I will begin today’s Mideast Update with an excerpt from a report I received within the last 24 hours from Dr. Nibras. I will share more of it later in the update. This excerpt gives us an idea of the massive undertaking that the House of Blessing has been tasked with. This is not a story about unbelievable statistics, but rather of our Father’s amazing grace!
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…I assure you that many of the ongoing classes are nearing completion. Even today, there are 27,000 students studying in Iraq, and another 23,000 in HOB’s School of Ministry in Syria. There are 3,500 students in Kurdistan, 150,000 in Iran, and 9,000 in Azerbaijan. Teachers are being trained in the Najran region of southern Saudi Arabia to begin teaching as soon as the new printer can be made available. I know the students there already exceed 13,000, not including the elderly men and women. What is even more amazing is that there are untold numbers of new believers on a waiting list to be included in the next session of the classes!
As I look at the hundreds of thousands of new missionaries being prepared by the House of Blessing, I thank God for the great things He continues to do. Who could have done this? Who could even have dreamed it? In just two years, the Lord has opened so many doors for us! I sometimes hear doubts expressed by some, wondering how this could be true. It’s said that it’s impossible to prepare such a large number of evangelists under these circumstances. It seems impossible that there would be so many believers, now reaching two million, yet that is what God has done. It is HE that is doing it. We are just in cooperation with the moving of His Spirit.
And here is how one of the latest parts of this ongoing story has unfolded, as told by brother Omar:
Peace be upon you, my brother Jack, and upon all the lovers of Jesus. This is brother Omar. This report has to do with an incident that happened when Abdelrahem left southern Saudi Arabia to travel back north. There was a man who was quite conflicted with the message being preached by the House of Blessing missionaries, in particular with Sheikh Abu Hamido and his wife, Umm Khadij, who had just recently been healed of blindness.
The name of the sheikh who challenged Abu Hamido and his wife, Umm Khadij, is Jendawi. He brought another sheikh with him by the name of Kabajah. Jendawi ordered Hamido and Umm Khadij to be tied up and imprisoned for seven days without food or water. He said they would not be released until they repented of their faith in Jesus and returned to following Allah and his prophet Muhammad. Abu Hamido and Umm Khadij of course refused. During the time the couple were confined, the Sheikhs Jendawi and Kabajah began to see snakes and scorpions everywhere they went. Whether they saw them physically or in their minds, they appeared very real to them! They came into their homes, into their mosques, and they even had frightful nightmares about them. Sheikh Jendawi went to Hamido and asked him why he and his wife refused to repent of their belief in Jesus and return to Islam. Their answer was that they had already repented once. They had repented of their sins and asked Jesus to come and be the Lord of their lives. It was Jesus who had healed Umm Khadij of her blindness. This very Jesus whom Jendawi insisted on hating, had come to earth as the incarnate Son of God, dying on the cross and granting forgiveness as a free gift to anyone who asked. Three days after being crucified, Jesus rose from the dead and is today at the right hand of the Father in the Throne Room of the entire universe. Very soon this same Jesus will return to take His people to a specially prepared place in heaven for God’s people.
The old sheikh told Abu Hamido that he and his family were faithful followers of Muhammad, and had never suffered as much as they had since the couple’s imprisonment. He described nine days of terrifying nightmares in which they feared they were going to lose their lives. Jendawi asked Abu Hamid to show how he and his family could also become followers of Jesus. This of course opened the door wide to share the Gospel freely with this man, who in turn shared his new faith with the congregants in his mosque. Sheikh Kabajah followed his lead and did the same.
Dr. Nibras updated Omar’s report as follows: According to an updated report, Abu Hamido and his wife Umm Khadij, were invited to share their testimony and share the Gospel of Jesus Christ in both mosques. In my call today from Omar, I was informed that the mosques of the two sheikhs who invited the two to speak were jammed full of people. The attendance at one mosque reached 3,000 people, and the attendance at the second, 3,450. Subsequent reports from these gatherings indicate that about 80% of the people at one mosque and 90% at the other mosque were moved to tears after hearing what Abu Hamido and Umm Khadij shared about God’s love. Many wept aloud, pleading to accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. They also expressed a strong desire to know God as Abu Hamido and Umm Khadj know Him. What a miracle! These people see the whole truth and wish for nothing more than to experience it for themselves.
