The Vicar of Baghdad: Finding God When You’re in Crisis
For almost two decades I led a vibrant church in Baghdad, the capital of Iraq.
During this period, we experienced the brutal reality of war, poverty, bloodshed, torture, terrorism, and extreme hatred. However, we also experienced the glory.
Baghdad was full of zones. The war zone was our home. The green zone was the protected zone and people would queue for hours at checkpoints in order to enter it. The red zone was the “unprotected zone”—it was a zone marked by explosions, bloodshed, and horror, a zone that one would not wish to step in without knowing that one’s eternity was protected by the shed blood of Jesus. This was the zone in which all of my congregation at St. George’s church lived. The church building was located in Haifa Street, an extremely dangerous location.
Zones were natural to our thinking; in many ways we lived in a “zone mindset.” We knew the reality of boundaries, dividing lines, safe and unsafe territory. We knew the dangers of traversing zones and crossing borders; we knew the relief of returning to the green zone—the place of embassy protection.
Living in the reality of this mindset enabled me to gain fresh revelation on the reality of being seated above—the reality of Psalm 91, the secret place or the secret zone. Just as the Embassy chapel was an earthly and spiritual place of governance, peace, and protection, so was the reality for us as citizens of Heaven and ambassadors of Christ.
What is the glory zone? For me it is the place, the domain of His manifest presence. It is the place where we experience the reality of Heaven invading our world, the place where we are tangibly touched by Heaven’s realities—transcendent peace, unspeakable joy, angels, visions, extreme light, divine provision, unusual manifestations that reveal an aspect of King Jesus, healings, resurrections, supernatural alignments, divine counsel, miracles, signs, and wonders. It is a zone that becomes increasingly defined, real, and tangible as we move in deep realms of faith, devotion, and worship.
The glory zone is a zone far different from and superior to physically earthly zones that are fixed, static, mapped, and seen. It as an eternal, invisible, dynamic zone that moves with us. The great mystery of “Christ within, the hope of glory” and the great mystery of being “within Him” mean that each of us is designed to abide in this zone and to carry this zone as if it were a transportable tabernacle that can be set up in the darkest of places.
What is interesting to me is the origin of the word zone, which comes from the Greek word zonnumi, which historically referred to a belt that was worn and to the act of fastening one’s garments. Later, zonnumi came to refer to a strip of land from where eventually we got the word zone. This original meaning speaks to me of wearing the zone, carrying the zone, and being garmented in it as if were a part of oneself. Many would refer to this as walking in the reality of an open Heaven due to having an intimate relationship with the Father, Son, and Spirit. In the same way that I wore my military body armor, I wore my spiritual armor; I knew that in essence I wore and carried the glory zone. I understood not just the reality of being in His presence but the reality of Him being in my presence. My people and I experienced the tangible, concrete reality of the King’s domain (the fulness of His presence) that manifested itself in our midst and followed us just like a shadow. Even in the darkest of hours, we knew the reality of those on the road to Emmaus—the overwhelming awareness of Him being in our presence and the assurance of being overshadowed by the full presence of the Godhead.
It was only after God gave me the phrase Glory Zone, that I realized that David Herzog’s ministry is actually named Glory Zone and that Patricia King in her Glory School describe a spiritual reality of abiding in the King’s presence as the “Throne Zone.” This to me is a wonderful description of this realm for there is a King of Glory on the throne; it is the King of Glory’s Zone—that is to say, to experience divine glory is to experience the royal, sovereign domain—the kingdom.
In the Old Testament the main words used for “glory” are kabod and hod. The word hod is seen as representing majesty, splendor, light, and glory, while kabod relates to weight or heaviness. The broader meaning of kabod relates to honor or glory, and as we know from John’s revelatory vision these are powerful attributes of God’s majesty that coexist. Those who lay down their crowns before the throne of Heaven declare:
Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created (Revelation 4:11).
Let us also consider the word shekinah, which is not a biblical term but one that was used by post-biblical rabbis and actually allows us to enhance our understanding of kabod. The word shekinah is derived from the verb shachan, which means “to settle, inhabit, or dwell.” That is to say, the tangible weight and the radiant light of the glory is something that must be accommodated, housed, or carried. It relates to a continual “dwelling in the midst of” a people or indeed an individual person (as facilitated by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit). In his book Zechariah and Jewish Renewal, Fred P. Miller indicates that the prophet Isaiah comes the closest to using the word shekinah when he declares:
Thus says the high and exalted One who lives forever, whose name is Holy, “I dwell [shachan] on a high and holy place, and also with the contrite and lowly of spirit in order to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite” (Isaiah 57:15).
The glory relates to the “dwelling” presence of God. At times it is visibly seen; at times, though present, it is not seen. As Paul states, we were created to be carriers of the glory and to be the dwelling place where Christ who Himself contains the fullness of the Deity may be fully formed and fully released.
Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore, glorify God in your body (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).
Furthermore, God wants this glory to be showcased and exhibited across the entire cosmos so that darkness is dispelled and all mankind encounters His majesty. As the light of His glory radiates, the knowledge of this glory will become truly global. The truth of His name will be made known and every knee will bow—for revelation of truth always leads to worship.
Let your light shine [luminous radiance] before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven (Matthew 5:16).
The ministry of Jesus is the ministry of light. He is the light of the world, far brighter all other created lights. He is the very essence of radiance and luminosity, and Heaven requires no other light. This blazing, all-consuming light emanating from His being is the essence of His glory and His kingdom is a kingdom of light. The glory is thus not theoretical; it is experiential. So much of it relates to the realm of seeing and watching the invisible become visible. I most certainly could not have survived in my work without the true experience of the illuminating, overwhelming presence of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in my life. Miracles, signs, and wonders are neither fashionable terms nor ancient phenomena. The miracle realm is the now realm; it is the eternal realm and it is a realm of deep, radical transforming divine activity, and this was the realm that marked so much of my time in Iraq.
I visited Iraq regularly in the late 1990s during the early years of my ministry several years before the war began. During these initial visits there was always a climate of great tension and unrest in the nation and a sense that civil conflict could erupt and explode at any moment. For Christian Iraqis, one of the most significant annual fasts is a three-day fast referred to as “the fast of Jonah”—the main focus being on divine mercy and national restoration. Nineveh, the city to which Jonah was sent to preach, is located north of Bagdad, just before Iraq turns into Kurdistan. To this day, Nineveh is the only predominantly Christian city in Iraq, and the shrine of Jonah (eventually destroyed by ISIS) is seen by Iraqi Christians as a symbol of obedience and mercy, which form part of their heritage.
As scripture describes, Assyria (modern-day Iraq) committed terrible atrocities and greatly afflicted and oppressed the people of Israel, yet God saw to it that through the prophetic oracle of Jonah (meaning “dove”) a gateway would be established through which His mercy, love, and forgiveness could be released. The repentant Ninevites grew into a radical community, devoted to God, and centuries later when Thomas came to Nineveh, he found a strong believing community in place. This community had held fast to the Abrahamic tradition, and thus Jonah’s seeds of obedience were seen to have reaped a harvest. When Thomas arrived in Nineveh after the time of Christ, he taught about the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus the Messiah, and consequently the first Christian community in Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq) was birthed. This is why many Christian believers in Iraq are still referred to as Assyrians. During my time mediating on the history of the land and on the call to forgive the vilest of enemies, God spoke to me about the unfathomable depths of His mercy and the divine flow of radical forgiveness and virtue that had once watered the soil of this land.
Despite most of our church congregation being Baghdadi, they would all consider Nineveh their traditional home and would nearly all return there during breaks. Many had family and homes there and considered Nineveh as both their familial and spiritual homeland. This is also why so many Christians quickly returned there when radical terrorist groups moved into Baghdad.
