In the previous update I shared the story of the supernatural escape from a mountain cave in northern Iran by Abdelrahem, Hayel, Arshid, and Ma’touq. As unusual as it was, unusual interventions have been reported by the House of Blessing missionaries for a long time. The number of these events has, however, escalated as we come closer to the end of the Church Age / The Age of Grace.
As I alluded to in the previous update, there are times when God intervenes and spared his people what was intended to kill them, but other times He does not. It is never because God is not aware of what is happening; and it is not because He refuses to answer their prayers. He always answers, but not always in the way we would like. Jesus warned that there would be trials, tribulations, afflictions, and persecutions throughout the Church Age. Christians all over the world have experienced this for 2,000 years. Multiplied millions of Christians have been slaughtered by godless empires as well as by religions that have tried to extinguish Christianity. The House of Blessing, since early 2012 to the present, has lost many thousands by martyrdom, but the numbers of Christians is only spurred to greater growth. Today’s update includes the report of dozens more who have just paid the ultimate price for their faith.
I did not give news on what is happening in Syria in the previous update. Snow and cold temperatures have come, especially to the northern regions. Snow, however, is not the greatest problem. Although exposure to the elements is a great hardship, so is the lack of food. Christian communities are besieged and are being denied essentials for survival. They do not have food or water and are not allowed to replace tents, blankets, mattresses, or necessary clothing. The House of Blessing is doing what they can to get to them but it is nearly impossible. The authorities intend for them to die a slow death.
In a previous newsletter, there was a report of 125 teachers, including 3 saved sheikhs, who were abducted and taken to an infamous prison in Isfahan, Iran. I received an email with a short message from Shahbander and Mortada giving us some difficult information:
Peace be upon you, my brother Jack, From me and Shahbandar, I just want you to know how some of the brothers were tortured in prison. The jailers would torture the teachers like this: They would ask them, “Who is your Lord?” The teacher would answer by saying, “My Lord is Jesus! Then the jailer would forcefully strike him on the chest while he was on the ground. We could hear the sound of their bones cracking and breaking. Some of them were given a bird and forced to swallow it, and they died of suffocation. Many others stood firm against them and clung to Jesus. Those who died — 47 of them — suffered greatly, greatly. They are with the Lord now. We thank God that in time, the jailers themselves came to their senses and believed in Jesus.
Shahbander and Mortada
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Additional information relayed that another 50 missionaries, plus the two elders, Shahbander and Mortada, were also abducted and imprisoned after the other 125. In spite of the cruelty they endured, they found opportunities to pray for their captors and a number of astounding healings were experienced by these men, eventually leading them to accept the Gospel, just as the jailers in the above message.
I have received word that Mortada and Shahbandar and the brothers are well. The enemies of the Lord regretted their actions. More than 25 guards were watching over them and they could not sleep because of what they had done. They were led to the Lord and professed their faith in Him. They are extremely remorseful for their atrocities and have suffered greatly due to their cruelty causing the brothers to pass away. They are still asking for forgiveness.
Education of the new believers continues as it has been, albeit slowly. They are waiting for shipments of additional Bibles and Teaching Booklets. They are intent on bringing more souls into God’s kingdom. I believe it was Omar that reported that the education headed through the influence of the reborn sheikhs has brought about a new system. Women are encouraged to teach and they are teaching many other women. There are more than 9,000 women who have believed in Jesus in one area and are bringing many other women to the feet of Jesus.
I received an email from a man that has been part of numerous update newsletters some weeks and months ago. He is a medical doctor in Syria and became a believer through the ministry of HOB missionaries a few months ago. His name is Dr. Nibras.
Hello my brother Jack. The missionaries of the House of Blessing organization have done a truly heroic job by dividing the crowds of new believers into small groups and teaching them the basics of Christianity. For those who grew up in the West in a church environment, it’s hard to imagine the enthusiasm these newcomers show when given the opportunity to learn. Many in the West, accustomed to churches, have heard sermons and teachings about the reality of Jesus Christ and the uniqueness of His blood, but in the Islamic Middle East, people are ignorant of these things. We, as Christians, speak of an intimate relationship with God, but Muslims have never been taught that they can build such a relationship with God. The missionaries also teach people about God’s grace, which is absent in Islam. And there is no guarantee of eternal life in Islam. Islam and Christianity are not the same religions that some in the West try to make people believe; rather, they are contradictory in many ways!
During this week, with the high number of casualties, especially in the north, Mufida, Ferial, Hafiza, Sarah, and Labiba took 100 widows (from the Widow Sisterhood) to the heart of the city squares where much of the fighting has been happening. They search among the victims of the war raging today between the SDF (Kurdish led militia) and the brutal democratic government for survivors to pray with. Many have been healed, while others offer prayers of repentance in their final moments before departing for the hereafter. Today and even before, the number reached by the widows is approximately 476. The widows continue to work day and night to find survivors before they die. Everything you hear in the news is a lie and a distortion of the truth for us. We, who have not witnessed such horrors, say that entering any war zone in the Middle East is like entering a horror movie. As for the missionaries, they saw these things on a daily basis in past times when Pastor Rashid was still alive.
I was blessed to treat the wounds of the brothers, along with Dr. Khalawi. Mufida was shot in the leg, and Labiba, Hafiza, and Sarah were shot in the hand and are still suffering. Al-Fishawi, Al-Hidmi, Al-Kalani, and Shaker were also wounded, my brother Jack. We worked at stitching the wounds and removing the bullets from inside the bodies, but I don’t know if the Lord will give them strength needed to survive. Walking and saving lives, teaching the Gospel to many people and introducing them to Jesus and the love of Jesus — what a great blessing! Even amidst the beating and bullets, a full-scale war rages here. Please pray for us. The Lord Jesus is coming!
Your brother, servant of the Lord Jesus,
Nibras
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I also received a message from Abdelrahem just a few hours ago.
Peace be upon you, brother Jack, and upon all who follow Christ. I received a special blessing today. Dr. Nibras called me again and put me on the phone with another man. This man was a Muslim sheikh of 38 years, and this was about three hours ago. In addition to the guidance of Dr. Nibras and the brothers, Nibras taught him some of the Bible (he continues bringing souls to faith in Christ). I thoroughly enjoyed talking with him. He already knew me, so there was no need for introductions. For the next 20 minutes, this man, who was a Muslim sheikh with over 900 followers before he embraced Christianity, shared with me the immense joy and thanks he felt for the second chance he was given through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. He spoke at length about the changes this faith has brought to his life, his outlook on the future, and, of course, his relationships with the people he serves.
I will not mention the man’s name as this will be on the website, as it may not be a common Arabic name. His visit to the Lord’s workfield was to report on the area where widows are currently working. He described to me how he saw the women helping the wounded, and said that the power of the Holy Spirit working through them was astonishing. God truly is doing great things in these last moments of time. This former sheikh testifies to the blessing bestowed upon former Muslims because they too, recognize the second chance they have been given through God’s great love.
The word of God is spreading like wildfire in the Muslim world today. Amid the horror, death, and brutality perpetrated by Satan’s followers, the Spirit of God touches the hearts of those who respond. Very soon, our Lord will call His own to deliver them from their inevitable fate, and He will hold this wicked world accountable. The Bible tells us that the Lord’s great and terrible day, the day of great tribulation, will be a time the likes of which this world has never seen before, nor will it ever see again. We must continue to pray sincerely for those on the front lines. As for us who still live in relative freedom, our priorities must be set on eternity. God’s people are about to return home! It won’t be long!
Abdelrahem, servant of the Lord
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The Apostles were given the great commission to go into all the world and preach the Gospel to the entire world. From the few followers of Jesus just before the Day of Pentecost to the third century, the Church had grown to tens of millions. It is estimated that the Roman Empire had a population of about 60 million in the year 313 AD, and the estimated number of believers and followers of Jesus at that time is estimated to be about 33 million. Think about that… over half of the people had bowed their knees before Jesus and accepted Him as their Savior and Lord.
It is said that three of the greatest problems at the time were: terrible systems of sanitation (if any at all), despicable treatment of women, and the wholesale slaughter of unwanted babies by drowning. The influence of the Christian culture brought about innovations for dealing with the sanitation problems. Secondly, the Church recognized women and placed them in the Christian church society as co-heirs of the Kingdom of God as God had ordained them to be.
Another interesting fact is that during the same time, the two worst plagues of the first three centuries resulted in a large percentage of the population perishing (the Antonine Plague of 165-180 AD and the Cyprian Plague of 249 AD). While the rest of the population ran away and isolated themselves as best they could, the Christians were reported to be the only ones who dared to treat and tend to the ill — in spite of the fact that many of them paid with their lives.
This is exactly what the House of Blessing has done for many years. They have rebuilt sanitation systems where there were literally none. They have lifted the status of women as the early church did, and they have taken in children and cared for them when there was nowhere else for them to go. They have also tended to the needs of cholera victims and every other disease and sickness that they came across — no matter how infectious.
These actions, which came naturally because of their newfound relationship with Jesus Christ as Savior, and the sharing of the Good News of the Gospel has brought about the hundreds of thousands of new believers. Praise God!
Two Scriptures included in a message from Dr. Nibras (who incidentally, has memorized the entire New Testament) are Isaiah 17:1-3 and Jeremiah 49:23-27. Many of you may be familiar with these but they bear taking to heart because this is about to unfold. Like Dr. Nibras said, what is really developing in Syria is not being reported, and what is unfolding reminds this man of these Scriptures.
1 The burden of Damascus. “Behold, Damascus will cease from being a city, and it will be a ruinous heap. 2 The cities of Aroer are forsaken, they will be for flocks which lie down, and no one will make them afraid. 3 The fortress also will cease from Ephraim, the kingdom from Damascus, and the remnant of Syria; they will be as the glory of the children of Israel,” says the LORD of hosts…. 14 Then behold, at eventide, trouble! And before the morning, he is no more. This is the portion of those who plunder us, and the lot of those who rob us. Isaiah 17:1-3, 14
23 Against Damascus, “Hamath and Arpad are shamed, for they have heard bad news. They are fainthearted, there is trouble on the sea; it cannot be quiet. 24 Damascus has grown feeble; she turns to flee, and fear has seized her. Anguish and sorrows have taken her like a woman in labor. 25 Why is the city of praise not deserted, the city of My joy? 26 Therefore her young men shall fall in her streets, and all the men of war shall be cut off in that day,” says the LORD of hosts. 27 “I will kindle a fire in the wall of Damascus, and it shall consume the palaces of Ben-Hadad.” Jeremiah 49:23-27
Many would rather not hear about or think of such things. The problem is, God has foretold these things and they will come to pass. He has even given us many other signs and signals to watch for surrounding these prophecies. I won’t go into an explanation of what is foretold above at this time but suffice it to say, what is foretold is much broader than we might recognize by a quick read of the passage. It includes the entire corridor from Damascus up to Aleppo, including the cities between. Other passages describe much the same for Amman, Jordan, and even ancient Elam, the western portion of Iran. Should this scare us? No. God will care for His people. These events are very closely connected to what we find in Ezekiel 38-39, although they are not the same. They could happen one right after the other or they could happen in tandem… Regardless, Keep Looking Upward, Jesus is coming SOON!
Thank you all for your prayer support. God has answered your prayers in astounding ways. Thank you also for your financial support. Bibles and Teaching Booklets are being printed as finances are available to do so. God is good! If anyone has questions or wants to know how to support HOB, feel free to contact either of the email addresses below.
Forever in His Service,
Jake (aka Jack)