Introduction
Israel
According to the Bible, God promised to make Abraham a great nation through his son Isaac. He restated the promise with Isaac and then again with Jacob, who was later renamed Israel by the Lord. God also promised to give their descendants the land of Canaan for inheritance and that He would send a redeemer; who would come from the nation of Israel, out of the tribe of Judah, who would save the world from their sins.
When God brought the Children of Israel out of Egypt, He told them that they would dwell in the land if they continued to obey Him. Because of their continual idol worship and rebellion, it was prophesied that the nation of Israel would be scattered throughout the earth; but that in the ‘Last Days,’ God would gather them back together and make them into a nation once more. On May 14, 1948, the nation of Israel was re-established, and during the ‘Great Tribulation,’ the temple is supposed to be rebuilt.[1][2][3]
The Rapture
When the Jews rejected Jesus as their Messiah, it gave a chance for the Gentiles, anyone who is not Jewish, to receive Him as their savior. In the ‘Last Days,’ Jesus will come back for His people and take them back to Heaven to be with Him. Only the Father knows when this will happen, but it will be a time when men blaspheme God and are boastful and proud.
It will also be a time when people are unthankful and disobedient to parents, have unnatural affections, and despise those that are good. It will be a time when men love pleasure more than they love God. Anyone who has accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, whether they are Jew or Gentile, will be taken. It will happen in the blink of an eye, leaving the unsaved to go through the ’Great Tribulation.[4][5][6][7][8][9]
The Great Tribulation
The Great Tribulation is a seven-year period of time that begins after the rapture has occurred, a time when the ‘Antichrist’ will appear. At that time, the ‘Two Witnesses’ will appear and give witness of Jesus Christ as the ‘Messiah’ for three and one-half years. The ‘Antichrist’ will make a treaty with the nation of Israel (allowing them to rebuild the temple and re-establish the old sacrificial system), establish a one-world government and rule the world. It will be a time when God will pour out His judgment against the world, and Israel will turn back to Him as their God.[10]
Islam
Islam is the second-largest religion in the world.[11] It was founded by Muhammad in the sixth century. There are over 1.8 billion Muslims living in more than two hundred countries around the world. They make up about twenty-three percent of the world population. More than three hundred million Muslims live in countries where Islam is not the majority religion. China has more Muslims than Syria, and Russia has more Muslims living in it than there are in Jordan and Libya combined. Europe has about thirty-eight million Muslims, and there are between four and six million Muslims in America. Muslims can be found on all of the inhabited continents of the world. Islam has been trying to take over the world since Mohamed established it in the 6th century.
Exclusive of Pakistan, there are over 10,000 mosques in the world: Asia, 815; Australia and Pacific Islands, 17; Europe, 54; North America, Central America, and South America, 59; Africa, over 9000.
The Wabash Mosque in Chicago was the first house of Allah built in the United States. It was erected in 1922. Since that time, forty more mosques have been added, with about thirty just since 1982. Although every Khulafaa (Khaleefah: (plural: khulafaa’). Anglicized as caliph.) Steward, vicegerent; successor. Man is referred to as the Khaleefah or steward of God on earth. The word khaleefah was used after the death of the noble Prophet Muhammad to refer to his successor, Abu Bakr, as head of the Muslim community. Later it came to be accepted as the designation for the head of the Muslim state.
Historically, for Muslims, it has been important to build mosques.[12][13] The pace started picking up speed after 1982 with the expansion of the Jamaat (Group, congregation, community. Example: Jamaat ul-Fuqra (alternatively Jamaat al-Fuqra) (Arabic: جماعة الفقراء, “Community of the Impoverished”) is a paramilitary organization of mostly African-American Muslims based in Pakistan and ...).
“Building mosques is our priority because the Holy Quran says so.”
The promised Messiah of Islam said: “if you want Islam to progress, build a mosque.”
“Mosques will continue to be built in order to see victory for Islam and unification of mankind.”
“That he may cause it to prevail over all other religions.” (48.29)
The 12th Imam
Shia Islam, Iran being one of the largest Shiite countries, believes in a coming Islamic Messiah, the 12th Imam, who will come and rule the world for seven years at the end of time. According to Shiites in Islam, the 12th Imam, or ‘The Mahdi’ (also known as ’The Guided One), is a descendent of Muhammad who went into hiding around the tenth century in the Jamkaran well.[14][15] He is said to be in occultation, or suspended animation, and will reappear near the end of time when there are oppression and tyranny. He will set up a perfect government and give people perfect spirituality. Many Shiites believe they can hurry his return by destroying Israel. Islamic details about the 12th Imam line up with Bible details about the Antichrist.
There are some factions within Islam who believe they can hurry the return of the 12th Imam by attacking Israel and destroying it.
Could the Religion of the Antichrist be with us now?
[1] Gen. 12:1-3, 12:7, 13:15, 15:7&18, 17:19&21, 22:18, 26:3-5, 27:28-9, 28:14, 49:10
[2] Deut. 29:9-14 & 24-8, 30:1-10
[3] Amos 9:14-15
[4] Acts 1:8, 11:18
[5] Matt. 24:44, 25:13
[6] Mark 13:32
[7] Luke 21:24
[8] Thess. 4:16-8, 5:2
[9] 2 Tim. 3:1-7
[10] Rev. 7:14, 11, 12:3-4, 13:5-7, 15, 16
[11] Mapping the Global Muslim Population, by the Pew Research Center. www.pewforum.org
[12] http://www.sacred-destinations.com/sacred-sites/mosques.htm
[13] http://www.islamicity.com/Culture/MOSQUES/
[14] http://www.inplainsite.org/html/imam_mahdi.html
[15] https://www.allaboutpopularissues.org/12th-imam.html
