Posted on 04/03/2008 10:37:09 AM PDT by 2banana
http://joshuafund.blogspot.com/2008/03/big-untold-story-in-middle-east-2008.html
THE BIG (UNTOLD) STORY IN THE MIDDLE EAST: Muslims converting to faith in Jesus Christ in record numbers --
2008 Update
"I will build my church," Jesus said, "and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." (Matthew 16:18)
The lead story on Drudge over the weekend was the Pope baptizing a prominent Egyptian author who converted from Islam to Catholicism, and for good reason. It's a huge story in Italy and the Muslim world, especially coming as it did the week that Osama bin Laden accused the Pope of waging a "crusade" against Islam. But this particular baptism is just the tip of the iceberg.
Despite unprecedented press coverage of Afghanistan, Iraq, and the Middle East since September 11, 2001, one big story is generally not being told by the mainstream media. Hundreds of thousands of Muslims are converting to evangelical Christianity and will be celebrating their first Easter this year, even amidst widespread persecution and the very real threat of death.
I first began reporting this story in 2005 after interviewing some three dozen Arab and Iranian pastors and evangelical Christian leaders in the U.S. and the Middle East. Over the last three years, however, I have had the privilege of traveling to Iraq, Jordan, Egypt, the West Bank, Turkey, and Morocco. What's more, I have had the honor of meeting with and interviewing more than 200 Arab, Iranian, Kurdish, Sudanese and other pastors and Christian leaders. With more data, the trend lines are becoming even more clear and the story is even more exciting.
The God of the Bible is moving powerfully in the Middle East to draw men, women and children to His heart and adopt them into His family in record numbers. More Muslims have come to faith in Jesus Christ over the last thirty years -- and specifically over the last seven to ten years -- than at any other time in human history. There is a revival going on among the ancient Catholic, Coptic, and Chaldean churches. Today, the Church is being truly resurrected in the lands of its birth.
Consider the latest evidence:
* AFGHANISTAN -- In Afghanistan, for example, there were only 17 known evangelical Christians in the country before al-Qaeda attacked the United States. Today, there are well over 10,000 Afghan followers of Christ and the number is growing steadily. Church leaders say Afghan Muslims are open to hearing the gospel message like never before. Dozens of baptisms occur every week. People are snatching up Bibles and other Christian books as fast as they can be printed or brought into the country. The Jesus film, a two hour docudrama on the life of Christ based on the Gospel of Luke, was even shown on television in one city before police shut down the entire TV station."God is moving so fast in Afghanistan, we're just trying to keep up," one Afghan Christian worker told me, requesting anonymity. "The greatest need now is leadership development. We need to train pastors to care for all these new believers."
* UZBEKISTAN -- There were no known Muslim converts to Christ there in 1990. Now there are more than 30,000.
* IRAQ -- As I shared during an interview on Fox & Friends on Easter morning, in Iraq, there were only a handful of Muslim converts to Christianity back in 1979 when Saddam Hussein took full control of that country. Yet today, there are more than 70,000 Iraqi Muslim background believers in Jesus (MBBs), approximately 50,000 who came to Christ as refugees in Jordan after the first Gulf War in 1990-91, and another 20,000 who have come to Christ since the fall of Saddam Hussein. John Moser, the executive director of The Joshua Fund, and I just returned from nine days traveling through five provinces in Iraq. We met with 19 Iraqi evangelical Christian leaders. I had the privilege of preaching in a church of more than 100 MBBs from Baghdad -- a church that didn't even exist in 2002 before liberation. We also had the privilege of meeting and interviewing numerous former Islamic jihadist terrorist who have come to Christ and are now pastors and church planters.
* KAZAKHSTAN -- In Kazakhstan, there were only three known evangelical Christian believers before the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Today there are more than 15,000 Kazakh Christians, and more than 100,000 Christians of all ethnicities.
* EGYPT -- More than 1 million Egyptians have trusted Christ over the past decade or so, report Egyptian church leaders. The Egyptian Bible Society told me they used to sell about 3,000 copies of the Jesus film a year in the early 1990s. But in 2005 they sold 600,000 copies, plus 750,000 copies of the Bible on tape (in Arabic) and about a half million copies of the Arabic New Testament. "Egyptians are increasingly hungry for God's Word," an Egyptian Christian leader told me. Last Christmas, I had the privilege of visiting the largest Christian congregation in the Middle East, which meets in an enormous cave on the outskirts of Cairo. Some 10,000 believers worship there every weekend. A prayer conference the church held in May 2005 drew some 20,000 believers.
* IRAN -- In 1979 when the Ayatollah Khomeini led the Islamic Revolution, there were only about 500 known Muslim converts to Christianity. Today, interviews with two dozen Iranian pastors and church leaders reveals that there are well over 1 million Shia Muslim converts to Christianity.
* SUDAN -- Despite a ferocious civil war, genocide and widespread religious persecution, particularly in the Darfur region -- or perhaps because of such tragedies -- church leaders there tell me that more than 1 million Sudanese have made decisions to follow Jesus Christ just since 2001. Since the early 1990s, more than 5 million Sudanese have become followers of Jesus. Seminary classes to train desperately-needed new pastors are held mountain caves. Hundreds of churches have been planted, and thousands of small group Bible studies are being held in secret throughout the country.
In December 2001, Sheikh Ahmad al Qataani, a leading Saudi cleric, appeared on a live interview on Aljazeera satellite television to confirm that, sure enough, Muslims were turning to Jesus in alarming numbers. "In every hour, 667 Muslims convert to Christianity," Al Qataani warned. "Every day, 16,000 Muslims convert to Christianity. Every year, 6 million Muslims convert to Christianity." Stunned, the interviewer interrupted the cleric. "Hold on! Let me clarify. Do we have six million converting from Islam to Christianity?" Al Qataani repeated his assertion. "Every year," the cleric confirmed, adding, "a tragedy has happened."
One of the most dramatic developments is that many Muslims throughout the Middle East and even in the United States are seeing dreams and visions of Jesus. They are coming into churches explaining that they have already converted and now need a Bible and guidance on how to follow Jesus. This is in fulfillment of Biblical prophecy. The Hebrew Prophet Joel told us that "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. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days....And everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved." (Joel 2:28-32)
In Epicenter: Why The Current Rumblings In the Middle East Will Change Your Future, I devote an entire chapter to these dramatic trend lines and why Muslims are converting in record numbers. I am currently working on a new non-fiction book and documentary film called Inside The Revolution, to be release during Easter 2009, with much more detail on this subject, including first person accounts of former Muslim terrorists who have become the new Apostle Pauls of our time -- murderous religious zealots who had visions of Jesus Christ and are now pastors, evangelists, church planters and powerful Christian leaders. Other books I would highly recommend on this subject are Light Force: A Stirring Account of the Church Caught in the Middle East Crossfire by Brother Andrew and Al Janssen; and Secret Believers: What Happens When Muslims Believe In Christ.
Is life easy for these Muslim converts? By no means. They face ostracism from their families. They face persecution from their communities. They face being fired from their jobs. They face imprisonment by their governments. They face torture and even death at the hands of Muslim extremists. But they are coming to Christ anyway. They are becoming convinced that Jesus is, in fact, the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and that no one comes to the Father in heaven except through faith in Jesus' death on the cross and powerful resurrection from the dead.
One of the reasons my wife and I began The Joshua Fund was to educate the Church around the world at what God of the Bible is doing in the epicenter. We want to mobilize a global movement of Christians praying for these dear brothers and sisters. We want to find ways to encourage and strengthen them. We want to provide them with Bibles and Christian literature, and with humanitarian relief supplies so they can love their neighbors and their enemies, as Jesus tells us to do. Their stories are typically being told by the mainstream media, but they are important stories nonetheless. Theirs are testimonies of the greatness of our great God.
He is risen! He is risen indeed!
Hmmm...one satanic ritual killing religion for the religion of love and peace...
Christianity
But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, "Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?" They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.
But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her." Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.
At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. Jesus straightened up and asked her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?"
"No one, sir," she said.
"Then neither do I condemn you," Jesus declared. "Go now and leave your life of sin." (John 8:1-11)
Islam
There came to him (the Holy Prophet) a woman from Gamid and said: ‘Allah’s Messenger, I have committed adultery, so purify me.’ He (the Holy Prophet) turned her away. On the following day she said: ‘Allah’s messenger, why do you turn me away? ... By Allah I have become pregnant.’ He said ‘Well, if you insist upon it, then go away until you give birth.’ When she was delivered she came with the child (wrapped) in a rag, and said ‘Here is the child whom I have given birth to.’ He said ‘Go away and suckle him until you wean him.’ When she had weaned him, she came to him (the Holy Prophet) with the child who was holding a piece of bread in his hand. She said ‘Allah’s Apostle, here is he as I have weaned him and he eats food.’ He (the Holy Prophet) entrusted the child to one of the Muslims and then pronounced punishment. And she was put in a ditch up to her chest and he commanded people and they stoned her. (Sahih Muslim 4206)
Jesus
One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, "Of all the commandments, which is the most important?" "The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these."
"Well said, teacher," the man replied. "You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him. To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices."
When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." And from then on no one dared ask him any more questions. (Mark 12:28-34)
Mohammed
Allah's Apostle was asked, "What is the best deed?" He replied, "To believe in Allah and His Apostle (Muhammad). The questioner then asked, "What is the next in goodness? He replied, "To participate in Jihad in Allah's Cause." The questioner again asked, "What is the next (in goodness)?" He replied, "To perform Hajj Mubrur."
"Believers! - wage war against such of the infidels as are your neighbors, and let them find you rigorous; and know that God is with those who fear him." (Koran 9:124)
I see that we have wisely tried to stay away from this one...
When two are three are gathered together in His name...
there will be an argument.
Very pointed examples.
Thanks for posting.
I believe that those who master-minded the 9/11 murders were intent on committing evil and God allowed it. God allowed it knowing that in His unlimited power, what the muslims meant for evil, He would use for good.
Kind of like the Romans killing the Christians led to the diaspora, which spread the faith.
Praise God! He desires all to be saved
Here comes the “our church is the original and better blah blah...”
I love your attitude and perspective
That doesn't work, because then you would have to explain why Christ said it was St. Peter: "Tu es Petrus. . ." and so on. Our Lord could have said "I am the Rock" instead. But He didn't.
The Church is built on Christ, not Peter.
The Church is ultimately built on Christ and His grace, but it is physically to be built, as He explains, on Peter. That is analogous to when He said to the Apostles in the Upper Room after the Resurrection in John 20:21-23:
"As the Father hath sent me, I also send you. When he had said this, he breathed on them; and he said to them: Receive ye the Holy Ghost. Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them; and whose sins you shall retain, they are retained."
As Christians, we are all His (imperfect) agents, whether we are laymen reading the Bible or successors of St. Peter hearing confessions. It's our job to cooperate with His grace, offering our lives in return. It's hard work, but the payoff is, as you know, out of this world.
That is amazing in light of the fact that they are taught from birth to hate Christians, and that they are often murdered if they convert.
Another thing that’s amazing, is that NONE of the converts TO Christianity ever commit terrorists.
MANY of the converts to that ideology become terrorists.
Carolyn
I'm glad this author mentions this fact. It sadly often gets completely passed over by some American commentators who don't appreciate the rich history of Christianity in these areas. The Orthodox, Coptic, Maronite, and Chaldean Churches predated Islam and have held onto Christianity there for 2000 years, and one cannot fully appreciate the presence of Christianity in these areas by artificially limiting it to "evangelicals", which usually do not make up the majority of Christian believers in any of these countries.
I believe there are also Anglican Churches in the Middle East and Africa as well which are thriving and not suffering from the rank heresy that is killing ECUSA.
>>The Church is ultimately built on Christ and His grace, but it is physically to be built, as He explains, on Peter. <<
I could agree with that statement within the context of “all Christians are, by definition, saints.” The “church” is the body of believers.
As the sign over the inside door jam of one church I attended says (as one walks out the door), “The Church has left the building!”
a pretty stark contrast with the examples you’ve given.
I must admit, that when Ann Coulter stated something to the effect “..we should go over there and convert them to Christianity..” - I saw nothing wrong with saying
that.
“Thou art Peter (Petros) and upon this rock (Petra)I will build my church...”
Christ used 2 different words. You can look it up.
No, actually he didn't. You're making the typical mistake of taking a translation error for "gospel". Christ spoke Aramaic, not Greek (Petros and Petra are both Greek). In Aramaic, it goes "Thou are Kepha, and upon this Kepha, I will build my church".
And this is proven by Paul's gospels, wherein he ALWAYS refers to Simon Peter as Cephas. Paul understood what the significance of Christ's changing Peter's name was (the same as when Abram became Abraham).
And awfully heavy ;)
This may be the only way that we will be “allowed” to defeat them and drive back the jihadi takeover of the West.
I say “allowed” because we let our leftist appeasement elements restrain our hand to confront them on the battleground that the jihadis choose to fight.
Yeah, I see it as nearly blasphemous to not include a whole quote when quoting the bible,
like “judge not or you will be judged”, a favorite of the left.
Or “he who is without sin cast the first stone” followed by “go and sin no more”. The left likes to take Jesus’ and the Bible’s quotes out of context in order to justify not judging good and evil, right and wrong behavior.
The writers of the Bible were not stupid, and therefore did not use convoluted grammar.
As you state, the quote is as it is. Peter is the “rock” on which the Church is built. Jesus was making a pun, as well, for “Petra” is “rock”. This is probably why Jesus changed Simon’s name TO Peter.
Jesus referred to His teachings as the “solid rock” instead of the sinking sand.
He also, indeed, referred to Peter as the rock on which His church was to be built. Simple grammatical analysis of His statement requires that this is what He meant. There is also the Petra/Peter reference. Peter’s name was originally Simon, but Jesus referred to him as Peter in order to make the association with Petra, or Rock.
Oh, but the left, who sees Christianity as the biggest threat to their hedonistic lifestyle,
thought that quote was simply AWFUL.
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