Category Archives: Islam

-Times, Seasons, and Transition

Man blowing shofar

(via Wikipedia)

The times we are in remind me of the old Byrd’s hit song- ‘Turn! Turn! Turn!’ (Based on Eccl. 3:1).

The first line is particularly poignant:

“To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven”

We are in a time of transition in the natural with fall in our midst and Winter on the way.  Actually out here in So. California, September is usually an extension of Summer when it comes to hot weather. Now with October, the change is finally happening and cooler weather and rain is on the way.

On the Spiritual front, we are in the midst of the Biblical (Jewish) holy week with Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) coming on Saturday. It is a week of transition from the old year to the new. In the older covenant, believers would consider their lives over the last 12 months and seek God’s forgiveness for any shortcomings and dedicate themselves to improvement for the year ahead.

Lot’s of Christians over the years have noticed that changes in their ministry seem to take place usually around this time of the year. I can see that pattern in my own life and ministry. In fact, several that I know in prophetic ministry specifically believe that during this week they ‘go under the Shepherd’s rod’ and are evaluated by The Master.

When you look at what is happening around the world it is easy to see that we are in a time of transition and no one seems to really know how it is all going to play out in the next year or so. Is America going down like so many seem to think and is China really going to replace us as the new ‘super power’?

In the Middle East, everything has been thrown up in the air following the so-called ‘Arab Spring’.  Iran wants to destroy Israel and they will probably have nuclear weapons sometime in the next year or two. The Iranian Supreme leader says that the 12th Imam is appearing to him and is coming soon to lead the Muslims to world domination. Turkey is now styling itself as a new ‘Islamic power’ on the rise and their leaders are talking about establishing a new Muslim Caliphate. Their goal is to dominate the World and bring on one world religion –Islam.

Notice that no one wants to be friends with Israel anymore. Even the USA seems to be turning it’s back on the Holy Land. Are we entering the end of the ‘end-times’?

The nations are in turmoil, natural calamities have risen to Biblical levels. The world economy is in shambles. The whole world is looking for a leader or some group to rise up and solve all of these impossible problems both politically and economically.

Look at the current state of the American Church. The mainline churches have turned their back on Biblical teaching –even now the Presbyterians. The Southern Baptists have been losing members and are now considering a name change. A week doesn’t seem to go by without a new scandal rising up concerning one Charismatic or Pentecostal preacher or another.

We are definitely in a time of transition. Old leaders and denominations are falling and new ones will rise up to take their place. God is setting his church in order.

Right now is a good time for all of us in the ministry to get down on our knees and seek a clear understanding and vision of where we are right now and where the lord wants to take us. If changes need to take place in our lives- now is the time to make them.

Now is the time to repent of past failures and seek a closer relationship with the Master. it is His church after all. We keep praying –”thy Kingdom Come, thy will be done” -It is now time to really mean it and truly understand what we are asking for. Now is the season to Turn, Turn, Turn.            *Top

Enhanced by Zemanta

-Praying for Libya and The Muslim Nations in Turmoil

Map of commonly included MENA (Middle East & N...

(Image via Wikipedia)

The 42 reign of Gaddafi seems to be coming to an end. Egypt is up in the air and Syria faces major revolts. Even Jordan has been affected by demonstrations against the government. The whole Muslim Middle east and Northern Africa is in the state of flux. How it will all end nobody knows.

One thing for sure, we need to be praying for the people and for the Gospel to finally be free to touch the lives of 100’s of millions presently subjected to the darkness of Islam. These nations are obviously being shaken for a purpose. At the same time, we know that in many of these nations there is an on-going illegal ‘secret revival’ where millions of Muslims are becoming followers of the real Jesus through dreams, visions. and healings.

One Christian leader, Nik Ripken of the International Mission Board, is hoping for the Roman road to be open once more to facilitate the spread of Christianity. Ripken is asking believers worldwide to pray for the kind of stability in Libya where access to Jesus will be a basic human right. Christianity has long been restricted in that nation:

“Often we ask people to pray that governments provide the safety and security necessary for the gospel to spread, such as the early church had under the Roman Empire. But when stability is the stability of governments that deny their people even access to Jesus, then that is the worst form of persecution.”

There is a shaking going on among the nations. Charismatics and Pentecostals give lip service to the idea that God is really in charge of events going on around the world.

