Islam And The End Times

All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast-all whose names have not been written in the book of life belonging to the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world. (Rev. 13:8)

There’s a lot of interest in the role of Islam in the End Times. And from what I’m reading, a lot of misunderstanding, too. Recent surveys are shedding some light.

It’s becoming clear that Moslems are increasing in number faster than any other religious group in the world. Their current growth rate is four times faster than that of Christians. According to a recent survey by The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, those who practice Islam now make up nearly one-fourth of the world’s population at 1.57 billion members, second only to Christianity. This is revolutionary in nature and even though it’s happening right before our eyes, most Western Christians haven’t even noticed. And not only are Moslems the fastest growing religious group in the world, they also hold that distinction in the United States, Canada and Europe, with Europe perhaps being the model of where Canada and then the US are headed.

Comparing the current birth rates of native Europeans with Europe’s Moslem immigrant population leads us to one very clear and surprising conclusion: the Europe we have known is very quickly changing into what some refer to as Eurabia, where Europe will soon find itself under the power and control of Islam. Today there are more Moslems in Germany than there are in Lebanon. France’s Moslem population, while fewer in number than Germany’s, represents a greater percentage of French citizenry, and given the current rate at which church buildings are being converted there may soon be more mosques in England than functioning churches.

Following the rapture of the Church, Islam will be the most populous religious system on Earth by a wide margin. Whether you believe that Islam is a religion of peace or not, it’s pretty obvious that they’re not going to just go away after the rapture and abandon their long held dream of becoming the world’s dominant religion just at the point of realizing it.

Don’t make the mistake of thinking that Islam will no longer be a viable religious force after the Battle of Ezekiel 38 either. According to The Pew Forum report, the countries who will unite against Israel and be defeated there are a small percentage of the total Islamic population. For example, the four largest Islamic countries by population aren’t even involved. In fact, two thirds of all the world’s Moslems live in 10 countries and of those only Turkey (5) and Iran (6) are named by Ezekiel. Rough estimates indicate that as little as 15% of the Islamic world will be represented by the forces aligned against Israel, and remember it’s only their soldiers who die in battle, not their total populations.

Compare that to what will likely happen to the 2.2 billion strong “Christian” world in the Rapture and it’s not hard to see that Islam will still be the strongest religious force on Earth as Daniel’s 70th Week begins. (After all, none of them will be raptured.) Islam would be the obvious choice for a man who wants to use a religious system to gain control of the world.

And remember, the anti-Christ won’t be confirming a covenant with Israel for the purpose of helping them. He’ll be doing it to help himself. By means of peace he’ll deceive many, Daniel warned (Daniel 8:25). And with the exception of the fleeing Jewish remnant, the world will be deceived, saying “Peace and safety” just as sudden destruction comes upon them (1 Thes. 5:9). But God will not be deceived. He’s already on the record, calling it a covenant with death. (Isaiah 28:15) But doesn’t this covenant serve God’s purpose, you ask? Well of course everything that happens serves God’s purpose, but that doesn’t mean everything that happens is good for man. The Jews will think they’re getting a guarantee of peace but God will use the covenant to usher in Daniel’s 70th Week, a time when He’ll completely destroy the nations, and purify His covenant people. It’ll be anything but peaceful.

Let’s also remember how crafty the enemy is. For example, MI-6, the British intelligence service, has just confirmed that Iranian Pres. Ahmadinejad, who could be one of the leaders of the Islamic coalition in Ezekiel 38, was born Jewish. The family converted when he was 4 years old. Knowing that, how could we say the anti-Christ (who some believe has to be Jewish) could not come from an Islamic country that was once part of the Roman Empire? Please, I’m not saying Mr. Ahmadinejad is the anti-Christ. I’m only saying that someone like him could be.

Almost 4 years ago I first reported on the similarities between Islamic prophecies of al Mahdi and Christian prophecies of the anti-Christ. I noted how both are said to come on the scene during a time of great turmoil on Earth, both come claiming a desire to restore peace, both have a seven year reign, both head a one world religion and one world government, both claim supernatural origins, and both reigns end in a battle between good and evil that brings Earth’s final judgment. It almost sounds as if they’re the same person.

At that time the majority of prophecy students were still convinced that the anti-Christ had to be of Western European origin, aligned somehow with the Roman Catholic Church. But since then I’ve become aware of more and more who are taking a second look at this traditional view, and are considering the possibility of a coming world leader whose roots are in Islam.

When Daniel had his vision of Gentile Dominion, the period of Gentile rule over the Earth, it came to him in the form of 4 great beasts. The first was a lion, representing Babylon. The second was a bear, the Medo-Persians, and the third was a leopard, Greece. Then in Daniel 7:7 he said, “After that, in my vision at night I looked, and there before me was a fourth beast-terrifying and frightening and very powerful. It had large iron teeth; it crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left. It was different from all the former beasts, and it had ten horns.” This is a reference to Rome. In animal imagery, the horn demonstrates authority, and when used symbolically the number 10 denotes the completion of divine order. This 4th beast would have complete authority over Earth and would never totally relinquish it until the Lord comes to take it by force. (Daniel 2: 44)

The anti-Christ will make his first Biblical appearance in Rev. 6:2, disguised as the man on the white horse. According to Daniel 8:25 he’ll seem to be a great peacemaker, but his intent will be to conquer the world. His true identity won’t be revealed until Revelation 13:1-2 where it becomes clear that he’s been empowered by Satan. Verses 1- 2 describe him thus. And I saw a beast coming out of the sea. He had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on his horns, and on each head a blasphemous name. The beast I saw resembled a leopard, but had feet like those of a bear and a mouth like that of a lion. The dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority.

Compare Rev. 13 to Daniel 7 and you’ll see that while the 10 horns show that he’ll have all the authority of the fourth gentile kingdom, his identifying characteristics will be more like the first three of Daniel’s beasts. Babylon, Persia, and Greece were all oriented toward the East. Only Rome had a western orientation (which made it different from the other three, as Daniel noted) Could this mean that the anti-Christ will also look first to the East (Islam) to consolidate his power?

Time will tell. In his interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, Daniel told us how the end times version of the 4th kingdom would be characterized by inner conflict. He said that where it had once been as two strong legs of iron (the Eastern and Western divisions of Biblical times) rebuilding it at the end would be like trying to mix iron and clay. (Daniel 2:40-43) He could have been describing some of the social unrest we’ve witnessed in several European countries as their native populations have not always responded well to Moslem immigration.

My purpose in writing this is not in any way to confirm or endorse the views of some experts on Islam who’ve burst on the scene recently with all sorts of new interpretations of Christian prophecy. It’s to remind us all to keep our eyes open. Things are happening fast and will continue to challenge our traditional perspective. Daniel was told that as the End of the Age approaches knowledge will increase (Daniel 12:4). That means we’ll be given a clearer understanding of how events will unfold than those who came before us. This will happen through careful observation, actually seeing the pieces of the puzzle fall into place and comparing them to Scripture. But God knows the end from the beginning, so none of this is new to Him. Where we see change, He just sees a closer alignment of Earthly events with Heavenly truth. It’s time to keep an open Bible handy as we watch the headlines because we now have another reason to search the Scriptures daily (Acts 17:11). You can almost hear the footsteps of the Messiah. 10-10-09

THE EASTERN QUESTION

Things To come, London, December 1896 Issue

The state of political affairs in the East is full of deepest import to the student of God’s word.

“Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.”

Jerusalem has been and is being trodden down by the Gentiles.

For 1260 years, Babylon, Persia, Greece and Rome, held possession of the city and the Land, from 625 B.C. to A.D. 636-7. For the nearly 1260 years since they have been literally “trodden down” (significant words) by Turkey.

It seems now as though Turkey, in spite of all her advisor’s and all her warnings, was deliberately rushing on to her destined end. “The times of the Gentiles” must have an end—will have an end. How soon that end may come no one can tell, but certainly it never seemed nearer than now.

A London daily paper speaks for itself when it says: —

“From Medina to the Hellspont there is a simmer of suppressed excitement, a ferment of almost apocalyptic expectancy, and, below the surface, a dangerous feeling of discontent. Everybody is prepared for the worst. The doom that hangs over the Ottoman Empire is felt more strongly there than at Hawarden. Out of earshot of the Turkish officials, pious Moslems whisper of the fate in store for Islam, and tell one another that the time draws nigh.”

When Jehovah gave Abraham the Land, and deferred its possession, the reason given was that “the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full (Gen. xv. 13, 16).

Whatever may have been wanting in the iniquities of Turkey seems to be fast being built up ; and the students of the word of God, as they cry, “How long, O, Lord, how long?” are filled with the desire and the hope that the day is near when the treading down of Jerusalem may cease, and the rightful owners be placed once more in possession of their inheritance.

“SIGNS...IN THE STARS”

A remarkable phenomenon will take place in the heavens next year (1897), viz., the conjunction of Uranus and Saturn. such an event in the same part of the heavens has not happened since 1307. It is not at all necessary to assume any such thing as cause and effect. We may regard it merely as a mysterious and inexplicable coincidence that this conjunction (or even an approach to it) has been marked by great changes amongst the powers and countries of Europe, as in the years 1805 and 1852. In 1897 it occurs three times in the same year and in the same part of the heavens (the sign of Scorpio), viz.: Jan. 6, June 1, and Sept. 9. “There shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars (Luke xxi.25). Is this one of the “signs?” and if so, what does it signify but the death-knell of Turkey? We need say no more. “The wise shall understand.”

MOHAMMEDAN ESCHATOLOGY

Eschatology is a word now frequently met with. It is the Greek for that which relates to the last things. Things to come, therefore, fairly represents the word. Everyone is looking for “things to come,” the world is looking for a good time coming,” and all false religions have some false beliefs as to the future.

Only the word of God “rightly divided,” can give us the “truth” as to what the future is to be. Man’s ideas are either perversions of the truth or the imaginations of his own heart. The Mohammedan’s future is a mixture of the two.

Laurence Oliphant, in his Land of Gilead, gives some interesting facts, which he collected during his travels on the Eastern side of the Jordan.

The Metawalies, he says, are much despised and hated and persecuted by the Turks. They, like the Persians, are Shiites, and supposed by some to be the descendants of the aboriginal races of Galilee.

They hold the Shia doctrine that Ali, the son-in-law of Mohammed, is “awaiting in concealment the coming of the last day. In common with some Sunrus, they do not consider this event very remote, the orthodox Moslem doctrine being that on that day Christ will re-appear to establish El Islam as the religion of the world; with Him will appear Mehdi, the twelfth Imaum, who will then be known as ‘the guide’—and Anti-Christ or the beast of the earth; while the peoples of Gog and Magog, whom some suppose to be Russians, will burst the barrier beyond which they were banished by Alexander the Great. The end of all things will begin with the trumpet blasts of of the angel Asrafil. The first of these blasts will kill every living being, a second will awaken the dead. In regard to their final expectation of what is likely to happen, the Shiites and Sunrus do not seem to differ very materially.” (Pp 8, 9)

Speaking of the signs of the end, he says, “Among the other signs which are to precede the resurrection, a war is predicted with the Greeks, and Constantinople is to be taken by the posterity of Isaac . . . As they are dividing the spoil, news will come to them of the appearance of Anti-Christ, whereupon they shall leave all and return back.

