The Bible refers to modern day Iran as Persia, and its language of Farsi as Persian. Its people are mentioned in the Old Testament books of Esther, 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Isaiah and Daniel.
Cyrus, King of Persia, was used by God to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem. (2 Chronicles 36:22-23)
The roots of the Gospel in Iran run deep as well. A country plagued by persecution against believers in Jesus, the church has been in the land since the beginning.
When the Christ child was born in Bethlehem, Magi came from the East to worship Him. (Matthew 2:1) “Magi,” an Indo-Germanic word, from which the Farsi language descends, refers to Babylonians (Chaldeans), Medes, Persians. The Magi returned to the East, home, as witnesses to the birth of the Savior.
From the cross, Jesus spoke: “Today you shall be with Me in paradise.” (Luke 23:43) “Paradise” is a Persian word. (STRONGS G3857)
At Pentecost, those who heard the Gospel in their own language included Parthians, Medes and Elamites—all from Persia. (Acts 2:9)
Knowledge of the Gospel returned with these individuals to Persia.
After Pentecost, the Apostle Thomas took the Good News to Persia, where he established churches.
The common language of the church in the East was Syriac, which is a dialect of Aramaic. It was used to unite the church in Persia. The Gospel was taken further along the Silk Road by the Persian church into countries farther east—China, India and Korea.
By 781 AD, a marker was erected by believers in China, recognizing Syriac Christianity. (Li Tang, PhD., University of Salzburg)
The Persian Gospel was a translation from Syriac. A very few other Persian Gospels were directly translated from the Greek to Persian.
During the time of the early church, the Roman Empire in the West was declared Christian by its leader Constantine the Great.
Shapur II ruled the Persian Empire from 309-379 AD. A proponent of Zoroastrianism, he persecuted Christians, whom he believed were aligned with the Christian Roman Empire under Constantine the Great. Churches were destroyed and clergy executed. Lay people also were martyred. It is thought that 16,000 died as martyrs because they would not renounce the Lord.
In 403 AD, God raised an advocate for the Persian believers—Saint Maruthas, a Syriac monk. He began by pleading for help for them from the Roman Emperor Arcadius. Later he was sent by Emperor Theodosius the Younger to negotiate peace between the Roman and Persian Empires.
An effective ambassador, Maruthas also spoke to King Yazdegerd I of Persia about freedom for Christians within his kingdom.
A true believer, sent by God, can help bring about peace between empires because his Savior is called the Prince of Peace.
Maruthas encouraged churches be rebuilt and a council meeting of Christians for purposes of church organization be held.
By 410 AD, the capital of Persia was Ctesiphon; it had become the “center for Christianity in the empire.” (Iranicaonline.org) The Council of Mar Isaac was held at the direction of King Yazdegerd I, who was good to both Jewish and Christian subjects, for the purpose of organizing Christians of the Sassanid Empire into one church. Thus, the Church of the East was established as the national church of the Sassanid Empire.
The Church of the East carried the Gospel to other places, translating it into the local language. Thus the church grew. Early church languages became numerous. Approximately 68% of the empire was reached and evangelized. (Buck, Christopher. (1996). The Universality of the Church of the East: How Persian was Persian Christianity?. Journal of the Assyrian Academic Society. 10. 54–95..)
Farsi is an early church language.
God used empires, the Roman, the Greek, the Sassanid (Persian) to spread the Gospel around the world. He still does.
In the 7th Century, the Sassanid Empire fell to Islam. The Arabic alphabet became the standard for the written word, replacing the Persian cuneiform. This continues today.
At first, Christians were protected, but then tensions grew. Persecution rose again. By the 14th Century, under the Muslim warlord Tamerlane, many many Christians were martyred. Religious cleansing has occurred.
Iran remains a part of the Islamic world, yet the church still exists there. It is small, less than 300,000. It is against the law to preach the Gospel in Farsi.
Language matters. “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.” (Romans 10:17)
Nothing has changed in Persia. When an enemy of God is in power, believers can be persecuted.
Christians in Iran are seen as those aligned with the West; therefore, they are persecuted. (Open Doors) As it was in the past, so it is today. There is nothing new under the sun.
However, Jesus and His Gospel will not be stopped. He is appearing to individuals in Iran and speaking to them in their own language—Farsi. (CBN)
There is no end to the Kingdom of the Lord. (Luke 1:33)
Advocates for peace must be raised up by God, as Maruthas was. These individuals must also plead for the well-being of Christians in nations hostile to believers. God can put individuals in place who will offer relief to believers, just as Cyrus and King Yazdegerd I were used by Him.
It is important that the church in the West remember and help the church in the East. The church is one body with Christ as its Head.
To honor the Lord and the witness of Jesus in Persia for 2,000 years by the Church of the East, I have embroidered in Farsi, “I AM” من هستم , into this artwork titled “I AM.”
Listen to the story of Jesus in Farsi:
