Iran in the Bible: A Complete Guide from Genesis to Revelation

Introduction: Why Iran Matters More Than You Think

Here’s something most Christians don’t know:

Iran appears in the Bible more than almost any nation outside of Israel itself.

From the table of nations in Genesis to the crowd at Pentecost in Acts, from Daniel’s visions to Jeremiah’s prophecies about the last days — Iran is woven into the biblical story from beginning to end.

And here’s what makes Iran unique among all the empires in Scripture: Persia is the only empire that freed Israel.

Assyria scattered the northern kingdom. Babylon destroyed Jerusalem and burned the temple. Greece desecrated the sanctuary. Rome crucified the Messiah.

But Persia? Persia sent the Jews home. Funded the rebuilding of the temple. Restored the sacred vessels Babylon had stolen. And the Persian king who did it — Cyrus the Great — was called “my anointed” by God Himself (Isaiah 45:1). The Hebrew word is māšîaḥ. Messiah.

God called a pagan Persian king His Messiah.

That alone should make every Christian pay attention to Iran.

But there’s more. The Bible doesn’t just record Iran’s past — it prophesies Iran’s future. Jeremiah 49 contains a specific promise of restoration for Elam (ancient southwestern Iran) “in the latter days.” Ezekiel 38-39 places Persia in a coalition that will one day move against Israel. And today, Iran is home to what missiologists call the fastest-growing church in the world — a revival happening under one of the most brutal regimes on earth.

This guide covers everything the Bible says about Iran — from the ancient land of Elam in Genesis to the prophetic future that hasn’t happened yet. Along the way, we’ll examine the original Hebrew and Greek, the archaeological evidence, the historical record, and what it all means for Christians watching Iran today.

Table of Contents:
1. Elam in Genesis: Iran’s Earliest Biblical Roots
2. The Babylonian Exile and Persia’s Liberation
3. Esther: Deliverance in the Heart of Persia
4. Daniel’s Prophecies: Persia in Prophetic Vision
5. Nehemiah and Ezra: Persia Rebuilds Jerusalem
6. Pentecost: Iranians Hear the Gospel First
7. Jeremiah 49: God’s Promise to Restore Iran
8. The Islamic Revolution: How Persia Became Iran
9. Iran Today: Persecution and the Underground Church
10. What the Bible Says Will Happen to Iran
11. Conclusion: God’s Sovereign Hand Over Iran

1. Elam in Genesis: Iran’s Earliest Biblical Roots

Iran’s biblical story begins in the very first book of the Bible.

In Genesis 10:22, Elam appears as one of the five sons of Shem — the son of Noah through whom the messianic line would pass:

“The sons of Shem: Elam, Asshur, Arpachshad, Lud, and Aram.”

This genealogy is called the Table of Nations — the Bible’s account of how the post-flood world was populated. It tells us that the Elamites were Semitic peoples, closely related to the Assyrians (Asshur) and the Arameans (Aram).

The ancient land of Elam (‘ēlām in Hebrew, from the Akkadian Elamtu) corresponds to the southwestern region of modern Iran, centered on the ancient city of Susa — a city that would later become the winter capital of the Persian Empire and the setting of the book of Esther.

For a deeper exploration of Iran’s ancient biblical identity, see our article: Elam and Persia in the Bible.

Chedorlaomer: The First Iranian King in Scripture

Elam doesn’t just appear in a genealogy. In Genesis 14, a king of Elam leads the first recorded military coalition in the Bible:

“In the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of Goiim…” (Genesis 14:1)

Chedorlaomer (Kĕḏārlā’ōmer) — a name that scholars have linked to the Elamite elements kudur (servant) and Lagamar (an Elamite deity) — led a coalition of four kings against five kings of the Jordan valley. This is the conflict that drew in Abraham when his nephew Lot was taken captive.

The archaeological significance is striking: this passage reflects a period when Elam was a dominant military power in the ancient Near East, projecting force as far west as Canaan. Scholars at the Anchor Bible Dictionary note that the name formations are consistent with genuine Elamite naming conventions, lending historical credibility to the account.

From the very beginning of biblical history, Iran was a military power that intersected with God’s people.

2. The Babylonian Exile and Persia’s Liberation

The most dramatic moment in Iran’s biblical story comes in 539 BC.

For seventy years, God’s people had been in exile. Babylon had conquered Jerusalem in 586 BC, destroyed Solomon’s temple, killed Judah’s sons before his eyes, and marched the survivors 900 miles east in chains.

The exile was God’s judgment. He had warned through Moses, through the prophets, through centuries of patience. But Judah refused to repent. So God used Babylon as His instrument of discipline.

But God hadn’t abandoned His people. And He had already named the man who would bring them home.

Isaiah’s Stunning Prophecy

Around 700 BC — roughly 150 years before Cyrus was born — God spoke through the prophet Isaiah:

“Thus says the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped, to subdue nations before him… I call you by your name, I name you, though you do not know me.” (Isaiah 45:1, 4)

And even more specifically:

“He is my shepherd, and he shall fulfill all my purpose; saying of Jerusalem, ‘She shall be built,’ and of the temple, ‘Your foundation shall be laid.’” (Isaiah 44:28)

The Hebrew word for “anointed” here is māšîaḥ — the same word that gives us “Messiah.” God used the most sacred title in Israel’s theology for a Persian king who didn’t even worship Him.

This is God’s sovereignty in action: He doesn’t just work through the faithful. He moves pagan kings like pieces on a chessboard.

For the full story of how Cyrus conquered Babylon and freed the Jews, see: When Persia Freed the Jews: Cyrus the Great.

The Cyrus Cylinder: Archaeological Confirmation

In 1879, archaeologists discovered a clay cylinder in the ruins of Babylon — now housed in the British Museum. It records Cyrus’s own account of his conquest and his policy of religious restoration:

“I returned the gods to their sanctuaries… and gathered all their inhabitants and returned them to their dwelling places.”

The Cyrus Cylinder confirms exactly what the Bible describes: a Persian king who reversed Babylonian deportation policy and sent exiled peoples home with their sacred objects.

The Bible records the decree in Ezra 1:2-4:

“The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem in Judah. Whoever is among you of all his people, may his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem…”

Persia freed Israel. No other empire in biblical history did this. Assyria scattered. Babylon enslaved. Greece desecrated. Rome crucified. But Persia — and Persia alone — liberated God’s people and funded the rebuilding of His temple.

3. Esther: Deliverance in the Heart of Persia

An entire book of the Bible is set in Iran.

The Book of Esther takes place in Susa (Šūšan in Hebrew) — the winter capital of the Persian Empire, located in what is now Khuzestan province in southwestern Iran. The events occur during the reign of Ahasuerus (most likely Xerxes I, who ruled 486-465 BC).

The story is well known: A Jewish orphan girl named Esther becomes queen of Persia. A court official named Haman plots to exterminate all the Jews in the empire. Esther risks her life to intercede with the king. The plot is reversed, and the Jewish people are saved.

But the theological significance runs deeper than the narrative:

1. God’s invisible sovereignty. The name of God never appears in the book of Esther — not once. Yet His hand is visible in every “coincidence”: Esther’s rise to the throne, the king’s sleepless night that led him to read the chronicles, the precise timing of every reversal. This is providence — God working invisibly through ordinary events to accomplish extraordinary purposes.

2. Jewish survival in Persian territory. The book reveals that a substantial Jewish community thrived under Persian rule. These weren’t slaves or prisoners — they were integrated into Persian society, rising to positions of influence. This was only possible because of Persia’s unique policy of religious tolerance.

3. The pattern of deliverance. Esther is one of the Bible’s clearest pictures of what theologians call “reversal” — the powerful brought low, the humble raised up. The very gallows Haman built for Mordecai became the instrument of his own execution. This pattern echoes throughout Scripture and reaches its climax in the cross: the instrument of death becomes the means of salvation.

Esther’s famous words — “For such a time as this” (Esther 4:14) — have become a rallying cry for Christians who see God’s hand moving in Iran today, where a church is rising under conditions that mirror the dangers Esther herself faced.

4. Daniel’s Prophecies: Persia in Prophetic Vision

Daniel was a Jewish exile who rose to the highest levels of both Babylonian and Persian government. His book contains some of the most detailed prophetic visions in Scripture — and Persia features prominently.

The Ram and the Goat (Daniel 8)

In Daniel 8, the prophet receives a vision of a ram with two horns:

“I saw the ram charging westward and northward and southward. No beast could stand before him, and there was no one who could rescue from his power.” (Daniel 8:4)

The angel Gabriel interprets the vision explicitly:

“The ram that you saw with the two horns — these are the kings of Media and Persia.” (Daniel 8:20)

The two horns represent the dual nature of the Medo-Persian Empire — Media (the older kingdom, hence the shorter horn that rose first) and Persia (the younger kingdom that surpassed it, hence the taller horn). This matches the historical record exactly: Media was the senior partner in the alliance, but Cyrus’s Persia quickly became the dominant power.

Persia in the Image of Daniel 2

In Daniel 2, Nebuchadnezzar dreams of a great statue representing successive world empires:
– Gold head — Babylon
– Silver chest and arms — Medo-Persia
– Bronze belly and thighs — Greece
– Iron legs — Rome

Persia is the silver kingdom — less glorious than Babylon’s gold but larger in territory. This matches historical reality: the Persian Empire eventually covered 2 million square miles, from India to Egypt, encompassing 44% of the world’s population. It was the largest empire in history up to that point.

Daniel Under Persian Rule

Daniel himself experienced the transition from Babylonian to Persian rule. In Daniel 6, he serves under Darius the Mede and faces the lions’ den — a story of faithfulness under Persian governance. Daniel’s refusal to worship anyone but God, even under a Persian decree, reflects the same theological conviction that would sustain the underground church in Iran thousands of years later.

5. Nehemiah and Ezra: Persia Rebuilds Jerusalem

The return from exile wasn’t a single event — it was a process that unfolded over generations, and Persia funded every stage.

Three Waves of Return

First Return (538 BC) — under Zerubbabel
– Authorized by Cyrus’s decree (Ezra 1)
– ~50,000 Jews return to Jerusalem
– Temple foundation laid (536 BC)
– Temple completed (516 BC) under Persian king Darius I

Second Return (458 BC) — under Ezra
– Authorized by Artaxerxes I (Ezra 7)
– Ezra brings additional families, priests, and Levites
– Reforms worship and law observance
– Persian treasury funds the temple service

Third Return (445 BC) — under Nehemiah
– Nehemiah serves as cupbearer to Artaxerxes I — one of the most trusted positions in the Persian court
– Authorized to rebuild Jerusalem’s walls
– Given Persian military escort, timber from royal forests, and letters of safe passage
– Walls completed in 52 days (Nehemiah 6:15)

The administrative system that made this possible was the Persian satrap system. The Old Persian word khshathrapavan (“protector of the kingdom”) designated provincial governors responsible for tax collection, military administration, and maintaining the King’s Peace across the vast empire. Judea operated as a province (medinah) under this system — governed by Jewish leaders but within the Persian administrative framework.

The bottom line: Without Persian funding, authorization, and protection, there would have been no second temple, no restored walls, no renewed worship in Jerusalem, and no continuity of the covenant community from which the Messiah would come.

God used Persia to preserve the messianic line.

For the full story of Persia’s forgotten role, see: Before the Ayatollahs: Persia’s Forgotten History.

6. Pentecost: Iranians Hear the Gospel First

This is the connection most Christians miss entirely.

On the day of Pentecost — the birthday of the church — the Holy Spirit descended and the apostles spoke in tongues. Luke records who was there to hear it:

“Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia…” (Acts 2:9)

Look at that list. The first three groups mentioned are all Iranian peoples:

Parthians — inhabitants of the Parthian Empire, which controlled Iran at the time of Christ
Medes — the ancient Iranian people from northwestern Iran
Elamites — descendants of the ancient Elamite civilization in southwestern Iran

Iranians were among the first people on earth to hear the gospel.

This isn’t incidental. Luke was a careful historian, and the order of his list matters. These Iranian Jews and proselytes had traveled to Jerusalem for the feast. When the Spirit fell, they heard the mighty works of God proclaimed in their own languages.

Some of these Iranians likely believed, were baptized, and returned home — carrying the gospel back to Iranian soil within weeks of Jesus’s resurrection.

The early church in Persia grew rapidly. By the third century, the Church of the East had established major centers throughout the Persian Empire. The gospel reached Iran not through Western missionaries centuries later — it arrived within the first generation of the church.

God planted the gospel in Iranian soil at the very beginning.

7. Jeremiah 49: God’s Promise to Restore Iran

Of all the biblical passages about Iran, Jeremiah 49:34-39 may be the most important — because it contains a specific, unfulfilled promise about Iran’s future.

The prophet Jeremiah, writing around 596 BC, delivered an oracle against Elam:

“Behold, I will break the bow of Elam, the mainstay of their might.” (Jeremiah 49:35)

Elam was famous for its archers — their military power was legendary throughout the ancient Near East. God says He will break their primary weapon.

“I will bring the four winds from the four quarters of heaven. And I will scatter them to all those winds, and there shall be no nation where the outcasts of Elam shall not come.” (Jeremiah 49:36)

Elamites — Iranians — will be scattered across the world. Today, the Iranian diaspora numbers between 4-6 million people, spread across every continent. The largest communities are in the United States, Canada, Germany, Turkey, and the United Kingdom.

“I will set my throne in Elam and destroy from there king and officials.” (Jeremiah 49:38)

God says He will establish His throne in Iran and destroy its corrupt rulers. The Hebrew word for “throne” (kissē’) is the same word used for God’s heavenly throne. When God sets His throne somewhere, it means His sovereign rule is being established — His kingdom is breaking through.

And then the final promise:

“But in the latter days I will restore the fortunes of Elam, declares the LORD.” (Jeremiah 49:39)

“In the latter days.” The Hebrew phrase b’aḥărîṯ hayyāmîm points to a future, eschatological fulfillment. God promises restoration — not just political restoration, but spiritual renewal.

Is this happening now? The fastest-growing church movement in the world is in Iran. Hundreds of thousands of Iranians are turning to Christ under the most dangerous conditions imaginable. If Jeremiah 49:39 describes a spiritual restoration of Iran — the planting of God’s throne through the gospel — then we may be watching ancient prophecy unfold in real time.

For a verse-by-verse study, see: What the Bible Says Will Happen to Iran: Jeremiah 49.

8. The Islamic Revolution: How Persia Became Iran

To understand modern Iran, you need to understand what happened in 1979.

For 2,500 years — from Cyrus the Great (539 BC) to Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi — Iran was a monarchy. The Shah was modernizing the country: building universities, granting women the right to vote, investing in infrastructure. Iran was America’s closest ally in the Middle East. Iranians wore Western clothing, studied at Western universities, and consumed Western culture.

Then, in twelve months, everything changed.

The Revolution

Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini — a Shia cleric exiled by the Shah in 1964 — had been broadcasting revolutionary ideology from Paris via cassette tapes smuggled into Iran. His message was simple: the Shah was a puppet of America and Israel, modernization was an assault on Islam, and only an Islamic government could restore Iran’s dignity.

The revolution was swift:
– January 1979: Shah leaves Iran
– February 1, 1979: Khomeini returns from exile to jubilant crowds
– February 11, 1979: Military declares neutrality; monarchy collapses
– April 1, 1979: Islamic Republic declared after referendum
– November 4, 1979: US Embassy seized; 52 Americans held hostage for 444 days

A CIA intelligence assessment declassified through the FOIA Electronic Reading Room — titled “Iran: Exporting the Revolution” (March 1980, document reference CIA-RDP81B00401R000500100001-8) — reveals that US intelligence was scrambling to understand a revolution it had failed to predict. The document analyzes Iran’s immediate efforts to export its revolutionary model to other Muslim-majority nations, establishing the template for proxy warfare that Tehran would refine over the next four decades.

The U.S. State Department designated Iran as a State Sponsor of Terrorism on January 19, 1984 — a designation it has held for over 41 consecutive years, the longest of any nation on the current list. Iran is one of only four countries currently designated alongside Cuba, North Korea, and Syria.

What the Revolution Destroyed

The Islamic Revolution didn’t just change Iran’s government — it erased a 2,500-year civilizational identity:
– Replaced Persian cultural identity with Islamic revolutionary ideology
– Imposed mandatory hijab on women who had lived freely for decades
– Executed thousands of political opponents, religious minorities, and intellectuals
– Severed diplomatic relations with Israel — a nation Persia had uniquely protected throughout biblical history
– Replaced “Death to no one” with “Death to America” and “Death to Israel” as state slogans

For the full story, see: Rise of the Ayatollahs: 1979-Today.

9. Iran Today: Persecution and the Underground Church

Forty-seven years after the Islamic Revolution, Iran presents a paradox that only the Bible can explain:

The regime that tried to destroy Christianity has produced the fastest-growing church in the world.

The Numbers

The evidence is staggering:
– 1979: Estimated 300-500 believers from Muslim backgrounds in Iran
– 2025: Estimated 500,000 to 2 million believers, depending on the source
– Organizations like Operation World, Elam Ministries, and the Joshua Project report annual growth rates of 15-20%
– Iran has more house churches per capita than almost any nation on earth

How the Church Grows Under Persecution

The Iranian underground church operates without buildings, without pastors with seminary degrees, without printed Bibles, and without any legal protection. Conversion from Islam is punishable by death under Iranian law. Yet the church grows.

Five factors drive this growth:

1. The regime’s cruelty backfires. When a government promises paradise and delivers oppression, corruption, and economic collapse, people start questioning its theological foundations. Iranians aren’t leaving Islam for secularism — they’re leaving because they’ve seen what Islamic government looks like, and they’re searching for something true.

2. Satellite television and media. Persian-language Christian broadcasting reaches millions of Iranian homes. Stations like SAT-7 PARS and Mohabat TV broadcast 24/7 in Farsi, offering teaching, worship, and testimony that Iranians can access behind closed doors.

3. Social media and encrypted messaging. Telegram, WhatsApp, and Signal have become the infrastructure of Iran’s underground church. House church networks coordinate, share teaching, and disciple new believers through encrypted channels the regime struggles to monitor.

4. Dreams and visions. Missiologists consistently report that an unusually high percentage of Iranian converts describe dreams or visions of Jesus (Isa) that preceded their conversion. This phenomenon is not unique to Iran — it’s reported across the Muslim world — but the frequency in Iran is remarkable.

5. The witness of believers under persecution. When Iranians see fellow citizens arrested, tortured, and imprisoned for their faith — and respond with forgiveness, joy, and unshakable conviction — it creates a testimony that no propaganda can counter.

For the full story of Iran’s secret revival, see: Iran’s Underground Church: The Secret Revival.

For one young man’s story of faith under the regime’s cruelty, see: Erfan Soltani: The Face of Iran’s Massacre.

For the ongoing protests, see: Iran Protests 2026: What Christians Need to Know and Iran: Protests, Persecution, and the God Who Sees.

The Regime’s Response

The Islamic Republic treats Christianity as a national security threat. According to reports from organizations like Article 18, Open Doors, and the US Commission on International Religious Freedom:
– House church leaders are regularly arrested, charged with “acting against national security” or “propaganda against the regime”
– Converts from Islam face charges of moharebeh (enmity against God) — a capital offense
– Bibles in Farsi are contraband
– Churches that conduct services in Farsi (rather than Armenian or Assyrian) are shut down

The ODNI’s 2025 Annual Threat Assessment identifies Iran as a persistent threat across military, nuclear, and cyber domains — but says nothing about the internal spiritual revolution that may ultimately prove more destabilizing to the regime than any external pressure.

10. What the Bible Says Will Happen to Iran

Two major prophetic passages address Iran’s future: Jeremiah 49 and Ezekiel 38-39.

Jeremiah 49: Restoration in the Latter Days

As discussed above, Jeremiah 49:39 promises that God will “restore the fortunes of Elam” in the latter days. Three views exist on what this means:

View 1: Already fulfilled. Some scholars argue this was fulfilled when Elamites returned from exile and reestablished their civilization under Persian rule. The problem: the phrase “latter days” (b’aḥărîṯ hayyāmîm) typically points to eschatological fulfillment in the prophets.

View 2: Being fulfilled now. The explosive growth of the church in Iran — from hundreds to potentially millions in less than 50 years — may be the spiritual restoration Jeremiah foresaw. God “setting His throne in Elam” (v. 38) could describe the establishment of His kingdom through the gospel.

View 3: Future fulfillment. The complete fulfillment awaits Christ’s return, when every nation — including Iran — will bow before King Jesus (Philippians 2:10-11).

Our reading: These views aren’t mutually exclusive. Biblical prophecy often operates on a principle of progressive fulfillment — partial fulfillments in history that point forward to greater fulfillments still to come. What we’re seeing in Iran today may be a stage in a fulfillment that culminates in something even greater.

Ezekiel 38-39: Iran in the Gog Coalition

Ezekiel 38-39 describes a future coalition that will attack Israel. Among the nations listed:

“Persia, Cush, and Put are with them, all of them with shield and helmet.” (Ezekiel 38:5)

Persia (Pāras in Hebrew) is named explicitly. In this prophecy, Iran joins a coalition led by Gog, of the land of Magog — widely identified with territories north of Israel, often associated with Russia — along with nations from Africa (Cush/Put) and Anatolia (Gomer, Beth-togarmah).

The prophecy describes:
1. A massive coalition attacks Israel when it is “living securely” (38:8)
2. God intervenes supernaturally with earthquake, pestilence, fire, and brimstone (38:19-22)
3. The coalition is utterly destroyed — not by Israel’s military, but by God Himself
4. The aftermath requires seven months to bury the dead (39:12)

Current geopolitical alignment: Today’s Iran-Russia alliance — including Iran’s supply of drones and military technology to Russia, Moscow’s reciprocal military and nuclear technology sharing, and their coordinated activities in Syria — mirrors the prophetic picture more closely than at any previous point in history.

The IAEA’s November 2025 report noted that Iran has stopped implementing its JCPOA nuclear commitments since February 2021 and has “greatly expanded its nuclear program.” In August 2025, France, Germany, and the UK triggered the UN Security Council’s “snapback” mechanism, reactivating six resolutions and sanctions against Iran.

For a full analysis of Ezekiel 38-39 and its modern implications, see: Will Iran Attack Israel? Ezekiel 38.

11. Conclusion: God’s Sovereign Hand Over Iran — From Genesis to Revelation

Step back and look at the full arc of Iran’s biblical story:

Genesis: Elam is named among the sons of Shem. Iranian kings lead military coalitions in Abraham’s time.
Isaiah: God names Cyrus 150 years before his birth and calls him “my anointed.”
Ezra/Nehemiah: Persia funds the rebuilding of the temple and Jerusalem’s walls.
Esther: God invisibly preserves His people in the heart of the Persian Empire.
Daniel: Persia appears in prophetic visions as a world empire under God’s sovereign control.
Acts 2: Iranians are among the first to hear the gospel on the day of Pentecost.
Jeremiah 49: God promises judgment, scattering, and ultimate restoration for Iran.
Ezekiel 38-39: Iran appears in a future prophetic coalition — and God intervenes.

No other nation outside of Israel has this kind of biblical throughline. Iran isn’t a footnote in Scripture — it’s a major character in God’s unfolding story.

What This Means for Christians Today

1. Pray for Iran. When you see Iran in the news — nuclear negotiations, protests, military threats — remember that behind the headlines, God is at work. He promised to restore Elam. He planted the gospel in Iranian soil at Pentecost. He is building His church there right now.

2. Don’t reduce Iran to a geopolitical threat. Western media presents Iran as a nuclear menace and state sponsor of terrorism. The regime certainly is those things. But the Iranian people are a 2,500-year-old civilization that God has been working in since Genesis. The regime is not the people. The ayatollahs are not Persia.

3. Support the persecuted church. Organizations like Elam Ministries, Article 18, Open Doors, and Voice of the Martyrs work to support Iranian believers. These men and women are paying a price for faith that most Western Christians can’t imagine.

4. Watch what God is doing. The same God who named Cyrus before his birth, who preserved the Jews through Esther, who brought Iranians to Pentecost, and who promised restoration in the latter days — that God is still sovereign over Iran. He hasn’t lost interest. He hasn’t lost control. He’s working according to a plan that stretches from Genesis to Revelation.

As the prophet Jeremiah declares: “In the latter days I will restore the fortunes of Elam.”

That promise hasn’t expired. And what’s happening in Iran’s underground churches today suggests that God may be keeping it right now.

Recommended Books

These are the books that shaped our understanding of Iran’s biblical significance, prophetic future, and the persecuted church. Each link supports Savage Mercies through Amazon Associates.

Prophecy & Geopolitics

Epicenter 2.0 by Joel C. Rosenberg — Why the current rumblings in the Middle East will change your future. Rosenberg, a former advisor to Israeli and Arab leaders, connects biblical prophecy to modern geopolitics with startling precision.
Discovering Daniel by Amir Tsarfati — The #1 Publishers Weekly bestseller. A verse-by-verse study of Daniel’s prophecies from an Israeli perspective, with direct relevance to Persia’s role in God’s plan.
Mideast Beast by Joel Richardson — The scriptural case for how Islamic eschatology intersects with biblical prophecy. Essential reading for understanding the Mahdi, the Twelfth Imam, and Iran’s apocalyptic ideology.

History & Context

In the Shadow of the Sword by Tom Holland — A masterful account of how Islam arose from the ruins of the Persian and Roman empires. Holland traces the world that produced the Arab conquests and reshaped the Middle East forever.
A History of Modern Iran by Ervand Abrahamian — The definitive academic history from the Qajars through the Islamic Republic. If you want to understand the 1979 revolution, the Iran-Iraq War, and the forces shaping Iran today, start here.

The Persecuted Church

The Insanity of God by Nik Ripken — After the death of their son in Africa, Nik and Ruth Ripken spent twelve years interviewing over 700 persecuted believers across the Muslim world. The question that drives this book: Is Jesus worth it?

As an Amazon Associate, Savage Mercies earns from qualifying purchases. Every purchase through these links helps support our mission to produce free, Christ-centered content.

Sources & Further Study

Primary Sources

CIA FOIA Electronic Reading Room: “Iran: Exporting the Revolution” (March 1980, Document CIA-RDP81B00401R000500100001-8) — Declassified intelligence assessment of Iran’s efforts to export its revolutionary ideology
ODNI: 2025 Annual Threat Assessment — U.S. Intelligence Community assessment of Iran’s military, nuclear, and cyber capabilities
IAEA: Board Reports on Iran — International Atomic Energy Agency monitoring reports on Iran’s nuclear program
U.S. State Department: State Sponsors of Terrorism — Iran’s designation since January 19, 1984
UN Security Council: Resolutions on Iran — Including the 2025 snapback mechanism activation
The Cyrus Cylinder: British Museum, London — Archaeological confirmation of Cyrus’s repatriation policy (539 BC)

Biblical & Theological

Arnold, Bill T. and Brent A. Strawn, eds. The World around the Old Testament: The People and Places of the Ancient Near East. Baker Academic, 2016.
Anchor Bible Dictionary — Entries on Elam, Persia, Cyrus
Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament (TDOT) — Entries on ‘ēlām and māšîaḥ

Persecution & Church Growth

Open Doors World Watch List — Iran consistently ranked among the most dangerous countries for Christians
Article 18 — Monitoring religious freedom in Iran
Elam Ministries — Ministry focused on the Iranian church
Operation World — Church growth statistics for Iran