The Final Roman Emperor, the Islamic Antichrist, and the Vatican's Last Crusade by Thomas Horn & Cris Putnam

Author:Thomas Horn & Cris Putnam [Horn, Thomas & Putnam, Cris]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Defender Publishing
Published: 2016-07-03T17:00:00+00:00

Chapter 9

Islamic Eschatology

Eschatology (Greek eschaton: “last”) refers to the study of last things, but it also extends to a broader perspective of a particular religion’s purpose and direction for history. Thus, in Christian eschatology, it covers items like the rise of Antichrist, the parousia(“return of Christ”) at the Battle of Armageddon, and the resurrection of the dead for final judgment. In the New Testament, the ultimate purpose of history is to glorify God, right all wrongs, and for Christians to rule and reign with Jesus in a New Jerusalem (Revelation 20:6). Because God may have a purpose for allowing evil to reign for a limited time, eschatological hope is the ultimate theodicy (answer to evil) because final justice is delivered, every tear is dried, and death and pain are vanquished (Revelation 21:4).

Because Islam has garnered so much attention since September 11, 2001, many folks are noticing that the minor and major signs of Islamic eschatology seem to uncannily match most of what is commonly known about the Christian end-time sequence. Since both are falling in place, as written centuries ago, it seems to add weight to the sense of urgency. However, a major premise of this book is that these correspondences are no accident. The primary difference in our thesis and that of various Islamic Antichrist theories (which we feel give too much credit to Muslim prophecies) is that we think it’s demonstrable that those correspondences are largely due to plagiarizing rather than supernatural inspiration. A plethora of competent scholars agree after comparing the Muslim and Christian texts in their original languages, concluding that the Hadith collectors simply borrowed from the popular eschatological literature of eighth-century AD, and this is reflected on an overreliance on Catholic and Eastern Orthodox legends (e.g., The Apocalypse of Pseudo Methodius) that stray far from the canonical literature. Even so, the Christian prophecies and signs are genuine, so, no matter Muslim revisions, in their original form, they are indicative that the end is near.

For many folks, the year 2012 demarcated an end-time event horizon, and it is demonstrable that apocalyptic tension has grown considerably worldwide since. The Washington Times reports that “54 percent of Protestants agreed with that statement—and 77 percent of evangelicals” believe we are currently living in the end times.[492]In this chapter, we will examine the Islamic perspective through a critical Christian lens. We agree many of the signs have come to fruition but, of course, we disagree with the veracity of Muslim revelation. We have written quite a few pages explaining why we believe the Tribulation and Armageddon are near. Why? In a nutshell, the sheer existence of modern Israel speaks volumes about the veracity of the Hebrew Scriptures and New Testament. Addressing the British Society for Propagation of the Gospel in 1864, the legendary “prince of preachers,” Baptist pastor, Charles Haddon Spurgeon, elaborated on Ezekiel’s prophecy (Ezekiel 37).

If there be anything clear and plain, the literal sense and meaning of this passage—a meaning not to be spirited or spiritualize—must be evident

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.