The Islamic Antichrist (4 page)

Stories like Jim Hacking’s and Jennifer Harrell’s are legion. I have probably read a hundred such stories.

A NEW MONOTHEISTIC OPTION

In the past, whenever Westerners came to believe in a personal God and decided to make this new faith a primary aspect of their lives, they have usually found the expression for their faith in a Christian church. But now, as Islam spreads in the West, many are realizing that Christianity is not the only monotheistic option available to them. Sadly, many are choosing Islam instead of Christianity. David Pawson, a prominent Bible teacher and author from England, recalls the experience of one of his friends:

A Christian friend of mine is a counselor in a state school. He was delighted when a boy he was trying to help find a purpose in life told him he had become convinced that there was a personal God in whom he could believe. To his surprise and disappointment this English boy told him some weeks later that he had become a Muslim. He was one of many thousands who had made the same choice.
¹⁵

As Islam grows in the West, this story is sure to be repeated many times.

A WARNING FOR ENGLAND

In his book,
The Challenge of Islam to Christians
, Pawson sounds what may very well be a genuine prophetic warning, not only to England but also to the entire Western church. Pawson, a well-seasoned and well-respected leader in the church in England, recounts a recent experience he had while listening to a well-known authority on Islam, Patrick Sookhedo, give a lecture. If a leader of less distinction had made the following
statement we might justifiably let it pass, but instead we should all be very sobered by what David experienced:

In the middle of his talk, both unexpected and unrelated to its contents, I was suddenly overwhelmed with what could be described as a premonition that Islam will take over this country [England]. I recall sitting there stunned and even shaking. We were not just listening to an interesting lecture about a religion and culture which others believed and practiced. We were hearing about our future!
¹⁶

In the rest of the book, Pawson walks through what he feels are some proper Christian responses to his prediction. His recommended course of action includes three primary components: reality, relationship, and righteousness. I will not endeavor to expound on these three issues, as Pawson has already done so with conviction. Of course, Pawson’s warning has proven to be highly controversial throughout the church in England. The real question, however, in the opinion of this author, is not whether or not Pawson’s warning will come to pass, but rather will the church in England choose to implement Pawson’s recommended plan of response? This remains to be seen.

BALANCING THE FACTS

Now the point here is not to paint an overly dismal picture. I also need to point out that Muslims are converting to Christianity all over the world. Many Muslims repeatedly make the claim that no Muslim ever leaves Islam. This claim is refuted without much effort. One Muslim
sheikh
recently claimed that in Africa alone there are over six million Muslim converts to Christianity annually. That would break down to about 667 an hour, or sixteen thousand a day. From January of 2003 to the middle of 2004, the ministry of German evangelist Reinhardt Bonnke saw over ten million Africans make decisions to follow Jesus. A large percentage of those who made these decisions were Muslims. In fact, Muslims from all over the world are making decisions to
become followers of Jesus.
¹⁷
Many of these decisions follow a spiritual dream or a vision.
¹⁸
There are many wonderful and powerful testimonies of the goodness of God in the lives of Muslims coming to know Jesus. I believe with all my heart that the Middle East will see a revival of Muslims coming to a biblical faith in Jesus. Christianity in Latin America, Asia, and Africa is now experiencing what we can only call a revival. But this does not negate the fact that the growth of Islam is still much faster than that of Christianity, not only in America, Canada, England, and Europe, but worldwide. Now, I must state here that much of the reason for the faster growth of Islam is simply higher birth rates among Muslims. Muslims are just having far more children than Christians. The growth of Islam does not find its primary source from conversions, but, nevertheless, it is growing—and spreading faster than Christianity. The simple fact of the matter is that we as the Western church have completely missed the undeniable worldwide significance of Islam.

For now, the point that needs to be emphasized is that
the beliefs of the world’s second-largest and fastest-growing religion should matter to us
. This is especially true in light of Islam’s potential to soon become the world’s largest religion. A fair prediction is that if the time comes when Islam indeed does bypass Christianity as the world’s largest religion, or even as it merely begins to draw closer to that point, a tipping point will come whereby the rate of growth will increase exponentially. Bandwagon conversions and confusion among faithful Christians will rule the day. We cannot underestimate the power of a worldwide trend. Indeed one of the primary aspects of the last days is what the Bible calls the “great apostasy,” a significant global falling away from the Christian faith. While Islam now exists as an insecure religion wrestling with why Allah has allowed Islam to remain an inferior presence on the earth compared to Christianity, the day will likewise come for Christians when they too will have to wrestle will why God has allowed Islam to bypass Christianity in terms of both growth
and influence. This could begin to happen as soon as fifteen years from now. It could be sooner. I sincerely hope that this is not the case, but at present, there are very few indicators to suggest otherwise. The only hope for a turnaround in this trend is a significant, full-scale worldwide revival; the kind of revival that until now has never been seen. But for now, as the trend is just beginning in America, it is time to become informed and prepared for what promises to be the church’s greatest challenge ever. As I said earlier, Islam is the future (albeit only temporarily so). It is time for the church to face reality. As Brother Andrew, the man who became so well known for smuggling Bibles past the Iron Curtain (as told in the modern Christian classic,
God’s Smuggler
), said as early as 1994, “What Communism was to the twentieth century, Islam will be for the next one hundred years.”
¹⁹