“The fourth great sign is the coming of Anti-Christ, whom Mohammedans call Al Dajjal. He is to be one-eyed, and marked on the forehead with the letters C.F.R., signifying Cafer, or infidel. They say that the Jews give him the name of Messiah ben David, and pretend he is come in the last days to restore the kingdom to them. According to the tradition of Mohammed, he is to appear first between Trak and Syria. . . . “

Among the lesser signs are “the decay of faith among men,” the “advancing of meanest persons to eminent dignity,” etc. (Pp. 67-70)

This mixture of truth and error will be easily discerned, but enough of truth to show that just as at the first coming of Christ there was a general expectancy, so now before His second coming there seems to be the same spirit both in the world and in false religions, as well as amongst the Lord’s own people.

THE EASTERN QUESTION – II

Things To Come, London, November 1912 Issue

This, surely, is the most momentous sign of the times that has ever occupied the minds of the Lord’s People, ever since the fall of Jerusalem.

It is a war of five nations, and over a million men are in movement. Europe has seldom known a larger struggle, and never a drama more intense.

It is for us to discern the “sign” to learn what it all means.

This can never be done by any who are obsessed with the idea that we are living in the days of the fourth world-power—the Roman Empire, in any form whatever; or that the Popes have anything to do with the prophecy of Daniel.

In Daniel 2 we learn that there were to be five world-powers. It is not so stated in so many words, for reasons which will presently appear: but it is most clearly implied.

It will first be noted that it does not say there were to be “four,” and only four. The word in v. 40 is “fourth”; and it is an ordinal number, and not cardinal. And the five are enumerated four times.

(1) In vv. 31-33 the parts of the image are thus enumerated:—
1. The “head” (gold),
2. “his breast and his arms” (silver),
3. “his belly and his thighs” (brass),
4. “his legs” (iron),
5. “his feet” (part of iron and part of clay).

(2) In v. 35 the metals are enumerated separately:—
1. “The iron,
2. the clay,
3. the brass,
4. the silver,
5. and the gold.”

Here, the clay is mentioned as being distinct and quite separate from, and independent of, the other four.

(3) In vv. 38-42, we have the parts of the image again set forth and described; and in the original order as in vv. 31-33.
1. “The head of gold” (Babylon),
2. “another kingdom inferior” (Medo-Persia),
3. “another third kingdom of brass” (Greece),
4. “the fourth kingdom strong as iron” (Rome),
5. “the feet and toes, part of potter’s clay and part of iron” (The Mohammedan Power).

That the powers are five, is clear, from the fact, that they each had a prior existence, before one succeeded the other.

The first, Babylon, began in Genesis 10:10; but it is not counted as “the head” of this image until Nebuchadnezzar came into possession of Jerusalem.

It was the same in each case. It was as each occupied Jerusalem, that the change took place, and the one succeeded the other as described in vv. 38-42. The order therefore in these verses is chronological, as in vv. 31-33.

(4) But when the metals are enumerated in verse 45, the order is again varied so that we might discern that the “clay” is quite distinct from the “iron” (with which it is mingled). In v. 45 the order is:—
1. “the iron,
2. the brass,
3. the clay,
4. the silver,
5. and the gold.”

Now, when the Lord was uttering His prophecy in Luke 21, He concluded it by saying,

“Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled” (v. 24).

At the time these words were uttered Jerusalem was in the possession of Rome, “the fourth” of the above five powers.

But is Rome in possession of Jerusalem now?

Who is now treading down the Holy City?

We all know full well that it is the great Mohammedan power, which we know as “Turkey.”

The fifth power set out to conquer the world. That was its aim. But we all know how it failed at the siege of Vienna.

In A.D. 636-7 this power defeated Rome, and wrested Jerusalem and the Holy Land from its hands; and by succeeding it, became its possessor, and the fifth power—“the clay”—of Dan. 2. It has ever since “trodden down” Jerusalem in a way it had never been before.

Under preceding powers, the Jews had great liberty, nay, under Persia it had great privileges. But the Lord, Who knew the coming power, knew also its character.

But, He knew also that it would have an end!

He does not name it; for that would have had a serious effect on Israel’s acceptance or rejection Messiah, both in the Gospels, and in the Acts; and before, as well as after, the fall of Rome.

All that the Lord made known was that Jerusalem would be trodden down by the Gentiles. He does not name the other power which was to succeed Rome.

He states a solemn fact, that a day was coming when Jerusalem would be delivered from Gentile dominion.

From these words we, to-day, who believe them know full well that

TURKEY MUST GO

from Jerusalem, and from Palestine.

When therefore we hear and read of the present war, now commencing, we may well be concerned about it, and wonder whether we are witnessing the beginning of the end!

It may not be. For, when a river is approaching the sea, and looks as though it must fall into it, there may be a sudden bend which causes it for a short distance to flow from it; but, lo, it again bends round and ends suddenly in the sea.

So it may be with current events. But, even so, this will not shake our faith in the truth of the Lord’s words in Luke 21:24.

Those who know and believe them, and understand the second chapter of Daniel, know more of what is happening in the East, than those who blindly supply us with the news.

And what is more, for us who are waiting for the Lord Himself from Heaven, there is a still more solemn aspect of the Eastern Question. For we know, from the same word, that, before that crisis, we shall realize our

“HEAVENWARD CALL”

and shall “escape those things which are coming on the earth.”

“What manner of persons therefore ought we to be, seeing we look for this ‘according to His promise.’”

Here is a wealth of Scripture which I posted on another thread, which leaves little doubt that Jesus will get His church off the scene before He judges the earth:

I Thessalonians 4:14-18

14For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.

15For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.

16For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:

17Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

18Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

1 Corinthians 15:51-52

Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed,

in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.

The above New Testament quotations describe the Rapture of the Church. The blessed hope of the Christian is Christ taking him to Himself forever, as He promises in John 14:2,3, “In my father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.”

The Olivet Discourse recorded in Matthew 24 and 25 gives us the certainty we are looking for. The disciples asked Jesus, “Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?” Here it is clear that it is about the end of the age that the disciples were asking about. The Tribulation, then, is that short period of time – seven years – that immediately precedes the “end of the world,” or age.

The Lord gave the general course of events in the world from His time to the end of this age. He enumerated a series of prophesied occurrences which have characterized the world. False teachers, wars, famines, pestilences, and earthquakes spoken of in Matt. 24:4-7 have been happening since our Savior uttered those words, only with increased intensities in the last century.

Persecutions described in verses 9-13, as applied to Christians, began almost immediately after the establishment of the Church on Pentecost. The fulfillment of this part of the Olivet Prophecy is well documented, , and will no doubt continue with increased severity in the near future. God said that Christians would suffer tribulations in this world- this is, after all, a fallen world with Satan as the "god" of this age (to paraphrase God). Nowhere in Scripture are Christians told that we will be rescued from Satan's evil during our time on this earth. We are promised, however, that those who know Christ as Savior will not be on earth to go through the judgments that God will rain on those who reject Him.

Also, know that the Bible tells us the the One Who restrains evil will be removed before the Antichrist is revealed. “For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth” – or restrains – “will let, until he be taken out of the way. And then shall that Wicked be revealed” (2 Thess. 2:7, 8a). The restrainer of the Antichrist is the Holy Spirit. Nothing and nobody in the world can do the job of restraining Satan, who is the force behind the Antichrist. The Holy Spirit has been doing the work of a restrainer since the days of the apostle Paul. Only an omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent Being can do that. When the Holy Spirit, in His capacity as the Restrainer, is “taken out of the way,” then the Antichrist will be free to reveal himself, for God will now allow it. Now, the “taking out of the way” of the Restrainer from the world scene is the same as saying that the Church is raptured – taken away from the earth – because the Holy Spirit works primarily through the Church in controlling the outbreak of apostasy in the professing Christendom and in the world.

When the Church is taken away, then the Great Apostasy will be complete and the Antichrist will reign supreme over the whole world.

God promises to deliver His children prior to the Tribulation by transporting them to heaven. Consider the following:

“… to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come” (1Thess. 1:10). “For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ” (5:9). The wrath to come is the Tribulation, exhaustively described in Revelation 6 – 18. By the time the First Horseman rides (Rev.6:1) the Church (Rev. 2 & 3) will have been transported to heaven (Rev. 4:1).
Christ to the Church: “Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which will come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth” (Rev. 3:10). This is a promise from Jesus to the faithful in Philadelphia. We know that Philadelphia is an end-time Church, the sixth of the seven Churches. The Philadelphian Era of God’s Church covers the period from about 1750 to Rapture. God’s promise is clear-cut – “I… will keep thee from the hour of temptation,” – or the time of trial – “which shall come upon all the world.” “The hour” refers to the short period of seven years when God’s righteous judgments will be poured out on sinning mankind. How can anyone mistake the meaning of that scripture? God will deliver the Church from the Tribulation. And the means is by transporting her to heaven: “Come up hither…” (Revelation 4:1).
In 2 Peter 2:4-10 the apostle spoke of “judgment” on the world of the ungodly during the days of Noah and Lot, wherein God saved the just from the outpouring of judgment, for “the Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptation, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished” (v. 9). The conclusion that we can derive here is that God will deliver His own – the godly – before He allows the global “day of judgment” – the Tribulation – to begin, just as He did to Noah and Lot. We are therefore assured that the Church will not go through the coming Tribulation. God’s promise will never fail. We are expected to believe that; can we do otherwise?

I have noticed STRONG similarities between The Bibles prophecies of end times and the AC, and the qurans "prophecies" and the Mahdi.

Though I find it interesting and plausible, I have a couple of hang ups.

1-quran "prophecy"

Satan knows Gods prophecy better than anyone. Islam is Satans counterfeit religion.
Where God is love, Allah is hatred.
Where Jehovah is free grace, Allah is murder and martyrdom.

When it comes to prophecy, The Bible is my foundation, and what I TRUST. No matter how well the qurans Mahdi mirrors the AC, I consider the source (Satan) and watch with interest and curiosity. But that is all.

Anything else, and I feel, I would be trying to view the future with my eyes upon something other than MY God.

2-Mahdi/AC

From what I limitedly know of the Mahdi, he comes as a PROPHET of ALLAH.
The AC, does not come as a "prophet", but will draw worship unto himself and claim in the temple that HE IS GOD.

That right there is a HUGE sticking point about the Mahdi. Though the Mahdi my draw people to himself, he REPRESENTS Allah. The AC will draw people to himself and claim HIMSELF deity. He will share "glory" with no one.

Next I find some points I object with, with the author of this piece.

First in the Battle of Gog/Magog, when the author talks about Iran, he's missing something. Iran was Persia. BUT!!! Persia was at one point Iran AND Afghanistan AND Pakistan AND others. Also when you add Magog the area north of Persia between the Black Sea and Caspian Seas and east of the Caspian, you have a number of former Soviet Union islamic countries. You have Gomer which is believed to be modern Turkey and the land of Put which is modern Lybia and possibly Algeria and Tunisia, and Cush which is Sudan and Ethiopia.

The Bible clearly tells us in Ezekiel 38 that these nations will rise up against Israel, and be utterly destroyed BY GOD, and it will take 7 months to bury the dead and 7 years to burn the fuel and weapons.

I'm sorry, 7 months to bury the dead and 7 years to burn the weapons and fuel. That ain't a small army.

Islam will remain but it will be virtually eliminated.

Also when you read Ez. 39, God makes it pretty clear this is a route. A complete anihilation. AND that HE IS THE ONE who did it.

What remains of Islam will be nothing like what we see today.

I do see Islam being "drawn" into the following of AC. But I see AC being a seperate "religion" unto himself

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May God's curse rest upon their efforts to discourage His people, to subvert His work on the earth, and to serve as unpaid cheerleaders for the other team.