In the past couple of weeks enormous billboards were seen around Israel showing an hourglass with the flag of the Islamic Republic and promising that the end of the Ayatollah regime in Iran is nearing – setting the date for a mysterious October 28, 2028. Some of the billboards also featured a plight reassuring that “hundreds of millions of evangelicals have Israel’s back,” signed by a mysterious “Jerusalem Prayer Team.”
The billboard reminded many in Israel of the reminiscent of the well-known countdown clock placed in Palestine Square in Tehran which counts the days left until Israel’s alleged “fall” in 2040. Nevertheless, while Israelis attempted to decipher the meaning of the messages and guess who was behind them, the billboard gained much traction in Persian-speaking outlets, especially those that oppose the Islamic Republic regime, such as Iran International and Radio Farda, which shared its images with hundreds of thousands of followers and stirred heated debates.
BBC Persian reporter Kasara Naji shared a video of one of the billboards with his almost 145 thousand followers, adding “It’s not only Iranians who ask when they [the Islamic Republic] will go – this is in Jerusalem in the past days!”. From his part, BWNS reporter Morteza Ismailpour expressed ironic criticism arguing that “We Iranian people are allies of Israel, but we don’t want to wait for 4 years!”
Though October 28 may be foreign to Israelis and many others across the world, it is a well-known date in Iran. The day coincides with the 7th of the month of Aban according to the Iranian calendar, which is the Day of Cyrus the Great. This is a traditional and popular Iranian holiday that the Islamic Republic regime has attempted to suppress and cancel for the past decades, but which still remains popular in the eyes of Iranian citizens, many of which challenge the government’s will, flood the streets with their cars and make their way to the mausoleum of the ancient monarch of Persia, Cyrus the Great, in Pasargad.
Cyrus the Great was mentioned in the Hebrew Bible as a Persian king who allowed and even urged Jews to return to their homeland in Judea about 70 years after they were exiled by the Babylonians and rebuild the Jewish temple in the capital Jerusalem, a deed which earned him the title “messiah” in the Book of Isaiah. This is consistent with the historical accounts of Cyrus’s strategy to allow for freedom of worship across his kingdom following his conquering of the Babylonian Empire. Ironically, this encouragement of Jews to gather in Jerusalem stands in contrast with the current Islamic Republic’s view of the Jewish State.
Initiator Mike Evans: ‘Iran’s Jihad is threat to the entire free world’
Now it can be revealed that the person behind that campaign is the organization JPT, which is part of the Christian-evangelical movement. Dr. Mike Evans, founding member of JPT and founder of the Friends of Zion Heritage Center, identifies simply as “a friend of Israel and an evangelist,” and he was the main brain behind the idea to publish these billboards. The Jerusalem Post reached out to Evans to hear more about the initiative and the reasoning behind it.
“Iran’s radical jihad is growing stronger. It’s a threat to Israel, of course, but it’s even worse for the free world,” explained Evans. “That’s why hundreds of millions of evangelicals around the globe will keep fighting anti-Semitism with everything we’ve got. We will ensure Israel’s security and peace,” he promised.
An avid Israel enthusiast, Evans also decided to take action against the antisemitic demonstrations in campuses in his home state of Texas and urge local authorities to act. He also accompanied families of hostages in Gaza to meetings around the world and joined the efforts to sway the votes of Congressmembers in favor of the military aid package approved last week.
“The decision to launch this current billboard campaign stemmed from my desire to convey an unequivocal message to both the regime in Iran and the people of Israel,” added Evans. “This is a message that first and foremost expresses the fact that Israel is not alone: standing behind her like a solid rock are millions of Christian believers in the whole world and in the USA in particular, who have tremendous power and influence,” he reassured.
“In addition, the campaign mentions the ancient legacy of Cyrus, the Persian leader who to this day enjoys the allegiance of the people of Iran, while the Ayatollah regime attempts to erase his memory. Cyrus supported the independence of the Jewish people in their own homeland, and it was important for me to mention that this is the true Iranian heritage. The denial of Cyrus’s legacy, as well as the will of the Iranian people, will soon lead to the end of the Ayatollah regime in Iran,” concluded Evans.
