There are many passages of Scripture that would apply to the stories shared with you in today’s Mideast Update. One of them is found in John 21.
4 But when the morning had now come, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. 5 Then Jesus said to them, “Children, have you any food?” They answered Him, “No.” 6 And He said to them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast, and now they were not able to draw it in because of the multitude of fish. John 21:4-6
One of the stories I received a few days ago had to do with an amazing miracle near Ardabil, a city of over half a million in northwestern Iran. The scene was actually on the shores of the Caspian Sea not far from Ardabil. This is how the brothers tell the story…
Hello my brother Jack. I received news from Father Aylout and Omar that they arrived at Ardabil to the east of the border (Ardabil is near the borders of Iraq, Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Turkey). We experienced a miracle in the middle of a drought. There was a sheikh named Al-Dandarawi there who told us that he and others were trying to catch fish. There was a location where they were gathered with others to fish but there were none to catch. Omar and the sheikhs watched for a while, waiting for them to get a catch but to no avail. That is when Sheikh Dhurgham, Shahbandar, and Murtada approached the men. There were more than 150 people present. After speaking to the men, Father Aylout was asked to pray for them and over their situation. This is how he prayed:
“O Lord, bless the fish and this beach. Bless it as you blessed the fish and bread in Tabgha (on the Sea of Galilee). Bless us, O Lord.”
Suddenly, after about 15 minutes, fish started coming from every direction. Saying that Sheikh Al-Dandarawi was surprised is an understatement! Referring to the old sheikh, Father Aylout, he said:
“What did this sheikh do? He is a blessed man! There are fish covering the entire beach! He is doing something wonderful. Where did this come from? He must belong to a wise Lord!” Al-Dandarawi then asked the old man directly: “What, or who is it that you worship? Are you a Sunni or a Shiite man? What is your religion and what is your creed and sect?” Al-Dandarawi was quite surprised when Sheikh Aylout Aban answered. “For 30 years I have been worshipping the beloved Jesus Christ. Do you understand me brother?” Al-Dandarawi asked Aylout to explain. His answer was simply: “Come, take, read! Listen to your friends as they also read.”
After hearing the Word of God read for a while, Al-Dandrawy sat down on the ground and kissed the feet of Aylout because, suddenly he recognized him from his past and shouted: “This is my teacher! He taught me Islamic law more than 50 years ago. I thought he was dead! What a merciful Lord! I now believe! I now believe! My sheikh and my father! You are a blessed man! Nothing but goodness comes from you.” Aylout quickly corrected him, “No, it comes from Jesus! He is good! I believe we will reap a great harvest just before He comes.”
After witnessing all that happened, the entire crowd submitted themselves to Jesus as Savior — as did Sheikh Al-Dandrawy. The brothers have now become guests of theirs! God is good!
Omar, Aylout, Al-Dandarawi
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Note: “Father Aylout” is referred to quite often in recent updates and probably will be for a while longer. For those who don’t recognize who he is, he is the 90-year-old hunchback and nearly blind sheikh who had been secretly studying a copy of the Bible that he had been gifted 30 years earlier. As he grew in the Lord, he secretly prayed for many ill and suffering, with amazing results. It wasn’t until a few of the HOB brothers happened upon him and prayed for him that he was healed. He has now become a powerful leader within the HOB community and is affectionately referred to as “Father Aylout” because of his age and wisdom — much as the HOB Community refers to brother Abdelrahem, at 86 years old, as “Father Abdelrahem.”
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I received a message a day later from Hanini with more details:
Hello brother Jack, I received news from Omar and Father Aylout that they had just finished a great day. Brothers Haz, Omar, Murtada, Shahbandar and Dhurgham baptized more than 300 people. People are becoming believers by the multitude. Aylout preached a sermon today about Jesus and the sacrifice He made for humanity and that His light will soon come from the east and fill the earth and sky. May God’s blessing be upon everyone who has believed in Jesus and followed the Truth in His Word.
Afterwards, they all had lunch. They had rice and chickpeas with tomato sauce. They had 5 kilos of rice (about 11 lbs), and a carton of tomatoes. As the saying goes, “Simplicity is an inexhaustible treasure.” And God blessed them and their food. Whatever Bibles were available were distributed among the people. Everyone sat on the floor, with each Bible being shared among about 30 people. As you can see, the need for Bibles is great. The people are very thirsty here. They are learning that Jesus truly loves and is compassionate. Please pray for us. More doors will open soon.
Hanini
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In a previous update a Jewish man, named Shabu, was paid to translate the Bible into a local language of the region and, during the process of doing the translation, he became a believer in Jesus. More stories are now being forwarded telling of encounters he is having among those of his Jewish community.
One of these reports came from Al-Saftawi and the brothers with him. It is reported that Shabu went to visit a doctor friend of his. He told the doctor about his new faith in Jesus and asked him if he would test using the Bible during his examinations. He was curious if it would be the source of miraculous healings. Shabu’s doctor friend was partnered with a rabbi named Aba Sabazi, both of them originally from Kurdistan. What the men found was that when the Bible was laid on their patients, they began to be healed of scabies, leprosy, cancer, and blood issues. When using the Bible, Shabu’s friend prayed as Al-Saftawi had instructed him — and God responded.
