Ali's Testimony (Turkey)
Ali is the oldest of nine children but he doesn't have many warm memories of being part of such a large family. They teased him and said that he looked different than everyone else in the family. His mother said she hated him and that he was the child who resembled her the least. He always felt rejected by his family and cried a lot as a child.
For four months every year, Ali worked as a shepherd. This began when he was eight years old and continued until he was 18. He took the sheep to the mountains and since he spent a lot of time alone he wanted someone to talk to so he "created a god" in his heart. This god was like a friend to Ali. Ali would have lengthy conversations with him saying things like, "How beautiful are your creations," as he looked at the flowers, the sun, the rocks and the grass. He would also ask this god questions like, "Where does an apple's sweetness come from?" because he believed that there was a God who made everything good.
When he was 20, he started drinking alcohol. By the time he was 25, he was an alcoholic. Sometimes he started drinking before nine in the morning. When he arrived home, his wife often asked him if he had been drinking. This made him angry so he began beating her daily. His children witnessed this abuse and were afraid to come home after school so they would often go to a friend's house until they knew their father was asleep. Ali wanted to stop drinking and he felt bad that he was abusing his wife. He decided to move to Saudi Arabia to work in construction because he'd heard that alcohol was forbidden there. However, the first night he was in Saudi Arabia he found alcohol and drank it.
Although Ali wasn't a religious man-his family said they were Muslims but they didn't really know much about the religion-he decided to go to Mecca, hoping that this would free him from alcoholism. He says, "I made a decision in my heart. I am going to be a true pilgrim. I am going to be a true Muslim and I will quit drinking." The first night he was at Mecca, Ali had a dream. In the dream, Jesus took Ali's hand and said, "You belong to me." He also put His finger on Ali's forehead and said, "You need to leave this place and go right now." When Ali woke up, he felt like he was floating so he touched the carpet to make sure that he was still on the ground. He continued to hear Jesus' voice saying, "You need to come with me. You belong to me." Ali's friends saw a shiny spot on his forehead where Jesus had touched him, but when Ali looked in the mirror, he couldn't see it. (This spot on his forehead looked like "sim," a glittery type of makeup that Turkish brides wear.)
Ali decided to continue his pilgrimage. However, his one-month old car would not start. He kept hearing Jesus' voice saying, "You need to go from here." Once he changed his mind and decided to leave Mecca, his car started. He went home to his apartment and heard the same voice again. This time Jesus told him that he should go back to Turkey. Within three days, he was at a "welcome home" party in Turkey. Again, he heard the voice. This time, Jesus told him to tell everyone at the party that he was now a Christian. He did this, but the people didn't really take him seriously.
It wasn't until several years after the dream that Ali began to understand what it really meant to be a Christian. He was listening to the radio when he heard a voice say, "Jesus died, rose from the dead after three days and is seated at the right hand of the Father." He called for his wife and told her that he had found the voice of Jesus-inside the radio. Through this radio program, he received Bible study material and a New Testament. He was 38 years old at the time and says the day he received the New Testament in the mail was "maybe the happiest moment of my life." After completing various correspondence courses, Ali and his family moved to Istanbul so he could attend Bible school.
He continues to share his Christian faith openly and unashamedly. Alcohol no longer has dominion over him, and he cherishes the wife he once treated so badly. Truly, he has become a "new creation in Christ."
Mohammed's Testimony (Nigeria)-Arabic--
Mohammed grew up in a Fulani tribe and started rearing cattle when he was six years old. He did this for almost 10 years until he went to an Arabic school to study the Qur’an. Prior to this, Mohammed had learned about Islam from his father.
After several years of schooling, he returned home. One night he had a frightening dream. He saw people along the roadside who were suffering. He entered a gate and people took him and beat him. Then he was locked in a room that was very hot. It was so hot that his flesh began to peel off his body. As he began screaming and trying to kick the door open, he woke up. He couldn’t sleep for the rest of the night. The next night, he had another dream. This time he was on a different road and he saw decaying bodies. He came to the same gate, was beaten and taken to the same room. His flesh was melting off his body when a man dressed in white appeared. Suddenly, the room became cold and the people who were beating him disappeared. The man stretched his hand out and held Mohammed’s hand, saying, “My son, what are you doing here? Do you want me to take you home?” Mohammed says, “Within a second I was back home and he said to me, ‘I love you, my son.’”
Two weeks later, Mohammed had a third dream. He was in the bush and there was a deep hole in front of him and he didn’t know how to cross it. When he looked into the pit he became scared and thought he would probably fall in and die. He saw a man dressed in black walking quickly. This man told him that a lion was coming behind him (Mohammed) and that he should jump over the pit before the lion reached him. Mohammed could hear the lion’s roar. Just as he was about to jump, the man in white from his previous dream appeared in front of him and asked, “My son, where are you going?” The man in black disappeared and the lion’s roar stopped. Mohammed told the man in white that he was going home. He asked Mohammed if he wanted help. The man in white stretched his leg across the whole pit. As he did this, the hole closed and he told Mohammed to cross over and go home. When they were close to Mohammed’s house, the man said, “I love you, my son.”
For the next six nights, Mohammed had similar dreams. Each time, he saw himself in different places and, regardless of where he was, the same man in white came and helped him. In the last dream (dream #9), Mohammed was sitting under a tree reading books that he couldn’t understand. The man in white (Jesus) was sitting beside him. He asked Mohammed what he was reading and Mohammed told him that he was trying to acquire knowledge. Jesus asked Mohammed if he wanted help and told him that he could show him specific things to read. Jesus took a book and said, “This book comes from the Lord and it has the message of God inside of it. In this book, I will show you verses which will help you.” Jesus read scriptures to Mohammed, including John 14:6, which says, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” He explained this to Mohammed and told him that He was the way and the Savior of the world. Jesus also told him that he would face many trials after becoming a Christian. He told Mohammed He wanted to be his Savior and explained that He was the man in Mohammed’s dreams, the man who had rescued him. When Jesus told Mohammed he wanted to give him salvation, and asked, “Do you accept?” Mohammed said yes and Jesus disappeared.
The next day Mohammed went to meet a Christian acquaintance to tell him about this dream. This friend introduced him to some young men from another church and they led Mohammed to Christ. He told his parents that he was now a Christian. After several months, Mohammed’s father forced him to drink poison. He ordered men in the village to surround Mohammed so he couldn’t escape. Interestingly, two days earlier Jesus had appeared to Mohammed and told him that whatever difficulties he faced, He would make a way for him. Mohammed asked his father if he could pray before he swallowed the poison. He prayed, swallowed the poison, and went to bed. The next morning, to his father’s dismay, Mohammed was still alive. Later, his family tried to kill him by shooting him with a poisoned arrow. He spent a month in the hospital, but he survived this experience as well.
After these attempts to end his life, his family tried other tactics to persuade him to leave Christianity. His father gave him a hundred cows and told him he could have three wives if he were to abandon the Christian faith. Eventually, Mohammed made his choice – but it was to leave the family home. He thanked his father for the cows and the offer of three wives and said, “You still have not met the needs that Jesus promised to meet. If you promise and agree to meet those needs, fine. Do you have means of giving me life forever?” His father said no. Mohammed told his father since he couldn’t provide eternal life, there was no way that he could leave Jesus Christ.
A few years later, while on his deathbed, Mohammed’s father asked Mohammed for forgiveness and said he was ready to receive Jesus as his Savior. Mohammed led his father in the sinner’s prayer and three hours later, his father died. On one hand, the passing of his father was a sad event, but on the other hand, it was cause for rejoicing. Not only had father and son been reconciled with each other before Mohammed’s father left this world, but he left this world in peace, knowing that in the world to come, he would be with Jesus for all eternity, and—at some future date—be with his son again in heaven.
Dini's Testimony (Indonecia)
As the oldest child in her family, twelve-year-old Dini had always been close to her father; so when he died suddenly, she was devastated. Her devastation turned to anger when she learned that her father had an affair with her aunt who was now pregnant. She also learned that her mother was pregnant from her father.
As a struggling widow, Dini's mother decided to place her three youngest children in an orphanage. She also had to sell valuables in the house just so the family would have money to buy food. About four years later, a relative told Dini that her mother was getting remarried. Dini was very hurt by this and didn't understand why her mother hadn't told her. She felt like she didn't have anyone she could depend on since her father had disappointed her, and now her mother had done the same.
Dini became friends with the troublemakers at school and went through a rebellious period. She skipped classes, didn't wear the school uniform and got into fights. When several of her friends faced serious problems, Dini began to ask questions: "What is it that I'm looking for? Religious rules don't make me happy. But a free life without the rules of religion isn't something I want either."
