Are you blessed to meet these Middle East Revivalist?  I certainly am!  Out Lord Jesus Christ is working in incredible ways in the Middle East and these are testimonies of men and women who are leading the charge.  Revivalists have come to see that Islam is not the answer and jihad is not the way.  Jesus is the way!

That stands opposed to Radicals (“Islam is the answer and jihad is the way”) and Reformers (“Islam is the answer, but jihad is not the way”).  You see, the Muslim activist fit one of those three categories.  Radicals such as the entire Iranian regime, the late Osama bin Laden, and ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi believe the answer lies in violent jihad.  Reformers such as Jordan’s King Abdullah and Egypt’s President al-Sisi want peaceful democracies within the confines of Muslim religion.  But Revivalists have seen the power of Jesus Christ and know that the only true way to peace and righteousness is through Him.

Reza Kahlili is one such Revivalist.  He was raised Muslim in Iran, and taught that in Islam he could find his way to God.  Educated in the US, but believing that the Islamic Revolution of 1979 and the rise of the Ayatollah Khomeini would bring the promise of freedom for all, he returned to Iran and joined the Revolutionary Guards, an elite military unit, primarily responsible for protecting the regime leadership.

Shortly after, he witnessed the cruel rape, beating, torture, and execution of young men and women seeking freedom.  Some of them were his siblings and his best friend.  Khomeini announced himself as a representative of Allah and punished anyone who opposed.  Thus, Reza defected back to the US where he became a collaborator and a spy for the CIA, hoping to assist in overthrowing an evil regime decimating his people and his country in the name of Allah.

Reza soon realized that Islam was not the answer, and that Allah as portrayed by the ayatollahs was not the real God.  So he renounced Islam and set out to find the One True God.  Friends introduced him to Jesus and His words began to take root in his heart and soul.  In his words:

Jesus came to me when I needed guidance. He came to me at a time when my faith in man and religion was totally shaken. His words and His love became the guiding light to set me free from sin and hopelessness. I found myself knowing there is goodness and kindness and that it comes from within us – that it is only through His love that we will find peace and eternal life.

Reza Kahlili loves his people, and was willing to work against the evil regime that robs and deprives them of freedom.  He literally put his life on the line, and must still live in disguise and under the pseudonym of Reza Kahlili.  If not, he would surely be tracked down and killed.  But he expresses love to his fellow Iranians this way:

As I continue my fight against the evil in Iran, I know in my heart that the Lord will guide me in that fight because He loves the people of Iran even more than I do. The Iranian people are desperate for their freedom, and Jesus says, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free (John 8:31-32).”

Freedom in Jesus Christ is what so many are seeking.  Literally millions of Muslims are coming to know Christ because of the love and ministry of Revivalists such as Reza Kahlili.  Let’s pray that their message goes out with power and is widespread.

Interested in knowing more about Reza’s double life as a CIA agent in Iran’s Revolutionary Guards?  Read his award-winning book, A Time to Betray.

Tomorrow we’ll take a look at one last Revivalist.  Hamas blood ran through his veins and his mission was to kill Jews. Yet once imprisoned, he realized the atrocities committed by Hamas members toward one another, and that set him on a journey to find truth…which he found in Jesus Christ!  Join me tomorrow for more of his story!