a child of God. And I am now 84 years old. So I have read a lot in the Bible. And you know, it is... It is a new book, also today. And that is not the case with other books. Other books, if I have read them once, or a few times, then I don't care, right?

Then you don't find them interesting anymore.

Well, you know what's in it, right?

In the Bible, you know what's in it, right? No.

That is a source that always gives new life. Because it is actually the Lord. It is God who speaks to us. He speaks to us through the Bible. I read a lot of things. But I never read them.

A Father’s Love as Preparation for Suffering

Corrie ten Boom. From an early age, Corrie learned to be open to the people around her. Because in the Ten Boom family, there was always enough room for someone else around the dinner table. Together with Betsy, Corrie was active in leading youth clubs and camps.

And during the day, she helped her father in the watchmaking business. He was also the one with whom Corrie had a very special bond.

When I was a little girl, my father always covered me every day. And then he covered me and then he put his big hand on my little face. That was such a friendly thing. And I didn't want to move, because I didn't want to forget that touch of love.

Do you know what happened later? When I was in that terrible environment, in that prison, where only 20 of us came out alive. Then in the evening, when I went to sleep, I said, Oh, Heavenly Father, put your hand on my face for a moment.

And because my father had taught me his fatherly love, I understood the fatherly love of the Lord. And here you see that years ago, the love of my father made me ready, strengthened me, and helped me in the time when I was in that terrible hell.

The Gospel, Christian Obedience, and Ambassadorship

I brought the Word. And I used the experiences as an illustration of the Word. And in the first place I showed people that anyone can come to the Lord, because the Lord has brought everything to the cross for the sins of the whole world.

And he said, Come to me all. But then I didn't stop at the first step of the return. But I spoke a lot, and I was used by the Lord, to show people what living with the Lord means. And, for example, how ready to be for the return of the Lord, that we have peace with God and peace with people.

And that we are ambassadors for Christ. And that is everyone, everyone who knows the Lord. And there is an enormous work to be done. And a messenger does not stand in the power of himself and his authority, but in the authority of the one who has sent him.

And so we stand in the authority of the Lord. And that is why we can bring the Gospel to everyone. Yes, the kingdom is coming, the kingdom of God is coming. And someone said to me, when I read a disgusting book, I always find it weird to read disgusting things, but then I always look at the last page.

The Promise of a Renewed Creation

And when I read the last page, oh, but they got each other and they lived happily ever after, then I also read all those disgusting things. If I read in the Bible what is going to happen before Jesus returns, and what happens, you can read in the newspaper, then the fear can strike my heart.

But then I do just like that man. And then I look at the last page. And when I look at the last page, then I see that the best is yet to come. Jesus said, I come and I make all things new. And then this earth will be covered with the knowledge of the Lord, as the water covers the bottom of the sea.

The best is yet to come. God bless you.