Just like the Book of Acts, the Spirit of God is mightily at work in expanding the witness of Christ among the Iranians (or Persians).

Pentecost

Iranians were among the first witnesses of God entering into our world through the unique manifestation of his Spirit. But we should also be reminded that this is not the first time that, according to the New Testament, Iranians were witnesses of God’s arrival in the world! In fact, Iranians were also some of the first people who witnessed the arrival of God as a newborn King when the Magi from the East came to seek and worship Jesus. Although the Bible does not mention specifically what country these “wise men” came from, most scholars agree that the Magi were from Persia (not only Herodotus, the Greek historian, identified the Magi as being from Persia, but the vast majority of early Church Fathers also believed that the Magi were from Persia). One of the most respected Fathers of the early church, St. John Chrysostom, a fourth century bishop of Constantinople, writes the following in his homily on the Gospel of Matthew:

The Magi's Adoration of Jesus Christ

“The Incarnate Word on coming to the world gave to Persia, in the persons of the Magi, the first manifestation of His mercy and light…so that the Jews themselves learn from the mouths of Persians of the birth of their Messiah.”

In its early history, the church of Persia grew far and wide to the extent that Persian Christian missionaries took the Gospel all the way to China in the early 7th century through the Silk Roads. It is interesting to note that for the first one hundred years of its life, Chinese believers called Christianity the Persian religion since they had received the Gospel from the Persians.

And once again, in our day, we are witnessing the rapid growth of the church among Iranians! The Gospel is moving forward in powerful ways around the world, and the Iranians are witnesses to the mighty work of the Spirit in their midst.

Just like the Book of Acts, the Church is experiencing a great deal of persecution and suffering.

There are many reasons to rejoice about the ways that the church is growing around the world, in the Muslim world, and also particularly in Iran. But at the same time, we should not lose sight of the fact that with the growth of Christ’s Kingdom, there are also powerful forces of darkness that oppose the light and are attacking and persecuting the Body of Christ in myriads of ways. Intimidations, imprisonments, tortures and martyrdoms have also been, and continue to be, part of the story of the Church of Jesus Christ. It seems that not a day goes by that we don’t hear of such suffering from our brothers and sisters around the world, but especially in Islamic countries. Once again, looking at the church in Iran, we know of hundreds of Christians in recent months that have been jailed, beaten, tortured, forced to flee the country and some have even paid the ultimate price of martyrdom as witnesses to the glory of Christ! (see examples at Farsi Christian News Network)

But the Church in Iran also has a rich history of courage in the midst of great suffering for the sake of Christ. As one example, we could point to the fourth century where the Church faced great waves of persecution for several decades under the Zoroastrian Sassanid dynasty. Samuel Moffett of Princeton Theological Seminary, in his A History of Christianity in Asia, writes:

“When the last years of suffering ended around the year 401…the multitude of martyrs had been beyond enumeration. One estimate is that as many as 190,000 Persian Christians died in the terror. It was worse than anything suffered in the West under Rome, yet the number of apostasies seemed to be fewer in Persia than in the West, which is a remarkable tribute to the early courage of Asia’s early Christians.”

In the midst of the current suffering that Iranian believers are experiencing now, we also rejoice that they are demonstrating a great deal of courage and perseverance in their faith, as their forefathers in the faith did centuries ago.

Just like the Book of Acts, Jesus is fulfilling his promises to the Church through all the ups and downs of history.

Jesus’ promise that the Gospel will go forward from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth came true, as he had said, but not maybe in ways that his disciples had predicted! Because of “a great persecution”, believers from Jerusalem “were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria” (Acts 8:1), and the book of Acts ends with Paul preaching the Gospel in Rome, but in chains and under house arrest! So in the same way our Lord Jesus is fulfilling his promise that he will build his Church and the gates of Hades shall not overcome it (Matt 16:18).

This is the most exciting time in the history of missions to the Iranian and the Muslim world. It has become a cliché, but it is still true, that more Muslims have come to Christ in the past two decades than in the last 1400 years combined!

Persecutions come and go, kingdoms rise and fall, stock markets go up and down but in the midst of it all Jesus is accomplishing his plans for his Church! One theologian puts it this way:

“In the biblical story, the fulfillment of history happens as God builds up his people, as his city is built, his bride is perfected….What we call secular history happens so that the Church be built up. The rise and fall of empires is the scaffolding by which the Church, the new humanity, is fully constituted.”

So despite all the real and legitimate concerns that we have about the spread of radical Islam, the violence against the Church in many parts of the world and the threats from a nuclear Iran, we must still be confident of the fact that our Lord Jesus Christ, ascended to the right of the Father, is sovereign over all “thrones or powers or rulers or authorities” (Col. 1:16), and he “works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will” (Eph 1:11).

Dr Sasan Tavassoli

Lazarus also preached at the Victory World Church’s meetings on Sunday 11th March, speaking on how Christians needed to be engaged in mission and to be “salt” and “light”. By being salt Christians can be faithful witnesses, used to create a thirst for God’s righteousness in a lost generation. Lazarus encouraged people to be watchers of “Amos TV”, people who close their eyes and get on their knees before God to pray (Amos 3:7), and he encouraged people to be those living out a true relationship with the risen Christ, empowered and emboldened to go “…like lambs amongst wolves” (Luke 10:3).

Both Lazarus and Pastor Dennis prayed for the current situation relating to potential for conflict in the Middle East involving Iran and Israel, and in particular praying for the presence of God, praying for peace and praying that all the leaders would understand God’s will.

Would you join us in praying for the nation of Iran at this time? Why not sign up to receive our regular e-mail updates here?

Here is a link to the sermon that Lazarus preached at Victory World Church on Sunday.

God bless you,

222 Ministries

Move of God in Iran

Come along and find out:

What exactly is God doing right now in Iran and in the Muslim world?

What does it mean for us who are on the path to becoming more socially purposeful and committed disciples of Jesus?

Have you wondered how to effectively minister to your Muslim friends and acquaintances?

Join us for a very important, eye-opening Q & A session with Lazarus Yeghnazar.

Lazarus was imprisoned twice before the age of 25 for preaching the Gospel in Iran, was asked to conduct Christmas/Easter services by the Iranian Prime Minister for the US hostages, and now focuses on training and raising up new Iranian Christian leaders to plant churches.

Pray for believers to be protected in their bodies, minds and spirits, and for these horrendous practices to be brought to an end. At the same time remember to pray for those who are broadcasting Christian programmes to Iran, many of whom are experiencing enormous spiritual warfare.

…The Straits of Hormuz have become a serious flash point. Despite entirely understandable Western reluctance to launch military action (which could easily fail to achieve its goal and lead to a regional war), the risk of conflict remains high.

During our time of prayer … I described how there have been certain moments in history when fateful decisions have led to immense loss of life. (For instance, the pride and stubbornness that led to the onset of the First World War; the refusal of France and Britain to act when Germany first began to rearm itself and reoccupied the Rhineland in 1936, not to mention the more recent intransigence of Saddam Hussein and Colonel Gaddafi that led to such suffering).

At the same time a lady experienced an incredible pain that suddenly shot down her leg into her foot – so much so that it made her leap off her feet. The word that came with it was ‘shot yourself in the foot’.

I understand this to mean that we need to pray against decisions being made that will effectively be as bad shooting oneself in the foot. The word “ESCALATION” comes to mind if we do not do so.

I thought it might prove helpful, therefore, to recap on some of the salient background points to the present tension. Let’s try to approach this section though from the point of view of prayerful concern rather than politics!

1) Iran has vigorously threatened to close the Straits of Hormuz if the EU (and America) go ahead with proposed oil sanctions against it. The brief thaw in relationships that developed between Iran and the US in the aftermath of the earthquake in Bam in 2003 has long since faded. Specific proposals to collaborate more closely with the US at that time (e.g. against the Taliban) if Iran was allowed to be the undisputed regional power were firmly rebuffed.

2) America will not countenance the closing of these Straits. Any attempt to block them will lead to retaliation. To this end the Americans have dispatched a battle carrier group from the Far East to the region to join the American Fifth Fleet. The British are also deploying warships.

It is by no means inevitable that America will go ahead with imposing sanctions, since this would most probably spike the price of crude oil, with the accompanying risk of recession – not a popular move to take for a President in search of re-election. On the face of it, that should be the end of the matter – but one has to allow for the possibility of ‘hawk’ elements pushing for military action on the one hand, as well as the risk of ‘fateful incidents’ taking place that provoke great crises.

With this in mind, it would be unwise to dismiss as mere posturing the warning of the use of force by the British Defence Minister recently, whilst in America. The military option is still on the table – not least because of the Pentagon’s extreme concern at Iran acquiring nuclear arms. (Iran has declared that it has now produced its first nuclear fuel rod: a significant milestone).

Pray for President Barak Obama, Prime Minister David Cameron and all leaders who are involved in these and other issues.

