Iran Rising

Myles sits down with, Dr. Hormoz, whose family fled the 1979 Islamic Revolution which has since enslaved the Persian people. He earned his Ph.D in Artificial Intelligence from USC, but when gospel reached him, it lit a fire in Hormoz to see the Iranian people know Jesus, the Jewish Messiah.  For decades he has been preaching the message of salvation into Iran with great results.

When Myles and Katharine hosted Zola Levitt Presents on TV, Hormoz was one of their most valued interviews. Myles and Katharine have subsequently been on his TV  program several times, seeking directly to the Iranian people. 

At shalomhousefamily.com, we have been supporting the underground church movement since 2009.  We wrote a song, “The Bride Behind the Veil” , which was banned by YouTube for incorporating actual footage of Neda, the young girl murdered by the IRGC  in the streets of Tehran, directly in front of her  Dad. 

Hormoz brings a message of current grief AND  great hope for his countrymen.

Support their work at:

https://iranalive.org/who-we-are/

Transcript

0:01

Shalom, salaam, aloha and howdy. This is Miles coming to you from the left coast of the United States of America and we are believing for California, we're believing for the United States of America and today I'm blessed, you are blessed as well to have with us Dr. Hormoz Shariat, an old friend, he's not that old, but an old friend we've been working together on and off here and there now and then for decade now. uh since God caught my attention about Iran in 2009 when the women were in the street and they were rising up and my president abandoned them. And there was a season right there where I was affected by so many things that were happening. I wrote a song called The Bride Behind the Veil, which has been taken down by YouTube because it had actual footage of a young girl being slaughtered in the street when people were praying after Neda was assassinated there. So... This is a long history for our ministry, for Shalom House. We've been dealing with Iran and hoping for the revolution, the revival, and the reformation that can happen. So Dr. Shariat has been with us. He's been doing this for decades. I'm going to give him the opportunity to tell a little bit of his history, but he has been preaching the gospel into Iran for decades. Joel Rosenberg, friend of ours that you know from All Israel News and from TBN, he is a New York Times bestseller author. termed, probably a little embarrassing, but he called Dr. Hormoz the Billy Graham of Iran because he had been faithfully bringing the Word of God to the church and the rising church and the converts from Islam that are taking place. Catherine and I had privilege to have him on television when we were doing TV and we've been on his program preaching into Iran, into Tehran, which is a thrill for me. My Hebrew name is Mordechai, so I have a kind of a visceral genetic DNA connection. with the Persian people. So that's a long introduction, but Dr. Shariat, thanks for being with us. Thank you so much, Miles. You're a good friend and you're doing a great work for the Lord, just bringing news and information that your audience cannot get it from anywhere else. Thank you. So why don't you tell our audience, they don't know a little bit. Tell us a little bit about your background and your transition from Iran to America and your education, things that, whatever you feel you want to say. Yeah, let me introduce myself. uh We have a ministry, Iran Alive, and uh we have been doing it for almost, or more, over 25 years. What we do is use satellite television and social media, but mainly satellite television. We go over the heads of the mullahs with the signals into Middle East, into people's homes, and tell them about the love of Christ. And the signal comes from the sky, the government cannot stop it. They can turn off internet, which they did the last few days before they started killing people, but they cannot stop the signal. So we have even more audience now that the internet is off in Iran. But I myself was born in Iran in a Muslim family, and in early years I was pretty devout. But when I got into my teenage years, I started thinking, which is a good thing for a Muslim to do. So questioning, I is this, memorizing this prayer and repeating it five times a day doesn't add anything to my life. Let me focus on my studies, be a good person. And my dream was to come to United States, get a PhD in science and be a scientist. So I worked hard and was a good student. In 79, 1979, I was a young student. I was on streets of Tehran and I was demonstrating saying death to Shah, death to America. I wasn't a Christian then, Muslim. And by the way, I wanna tell you, I've changed my mind. I've repented of death to America. I sing God bless America. And I mean that because this is a blessed nation. So I came to United States right after the revolution from my graduate studies at. I got interested, said, I have ignored God, I have ignored Islam, let me be a good Muslim. But I need to know exactly what the Quran says. I knew a lot about it, but not in a systematic study of Quran, I had never done it. So I did that. I wanted to be a good Muslim, I read Quran, I