The month of Ramadan arrived and Dini became diligent with the religious practices of fasting and prayer. One night, during Ramadan, she decided to pray the tahajud prayer. The tahajud prayer is not one of the five required daily prayers. It is only done at midnight and, in particular, it includes petitions that ask God for signs. Dini set her alarm clock and woke up to pray. She says, "I had such strong faith that whatever I asked God for that night, God would listen and give His answer." At the end of the prayer which she had memorized, she cried out to God and said, "God, I am confused. I'm very confused about the way to meet Your approval." She continued, "God, if you wish for me to live life within your demands, then tonight show me the right path. If you do not show me, God, then let me live life the way I want. I won't ever again care about the rules of religion. And if I die, don't send me to hell. I didn't know what was right! It wouldn't be fair for me to go to hell, God. You never showed me the right way. What I want, God, is to be shown the right path tonight. I will live my life the way you appoint it."
A bright light then appeared and she saw a figure standing in front of her. The man was wearing a white robe but she couldn't see his face clearly. She doesn't know how but she realized that the figure was Isa. He said, "Follow me," and she was confused and thought, "Lord, I am a Muslim. How can I follow you?" She asked several other questions as she wondered how she could follow the God of the Christians. She heard another voice saying, "You can't possibly follow Him. Forget your prayer! Forget the intention of leading a good life!" When she looked at the man in white, she felt calm and peaceful. Jesus continued to say, "Follow me," as He stretched out His hand. Dini struggled over her decision but finally she said, "God, if this is the way of truth, okay. I want to follow you." The moment she said that, she felt as if ice was pouring over her chest. At the same time, she felt a peace she had never experienced before. She says, "I felt something extraordinary inside my heart."
After Dini became a Christian, she experienced persecution from her family. She was just 17 years old when they forced her to leave home. She attended boarding school and supported herself through part-time jobs. She also pursued reconciliation with her family. While showing respect for the Javanese traditions, she didn't back down on her unwavering commitment to Christ. The greatest test for her was forgiving her deceased father and accepting her half-brother, born out of wedlock to her aunt. When his mother could no longer take care of him, Dini embraced her half-brother as her own.
She continues to live as an example of one who can "do all things through Christ who strengthens" her.
God told in Joel 2:28 "And it shall come to pass afterward,that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh;your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,your old men shall dream dreams,and your young men shall see visions"
Khalil's Testimony (Egypt)
Khalil started memorizing the Qur'an at a very early age and developed what he called a love for the word of God. As he grew older, he started reading books on Islam and the interpretation of the Qur'an. By sorting out Muslims from non-Muslims according to the Qur'an's teaching, he ended up considering his own parents infidels. Little things such as a woman not wearing a veil would make her a non-Muslim according to the way he understood the Qur'an. If a man didn't grow a beard he would be considered a non-Muslim. He considered the Christians his worst enemies and started getting involved in attacks against Christians and churches. The Islamic Group, dedicated to the overthrow of the secular government of Egypt and the installation of a strict Muslim government, recruited him into their ranks, appointing him as a local leader. His group became involved in kidnapping a famous moderate Muslim writer who had dared to criticize the Islamic Group.
Eventually, the authorities arrested Khalil and most of the group's members. He spent two years in prison, undergoing torture, and upon his release left Egypt for Yemen in company with other radical Muslims. From this base of operations, they continued in their plans for an armed insurrection in Egypt.
Their plans, however, were discovered by local authorities, many of them were re-arrested, and the military option was all but abandoned. Back in Egypt they had to downplay all of their activities. Upon reading an article in the Cairo newspaper about Christians arrested in Egypt for proselytizing, Khalil and his group decided that it was "past time" to do something for the sake of Islam. Given their small numbers, however, they decided their battle would be an intellectual one, researching and writing a book proving that Mohammed is the True Prophet of God, and that the Bible of the Christians and Jews is a corrupted text. Khalil was chosen by his Emir, the leader of the Islamic Group, to do the research and write the book. He objected strenuously at first, but eventually took on the job, which he described as the "most distasteful thing" he had ever done.
When he had completed reading the Bible and cross-referencing what he had read with numerous Islamic books, Khalil was astonished to discover that the Bible was neither inaccurate nor corrupted. Instead, he was astonished at the Bible's teachings on forgiveness and unconditional love, as reflected in the life and words of Jesus. He was particularly stunned to read how Jesus had warned his followers about persecution and how, two thousand years later, that persecution was taking place exactly as Jesus had said it would. His reading of the Bible helped him understand why Christians in Egypt never retaliated against the Muslims, and why it was always easy for them to forgive and forget. As much as he hated reading the Bible, he fell in love with its message and teachings.
Nonetheless, he had a job to do, and he continued with dogged determination, electing to prove that Jesus is not God and was never crucified. Studying the Qur'an for this purpose, he put together all of God's qualities and attributes as the Qur'an talks about them, and then searched the Qur'an for Jesus' attributes. According to the Qur'an, God is the creator, the healer, the provider, the only one who can raise the dead to life, the only one that performs miracles, the only one who judges perfectly, and the like. To his shock, Khalil discovered that these are the same attributes the Qur'an assigns to Jesus (Isa), proving to Khalil that Jesus and God were, indeed, one.