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I have received additional information that thousands have now been baptized in these two mosques, and they were baptised by their newborn sheikhs, with of course a lot of help from the brothers! That is a lot of people to baptise! The last I heard, they had hoped to have all the baptisms completed by the time this update is made available. One of the things that I was told is that some of the baptisms take extra time because the reaction of the people is so emotional. They are in no hurry to leave the baptismal water. They are usually in tears at the reality of the cleansing being done in their souls of all the spiritual deception and poison they have been taught all their lives. To these folks, the change in their lives is a very real thing and they recognize the eternal significance of their decision to become a follower of Jesus Christ.
Dr. Nibras expressed his hope that the purchase of the second printer can be completed soon so the printed scriptures and discipleship booklets can be made available to them as they are in other locations. Time is of the essence. As has been explained previously, the second printer is needed because it is virtually impossible to get the printed materials across the border into Saudi Arabia. The second printer will be set up in a secure location and make the same materials available that the main printing press up north does.
Below is more of what Dr. Nibras had to say:
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Peace be upon you, brother Jack. I would like to explain that in the Book of Acts, there are stories of the church that began on the day of Pentecost and grew into an invincible force for two thousand years. During these two thousand years, the Church faced countless attacks. Some came from false prophets, false Christians, pagan emperors, and tyrannical rulers, and a relentless torrent of attacks came from within the Church itself, striving with all its might to deceive and mislead Christians. Yet, despite everything, the Church triumphed. Jesus warned His disciples, saying, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” He also affirmed that the gates of hell would not prevail against the Church. This has proven true. Although there have been times, especially during the Dark Ages, when it seemed the light of the Church might be extinguished, it was not, and it never will. The Word of God cannot fail.
History shows that the Church began under extremely difficult circumstances, yet it flourished. Then, when Christianity was accepted as a “permitted” religion, particularly when it became the state religion under Charlemagne, the Church began to yield to the world, thereby losing its effectiveness and spiritual power. Biblical prophecies tell us that the Church will experience two opposing global movements during the generation of Christ’s Second Coming. One of these movements will be a global campaign to unite all religions under one religious order and one spiritual leader, the man whom the Book of Revelation calls the false prophet. On the other hand, the true Church will be united in its submission to the pure Word of God and to the true Head of the Church, Jesus Christ. We are witnessing these two movements today.
The Book of Acts in the New Testament, an inspired account of the early years of the Church, ends in chapter 28. However, as I have previously mentioned, I believe that the history of the church continues from chapter 29 on and will not be complete until the arrival of the last of those saved from the nations during the Church age. As the age of the Church draws to a close, the era of the Gentiles will end, and the seventieth week of Daniel’s prophecy, also known as the Day of the Lord, will begin. As we know, this will be a time of unprecedented catastrophic events. It will be a time when God will condemn a wicked and rebellious world. It will also be the promised final seven years of God’s direct engagement with the Israelites. During this time, God’s attention will turn to the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and for His name’s sake, He will open their blind eyes. Therefore, the House of Blessing in every region makes the most of every remaining day of God’s grace before this era ends. The Age of Grace may end tomorrow …. Or next week …. Or next month. We do not know when, but Jesus told us that we will live to see this time.
One thing Pastor Abdelrahem says he has concluded from the Muslim people who have now become believers and followers of Jesus is that the love of God shown by Christian missionaries stands in stark contrast to the hatred and murder at the hands of Allah’s extremists. There is a growing hatred of Islam among the Muslim masses who suffer endless attacks. Then they see the missionaries of the House of Blessing, whose actions demonstrate true love — the love of God — even for their enemies! Instead of killing people in the name of Allah “The Merciful”, there is the selfless love of God poured out upon them in the name of Jesus Christ.
Last week, Islam celebrated the birth of its Prophet Muhammad. But a growing number of Muslims today have questioned, and continue to question, Muhammad’s prophethood altogether, and certainly not that he was a prophet of God. In light of the massacres that have continued throughout the centuries, and the hatred and violence that are still preached in most of the world’s mosques today, Islam offers nothing but more of the same. This has been the case ever since Muhammad claimed this prophethood in the name of Allah more than 1,400 years ago.
