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THE END TIMES PER THE MUSLIM RELIGION
I received an e-mail from WND (World Net Daily) which has an article in it regarding the end times.
By Reza Kahlili
Iran’s supreme leader, for the first time, is telling his nation that it must prepare for war and “the end of times” as it continues to develop nuclear weapons.
State-owned media outlets, in a coordinated effort, all ran a similar story Friday highlighting Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s message on the coming of the last Islamic messiah.
Until now, the Iranian media would mostly quote clerics from seminaries on the issue of the last Islamic messiah to avoid the regime being labeled messianic. However, the wide publication of Khamenei’s statements on a need to prepare for the end of times as it confronts the West over its illicit nuclear program is alarming to Western leaders.
“The issue of Imam Mahdi is of utmost importance, and his reappearance has been clearly stated in our holy religion of Islam,” Khamenei said. We must study and remind ourselves of the end of times and Imam Mahdi’s era. … We must prepare the environment for the coming so that the great leader will come.”
Shiite theology holds that great wars must engulf the Earth, during which one-third of the world’s population will die in the fighting and another third from hunger, lawlessness and havoc. Israel is to be destroyed, and only then will the 12th imam, Mahdi, reappear and kill all the infidels, raising the flag of Islam in all corners of the world.
Under the guidance of Khamenei, several centers have been established in Iran on research and information on the coming of Mahdi, and a conference is held annually on Mahdiism.
“Today we have a duty to prepare for the coming. … If we are the soldiers of the 12th imam, then we must be ready to fight,” Khamenei said.
“With the guidance of Allah and His invisible help, we shall make the Islamic civilization proud on the world stage. … This is our destiny. … The youth, the faithful must prepare themselves for this great move.”
Referring to the Quran, Khamenei said the coming has been promised by Allah. “There will come a time when all the oppressive powers of the world will be destroyed and humanity will be enlightened in the era of Imam Mahdi.”
As reported recently, the regime has distributed the booklet “The Last Six Months” among its military forces in preparation for the coming and its confrontation with the West. The material admonishes the Revolutionary Guards and the Basij paramilitary forces that they must be prepared to do their duties during the expected war.
The Revolutionary Guards’ media outlet, Mashregh, on Sunday warned Israel and America that they will have to guess as to what type of warhead the Iranian missiles will be carrying when targeting them.
In its lengthy piece, Mashregh discussed Iranian missile capability and the devastation it can wreak on potential enemies. Referring to U.S. military bases in the region, it said that in recent war games, ballistic missiles with cluster warheads destroyed targets similar to air bases and fighter craft hiding under hangers.
The piece boasts that the two-stage solid-fuel Sejil missile can pierce through Israel’s missile defense system and has had “the Zionists losing sleep.”
After a decade of negotiation with Iran, the West has yet to make any inroads in stopping the regime’s illicit nuclear program.
The latest report by the International Atomic Energy Agency indicated Iran continues to enrich uranium at both the Natanz and Fordow facilities and now has enough nuclear material for at least five nuclear weapons. The regime has denied an IAEA request for inspection of a military facility where it is believed Iran conducted secret experiments of an implosion-type nuclear weapon.
While a majority of Iranians oppose the mullahs’ brutal regime, Western sanctions have not curtailed its pursuit of nuclear weapons, which not only could lead to the collapse of the global economy but the killing of tens of millions of innocent civilians, including those in Iran.
Reza Kahlili translated this Iranian video about Islamic prophecies of a coming messiah and the destruction of Israel:
(THERE IS A VIDEO THAT I DIDN'T POST HERE.)
My question is..
Will the Muslims work towards bringing on what we call the *Great Tribulation*. I do believe that they use their Koran to guide them in the direction that Mohammed has outlined for them? Will they want their prophesy to be so close to the Koran and its timelines that they will deliberately set out to start this horrific event?
We, as Christians, know the end times are near by what is prophesied in the Bible. God gave us a book covering this period. He gave us prophesies concerning it. Will He allow the start of this event to be triggered by the Muslim nation?
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Rita Cullimore on
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My question is..
Will the Muslims work towards bringing on what we call the *Great Tribulation*. I do believe that they use their Koran to guide them in the direction that Mohammed has outlined for them? Will they want their prophesy to be so close to the Koran and its timelines that they will deliberately set out to start this horrific event?
We, as Christians, know the end times are near by what is prophesied in the Bible. God gave us a book covering this period. He gave us prophesies concerning it. Will He allow the start of this event to be triggered by the Muslim nation?
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Joel C. Rosenberg
(Jerusalem, Israel, July 12, 2012) -- My friend Reza Kahlili published a fascinating and sobering article this week and I commend it to your attention. Reza used to be an officer in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps. Then he became a double agent for the CIA. Now he is an American citizen who is using his contacts and sources in Iran to gather information to expose the evil regime in Tehran and bring them down before they acquire nuclear weapons and try to usher in the reign of the Twelfth Imam.
I've posted excerpts from the story -- and a link to the full story -- on my blog. Here's one excerpt: "The issue of Imam Mahdi is of utmost importance, and his reappearance has been clearly stated in our holy religion of Islam," Khamenei said. "We must study and remind ourselves of the end of times and Imam Mahdi's era. … We must prepare the environment for the coming so that the great leader will come." The article reads like an excerpt from "The Twelfth Imam" or "The Tehran Initiative" novels, but this is real life, and gives us a further indication of how much the end times and the coming of the Mahdi is driving the thinking and actions of the Iranian leadership, and creating an increasingly dangerous climate in the epicenter right now.
Please be praying for the nation of Israel, and the nation of Iran, and all the nations in between at this critical time. War doesn't quite feel imminent at the moment. But I still get the sense thus far that Israel could launch a major preemptive war before the end of this year, possibly this fall before the American elections.
I've also posted several other new stories on the blog, including a link to the audio & video of my sermon from Sunday and a column entitled, "When it comes to preaching repentance and revival, are you a Jonah?" Hope you find them helpful.
Finally, last night I had the honor of delivering the closing message at the "Back To Jerusalem" conference on Arab evangelism last night. It wasn't just a conference, it was a week long Gospel outreach. What a joy to be with Israeli Arabs and Jews (and quite a few internationals) who long to bring the good news of Jesus the Messiah back to the city and land where it all began. In the next few days, Lord willing, I'll post notes from my message.
God bless you!
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Permalink Reply by Leonard T on
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Rita,
It is safe to say that in God's plan there is a trigger (as you put it) that starts certain events in action. God knows what this trigger is and has ordained it. Thus, whether the Muslims are the trigger or someting else is of less importance than the reality that God is in control and the end time events will play out exactly has He has planned.
I would also add that almost every generation has believed that they were going to be the last generation and tried to read the current events into the Word of God. God is in control of the timing too.
Lord Bless,
LT
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LT,
As you know, some of the information written in the Revelation is rather cryptic. I have heard many say, for instance, that the myriad that marches against Jerusalem for the final battle would be Chinese. After reading the first article (the one in my initial post) it occurred that it might be Muslim warriors. That explanation had never entered my mind at all. Their numbers are growing by leaps and bounds.
I was interested in drawing responses for others who study *future events* to see if any of them had seen these 2 articles and whether they had considered the possibility of one side of this battle being Muslims.
We know that God will not start this last 7 years, but...He will use the foolishness of humanity to accomplish His timeline.
It is difficult to not to consider that the time is near because of all the things occurring in our life styles, government, relationships with other countries, and of course, the attitude of most of the world against the Jewish Nation.
Blessings...
Rita
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Permalink Reply by Colby on
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Rita,
Without a doubt, we are living in the end times of biblical prophecy. All the signs point convincingly to this dramatic event. Famine, war, the threat of war, civil unrest, nations mired in debt and sluggish economies, tsunamis, earthquakes, great floods and other natural disasters seem to be increasing in frequency. What more proof do you need?
But wait, any student of history knows this is nothing new or unique to people living today. Every generation over the past 20 centuries since Jesus lived and walked among us has believed they were living in the last days, each lining up biblical end-times prophecies with the events going on in their day. We, the people of the 21st century, are no different. We can't imagine a time when the world was more filled with fear and caught up in death than the present. How could things possibly get any worse, each generation has asked?
Never mind that for people living in 1940, the world was a far bleaker place than it is now. Following the Great Depression of the 1930s, the democratic nations of Europe were overrun by a seemingly invincible Nazi Germany, each falling quickly one after the other. Poland was carved up by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union as the spoils of conquest under the terms of a secret nonaggression pact between the two totalitarian states led by Hitler and Stalin, respectively. The tiny nation of Finland was attacked by the massive military forces of the Soviet Union.
As America remained on the sidelines, separated from war by two vast expanses of ocean, Britain stood alone fighting for its very survival against a strangling Nazi naval blockade and constant devastating aerial bombing raids on its cities. In Asia, Imperial Japan, the ally of Nazi Germany, had conquered much of China, and was overrunning the British and Dutch military forces stationed there to protect their Asian colonies. Against this backdrop, many people were convinced that the end was imminent.
In December 1941, most of the US Navy's Pacific fleet, including its large battleships, was destroyed and about 3,000 American lives were lost in a devastating air raid on Pearl Harbor that caught the USA by surprise. The USA had been reluctantly pushed into World War II, which would continue into 1945. During the war, many of the cities of Europe and Soviet Russia were utterly destroyed, reduced to rubble by continual bombardment and their inhabitants left homeless, factories destroyed, and tens of millions were killed or injured, including scores of civilians and an estimated 6 million Jews who were systematically rounded up and killed by the Nazis.
It is possible that the events unfolding in the Middle East today could signal the beginning of the end, initiated by Iran's hard-line extremist Shiite Muslim government. Anything is possible, and it's a fascinating question to ponder. Whether or not it's probable is an altogether different matter. We should be cautious and especially careful in interpreting biblical prophecies about the end times.
The end-time prophecies of Revelation and other biblical writings are, as you say, "cryptic" and somewhat obscure and ambiguous. God never intended to give us a secret code to calculate the time when the world ends or give us exact snapshots of future events. Yet that will not stop some from becoming convinced of an explicit connection to the places, persons and events of today as irrefutable evidence that the dire end is imminent. So wrapped up are some in the certainty of their eschatological views, like Harold Camping, for example, that they and their hard-core followers are fixated with end-times thinking and it becomes the sole focus of their faith.
Will God allow a Muslim nation, such as Iran, to set into motion a series of events leading to the end of the world as prophesied by the Bible? Great question -- Rita!
What we can be certain about is what LT said, which is scriptural. The future is God's department. "God is in control and the end time events will play out exactly has He has planned." The end is coming ... and "God is in control of the timing, too."
Blessings and peace, in Christ's love,
Colby
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Thanks for responding, Colby.
Our command from Christ is to read this Book. We aren't to change it, which the Muslims are, when they speculate the outcome as I believe they are doing in the article I referenced.
The Bible doesn't reference the United States except where the *young lions* are spoken of. The reasons for that could be vast. It is possible that there will once again be a *great awakening* with the majority of the US turning towards Christ...or, it could be utterly and totally destroyed because of disobedience. However, I have entertained the idea that the citizens will turn towards their original homelands...following what their original country is doing. One doesn't hear that idea entertained, but...we do see it happening today. I believe that is why we are seeing so many drifting away from our constitution and wanting to change our country into something that is being done it their native land. They are wanting to follow the ideologies of their native nations, rather than to follow the ideologies of the United States rule. (I am not at all sure I used the right words but I am certain you understand what I am saying.)
Our command from Christ is if we read this book, but not change anything in it. Whatever has been set forth in this Book will happen. Of that I am assured. However, with the moral decline in this world, and we are in great moral decline, how patient is God going to be?
I believe in a premillenial Rapture, so therefore, I believe, born again Christians won't go through any of it. From my POV, things are getting pretty bad for all. I, as a Christian, watch all this from the sidelines. I am not worried, except to be concerned with the *heart condition* of my fellow man.
Following Christ is so logical and I do wonder why more aren't choosing Christ. I also wonder about Christians, who say they believe in the Bible as the Word of God but don't believe certain things written there. Most denominations twist the words in some manner to coincide with their denominational doctrines. I personally pray about every verse in the Bible that confuses me. However, with the belief systems that others have, I doubt they are doing the same things. Else, why do we come up with different answers? Would the Holy Spirit give us each a different answer? I think not.
I appreciate your response, Colby.
Blessings to you in the Name Above all names...
Rita
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Rita,
Talk to 10 non-denominational churches and you will find differences within those 10 churches. Talk to people within your own church and you will find differences there as well. Thus, it is not about denominations, but rather man individually. It is not that God would give us different understandings, but rather we have limited understanding even as believers. One quick example. The Bible does not tell us everything, but only that which God deems necessary for us to know and even then it is not always laid out in a straightforward manner as we easily see this in the Book of Revelation.
There are also differences in the way people/groups/churches/denominations read and view the Bible. Some read it literal, other allegoric and still others at face value. Some read it as God very Word and others take a liberal POV. These two things alone cause many differences. I read the Bible as God's very Word and at face value. This makes it very difficult for me to discuss doctrine with a person who views the Bible from either an allegoric view or liberal view.
Lord Bless,
LT
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LT,
I agree with you.
