What does heaven do with dungeons?

Come and let me take you where I have been. For the last 50 years of my life I have met with the traumatised. They have been abused as children, raped, victims of domestic violence, trafficked, and affected by the ravages of war.

The vast majority of those precious image bearers have experienced these atrocities within the bounds of Christendom. The victims have come from churches, homes and Christian organisations. Many were abused by pastors, youth workers, teachers or family members. Many have found no refuge in the church. They understand what Jesus meant when he said that the Temple had become a safe place for those who steal and exploit the vulnerable (Matt. 21:13).

Some years ago I was in Ghana to speak on violence against women and children. While there we visited Cape Coast Castle, a large stone fort on the waterfront. Hundreds of thousands of Africans were forced through its dungeons and the door of no return onto slave ships. The prison contained dungeon chambers for 1,000 males and 500 females. Descending into the darkness to one of those dungeons felt claustrophobic. Hundreds of image bearers shackled and chained together stayed in those dungeons for about three months before being shipped across the Atlantic to serve as slaves.