Updated 04/14/09

For a number of years I have been collecting dreams and visions on the internet. Of the thousands of accounts that I have read, there have been none more amazing than those by Muslims dreaming about Isa ( Jesus Christ ).

The incredible testimonies that you are about to read are truly supernatural miracles of mind boggling proportion.

Terry Presgrove

Excerpt from “More Muslim Will Celebrate Easter This Year Than At Any Other Time In History.” - http://flashtrafficblog.wordpress.com/April 10, 2009Joel Rosenberg

In 1993, a Saudi sheikh by the name of Salman Al-Odeh delivered a sermon entitled “Christian Missionaries Sweeping the Islamic World.” He argued that “in Spain [Christians] have the biggest center of missionaries to Africa. They are trained really well, and their efforts lead many Moroccans to convert.” He then cited the World Christian Encyclopedia—which he described as a “dangerous survey”—and warned his fellow Muslims that “the number of Christians in Africa was 9 million only in 1900 AD, or . . . 9 percent of the whole population. In the year 1980 they became 200 million! . . . They jumped from 9 to 200 million in 80 years [and the survey’s authors] expected them to reach 390 million in the year 2000, or 48 percent of the whole population of Africa.”

Eight years later, in December 2001, Sheikh Ahmad Al Qataani, another significant Saudi cleric, appeared in a live interview on Aljazeera satellite television to confirm that, sure enough, Muslims were turning to Jesus in alarming numbers. “In every hour, 667 Muslims convert to Christianity,” Al Qataani warned. “Every day, 16,000 Muslims convert to Christianity. Every year, 6 million Muslims convert to Christianity.” Let me give you an example.

I met “Shakir” during my first trip to Iraq in February of 2008. Another fearless and effective evangelist, church planter, and pastor in his war-torn country, Shakir (pronounced “Shah-keer”) has a tremendous passion to care for the poor and needy, preach the gospel—especially in villages and rural areas—and help young converts from Islam study the Bible and become fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ. But this was not always the case. Indeed, how Shakir became a Christian and entered full-time ministry is one of the most fascinating testimonies I have personally had the privilege of hearing firsthand. What’s more, spending time with him helped me understand more fully the theology of the Revivalists.

Our journey to a humanitarian relief project we were doing together was long and dusty and required our little team, traveling in an old Chevy Impala, to pass through numerous military checkpoints, each manned by heavily armed Iraqi soldiers and policemen checking passports and asking questions, all on

high alert for members of al Qaeda and the Mahdi Army. Along the way, I found myself staring out at a landscape that was often as barren as the surface of the moon, covered with rocks, nearly devoid of vegetation, and only scarcely populated. During a lull in the conversation with an Iraqi in the car whom I had known for several years,

I asked the meek-looking and mild-mannered Pastor Shakir how he had become a Christ follower and a pastor.

“Were you raised in a Christian home?” I asked through our translator.

“No,” he replied quietly. “I was raised a Muslim.”

“Really!” I said, a bit startled. “What did you do before becoming a pastor?”

“I was a jihad cell commander.”

I gulped. You don’t say, I thought. He certainly had my full attention now. “Please, tell me your story,” I said eagerly, pulling out my notebook. Shakir graciously agreed.

He explained that he was born in 1975 to a devout Sunni Muslim family and that as he grew up he became deeply religious. Even at an early age, he loved going to the mosque regularly, and by the age of seventeen, he had joined a secret Radical Islamic movement. He studied hard and learned quickly, and before long he was teaching the Qur’an in various mosques.

“My leaders then sent me to a military training camp where I was trained to use light weapons—pistols, machine guns, and RPGs [rocket propelled grenades]—against the infidels,” he told me. “I was so excited because I wanted to do jihad for God. I was fully convinced that the Shias and the Christians were blasphemers and that if I killed them I would be blessed.”

After successfully completing “Terrorism 101,” Shakir was made a jihad cell commander and was ordered to quietly recruit other jihadists. “I soon had a group of my own followers,” he explained. “I would put them through this military training and then help them get jobs in different government offices and other shops and businesses so they could spy for me and be in position to do great damage when we launched the overthrow of Saddam and his regime.”

One day, one of Shakir’s Radical Muslim disciples came to him and said that someone was distributing Bibles to everyone in the machine shop where he worked. The disciple was very angry and told Shakir that he had cursed out everyone in the shop, collected all the Bibles, and promptly destroyed them. All but one.

“He brought one Bible—a New Testament—to me and said I should read it and see how to react to it and counter it,” Shakir explained. He said he praised his disciple for acting quickly and decisively. Then he sent the disciple away and took the Bible home, and that night he began to read the Gospel according to Matthew.

“I read the book very fervently to find all the blasphemies and corruption,” Shakir said. “But I discovered the words started affecting my mind, and my heart started changing. These were powerful words, not human words. They seemed to me like God’s words. But I thought, ‘How could this be?’”

Shakir became deeply troubled. He kept reading through Matthew but was ashamed of himself because rather than finding fault with these Christian Scriptures, he found himself completely intrigued. He had so many questions. But whom could he ask? He couldn’t very well start discussing the life and teachings of Jesus with the members of the terrorist cell group he was leading. He couldn’t very well ask questions of the terrorist leaders above him. He didn’t dare seek out any Christians. So night after night he kept reading the Gospels, searching for answers. The more he did, the more troubled and anxious he became.

“After reading the Bible in a deep way, I began comparing it with the Qur’an,” he told me. “I was so confused, and in my confusion, I began pleading with God, ‘Please show me Yourself.’ I begged God, ‘Please, show me the right way—is it the Qur’an or the Bible?’”

This went on for several nights.

“One night,” he said, “I was really pleading with God fervently to show me the true, straight path. And that night I had a dream. I found myself standing on the side of a road. There was a large crowd gathered on both sides of the road, and they were cheering and very excited. And I realized that they were awaiting a parade to go by. So I looked down the road to see who was coming, and I saw many prophets riding on horses coming towards us. Suddenly Jonah was riding by. And then David. And Abraham. And Moses—riding on high, strong horses. Everyone was cheering and I was cheering. It was so exciting to see these prophets.”

Shakir kept waiting for Muhammad to come riding by as well, but Muhammad never came. He was not in the parade of prophets. Instead, Shakir said that “at the end of the procession, I saw another person riding, but He was riding on a donkey instead of a horse. He was wearing a white robe, and His face was covered by a white shroud. When this person approached, for some reason I heard myself calling out to Him and asking, ‘Are you Jesus?’ Like I said, His face was covered by a white cloth. So I couldn’t really see His face at that moment. But when He heard my question, the man pulled the cloth away from His face and smiled at me and nodded yes.

“Something came from His face that filled me with a joy I had never felt in my whole life. I started shouting, ‘I saw Jesus! I saw Jesus!’ I was so happy and so joyful and I was laughing. But as soon as I woke up, I realized that my pillowcase and my sheets were all wet around my head. I realized that at some point during my dream I had been crying—sobbing—in shame for all of my sins, for all of my hatred.”

Shakir said he found himself overcome with the realization that he had been so wrong about God, about Islam, about terrorism. He also found himself incredibly grateful and humbled that Jesus would come and rescue him and forgive him of all of his sins and set him on the true path to heaven.

“I felt a strong joy, and I wanted to find my Muslim disciples and tell them that I loved them and that Jesus loved them,” Shakir explained. “After that dream, my life was completely changed. I was eager to evangelize—to tell people about the love of Jesus Christ. I couldn’t hide that joy. The more I read of the Gospels, the more I felt I had to tell people about this love of God, even people that I had hated. This was not easy. I was mocked and persecuted by many. Once I was beaten by eight people. I was nearly assassinated three times. But it is okay. Since I came to know the Lord Jesus as my Savior, I am ready to put my life—and my family—as a sacrifice for Jesus.”

What a remarkable transformation, I thought as Shakir finished his story. He seemed to be thinking the same thing, for when our time was up and the interview was over, Shakir stood up, looked me straight in the eye, and without any expression on his face said, “Joel, you are very lucky.”“Yes, I think that’s true,” I said. “But why do you say it?”

He took a deep breath. “Because if I had met you in 1993, I would have killed you immediately.”

My pulse quickened, and then he added, “But now you are my brother in Jesus, and I love you!”

A huge smile flashed across his face. He threw his arms around me and gave me a bear hug. I breathed a big sigh of relief, and—laughing—gave him a hug as well.

SIDEBAR: In Inside The Revolution, I describe the five core convictions held by all Revivalists. Here is the first — GOD LOVES ALL OF MANKIND.