Islam, as a religion, cannot guarantee forgiveness of sins, no matter how devoted a believer is to the Quran throughout their life. Nor is the promise of entering Paradise guaranteed. Throughout his life, a Muslim can only hope that he has accumulated enough good deeds to tip the scales in his favor. Yet, after a life of devotion to Allah and his messenger, Allah may decide that the believer was not worthy. This is why the good news of Jesus and the free gift of forgiveness are received with such joy!
His Servant Forever,
Dr. Nibras
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I received another report from Dr. Nibras but did not transcribe the entire report in order to keep today’s Mideast Update at a reasonable length. I have, however, included excerpts showing the unfathomable grace of our God. Regular readers of the Mideast Updates will have read about numerous occasions where God multiplied food to feed the thousands that show up. It keeps happening, but the greatest miracle of all is the souls who are reached with the eternal destiny changing Good News of the Gospel. Ever greater numbers of people are falling on their knees before Jesus, the true Messiah! This is what Dr. Nibras had to share:
Peace be with you, Brother Jack, and with all the friends of Jesus. There are real events that the missionaries of the House of Blessing are experiencing. The phenomenon I witness time and again is God’s amazing love and forgiveness and how it flows through His people, especially in some of the most difficult times.
As is customary with the House of Blessing, and especially thanks to the efforts of sisters Mufida, Fadwa, and Hafiza, and others of the “Widow Sisterhood”, care is provided to hundreds of people in Syria. Sisters Khajo, Adla, Zahra, Fariza, Safinaz, and Ikhlas continue their work in Iran, as does Sister Fatima and those working with her in Iraq. Please keep them in your prayers.
In Najran, Saudi Arabia, once again, when food was distributed to the crowds a couple days ago, when the people received the food provided, the Lord once again began to open their hearts. With the help of 50 HOB missionaries, as well as the brothers Omar, Shahbandar, Mortada, and others, thousands attended and listened to the Gospel. Omar reported to Pastor Abdelrahem that 12,000 people responded to the teaching of God’s Word, and now all 50 HOB leaders are busy coordinating the followup with all those who have been called to the Kingdom of God through prayer!
The only message of eternal hope is being answered collectively! The people in these crowds do not know if they will survive the day, and they had no guarantee of their eternal destiny. After hearing the good news of Jesus’ death and resurrection, and the free gift of forgiveness, those who accept it have the certainty that even if they die tomorrow, they will spend eternity in the presence of the One who redeemed them. Now they have hope, a genuine assurance of eternal forgiveness and relationship with the Lover of their souls!
I think of the Apostle Peter’s sermon on the Day of Pentecost when 3,000 people responded to a single sermon delivered by a fisherman! We find this described in Acts 2:41:41-43.
We are now living in the last of the “last days” prophesied in the Bible, and the Spirit of God is pouring God’s love out abundantly on those who respond to Him. Let us give thanks to God for what He is doing and for the privilege we have to witness and participate in it!
Elsewhere, long lines continually form for prayer and the HOB leaders pray for them. Many of the brothers (and sisters) spend four to six hours a day spreading hope, encouragement, and prayer for the sick. Even as they travel to various regions, God answers their prayers in their times of need.
Iraq is in turmoil today, as are Syria, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Lebanon, and most of the Middle East. The situation in most other countries of the world is not much different. We are living in difficult times, and they will only worsen. Only the return of the awaited Messiah can restore order and balance to the world, not the efforts of presidents, prime ministers, secretaries-general, military leaders, kings, queens, tyrants, or even the United Nations. The Day of the Lord is at hand!
The Age of Grace is drawing to a close, and God’s judgment upon our Christ-rejecting world is about to descend in full force. The apostle Paul told the church in Thessalonica that the unbelieving world will be taken completely by surprise at the end of time, but God’s faithful people should not be. Do not be like those who prefer to bury their heads in the sand! Be prepared! Maranatha!
Your brother, the servant of the Lord,
Dr. Nibras
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Nothing needs to be added to what has been shared above, other than a big thank you from all of the House of Blessing for your prayers and financial support. I received word that another 5,000 teaching booklets have just been sent out and the printing press will start the next order as soon as paper supplies arrive in a day or two.
Times are critical and your help is greatly appreciated. There will not be another time like this. Jesus’ coming for His faithful people is imminent. What is happening in our world today does not have a reverse. The human race is hurtling to its eternity. Let’s make the very most of the few moments we have left. Thank you all.
Forever in His Service,
Jake (aka Jack)