When Moses Becomes Pharoah

I weigh the great decision once again,

Should I, or should I not, take up my pen?

While anguished, youthful cries deserve our tears

Should turbaned taunts and guns deserve our fears?

Should our debt to those who died exceed,

our debt to those who live in greatest need?

“Na tars!” Be not afraid—of evil foes.

Find your voice. Take up your pen. Here goes.

Those who are interceding for suffering Iranians in this present crisis may benefit from a few historical details. In 1935, King Reza Shah officially changed the name of Persia to Iran. He was pro-German, trying to counterbalance British and Russian influence in Iran.

During that time, my grandfather sold sheepskin coats and Persian lambs’ wool hats. The Germans had a great love for these wool hats and bought them in substantial numbers. Then WWII started, ending the German demand, and bottoming out this family trade! That global war also saw Allied troops enter Iran, deposing Reza Shah, and initiating a period of destabilization.

With the covert help of American and British intelligence services, Reza Shah’s son, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, re-assumed the throne in the postwar period. He embarked on an ambitious modernization plan marked by rapid economic growth in the 1960s and 1970s. Iran grew in wealth and military power.

Despite these successes, Mohammad Reza Shah did not pay close enough attention to the traditional sources of power in Iran. He alienated the “1,000 Families” who controlled agriculture through his reforms to land ownership. He undercut the economic power of the “bazaaris” who previously controlled local markets. He bombed some of the nomadic ethnic groups to force them to stay in one place, thus alienating the tribal khans (chieftains).

Most importantly, Mohamed Reza Shah raised the ire of many conservative religious clerics. For example, he raised the age of marriage for girls to eighteen from the shariah rule of 9 years. He allowed abortion under some circumstances. With great symbolic importance, he replaced the lunar Islamic calendar, which began with the emigration of Muhammad from Mecca to Medina, with the Persian solar calendar, which commenced with the coronation of Cyrus the Great. Ayatollah Khomeini became the vocal, leading critic of the Shah, who exiled him to Iraq in 1963.

When the Iranian economy started to decline at the end of the 1970s, these disgruntled groups united with street protests and strikes against the Shah’s policies. Ayatollah Khomeini, who had recently been evicted by Saddam Hussein from Iraq to France, called not only for the overthrow of the Shah, but also for the establishment of a new political system he called “Velayat i-Fagih,” the “Guardianship of the Religious Clerics.” What were they guarding, one may ask? They promised to guard in purity the rightful and righteous rule of the holy imams—descendants of Prophet Muhammad.

Politics in free countries include the concepts of “getting out to vote” and “winning independents.” Such concepts were far from the mind of

Khomeini. He pictured himself in biblical terms as the righteous liberator-prophet Moses. Click on this link to see an Iranian revolutionary poster from 1979, which includes the following Arabic inscription: “For every Pharoah there is a Moses.”[1] The symbolism was unmistakable: Khomeini was the righteous liberator Moses, while the sinister Shah, in league with the United States, the United Kingdom, and Israel, represented evil Pharoah.

The Islamic clerics behind Khomeini had a natural advantage in gaining control over the anti-Shah protests. They had an existing infrastructure of mosques throughout the country. Weekly sermons denounced the Shah, aided by recordings Khomeini sent in from abroad by cassette tapes.

Betrayed by the Carter Administration, and in failing health, the Shah abdicated in January 1979. Khomeini triumphantly returned to Iran in February 1979. He had long promised the religious clerics would not run the government. He repeatedly pledged that he would not set up a dictatorship. In time, his promises were revealed to be blatant lies.

Millions of zealous and idealistic young Muslims aided Khomeini’s rise and the overthrow of 2,500 years of monarchy. One of them was Daniel Shayesteh, who later became disillusioned with the revolution. Shayesteh found himself in the crosshairs of the regime, which had already executed its political enemies by the thousands. Fleeing to Türkiye, he later found Christ as Savior. He recounts the deceptive nature of the Islamic revolution in his book, The House I Left Behind: My Journey from Islam to Christ.

