Meet the Billy Graham of Iran
Battle for Souls
This is where the connections to America’s most beloved evangelist come in. Rosenberg says the impact Shariat is having on the Persian-speaking world is “evocative of how God used Billy Graham for much of the 20th century.”
“The difference, of course, is that Billy Graham used stadiums as well as broadcast television and radio to preach the gospel, and Hormoz Shariat doesn’t have access to stadiums in Iran,” Rosenberg continues. “But through the miracle of global satellite television technology, he is able to broadcast the gospel in Farsi into Iranian homes in a way that allows him to bypass the Iranian government and Islamic religious system. That is an extraordinary development in the last decade and has really opened the doors for the gospel in unprecedented ways in such a closed country as Iran.”
At this time, a cosmic, supernatural battle is underway for the souls of the Iranian people, Rosenberg says. Christ will win, but Satan is fighting very hard.
“That’s my perception of what’s happening,” Rosenberg says, “and so what you have inside Iran is a conundrum. Iran’s leadership is arguably the most evil and dangerous political leadership on the planet right now, feverishly trying to acquire operational nuclear warheads and the means to deliver those warheads against Israel and the U.S. Simultaneously, more Iranians are coming to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and in the process renouncing Islam than in any other time in the history of Islam. Those two truths are simultaneously operative in Iran, and it’s a complicated and fascinating development.”
Ironically, more Iranians are coming to faith in Christ than Israelis, yet Iran’s leadership is preparing to try to annihilate Israel.
“I believe the prophecies of Ezekiel 38-39 and Jeremiah 49 indicate that a divine judgment of Iran’s leadership is coming,” Rosenberg says. “At the same time, I believe those prophecies indicate a great spiritual awakening and revival is coming to Iran as well.”
The prophet Ezekiel foresaw the end-times war of Gog and Magog, a reference interpreted as an alliance between Russia, Iran and other nations to attack Israel. Furthermore, Rosenberg says the references in Jeremiah 49 to the wrath of God in Elam refer to modern-day Iran.
“I believe Iran is going to become arguably the greatest sending country of gospel-preaching missionaries the world has ever known in the not-too-distant future, based on the prophecies of Jeremiah 49 and Christ moving His spiritual throne there in the end times,” he says. “It’s an intriguing development, and that’s why we as believers in the West need to be praying for our enemies in Iran, knowing that, yes, some are going to be judged, but some are going to come to faith and be used by Christ to preach the gospel all over the planet.”
Shariat also believes Iran will become a largely Christian nation in the end times, making it Iran Alive’s mission to transform Iran into a Christian nation in this generation.
“We believe this is a possibility,” Shariat says. “This is already happening fast, and it’s very possible. Christians in the West need to work together. If we are ready and work together, it’s very likely in one generation—30 to 40 years—that we’ll see Iran become a Christian nation.”
He knows it cannot be done by the work of one person or ministry alone.
“There is a historical window of opportunity to impact Iran and the Middle East with the gospel,” Shariat says. “It will not last forever. The task is greater than what one ministry can accomplish. We cannot do it alone. I am making a Macedonian call to our brothers and sisters to join us to transform Iran and the Middle East with the gospel.”
Troy Anderson was an award-winning reporter and editorial writer at the Los Angeles Daily News, The Press-Enterprise and other newspapers for two decades. He currently writes for Reuters, Newsmax, Charisma and many other media outlets. Learn more at troyandersonwriter.com.
Watch a report at iranrevival.charismamag.com on Iran’s amazing revival that is seeing countless Muslims become followers of Jesus
