Fast forward thirty-eight years, during this period I studied Chiropractic, got married, became father of two daughters, and enjoyed a lucrative practice; but the spark not only kept on burning, but it also got brighter and brighter throughout all (important events of) my life. It became so forceful and intense that moved me to do the unthinkable. In October 2018, I applied and was admitted into an Evangelical, Great Commission, Southern Baptist university; paid my tuition and dove into a world (as opposed to the hard sciences of biology, anatomy, chemistry…) I knew very little about it yet determined to go through it.

The carrier was as rigorous as Chiropractic curriculum, but not as long. During the four years of training, I studied twenty-five (feels like infinite) books and wrote a report for each, studied Biblical Hebrew, wrote one-hundred-eighty-page thesis, and in 2022 graduated with master’s degree in theology (MTS).  

The most daunting part of training was writing my thesis, the second one was learning Biblical Hebrew, its grammar, vocabulary and complex messianic prophecies, and passing the exams in Hebrew (for which I had to hire a tutor). Presenting my paper to a PhD thesis-advisor and defending my points/arguments before him, was Indeed the most anxiety-building undertaking I had ever faced. The thesis focused on the same desire I had in high school: to prove that “Jesus of Nazareth was the promised Christ.” However, this time it was more than just a teenage impulse; it was as real as the ground on which I stand.

After graduating in 2022, I submitted my work to the editor of Zondervan’s subsidiary, Westbow Press. A few weeks after submission, the editor sent an email saying, “We would like to publish your thesis; however, it is highly technical; people will not understand it, will put it down, and will not recommend it.” The email further said, “You need to give your paper a life.” That phrase shattered me; give my paper a life? After four years of arguing my points with my thesis advisor, studying from midnight to dawn, and passing all the challenging Hebrew courses, I was told that my work was not good enough for publication!

I had nothing more left in my brain than not extracted by my advisor. I did not have it in me, how do I, how could I “give life” to a thesis that already I had given it all? I put my head on the ground, earnestly prayed, and said something close to “Lord, you know me, I am no Hollywood material, and the editor wants me to ‘give life’ to my paper…” Before I finished my sentence, the same divine-connection sensation I had four decades earlier, took over me, and once again inspired me with a brilliant idea. I know that I am not that smart to come up with such an idea, an idea that only Hollywood could come up with: “You serve Jesus as His defense counsel, His attorney in His trial!” No celebration, no festivity can describe the joy I experienced, not only because of knowing how to “give life” to my thesis, but the experience of God, the Creator of the universe coming so close and speak a few words to my soul!

The quest I began in my teens is finally concluding; converting my thesis into a book was no longer an enigma. When I called the editor and told her the above, she responded, “You have a winner, the thesis makes your book thoroughly researched and factual, and you representing Jesus Christ as His defense counsel ‘gives it the life’ I was referring to.” The email further said, “Bravo, converting your thesis into a familiar, heated courtroom setting is very engaging and really creative. As far I have been the editor, no one has ever done this! Bringing the infamous trial of Jesus Christ in Jerusalem, that happened some two-thousands years ago, to a modern courtroom setting, is genius!”   

It took me another year to “give life” to my thesis and convert it to a book, and I titled, “Messianic Prophecies, Cross Examined.” I borrowed the following biblical characters along with their personalities from the King James Bible: Gamaliel, the wise Sanhedrin councilman serves as the moderator of the Council. The thesis adviser before whom I defended my paper serves as the opposing councilman who interrogated and finally ordered Jesus’ execution, Caiaphas. Fictitiously, after a two-thousand-years of silence, I serve as Jesus’ defense counsel; and you, the readers of my book, would serve as the jury.  

Now, the journey that began some four decades ago in Tehran-Iran has come to conclusion, and making proof of Jesus is the Christ available to all those who love the Lord.

Choosing the title of the book, Messianic Prophecies Cross Examined, has a very interesting twist to it. The phrase “Cross Examined” contains both a legal term, as well a Christian. The term “Cross” is a symbol of Christianity, and the phrase ‘Cross examined’ is legal phrase. The title, Messianic Prophecies “Cross” Examined, in four words describes the entire Sanhedrin trial in which Jesus was erroneously found guilty of blaspheme.

A few words about my logo. The “Cross” is a very common logo for all Christian authors, however, for the obvious reason, I decided to add a “lamb” to the bottom of the Cross, indicating, He was innocently crucified.