END TIMES ISLAMIC BELIEFS November 26, Why Islam? Foundational Background. 1 Mr. Jeff Rice

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1 Why Islam? Once the born again believers have exited the earth in the rapture, there will be 3 primary religious institutions/groups left behind have still have a significant population of followers: 1. The Muslims whom serve Allah 2. The Catholics who are led by the Pope; Jesus representative here on earth 3. The Jews whom serve YAHWEH; also the same god Jesus claimed as His Father The majority of evangelical, protestant churches will be emptied in the rapture. Anyone left behind will not have the spirit of God in them at that point but will be faced with the problem of explaining what happened to the people that disappeared. We know that initially, people see the clouds, hear the trumpet sound and realize the truth of what happened. This creates an opportunity: an opportunity for a brazen individual to stand up and provide a lie the world would much prefer to hear than face the truth. What is the lie? And why would everyone be willing to listen to this person? The key to understanding this is that the rapture is a supernatural event requiring a supernatural explanation. For this reason, anyone able to claim the mantle of Anti-Christ must be a religious figure and a political figure at the same time. In this context, he must be associated with one of the three remaining religious groups as they will have the most influence among the people left behind. Since Jews have been opposed throughout history as the cause of many of the world s problems, it is unlikely a Jew could fill this role to unify the people. The Catholics are led by a single man, the Pope, but the Muslims would not accept him as their leader since he does not serve Allah. I believe the Pope makes a better False Prophet based on the details provided in Revelation. But why would the leader of the Christian church ever support a man of Islam, the only group left, as God? An examination of the end time teaching of Islam provides the clues we need to piece together a plausible storyline that fits the details provided in the Bible about end time events, fits the details that billions of Muslims expect to occur and explains just what will happen as an average observer sees it from earth. Even though we as Christians cannot place any reliance on the accuracy of the Koran (Qur an), it cannot be denied that billions of Islamic believers do. That s why it s details become relevant to this study. Foundational Background Muslims believe that God revealed his final message to humanity through the prophet Muhammad via the archangel Gabriel. For them, Muhammad was God's final prophet and the Koran contains the revelations he received over more than two decades. In Islam, prophets are men selected by God to be his messengers. Muslims believe that prophets are human and not divine, though some are able to perform miracles to prove their claim. Islamic prophets are considered to be the closest to perfection of all humans, and are uniquely the recipients of divine revelation either directly from God or through angels. The Koran mentions the names of numerous figures considered prophets in Islam, including Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses and Jesus, among others. Islamic theology says that all of God's messengers since Adam preached the message of Islam submission to the will of God. Islam is described in the Koran as "the primordial nature upon which God created mankind", and the Koran states that the proper name Muslim was given by Abraham. As a historical phenomenon, Islam originated in Arabia in the early 7th century. Islamic texts depict Judaism and Christianity as prophetic successor traditions to the teachings of Abraham. The Koran calls Jews and Christians "People of the Book", and distinguishes them from polytheists. Muslims believe that parts of the previously revealed scriptures, the Tawrat (Torah) and the Injil (Gospels), had become distorted either in interpretation, in text, or both. In order to keep Jesus human, they get around the resurrection by believing God replaced him on the cross with someone else that looked like him who died and was buried. The real Jesus was transported to Heaven alive; awaiting the day that he will return to the Earth. Islamic messengers can do what to prove their claim? Perform miracles 1 Mr. Jeff Rice

2 Who in Biblical end times will perform miracles to prove they are from God? Anti-Christ What Bible characters does Islam incorporate? Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses & Jesus Why would a false religion use Biblical characters? contain some truth to make them easy to accept. To make it believable to people. The best lies Why does Islam refer to Jews & Christians as People of the Book? They follow the Old & New Testaments of the Bible Does Islam believe Jesus will return some day? Yes Objectives Islam is a religion uniting itself in both the spiritual and natural aspects of life and seeking to regulate not only the individual's private relationship to God but also public relationships with each other in society via Sharia Law. Islam expresses itself as a religious community commissioned by God to bring its own value system to the world through jihad (holy war or holy struggle). The Muslim Brotherhood which has been very active in the recent uprisings in the Muslim nations define themselves this way: Allah is our objective. The Prophet is our leader. Koran is our law. Jihad is our way. Dying in the way of Allah is our highest hope. The founder of this group once said, "It is the nature of Islam to dominate, not to be dominated; to impose its law on all nations and to extend its power to the entire planet." How does the mission of Islam match Anti-Christ s attitude toward the nations? He will force everyone to accept him as God and kill anyone opposed to him. The festival and sacrifice times of the Jews will not comply with Sharia Law. The Anti-Christ will try to force them to change. Places & Pilgrimages The sacred places of Islam include: the Ka'bah sanctuary at Mecca built by Abraham; the Prophet's mosque in Medina; and Jerusalem from where Muhammad ascended to heaven. Early Muslims prayed toward Jerusalem before their focus was changed to Mecca later on. For Shi'ah Muslims, Karbala in Iraq (the place of martyrdom of Ali's son, Husayn) and Meshed in Iran (where Imam Ali ar-rida is buried) are considered places of special veneration. In Baghdad the tomb of saint Abd al-qadir al-jilani is visited every year by pilgrims from throughout the Muslim world, as are numerous Sufi shrines. The fifth pillar of Islam, the pilgrimage (hajj) to Mecca, begins on the 7th and ends on the 10th month of the Dhu al-hijjah. When the pilgrim is ten kilometers from Mecca, males must change clothes into the ihram: a garment consisting of two sheets of white unhemmed cloth, with the top draped over the torso and the bottom secured by a white sash; plus a pair of sandals. The principal activities consist of a visit to the Ka'bah sanctuary or the Sacred Mosque; the kissing of the Black Stone (or pointing to it); circle the Ka'bah seven times; and the ascent of and running seven times between Mt. Safa and Mt. Marwah. This running is a reenactment of the frantic search for water for her son Ishmael by Abraham's wife's servant Hagar. As she searched, the Zamzam Well was revealed to her by an angel, who hit the ground with his heel, upon which the water of the Zamzam started gushing from the ground. The back and forth circuit of the pilgrims used to be in the open air, but is now entirely enclosed by the Masjid al-haram mosque, and can be accessed via airconditioned tunnels. At the second stage of the ritual, the pilgrim proceeds from Mecca to Mina, a few miles away; and from there he goes to Arafat, where it is essential to hear a sermon and spend one afternoon. The last rites consist of spending the night at Muzdalifah (between Arafat and Mina) and offering sacrifice on the last day of ihram, which is the festival of sacrifice. 2 Mr. Jeff Rice

3 Where is the place all Muslims must visit at least once in their life? Mecca Where is it that Jesus will require everyone to pilgrimage one day? Jerusalem Where was the prophet Muhammad born? Mecca Where did he die? Medina The Mahdi or Hidden Imam Among Muslims the Mahdi has developed into a powerful and central religious figure. They believe that the Mahdi is the Twelfth Imam, Muhammad al-mahdi, the Twelfth and last Imam, who was born in 869 AD and was hidden by God at the age of five. He is still alive but has been in hiding awaiting the time that God has decreed for his return as Messiah. Traditions report that the Mahdi be a young man of medium stature, with a handsome face, and black hair and beard. He will not come in an odd year. He will announce himself in Mecca between the corner of the Ka'bah and the station of Abraham and will call on the people to pay allegiance to him. In the News Nov 16, 2005 Ahmadinejad sees his main mission, as he recounted in a Nov. 16, 2005, speech in Tehran, as to "pave the path for the glorious reappearance of Imam Mahdi, may Allah hasten his reappearance." December 2006 In a greeting to the world's Christians for the coming new year, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said he expects both Jesus and the Shiite messianic figure, Imam Mahdi, to return and "wipe away oppression." "I wish all the Christians a very happy new year and I wish to ask them a question as well," said Ahmadinejad, according to an Iranian Student News Agency report cited by YnetNews.com. "My one question from the Christians is: What would Jesus do if he were present in the world today? What would he do before some of the oppressive powers of the world who are in fact residing in Christian countries? Which powers would he revive and which of them would he destroy?" asked the Iranian leader. "If Jesus were present today, who would be facing him and who would be following him?" Ahmadinejad then made a connection between Jesus and the Imam Mahdi, believed by Shiites to have disappeared as a child in A.D When the Mahdi returns, they contend, he will reign on earth for seven years before bringing about a final judgment and the end of the world. November 9, 2011 Iranian Ayatollah Mohsen Heydari is convinced that the Occupy Wall Street protests are the self-evident harbinger of a long-awaited event: the reappearance of the 12th (Hidden) Imam, whose End of Times return will bring Islamic peace and justice to the world. "The Occupy Wall Street movement is the big step to prepare the ground for the appearance of the 12th Imam," Heydari told mosque congregants in the Iranian city of Ahvaz, the capital of the oil-rich province of Khuzestan, on November 7. The remarks came during a special prayer service for the celebration of Eid al-adha, a major religious holiday that ends on November 9. Talk about the imminent arrival of the 12th Imam is a perennial feature of political and religious discourse in post-revolutionary Iran. President Mahmud Ahmadinejad famously expressed his wish that God would "hasten the emergence of your last repository, the Promised One, that perfect and pure human being, the one that will fill this world with justice and peace," during a speech to the UN General Assembly in November 15, 2011 Iran s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad are convinced that the End of Days has come. They believe the Shia messiah known as the Twelfth Imam or the Mahdi will appear soon to establish a global Islamic kingdom known as the caliphate. What s more, they believe the way to hasten the coming of the Twelfth Imam is to annihilate Israel (which they call the Little Satan ), and the United States (which they call the Great Satan ). We should not, therefore, be surprised that Iran is probing for weaknesses in American intelligence and homeland security. Khamenei told Iranians in July 2010 that he personally met with the Twelfth Imam. He also claimed to be the personal representative of the Mahdi on earth, and said all Muslims must obey him. Meanwhile, Western 3 Mr. Jeff Rice

4 Key Beliefs intelligence agencies say he continues to work with Ahmadinejad and the Iranian military to develop nuclear warheads and the ballistic missiles to deliver them. 1. He will be a direct descendant of Mohammed. His name will be Muhammad and his father s name will be Abdullah. 2. He is recruited to become Mahdi reluctantly by people who will swear allegiance to him in Mecca. 3. He will be the wisest person who has ever lived. The world will be amazed at his wisdom, skills at problem solving and diplomacy. 4. He will make a treaty with the west that will be for exactly seven years and this treaty will be moderated by a Jew of the priestly line of Aaron. 5. His reign will be a time of unparalleled peace, tranquility, justice, equality and prosperity throughout the world. The world will grow green with abundant rain. 6. The Mahdi will take over many different nations in the Middle Eastern area. 7. The entire world will give themselves up to the Mahdi 8. He will be very successful at convincing Jews and Christians to convert to Islam 9. He will conquer Rome 10. Muslims believe the Mahdi is represented in the book of Revelation in a passage that has not been a victim of the rampant corruption and distortions that Muslims say pollute much of the rest of the Bible. This passage is Revelation 6:2 I looked, and there before me was a white horse! Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown, and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest. 11. At the end of the seven year treaty, he will defeat the Dajjal, Islam s equivalent of the Antichrist. 12. His career will last for somewhere between 7-9 years and then he will die. Who does this sound like in Biblical end times? The Anti-Christ Which points are identical? 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 12 Signs of his Coming 1. A tyrant named Sufyani will come to power in Syria. He will kill children and rip open the bellies of pregnant women. He will eventually send an army to challenge Mahdi when he makes his announcement. 2. A trumpet will call out from heaven. People will rise from the grave to meet their Lord. 3. There will be a major world-wide economic crisis 4. The Arabs will throw off the reins and take possession of their land, throwing out the authority of the foreigners. 5. A great calamity in severity shall be unprecedented including a great earthquake. 6. He will reappear when the world has fallen into chaos and civil war emerges between the human race for no reason. At this time, it is believed, half of the true believers will ride from Yemen carrying white flags to Mecca, while the other half will ride from Karbala, in Iraq, carrying black flags to Mecca. At this time, he will come wielding God's Sword, the Blade of Evil's Bane, the Double-Bladed Sword. 7. Will appear when the earth is filled with injustice, tyranny and believers (Muslims) are severely oppressed 8. Before his coming will come the red death and the white death. The red death is the sword and white death is Disease. 9. Death and fear will afflict the people of Baghdad and Iraq. A fire will appear in the sky and redness will cover them. (oil well fires similar to Kuwait in 1991) Which of these points are in progress right now? 1, 3, 4 Which of these points have parallels in the Bible preceding Anti-Christ s appearance? 2 4 Mr. Jeff Rice

5 Which Biblical passages suggest a scenario where points 5, 6, 7, 8 & 9 would be true? Psalm 83 & Ezekiel chapters 38 & 39. Both state that Islamic countries will rise up against Israel in a time of peace. Israel will win and give glory to God. I also believe this is the great rebellion/falling away of 2 Thessalonians 2:3. Jesus. The son of the virgin Mary 1. The Christian Jesus is known as Isa and plays a very prominent role in Islamic end times. 2. He will appear on the world scene shortly after the Mahdi and will recognize the Mahdi as having authority superior to his own. 3. He will (supposedly) be an actual Jew claiming to be the real, actual Jesus, returned from Heaven. 4. He will refute the centuries-old belief that he died on a cross for people s sins. He will claim that, in fact, he didn t even really die on the cross at all, rather that he was lifted up off the cross by Allah into heaven where he has been waiting all this time to return to assist the Mahdi and to finish out his normal lifespan. 5. He will explain that he was trying to launch Islam; not Christianity during his ministry on earth. 6. He will insist that everyone in the entire world either follow the Mahdi s teachings or be killed and will abolish traditional Christianity altogether. True Christians will not love Muhammad s enemies. In other words, no one who opposes Muhammad is a true Christian. 7. He along with Mahdi shall kill the Evil One (Dajjal), an apocalyptic anti-christ figure at the end of the 7 years. If people accepted this person as the true Jesus, what office would he assume? Pope of the Catholic Church; his church. What city and country what he assume control of in the name of Islam? The Vatican in Rome, Italy What person in Biblical end times does this sound like if Mahdi is Anti-Christ? The False Prophet Bay ah: The Oath of Allegiance Is an Islamic practice which is literally translated with the meaning to sell. In a religious context, it means oath of allegiance. With this oath, the convert to a certain community declares himself/herself a part of that community. In an Islamic religious sense, this oath is the standard procedure of pledging allegiance to an Imam, a spiritual leader, or to sell ones self in exchange of the spiritual guidance given by an Imam or spiritual leader. In 1993 Mirza Tahir Ahmad, the fourth Ahmadiyya Caliph, internationalized the Bay'ah through Muslim Television Ahmadiyya International (MTA) by which people from all over the world are now able to partake in this pledge which is simultaneously translated into 12 different languages. This international oath of allegiance takes place every year at the annual gatherings in the United Kingdom. The Bay'ah is taken by the caliph in the following way: first he reads a sentence or a part of a sentence from the oath in English or in Urdu language, which the members of the community repeat after him. Then the same sentence or part of the sentence is repeated by translators in many languages of the world simultaneously and repeated by the members of the community. After having gone through the whole text of the oath of allegiance in this manner, the caliph leads the members in silent prayers. At the end the congregation, which includes all members around the world prostrate themselves. This prostration is not directed in any particular direction, but it is led by the caliph, but in whichever direction they find suitable. The tradition of this prostration goes back to Mirza Tahir Ahmad, who started it as an act of gratitude to God. What does the false Jesus require of everyone approaching the Statue? The Bay ah to Mahdi 5 Mr. Jeff Rice

6 Dajjal. The Islamic Anti-Christ 1. He is supposed to appear before the Day of Resurrection and enticed people to believe in him at the end of a seven year treaty in the sky over Israel. 2. He is the foremost of all anti-christs and is given the technical title, ad-dajjal, also called al-masihu ad-dajjal, or the "lying Christ". He will be sent by Satan to oppose the righteous Mahdi and Isa. 3. The Jews will give him the name of al-masih, because they will mistake him for the true Messiah, who has come to restore the kingdom of Israel to them. 4. He will bring with him what will resemble Hell and Paradise, and what he will call Paradise will be actually Hell; so I warn you (against him) as Noah warned his nation against him 5. He will be accompanied by myriads of demons who will be determined to defeat the forces of the one true god (Allah), but he will be defeated by Isa (Jesus). 6. He is one-eyed, his eye being in his forehead and shining like the morning star. 7. On his forehead is written: "This is the kafir (non-believer)," which will be legible to both literate and illiterate persons. 8. His call will be heard from one end of the earth to the other. He will tell the people that he is their creator and their lord. What person in Biblical end times does this sound like? The true Jesus Revelation 18:1-4 (NLT) After all this I saw another angel come down from heaven with great authority, and the earth grew bright with his splendor. He gave a mighty shout: Babylon is fallen that great city is fallen! She has become a home for demons. She is a hideout for every foul spirit, a hideout for every foul vulture and every foul and dreadful animal. For all the nations have fallen because of the wine of her passionate immorality. The kings of the world have committed adultery with her. Because of her desires for extravagant luxury, the merchants of the world have grown rich. Then I heard another voice calling from heaven, Come away from her, my people. Do not take part in her sins, or you will be punished with her. Revelation 19:11-21 (NLT) Then I saw heaven opened, and a white horse was standing there. Its rider was named Faithful and True, for he judges fairly and wages a righteous war. His eyes were like flames of fire, and on his head were many crowns. A name was written on him that no one understood except himself. He wore a robe dipped in blood, and his title was the Word of God. The armies of heaven, dressed in the finest of pure white linen, followed him on white horses. From his mouth came a sharp sword to strike down the nations. He will rule them with an iron rod. He will release the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty, like juice flowing from a winepress. On his robe at his thigh was written this title: King of all kings and Lord of all lords. Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, shouting to the vultures flying high in the sky: Come! Gather together for the great banquet God has prepared. Come and eat the flesh of kings, generals, and strong warriors; of horses and their riders; and of all humanity, both free and slave, small and great. Then I saw the beast and the kings of the world and their armies gathered together to fight against the one sitting on the horse and his army. And the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who did mighty miracles on behalf of the beast miracles that deceived all who had accepted the mark of the beast and who worshiped his statue. Both the beast and his false prophet were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur. Their entire army was killed by the sharp sword that came from the mouth of the one riding the white horse. And the vultures all gorged themselves on the dead bodies. 6 Mr. Jeff Rice