Was it ever stated that the purpose of the Revolution was a religious one that would empower the Ayatollah Khomeini with authority to apply Shari’a law in Iran? Never. The intention was supposedly a socio-political revolution that would ensure the equal and just distribution of wealth among Iranians by vote of the people. Why would a righteous Islamic leader change his mind and betray his nation? He did it obviously to gratify his lust for power even at the cost of his fellow Muslims and countrymen, aligning himself with the political philosophy of Islam. Khomeini’s manipulations were so subtle and clever that it never occurred to the people he was deceiving them.”[2] (emphasis added)

Iranians are not easy to fool, so Khomeini proved himself to be quite the con artist.

Forty-seven years of brutality, oppression, torture, and killing have resulted in a situation in which the current regime has virtually no support in Iran. The situation has only gotten worse since Khomeini died in 1989. The regime governs by the iron fist of a police state. The people are fed up with all of it. They cannot even feed themselves due to the regime sending their tax dollars to foment terrorism in Lebanon, Gaza, Syria, and Yemen, as well as to pursue endless weapons programs. Due to government mismanagement, there are even drastic water shortages in the country.

In short, Moses became Pharoah in the eyes of the Iranian people.

When Moses becomes Pharoah, there is no way back. This regime has shown itself unwilling to reform or repent. Furthermore, the mollahs will not allow a free and fair vote by the people. Elections are limited to clerical candidates, and votes are rigged.

In these current protests of early 2026, the regime is slaughtering defenseless young people by the thousands. If the public executions stop, they certainly will go on behind closed doors and concrete walls. The screams of the dying will be muffled, but we all hear them, hauntingly.

Moses, the Cloud, and Pillar of Fire

Speaking of Moses and Pharoah, the Iranian people find themselves in the helpless, defenseless situation the children of Israel found themselves in when they were pursued by Pharoah’s army. They were trapped between that merciless foe and the Red Sea.

God intervened in that situation by blocking the advance of Pharoah’s army with a cloud by day and pillar of fire by night. Paul tells believers in Christ that we are baptized into that cloud, which, therefore, is representative of the Lord Jesus:

For I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea; and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea; all ate the same spiritual food; and all drank the same spiritual drink, for they were drinking from a spiritual rock which followed them; and the rock was Christ. (1 Cor. 10:1-4)

There is wonderful news from Iran. Thousands upon thousands of people in Iran and wherever Iranians have emigrated are responding to the gospel! The move of the Holy Spirit cannot even be stopped by evil and self-serving mollahs.

The overall situation in the country, however, is not one of gladness but one of lamentation. Tragedy is now touching countless families. Their loved ones, defenseless, are being gunned down in the streets. An eyewitness to the January 8-9 massacres observed bodies being dumped from trucks into warehouses and lined up two and three layers deep. He declared that this regime would kill “5 million people” without remorse.[3] 

We can only pray God will intervene with some type of blocking cloud or pillar of fire to save the Iranian people from a cynical regime which kills without remorse. History will not overlook these crimes against humanity. Shall we?

Iranian Christians appeal to praying Christians globally to intercede in these trying times. Please pray for the salvation of souls. The blood of Jesus will save all who call upon the name of the Lord Jesus. Second, pray that some type of intervening cloud of protection or pillar of fire will protect these brave people who seek their political freedom. Thank you.

[1] The famous “For Every Pharoah there is a Moses” poster was produced en mass around the time of the Iranian Revolution in 1979. The scene shows Ayatollah Khomeni dismissing Mohammed Reza Oahlavi, the Shah of Iran. Available at VA Museum, https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1192822/poster-unknown/

accessed January 20, 2026.  

[2] Daniel Shayesteh, The House I Left Behind: My Journey from Islam to Christ (Talesh Books, 2012), 83.  Available at: https://www.amazon.com/House-Left-Behind-Journey-Christ/dp/0975601741

[3] Iran International. “Inside Iran’s Killing Spree: Eyewitness Speaks Out.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRR_wbM8Vpc accessed January 20, 2026.