Each and every one of the Revivalists I interviewed—including Shakir—noted with deep conviction that according to the Bible, God’s defining character trait is love. The Bible teaches that God loves every man, woman, and child on the face of the earth—regardless of race, nationality, tribe, or language.

God loves all of us with an everlasting love. He loved all of us before we loved Him. He loves us so much that He wants to adopt us into His family as His children and let us live with Him in heaven forever. He loves us so much that if we let Him, He will be a Shepherd to us, guiding us, providing for us, protecting us, giving us rest, and taking care of us in every possible way. He loves us so much that if we follow and obey Him, we can actually become friends with Him and develop a personal, intimate relationship with Him.

Here are some of the verses the Revivalists point to in describing the love of this incredible God:

· “God is love.” —1 John 4:16

· “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” —John 3:16

· “I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have drawn you with lovingkindness.” —Jeremiah 31:3

· “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His lovingkindness is everlasting. Give thanks to the God of gods, for his lovingkindness is everlasting. Give thanks to the Lord of lords, for his lovingkindess is everlasting.” —Psalm 136:1-3

· “We love, because He first loved us.” —1 John 4:19

· “See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God.” —1 John 3:1

· “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table

before me in the presence of my enemies; You have anointed my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” —Psalm 23:1-6

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THE BIG (UNTOLD) STORY IN THE MIDDLE EAST: Muslims converting to faith in Jesus Christ in record numbers -- 2008 Update Joel Rosenberg "I will build my church," Jesus said, "and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." (Matthew 16:18)Despite unprecedented press coverage of Afghanistan, Iraq, and the Middle East since September 11, 2001, one big story is not being told by the mainstream media. Hundreds of thousands of Muslims are converting to evangelical Christianity and will be celebrating their first Easter this year, even amidst widespread persecution and the very real threat of death. I first began reporting this story in 2005 after interviewing some three dozen Arab and Iranian pastors and evangelical Christian leaders in the U.S. and the Middle East. Over the last three years, however, I have had the privilege of traveling to Iraq, Jordan, Egypt, the West Bank, Turkey, and Morocco. What's more, I have had the honor of meeting with and interviewing more than 200 Arab, Iranian, Kurdish, Sudanese and other pastors and Christian leaders. With more data, the trend lines are becoming even more clear and the story is even more exciting.The God of the Bible is moving powerfully in the Middle East to draw men, women and children to His heart and adopt them into His family in record numbers. More Muslims have come to faith in Jesus Christ over the last thirty years -- and specifically over the last seven to ten years -- than at any other time in human history. There is a revival going on among the ancient Catholic, Coptic, and Chaldean churches. Today, the Church is being truly resurrected in the lands of its birth.Consider the latest evidence:* AFGHANISTAN -- In Afghanistan, for example, there were only 17 known evangelical Christians in the country before al-Qaeda attacked the United States. Today, there are well over 10,000 Afghan followers of Christ and the number is growing steadily. Church leaders say Afghan Muslims are open to hearing the gospel message like never before. Dozens of baptisms occur every week. People are snatching up Bibles and other Christian books as fast as they can be printed or brought into the country. The Jesus film, a two hour docudrama on the life of Christ based on the Gospel of Luke, was even shown on television in one city before police shut down the entire TV station."God is moving so fast in Afghanistan, we're just trying to keep up," one Afghan Christian worker told me, requesting anonymity. "The greatest need now is leadership development. We need to train pastors to care for all these new believers."* UZBEKISTAN -- There were no known Muslim converts to Christ there in 1990. Now there are more than 30,000.* IRAQ -- In Iraq, there was only a handful of Muslim converts to Christianity back in 1979 when Saddam Hussein took full control of that country. Yet today, there are more than 70,000 Iraqi Muslim background believers in Jesus (MBBs), approximately 50,000 who came to Christ as refugees in Jordan after the first Gulf War in 1990-91, and another 20,000 who have come to Christ since the fall of Saddam Hussein. John Moser, the executive director of The Joshua Fund, and I just returned from nine days traveling through five provinces in Iraq. We met with 19 Iraqi evangelical Christian leaders. I had the privilege of preaching in a church of more than 100 MBBs from Baghdad -- a church that didn't even exist in 2002 before liberation. We also had the privilege of meeting and interviewing numerous former Islamic jihadist terrorist who have come to Christ and are now pastors and church

planters. * KAZAKHSTAN -- In Kazakhstan, there were only three known evangelical Christian believers before the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Today there are more than 15,000 Kazakh Christians, and more than 100,000 Christians of all ethnicities.* EGYPT -- More than 1 million Egyptians have trusted Christ over the past decade or so, report Egyptian church leaders. The Egyptian Bible Society told me they used to sell about 3,000 copies of the Jesus film a year in the early 1990s. But in 2005 they sold 600,000 copies, plus 750,000 copies of the Bible on tape (in Arabic) and about a half million copies of the Arabic New Testament. "Egyptians are increasingly hungry for God's Word," an Egyptian Christian leader told me. Last Christmas, I had the privilege of visiting the largest Christian congregation in the Middle East, which meets in an enormous cave on the outskirts of Cairo. Some 10,000 believers worship there every weekend. A prayer conference the church held in May 2005 drew some 20,000 believers.* IRAN -- In 1979 when the Ayatollah Khomeini led the Islamic Revolution, there were only about 500 known Muslim converts to Christianity. Today, interviews with two dozen Iranian pastors and church leaders reveals that there are well over 1 million Shia Muslim converts to Christianity. * SUDAN -- Despite a ferocious civil war, genocide and widespread religious persecution, particularly in the Darfur region -- or perhaps because of such tragedies -- church leaders there tell me that more than 1 million Sudanese have made decisions to follow Jesus Christ just since 2001. Since the early 1990s, more than 5 million Sudanese have become followers of Jesus. Seminary classes to train desperately-needed new pastors are held mountain caves. Hundreds of churches have been planted, and thousands of small group Bible studies are being held in secret throughout the country.In December 2001, Sheikh Ahmad al Qataani, a leading Saudi cleric, appeared on a live interview on Aljazeera satellite television to confirm that, sure enough, Muslims were turning to Jesus in alarming numbers. "In every hour, 667 Muslims convert to Christianity," Al Qataani warned. "Every day, 16,000 Muslims convert to Christianity. Every year, 6 million Muslims convert to Christianity." Stunned, the interviewer interrupted the cleric. "Hold on! Let me clarify. Do we have six million converting from Islam to Christianity?" Al Qataani repeated his assertion. "Every year," the cleric confirmed, adding, "a tragedy has happened."One of the most dramatic developments is that many Muslims throughout the Middle East and even in the United States are seeing dreams and visions of Jesus. They are coming into churches explaining that they have already converted and now need a Bible and guidance on how to follow Jesus. This is in fulfillment of Biblical prophecy. The Hebrew Prophet Joel told us that "in the last days, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days....And everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved." (Joel 2:28-32)In Epicenter: Why The Current Rumblings In the Middle East Will Change Your Future <http://www.amazon.com/Epicenter-Current-Rumblings-Middle-Change/dp/1414311354/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1206267976&sr=1-1>, I devote an entire chapter to these dramatic trend lines and why Muslims are converting in record numbers. I am currently working on a new non-fiction book and documentary film called Inside The Revolution, to be release during Easter 2009, with much more detail on this subject, including first person accounts of former Muslim terrorists who have become the new Apostle Pauls of our time -- murderous religious zealots who had visions of Jesus Christ and are now pastors, evangelists, church planters and powerful Christian leaders. Other books I would highly recommend on this subject are Light Force: A Stirring Account of the Church Caught in the Middle East Crossfire <http://www.amazon.com/Light-Force-Stirring-Account-Crossfire/dp/0800731042/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1206267892&sr=1-1>by Brother Andrew and Al Janssen; and Secret Believers: What Happens When Muslims Believe In Christ <http://www.amazon.com/Secret-Believers-Happens-Muslims-Believe/dp/0800718747/

ref=pd_bxgy_b_text_b>. Is life easy for these Muslim converts? By no means. They face ostracism from their families. They face persecution from their communities. They face being fired from their jobs. They face imprisonment by their governments. They face torture and even death at the hands of Muslim extremists. But they are coming to Christ anyway. They are becoming convinced that Jesus is, in fact, the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and that no one comes to the Father in heaven except through faith in Jesus' death on the cross and powerful resurrection from the dead.One of the reasons my wife and I began The Joshua Fund <http://www.joshuafund.net/> was to educate the Church around the world at what God of the Bible is doing in the epicenter. We want to mobilize a global movement of Christians praying for these dear brothers and sisters. We want to find ways to encourage and strengthen them. We want to provide them with Bibles and Christian literature, and with humanitarian relief supplies so they can love their neighbors and their enemies, as Jesus tells us to do. Their stories are typically being told by the mainstream media, but they are important stories nonetheless. Theirs are testimonies of the greatness of our great God.He is risen! He is risen indeed!____________________________________________________________________

Muslims Encountering Jesus In Unusual Dreams It has been reported that among African Muslims, "42 percent of the new believers come to Christ through visions, dreams, angelic appearances and hearing God's voice."

Muslims worldwide who have reported dreams of Jesus and now follow Isa al Masih as their Savior

"...two angels dressed in white robes stood on top of the mountain. Jesus was standing between the angels. He left the angels and came to where I stood watching. As he approached me, I knelt down and he laid his hands on my head..."

"...['D.'] dreamt he was sitting with his arms tied to a chair. Then he saw a man he recognized as Jesus coming. Jesus touched the ropes and they fell from his arms..."

"...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 was standing in a cross shape with a low wall around it. In my right hand, I had a big stack of white unwritten papers. I was standing at the cross beam, and I was looking to a small group of people who were standing at the top. They all wore long white clothing, but one of them was different. He was standing at the right side, and with his left hand he was leading the people through a door in the wall. Beyond the door was light, and I could not see what was in there. One moment I was standing in the dream, and the next moment I was seeing the cross from above..."

"...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..."

"...I was swimming. It was very dark, without any stars in the sky. After swimming for a while, I stopped and looked up at the sky. Suddenly, I saw a star shining. I closed my eyes and made a wish. I said, 'Morning Star, teach me the secret of life'...I kept having this dream for years almost every other month and this pattern continued until a few months after my conversion, when I read Rev. 22:16, which says, 'I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star'..."

[read more]- http://isaalmasih.net/isa/dreamsofisa.html

*Note*: Simply copy and past any underlined links into your browser address bar to examine material in depth.

Filipino Muslims Report Dreams of Jesus [IsaAlMasih.net] http://isaalmasih.net/isa/dreams-philippines.html

Muslims find the real Jesus http://net-burst.net/hot/muslim.htm

Encounters with Jesus - Muslims tell. http://www.30-days.net/witness/tellit4.htm

Dreams & Visions Move Muslims To Christ http://www.epm.org/articles/dreams_visions.html

Central Asian Muslims dream Jesus http://www.intervarsity.org/ism/article/1978

Visions of the Living Christ

"His office has received thousands of letters from Muslims," says Bright. "Many tell of a dream they had: `I saw Jesus. He declared to me "I am the way."

"A fanatical Muslim woman had spent four years in prison for her political activities. While there, Jesus appeared to her in her cell. He personally explained redemption and the gospel. She is now on the Campus Crusade staff, totally sold out to reaching her Muslim people for her Savior."

http://www.christianword.org/revival/visions.htm

A typical "Jesus dream or vision" with innumerable variations is usually described by Muslims as a peaceful face that they somehow recognize as Jesus. Often they encounter a compassionate figure in a white robe, calling them to come to Him. Sometimes His hands and arms are extended wide, or Jesus reaches toward them in love and invitation. Many dreams are preparatory experiences to encourage Muslims with the possibility of following Jesus.

http://www.jesusvisions.org/index.shtml

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From Dreams to Reality

Five Remarkable Testimonies

Khalil (Egypt) - A radical Egyptian terrorist changed from a murderous "Saul" to a forgiving "Paul" after Jesus Christ visited him in a soul-penetrating dream. This hater of both Christians and Jews set out to discredit the Bible, but instead, he was transformed when Jesus appeared to him and changed his heart.

Mohammed (Nigeria) - This Fulani herdsman in Nigeria found the deep love and lordship of Jesus Christ through a series of remarkable dreams. Jesus' appearance in those dreams altered the course of his life. Though his father tried to kill him in the wake of his conversion, he survived the various attempts on his life and eventually led his father to faith in Christ.