CONCLUSION

So maybe you now agree that it is important to become informed regarding Islam, but you may wonder why it is important to understand Islamic
eschatology
specifically. That’s a good question. Please think through some of these points carefully: The Bible makes it clear that the devil’s primary plan for the last days has been, for the past few thousand years, to raise up two men, the
Antichrist
and the
False Prophet
, as his primary instruments to deceive the inhabitants of the earth. How do you suppose that Satan has planned to include the world’s 1.5 billion Muslims in his grand end-time deception? Did Satan fail to foresee and strategize regarding the global spread of Islam? Or has Satan included the Muslims of the world in his end-time strategy? Will Islam, the world’s third monotheistic religion, also undergo the persecution of Satan along with Christians and Jews as they all resist the Antichrist together? Or will Islam—the religion that prides itself on resisting any form of idolatry—simply submit to a demonic and false religious leader without putting up any real fight? For years, I questioned the Lord about these issues. In time, as my
knowledge of Islam deepened, the answers to my questions became very clear. This book is my attempt to share with you what I have learned. I understand that this may sound like a strong statement to make, but I believe that the information presented in this book will establish the fact that Islam is indeed the primary vehicle that will be used by Satan to fulfill the prophecies of the Bible about the future political/religious/military system of the Antichrist that will overwhelm the entire world just prior to the second coming of Jesus Christ.

CHAPTER TWO

THE SACRED TEXTS OF ISLAM

A
s we begin our study
, we first turn to a brief introduction to the sacred texts of Islam. The purpose here is to acquaint the reader with the sacred texts of Islam and their place within the authority structure of Islam. Many of the references in this book will come from these various sacred texts.

THE QUR’AN

The first and most well known of Islam’s sacred books is the Qur’an. The Qur’an is the foundational holy book of Islam, conveyed entirely by Muhammad, the founder and “prophet” of Islam.
Qur’an
literally means “recitation” or “reading” in Arabic. The Qur’an comprises 114 chapters, called
suras
. Throughout this book, whenever a portion of the Qur’an is cited, following the citation it will say “sura” followed by the chapter, verse, and translation.

The Qur’an may somewhat be viewed as the Bible of Islam in that it is the primary holy book of Islam. The Qur’an, however, is not the only source of sacred or even
inspired
traditions in Islam. While the Qur’an is the only text within Islam that is said to record the literal words of Allah, of equal importance to all Muslims is the Sunna.

THE SUNNA

Sunna
in Arabic literally means “a clear or well-trodden path.” It refers to whatever Muhammad said, did, condoned, or condemned. It is the record of Muhammad’s sayings, customs, teachings, and the example that he left for all Muslims to follow. Muslims view Muhammad as the perfect example for all human beings—a doctrine spelled out quite clearly in the Qur’an:

If you love Allah, then follow me [Muhammad]. (Sura 3:31; Shakir)

Ye have indeed in the Apostle of Allah a beautiful pattern of [conduct] for anyone whose hope is in Allah and the Final Day. (Sura 33:21; Yusuf Ali)

Whatever Muhammad did or said, therefore, becomes the basis from which to model all life and belief. What non-Muslims must understand regarding the Sunna is that it is equally important to the Muslim as the Qur’an. The Sunna interprets the Qur’an.
Without the Sunna, the Qur’an cannot be properly understood
. In fact, many aspects and practices of the Islamic religion are not even mentioned in the Qur’an but are found only in the Sunna. So the Qur’an and the Sunna together form the basis for the beliefs and practices of Muslims everywhere.
¹
In this sense, Muslims believe both the Qur’an and the Sunna to be inspired and authoritative.

SOURCES OF THE SUNNA

The Sunna is mined primarily out of two different types of Islamic literature. The first and most important of the two types of traditions is hadith literature. Hadith literature specifically records the sayings of Muhammad. Second, there is
sirat
or
sirah
literature.
Sirat
literally means “biography.” So the
sirat-rasul
is a biography of the “apostle” or “prophet” Muhammad. There are many ancient and modern biographies of Muhammad’s life. The most popular English translation of an ancient
sirat
is Ibn
Ishaq’s
Sirat Rasul
(
The Life of Muhammad
), translated by noted orientalist A. Guillaume. Besides these two types of literature are histories of Islam and commentaries on the Qur’an by early scholars called
tafsir
. When I speak of these types of literature collectively in this book, I will simply use the general term “Islamic traditions.”

HADITH LITERATURE

For the purpose of this study, the hadith literature will probably be the most crucial of the various Islamic traditions to understand. This is because so much of Islamic belief and practice, particularly the Islamic beliefs about the end times, comes from the hadith literature.

As mentioned before, a hadith is a record of the sayings and deeds of Muhammad. According to Muslim scholars, during the lifetime of Muhammad and after he died, his followers began to orally relay their memories of all of the things that Muhammad said or did.

THE ISNAD AND THE MATN

Each hadith consists of two parts—the
isnad
and the
matn
. At the beginning of any hadith is the
isnad
, or the chain of transmission. The
isnad
is essentially the “he said, she said, he said” chain of people who relay a memory of something Muhammad said or did. In English, an
isnad
might read, “John said he overheard Mary say that Muhammad used to say such and such.” To complicate this further for those unfamiliar with Islamic literature, of course all the names are Arabic. Many of the names are therefore long and possibly compounded. So here is a real example of an
isnad
from a hadith taken from
Malik’s Muwatta
: