Radical regimes may seem to be gaining the upper hand in the world. Iran’s ayatollahs are breathing fire against Israel and the United States. The Taliban are celebrating their absolute power over Afghanistan by parading equipment the U.S. left behind. The Iran-backed Houthis of Yemen are becoming increasingly aggressive. China is working feverishly to expand its influence around the world in what they have called the 100-year war against America. Meanwhile, Kim Jong Un’s North Korea has developed ICBMs for the specific purpose of inflicting destruction on their southern neighbors and our West Coast.

Beneath all that posturing, saber rattling, and warmongering, powerful moves of God are taking place that signal deep trouble for these regimes. Moves that make no headlines in the world’s mainstream media but that have the potential of collapsing oppressive governments from the inside out – much like what happened in communist Eastern Europe nearly 40 years ago.

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Christians in Iran

A recent video by CBN News reports that more Iranians have become fed up with the ayatollahs and that 80% of them want democracy. According to Todd Nettleton of Voice of the Martyrs, which closely monitors and supports the Church in closed countries, many are turning to Christ. At least 1 million have reportedly left Islam and embraced Christianity. A staggering 50,000-75,000 mosques have closed, which has triggered aggressive attempts by the Iranian government to crush evangelism and conversion as forms of dissent. The government routinely raids house churches, photographs the attendants, and arrests and imprisons their leaders. Yet the movement keeps growing. According to Nettleton, this may be aided by otherwise fanatically religious family members becoming more tolerant than the government about leaving Islam. They seem to have an attitude of being happy that their relatives have found “something that works” because they know Islam doesn’t work. Now, instead of reporting them, they protect them.

The report also features Don Shenk, Executive Director of The Tide Ministry. He sees what’s happening in Iran as representative of similar movements throughout the Islamic world. Increasing numbers of Muslims are reaching out to Christian ministries after receiving dreams and visions about Christ. Shenk says that their eyes are being opened to God being a God of love and not a God of punishment as radical Islam portrays Him to be. The Tide Ministries have stepped up their broadcasts into Afghanistan, where they have met with positive responses, signaling a growing desire to be free from the Taliban yoke. Especially there, interest in Christianity is under the threat of death, and possession of a Bible is a capital offense.

Christians in Yemen

Similar events are taking place in Yemen, where the radical Houthi movement is battling the Yemeni government and has taken control of almost the entire northern portion. The Joshua Project reports that Christian growth in Yemen is nearly double the global average (5.1% versus 2.6%).

Christians in Saudi Arabia

Even the royal family of staunchly Islamic Saudi Arabia appears to have become more tolerant of Christian churches being formed – something that was strictly limited to expatriates until recently.

Christians in China

Meanwhile, in Xi Jinping’s China, the house church movement continues growing despite increased persecution. If its growth trajectory holds, it may reach 300 million by 2030 – a large enough number to topple the communist government.

Christians in North Korea

The news from North Korea is even more surprising. In a video published on a YouTube Channel run by David Platt’s ministry Radical, Voice of the Martyrs Korea director Eric Foley states that now some 8% of North Koreans have seen a Bible, compared to 0% at the beginning of this century. According to the video, there are now anywhere between 100,000 and 400,000 Christians in North Korea, with tens of thousands of them languishing in harsh prison camps. Churches meet in strict secrecy to protect attendees from being detected and sentenced to lengthy prison terms by a regime that considers Protestant Christianity as one of its most hostile adversaries. Despite this harsh opposition, the Church keeps growing through vibrant, ultra-secret evangelistic ministries operating inside the country with little or no aid from foreign agencies and often with only a few Scripture verses as a resource. Complete Bibles are almost impossible to get. A supernatural work of God aids that secret and limited witness – no dreams and visions, but miraculous healings are opening people’s hearts and minds to the gospel!

Spiritual Implications

These great moves of God beneath the power structures of governments that hate the gospel and consider Christianity one of their most significant enemies have a few common denominators to take note of.

The first and most apparent is that governments, no matter how strict and oppressive, are no match for the Spirit of God. Where no missionaries are allowed, He gives the people dreams and visions. Where no Bibles are allowed, He forges a way for people to hear the gospel audibly and respond.

The second common denominator is that oppressive government, whether it is atheist or religious, clashes with the basic human desires to be free and to be loved. Oppression breeds disenchantment. When disenchantment becomes strong, it results in the desire to break free and rebel against a government’s yoke at the risk of losing one’s life.

The third common denominator is that people under oppressive regimes hunger for alternatives. They know their need for a supernatural influence in their lives that makes sense. So rather than turning to the emptiness of atheism, they embrace Christ, Who offers them a daily relationship through which He affirms their identity, confirms God’s love for them, and gives them the courage, hope, and help they need.

Last but not least, these movements are evidence that God is at work to collapse these hostile regimes from the inside out so people can be rescued from darkness and brought into His kingdom of light. We have been praying that over several of these nations for a while. The continued growth of these movements is an answer to our prayers and encourages us to persist.

They should also make us vigilant about our nation. Satan is hard at work to destroy the U.S. from the inside out through the crises we face at the border, in our major cities, and in our government. Not to mention that the nations God is hollowing out from within have formed unholy alliances to bring America to its knees and remove it from the world stage as the only superpower that can hinder them from achieving dominance.

How To Pray

These movements are the result of decades-long focused prayer for these nations, mobilized by numerous ministries God has raised up to reach them. Let us join them in praying that:

• God will provide access to Bibles and discipleship resources in countries where the gospel is forbidden.
• God will strengthen the rapidly growing churches and protect them from divisions.
• God will raise up wise and courageous evangelists, teachers, pastors, and leaders to mature the Church.
• God will continue to reveal Himself through dreams, visions, and miraculous healings so that many more will come to faith in Christ.
• God will render government persecution ineffective against the will to embrace Christ.
• God will grant us vigilance against the destruction of the U.S. from the inside out and bring revival to rescue those who are perishing under our current crises.
• God will ignite a hunger for revival in the hearts of those who hear the news of what He is doing among the people under oppressive regimes – a holy jealousy to see Him move among us in similar ways.

Mighty God, may Your Word spread quickly to free people oppressed by regimes that hate You! We praise You for the news of what is happening in the Islamic and communist worlds. May it spread quickly! Bring the Church under strong and wise leadership. May the stories of the miracles that are taking place make us hungry to see Your hand move similarly in the United States. In Jesus Name. Amen!

Please share this good news with a friend!

Remco Brommet is a pastor, spiritual-growth teacher, and prayer leader with over 40 years of experience in Europe, Southeast Asia, Africa, and the U.S. He was born and raised in the Netherlands and pastored his first Church in Amsterdam. He moved to the U.S. in 1986. He and his wife, Jennifer, live north of Atlanta. When not writing books, he blogs at www.deeperlifeblog.com and assists his wife as a content developer and prayer coordinator for True Identity Ministries. Jennifer and Remco are passionate about bringing people into a deeper relationship with Christ. Photo credit: Salar Arkan – سالار ارکان, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons.