For the purpose of security the names and positions of the Egyptian Christian leaders have been removed.

Earlier this morning, I was privileged to participate in a conference call facilitated by the Lausanne Committee with evangelical leaders in Egypt. The recorded call will be made available shortly at the Lausanne website.

We heard especially from [Leader One] who related the exhiliration of Egyptians in the wake of the revolution that toppled Hosni Mubarak and his 30-year “emergency rule.” The peaceful revolution that evolved in Tahrir Square was “something we never dreamed about,” said [Leader One]. “Egyptians cannot themselves believe that we now have a new country: a free country with free elections.” He said that for the last 30 years “it has been very tough.” Christians were not allowed to build or repair churches without permission and were watched closely in their regular ministry.

Seething beneath the public reports of peaceful protest were three weeks of violence, as daily police security was virtually non-existent, according to [Leader One]. There are about 1200 evangelical Protestant churches (over a million members) and early on in the Tahrir Square revolution, according to [Leader One], he and other evangelical leaders submitted an appeal in support of religious freedom (not for or against the regime).

He said he is leading a meeting tomorrow with 50 evangelical leaders to consider the best way forward. He asks for prayer for those in military government to make good on the promise of democratic reforms, including a more inclusive government. At this meeting a committee will be formed, including Christian lawyers and judges, to offer suggestions for revising the Egyptian constitution. Of special concern is Article 2, which identifies Egypt as Islamic: a key source for laws that have restricted religious freedom. [Leader One] hopes that the article will be either eliminated or changed to include other religions.

[Leader One] observed that on February 1, Coptic and Catholic leaders weres still publicly supporting the Mubarak regime. On February 9, [Leader One] invited Protestant leaders and issues statement supporting the Revolution: asking for religious freedom and human rights for all. “Not as evangelicals,” he added, “but as Egyptians: we want to help with the new country.” He encouraged Christians to participate in the revolution: “Go to the demonstrations as individuals, but not as religious leaders.” One of the highlights was the spontaneous support of Christians who set up a human shield on Friday to protect the Muslims during prayer, with Muslims then doing the same for Christians at Sunday worship. [Leader One] hopes that this reflects more than momentary solidarity for religious freedom. Muslim supporters of the revolution know that Christians—especially evangelicals—were there with them in the Square.

Of course, the main concern now is the Muslim Brotherhood. [Leader One] related that Christians have been living in fear of a take-over by the group the past 20 years. However, it became clear over the last month that they were one of the forces, not the principal force, in the revolution. Officially suppressesd by the Mubarak regime, the Brotherhood has tried to control parliament through elections. However, there is confusion even within the movement. Some want to take advantage of the revolution and current instability to rise to domination, while others seem willing to participate in a democratic transition. It’s too early to judge, according to [Leader One].

[Leader Two] underscored these cautions. “Outsiders should not be naïve that Egypt is now a free country with respect to religious freedom,” he said. “It will not necessarily become easier to share the gospel with Muslims or for Muslims to follow Christ. So we need to be careful about what freedoms we’re talking about. People will be free to make their objections against the government, for strikes, etc., but we will face a period of unrest as people adjust to freedom. My plea is that people won’t rush in naively to do things that make things more difficult. Pray for Egypt. There has been no decrease in the role of Islam.”

Another Egyptian Christian leader [Leader Two] pointed out that Islamism is still very much at the heart of Egyptian identity. “It’s not like the collapse of the Soviet Union with the fall of the Berlin Wall,” he warned, “where the ideology collpased and then the reigme collapsed.” Islamic ideology remains firmly entrenched. “Many of the Muslim young people in the Revolution would not like the Muslim Brotherhood.” However, he noted the Gallup report that 99% of Egyptians said that religion is “very important” to their daily lives and the majority religion “doesn’t distinguish between religion and civil states.”

As for Muslim Brotherhood penetration into the army now in charge of the transition, [Leader Two] has some concern, since the Brotherhood has certainly infiltrated the powerful labor and trade unions. “There is no distinction in Islam between religion and states, so the Muslim thinkers who may want to have a state that is not based on Sharia are going to have a great difficulty and the Muslim Brotherhood will exploit that. So we’re in a very delicate situation.” Christians living in Western democracies shouldn’t naively assume that religious freedom will simply emerge as a consequence of the revolution. Rather, he encourages fellow Christians to pray “for a ‘second miracle’ in Egypt”: namely, a new constitution that enshrines religious liberty.

Given the potential for similar grassroots movements in Jordan, Yemen, Algeria, and perhaps even Syria, the eyes of the Middle East—as well as the world—will be on Egypt in the coming months and even years.

Seven centuries before the birth of Jesus Christ, Isaiah prophesied “an oracle concerning Egypt”:

Behold, the LORD is riding on a swift cloud and comes to Egypt; and the idols of Egypt will tremble at his presence, and the heart of the Egyptians will melt within them….In that day there will be an altar to the LORD in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar to the LORD at its border. It will be a sign and a witness to the LORD of hosts in the land of Egypt. When they cry to the LORD because of oppressors, he will send them a savior and defender, and deliver them. And the LORD will make himself known to the Egyptians, and the Egyptians will know the LORD in that day and worship with sacrifice and offering…and he will listen to their pleas for mercy and heal them. In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and Assyria will come into Egypt, and Egypt into Assyria, and the Egyptians will worship with the Assyrians. In that day Israel will be the third with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth, whom the LORD of hosts has blessed, saying, ‘Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel my inheritance’ (Is 19:1, 19-21, 23-25).

Amazing, isn’t it! The two nations identified most closely in history with the oppression of Israel—Egypt and Assyria—will be saved from their oppressors by calling on the name of Israel’s King. Throughout the New Testament, of course, calling on the name of Yahweh is identfied with calling on the name of Jesus Christ (Acts 2:21 and Rom 10:13, citing Joel 2:32). “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

This prophecy was not fulfilled before Christ’s birth. Nor was it fulfilled in the remarkable revolution in Tahrir Square. It was fulfilled when the Word became flesh, died, and was raised to the seat of all authority and power. Even now, people from every tribe and tongue are being drawn by the Spirit onto that highway through the gospel and our prayer is that Egyptians in growing throngs will come to the Savior who alone can guarantee liberation from the oppression of death and hell.