Now is a good time for us to join in prayer and pray for revival to continue unabated and reach a new level in Muslim countries that are now facing instability. May the new governments that replace the old make it more possible for greater religious freedom among the people of that region. Lord let the revival continue and increase.            *Top

Enhanced by Zemanta

-What is Really Behind the Chaos in the Middle East

Ali Khamenei has been the supreme leader of Ir...

           (Ayatollah Khamenei via Wikipedia)

Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen, Lebanon, Bahrain, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Libya, now Algeria and more. What is behind the turmoil in the Middle East and North Africa?

The Western media continues to tell us that these folks are all seeking greater freedom but that is a very deceptive and naive view. In reality all of these nations have been in transition for some time with Muslim radical Islamists gaining ground and changing the entire picture of the Middle East.

Western intellectuals continue to talk about Islam as a ‘religion of peace’ that needs to be encouraged to go through some kind of moderate revival or ‘Reformation’ like Christianity went through. So many naively talk about this possibility and totally ignore the fact that Islam is in the midst of a revival all right -a fundamentalist radical revival that is affecting (actually infecting) nearly all Muslims around the world, even those in Western countries including America.

<<Read the whole article on my ANSWERS For The Faith main page>>

Now for what is really behind it all—principalities and powers. There is an unseen battle going on right now in the Heavenlies.  However, the effects of the spiritual battle can be seen also in the natural.

I had an open vision on 9/11/01 during which the Lord told me that the Prince of Islam had exceeded his authority in the attack and that 100 million Muslims were going to be converted to Christ as a ‘first fruits’ and part of a world-wide Christian harvest and revival.

A couple of years later a Muslim leader in Africa was sounding an alarm that according to his figures at the time over 6 million Muslims a year were converting to Christianity in Africa. Since then the persecution of Christians has become rather severe in Muslim areas of Northern Africa.

We have also documented on this blog on a number of occasions that a secret hidden revival was going on in Muslim countries where people were being converted to Christ through dreams, visions, and healings. It has been  substantially a hidden ‘house church’ movement particularly in Iran where as far as we can tell as many as 500,000 Muslims have come to Christ. 

In the mean time the enemy has come back with a vengeance and persecution of the traditional churches in Muslim countries have been on the increase. For example, over 500,000 Iraqi Christians have fled the country since the fall of the Saddam regime. American forces have ironically gone out of their way not to be seen as protectors of the Christian community and it has become open season on the traditional Christians in that country.

In Israel, Palestinian Christians are persecuted by both the Muslims and the Jews. The Palestinian Christian community continues to decrease as they leave the country though there has been some reports of Palestinian Muslims secretly coming to Christ. The same can be said of Lebanon where a generation ago the Christian community was strong but after the last civil war between Christian and Muslim militias the Islamists particularly Hezbollah now have the upper hand and Christians have lost control over their own communities in the Southern part of the country.

Turning to Egypt, the Coptic Christians who have been part of that country since the first century and have lived in peace with the Muslims in the same communities for over a thousand years are now being increasingly subjected to persecution and violence. This from the ‘freedom loving’ folks that our press is writing about.  According to a recent poll 84 percent of the Egyptians favor the death penalty for any Muslim who becomes a Christian. Obviously a spiritual battle is raging in that country.

Now for a major example of demonic activity in the natural. Iran’s supreme leader Grand Ayatollah Khamenei is telling his leaders that the hidden ‘12th Imam’ is now appearing to him continually and giving him marching orders. Just this week Iran’s President Ahmadinejad told European leaders and later a major Iranian crowd of supporters that the hidden ‘12th Imam’ was behind all of the current chaos in the Middle East and that it was the beginning of the rise of Islam into one dominant Islamist World power under the leadership of the promised Muslim Mahdi –the Shiite ‘12th Imam’:

  "The final move has begun. We are in the middle of a world revolution managed by this dear (12th Imam). A great awakening is unfolding. One can witness the hand of Imam in managing it."

Wow. Obviously it is time for all of us to pray for the Middle East and for Christian revival and harvest to continue especially in Muslim lands. This is particularly a good time for all Christian intercessors to rise up and be heard and come against the plans of the enemy.            *Top

Enhanced by Zemanta

-Iran Cracking Down on the Christian Revival

Iran

                    (Image via Wikipedia)

Since Christmas, Iranian authorities have arrested at least 70 Christian leaders including at least 2 pastors who are all facing a possible indictment for apostasy which carries a death sentence.

