Is there a spiritual battle raging over Iran?

Tehran, the capital city of Iran Credit: ninara/Wikipedia/Flickr/Creative Commons 2.5

Two recent reports out of Iran suggest there is a spiritual battle raging in the heavenlies over that country.

The first involves an exclusive report by CBN on how 20 Iranians were recently water baptized after believing on Jesus for their salvation.

All 20 were former Muslims and many had come to Christ through Mohabat TV, a Christian TV and radio station that broadcasts into Islamic countries.

It is illegal in Iran for a Muslim to convert to Christianity, so all 20 were baptized secretly. The group, that also included family and friends, actually flew out of Tehran, the capital city of Iran, to an undisclosed city where they were baptized in an indoor pool.

Several of them were people of influence. CBN interviewed a man identified as only Pastor Amir, a fake name to protect his identity, who reported:

“Most of the people at this gathering are artists, musicians, some are TV producers, they are educated people, they are specialists from different fields of Iranian society.”
Pastor Amir, CBN News

Many believe the underground church in Iran is one of the fastest growing Christian communities in the world and ironically, these small house churches are often led by women.

But there is more to this story. I was going to have you guess, what country has the second most reported cases of the Coronavirus in the world, but the answer is too obvious.

It is Iran.

Because of its secretive totalitarian government, it is uncertain how many cases of the virus there actually are in the country. The Jerusalem Post reported that one Iranian official, Ahmad Amirabadi, publicly stated that 50 Iranians had died from the virus in the city of Qom alone.

According to reports, the outbreak is focused on the holy city of Qom which is regularly visited by Shia pilgrims, one of the major sects of Islam. This is not only facilitating the spread of the disease throughout Iran, but the Middle East as well.

But as soon as Amirabadi revealed that number, the regime shut him down and stated there were only 12 deaths in the whole country. That number has since grown to 15 deaths and 95 cases of the disease.

But then people noticed that Iran’s Deputy Health Minister Iraj Hairichi was coughing in public and it has since been acknowledged that he along with another Iranian MP has contracted the Coronavirus.

Many now believe the Iranian government is covering up the actual number of cases of the virus in the country.

Iran is now being blamed as the source for the spread of the Coronavirus throughout other Middle East, because it was not honest about the spread of the virus in the country. As a result, neighboring countries are closing their borders to Iran and stopping all flights from the country.

But Iran is 2,976 miles (ca. 4,789 km) from China and has more cases of the Coronavirus than countries neighboring China.

So how did Iran end up with the second most reported cases in the world? How did it end up as a focal point for Coronavirus in the Middle East?

You can blame an incompetent regime’s failure to act and its willingness to cover up the truth, but this also reveals, what many have long suspected, that China has been actively involved with the Iranian government in an attempt to build China’s influence in the Middle East.

This means Chinese officials and businessmen are visiting Iran and Iranians visiting China. And it is also being reported that Iran has not yet suspended flights to China.

Oddly, this Coronavirus is not only disrupting the China/Iran connection but it is also breaking down Iran’s ability to peddle its terrorist message to neighboring Middle Eastern countries.

But there is an interesting verse in Ezekiel that may be addressing this very issue:

And I will pour out my wrath on Pelusium, the stronghold of Egypt, and cut off the multitude of Thebes. ¹⁶And I will set fire to Egypt; Pelusium shall be in great agony; Thebes shall be breached, and Memphis shall face enemies by day.
Ezekiel 30:15-16, ESV

Is it possible that God is using the Coronavirus to break up China’s growing influence in the world, particularly the Middle East?

In this verse, the Hebrew word “j’o” is translated as Pelusium, that was a major ancient city located along the Mediterranean Sea on one of the mouths of the Nile river that formed the Nile Delta. In this verse, Pelusium is described as the stronghold or strength of Egypt.

But according to Jewish Rabbi Yosef Pinto, the Hebrew word “j’o,” that is also translated “Sin” in other English versions, is the same word used for China in modern Hebrew.

If this verse has a prophetic significance, it would suggest that God is going to judge China and thwart its influence in the Middle East.

So on one hand we have a major revival breaking out in Iran and on the other hand a plague that seems to be exposing China’s meddling in the Middle East.

And similar to what is happening in China, Iranians are starting to blame the government for its incompetence in handling the spread of the disease further weakening its control over its citizens.

As God begins to move in a nation, it often impacts the political as well.

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