Islam: Will it Die or Become More Extreme?

by Rodrigo Silva

  

Recently there has been great division among  prophecy writers as far as the Islamic religion is concerned. Some prophecy writers believe that Islam will die and cease to exist after God destroys the Arab confederacies of Psalm 83 and Ezekiel 38 & 39 which according to their belief, will take place before Armageddon. Others believe that Islam will become more extreme and seek Israel's destruction until Christ's return. The Question '' Will Islam die or become more extreme? '' should be actually answered: Both, Islam will die, but before Islam dies and becomes a forgotten religion when Jesus Christ returns to defeat the enemies of Israel, Islam will become much more extreme.
It is clear to those who have already read my article titled Hamas, Hizbullah, Islam and the Arabs in Bible Prophecy, and Christ's Second Coming: When Will It Occur and What Will Cause It ? that I believe that Islam will not die but become more hostile to Israel than ever before until Jesus Christ returns to defeat all the Islamic nations that seek Israel's destruction.
Those who say that Islam will die do for the following reasons:

1 Israel will militarily destroy the Arab confederacy of Psalm 83,conquer Arab land and cause Muslims to forsake the Islamic religion
2 God will destroy the Russian Iranian led invasion of Israel mentioned in Ezekiel 38 & 39 and Islam will be humiliated to the point of becoming a forgotten religion
When we examine Psalm 83 more closely, we find that God is the one who punishes the Arab confederacy for coming against Israel, not Israel's military:
''O my God, make them like a wheel; as the stubble before the wind.
As the fire burneth a wood, and as the flame setteth the mountains on fire;
So persecute them with thy tempest, and make them afraid with thy storm.
Fill their faces with shame; that they may seek thy name, O LORD.
Let them be confounded and troubled for ever; yea, let them be put to shame, and perish:'' (Psalm 83:13-17)
When we examine Ezekiel 38 & 39,we find that God's judgment is specifically pronounced against Gog of the land of Magog which would be Russia, not against Islam in particular:
''And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him,
Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say unto Gog . . .
And it shall come to pass at the same time when Gog shall come against the land of Israel, saith the Lord GOD, that my fury shall come up in my face.
And I will send a fire on Magog . . .
And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will give unto b>Gog a place there of graves in Israel . . . (Ezekiel 38:1-2,14,39:6,11)
I believe it is a premature conclusion to assume that Islam will die before Christ's return for the following reasons:
1- Recent history has shown that Islam has become more hostile to Israel despite the defeat of the Arab confederacies that came against Israel against Israel in the previous Israeli-Arab wars of :
1948 -The War of  Independence
1967 -The Six-Day War
1973- The Yom Kippur War
2- Other prophetic passages such as Joel 3:1-3 and Zechariah 14:1-12 seem to suggest that Israel's surrounding neighbors will seek Israel's destruction up to the last minute of Armageddon with Israeli land being conquered by the Arab enemies, not Arab land being conquered by Israel.
3- The beast of Revelation 13 appears to be geographically dominated by Islam which will rise during the Great Tribulation which apparently occurs after the Russian Iranian led invasion of Ezekiel 38 & 39.
The Beast of Revelation
''And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.
And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.''(Revelation 13:1-2)
In this vision, John see the future kingdom of the Antichrist.You might recall that Daniel saw the same characteristics of this beast  600 years prior to John's vision.The beasts of Daniel 7 represent the kingdom that would rule the  known world and they are as follows:
First beast: A Lion with eagles wings- Babylonian Empire
Second beast: A bear raised on it side- Medo-Persian Empire
Third beast: Grecian Empire -A leopard with four heads
In John's vision we sees that the beast was like the Grecian empire (leopard), it had Persian feet (bear) and a Babylonian mouth (lion).
In today's terms,the beast would be like Syria ( Syria was the main sector of the divided Grecian empire),it would have Iranian feet and an Iraqi mouth.It also had seven heads which represent the seven kingdoms of world history as explained in Revelation 17:9 and are symbolically referred to as mountains.
In Jeremiah we read:
''And I will render unto Babylon and to all the inhabitants of Chaldea all their evil that they have done in Zion in your sight, saith the LORD.