Converts from Islam are being targeted in particular. Iranian religious authorities are getting concerned about the numbers of Muslims leaving Islam secretly to become Christians.

Response: In spite of all the persecution by the Iranian hard-line Islamist regime the number of Christians continues to grow exponentially. We have blogged about what is currently happening in Iran before. An actual revival is secretly taking place there with nearly half a million Muslims converting Christianity just in the last 5 years or so. Most have come to Jesus through dreams, visions, healings, and visitations by angels and Jesus. 

This is why the regime is probably responding with arrests and persecution hoping to slow down the growth of the underground Christian movement in the country. According to official records there are suppose to be around 450,000-500,000 Christians in Iran. However, with the current revival there are far more than anyone really knows or can even determine.

It is a good time to remember all of our Iranian Christian brothers and sisters in our prayers. I am praying that Christian revival and growth continues in that country unabated in spite of all of the persecution.            *Top 

Enhanced by Zemanta

"God is at Work Among Muslims"

Pakistan

(Image via Wikipedia)

We have posted about this several times and noted in the past that many Muslims come to Christ through dreams and visions of Him during Ramadan.

Here is the latest report from Charisma:

”Evangelists Say Muslims Coming to Christ at Historic Rate”

Evangelists working in the Middle East say that Muslims are currently coming to Christ at a rate that has never been experienced before in spite of all of the increased persecution that new Christians are experiencing. Read the article it is really encouraging.            *Top 

Enhanced by Zemanta

-Ramadan: A good Time for Christians to Pray for Muslims

When Ramadan begins tomorrow (Wednesday August 11) many Christians will be praying for Muslims to find Christ.

It is becoming more and more common in the last several years to hear about Muslims seeing visions and dreams of Jesus and converting to Christianity during the 30 days of Ramadan.

Also it is a great time to remember Christians living under persecution in Muslim dominated countries. During Ramadan the Christians are subjected to even more pressure and persecution than at any other time during the year.

In fact Open Doors Ministries has developed the

30-day Ramadan Prayer Calendar.

Each day is specific to a country on the organization’s World Watch List—a ranking of 50 countries where the persecution of Christians is most severe.

Also, millions of Christians from around the world will be supporting a prayer campaign initially launched by YWAM:

30 Days of Prayer for the Muslim World

Check out these sites and participate. You may not be able to go to the Middle East as a missionary but your prayers can get there and make a real difference.

Enhanced by Zemanta

-Muslims Coming to Christ Through Dreams, Visions, and Miracles

image

We have talked about the hidden revival among Muslims before.

Although on the front pages of the world media, radical Muslims seem to dominate the news with terrorist acts and promises to take over Europe and eventually put America under the yoke of sharia law, here is the latest report from Charisma magazine about the ‘tsunami of faith’ miraculously bringing thousands of Muslims to Christ:

“…a tsunami of faith is quietly overtaking the Muslim world. Islamic adherents are laying aside their allegiance to Muhammad to follow Jesus Christ, despite the social ostracism, persecution and possible martyrdom that converts to Christianity face. Propelled by dreams, visions and miracles, this wave of revival is bringing vast numbers of Muslims—some say millions—into God’s kingdom.”

The article ends with this plea for Christians to pray with their Muslim brothers:

Prayer is vital. However, three converts in Egypt told Janssen that Christians in America should pray "with" them, not "for" them.

"If you pray for us, you will pray for our safety, and the persecution will stop," they told him. "If you pray with us, we can be sure the persecution will increase. Pray we will see millions [come] to Christ. We know there will be backlash. Pray we will be faithful, even if it costs us our lives."

<<Read the whole article>>               *Top

Enhanced by Zemanta

Re: God’s Plans for Iran

TEHRAN, IRAN - JUNE 19:  A pro-government demo...

(Image by Getty Images via Daylife)

Iran has been in the news lately with Iran’s president declaring last week that the ‘Holocaust’ never happened and Israel would soon cease to exist.

Lately President Obama has been trying to force Iran into giving up on their nuclear weapons program but only using stern sounding words in the process—then there was Israel’s Netanyahu standing firm like a rock before the UN yesterday against Ahmadinejad and Iran.

Oh yes, last month there was the specter of Iran’s Ayatollah Khamenei proclaiming that it was time for Muslims to prepare for the coming of the ‘Mahdi’ –a figure which seems to have a lot in common with the Biblical ‘Anti-Christ’. In Muslim theology the Mahdi appears at the end of history along with (a false) Jesus who is his tag-a-long prophet and the two of them rule the whole world and bring in an era of peace and prosperity under one world religion (Islam) —sounds a lot like the Biblical end time scenario to me.

Lately Bible prophecy teachers on the internet have been pointing out that Iran should be carefully watched since it (Persia) is one of the nations featured in Ezekiel 38-39, the Gog and Magog attack on Israel. Russia and Libya (Put) are also part of that scenario along with probably a bunch of Muslim ‘istan’ countries from the North.    

Meanwhile God has his own plans for the Iranian people. There has been an underground revival going on there for some time now. No one knows for sure how many have actually become Christians but the estimates are running between 250,000 to more than half a million. It is mostly happening through dreams, visions, and visitations by angels and Jesus.

Here’s an interview by CBN’s Chris Mitchell of a former Shiite Muslim-  Reza Safa- who is broadcasting the Gospel into Iran through TV programming. He talks about the current on-going hidden revival in Iran:

Enhanced by Zemanta

Ramadan: A Great Time to Pray for Muslims

In the last several years I have read many accounts of Jesus and angels appearing to many Muslims in dreams and visions especially during the month of Ramadan. This as a great time to pray for Muslims and for their salvation.

Open Doors USA has even put together a special prayer calendar to pray for a different Muslim nation each day. <<Here’s a link to their Ramadan Prayer calendar>>

Also a video interview of Carl Moeller of Open Doors from CBN:

Barack Obama a Fulfillment of Muslim Prophecy?

the 44th President of the United States...Bara...

Image by jmtimages via Flickr

Now the fun begins! Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejab has been talking about an apocalyptic Shia/Islamic scenario for several years now–predicting that ‘the Hidden Imam‘ would soon return as the end-time Mahdi that establishes Islamic rule over the entire world.

Following the election of Barack Obama, some Shities actually believe that Obama could be a possible fulfillment of an end-time Islamic prophecy.

I found the link to this at SmartChristian.com and in an article by Daniel Pipes. Here is a quote from the original article

by Amir Taheri:

According to the tradition, Imam Ali Ibn Abi-Talib (the prophet’s cousin and son-in-law) prophesied that at the End of Times and just before the return of the Mahdi, the Ultimate Saviour, a "tall black man will assume the reins of government in the West." Commanding "the strongest army on earth," the new ruler in the West will carry "a clear sign" from the third imam, whose name was Hussein Ibn Ali. The tradition concludes: "Shiites should have no doubt that he is with us."

In a curious coincidence Obama’s first and second names–Barack Hussein–mean "the blessing of Hussein" in Arabic and Persian. His family name, Obama, written in the Persian alphabet, reads O Ba Ma, which means "he is with us," the magic formula in Majlisi’s tradition.

Mystical reasons aside, the Khomeinist establishment sees Obama’s rise as another sign of the West’s decline and the triumph of Islam. Obama’s promise to seek unconditional talks with the Islamic Republic is cited as a sign that the U.S. is ready to admit defeat. 

Response: This is crazy from a Christian perspective, but it is also scary in its implications. There are indications that Iranian leaders are exploring the possibility and may well plan accordingly. 

If there is a perception that the USA is in decline under Obama’s administration and that he is an actual sign that Islam is about to rise up and dominate, the Iranian leaders might miscalculate and bring about an actual confrontation with Israel, the United States, and the West.

Pres. Ahmadinejab has already threatened Israel’s existence on a number of occasions. The Iranians last week tested some new missiles that could reach Israel and parts of Europe. If and when they actually go nuclear–then this scenario could end up having some serious consequences indeed.

It is doubtful that the Israelis would wait to act until a nuclear missile was actually in the air headed their way. Look for a strike well before the Iranians have that capability. One can only guess what the aftermath would bring–it would not be pretty and it could be apocalyptic.   *Top      (Cross-posted at Apologetica)

Enhanced by Zemanta