ANALYSIS
As Israeli and U.S. military strikes decimate Iran’s Islamic regime and its nuclear capabilities, an Iranian woman who was jailed and sentenced to die on apostasy charges believes her countrymen will soon throw off their forced Muslim identities, embrace Christianity, and spark a spiritual awakening throughout the Middle East.
A Christian house church leader in Iran until her imprisonment by the brutal Islamist regime in 2009, Maryam Rostampour Keller predicts her former homeland — she is a U.S. citizen today — will be freed with the fall of the Islamic Republic’s fanatical, religious leaders.
During four years of ministry, evangelism, and Bible distribution to fellow Iranians who dreamed about and had visions of Jesus Christ, Rostampour Keller said she had only positive experiences with people open to spiritual truths and personal connections to God.
“That’s why I think our responsibility as the Body of Christ to stand with them in prayer is critical these days,” Rostampour Keller said during a recent national prayer call for Iran.
She believes the regime’s expected fall is only a starting point for a spiritual awakening in Iran and beyond. Rostampour Keller shared what she described as an impression from God showing her that Iran is ripe for spiritual harvest by Christian laborers.
“After the regime falls, we need a lot of Christians ready and prepared to go to Iran and share Jesus with people,” Rostampour Keller said.
Many house-church Christians and secular Iranians inside and outside the country hope the exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi returns to lead Iran because they consider him trustworthy.
“I feel like he (Pahlavi) needs people to pray a special anointing from God for him,” said Rostampour Keller, who doesn’t know if he is a person of faith.
The current battle for Iran is between the forces of good and evil – a spiritual war – that ought to stir the global church to intercession for the future of ancient Persia.
“I have contact with a few Christians in Iran who know believers are frustrated, depressed, isolated, and abandoned by the global church – or so they feel,” said Rostampour Keller.
Military and foreign intervention is only a part of Iranians’ cries for help that, until Israel and U.S. joined military forces, fell on the deaf ears of world leaders.
“I feel a burden on my heart to encourage people to stand with Iran, not just with Christians, but with all the people in fighting this spiritual battle. Christians need to raise this nation to God for intervention,” said Rostampour Keller.
When Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei died in a missile strike, Rostampour Keller struggled with her emotions while at work, as millions of Iranians celebrated his death after 47 years of what she described as virtual imprisonment, torture, and murder under the regime.
As a former prisoner in Iran, Rostampour Keller said her life in the United States is fraught with concern for millions of Iranians who continue to suffer. American friends who follow the war in Iran frequently call or text her to ask how she feels about Khamenei’s assassination.
“This should not be a question. I am rejoicing with millions of Iranians who are happy that a U.S. President (Trump) sent help to them,” said Rostampour Keller, who is a co-author of the book Captive in Iran.
She cannot understand vocal minorities mourning the death of the deceased leader and his evil regime, while failing to empathize with millions of suffering Iranians who have cried for help over many years.
Rostampour Keller knows Iranians don’t have a choice about who or how to worship within the Islamic Republic. At age 7, she was pressured to say Islamic prayers and chant “death to Israel and the United States” every day. “I was thinking recently how much darkness that brings to Iran,” she said.
As a 17-year-old, she was overwhelmed by God’s presence in an encounter with Jesus, giving her life to the Lord after she read a booklet, His Name is Wonderful, based on the Gospel of Luke. It was given to her sister by a Pentecostal church near their home in Tehran.
“It was the first time in my life that I heard that Jesus is the Son of God. I heard about the cross, that He went to the cross for my sins. But none of the words sounded strange to me. That’s why when I got to the last page of the booklet, I was just crying. I was in my room for three hours. I was overwhelmed by God’s presence and His love,” recalled Rostampour Keller.
She joined the Assemblies of God church that gave her sister the gospel booklet. The pastors witnessed her passion for sharing the Good News with family, friends, and even strangers she invited to church.
Stirred by her zeal, the pastors asked Rostampour to study theology and leadership of house churches in Turkey. There she met a friend who returned to Iran with her. Both were full of evangelistic fervor, sharing Jesus with Iranians while leading two house churches.
In 2009, the two young women were arrested by regime agents on charges of apostasy, blasphemy, promoting Christianity, and evangelizing. Convicted on all the charges against them, they received death sentences.
Solitary confinement in Iran’s notorious Evin prison – known for brutality and torture – prepared Rostampour and her friend, Marziyeh Amirizadeh, to boldly share the gospel with desperate prostitutes, drug addicts, and homeless people – all of whom were hungry for God’s grace and love.
Hear more of Rostampour Keller’s prison testimony, her release from captivity, and eventual flight to freedom in the U.S. below on the World Prayer Network Broadcast:
