To comprehend the real nature of Islam it is necessary to understand their vision of the End. Islam comes with an eschatology of its own, that is both bloody and cruel. It goes beyond judgment – to revenge. And Islam has its own messiah figure that is said will enable the fulfillment of Islamic expectations. And it is remarkable that there are incredible similarities between the character and the actions of the Biblical Antichrist and the predicted Islamic end times Messiah, called the Mahdi. Now, events in the Muslim world are preparing the way for the ascension of this Islamic prophet.
A TIME OF FULFILLMENT ?
“And he said, “Go your way, Daniel, for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end. Many shall be purified, made white, and refined, but the wicked shall do wickedly; and none of the wicked shall understand, but the wise shall understand.” (Daniel 12:9-10)
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the former President of Iran had a clear prophetic vision. Ahmadinejad believes that the Mahdi, the very Islamic Messiah, – will soon reveal himself to the world. In fact, he is not alone. The present Iranian government as well as the religious leadership, the Mullahs that really control the country build their policies on advancing the cause of the Mahdi. In their minds, the Mahdi will unite the warring factions of Islam, (Shiite and Sunni), conquer Jerusalem and set up a global Islamic Empire. Everything that Iran does is influenced by that belief.[i] Amir Taheri, former editor of Iran’s largest daily newspaper, reports that just before making his announcement that Iran had joined the “nuclear club”, Ahmadinejad spent several hours ‘communing’ with Islam’s 12th Imam, the “last of the imams (teacher) of Shiism who went into ‘grand occultation’ in 941.” That “12th Imam” is the one-day returning Islamic Messiah, the Mahdi, the “true Sovereign of the World.” Ahmadinejad believed he was one of his chosen disciples. He knew so because of that incident in September 2005 when he addressed the UN General Assembly. On that occasion, he was bathed in a divine light, visible only to the Iranian President and other true followers of the Mahdi.[ii] Perhaps to those in the West all this is very strange, but awaiting the Mahdi is actually not so odd at all.
The beliefs on the return of the Mahdi are quite mainstream within Islam. They are based on writings taken from the Koran, the Hadith, (Islam’s second holiest book), as well as Islamic tradition. Though their beliefs vary somewhat both Shiites and Sunnis alike are anticipating his appearance. The Mahdi, or ‘Guided One’, is to appear suddenly during a great time of struggle between the forces of good and evil. At the end of history, he will lead the Islamic forces to victory over the unbelieving Christians and Jews. At that time, the whole world will become Muslim. During this Islamic revival, the ‘Prophet Jesus’ will come back to earth, and the two will proceed to Jerusalem, where Jesus will publicly deny that he is the Son of God. Then together they will forcibly destroy both Christians and Jews.[iii]
Of course the similarity between the Islamic Mahdi and the Christian Antichrist is remarkable, as is that between the Muslim’s ‘Prophet Jesus’ and the False Prophet of Revelation. Passages from the Islamic commentaries, the Hadith point to even more similarities between the two sets of prophecy. The Hadith says, “Imam Mahdi will…do battle with the forces of evil in one final apocalyptic battle….After the Imam Mahdi has reigned for several years, Jesus Christ will return.” In a companion passage we are told of the Mahdi: “He will rule for seven years.”[iv] This directly corresponds with the length of the reign of the Antichrist as prophesied in Daniel and Revelation.
Now through all of this we can see the operation of human agency. Iran is openly working to produce the Mahdi. An Iranian TV show called The Coming Is Near, aired in 2011, with the purpose of ginning up excitement for his soon return. The current chaos in the world is but a prelude to the arrival of this Twelfth Imam on the world scene. And according to the Hadith, – (the Islamic companion scripture to the Koran) – his arrival will mark the time of the defeat of Israel and America and the rise of Iran as the Mahdi rules a worldwide Islamic Caliphate from Iraq.[v]
But the Boys in Tehran aren’t the only ones working toward a Caliphate. That is the expressed purpose of ISIS or ISIL, as they now preferred to be called. Their murderous rampage through Iraq and part of Syria is interesting in that it mimics the geographical re-creation of the ancient state of Assyria from whence came the world’s first terrorists. It was the Assyrians, that introduced terror as a military weapon to effect the surrender of cities they sought to conquer. Their cruelty was legendary and it was the tactic they used to subdue the Northern Kingdom of Israel when God lifted His hand of protection from that land.
So it is prophetically significant, as well as quite disturbing that support for the terrorist policies of ISIS is gaining support in the West. Gary Kah reports that a survey revealed that 17% of the French approve of the goals and actions of that organization. In the US the number is said to hover at around 2%. That would mean the ‘head loppers’ are supported by somewhere around 6 million people right here in America. If true, that is a figure that may be just too big to fathom. These numbers could be part of the reason that Aliyah, or the emigration of Jews back to Israel is increasing worldwide. In France, for instance, Aliyah is up 70% over the previous year. Anti-Semitism in Europe is said to be approaching the levels experienced during Hitler’s era between World Wars I & II. Attacks on Jews and synagogues are way up and the Jewish population is beginning to see the writing on the wall. This is a clear sign of the End Times.[vi] The move to establish an Islamic Caliphate is becoming a factor driving Biblical prophecy toward fulfillment. The return of the Jews to the Land of Israel and their holding of that land is guaranteed by God Himself. Ezekiel 11:17 reads: “Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: ‘I will gather you from the peoples, assemble you from the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.’”’ And Deuteronomy 30:3-4 guarantees: “God will bring you back from captivity, and have compassion on you, and gather you again from all the nations where the Lord your God has scattered you. If any of you are driven out to the farthest parts under heaven, from there the Lord your God will gather you, and from there He will bring you.”
Thus the darkest ethic of radical-Islamic ideology is infiltrating our culture and in the process driving events toward the fulfillment of His Word. Even the anti-biblical actions of the terrorists and the Christ-rejecting doctrines of true Islam are being used by God to advance His Kingdom and His purposes. And that’s where we’ll pick it up next time.
[i] Perry Stone, Prophecy Update, March 2006
[ii] Amir Taheri, The frightening truth of why Iran wants a bomb, London Telegraph, April 16, 2006
[iii] Summary of Islamic beliefs taken from; Jerry Robinson, Calling Al Mahdi, Understanding The Antichrist – Part II, WIR
[iv] Quotes from the Hadith taken from; Jerry Robinson, Calling Al Mahdi, Understanding The Antichrist – Part II, WIR
[v] Erick Stakelbeck, Iranian Video Says Mahdi is ‘Near’, CBN, April 3, 2014
[vi] Gary Kah at the: God’s News Behind the News 2014 International Prophecy Conference, Louisville, KY, October 5-7, 2014
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