Today’s update includes another very unusual story. But before sharing it, I would like to highlight scriptures that are applicable to today’s news:
7 The angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear Him, and delivers them. 8 Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him! Psalm 34:7-8
3 Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the perilous pestilence. 4 He shall cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler. 5 You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that flies by day, 6 nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday. 7 A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand; but it shall not come near you. 8 Only with your eyes shall you look, and see the reward of the wicked. 9 Because you have made the LORD, who is my refuge, even the Most High, your dwelling place, 10 no evil shall befall you, nor shall any plague come near your dwelling; 11 for He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways. Psalm 91:3-11
15b “…if you do not worship, you shall be cast immediately into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. And who is the god who will deliver you from my hands?” 16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. 17 “If that is the case, our god whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. 18 But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.” Daniel 3:15b-18
On to The House of Blessing…
The information for today’s update came to me in several portions. I am going to share the messages with you as I received them along with some commentary. I will also add details I received along the way that were not necessarily included early on. The first message I received was from Aylout.
Peace be upon you, my brother Jack. I am sorry to share this sad and unfortunate news, but if it is true, we are grieving the loss of the dearest people we have ever known; people whose devotion to the Lord Jesus is unparalleled. The location where Ma’touq, Abdelrahem, Hayel, and Arshid was located was hit by a bomb. We heard about it when we were in the area — I don’t want to mention its location — in one of the caves in the mountains. I can only pray that the Lord has mercy on them and that they are still alive. I will not leave the area until we have verified the situation. The situation here is dangerous. Please, please pray for them.
Aylout
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The next message I received was from Abdelrahem.
Peace be upon you, Jack. Greetings from me and the brothers. Thank you for your prayers. What happened to us has never happened to anyone. We walked a long way, from cave to cave, until we arrived here. The enemies must have spotted us and that is when we were attacked. The bomb blast sealed off the entrance to our cave and dropped rocks and boulders inside as well. We didn’t eat or drink for three days, nor was there any light, but the Lord helped us to be patient and find solace. The Lord Jesus promised us that He would deliver His righteous servants. I don’t know how, but somehow it happened through the intervention of His angels and others of His unseen forces. Brother Ma-touq was able to light a fire with a couple pieces of wood, a little bit of grass and a chunk of sulfur rock. Then we fell asleep for awhile. While asleep, we heard a sound. A rock exploded and water and small fish, like sardines (I don’t know what to call them) flowed from underneath. We felt we were living in a strange world, but the Lord was intervening in a supernatural way. Even Omar and Aylout later ate of the fish we had prepared. In short, it was in response to earnest prayer that the Lord delivered us. We don’t know how but there will be more details.
Abdelrahem
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I received the next message the next day, also from Abdelrahem.
My dear friends and my brother Jack, peace be upon you all. John 15:13 tells us: “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.”
Thank you for your love and support. Your prayers have opened the windows of heaven, and I thank God for the power of His resurrection that has brought me back from a seeming death sentence. I know I am not fighting this battle alone, but that you — God’s army — are with me, surrounding me with your love and prayers. I want to thank each and every one of you. How dear you are to me that you care so much about interceding for me.
I am grateful and filled with love for the three men who were willing to give their lives to protect me. When the bomb exploded, they covered me with their bodies to shield me from death. To see them offer their lives so that I might live, even though they are seventy years old and perhaps older: What love! What faith! There are no words to describe such men — they are heroes, angels of God. Whenever I think of it, tears stream down my face. I will always remember and we will continue the journey until the Lord comes. Be prepared, for He is near. What happened to us was a divine miracle. The Lord brought doves with their nest and eggs to the cave entrance, and He caused the rock to split open, releasing water and the fish from underneath for us to eat and drink. He is a merciful Lord to his servants. All this is due to the prayers of those who love the Lord’s work. May the Lord bless you. Please do what you can to provide the most important thing: the Gospels for the believers.
Please pray for an end to the war in the Middle East, and for the safety of the missionaries of the House of Blessing and the Widow Sisterhood. In the midst of the darkness and destruction, the Word of God is alive, and they are winning souls daily for His Kingdom. God is gracious, and he cares for His beloved. They are all well, and they will not allow the enemy to defeat this great divine movement in the Middle East. Especially in Iran, Azerbaijan, Iraq, and Syria, we must hasten our steps while the door of salvation remains open — more wheat and oil to feed the hungry, and more Bibles and teaching booklets to disciple new believers.
God has preserved my life for great and noble purposes, and I live to serve Him. I am stronger than ever, and I will remain obedient. He has chosen me — and you — to surrender ourselves completely to Him at this time. Thank you again for your love. The gates of heaven are truly open because of your prayers.
