Iran

They Would Not Quit

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“Then the high priest rose up, and all they that were with him, (which is the sect of the Sadducees,) and were filled with indignation, and laid their hands on the apostles, and put them in the common prison.  But the angel of the Lord by night opened the prison doors, and brought them forth, and said, ‘Go, stand and speak in the temple to the people all the words of this life.’  And when they heard, they entered into the temple early in the morning, and taught. But the high priest came, and they that were with him, and called the council together, and all the senate of the children of Israel, and sent to the prison to have them brought.” Acts 5:17-21 (KJB)

Thinking of our Christian brothers and sisters in nations where the gospel of Jesus Christ is not received in a spirit of freedom.  I salute you, and thank you for not quitting.  I also ask you to pray for us here in the United States of America; for though we are free; having the freedom of speech, and freedom of religion there are many who are trying to push the gospel out of the public, and have the word of God stay behind closed doors of our churches.

In the text above we see those who hated Jesus Christ, and had a hand in His crucifixion and death now hating His disciples, locking them in prison, trying to silence the power of God in Jerusalem.

The angel of the Lord freed them without even opening the jail doors (verses 22-26).  The angel also sent them to the temple to teach, and they went and taught.  They would not quit.  They would not be silent.

Neither can the Christian of 2019 be silent of the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  People are perishing.  There are people dying in their sins.  Christian of Africa continue to stand and preach the word of God, the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Christian of India, continue to preach the gospel.  Christian of Iran, Iraq, and Turkey continue to preach the word of God.

Christian of the United States of America be faithful to preach the word of God, the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Christ died for our sins, was buried, and He rose again (1 Corinthians 15:1-8).

They Would Not Quit.  Neither should you or I.

Day Two Hundred Seventy and Three

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What do I want for Christmas?

Just in the past two weeks there have been two horrendous, murderous, terrorist attacks. Just yesterday March 27, 2016 there was an attack in Iran while a number of Christian brethren were celebrating Easter.  There were 67 murdered, and hundreds injured.

What I want is that these murderers  be stopped, to be silenced by Holy God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ; and I want them to know they will answer to GOD, not Allah, that Allah will crumble and fall before the face of Almighty Jehovah; and that every knee, even that of all those who worship Allah will fall before Jesus the Christ, worship Him, and if they are without repentance and faith in Him now will die eternally in the Lake of fire; I want all Muslims to know that Jesus died on the cross for your sins, He was buried, and He was raised from death, and came out of that grave; believe Him, and be saved.

Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: but made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: and being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted Him, and given Him a name which is above every name: that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:5-11 (KJV)

Forgive my error.  It was Pakistan not Iran where the terrorist murderers killed.

Henry Martyn (1781-1812)

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The following article is borrowed from Kairos Journal.  I found it quite interesting and informing.  I pray the readers here will as well.

“Alone against Islam”: Henry Martyn (1781-1812)

The debate inside the tent soon matched the soaring temperatures outside as the solitary, sickly Christian rebuffed the arguments of his Muslim opponents. Henry Martyn (1781-1812) had reached Tabriz in May 1812 hoping to present a copy of his Persian translation of the New Testament to the Shah, the nation’s ruler, for his commendation. But before that could happen, the Shah’s vizier (1) ordered him to dispute with the mullahs. After an hour or two the vizier finally intervened with an ultimatum. “You had better say ‘God is God, and Muhammad is the prophet of God.’” No-one moved. All eyes focused on Martyn. Later he recalled, “I said, ‘God is God,’ but instead of adding ‘Muhammad is the prophet of God,’ I said, ‘and Jesus is the Son of God.’” The mullahs rose in disgust and the vizier refused his visitor’s request. (2)

Fifteen years earlier, few could have imagined such a scene. In October 1797, Martyn entered Cambridge University to read mathematics and five years later became a fellow in classics. As a brilliant scholar and linguistic genius, an academic career beckoned, yet Martyn turned his back on it. Charles Simeon (3) asked him to serve as his curate in 1803, and under his influence the young man set his heart on serving Christ overseas.

Leaving behind the woman he loved, Martyn arrived in India in April 1806 as a chaplain of the East India Company, responsible for the souls of the locally stationed British soldiers. But his heart burned for the indigenous Muslim and Hindu populations, and before long he was preaching to them despite heat, opposition, and ill-health. Putting his linguistic skills to use, he started the simultaneous translation projects of the New Testament into Persian, Arabic, and Urdu and completed the Urdu edition in February 1809.

His desire to revise the Persian and complete his Arabic New Testament led Martyn to leave India and enter the formidable domain of Islamic Persia in May 1811. Setting out for Shiraz, a prominent center of Shia Muslim scholarship and poetry, he traveled with a wet towel around his face and neck because of the fierce heat. Once installed in his new home, Martyn worked with a local, Mirza Seid Ali, on the Persian translation, and in less than nine months he completed the New Testament and a version of the Psalms in an accurate and readable vernacular. “No year of my life was ever spent more usefully,” he wrote. (4)

Yet Martyn’s time in Shiraz was far from tranquil. As the only Christian in a Muslim city, he was an easy target for abuse, and the governor had to intervene to stop the constant stoning of his house. He defended the gospel in lengthy discussions with the mullahs and wrote a reply to a defense of Islam published by the leading mullah, Mirza Ibrahim. Always willing to engage the Sufis, his conversations invariably reached an impasse over the deity of Christ. Before he left Shiraz to see the Shah in May 1812, only one man had turned to Christ. Yet the fruit of Martyn’s life appeared after his untimely death that October. His Persian edition reached people in 1846, being used until 1910, and his work still shapes the current edition.

Reflecting on his life, Martyn commented, “Even if I never should see a native converted, God may design, by my patience and continuance in the work, to encourage future missionaries.” (5) Today, Persia (modern day Iran) is still held in the vice of radical Islam, pouring forth a message of threat and triumphalism backed up with arms and money. As political and military solutions are considered to contain its influence, Henry Martyn’s sacrificial example shows the only sure way to challenge Islam. May God be pleased to send many more like him to confront the nations with Christ’s truth.

Footnotes:
1     A high official in certain Muslim countries and caliphates, especially a minister of state.
2     Richard T. France, “Henry Martyn,” in Five Pioneer Missionaries, ed. S. M. Houghton (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth Trust, 1965), 291.
3     Vicar of Holy Trinity Church in Cambridge, England.
4     Ibid., 285.
5     Ibid., 263.

Israel, Iran, And The World

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I have been silent; probably for too long; concerning the elections in Iran.  Though I don’t generally comment on events such as these, the real atrocity is against the people of Iran.  Like our country [USA] I am for freedom.  All people should be free to make their own decisions in politics, in religion, in life; and make informed and clear decisions.

One sign of an oppressive government is when that government decides to stop all means of communication.  Iran’s leading authority has tried to stop the out going communications to let the rest of the world know what is going on.  They have failed in that, and it seems that today – June 20, 2009 – will be the day the government “puts its  foot down”, and tries with its military might to silence a very angry, and large number of its citizens.

If they can hear these words today; Be strong, and turn your eyes toward the LORD of the earth, believe and trust in the Son of Jehovah Jesus Christ;  He is the Supreme One, and will lead you to genuine peace; and that is so for all the world.  The hope of Iran is not the Ayatolla Khameni or its government which is officially ran by the “strong arm” of Islam in Iran.  It is a repressive government which eventually will end in the destruction of its own country.

The current administration has said many times “Death to Israel.  Death to the United States.”  And his intent is to see the destruction of any who oppose him.

How does Israel view this situation in Iran.  Let me give you some quotes from the Jerusalem Post –

“FOR ISRAEL, the election in Iran boils down to one major issue – the nuclear program, and the chances of its being stopped, whether Ahmadinejad or Mousavi end up taking the reins.

One school of thought in the defense establishment is that Ahmadinejad serves Israel’s short-term interests. With his open calls to destroy the Jewish state and his public denial of the Holocaust, he helps Israel make its diplomatic case against Iran.”

It sounds as though Israel would be for keeping Ahmadinejad. At least they would know what to expect. It seems that no one knows what to expect of Mousavi.  May all the Middle East know that those who come against Israel will fail, and their armies will be destroyed; not by Israel, nor by the United States, or any army of the world, but by the Supreme Ruler, the Sovereign Ruler of the Universe. Read Ezekiel 38 – 39 along with Genesis 12:1-3.

There is no doubt in anyone’s mind that the world is in economic straights, and in need of help, but from where.  The only help for Israel, Iran, and the rest of the world can only be found in turning to the One who died for the sins of the world, and His name is Jesus the Christ; Son of the Living God.

Let us who are followers of Jesus Christ continue to pray for the “peace of Jerusalem” and for the people of the Middle East.  The hope of the world is Jesus.

-Tim A. Blankenship