This Mideast Update is a continuation of Part One from yesterday, 6/16/2026. Dr. Bandis sent the report below on June 13, 2026. It is the story of Sheikh Zaqouqa.
Peace be upon you, brother Jack. The story of Saul, the Pharisee who fiercely persecuted Christians and who became the beloved Apostle Paul, is one of the greatest stories of forgiveness in the Bible. Saul’s transformation into Paul demonstrates the greatness of God’s grace and his desire to forgive us and free us from the sentence of eternal spiritual death. All God asks of us is to humble ourselves before Him, repent, and accept the gift of salvation and eternal life in His kingdom. Jesus said in Matthew 26:28: “This is My blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.”
In today’s news, I will share an event that reveals Jesus’ love and mercy for His servants, just four or five days after Brother Dari was martyred for his faith in Jesus Christ. One morning, an HOB missionary in the Ahar region encountered a family that had fallen victim to a tragedy. The man of the house was severely burned and nearby were a woman, three boys and two girls, all on the verge of dying from hunger, thirst, and terrible injuries.
As the missionary approached the man, she said, “Can I help you? The Lord has sent me! Who are these people with you?”
The man replied, “I am not worthy! I am a very bad man! I know that God is angry with me!”
The missionary sister listened to everything he said and then asked, “Why do you say that you are a very bad man?”
“Do you know Sheikh Dari?” he asked.
“Yes, I did. Of course I knew him,” she answered.
“I was the one who killed him! That is why I, my wife, and 5 children have lost our home and we are homeless. I was thrown out and chased out of my town because I came to recognize who Jesus is! Why do you want to help me? I’m a wicked man!” After saying this, he began to cry.
“God will forgive you if you ask Him! You are badly injured, and I want to pray with you. May I?”
After she said this, he said, “Since I killed him, I haven’t been able to get him out of my mind. I haven’t been able to sleep, and I think he’s haunting me everywhere I go! Can you pray with me that God will forgive me? I want to be forgiven for what I did.”
While all this was happening, Brother Kayed, Sinjan, and others came to see what was going on. Then the man, who identified himself as Sheikh Zaqouqa, asked if Maliha, Brother Dari’s widow, was nearby. He wanted to see her to ask for her forgiveness. So Kayed quickly sent someone to bring her over.
When Maliha arrived, Zaqouqa repeated everything he had said to the others, saying over and over again, “I am so sorry for killing this man. He was a man of God, a prophet. I couldn’t get him out of my mind. I couldn’t even sleep! Will God forgive me? Can you forgive me?”
Maliha replied, “I forgive you, Zaqouqa, and God will forgive you too. One of the things that is required of those following Christ is repentance, and you have now repented for killing my husband. The Bible teaches us to confess our sins to one another. Do you have any other sins you need to confess?”
“Yes, I have killed many men. Can God still forgive me? How can I be forgiven like you?”
“When we confess our sins and ask God for forgiveness, He forgives us and changes our hearts!”
“Would you pray for my daughters who have gone blind and my sons who have been injured?”
Then the missionaries helped Zaqouqa and his wife pray the prayer of repentance. They spent about thirty minutes speaking to him from the Word of God. They spoke at length about the reality of Jesus, the power of his blood, and about faith. They continued to share the Word of God with him until he passed away peacefully.
When I heard this man’s conversion story, I remembered how Pastor Abdelrahem, the brothers, and I agreed to pray when Brother Dari was killed. We prayed that God would not let that man find peace until he was led to Christ as his Savior. God answered our prayer within four or five days! We worship a great God!
The Bible speaks extensively about forgiveness. Here are some verses from it:
14“For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. Matthew 6:14-15
25 “I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; and I will not remember your sins. 26Put Me in remembrance; let us contend together; state your case, that you may be acquitted.” Isaiah 43:25-26
7In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace 8which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence. Ephesians 1:7-8
13He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, 14in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. Colossians 1:13-14
12As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. 13As a father pities his children, so the LORD pities those who fear Him. 14For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust. 15As for man, his days are like grass; as a flower of their field, so he flourishes. 16For the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more. 17But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him, and His righteousness to children’s children, 18to such as keep His covenant, and to those who remember His commandments to do them. Psalm 103:12-18
18Who is a God like You, pardoning iniquity and passing over the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? He does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in mercy. 19He will again have compassion on us, and will subdue our iniquities. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea. Micah 7:18-19
In conclusion, the Lord has blessed in a wonderful way by healing Sheikh Zaqouqa’s five children from their terrible burns and the daughters, who had been blinded, and their sight restored. In addition, more than 8,000 people became believers and followers of Jesus as a result. Praise God.
Your brother,
Dr. Bandis, Servant of the Lord
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After Dr. Bandis sent the above message, more information was gathered regarding Sheikh Zaqouqa’s experiences before he passed away. One of the things that Pastor Abdelrahem and the brothers had prayed for was that the Lord would not allow the killer, or killers, to find any peace until they turned to Christ. This is what many HOB supporters around the world prayed for also. God answered that prayer, as He has in many other cases like this.
Sheikh Zaqouqa had said what had caused the fire in his house was an electrical short circuit. This caused the entire house to burn down. Unfortunately, everyone was caught totally off guard and so the entire family suffered burns to one degree or another, and nearly died of suffocation. The sheikh related the fact that all of his books burned except for one. He thought it was his Quran but found it was a Bible. I am assuming it was a Bible he confiscated from Sheikh Dari when he stabbed him to death. When he saw the Bible was not burning, he cried out, “O Lord of the Book, extinguish the fire as you saved Abraham, by the Lord of this Book!” And, God answered!
(Note: Sheikh Zaqouqa’s statement about Abraham may be confusing. There is no Scripture that speaks of Abraham being saved from a fire by Almighty God but there are some references in ancient writings of Abraham having had ordeals with fire. In the ancient Book of Jubilees 12:12-14, Abraham’s fire ordeal had to do with him burning down his father’s idol shop. His brother, Haran, died trying to save the idols from the fire. In the Quran 21:67-71, Abraham was thrown into a fire by Nimrod but was saved by God. Multiple Jewish and Christian apocalyptic traditions have Abraham surviving a furnace that Nimrod threw him into).
When Sheikh Zaqouqa confessed to his Muslim community that he now believed in Jesus and that the Gospel had saved him and averted God’s wrath, his message was rejected. They accused him of being insane and outside of the religion of Muhammad. “May Allah curse you and the followers of Jesus”, they said. “Jesus is not God, only a prophet of God.”
Zaqouqa answered, saying: “No, Jesus is Lord, my Lord, and the Lord of my sons and daughters. Jesus the Savior weeps for the lost. Jesus guided me. Thank God I now know who He is. I hope He forgives me and pardons my sins. Who are you followers of, Muhammad, or Antichrist? The curse of the Lord will befall you. Everything that happened to me is because of my killing of Sheikh Dari, who was a follower of Jesus.”
Then the crowd that had gathered, in their fury beat him, and he began shouting about something he was seeing in the sky. His wife relayed more of the story describing the vision he was having while being beaten. She said that he began shouting that He (Jesus) was coming but His imminent return would first bring about great and terrible things to come upon the earth. He shouted that he was seeing horses in the sky and the horses had riders on them. He said one of the horses was red, and the others were of different colors. He described them as not side by side but circling the sky. He kept shouting: “He is coming! He is coming! Believe in Him before the trumpet sounds! Look! The horses are circling our sky! Look, I see them! They are the Knights of the Lord! He is coming!!”
The crowd only got angrier and said they saw nothing in the sky. They accused him of having lost his mind and ran him and his family out of town. Zaqouqa later said he regretted telling them what he was seeing because they didn’t believe him anyway. But, his wife, who knew him well, believed him.
