Acknowledge and take to heart this day that the Lord is God
in heaven above and on the earth below. There is no other.
Deuteronomy 4:39
For several decades, perhaps longer, the western mindset of the End of the Age has revolved around prophecies being fulfilled in and around Europe. Maybe you’ve heard it said that a ten-nation confederacy would arise from European nations led by the Antichrist. This End Times leader would emerge from a country like Great Britain or Greece, and a future pope would be the False Prophet. Russia would also be a major player. For those who’ve been exposed to prophecy teaching based out of America, this should sound familiar to you. But is it Biblically accurate? Here is another viewpoint for you to consider.
There is another region and religion of the world that holds uncanny similarity to what is mentioned in the Bible. Over the next few days, we will look at Islam as a possible major End-Times player, the 12th Imam as the Antichrist, and a Muslim Jesus as the False Prophet. But first, some background information.
Islam is more than just a religion; it is a way of life that controls all areas of life. Muslims believe that Allah is the one true god (it is NOT the same God that Christians serve; see verse above), and Muhammad is the one true prophet. Muhammad lived from 570-632 A.D. Starting at 40 years of age, he claimed to have been visited by the angel Gabriel in a cave and given certain revelations about Allah. He recorded them in what is known as the Quran, or the holy book of Islam. Other writings called the Hadith and Sira have documented the life and times of Muhammad.
Muhammad had up to 13 wives, the youngest of which was Aisha. She was six when they were betrothed and nine when the marriage was consummated. After Muhammad’s death, there was a split among his descendants as to who was his rightful successor. As a result, there are two main branches of Islam. The Sunnis firmly believe that Abu Bakr was the true religious heir as Muhammad’s chief advisor and father of Aisha. The Shias, or Shiites, firmly believe that Muhammad’s cousin and son-in-law, Ali, was to be his successor.
The vast majority of the world’s Muslims are Sunni, around 85% in fact. This would include Sunni-majority countries like Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan, and terrorist groups like Al-Qaeda, ISIS, and the Taliban. Shias are the majority population in Iraq and Iran and include terrorist groups such as Hezbollah.
It is the Shias in particular who believe in the 12th Imam, or Mahdi, their future Messiah, who will establish a Caliphate, or Islamic state, that will unify all Muslims. Could this be the End-Times world leader spoken of in the Bible? We’ll look more at this tomorrow.
Time will tell if Islam or another apostate religion is the one the Antichrist will one day lead. Just be aware of this possibility.