The Inclusivity of Christianity. We’re Witnessing the Greatest Spiritual Revival of Our Lifetime—In Iran!

Explore how the Gospel is thriving in the Middle East.

Photo courtesy of Porapak Apichodilok on Pexels

Who’s ready for some good news? I certainly am. Last week, we discussed how religious persecution is ramping up in America. In contrast, revival is happening at kinetic speed—but just not here in the United States.

In a recent interview, Dr. Hormoz Shariat (thought by many to be Iran’s Billy Graham) said that Iran could become the first formerly Muslim nation to become predominately Christian. Yes. Citizens of the Islamic Republic of Iran are leaving Islam in droves.

It’s true. Compelling evidence from unexpected sources appears to confirm that the Church is seeing unprecedented growth in countries notorious for being hostile toward Jesus Christ and His followers. These nations, who have historically been the most closed toward the gospel, are now open for business.

What in the World is Going On?

Mike Pompeo, Secretary of State for the Trump administration, reported a fascinating discovery back in 2020. The CIA detected a massive download of data from the internet over the nation of Iran. When this dense cloud suddenly appeared over the country, it begged the question, what is raining on Iran? At first, the analysts suspected it was pornography since, tragically, a radical uptick of porn transpired during the global-wide lockdowns associated with the COVID-19 outbreak.

But it wasn’t porn causing this suspect cloud. The enormous transfer of data represented one of the largest downloads of gospel materials in recorded history! The citizens of Iran had downloaded Bibles, Bible apps, and sermons at a frenzied pace. A link for this video is at the end of the post.

Men in White

To add to the intrigue, this expansion of the Christian church in Iran happened when tens of thousands of Iranians abandoned Islam after having dreams and visions about a shining man dressed in white telling them about Jesus.

This occurrence has been happening for the past ten years throughout the Middle East. Even though Christianity is strictly outlawed in countries in the region—and converting out of Islam is extremely difficult and dangerous—millions are turning to Jesus Christ after witnessing these visions.

“Pastors even have a name for them,” explained Dinesh D’Souza, an American author and filmmaker of Indian descent. “They call them MBBs—Muslim background believers.” A link for a video of D’Souza explaining the large-scale conversion of Muslims across Asia and Africa to Christianity is posted at the end.

The occurrence is so profound that it has elicited a grievance from the Muslim community. Iranwire.com reported that the Islamic Republic’s intelligence minister, Mahmoud Alavi, announced during a speech in front of several Shia Muslim clerics that “Christianity is spreading in ‘parts’ of Iran.” As an unfortunate result, politicians have called for the mass interrogation of Christians. Many converts are fleeing to Turkey to escape persecution.

This spectacle isn’t unique to Iran, either. A reporter on Al Jazeera—a state-owned, Arabic-language international radio and TV corporation based out of Doha, Qatar—estimated, to his dismay, that 6 million Muslims are converting to Christianity each year.

Additionally, the Bible is being downloaded in massive numbers worldwide. In November of 2021, the YouVersion app reported that it had surpassed 500 million downloads of its Bible app in 1,750 languages (Swindoll). 500 million!

In the Last Days

The conversion of millions of individuals from largely unreached people groups through experiencing dreams and visions is not an unexplainable coincidence; this was predicted thousands of years ago by the prophet Joel.

“In [the last days], I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions” (Joel 2:28).

As we approach the end of the age, God is revealing Himself in magnificent ways.

The irony here is that critics of Christianity claim that the Bible is intolerant of Muslims and other religious groups. But God continues to prove his emphatic disinterest in the labels we put on ourselves and others. Not everyone living in a predominantly Muslim country subscribes to Islam, even under duress, in the same way that not everyone living in America adheres to Christianity.

The same promise of acceptance into God’s Kingdom is available regardless of your ethnicity or zip code.

Coincidently, the proliferation of the gospel is considered a threat to Communism, Islam, and other world systems. For example, a young woman called Sister Zeph runs a Christian school in Pakistan. Zephaniah Academy provides free education to over 200 of the country’s poorest children, primarily girls. Sister Zeph faces considerable challenges as both a Christian and a woman in this region.

Two years ago, Zephaniah Academy was forced to relocate urgently when a cleric from a local Mosque threatened Sister Zeph’s life. He demanded that she close her school for underprivileged children and send them to his Islamic school.

Forced conversion is also a common practice in parts of Pakistan. Girls as young as 11 years old are kidnapped, converted to Islam, and married to men as their third or fourth wives. Pakistani law prevents individuals from converting back to any other religion, punishable by death.

Closer to Home

Although we are witnessing a rapid erosion of tolerance towards our Judeo-Christian principles from the elites in America and the Western world, Americans still do not face the type of persecution we see in other places.

But don’t breathe easy just yet.

Canada, our neighbor to the north and an industrialized nation considered to share our values, is experiencing a deep slide into authoritarianism.

Artur Pawlowski, 49, a Polish Canadian pastor, faced a potential four-year jail sentence for disregarding COVID-19 restrictions by holding church services in Calgary, Alberta. He warns Americans that the tyranny he saw growing up in communist Poland has spread to Western countries. Read the full story here. 

America was founded as a safe haven for those who want to worship as they choose based on the idea that individuals have indisputable rights granted to them by God—not the State.

“In America, we don’t worship government; we worship God,” President Trump pronounced at a commencement speech in May of 2017 at Liberty University.

But can we hold on? Will we be able to stand our ground against the persistent barrage from our increasingly secular culture?

I sincerely pray that America—the land of the free and home of the brave—will remain so. I cautiously hope that we will never encounter the type of persecution for our beliefs that those around the world face daily.

Admittedly, there’s an upside. If the legal protections we currently enjoy continue to disintegrate and we face the prospect of prison time, property seizures—or worse—at the hands of government officials for practicing our faith and devotion to our Creator, I believe that we will experience the most significant revival ever seen in America.

But for now, let's keep Christianity in America open for business.

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LINKS:

To hear Dinesh D’Souza explaining the large-scale conversion of Muslims across Asia and Africa to Christianity, click here.

Watch here as Pastor Jack Hibbs recounts the story of the “gospel cloud in Iran,” starting at the 39-minute mark.