Actually, what I believe that many times people are led by the person who teaches them. You, for instance, have a large responsibility...that of leading your congregation in God's Word and doing it accurately. I am sure you do a great job of it based on what I see you saying at this site in response to various questions.
What I am saying is that more people, who are Christians, need to test what they are being taught instead of following blindly. That testing requires reading the Bible and pray for guidance as one reads. Many people do not do that.
I, for instance, try to listen very intently to want the pastor is teaching to see whether it is from God or not. Later, I might inquire of my children of what they heard. Their answer might not be anywhere near what I heard. Strange, but true. Or they didn't remember consciously what was spoken. They point I am trying to make is that we need to pay more mind to what we are hearing. We need to pray about what we have heard. We need to verify what we are being taught through the Word of God.
I used the word *denominations* but maybe that was incorrect...because that person in the pulpit is an individual and we might be hearing his take on a particular subject and not to what God meant by it at all. We need to inquire more of the Holy Spirit and not just take the words of the preacher for granted. Most of us do exactly the opposite.
I meant no offense to you.
Blessings...
Rita
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Rita,
I agree with what you have added hear. I was not offended, but simply wanted to clarify as many people think denominations are wrong and that some how non-denominations have it right (Not saying this is what you meant, but again this is an open community where clarity helps). Actually, non-denominations are a denomination with each being basically a single unit.
In the church I pastor I regularly tell the people to test what I say against the Word and question me if they think I am wrong. It could be they misunderstood, I wasn't clear enough or that I was actually wrong and need to be corrected. We must be in search of truth and in order to do so we all must remain teachable.
Lord Bless,
LT
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Rita: "Christians need to test what they are being taught instead of following blindly."
LT: "We must be in search of truth and in order to do so we must remain teachable."
Rit and LT,
Excellent points!
If we are sincere in wanting to grow in our love and understanding of God, to know his truth more fully, and to live according to the gospel of Jesus Christ, it is imperative that we must read and study Scripture.
We need to read the Bible prayerfully and diligently with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, if we are to properly interpret the text without reading into God's Word what we want it to say.
The wise and discerning Christian is admonished to carefully examine everything in light of the written word of God and to be on guard against deceptive and false teachings of men.
- "Test everything. Hold on to the good" (1 Thess 5:21).
- "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world" (1 Jn 4:1).
I find it incredibly ironic and sad that while more people in the world can read and write and the Bible is more accessible than ever before (both in print and on the Internet), biblical illiteracy is at an all-time high. Many Christians today do not engage in serious Bible study. They complain that their lives are too busy; that they simply don't have the time to read God's Word.
Many who do take time to open their Bibles do so only during a Sunday service. Many that open a Bible at home read it in snippets only, jumping around in God's word, reading a verse or passage here and there, but not reading a book all the way through. This often leads to taking verses out of context or at best a superficial understanding of Biblical teachings and precepts. While they may be convinced beyond any doubt that the Bible is God's written word from cover to cover and will argue that point with nonbelievers with great conviction, few of them have actually bothered to read the Scripture from Genesis through Revelation.
Paying lip service to the Bible's authority is not enough. I urge all Christians to engage in serious, deep and sustained Bible study.
Faith, hope and love in Christ Jesus,
Colby
- "Test everything. Hold on to the good" (1 Thess 5:21).
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Colby,
I delight in Bible study with others but because there are so few interested, I have the opportunity to study alone. If I get hung up on something, I inquire of the Lord (Holy Spirit) and He is very good at answering me. I am one of those people who may not have studied the entire Word of God. I read along, and sometimes jump around as references guide me. I don't always agree with the editor or translator of the Word, so I verify with another translation. I may need to check several different ones before I receive clear understanding as to what is meant by a particular verse.
I don't know how to communicate to others that the Bible and what is contained it is our instruction Book from God. If I don't agree with something in the Bible, it's because I don't thoroughly understand it so I'm on a trip to discover the exact meaning.
My favorite way to study is to reference a particular word and its usage in the Word. By the time I get through, I have a fairly clear understanding of its meaning. I advise this method of study to be included in all Bible studies.
I am also fortunate to have an online study partner. He directs me in how I look at some things. I don't always see his point and it might take awhile while I research, but I am growing.
I rarely read books that a person has written explaining certain things in the Bible...mainly because I don't have the opportunity to ask questions. I'm coming along. I will never finish learning all that is contained in there. I believe that is a good thing.
The Bible is one awesome Book!! One that I will never tire of.
Blessings...
Rita
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