Christian missionaries in the Gaza Strip are reporting that hundreds of Muslims are converting after experiencing a shared dream where Jesus Christ appeared and comforted them amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas.
According to The American Tribune, Christian professor Michael Licona, who teaches the New Testament at Houston Christian University, received word from contacts serving war refugees that the conversions may have taken place among 200 Muslim men who claimed to see the son of God in their dreams on the same night. Posting on Facebook, Licona recounted the miraculous occurrence.
“God is working in the midst of war! This news coming out of Palestine from underground Christian ministries: Over the past two days, we have ministered to hundreds of fathers who have lost most, if not all, of their children in the war. As we moved these men to safety, we fed them, washed their clothes, and began to read the Bible to them — sharing the way of peace through Jesus. Then, a big miracle happened. Last night, Jesus appeared to more than 200 of them in their dreams! They have come back to us to learn more from God’s Word and are asking how to follow Jesus.
“Let’s pray that this war can be over soon and that Israel can eradicate Hamas so that Palestinians can be free . . . of Hamas!” he wrote.
Underground Christian ministries are on the front lines serving refugees, regardless of faith, who are caught in the crossfire as the war nears its third month. An ongoing pause in the conflict has allowed humanitarian aid to flow into the province and provided for the release of dozens of hostages, including a four-year-old American girl.
Licona’s report of Jesus appearing on the battlefield is not the only one. Assemblies of God News, a Pentecostal Christian organization, is reporting other instances of shared dreams among Muslims who are converting to Christianity as a result.
“I would even say it’s the normal experience,” stated Dick Brogden, a missionary within the organization. “It would be accurate to say that Muslims are responding to Jesus in levels we have never seen, not in 1,400 years!” He continued, “Dreams are contributing to revelation … the process of evangelism and conversion.”
“So many Muslims reject Islam, but know that to follow Jesus will cost them everything. Dreams of Jesus encourage them along the way and give them the comfort that Jesus will be with them — though it cost them everything to follow Him,” Brogden added.
The atrocities stemming from the conflict are enough to make anyone question their faith, especially the initial attack by Hamas which claimed the lives of more than 1,400 Israelis. The slaughter of entire neighborhoods and the gruesome nature of the attacks prompted a counteroffensive by Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu which has leveled large portions of Gaza.
