Iranian citizens are leaving Islam and converting to Christianity in record breaking numbers,
despite increased government effort to stop the movement.
Stay tuned as I investigate what's happening in Iran.
A little over a year ago, the Iranian government
admitted that Christianity was growing rapidly in parts of the country, a fact independent
observers had remarked upon for years.
Since then, the government has attacked the “problem” on two fronts.
On the one hand, millions of dollars have been spent on propaganda to promote Islam.
This despite the populous being 99% Muslim, at least according to official statistics.
On the other, efforts to arrest and otherwise intimidate new converts were stepped up, the
few legal churches have closed, and the government cracked down on publishing Christian material.
CBN News reports: The Iranian youth are becoming increasingly
distant from Islam, which is becoming a great concern for the Iranian government.
Just last year, after Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi expressed his concern over the popularity
of Christianity in the suburbs of Mashed, the city’s religious and political officials
immediately sent a large number of Islamic teachers and preachers to the suburbs to turn
the youth away from Christianity.
A wave of arrests and harassment of Christian converts came shortly after and many faced
long term prison sentences and heavy bails for their temporary release.
None of these effort have worked however, as Christianity continues to grow in the country.
Against all odds, Christianity continues to see massive gains in the Islamic Republic
of Iran.
Islamic Clerics are warning against the spread of Christianity, house churches are routinely
targeted by authorities, and conversion to Christianity is actually viewed as an action
against national security in parts of the country.
But none of those threats are stopping the rapid growth of people converting to followers
of Christ.
Indeed, the growth is not just continuing, but accelerating.
For example, Heart4Iran ministries reports that it's call center has registered an all-time
high of more than 3,000 monthly conversions over each of the past 3 months.
This represents a 1000% increase, compared to the same period last year.
If the same pattern holds true for the whole nation, we could be talking about 200-300,000
new Christians this year alone.
What is driving this awe inspiring growth?
Voice of the Martyr’s Todd Nettleton explains:
The people of Iran have seen the true face of Islam.
Their government says “we are doing everything according to the Quran, we're doing everything
according to Islamic principles.”
And they've said that for the last 40 years.
And yet today, you have one of the highest drug addiction rates in the world.
You have corruption.
You have an economy that is in shambles.
And the people look at that and say “wait a minute; if this is what 40 years of Islam
has done, what are the other options, what else is out there.”
And so many Iranians would tell you “I'm not a Muslim, I'm an atheist.”
Many would tell you “I'm not a Muslim, I don't believe anything.”
But many – thousands, tens of thousands – have come to know Christ in the course
of that 40 years under Islamic rule.
People have seen the effects of Islam and they don’t like it.
They were promised a utopia in the Islamic Revolution, but instead got government oppression,
personal depression, and general hopelessness.
Through it all, however, a few brave souls Have found Jesus and the peace that only He
can provide.
And now they are spreading that message, regardless of the consequences.
Ebrahim Firouzi is one of those who is an apostate.
He left Islam.
He's a follower of Jesus Christ.
He was first arrested in 2010 and he ended up spending 7 years in prison, 7 out of the
last 10 years he's been in prison.
Here's the thing that comes through though in his testimony, and as he shared.
He has an amazing sense of peace.
In fact he talked about in the interview “listen I made a great deal.
I served six years in prison and I get to have eternity with Christ.
So really I got the much better end of that arrangement."
Well put.
What is six years in jail compared to an eternity of freedom?
In Iran, The Truth is setting people free.
Thanks for watching