Ebrahim Raisi, the President of Iran, is dead. He died after his helicopter crashed in a mountainous region of the country on Sunday.
As news leaked out, Iranians celebrated the death of the hardliner, who is referred to as the ‘Butcher of Tehran’ for his slaughter of thousands of political prisoners in 1988 when he served as the country’s attorney general.
Since his election as President in 2021, he has brutally oppressed the citizens of that country and particularly Christians.
Raisi considered himself an Islamic cleric and wore a black turban because his family is said to be a direct descendant of Islam’s Prophet Muhammad. Many believe he was slated to be the next supreme Leader of Iran, replacing Ayatollah Ali Khamenei who is 86.
Despite the President and Iranian legislature being determined through elections, the Supreme Leader is the de facto leader of Iran, as he has the ultimate say on all political decisions.
Raisi lost his first attempt at president in 2017, and only won the second election in 2021, after the Ayatollah Khamenei ruled the strongest opposing candidates were not eligible to run for president. While Raisi received 62% of the vote, it was the lowest turnout for a presidential election in Iranian history, as millions refused to vote in the sham vote.
There are two major factions in Islam, Sunni and Shiites.
Shiites represent about 15% of the Islamic population, with the majority found in Iran and Iraq.
Shiites, like Raisi, believe that the leader of Islam must be a direct descendant of the prophet Muhammad and believe their leader as sinless. Sunnis believe any individual can fill that role.
Raisi backed and supported Hamas and Hezbollah’s attack against Israel, and it’s believed he orchestrated the massive, but unsuccessful drone and cruise missile attack on Israel in April 2024. It is also believed he is behind Iran’s push for nuclear weapons and as well supplying the Russian military during its attack on Ukraine.
When I heard of his death, I wondered if God was behind it.
We know from Scripture, that God “removes kings and sets up kings, (Daniel 2:21), particularly if they are impacting the Kingdom of God, either Israel or the church.
We see instances where God removed leaders, such as Herod, who Luke states were killed by an angel of God (Acts 12:23). Furthermore, we see another instance where God judged King Nebuchadnezzar with a mental health condition, that caused him to act like an animal (Daniel 4:33).
Just a coincidence?
And, perhaps, it is just a coincidence that Raisi died on the Day of Pentecost. The day, the Holy Spirit fell on the 120 gathered in the upper room nearly 2,000 years ago.
Empowered by the Holy Spirit, they poured out into the streets of Jerusalem speaking in tongues, and people from Persia (modern Iran) were amongst those who heard the gospel being preached in their own language.
“They were all amazed and marveled, saying to each other, ‘Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? How is it that we hear, each in our own native language? Parthians, Medes and Elamites, residents of Mesopotamia.‘” (Acts 2:27-28)