didn't find anything. Anything relates to my life, anything that satisfied my soul, where is God? How does he relate to my life? Thinking that I'm an intellectual I said, okay, I'm open-minded. I'm gonna read the Bible I don't think I'm gonna find anything in the Bible because all religions are the same, you know I thought I was smart all religions are the same and if I study them I can prove that basically the same I studied a Bible one hand Quran one hand Bible Comparing them and when I got to Jesus I realized no way no way these two are the same the things that Jesus says contradicts and the Quran contradicts Jesus. For after a few months, two, three months of study and conflict, I went to a church in downtown Los Angeles, and that's where I heard the gospel. A simple, simple message of the gospel. It's so simple, even a child can't understand. You don't need to have a PhD. So I understood, and it changed my life. I got excited, started sharing the gospel with Muslims, and over the years, so many have come to Christ, planted churches. started a channel and the rest is history. The Lord is saving Iran. And not many people may know that through all this suffering, Iran has the fastest growing evangelical population in the world. Islam is dead, is defeated, people very open to the message of the gospel. Now we're seeing that play out. think it's at least notable for people to understand, our audience to understand that you also, your PhD, this is your Bible understand that you also, your PhD, • this is your Bible study, your PhD is in artificial intelligence. So you get kind of have a firsthand view, an early firsthand view of where we've headed culturally and scientifically in terms of the AI phenomenon that is now taking over the world. Maybe that's a side discussion we can have, but let's concentrate now on what's happening in Iran. You know, this is the the third major uprising since 2009. There's been many over the years, but this one seems like almost a tipping point. I know that you're believing for revival, you've been preaching for revival, you've been seeing it. There's so many questions I have for you. I want to ask, are those in the left side of the aisle in America who are always about freedom for Palestine, freedom for this, freedom for the other? They are silent. Please explain that to me. I don't understand. I can't explain it because I don't understand myself. People who are advocate of human rights and of one person being killed by a Jew, they make it the news all around the world and here, not just in Iran, anywhere else, in China, everywhere else Muslims are being killed and even Muslims killing Muslims and silence. If you're really... advocate for human rights, you have to be consistent. So I don't understand, but I'm glad that Trump is not Obama. And that sentence, I'm just quoting, okay? This is what the Iranians people say. They are saying, we thank God Trump is not Obama. The reason is you mentioned 2009, millions of people were on the streets and they were shouting Obama, Obama come, come and help us. By the way, it's a funny thing. The name Obama in Farsi means he is with us. Yeah, Obama means he is with us. They had this slogan on the street saying, hey Obama, Obama, are you with them or are you with us? The last part is Obama in Farsi. So what did Obama do? He sent $15 billion and one airplane and cash and another 150 billion later. And what they did with that money, first hire mercenaries to come and kill people on the streets. And you saw that lady being killed and many others were killed. Number two, just be a terrorist, become an ATM machine for any terrorist around the world. want to do, here's the money. And many Americans, let's just talk about Americans. Many Americans are killed because of the money given to uh through Obama to the Iranian government. So now it's different. The people are not going home. They are at the end of their rope. They're being killed, but they're not going away because there is no choice. There is no option. And they're not afraid to die. I saw a young man standing before the riot police about to shoot him, and he was just standing bravely. And he was saying, shoot me, kill me, kill me. I never lived, kill me. I don't have a life, kill me. and people like that, was another man, older man, he was saying, I'm not afraid to die. I'm on streets. If I die, that's okay, because I'm so ashamed. This really touched me. This was older man. He said, I'm so ashamed to go back tonight to my home. to my hungry kids, they're waiting for me to bring food and I have nothing. I'm ashamed. So kill me. So people have nothing to lose. That's why they're on the streets, bare hands, no weapons. And the government just, you know, the last few days, they use machine guns to kill them, not just guns, machine guns to kill them. And they use the drones to fly and just shoot at people. uh This is the biggest... uh anti-government gathering and it's the biggest slaughter of the government ever. by the government. by the government, yeah, by the Iranian government, So we distinguish between, you know, it's ironic as a Jewish person, we say no Jews, no news. You know, if it's not about how bad the Jews are, nobody covers it, right? It's the primary cause to live for all the media and certainly for the United Nations. uh But our hearts break because the heroism... that's being shown by the Iranian people, many of whom don't know Yeshua. They are not yet born again. And I wonder about that, you know, for my own people. I wonder about the Holocaust and those that died without knowing Jesus by name. God, do you have a special something for the people that will stand up to that kind of darkness? And I know we have to call upon the name. I know that we believe in our hearts and we say with our mouth, we shall be saved. I get the basics of the gospel, but I just feel the heart of God. for the Persian people right now, where he's just wanting to gather them. And you've been instrumental in sharing the good news. Do you get reports from the underground church about specific kinds of oppression and specific kinds of selection, or is it basically the whole nation is just under the glass glass with the mullers right now? Yeah, it's a whole nation. Of course, we talk about broadcasts. That's just a tool, too. And we have a 24-7. And we go to people's home. People come to Christ. There is no church in Iran. So we have to be their church and we are their church. We uh teach them Bible, we disciple, train leaders. But since they turn off internet, we are disconnected with our leaders. And we hear a little news here and there because a few of them, very few people in Iran have, uh they have this, what is that, Starlink. They have, Very few people have, and so uh those who haven't sent some information, the clips you see are sent through Starlink because the government is shut completely, internet off. And the reason is whenever he does that is just to kill people so people cannot report to the outside world and people cannot talk to each other to organize anything. And it has been every time four or five times, every time that people are on the streets, the same scenario. They don't have anything else to do or they have no other option. They cannot think of anything else. The only thing they respond to the people is gun. It's like somebody who wants to repair something opens his toolbox. He just has a hammer and he knows how to use hammer. He knows how to use gun. And the same scenario. People on the street and they weren't. And then suddenly the internet is off. Many, killed. Thousands killed, tens of thousands arrested. People dispersed go home. And then for the next few months and even years, they executed those in jail. Five at a time. Last year, it was more than five a day. They just take him out and they... making the news. They want people know that we are killing these people because last year they were on the streets. So don't dare to do it this year. And five a day, five a day, five a day, telling people these people were on the streets. We got them. Here they're being executed. See, the power they have is the power of intimidation and fear. And we know that's satanic. I do. you have a personal touch with that because your own brother was arrested on a minor political charge and then stayed in prison for two years before. Why don't you tell that story? It's profound. the brutal. uh Many of the people killed recently are under 25, many of them under 20. Children are being killed. you uh search them, you find so many children under 15 are being killed. And my brother was 16 and he was arrested because he was involved with a political group. And by the way, that political group was legal. Khomeini allowed that political group to operate for almost two years, a year and a half, and suddenly made him illegal and arrested everybody, my brother, and killed many of them, including my brother. The brutality, it's being American. I know in America, not everybody is Christian, but those who are not Christian, you have a Christian value without knowing it. You say, I'm not a Christian. Okay, you're not Christian, but you value life? Yes, I do. That's a Christian value. And in Islam, there is no value for life. In many other religions, there is no value for life. So killing, okay, yeah, we will do that. One of the ayatollahs said, if we have to kill one million of our own people to keep Islam in Iran, we will do it. In Quran, there are verses that says Allah created some for hell. no value of life. Putting value on life, that's basic Christian. It comes from Bible. No other religion has put, has that value of one life. God says, what if you, you know, you gain the whole world and you lose your soul. that value that Jesus died, that's value of one human being. That's Christian. You don't find it anywhere else. You know, the revolution of Sinai and the revolution of Acts, know, the connection between the law being given and the value for life and the value for even the Mosaic law showing how to craft a society that works based on mutuality. And then Jesus, of course, upgrading everything by talking about the level of love that we're to attain to, which is little shocking. People say, well, I'm not under the law anymore. Well, guess what? You're under a higher law, the law of love. is a lot more difficult. so I think about the how I love that I heard a rabbi recently, a rabbi, Jew from