May God bless you and keep you;
May the Lord make His face shine upon you
And be merciful to you;
May the Lord shine His face upon you
And grant you peace.
Your servant, Abdelrahem, and all of HOB
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It appears that the enemies that caused the explosion had not totally left the area. I’m sure they thought that the men were sealed to their own deaths — if not dead already from the explosion. Apparently, three days later when the cave was partially open again, they went by it but because the doves and the nest with two eggs in it caused them to think no one could possibly be in the cave. The doves would not be there if there was.
What was it that moved the rocks? The men could only hear them slowly being moved but could not see what or who was doing it. Was it birds? That seems impossible but then, angels can appear in whatever form they choose. How did these old men in their 70’s and 80’s survive the cold nights in the mountain cave, with no supplies, no food or water? The whole story is miraculous, but why should we be surprised? Our God, the Creator of everything that exists can up-end his own laws of physics or His natural laws in order to intervene and accomplish the purposes He has determined, no matter who the enemy is that has gotten in the way. God is God! Thankfully, the men, who were up in the mountains of northern Iran, are now safe. Praise God!
Omar sent more information, including a few more facts about the cave explosion.
Hello my brother Jack. We have a very special request to ask of you. The members of the House of Blessing must know that the Lord is everywhere and He is capable of protecting His people as they spread His Word. What happened to the venerable Father Abdelrahem and the elder brothers with him is something extraordinary. The Lord used them to protect one another, to call upon Jesus, and to cry out His name. The stones fell upon their heads without a single drop of blood being spilled, nor were they injured other than being knocked out for a while. Then God used small birds (or an unseen force) to remove the stones.
All of this is the power of the Gospel, the Word of the Lord. When a righteous man calls upon his Lord, He answers him. Ask the brothers and sisters to continue praying for us. Prayer works! And just a little more: The most important thing is providing for the printing of the teaching booklets and the Bible. We will do our part. Believe me, no one who has heard what happened can remain unmoved. Those that have heard here, weep because the Lord is so merciful. They called upon Him in the darkness and the Lord answered. Is this not a miracle of the Lord?
Let me assure you that what is happening here is that people have heard of thousands of people embracing the faith of Christ, the religion of mercy. The oppressive governments and regimes have begun to suppress and block everything they can. But, the reality is, what is happening here is truly amazing. People have begun to feel love for Jesus and have heard about the miracles the Lord has performed. People are told that Jesus changes people but He does not change. He changes the hearts of people when He enters their hearts.
Omar
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At the beginning of today’s update I shared three passages from the Scriptures. They spoke of God’s protection over His people and even angelic intervention at His direction. The third passage is in reference to the difficult situation the young Hebrews were in when confronted with an imminent violent death if they did not obey King Nebuchadnezzar’s command. In their answer to him, they said God is well able to deliver them, but if He does not, they are not going to disobey God or His commands. In their case, God spared them — as He did Daniel in the lion’s den.
God’s people are not always spared from these situations as we well know from church history. Christians the world over know this by experience — as does the House of Blessing community of believers. Some of the information I received in the last couple days presents evidence of this and I will share the details in the next update in a day or two.
Prayer was requested for the war to end soon in the Middle East. It is my belief that it probably will not stop at this point in time. Bible prophecy details the wars to happen just before the return of Jesus Christ as King. Some of these conflicts are waged directly surrounding the time of the Rapture / Catching up of the Church. This is what we are seeing today. As I write this update, there has been a dramatic military intervention in Venezuela and it appears that the United States and Israel are going back into Iran. If that does in fact happen, I would expect greater conflict to come out of it. We also know of the rumors and threats of war involving China and Taiwan, Russia and the Ukraine, and North Korea’s angry dictator threatening nuclear attack on South Korea and the United States. The war drums are also dramatically increasing between the Russian Federation, China and the United States.
More could be said at another time. As we believers see these things developing, we must keep our focus on why we are still on this earth. After all, we are sojourners with our citizenship in the Kingdom of God. This makes us aliens in this world.
The House of Blessing is putting 100% effort into reaching all they possibly can NOW. They are trying to prepare for the next Ramadan observance which begins February 18 this year. Will we make it that far? Only God knows, but we might want to view what little time we have left in the Age of Grace as “Our Last Blast.” It may very well be! That has been a phrase that has come to mind repeatedly in the last month. Jesus is coming for us SOON.
Thank you all for your faithful support of the House of Blessing and also your prayers. God has answered again and again. If anyone would like information on how you can help or have questions, please contact either of the email addresses below. May the Lord bless you all!
Forever in His Service,
Jake (aka Jack)