Behold, I am against thee, O destroying mountain, saith the LORD, which destroyest all the earth:''(Jeremiah 51:24-25)
In this passage the Babylonian Empire is compared to a mountain.The seven mountain kingdoms that John sees as the heads of the beast are:
1 Egyptian Empire
2 Assyrian Empire
3 Babylonian Empire
4 Medo-Persian Empire
5 Grecian Empire
6 Roman Empire
7 Ottoman Empire
With the exception of Europe which is the Western portion of the Roman  empire, all the geographical areas dominated by the other 6 kingdom adhere to the Islamic religion for the most part.
Since the beast of Revelation 13 stands on its Persian (Iranian) feet, has a strong Grecian (mostly Syrian) body, and speaks with its Babylonian (Iraqi) mouth, we conclude that Islam must be a big part of the picture since Iran, Syria and Iraq are Islamic nations. The heads of the beast  also include the Egyptians  and the Ottoman Turks which are also Islamic nations. That is the base where the Antichrist will rise from and the Bible seems to suggest that he will come from a resurrected Assyrian Empire. That is interesting because we find Assyria which is not an Arab nation joining the Arabs is the Psalm 83 confederacy:
''They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance.
For they have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against thee:
The tabernacles of Edom (Jordan), and the Ishmaelites (Saudis); of Moab (Jordan) , and the Hagarenes (Egyptians);
Gebal (Syria) , and Ammon (Jordan) , and Amalek; the Philistines (Palestinians)  with the inhabitants of Tyre (Lebanon) ;
Assyria  also is joined with them . . . '' (Psalm 83:4-8)
If Assyria joined them (the Arab confederates) it must mean that Assyria was not part of them. That is exactly what we see today. The Assyrians make for 8% of the population in North Iraq and they are not part of the Islamic-Arab nations that seek Israel's destruction but that is destined to change in the not too distant future since the Bible seems to indicate that the Antichrist will come from a newly reborn Assyrian nation. If that is the case, the Psalm 83 confederacy will take place during the Tribulation period as part of Armageddon, not before as some  prophecy writers suggest.
Besides being called the Assyrian, the Antichrist is also called the king of Babylon (Isaiah 14:4). This suggests that he will be an Assyrian who becomes the leader of Iraq.
The13th and 14th chapters of Isaiah are about the future destruction of Babylon. In 14:4 the Antichrist is called the king of Babylon who will be empowered by Lucifer in verses 12 through 15.In verse 25 he is called the Assyrian. This suggests that the Antichrist besides being an Assyrian, he will also be the king of Babylon which will be the economic capital of his kingdom in modern day Iraq.
In Daniel we read:
'' I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things.'' (Daniel 7:8)
and in Revelation we read:
''And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies . . .  (Revelation 13:5)
The Antichrist has a mouth that blasphemes the name of God. It is interesting to note that just three verses prior to verse 5, the mouth of the beast that blasphemes God is seen on the lion:
''And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion . . . (Revelation 13:2)
Could it be that this mouth symbolism is pointing to the Antichrist as coming from Babylon which is typified by the Lion?. Babylon is modern day Iraq and if the Antichrist is called the ''king of Babylon'' in Isaiah 14:4 and the ''Assyrian'' in Isaiah 14:25, this makes perfect sense because the Assyrians who live in Iraq are Iraqi citizens besides being Assyrians ethnically. If that is the case, the Antichrist will be  ethnically an Assyrian who becomes a prominent political figure in Iraq thus making him both the ''Assyrian'' and the ''king of Babylon''.
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Names of Blasphemies
''And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. .  .
And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies. . ..'' (Revelation 13:1,5)
We have seen that the beast is a geopolitical combination of Iran (Bear), Iraq (Lion), Syria (Leopard) , Egypt and Turkey which are represented by two of the seven heads.This geopolitical kingdom of the Antichrist is geographically dominated by Islam.The beast has the names of blasphemies on its heads and and has a mouth that speaks great blasphemies.What else on earth other than Islam speaks more blasphemies against the God of Israel and against His people?
In Daniel we read:
''And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.'' (Daniel 7:25).
Notice that the Antichrist speaks great blasphemies against the Most High God and wears out His people, the Jews.The very goal of Islam is to destroy the Jewish people and the nation of Israel. Blasphemies such ''Allah Akbar'' ( Arabic for ''Allah is greater'') and '' Allah is not begotten neither does he beget'' meaning,  God was not the father of Jesus and that Jesus is not God incarnate are the most pronounced words by the followers of Islam. Notice that Daniel also says that the Antichrist will seek to change times and laws.One of the main goals of Islam is to bring about a caliphate which is a form of government that brings the whole world under Islamic domination.Changing the Judeo-Christian calendar to an Islamic calendar and the laws of the Bible to shariah law are the main enforcement of an Islamic caliphate.