Moses, not a Jew for Jesus like me. He said that we should stop saying Judeo-Christian and start saying Judean Christian to tie it to the land because the promises to Abraham are both the land and the people. And through, course, through Abraham, we get Yeshua, we get the Messiah. So I'm thinking about Judean Christian values that you know are kind of receding to the background in America, but are still the core of what this country was founded on and still the value. That's why the Iranians can be pleading with President Trump, come and help us, which I think you also have done very directly. I saw you, I think it on Instagram or from your website. I don't know where I saw it, but tell us about that. You made a direct plea for help. What I said on that clip was directly from the people of Iran. I was just expressing their heart. When I said the government of Iran is brutal, killed my brother. Oh, so many Iranian people can say that. oh My brother, my mother, my child, my uncle, they were killed. They were killed for the last 40 some years. Almost every family has somebody who has been killed by the government of Iran for the last 40 some years. So I just expressed the heart of the people of Iran. Of course, I had that heart the same. I mean, one heart with our people and the people of Iran are crying out. This regime is so cruel. They're going to kill us and we have no guns and we have given so many lives and there is no future for us. We need outside help. And some people criticize, hey, are you a nationalist? How come you, an Iranian, asking a foreign nation would attack us? you attack us? My answer is two things. One is that's the depth of desperation, that you are so desperate. If somebody who is dying, who is drowning, they will hang to anything that can help. uh That shows the desperation of the people of Iran. But another logic I've heard people is this, that they say, you know, in Europe, Europe was occupied by Hitler and US and other allies went and set them free. And their logic is, we are occupied. These people took over our country. Many of them are not even Iranians, did you know that? Many of them are now- you know people always blaming the Jews for occupying the land of Israel which is our ancient homeland but the Iranians the Persians were not Islamic. Tell us about the history of the Zoroastrianism and the other faiths that were there including Christianity that have been there forever including an incredibly positive relationship with Israel and then these this invading force of Islam comes and sets up shop and oppresses the people so give us the history lesson. That's right. So they feel occupied by Islam. you mentioned that, but to make it clear, Iranians are not Arabs. Because Arabs invaded Iran, destroyed the culture, forced their religion on it, on them, right now they have a hatred towards Arabs in general. So you want to insult an Iranian, call him Arab. But they feel that this is This religion is not us and we don't want it. Islam has experienced its greatest defeat in its history in Iran. And they want the country back. They say we want this back. And uh because we are occupied, it's okay that we ask foreign nations to come and help us. uh That's a logic. Another thing that would be of interest to you. ah Many of them who know history, both... mostly Christians, but some Muslims. They say, hey, we set the captives free. Cyrus set the captives free, the Jews free, and not only set them free, he gave them money, go build your temple. And they're saying, hey, Netanyahu, would you return the favor? Would you come and set our people free? Did you know Netanyahu is very popular in Iran? more than in his own country. He has enemies in his country, but not in Iran. I understand. know that there's a symmetry with Trump. Half the people love him, half people hate him. And then, you know, same thing. I get that. But I believe he's the man of the hour, you know, for Israel and for the Middle East. And I was just teaching a Bible college class last week, and I told them that the Hebrew Bible, same Bible as the Christian Bible, but different order of books. And our book ends with Cyrus, ends with Persia making way for the temple. You know, so I'd say, they asked me, what class do want to teach? I said, well, give me the white page between Malachi and Matthew. I want to teach the white page because our second Chronicles 36 talks about the king who said, go to Jerusalem, build, and anybody who wants to go with you and help is welcome. This is incredible positive history between the Persians and the Jews. And it's gotten lost since the Islamic takeover in 79. Yeah, the same with the wall in Anahamnaya. Got the money from Zech Ziz and he went and built it. Sometimes I em tease my Jewish friends. Can I tease them? I tell them, do you know that Western wall you go to Jerusalem and pray? Said, yeah, yeah, that's a place to visit and pray. I said, we Persians paid for it. Ha ha ha. I like it. Yeah. There's not only a history, there's a future. Talk to me and our people about Jeremiah 49 and what the believers in Iran are looking for, believing for. These are awesome verses. Read it carefully. And in my book, Iran's Great Awakening, the middle chapters, I go verse by verse, line by line, even discuss the different interpretation of those verses from other people in the past, what they have said and study to make sure that we are not reading into those verses, that it's really about Iran. But when you look at it, Jeremiah 49 verses 34 and on. Exactly, it's the recent and today's history of Iran. Even the verses, even these killings, what is happening? Read it. It is there. The massacre of Iranians with their enemies. But before I thought these enemies are from outside attacking. But you know, I was careful to look at and he says in the presence of their enemies, which means It's not from outside, they're there. They're, so they, Iranians are saying that this regime is our enemy. It intentionally wants to destroy us and they're right. I think that the, I've used that since I've met you and some others, I've been using Jeremiah 49 to explain to people the hope that the Iranian and the Persian people have in a revolution leading to a restoration, revival, and actually becoming evangelists, being sent around, scattered around the world with the word of God. That's kind of what keeps the church going, I think, in Iran. That's right. That's what I use and we use on our channel during this hard time. People are hopeless, they're confused, and we raise up the prophecy of God who always has done what he says. He has a perfect track record and we tell the people of And we know. It's going to, it's realistic. It has verses about suffering, killing. Iran is being killed, but Jeremiah 49, 38, he says, I will set my throne there and then the following verse he says I will restore the fortunes of your own or Elam and so we know the end and that gives us such a hope which means no matter what happens at the end we are going to be blessed we're going to be saved Yeah, and for any listeners or watchers that are buying into some of the voices that are trying to separate the two testaments, separate the Hebrew scriptures from the New Testament, not only does Jeremiah speak correctly about this, clearly about it, and not only is it in 2 Chronicles 36, which is the end of the Hebrew Bible, about Persia, about the Iranians, but you guys were at the Book of Acts. You were there at Pentecost. In Acts chapter 1, when the nations are mentioned, we see Ilam is mentioned as those that came up to Jerusalem to be part of when God poured out His Spirit on the New Testament believers. You guys were there! That's right, that's God returning a favor, I believe. He said, if you give a glass of water to my prophet, I will not forget, let alone people free. that's Genesis 12. There is a blessing and a curse given to Abraham, that those who bless you will be blessed, those who curse you will be cursed. The cursing part, many nations have qualified for that. But blessing part? According to the Bible, Iran, Persia qualifies for that because they bless the Jews. So that is, uh that's why his spirit is pouring in Iran, even through suffering. That's why you see in book of Acts, first three people groups were Persians, or Iranians, they say. They live inside Iran today. Parthians uh and Ilamites and Meets, they're all people groups inside Iran. And that's such a amazing thing. I tell people, you know what I tell the Muslims in Iran? Because they're forced to read Quran in Arabic. And they say God's language is Arabic. I said, hey, look at book of Acts. The true God understands all languages. And did you know the apostles on the day of Pentecost, they spoke Farsi? They spoke Farsi! love it. was a miracle of hearing and a miracle of speaking, and there's also the supernatural aspect to it. So I just want you to know that we're going to have your intel, your info in the show notes so people can support your ministry, so that people can be aware of what you're doing and get behind you in it. Also put in the uh Iran's Great Awakening or any of the books that you are currently wanting people to know about. But I just, you know, this is very touching to me because uh I just have deep respect for the Persian people and deep love and I believe that what I feel is emblematic of what God wants the church in America to understand and to feel as well. And so we're believing that the church in America, in the West, will be awakened to the fact that we have this shared destiny, Israel, America, Persia. You we have this shared destiny and it's unfolding during our time. So I want to thank you, brother. for taking the time. I know you're a busy man. Thank you for being with us. And I will say shalom. And you say to me in Farsi, shalom. That one I know. All right. I'll catch up with you down the road. Thank you for taking the time to be with us and God bless you. And we'll say shalom, shalom for now. Praise the Lord. Well, pray for us. This is a history in the making and I want to encourage your listeners. This is a time not to watch history, but to make history. And God graciously has positioned Iran Alive to do that. We have such an impact by His grace in Iran. If you want to know more about us, go to iranalive.org, iranalive.org and get the up-to-date information of what God is doing in Iran. I love it. Thank you so much, brother. God bless you.