Dini (Indonesia) - An Indonesian teenager let down by family, friends and society, became a Christian the night Jesus appeared to her in a vision. That special night was Lailatul Qadar when Muslims individualize their prayers to Allah. From the moment she saw Jesus, His peace filled her heart and stayed with her even as persecution began.

Khosrow (Iran) - A young Iranian man, depressed and without hope, met Jesus Christ in a vision. The Savior extended His hand and invited him to take hold, promising that his "life would change forever." He took Jesus' hand and, as he describes it, "waves of electricity flowed through my body over and over again. I wept for the first time since I was a child and joy filled my heart."

Ali (Turkey) - This Turkish man in bondage to alcohol saw Jesus in a dream and his life was changed forever. Desperate, he moved to Saudi Arabia - a place where alcohol is forbidden. However, upon his arrival, he found liquor there. He then made the pilgrimage to Mecca, hoping to be freed of his addiction and to be led in the way of a true Muslim. To his

For in depth testimonies copy and past link below:

http://www.morethandreams.tv/

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West African Muslim led to Christ through a dream By Mark Ellis Senior Correspondent, ASSIST News Service

GHANA, WEST AFRICA (ANS) -- Two young Muslims left the savannah of West Africa to study Islam in Mecca, their educational expenses paid by the largesse of the Saudi government. But after they returned home a dreadful automobile accident altered their lives in a way that had enduring consequences. "They were recipients of a scholarship scheme hatched by oil-rich Saudi Arabia," says Pastor Yusif, a

national missionary active in West Africa. Pastor Yusif notes that many young men in this region of Ghana participate in the Saudi educational program, with hundreds waiting their turn. The two cousins-Rafiq and Razak, excelled at their studies in Mecca and returned as budding Islamic scholars. "Troops of friends and family went to the airport to meet them," Pastor Yusif recalls. "For weeks well-wishers thronged their home to greet them." Their return was during the harmattan season, when dry dusty winds blow off the Sahara desert creating a thick fog, making many irritable and wreaking havoc with airline flights. A feast held for the men was a welcome interruption from the dust storms. "There was plenty to eat all day long," Pastor Yusif remembers. Loud speakers blared Koranic recitations into the air during the banquet. "They were highly respected young men who did their best to teach the tenets of Islam," Pastor Yusif says. "They were admired for their zeal and scholarship." A short time later, the men were invited to teach at schools and mosques in surrounding villages, where they impressed Ghanaians with their ability to speak Arabic, which they described as a "heavenly language." One evening Rafiz and Razak accepted an invitation to speak at a nearby village. As they traveled down a dirt road through the savannah they got caught in a dust storm, lost control of their car, and careened off the road into a ravine. Their vehicle was badly mangled and Rafiq died on arrival at a regional hospital. Razak lingered in a coma for two days. Then something unusual happened. "While Razak was in a coma, his cousin appeared to him in a dream and warned: 'Razak, I don't like where I am. I am shocked and lost. There is no way I can go near God Almighty. I am millions of miles away from Him. My deeds could not do me any good. But it is too late for me. Please find a Bible. Find Anabi Issah (Jesus)!' When Razak regained consciousness, his first request was to see his cousin. The nurses withheld the truth from him, fearing the added stress might delay his recovery. Inwardly, he began to suspect the worst-Rafiq was dead. After several weeks convalescing, Razak was finally discharged from the hospital. Before his release, he learned of his cousin's sad demise. Razak had a second powerful dream a few days after he left. The dream came to him just before dawn, when the muezzin makes his plaintive and melodious cry inviting faithful Muslims to their first obligatory prayer of the morning. In Razak's second dream his departed cousin gave the same warning: 'Find a Bible and find Jesus.' Razak woke up in a cold sweat. How in the world could he find Jesus and become a Christian? He feared that if he became a Christian, he would be "skinned alive" by his uncle, the chief imam of a large mosque. Razak also knew that if he became a Christian he would be ostracized by his family and friends. He wrestled with the teachings of Islam driven into him during his studies in Mecca: 'Jesus did not die on the cross…Jesus is not the Son of God…God does not exist in three persons.' His instructors told him the Koran pronounces curses on whoever believes in these "heresies." A few months later, Razak went to Friday noon prayers at the mosque, but Rafiq's message continued to unsettle him: 'Find a Bible; Find Jesus.' After he returned from the mosque he couldn't take it any longer. He remembered a Christian acquaintance from school named Peter and decided to track him down. A few days later he found his schoolmate and borrowed a Bible. He began to devour the pages, finding particular inspiration in Matthew chapters 5-7, John 3:16, and Ephesians 2. He wondered how God could hate sin and love sinners at the same time. But after much soul-searching, reflection and prayer he gave his life to Jesus. "He accepted the grace of God through Christ for the forgiveness of sins," says Pastor Yusif. Peter, his Christian friend, continued to pray with Razak for weeks. Razak still made his obligatory visits to the mosque, but once inside he recited long passages he memorized from Jesus' Sermon on the

Mount. Finally, he couldn't continue as a secret Christian. He confessed his new faith openly to his friends and family. He told them he would no longer go to the mosque. They were upset, angry, and stunned. Razak's uncle met with him and began to pressure Razak to change his mind. Lucrative incentives to recant were dangled like shiny jewels before his eyes. But Razak refused to renounce his newfound faith in Jesus. A few days later, Razak learned his uncle and some others from the mosque were plotting to poison him. A friend came under cover of darkness to warn a price tag was placed on Razak's head. After many tears were shed, Razak left his family home and traveled several hundred miles to 'Oniza,' a safer town for him to live, where he continues to share his faith with others. "Pray that Razak would grow in his faith in Christ and lead many to Him," Pastor Yusif says. "Pray for the Lord's protection as he is still being hunted, and pray the Lord would use him mightily in Kingdom work."

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ACCOUNTS MULTIPLY OF MUSLIMS WHO HAVE ENCOUNTERED CHRIST IN UNUSUAL DREAMS

http://www.spiritdaily.com/muslimdreams.htm

For at least ten years reports have proliferated of Muslims converted to Christianity through dreams.

A California magazine recently published the results of a survey of over 600 ex-Muslims who now follow Jesus. "Although dreams appear to play a minor role in the conversions of Westerners, over a quarter of those interviewed [as former Muslims] emphatically confirmed that dreams and visions played a vital role in their conversion, and helped them in difficult times," the survey said.

Others have found the percentage higher. Karel Sanders, a missionary in South Africa, reported that among African Muslims, "42 percent of the new believers come to Christ through visions, dreams, angelic appearances and hearing God's voice." According to Dawn's Friday Fax, a website that focuses on missionary reports, Arabic-speaking moderators explain supernatural experiences such as dreams, visions and healings through prayer to Jesus. "This is a hot topic in our region. People from all over the Middle East call us, telling how they were healed through prayer in Jesus' name," they quote one missionary as saying. "Muslim listeners often call to tell us about dreams and visions of Jesus, wanting to know what that means for them."

The same is expressed in I Dared To Call Him Father , a riveting book by a wealthy former Muslim Pakistani woman named Bilquis Sheikh who came to Christ through a series of mystical happenings -- starting with the presence of evil, which she felt was connected to the recent slaying of a persecuted Christian.

"The strange prickly feeling grew inside me as I walked slowly along the graveled paths of my garden," she wrote in a book that has just been re-released. "I stopped my walk and looked around. As I leaned over to grasp the tall green stems, something brushed past my head. I straightened in alarm. What was it? A mist-like cloud -- a cold, damp unholy presence -- had floated by. Of course there wasn't anything out there. Was there? As if in answer, I felt a firm, very real and uncanny tap on my right hand."

This experience led to a series of dreams that -- like so many we now hear -- culminated in the conversion of this Muslim woman. Are such dreams more prevalent now -- with the world situation as it is? Or have they always occurred?

We know that dreams can be important. We think of Abraham. We think of Joseph, the father of Jesus.

But they are also crucial in our own time and in the case of Sheikh, whose husband had been a general and Pakistan's minister of interior, they formed an important part of her conversion -- if not the important role. As she explains in this well-written book (which was first published in 1978), she had been brought up in a Muslim faith which believed that although Jesus was born of a Virgin, He was not God's Son. Still, Sheikh felt moved to explore the Christian Bible -- and that's when it all began.

In one dream, recounted Sheikh, "I found myself having supper with a man I knew to be Jesus. He had come to visit me in my home and stayed for two days. He sat across the table from me and in peace and joy we ate dinner together.