Daniel also wrote:
''He will show no regard for the gods of his fathers or for the desire of women '' ( Daniel 11:37 ) NASB
Mohammed did not regard the pagan gods of his fathers and chose Allah as the main deity among hundreds of idols that were worshiped by the Arab peoples.The Antichrist will do the same. He will show no regard for  regard any god, not even the god of his religion who is Allah,  for he shall magnify himself above all. (Daniel 11:37 b)
He will show no regard for the desire of woman.Many interpretations were given to this verse.One of them says that the Antichrist will be a homosexual.I think it is foolishness to think that such a person with a beast like personality and an enormous desire for military power would be a homosexual. This verse could be predicting Islam's lack of regard for the desire of women as extreme Islamic countries force women to practice female circumcision which is the mutilation of parts of a woman's genital organ causing women to lose most of their sexual desire. It could also be predicting Islam' s lack of regard for women' s rights since Islamic leaders dictate what women  should or should not do in Islamic countries.
Beheading those who do not follow him
In Revelation we read:
''And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and [I saw] the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received [his] mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands . . . (Revelation 20:4)
People all over the world will be beheaded for not worshiping the Antichrist and for refusing to receive his mark upon their foreheads and upon their hands. It is clear that Islam has for the past 1300 years beheaded those who refused to accept Allah and the Islamic religion. Is is also clear that Islamic extremists still behead people in Arab countries who refuse to bow down to Allah. Watch related video here
The Islamic beast will persecute and behead people all over the world who will refuse to accept its government and  religion.
The Islamic nations that will attack Israel at Armageddon
In predicting Armageddon, Isaiah chapters 13 through 24  and Jeremiah 46 through 52 talk about God's judgment upon many nations. These nation are specifically named as Babylon (Iraq), Elam (Iran), Assyria, Philistia (Gaza),  Moab (Jordan), Damascus (Syria), Ethiopia, Egypt,  Edom (Jordan), Arabia, and Tyre (Lebanon). Some of these nations are also mentioned in Psalm 83. With the exception of  the Assyrians, all these nations are Islamic nations and they are destined to be judged by God. But what is the reason for God's judgment upon these nations?
Zechariah and Joel tell us very specifically why. These nations will seek to come against Israel with the goal of dividing Jerusalem among themselves and wiping Israel off the face of the earth.
In Joel we read:
'' For, behold, in those days, and in that time, when I shall bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem,
I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land.'' (Joel 3:1-2)
Notice that God very plainly says that He will gather the nations for judgment because of their treatment of  His people Israel and for parting (dividing) His land. The context speaks of all Middle Eastern Islamic nations that surround Israel as we read in Zechariah:
''The burden of the word of the LORD for Israel, saith the LORD, which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him.
Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem.'' (Zechariah 12:1-2)
Notice that Jerusalem will become a burden to the people ''round about'' it, that is, the nations that surround Israel  mentioned by name in Psalm 83, Isaiah 13 through 24 and Jeremiah 46 through 52. Now, if Isaiah and Jeremiah are taking about Armageddon in these chapters, why place the Psalm 83 confederacy which predicts the same event with the same nations before the Tribulation. Let me point out that in both Isaiah 14:25 and Psalm 83: 8, Assyria is mentioned as one of the nations to be joining the Arab world in trying to destroy Israel. Some try to say that Assyria represents modern Syria and Iraq because these are the territories that were once under the dominion of the Assyrian Empire. I have to disagree with that for the following reasons:
1- Just as the Bible predicted the rebirth of Israel which occurred in 1948 and the rebirth of Babylon as a major economic center which is slowly starting to become a reality to fulfill Revelation 18, the Bible also says that Assyria will be reborn as a nation before the Millennial Kingdom of Christ begins. (Isaiah 19:23-25).
2- The Bile also refers to the Antichrist as ''the Assyrian'' in Isaiah 14:25, Isaiah 30:30-31, and Micah 5:5-6. All this points to the fact that Assyria which is a non-Arab nation will become independent and join the Islamic-Arab world in its attempt to destroy Israel.
What most prophecy students do not pay attention to is the fact that 8% of the population of the Northern portion of Iraq is comprised of  orthodox Christian Assyrians who are working hard towards Assyrian independence.But how can the Antichrist be an Assyrian Muslim since the Assyrians are Christians?
The Christian Assyrians of Iraq are facing horrible persecution caused by Islamic extremists to the point of  becoming almost extinct. It is reasonable to conclude that in the near future Assyrians will grow weary of persecution and will start to accept Islam. If true Christian Assyrians are taken up to heaven when the Rapture takes place, left behind Assyrians who had no faith will be forced to accept Islam. This scenario will cause an Islamic Assyria to be accepted by the Islamic Iraqi government as a sovereign independent nation.The stage will be set for the Antichrist to rise to power as the little horn of Daniel 7:8.
The little horn expression refers to the Antichrist as the leader of a nation with very little political and military significance in the beginning of his ascension to power. A newly reborn Assyria will perfectly fit this description since a newly reborn nation is always politically and militarily weak .But as Satan give him his power and great authority (Revelation 13:2 b), the Assyrian Antichrist will become a very powerful military man during the second half of the Great Tribulation. We are told that he will be given power from a confederacy of ten nations represented by the ten horns of the beast (Revelation 13:1 and 17:12).These ten nations will probably surrender to him all of their military power and technology.
As the Antichrist becomes a very powerful military leader, Islam will be the vehicle by which he will seek to destroy Israel. It is interesting to note that Islam has in the past tried to use military force to seek Israel's destruction. The War of  Independence of 1948, The Six-Day War of 1967 and the Yom Kippur War of 1973 a very good examples of that. Will it be any different when the Antichrist rises to power as an Islamic and military leader? It seems very obvious that Islam will not die as some assume. Bible prophecy, recent history and current developments in the Middle East show that the death of Islam before Christ's return is not a very likely scenario.
The Real Death of Islam
The Bible says that Islam will one day cease to exist, but that will not be accomplished by Israel's military power but by God's supernatural power at Armageddon. Zechariah 14:1- 12 and Joel 3:1-3 make it quite clear that Israel will be conquered by its surrounding enemies and that only with God's supernatural deliverance will Israel be saved. In Zechariah we read:
''1 Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee.
2For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.
3Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle. .
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5And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the LORD my God shall come, and all the saints with thee. . .
12And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.'' (Zechariah 14:1-3, 5, 12)
Notice that the Lord says that all  nations will be gathered against Jerusalem. These are the Islamic-Arab nations mentioned by name in Psalm 83, Isaiah 13 - 24 and Jeremiah 46 - 52. In verse three we clearly see that it is the Lord who goes forth to fight those nations, not Israel's military. In verse 5 He says that the Jews in Israel will be fleeing Arab persecution to a valley while God comes with all the saints who are the Church following Jesus as He comes from heaven to rescue Israel as mentioned in Revelation:
'' And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.
His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself.
And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.
And the armies which were in heaven (the saints of Zechariah 14:5) followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.'' (Revelation 19:11-14)
In verse 12 we see that the Lord himself smites the nations that come against Israel with a plague that consumes the flesh of the people. This plague is the sword that comes out of Jesus' mouth to destroy the beast and its Islamic-Arab confederacy:
''And out of his (Jesus') mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the [Islamic - Arab] nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. . .
And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.
And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth . . .(Revelation 13:15-21)
Conclusion
We have seen through this article that Islam will not die before Christ returns  as many prophecy writers believe.The beast of Revelation 13 is a geopolitical combination of Islamic-Arab nations such as Iraq, Iran, Syria, Egypt, Turkey along with Assyrians and other Arab nations mentioned by name in Psalm 83, Isaiah 13 - 24 and Jeremiah 46 - 52. This Islamic beast will only cease to exist when Jesus Christ returns to destroy it with His supernatural power.I think it is time for prophecy students to stop reading the Bible with a Western mindset, start reading the Bible with a Middle Eastern mindset and see that the last days empire of the beast is not Western Europe as a revived Roman Empire, but a revival of all the empires of history which rose our of the Middle East and that are geographically dominated by Islam today as explained in our article titled  The Kingdom of the Antichrist: An Alternate View which can be read by clicking the following link: http://www.bibleprophecyinthenews.com/Kingdom_of_Antichrist.html
God bless you!

Rodrigo Silva
06/27/08