Growing doubts now made Khalil's life miserable. He had always loved Islam and had always believed that the only way to God was through Mohammed. But if Jesus and God were one, then who is Mohammed and what is the way to heaven?
One day, the Emir came to visit Khalil in his house and discovered all the research that Khalil had documented (the deity of Jesus, the Qur'an not being the word of God, etc.). He couldn't believe what he read. He told Khalil that he would kill him if he shared his heretical ideas with any Muslim and that he was now considered an infidel.
Khalil, however, could not turn from the conviction that Christianity was the right way. Wanting to learn more, he decided to join a church. Since he was notorious as a zealous Muslim, no one believed him. Everyone refused to meet with him, even pastors. He was disappointed and thought maybe he was wrong after all; maybe the Christian faith wasn't the way to heaven. However, a voice inside him told him not to look to people.
One day as he was trying to make a phone call at a café, his attaché was stolen. The bag contained all of his research papers, his Bible and his identity card. He was terrified because everything he had written would be considered blasphemous, and the bag also contained his ID card. He rushed home, troubled and tormented. In his room he started repenting for all that he had done and thought that God was punishing him for daring to think that Mohammed was not sent from God and that the Qur'an was not the word of God. He repented, washed himself, and pulled his rug out to pray, but he couldn't bend his knees nor open his mouth to say one word of the Qur'an. He sat down and said, "God you know that I love you, and I know that you want me on the right path. God, I can't resist anymore. All that I did, I did trying to please you. Please pull me out of this darkness."
That night, Khalil slept in a way he hadn't slept for years. In a dream, he saw a man, who came to him and told him that he was the one for whom Khalil had been searching. Khalil didn't know who the man was. The man told him to look in the Book (the Bible). Khalil said the Book and all his papers were lost, to which the man replied, "The book never gets lost. Get up and open your closet and you will find it. The rest of your papers will be returned to you by the end of the week."
Khalil woke up from the dream and opened his closet. His very own copy of the Bible was inside the closet on a shelf. Knowing that he had seen Jesus, he hurried to his mother's room, awoke her, and begged her forgiveness for his years of harshness and ill treatment of the family. His search for reconciliation didn't end with his family either. As the sun rose that same morning, Khalil took to the streets, greeting friends and strangers alike. He sought out the Christian owners of businesses whom he had robbed, or mistreated, and begged their forgiveness too.
Over the ensuing months, Khalil grew in his new faith, gradually winning the confidence and trust of local Christians and finding fellowship at a church. He was baptized and continues to brave physical attacks and threats against his life, because he feels that no price is too great to pay for the One who gave everything for him.
God told in Joel 2:28 "And it shall come to pass afterward,that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh;your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,your old men shall dream dreams,and your young men shall see visions"
This is what's happening in these last days:
Muslims are Encountering Jesus In Unusual Dreams all Over the World!
Reported that among African Muslims, "42 percent of the new believers come to Christ through visions, dreams, angelic appearances and hearing God's voice."
"A follower of Jesus from Guinea tells of a person in white who appeared to him in a dream, calling him with outstretched arms,"
"A Muslim from Malaysia saw her deceased Christian parents in a dream, celebrating in Heaven. Jesus, in a white robe, told her, "If you want to come to me, come!" She did.
"A member of the Yakan people in Basilan Province dreamed that the Prophet Mohammed could not look Jesus in the eye. When he told his cousin, a Christian, of the dream, his cousin told him that the dream meant that Jesus is greater than Mohammed."
Muslims worldwide who have reported dreams of Jesus and now follow Isa al Masih as their Savior
"...In the dream, Jesus told me to come to Him and read the Bible and He would show me the way, truth and the life..."
"...I saw some Christians standing in line to get into Heaven. I tried to get into this line also, but a very tall being blocked my path and I started to cry because the side I was on was really horrible but the side they were on was a beautiful place, so beautiful, so blue..."
"...I went back to bed after a short prayer and saw a second dream. This time it was Jesus as I saw him in the Jesus film years ago and I had trashed his video. He was hanging on the cross, the nails were in his hands and feet, yet he was smiling at me and talking to me. Though he was dying he seemed so beautiful. The cross was huge and I seemed like a little boy. My neck was falling back trying to see the whole face of Jesus and suddenly a huge big circle of light came from above the cross and down upon me..." |