"Suddenly, the dream changed. Now I was on a mountaintop with another man. He was clothed in a robe and shod with sandals. How was it that I mysteriously knew his name, too? John the Baptist. What a strange name. I found myself telling this John the Baptist about my recent visits with Jesus."

That was the dream -- and it was peculiar -- caused her to question everyone who might know -- because up to that point, Sheikh had not yet come across the name of John the Baptist in her reading of the Bible.

She became a Christian. So have thousands of others. The reports have included villagers in places like Morocco. We first heard about this in the early 1990s.

"A follower of Jesus from Guinea tells of a person in white who appeared to him in a dream, calling him with outstretched arms," states the California publication. " This sort of dream, in which Christ appears as a figure in white, is a frequent pattern in missionary work among Muslims."

The examples are multitudinous. 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.

Another convert, this one again from the Middle East, said he was lying in bed with a severe headache. A white figure with a wonderful, peaceful face appeared, laid his hands on his head three times, and the following morning the intractable headache had ceased.

A man from western Africa saw a religious Muslim in hell, and a poor Christian, who could not even give alms, in heaven. A voice explained that the decisive point was not the alms, but the faith in Jesus.

Meanwhile, a missionary working among the Tausugs, the Philippines' largest Muslim group, reports that a number of faithful Muslims "saw Jesus" in their dreams following last Ramadan (this again according to Dawn's Fax). One man dreamed of Jesus killing a huge dragon in a duel and the following day had the same dream again -- which opened him to the Gospel.

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.

There are stories of spiritual warfare. There are accounts from Turkey. There are stories of miraculous healings. There are stories from Iraq. A team belonging to "Athletes in Action," a missionary athletes' movement, reported from their visit to the Central Asian republics of Turkmenistan and Kyrgyzstan that "one of the journey's most interesting experiences was to listen to a large number of people telling how they became Christians. Previously, they had been atheists or Moslems. Some told us how God had spoken to them in dreams. Others told us how they had had headaches for days after hearing about Christ. As soon as they decided to become Christians, the headache was gone. One woman told us that on the night she heard about Jesus, nothing happened until she went to sleep. While she slept, she had a terrible dream, in which a satanic figure told her 'You will never escape from me.' But now she has also become a Christian."

There are numerous reports that many of the Berbers living in the Algerian Atlas Mountains are coming to Christ through similar dreams and visions, forming mostly underground cell-churches. Ahmed Ait Ben Youcef, a native Berber now living abroad, said he found Christ in a way that seems typical for previously Islamic Berbers: "We Berbers always believed in God, but many seek their own way under the pressure of the Islamic Arabs. We young people yearned for the right way for our lives and prayed to God for guidance. One of my friends died in a traffic accident. The following night, I dreamed that he, another friend, and I drove to a bright gleaming city surrounded by a white wall. My friend told us that he now lived there."

An Egyptian Moslem was reading the Gospels according to yet another report and had just reached Luke Chapter 3 when a strong wind swept the room and a voice said, "I am Jesus Christ, whom you hate. I am the Lord you are seeking." He decided to follow Jesus that day.

So widespread are such reports that entire websites are now devoted to such anecdotes -- albeit often careful to maintain anonymity. A well-informed source, who for obvious reasons remains unnamed, reports that a former Islamic "Imam" or spiritual leader has led 3,000 Moslems to Jesus, coming to his belief in Christ through appearances and dreams in which a white Man told him to study the Bible. His method is simple: in conversation, he asks others "Have you seen a white man in your dreams recently?" If they have not, he tells them "I was

just wondering. Thanks." If they answer positively, he continues by asking whether they are interested in learning who this white man is. And who is not interested in the identity of a mysterious person who appears in their dreams? The ex-Imam then shows them several Bible passages in which a white-clothed man is mentioned, explaining, "That is Jesus. He wants to speak with you, because He wants you to follow him."

Many Moslems have been prepared for that step by their supernatural encounters, and accept the invitation. Some time ago, Bill Bright, director of the mission agency Campus Crusade for Christ, wrote that "we are experiencing an amazing phenomenon. Moslems in particular are having dreams and visions confirming the reality of Christ. After one radio program reported that Jesus had appeared to many Moslems in a dream and said to them 'I am the way,' the radio station received thousands of letters from Moslems in North Africa and the Middle East, in which the listeners said they had suddenly understood earlier dreams. They then wanted more information about Jesus."