3) The covert war against the Iranian nuclear mission continues unrelentingly. Apart from the cyber warfare Stuxnet virus that targeted their nuclear programme in 2010, yet another top Iranian nuclear physicist was assassinated on January 11th this year (see report).

The President of Iran makes a strong point of being completely committed to the return of the Mahdi – as do all who are appointed to his Cabinet. The Mahdi is the prophesied redeemer of Islam who will rule on Earth, in association with (or in order to prepare the way for) Jesus’ (Islamic) rule. This is an important concept in Shi’a eschatological thought that, if you are not familiar with it, you might like to visit here to discover what Islam (and in particular the Shi’ites) believe about the ‘Twelfth Imam’, who is awaiting the time God has decreed for his return.

It is hardly surprising that the West is playing up Ahmadinejad to be another Hitler, in much the same way that Anthony Eden depicted Nasser – but it is worth remembering the mess that the Suez Campaign ended up in. However, the Iranian government is about more than just Ahmadinejad and can also be pragmatist! In their relationships with atheistic China and Putin’s Russia no reference is made to the Mahdi, because it is not in their national interest to do so. Bating the West (by not preventing the attack on the British embassy in Tehran for instance) and making a great show of playing up the Mahdi plays well to their ideological convictions. It is also worth remembering that the people running Iran are victims and veterans of the Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988), in which at least 300,000 of their own people were killed (another 500,000 wounded), including many by illegal chemical weapons – and nobody in the West lifted a finger against Saddam at that time.

These rulers are in charge of 70,000,000 people and are concerned to make sure such a thing could never happen again – which means having something more powerful than chemical weapons in their armoury. It does not mean they are bound to use it if they do acquire it.

Perhaps we can pray that the Lord will use one of the Islamic Hadiths to point people towards the One who really will return to Earth in power and glory. This declares that, ‘There is no Mahdi except for Jesus, son on Mary.’

4) We can assume that Israel remains alert to the possibility of pursuing strikes against Iran’s nuclear capacity. Previous strikes in Syria and Iraq proved successful. Attacking the Iran facilities is a different proposition.

Iran is planning further military manoeuvres in February, but America and Israeli troops will shortly be coordinating closely in their largest ever joint military exercise. Code named “The Austerity Challenge 12” it is designed to improve the capability of shooting down incoming missiles – a particular challenge for the land of Israel, as well as for American ships, now that Iran has successfully test fired missiles that can apparently operate below the level of radar detection.
See this )www.eurasiareview.com/07012012-us-israel-to-challenge-iran/)amongst many mentions on the web.

In 1980 the Lord spoke to me about the city of Qom. I had never heard of the place before, but it is a large city of about a million people – situated a hundred miles south west of Tehran. It is one of the world centres in Shi’a Islam. Because Iran has now begun medium level uranium enrichment at a heavily defended site close to Qom it is clearly a most important centre.

Iran is greatly mistrusted in the region by many of its surrounding nations, but the Iranian people are desperately hungry for spiritual reality. God is doing a wonderful thing in the Persian-speaking world – please keep pressing in in prayer!
The Lord may well be leading you, of course, to pray for completely different topics; the important thing is to be in the thick of the action He is placing on your heart. Take a look around and let themes come to mind – it doesn’t cost anything and it can bear eternal fruit! As an old Japanese proverb puts it, “You will never see the sun rise if you keep looking to the West.” The Lord hears and heeds the intentions of our heart. May He bless and inspire you in the adventure.”

God bless you

222 Ministries

Persecution of Christians

As we emerge from the recent Christmas celebrations into the New Year of 2012 we felt that it was right to draw your attention to the situation of the persecuted.

The Director and Editor of Farsi Christian News Network (FCNN) gave a brief update on persecution of Christians in Iran, and how the authorities bring allegations, in particular political charges such as “national security”, as a way to avoid the implication of religious persecution.

It is interesting to see that even in the secular press, the persecution of Christians has been identified as a growing trend (see the Economist 31st December print edition article “Christians and Lions”). Their opening comment highlights the issue that “The world’s most widely followed faith is gathering persecutors. Even non-Christians should worry about that.”

The Economist identifies a broader issue that Western societies need to be concerned about: “Compared both with the wars of religion that once tore Christendom apart and with various modern intra-faith struggles, such as those within Islam, little blood is being spilt. But the brutality matters…And whatever their own beliefs, Western voters have other reasons to worry about the fate of Christians. Regimes or societies that persecute Christians tend to oppress other minorities too.

“Among liberal values, the freedom to profess any religion or none has a central place. What about those who see persecuting other religions as part of their calling? No faith is blameless. But there is a specific problem with Islam. Islamic law (though not the Koran) has often mandated death for people leaving the faith… But more Muslim leaders need to accept that changing creed is a legal right. On that one point, the West should not back down. Otherwise believers, whether Christian or not, remain in peril.

“As we consider these two articles, perhaps it is worthwhile reflecting that we all have an interest and a duty to support those being persecuted no matter what our background. As Christians, the more so, as we seek to support our brothers and sisters in Christ. Please join us in remembering and praying for those imprisoned and suffering for their faith – clearly our main focus is on Iran and the Farsi-speaking world, but we do not want to forget those affected in many other parts of the world either.”

God bless you

Lazarus and Maggie Yeghnazar

We in the 222 family have so much that we are thankful from 2011, and Maggie and I would particularly like to express our appreciation to those of you who provide invaluable support and encouragement to us with your prayers and practical support. This is a journey we could not do without you and we pray that you may know God’s blessing in this season.

It is at this Christmas time that we remember Jesus, the baby laid in a humble manger in Bethlehem; but we remember also that He is now rightly seated as the King upon His throne. He showers the nations with His mercy and love and opens the eyes of millions to come to know Him both as the Son of Man, serving us as our Saviour, and as the Son of God, our eternal King!

At no time in their history, since the coming of Islam, has there been such a hunger amongst the Iranian people to know Christ as their Saviour. In the last three decades hundreds of thousands of Iranians have joyfully accepted Him as their Lord. The beauty of God’s amazing work is in how He has swept across Iran, touching not just major cities but also small towns and villages. Literate or illiterate, scholar or simple tribal folk, young or old, seemingly fanatical Islamic adherent or secular-minded Iranian, there has been no distinction as people from all these backgrounds have met Christ as their Lord and Saviour. We in 222 Ministries are greatly humbled to have been an instrument to share in this awesome transformation.

Did you know that today there is hardly any Iranian family who does not know someone, a close or even distant relative, who has not decided to become a follower of Christ? As a result hundreds, if not thousands, of house churches are now flourishing all over the country. Hundreds of emerging leaders have been trained to meet the growing needs of this vibrant, joyful, mission-minded church which has also experienced its own share of brutal persecution, yet has remained steadfast in its faith.

No less than seven key Ayatollahs, including Iran’s Supreme Leader, have publicly announced that they regard ‘Christian House Churches’ as a growing threat and a dangerous phenomenon that is destabilizing the Islamic regime! In the last 18 months over 130 people from the 222 family of churches have been arrested by the regime authorities. We rejoice that all these prisoners are now free. In the meantime some are in financial difficulties having lost jobs and businesses because of the action of the authorities. Maggie and I would particularly like to thank all of you who so faithfully pray and intercede for these dear brothers and sisters.

Vahik and Sona

As you will have seen in some of our earlier reports, Pastor Vahik had been imprisoned for a year, while Sona, his wife, along with Arash and Arezou were released after eight months. With God’s miraculous intervention, your prayers and help from concerned governments, both couples are now out of the country. Arash and Arezou were first to leave for Turkey while Vahik and Sona left later and are now in the Netherlands. Maggie and I have had the privilege of spending time with both couples. They speak so well of God’s grace and provision despite the great price they have paid; it is a wonderful privilege to see how joyful they are and how focused they are to continue serving those left behind.

Arash and Arezou

As I mentioned above the house churches continue to flourish and we are constantly challenged to provide the opportunities for discipling, mentoring and training that our emerging leaders need to meet the needs of these growing churches. In an ongoing cycle of development we take groups of 20 to spend time with other experienced leaders from 222’s ministry team, building relationships and growing their gifts, skills and faith so that they can go back to work out their calling to build God’s Kingdom in Iran and see many more brought to faith.

Despite some financial challenges, Maggie and I wholeheartedly thank our Father as we have been able to train nearly 500 leaders in 2011, through the generous giving of individuals, churches and Christian organisations. Our hope and prayer is that we will be able to train many more in 2012.

We are so thankful for your support for our people like Vahik and Sona, and Arash & Arezou and scores of other leaders like them scattered across 17 countries. They are passionate about seeing the message of Christmas, Christ’s love for a fallen world, brought to the Farsi-speaking peoples of Iran, Tajikistan and Afghanistan.

Vahik and Sona have asked us to ask you if you would join with them in their journey of faith. As they celebrate their freedom they continue to stay in touch daily with those they have left behind, sensitive to the concerns that they face. Would you consider standing with them by:

• Praying: for those undergoing persecution, such as a young couple, P and F; for leaders of house churches, and; for training events.
• Making a donation towards: support of the persecuted, support of house church leaders, training a leader or sending Bibles and Christian resources to the churches in Iran.

Please go to this page to make your donation.

We consider it to be an amazing privilege to serve the King of Kings, our Lord Jesus Christ. We look forward to your prayer and financial partnership that will allow us to accelerate the pace of this righteous endeavour.

In 222 Ministries we believe that God, in His sovereign timing, will give us the opportunity to return to Iran. We have been praying and planning to be best prepared for the time when the trumpets will sound. That time has come!

Lazarus and Maggie Yeghnazar

Overseeing Pastors and President
222 Ministries International

P.S. Our focus is on Iran, but we celebrate with all God’s people, may you know the blessing of Jesus Christ this Christmas – Hallelujah!. This is a link to what was a school computer project in an Eskimo village in Alaska!

Farshid and His Family

According to Farsi Christian News Network, (FCNN), it is now more than 290 days since 32 year old Farshid Fat-hi Malayer was unlawfully detained and imprisoned in the notorious Evin prison. He was arrested on 26th December 2010 by the agents of the State Security of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Tehran, and taken to Evin prison where he has been held even since.

Even though most of the other imprisoned Christian converts whose detention had been reported in domestic and international news media in the Islamic Republic have been freed, Farshid’s continued incarceration is as yet to even be clarified.

A relative of Farshid’s in Turkey has understood that officials from Branch 6 of the Revolutionary Prosecuting Authorities, based at Evin Prison, had dropped the initial charges of apostasy and conversion to Christianity, and that he had now been charged with the crime of “political activity”.

About seven months ago, on the eve of the Iranian New Year, the Revolutionary Prosecutor set an enormous bail for his release of $200,000. His family were eventually able to raise the money so that they could obtain the Islamic Revolutionary Court’s order for Farshid’s freedom.

However, after completing the necessary paperwork in prison, itself a lengthy process involving many hours, and just as he was about to leave the prison, a man who gave his name as “Naseri” stopped him just inside the gates, and took him back into Evin Prison’s much feared Ward 209.

Scattered reports coming out of this infamous ward, speak of the harsh conditions this young Christian has to endure for his steadfast resistance to all that the Islamic justice system can throw at him. Agents of the Islamic Republic’s Ministry of State Security, posing as “experts” and “prosecutors”, continue to pressure him to reveal the names of other converts and baptised people that he knew, insisting also that he should confess to having been in contact with “enemy states” and “secret organisations”.

The spokesperson for the European Committee for the Defence of Iranian-Christians informed FCNN that, for some unknown reason, Tehran’s Islamic Revolutionary Court had so far refused to reveal the contents, or even the substance, of their charges against Farshid to his lawyer, wife or relatives. It is clear that the main force behind this illegal activity are the agents of the Islamic Republic’s Ministry of State Security, operating under cover of the Tehran Prosecutor’s office at Evin.

The spokesperson added that Farshid had been arrested and specifically charged for proselytizing Muslims, Christian activities and the “crime” of organizing and forming house churches; the new charges of “political activism” are as unlawful as the original charges, and a complete fabrication.

Farshid himself is a new convert to Christianity, and an excellent example of selfless devotion, who had been acting according to his Christian beliefs. No one who knew him would ever countenance that he had been engaged in any form of political activism. His beloved wife and their two young children, 7-year-old daughter Rosana and 3-year-old son Barbad, have faced considerable suffering, as well as great financial hardship in the time that Farshid has been imprisoned.

Under near-constant scrutiny, pressure and persecution, the Christian community of Iran is outraged at his continued imprisonment by the Islamic Regime in Evin prison, one of the most notorious prisons of our time.
Farshid Fat-hi has been under unlawful detention for more than 290 days now with his family enduring their own hellish conditions.

This song, “Our Father is Walking With Us”, is a song written for the persecuted, and especially for imprisoned, Iranian Christians; it has just been posted on www.sama.tv. Would you would join with us, and the whole Iranian Christian community, to pray for our brother Farshid and his family? Please pray for his speedy release and return home, as well as for the many other believers, so many unknown, who are also suffering for their faith; may their sacrifice bring rich glory to our Lord, Jesus Christ. God bless you.