Did the Bible predict Muslims would come to Christ? A cross and Muslim crescent in Cairo, Egypt. Photo Michael Swam/Flickr
Reports are coming in of hundreds of Muslim migrants converting to Christianity in Germany. Most are Afghanistan or Iranian refugees.
They are converting because they believe this decision would improve their chances of gaining asylum because having converted their life would be in danger if they were sent back.
It is difficult to know if the conversions are legitimate.
But during a baptismal service at the evangelical Trinity Church in Berlin, pastor Gottfried Martens asked an Iranian man, Mohammed Ali Zonoobi, if he was willing to:
“break away from Satan and his evil deeds? Will you break away from Islam.”
Without hesitation, Zonoobi, a former carpenter, who had fled to Germany along with his wife and two children answered, “yes.”
Zonoobi stated in the interview that while in Iran he and his wife had secretly attended Bible classes and it was the arrest of fellow believers that resulted in him fleeing Iran. We have reported before that God is moving among Iranians and many are becoming Christians.
The Daily Mail noted:
“Several candidates for baptisms at Marten’s church would not give their names out of fear of repercussions for their families back home.”
Martens told reporters there are 80 Muslims still waiting to be baptized. While the pastor realizes that some are converting to improve their chances of staying in Germany, he said that many are taking their conversion seriously adding that about 90% of them continue on in church after their baptism.
Pastor Martens said:
“I invite these people in because I think that coming here does change people, despite their original motivation for doing so.”
Over the past two years, Marten’s church has grown from 150 members to over 600 members much of it due to the influx of Muslims. Many other churches in the area are seeing growth as well.
Did the Bible predict Muslim conversions?
Though it is doubtful that all these Muslims are genuinely converting to Christ, to say that none are would be equally wrong. God is moving upon Muslims and even imams are converting to Christ and I believe the Bible prophesied this would happen.
When the Holy Spirit fell upon a group of gentiles living in Caesarea (Acts 10:44-48), it resulted in a major theological issue in the early Jewish church. Did these gentiles have to first become Jewish — get circumcised — before they became Christians? Judiazers in the early church were promoting this opinion.
In Acts 15, a church conference was called to deal with this issue.
During the meeting, the Apostle James who was taking a lead role in the Jerusalem church addressed the group. Citing a passage out of Amos, James spoke of a time when the God would rebuild the Tabernacle of David and gentiles would come into God’s house.
“In that day I will raise up the fallen booth of David,
And wall up its breaches;
I will also raise up its ruins
And rebuild it as in the days of old;
12 That they may possess the remnant of Edom
And all the nations who are called by My name,”
Declares the Lord who does this. (Amos 9:11-12 NASV)
It was this passage that seems to have swung the debate and the early church allowed gentiles in without requiring they first become Jews.
But I have always found it interesting that while Amos speaks of a remnant of the gentiles from “all the nations” getting saved, he specifically mentions a remnant of Edom.
The nation of Edom was created by the descendants of Esau (Genesis 36:8), the wayward son of Isaac. The country was a deadly enemy of Israel throughout much of Bible history.
Though it no longer exists as a nation, many of their descendants do and they are scattered throughout the Arab nations in the Middle East, most of whom are now Muslim.
Source:
OpentheWord.org 