Approximately 200 Muslims in Gaza recently came to Christ after they saw Jesus in visions and dreams and realized they had shared the same experience, according to a new report from the region.
Taysir Saada, a Muslim-turned-Christian who authored the book Once an Arafat Man, recounted the incredible story in an interview with CBN, saying he believes God is on the move in Gaza amidst war with Israel. Saada once was an aide to Palestinian leader Yassir Arafat, who died in 2004. Saada also was a sniper for the PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization).
“About 200 Gazans gave their heart to Jesus in one lump sum because the Lord appeared to them in visions and dreams and they were hugging each other and, you know, rejoicing and realized that all of them had the same vision that each one of them had,” Saada told CBN.
Saada is the founder of Seeds of Hope, a humanitarian organization that serves Gaza and the Middle East.
“Despite all of the destruction that is taking place, I believe God has a purpose to get the Palestinians in Gaza to wake up and look at a different alternative to what they believe,” he told CBN. “... Many Muslims are looking for an alternative to Islam. I do believe we're going to have a lot of revival, a lot of believers coming through. It's already happening today.”
William Devlin, the head of the humanitarian organization Widows and Orphans, called the situation in Gaza “perilous.”
“There are a thousand Christians left in Gaza in a sea of 2.2 million Muslims, and these thousand Christians are now living 500 in the Greek Orthodox Church and 500 in the Roman Catholic Church,” he said.
Devlin regularly traveled to Gaza before the war and is hoping he can enter the region soon to deliver relief. He believes Gazans are looking for an alternative to Hamas and Islam.
“In the midst of their travail, the Lord Jesus is appearing to the Muslims,” Devlin told CBN. “We pray that God would continue to reveal Himself through his Son -- dreams, visions, and manifestation -- in order to bring all of Gaza to faith in Jesus Christ. Pray for many Muslims to come to faith in Jesus. That's their only hope.”
Image credit: ©Getty Images/ Ahmad Hasaballah / Stringer
Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.