Before the terror started in Iraq, there were various attempts to create unity amongst the believers from different traditions within Iraq; however, these endeavors were largely unsuccessful. Yet when the horrors of ISIS took place this was not the case, for in the midst crisis there was a radical move toward harmony and solidarity. In fragmentation, disunity, rivalry, and division, the revelation of Jesus can never be present in fullness; however, when diverse groups come together as one and where mutual honor presides, Jesus can truly dwell in their midst and the bond of love and peace can truly grow. Where there is a resting place for the Holy Spirit—either an individual or corporate place that is in harmony Heaven—and where there is divine love, there will always be divine unity. This is why the apostle Paul implores the Ephesians to:
Walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all (Ephesians 4:1-6).
As the war grew closer and acts of persecution started to be perpetrated, I started to see a radical change of mindset among the Iraqi Christians. No longer did people self-differentiate between traditions and denominations; they were simply Christian believers. The disunity that had prevailed during the climate of moderate civil order was replaced by a fresh revelation and a consequent cherishing of collective identity and, above all, the reality and worth of Jesus. The people began to understand the power of divine light within sinister darkness, the prominence of the Father’s role as Sovereign Judge, and the reality of their eternal future with Him. As one of the resounding apostolic exhortations from Paul to the church undergoing brutal Roman persecution states:
Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord (Romans 12:19).
It was the clarity of vision and resolution that arose from this united stance that enabled people to stand as one amidst persecution to truly choose forgiveness. There was a united choice by both young and old to release forgiveness rather than vengeance, retribution, and enmity. This forgiveness was voiced on many occasions across the airwaves and on international television. A wave of lovingkindness and a sense of sincere pardon was released from the depths of people’s hearts as they embraced the heart and the ways of Jesus. The Glory Zone became a Mercy Zone.
Reflections
The glory is the light, majesty, and presence of the Trinity. It is not simply another word to describe divine preeminence; it is a person in whom we experience awe and refuge. Jesus Himself contains the fullness of the deity, and He calls us into an experience of mutual indwelling. Christ within you is the hope of glory, and part of that glory is also you hidden in Christ—for He, Himself, “is the radiance of His [the Father’s] glory and the exact representation of His nature” (Heb. 1:3). This is the same radiance that the prophet Habakkuk described:
His radiance is like the sunlight; He has rays flashing from His hand, and there is the hiding of His power (Habakkuk 3:4).
The glory is both a person and a place. To abide in the shelter of the Almighty and to become infused with His light is to reside in the place of His glory. That is to say, the “Shelter of the Almighty” is a person and a place.
The glory that passed before Moses was the radiant goodness of God. That is to say, God’s response to Moses when he asked to see His glory was the release of a mighty flow of virtue and goodness toward him. “I myself will make all my goodness pass before you” (Exod. 33:19).
It is normal to associate glory and goodness as they relate to a sense of awe, superlative delight, and abundant provision, but have you considered that mercy is as much a part of God’s glory as goodness is? From the setting of the glorious rainbow in the sky and the creation of the golden mercy seat overshadowed by the “cherubim of glory” to the moment of all-sufficient sacrifice at Golgotha, this eternal link between glory and mercy was made visible. The kindness of the Father and His ability to forgive the vilest, most heinous of crimes is an integral part of His glory. The cry of “Father, forgive them” remains a cry that releases the weight of His glory.
Just as goodness and mercy follow us together, so do glory and mercy. In essence His glory is His goodness and His merciful kindness—the outflowing of His nature. David’s evidence of this enabled him to proclaim with confident assurance that God’s unchanging nature and constant, relentless flow of virtue would pursue him on his path for as long as he had life.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever (Psalm 23:6 KJV).
Prayer
Father, I ask that as we journey together through this book You awaken fresh faith and ignite expectation, hope, and awe in the hearts of the readers. I ask that You awaken us afresh to the magnitude of Your great mercy and I ask You for revelation and illumination regarding the wonders of Your glory.