That was only the beginning. Al-Saftawi said that Farid, Abel, and some of the sisters have been getting to know many of the new believers. He said that he is expecting there to be many Jewish births to faith in Christ real soon. This is what he said the Lord told him as he and brother Shabu were praying with the rest of the brothers, and it is already happening. Shabo has not yet told the Jewish community that he has become a believer but wants the brothers to go with him on the Jewish New Year when he speaks to them about it. Hanini says that this New Year’s gathering is going to be an important gathering. Because some of the rabbis have now already accepted Jesus as Messiah and have accepted the New Testament as the inspired Word of God just as the Old Testament, there will be many more that will recognize that Jesus truly is the Messiah. Abdelrahem has said that brother Shabu has already provided 50 Bibles with his own money and distributed them among some of the more prominent and influential leaders of their society. The brothers continue to ask for our prayers. Their situation is difficult and very dangerous.
Another report came in from Omar yesterday, September 18.
Hello Brother Jack: We arrived in Qazvin (just a couple hours north of Tehran). We sat down to rest and heard people talking about Hajj Mazen, the imam of a mosque nearby. It was said that the imam had been sleeping in the minaret of his mosque for the last ten days. The talk was that he was seeing everyone as demons instead of as humans. Even his wife and children complained and the worshippers admitted the same. People would read verses from the Quran to him but it did not cure him. He was possessed.
Dhurgham, Murtada, and Shahbandar asked permission to go see him, so they all went to the mosque at evening prayer time. They went up to see him with a sheikh named Mashahra. There were people downstairs that prayed for him. Aylout began to question the Imam and because his voice was so loud, the people who were gathered below could hear everything. They knew he was possessed and had tried everything with him but to no avail.
The brothers began to pray and laid the Bible on him. Dhurgham, Shahbandar, Murtada, and Omar held him and said to him, “Read, read, Mazen! Read! Just read the book. Omar anointed him with some anointing oil and some water. Mazen started to sweat and his temperature began to rise. They continued to hold him from both sides. He began to read as Sheikh Mashahra watched in amazement and as the people below listened in. Suddenly, after about five minutes, Imam Mazen passed out. Momentarily, he came to himself and tears began to run down his face. “I’m healed! Where was I? Where was I? How was I healed? Where is the Book?” So then he began kissing the Book and asked the brothers what it was. They told him it was a Bible. Oh, my God, I believe! Give it to me! Can I have it?” Of course the brothers gave it to him to keep.
For those who were aware of what was going on, it was a terrifying experience but when the Imam had been set free, everyone in the mosque submitted themselves to Jesus and became His followers as well. They asked the Lord for forgiveness and began to receive teachings about Jesus. The crowd was divided up into groups to make it easier for the brothers to teach them. What a day! The Lord truly is in total control of all things!!
Omar
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Sadly, after all the good news, I just received back to back messages that were not such good news.
Hello, my brother Jack. I have received bad news about the brothers. Imam Mazen, Sheikh Mashahra, and some of the brothers were attacked in the mosque that was just turned into a church because Friday prayers were not held there. They were attacked. I will update you with news when we know something. May God bless you and keep his enemies away from us.
Hanini
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Hello, my brother Jack. I received news from Omar just now. They have been imprisoned in the basement of the mosque, tied up, and are being tortured. The Aylout family was beaten instead of the Aylout due to his advanced age. Imam Mazen, Sheikh Mashahra, Omar, Dhurgham, Murtada, Shahbandar, and others with them are there. There were some religious fanatics, Sheikh Barqan, Sheikh Marzouq, and Sheikh Semaan who were the attackers. No matter what they did to their captives, none would deny their faith in Jesus. After hours of detention and abuse, they went back down to them. Aylout asked them to just do one thing: “Would you take the Book and read from it, and after you do that, we will do whatever you say.”
Aylout and the brothers asked the Lord for a miracle. The men agreed and as they opened the Bible, a very powerful light began to shine from it. After opening it, they began to ridicule it but underestimated the strength of the light emanating from it. They had the Bible in their hands but wanted to trample it with their feet. They were suddenly struck blind. The men had more than 25 guards with them who were struck dumb. The extremists loudly complained, “We cannot see anything! What is this?! What is this?! Return our sight to us, O God, what is going on?” Aylout Aban answered them saying, “Come free us. We will pray for you that the Lord may return your sight to you. Come, do not be afraid. He is a wise Lord. Jesus loves His righteous servants. Believe in Him and you will be alright. Listen to me, He is the only source of salvation. He is a God of love!
Hanini
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I will share the rest of the story as soon as I receive more information. The militants underestimated the power of the Bible. To them, it was just an ordinary book — not realizing that it was The Book! They opened the Bible and began to mock. That’s when the supernatural power of God intervened and the attackers were blinded, although no one else in the vicinity was affected. Only the Shiite extremists.
The brothers prayed for every one of the extremists. God was merciful to them and restored both their sight and their ability to speak. It will be interesting to see what comes out of this because these men reportedly have a long reach, having contacts among security forces and the government.
In conclusion, please continue your prayer and financial support as the Lord directs. The midnight hour is seconds away. Our part of the task to reach the world with the Gospel is nearly completed. Does this mean that there is no more harvest to be had? Absolutely not! The Scriptures tell us clearly that two Old Testament prophets will be proclaiming the Gospel from the Temple that is about to be erected in Jerusalem. This will go on for 42 months while at the same time, 144,000 Jewish evangelists will be reaching a huge multitude of those who are not part of the faithful Church functioning in concert with the Holy Spirit as the Restrainer of 2 Thessalonians 2:6-7. Who knows? Maybe the seeds are now being planted that will raise a portion of that specific group of 144,000 Jewish evangelists that is spoken of in Revelation 7. Think about that!!
Our King is coming! Let’s set our houses in order and keep our lamps burning bright — not tomorrow, but TODAY. Maranatha!
Forever in His Service,
Jake (aka Jack)
Jake Geier; 3206 SW 45th Street; Redmond Oregon 97756 USA