The footage coming out of Iran is horrifying.
Protesters were gunned down in the streets. Bodies piled in morgues. A government turning live ammunition on its own people. Internet severed. Martial law declared. Families cowering in their homes, terrified to step outside after dark.
January 16, 2026: “Don’t stop talking about the Iran massacre!” a voice cries from Isfahan, smuggled out on a recorded phone line.
January 16, 2026: Behold Israel reports Iran is under “TOTAL martial law” with Khamenei’s armed forces “going around from neighborhood to neighborhood terrorizing civilians threatening to kill anyone who comes out at night.”
January 16, 2026: The Iranian government announces it has “no plans to lift the internet shutdown before mid-March.”
And if you’re a Christian watching this unfold, you might be asking the question that followers of Christ have asked for millennia:
Where is God in this?
Why would a sovereign, loving God allow thousands of His image-bearers to be slaughtered in the streets? Why doesn’t He stop it? Why does He permit brutal regimes to crush the innocent?
These aren’t academic questions when you’re watching real people die.
But here’s what we know from Scripture: God allows pain for his own purposes. And things are moving in Iran.
This isn’t the comfort of positive thinking. This is the mercy of God who works all things—even massacres, even tyranny, even the worst evil men can devise—together for the good of those who love Him (Romans 8:28).
What’s Happening Right Now
The Timeline
December 28, 2025: Protests erupt across Iran after the rial plunges to 1.4 million to the dollar (from 700,000 a year earlier). Food prices have skyrocketed 72% in 12 months. Shopkeepers in Tehran’s Grand Bazaar close their shops and take to the streets.
Within days, demonstrations spread to all 31 of Iran’s provinces.
January 2026: The regime responds with overwhelming brutality. Live ammunition. Heavy machine guns. Mass executions. Death toll estimates range from 2,000+ to over 12,000 depending on the source. The truth is impossible to verify because Iran has cut itself off from the world.
January 8, 2026: The government imposes severe restrictions on telephone and internet access.
January 12-16, 2026: Reports from multiple cities describe conditions under total military occupation:
- IRGC and Basij forces set up checkpoints, inspecting vehicles and citizens’ phones
- Military vans patrol streets
- Citizens only allowed out for essential shopping
- Neighborhoods locked down after 6 PM
- Anyone found outside at night threatened with death
Behold Israel Telegram (Jan 16): “Multiple accounts from citizens in various cities across Iran indicate that the atmosphere of martial law and the control of movement and daily activities of citizens has intensified following the widespread crackdown and killings.”
One citizen from Isfahan: “From 6 PM onwards, the atmosphere is dominated by martial law.”
This is not protest suppression. This is state-sponsored terror.
The Regime’s Narrative
Hassan Khomeini (grandson of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini) claims protesters are “ISIS activists who came from outside Iran.”
The regime’s standard playbook: blame outsiders, deny responsibility, justify the bloodshed.
But Iranians know the truth. Generation Z—those who led the 2022 Mahsa Amini protests—are back in the streets. They’ve watched their mothers beaten for improper hijab. They’ve seen friends arrested for speaking truth. They’ve lived under brutal theocratic oppression their entire lives.
They want freedom.
And the regime is killing them for it.
This Isn’t the First Time
The Woman, Life, Freedom Movement
In September 2022, 22-year-old Mahsa Amini died in police custody after arrest for allegedly wearing her hijab improperly. Her death ignited nationwide protests under the slogan “Woman, Life, Freedom.”
Women burned hijabs. Cut their hair in public. Demanded basic human dignity.
The regime crushed that movement. Hundreds killed. Thousands arrested. Public executions to terrorize the population.
But the fire never went out.
The 2025-2026 protests aren’t separate—they’re the continuation. Iranian faith in the government collapsed after 2022. The economic crisis simply provided the spark. The kindling was already there: decades of oppression, corruption, religious tyranny.
The Pattern: Uprising → Brutality → Repeat
This cycle has repeated throughout Iran’s recent history:
- 2009: Green Movement crushed
- 2017-2018: Economic protests crushed
- 2019: At least 1,500 killed in days
- 2022: Mahsa Amini protests crushed
- 2025-2026: The largest protests since 2022
Each time: Iranians demand freedom. The regime responds with violence. The world watches briefly, then looks away.
But this time is different.
The regime is weaker than ever:
- Economy collapsing
- Sanctions crippling revenue
- June 2025 war with Israel damaged nuclear facilities and military infrastructure
- Regional proxies (Hezbollah, Hamas) decimated
- Internal dissent spreading even within the IRGC
The ayatollahs are cornered. And cornered tyrants are the most dangerous.
Which brings us back to the question: Where is God in this?
God’s Sovereignty Over Suffering
Here’s the truth Scripture teaches that we must wrestle with:
God is absolutely sovereign over what is happening in Iran.
Not one protester has fallen in the streets outside His knowledge. Not one bullet has been fired without His permission. Not one drop of blood has been shed that He did not, in His inscrutable wisdom, allow.
This is not the God of comfortable Christianity. This is not the God who exists to make our lives pleasant. This is God, the Almighty—who allows excruciating pain because He is working something far greater than we can see in the moment.
Romans 8:28 – The Most Misunderstood Verse
“And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” — Romans 8:28
Notice what this verse does NOT say:
- It doesn’t say all things are good
- It doesn’t say God causes only good things
- It doesn’t say suffering is pleasant
What it DOES say: God takes everything—including massacres, tyranny, and brutality—and works it together for ultimate good for His people.
John MacArthur explains: “All things are not necessarily good in themselves. But God takes all things and weaves them into what is good. There could not be a more reassuring statement than that. No matter what pain, no matter what problems, no matter what disasters, all things work together for good.”
This includes:
- The suffering of Iranian protesters
- The grief of mothers burying children
- The brutality of the Islamic Republic
- Even the sins of the regime
God is not surprised. He is not scrambling. He is sovereignly governing all of it toward His good purposes.
But Why? Why Would God Allow This?
Here’s where we need the full counsel of Scripture, not the sanitized version:
God allows suffering to accomplish purposes we cannot see from our limited perspective.
Consider Joseph. His brothers sold him into slavery. He was falsely accused and thrown into prison. He spent years suffering unjustly. And when he finally revealed himself to his brothers, he said:
“You meant it for evil, but God meant it for good, to bring about that many people should be kept alive.” — Genesis 50:20
Joseph’s suffering wasn’t meaningless. It wasn’t God losing control. It was God orchestrating the preservation of His people through famine.
The brothers meant evil. God meant good. Both are true at the same time.
The Iranian regime means evil. They want to crush dissent, maintain power, terrorize the population.
But God means good. He is using this crisis to:
- Expose the evil of the regime so the world cannot ignore it
- Break the pride of the oppressors who think they control history. Even if they win this protest, it won’t be the last.
- Refine His people in the underground Iranian church. The Church thrives in persecution, and when God allows desperation in this world, it can certainly be because He is pushing his people towards Himself, loosening their attachment to this world.
- Prepare Iran for the judgment and restoration prophesied in Jeremiah 49
- Draw Iranians to Christ as they see Islam’s bankruptcy
We don’t know all God’s purposes. But we know He has purposes. And we know those purposes are ultimately for the good of those who love Him.
Suffering Prepares Us for Glory
Here’s another truth about God’s sovereignty over suffering that we desperately need:
The suffering of this present age is preparing God’s people for eternal glory.
Paul writes:
“For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.” — Romans 8:17-18
John MacArthur preaches: “Paul knew what it was to suffer. He knew the physical suffering of all those who hated Christ and wanted to inflict it on Christ, but couldn’t get to Christ, so they got to His main agent… When he says ‘I consider the sufferings of this present time not worthy to be compared,’ he is speaking from large and broad experience.”
This means:
- For Iranian believers: Their suffering for Christ is producing “an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison” (2 Cor 4:17)
- For unbelieving Iranians who turn to Christ: God is using this crisis to drive them to the only One who can save
- For the underground church: Their bold witness in the midst of persecution is storing up heavenly reward
The suffering is real. The pain is excruciating. But it is not purposeless.
God is using it to prepare His people for glory and to expose the emptiness of man’s rebellion against Him.
Why Should Christians Care?
1. Biblical Mandate: Defend the Oppressed
God commands:
“Learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause.” — Isaiah 1:17
Iranian protesters—especially women, religious minorities, peaceful dissidents—are among the oppressed. They bear God’s image. They are experiencing injustice.
Our faith demands we notice. Not because we can fix it, but because God cares about the oppressed, and we are called to reflect His heart.
2. The Underground Church Is Suffering
Iran’s fastest-growing church—estimated between 500,000 to 2 million believers—is living through this. Many are in the streets. Some are dying.
Christianity Today reports that Iranian Christians are “voicing support for the recent protests, marking a shift as Iranian Christians in the past tended to stay away from politics.”
These are our brothers and sisters. When they suffer, we suffer with them (1 Cor 12:26).
3. God’s Sovereignty Means Nothing Is Wasted
If God is sovereign over all things—and He is—then nothing happening in Iran is meaningless chaos.
Daniel declares:
“He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings.” — Daniel 2:21
The Islamic Republic’s days are numbered. Every dictator’s reign has a beginning and end ordained by God. Pharaoh fell. Nebuchadnezzar fell. Rome fell. The Soviet Union fell.
The ayatollahs will fall too.
And when they do, it will be because God determined their time was up—not one moment earlier, not one moment later.
What the Bible Says About Tyranny
God Opposes Proud Rulers
“Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves… against the LORD… He who sits in the heavens laughs.” — Psalm 2:1-2, 4
The Iranian regime has set itself against God’s people and God’s purposes.
God is not intimidated.
Judgment Comes to Oppressive Regimes
Isaiah prophesied against Babylon:
“Babylon, the glory of kingdoms… will be like Sodom and Gomorrah when God overthrew them.” — Isaiah 13:19
It happened exactly as prophesied. Persia conquered Babylon in 539 BC.
God judges nations that oppress and defy Him. Iran’s reckoning is coming.
How Should We Respond?
1. Pray
This is not optional. Prayer is our first and most powerful response.
Pray for:
- The protesters: Protection, wisdom, endurance
- The underground church: Boldness, safety, fruitfulness in witness
- The regime: Conviction of sin or swift removal
- God’s purposes: That He would accomplish His will
- Gospel advance: That suffering would produce a harvest
Paul commands:
“I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made… for kings and all who are in high positions.” — 1 Timothy 2:1-2
Pray for Khamenei’s heart to change or his reign to end. Pray according to God’s will, trusting His timing.
2. Stay Informed from Reliable Sources
Not CNN. Not Wikipedia. Not the UN.
Use:
- Behold Israel Telegram – Real-time, on-the-ground reports
- Times of Israel – Israeli perspective with regional insight
- Baptist Press – Church and persecution updates
- International Christian Concern – Advocacy for persecuted believers
- Christianity Today – Christian response
The mainstream media will move on. Don’t let this story die.
3. Support Ministries Serving Iranian Believers
Your financial support keeps believers equipped:
- Transform Iran – Gospel broadcasts, Bibles
- Mohabat TV – Persian-language Christian television
- International Christian Concern (ICC) – Aid for persecuted church
- Voice of the Martyrs – Support for martyrs’ families
4. Speak
Use your voice:
- Share credible reports
- Contact representatives
- Educate your church
- Don’t let this be forgotten
“Rescue those being taken away to death… If you say, ‘Behold, we did not know this,’ does not he who weighs the heart perceive it?” — Proverbs 24:11-12
We cannot plead ignorance.
5. Trust God’s Timing
This is the hardest part.
We want the suffering to end now. We want justice now. We want the regime to fall now.
But God’s timing is not ours.
Isaiah promises:
“They who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength.” — Isaiah 40:31
Waiting isn’t passive. It’s active trust that God is moving even when we can’t see it.
The Savage Mercy of God
Let me tell you what “savage mercies” means.
It doesn’t mean God is cruel. It means God’s mercy often comes wrapped in circumstances that feel anything but merciful.
Joseph’s brothers sold him into slavery. That was savage. But it was God’s mercy—positioning Joseph to save the very brothers who betrayed him.
God hardened Pharaoh’s heart. That was savage. But it was mercy—demonstrating His power so definitively that Israel would never forget who delivered them.
God allowed His own Son to be brutally murdered. That was savage beyond comprehension. But it was mercy—the only way sinners could be saved.
God allows Iran’s suffering today. It is savage. The pain is real. The injustice is horrifying.
But it is mercy:
- Mercy to expose the regime’s evil
- Mercy to drive Iranians to seek the true God
- Mercy to prepare His people for glory
- Mercy to fulfill His prophetic purposes for Iran
We don’t always understand God’s mercy in the moment. Joseph didn’t understand it in the prison. The Israelites didn’t understand it at the Red Sea. The disciples didn’t understand it at the cross.
But God was working mercy all along.
And He’s working it now in Iran.
The God Who Sees
In Genesis 16, Hagar—abused, fleeing, desperate—encounters God in the wilderness. She names Him:
“You are a God of seeing.” — Genesis 16:13
God sees Iranian mothers weeping.
He sees protesters shot in the streets.
He sees believers worshiping in secret.
He sees the blood on Khamenei’s hands.
And He is not indifferent.
The question for us is: Are we?
Prayer
Father,
You are the God who sees. You see Iran’s suffering. You hear the cries of the oppressed. You know every name of every person killed in these protests.
We confess: We don’t understand why You allow this. It feels cruel. It feels wrong. But we know You are sovereign, and we know You are good.
We ask You to move:
- Bring down the Islamic Republic
- Protect protesters and the underground church
- Convict the regime or remove them
- Turn this massacre into a harvest for Your kingdom
- Let Iran be free
We trust Your timing. We trust Your purposes. We trust that You are working all things—even this horror—together for the good of those who love You.
Do what only You can do. Expose evil. Vindicate the innocent. Save the lost.
In the name of Jesus, who suffered the ultimate savage mercy for our sake.
Amen.