This presented a great hardship. Sheikh Zaqouqa’s town was in a mountainous region. They decided they needed to get to where Sheikh Dari had been. How they made the trip with the serious injuries they had, I don’t know. It was a walk of many kilometers. Maybe they were able to get a ride from a passing farmer. It is information I don’t have.
I find it extraordinary that this man, totally ignorant of Bible eschatology, would be given a vision of the Horses and Riders of the Apocalypse. In light of Zaqouqa’s vision, Dr. Bandis sent me a message, including a number of Scriptures comparing Zaqouqa’s vision with the Apostle John’s vision of the Horses of the Apocalypse in Revelation 6 and their connection to the multi-colored horses seen by Zechariah the priest 500 years before Christ was born. This is something that he and Abdelrahem had apparently spent much time discussing. This subject also happens to be a portion of the materials presently being taught by the HOB leadership to their students. It is a timely subject!
On June 16 I received a report from Dr. Nibras. Some of you received a special prayer request by text . I would like to give you the full report as I received it from Dr. Nibras.
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Peace upon you, my brother Jack. Peace be upon you from the land of struggle, the land of Jesus, the land of peace where the Gospel is spread, the land preparing itself to receive the King of Kings. Heaven will soon fill the earth with His light to deliver us from this distress and hardship, and His Word will rise to the highest heavens.
This evening, I received a call from Pastor Abdelrahem, who asked for a special prayer. He expressed his gratitude for the prayers of all who love the House of Blessing missionaries. About half an hour after our phone call today, Omar, Mortada, Shahbandar, Ma’touq, and Aylout, along with 180 other missionaries, were attacked by Islamic extremists. Our brothers were severely beaten, and then they were subjected to unspeakable atrocities, including having holes drilled into their backs, stomachs, chests, and legs. They were also beaten so severely on their faces and heads that they were almost unrecognizable due to swelling and other injuries. Then they ordered them to stop preaching about Jesus, threatening them with death if they did not. The brothers do not know why they were not killed along with the preachers and teachers. It must be intended as a harsh warning and gives evidence to the anger in the region among the Islamists due to the large number of people who have believed in Jesus and followed Him. It was thought that this was possibly the reason why they might not have killed them, the leaders directly, but they don’t really know.
Unless God intervenes with a miracle, these men might not survive this attack. For this reason, Pastor Abdelrahem asks you to pray sincerely and fervently. Below is a special prayer that he has asked us to join him in praying:
“Our Father God, we come to You in the name of Jesus Christ. We lift up our brothers and sisters to You in this difficult time. You know perfectly well what has happened to them and their condition. You have healed them many times, and we ask You to do so again. We implore You by the power of the Almighty Blood of Jesus Christ to cover their whole bodies now, from head to toe. You alone know when the time will come for them to be brought into Your presence. If this is not the time, heal them, we pray. We remember the Apostle Paul and the many sufferings he endured as he preached the Gospel to the world. Our brothers and sisters have suffered greatly too, and for the same reason. Your Word tells us that Paul even climbed out from under a pile of rocks after he was stoned and left for dead! We, as a family, ask you Father, to raise them up as well. Our faith, Lord, is in You; our complete trust is in You; our future is with You. Your people are entirely in Your hands, and Your will is absolute! Therefore, because You have commanded us to approach Your throne with confidence, we approach with confidence! Raise up our brothers and sisters again! We will continue to praise and glorify You forever. Amen.”
Your brother,
Dr. Nibras, Servant of the Lord
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Amen and amen, Abdelrahem…
Dr. Nibras is now on his way once again to do what he can to help the injured men, and any others, men or women that are still alive. Please pray for his safety. It is a long and very dangerous trip from Syria to where this attack happened in Iran.
Thank you all for your prayers and support. It is much needed and much appreciated from every one in the HOB community of believers. The work goes on, regardless of the vicious attacks of the fallen one and his cohorts. God is absolutely sovereign and is always in control of all things. Our King is soon to return! The Horsemen and their Apocalyptic Horses are ready for their last stampede. Let’s finish well!
Forever in His Service,
Jake (aka Jack)