The Qur’anic Con: How Revelation’s Predictive Biblical Prophecy Foresaw Islamic Teachings

By ICA

Revelation 1:1, “The revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place …”

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Prophecy. Unlike the self-fulfilling Islamic “predictions” that are contingent upon its own believers to manufacture, maneuver and manipulate events in an effort to somehow render “Islamic prophecy” as genuine, the Bible is filled with true predictive prophecy of human behavior, demonstrably independent of any effort to facilitate its fulfillment. For nearly two-thousand years Christians have shuddered at some of the most frightening predictions described in the Book of Revelation, a sister-book to the texts of Daniel and filled with eschatological language that has inspired end-of-days folklore for nearly two millennia. Though filled with metaphor and symbolism, many aspects of Revelation’s predatory, beast-like kingdom as it relates to the conduct of its adherents are not. Beheading and forced conversion, for example, are understood as the literal conduct of a kingdom that would rear its ugly head prior to the Second Coming of Christ. Christians would be one of its primary targets.  Decapitation would be one of its preferred methods of execution. And all, regardless of race, tribe, language or social status, would be forced to submit to its religious dictates on pain of death. It’s the stuff of nightmares.

As the article “Unsealed: A Closer Look At Revelation 6 And ‘The Four Horsemen Of The Apocalypse’” explains, the seals of Revelation depict separate progressive, compound stages to an end-of-days beast kingdom that would one day expand to become the largest, most deceptive and violent politico-religious system the world has ever known, the kingdom of Islam. Though much of the following will overlap with other articles on this site, the intent here is to briefly compare the conduct of those who follow after the Beast of Revelation with the conduct expected by the teachings of Islam. After all, logic only dictates that if the seals describe the rise (and subsequent fall) of an Islamic Beast, then Islamic teachings would need to necessitate that those who follow the “prophet” of Islam therefore engage in precisely the sort of key behaviors typified by the Beast’s followers we read in Revelation.

Before we begin, however, let’s quickly address where much of Revelation appears to be concentrated. In terms of location, John provides a few clues for us in the text pointing to a regional hotbed from which events seems to be focused primarily, though not necessarily confined. Revelation 9:14 refers to “the great river Euphrates.” Revelation 11:18 points to “the great city which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt.” Revelation 17:3-5 references “a desert” and “Babylon.” The biggest clue, however, is found in Revelation 13:2 which depicts this last-days Beast kingdom as an aggregate of the four beast empires outlined in Daniel 7:3-7. In today’s geopolitical landscape, the kingdom that now controls the territories of the previous empires, represented as Babylon (the lion), Greece (the leopard) and Medo-Persia (the bear) can be none other than Islam. Today, the vast majority of the old Roman Empire is now under Muslim control and, when combined, all point to one primary location from which events disseminate: the Middle East.

Islam: The Fuel of Torment and Terror

At the beginning of Revelation 9 John describes what appears to be a “star” that falls from heaven to earth (9:1). The “star” is given a key to open an abyss and unleash “locusts” upon the earth (9:3) to torment men. We find clues as it relates to the behaviors typified by the Beast’s followers later in this chapter and elsewhere, but before we examine those key traits let’s focus in to examine the significance of the “star” and the effect it has upon the inhabitants of the earth:

1) “STAR”:  The “star” described in Revelation 8:10-11 (and also referred to as a “him” a few verses later in 9:1) falls from heaven to earth. He makes the “waters” turn “bitter.” His name is called “apsinthion.” According to Strong’s Concordance “apsinthion” means “wormwood” and is also understood figuratively to mean “calamity.”

2) “WATERS”: This fallen “star” greatly affects the “waters” upon which it falls. In Revelation 17:15, the “waters” are defined for us as “peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues.”

3) “BITTER”: The “waters” are turned “bitter” by the “star.” It is important to note that the word for “bitter” (pikrainō) does not simply mean bitter in terms of taste. It also means bitter in terms of one’s disposition and their behavior towards others, as in to “render angry or indignant” or “causing pain; characterized by intense antagonism or hostility” and is related to the word “pikria” meaning “extreme wickedness” or “bitter hatred” (cf. Ephesians 4:31, “Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you …”).  Both pikrainō and pikria are from the word “pikros” which means “bitter” and “harsh, virulent.” (cf. James 3:13-14, “Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth.”)

Given the context of Revelation and all the hostility that is then unleashed against the people of God, the “waters” turning “bitter” is likely referring to the “peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues” that are turned “angry, indignant, antagonistic, hostile” by the “star” and their subsequent treatment of God’s people. As for the “star” itself, in Jude 1:13 we read how ungodly men who deceive others with lies are called “wandering stars, for whom blackest darkness has been reserved forever.” Could this “star” falling from heaven to earth be a reference to a deceptive, demonic force? Of particular interest is the fact that the name of the “star” figuratively means “calamity.” Pick up virtually any thesaurus and “calamity” is synonymous with “affliction” and “distress.” Coincidentally, or perhaps it’s no coincidence at all, one of the 99 names of Allah, Islam’s deity, is Ad-Darr which means “The Afflicter” or “The Distressor.”

Interestingly, in the Book of Isaiah we read in 14:12, “How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer … You who weakened the nations!” (NKJV).  In the original Hebrew text the name attributed to the devil (Lucifer) in Isaiah 14:12 is “heylel” — which means “light-bearer” — and is often rendered in various other translations as “morning star” (NIV, HCSB), “star of the morning” (NASB) and “day star” (ESV, RSV). Another interesting tidbit is the fact that the Arabic equivalent of “heylel” is the word “hilāl”, which means “crescent moon.” It is the very symbol of Islam itself. Today, the internationally-recognized symbol of Islam is presented as a crescent moon and, within the arc of the crescent, a light-bearing star.

Qur’an Sura 24:35, “Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth. The parable of His Light is as (if there were) a niche and within it a lamp, the lamp is in glass, the glass as it were a brilliant star …”

Revelation 20:10, “The devil, who deceived them …”

Comparing scripture with scripture, one cannot help but notice that the “star” of Revelation 8:10-11 and 9:1 that falls from heaven to earth are interrelated (it is all part of the first of three “woes” of 8:13) and, hermeneutically, is likely referring directly to “the great dragon … called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world” that “was cast to the earth” (12:9). Satan had waged war in Heaven against God, and was cast out. Filled with great wrath, Satan’s next battle plan against the Most High is to now destroy the elect of God, those “who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ” (12:17). How? Through mass deception of a different body of people whose primary focus would become the conversion or elimination of everyone who would not believe and behave as they do (cf. Revelation 20:3). Satan’s new plan of attack sets up for himself a people who would be conformed to his own image in order to achieve the goal of destroying the elect of God. And what is Satan’s weapon of mass deception and destruction, the key to achieving that goal?  It is Islam:

Qur’an Sura 9:123, “O you who have believed [Muslims], fight [“qital” – physically fight, kill and wage war against] those adjacent to you of the disbelievers [non-Muslims] and let them find in you harshness [synonymous with anger, brutality, cruelty, bitterness]. And know that Allah is with the righteous.”

Qur’an Sura 3:54, “… Allah is the best of the deceivers.”

Qur’an Sura 8:55, “Surely the vilest of animals in Allah’s sight are those who disbelieve [non-Muslims] …”

Qur’an Sura 48:29a, “Mohammed is [Allah’s] apostle. Those who follow him are ruthless to the unbelievers [non-Muslims] …”

Hadith, Tabari 7:97, “‘Kill any Jew who falls under your power.’” – The “Prophet” Mohammed

Qur’an Sura 9:29, “[Mohammed said] Fight those who believe not in Allah … (even if they are) of the People of the Book [Christians], until they pay the Jizya with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued.”

Qur’an Sura 5:51, “O you who believe! do not take the Jews and the Christians for friends; they are friends of each other; and whoever amongst you takes them for a friend, then surely he is one of them [unbelievers]; surely Allah does not guide the unjust people.”

Qur’an: Sura 4:89, “Have no unbelieving friends. Kill the unbelievers wherever you find them.”

Islam: The Metaphor of Tormenting Locusts

As any farmer that has had to contend with locusts would attest, they can be a destructive plague that can devour everything in their wake. For good reason, many believe the “locusts” of Revelation 9:3 describe the spread of Islam that began its campaign of conquests in the 7th century. In the 12th century an Islamic scholar named Abul Ala Mawdudi wrote a book calling the birthplace of Islam — modern day Saudi Arabia — the “Abyss of Darkness” to introduce non-Arab readers to Islam. As Daniel Botkin of White Horse Media aptly explains, “About 900 years before John’s Revelation, the Prophet Joel has symbolically described an invading, attacking army as a swarm of locusts. Any large, invading army might be compared to a swarm of locusts, but the Arabs and Muhammed have a unique connection to the locust: ‘In the Bedoween romance Antar, the locust is introduced as the national emblem of the Ishmaelites … Muslim tradition speaks of locusts having dropped into the hands of Muhammed, bearing on their wings this inscription – ‘We are the army of the Great God.’” According to John, this locust-like army would have a king ruling over them. “Their king is the angel from the bottomless pit; his name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek, Apollyon — the Destroyer” (Revelation 9:11). Interestingly enough, two of the 99 names of Allah are also Al-Malik and Al-Mumit, meaning “The King” and “The Destroyer.” Out of any number of names or titles that John, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, could have been given to describe the leader of the “locust” army, what are the chances that he’d be given those that would be attributed to Islam’s deity hundreds of years later?

Revelation 9:12, “One woe is past. Behold, still two more woes are coming after these things.”

Isaiah 5:20, “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!”

“Christianity should be destroyed and wiped from the face of the earth. It is an evil demonic and Anti-Christ system, all Christians are in complete ignorance. ‘Islamic Power has returned upon the face of the earth and the Revived Global Caliphate has set eyes on the West to once and for all rid the world of Christianity and there is nothing you can do about it” – The Global Islamic Civilization: The Power of a Nation Revived

Qur’an Sura 9:30, “… the Christians say, ‘The Messiah is the son of [God].’ That is their statement from their mouths … May Allah destroy them …”

Since Islam’s inception, Muslim armies have invaded lands and forced countless souls to submit to Allah’s religion. It is what every “good” Muslim should do. Fast forward to today and much of North Africa, the Middle East and parts of Asia are now overwhelmingly Islamic and rife with increasing death and destruction. But instead of recognizing the root cause of Islam’s sordid 1,400-year history of war and terror, the Islamic world blames everyone but themselves and everything but Islam for all the ills that plague them, laying heavy blame at every opportunity on the Christian West and the Jewish State of Israel. ISIS, for instance, claims that “Western foreign policies” are forcing Muslims to turn to violence. Former US President, Barack Hussein Obama,  blamed the West’s freedom of speech for violent Islamic backlash. Meanwhile, Gaza’s Muslim rulers insist that Jews are behind each and every catastrophe on the face of the earth. Turkey’s Islamist government blames Israel for Mideast insecurity and calls Israel a threat to Middle East peace. Egypt’s “moderate” Muslim leaders blame Israel for fueling terrorism throughout the Middle East and for the creation of the Islamic State. According to the Islamic Republic of Iran, which will soon attain nuclear capability, the destruction of America and Israel would “solve all the world’s problems.” Similar sentiments are repeated from one end of the Muslim world to the other, even Muslims living in the West. As Turkey’s Hurriyet Daily News rightly admitted in a 2011 article, however, the fact of the matter is that over 10 million Muslims (and counting) have been slaughtered since the creation of Israel in 1948 alone, not at Israel’s hand, but at the hands of other Muslims. This murderous trend continues far and wide across the Islamic world today, especially in areas controlled by, and influenced by, the self-declared Islamic Caliphate. And for the Muslim “holy” month of Ramadan 2015 alone, at least 314 terror attacks and 63 suicide bombings have been documented, resulting in thousands dead and thousands more wounded for “peaceful” purposes, with most victims being Muslim. It’s going to get much worse before it gets any better.

Islam: The Festering Wound That Refuses To Heal

Revelation 9:20-21, “… the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood … Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication [sexual immorality], nor of their thefts.”

The Greek word for “plague” (plēgē) is being used in the sense of widespread calamity and affliction and is likely referring to the unending wars and acts of terror seen throughout the Islamic world and all the retribution, carnage and loss of life that follows, not necessarily to an epidemic disease (such as the bubonic plague) as is commonly understood in our modern vernacular. As former US Navy Capt. Chuck Nash acknowledges in a 2014 interview, the Islamic beliefs that fuel unending war and terrorism are beliefs that “will never be destroyed. The violent element is in the DNA of Islam. It’s in their documents. Moderates and radicals read the same documents and draw their inspiration from the same religious texts.” And all Muslims know this. Yet despite suffering bloody blow after bloody blow for the cause of Allah and the downward spiral of destruction, destitution and death, the multitude of the Beast remain so deceived by their own religion and awed by its “invincible” strength and influence they fail to recognize that what plagues the Muslim world are not Jews and non-Muslims, but Islam itself. Due to their unwillingness to accept this reality and opting instead to believe nothing but the “inerrant” and “divinely inspired” words of a violent, self-declared prophet, those who follow after the Beast refuse (and will continue refusing) to change their minds and their conduct:

Murders. According to the Qur’an, the “holy” book of Islam, it is incumbent upon obedient Muslims to deal harshly with “apostate” Muslims and those who spread “corruption” or “mischief” in the land, Muslim and non-Muslim alike (Qur’an 5:33). Many who whitewash Islam as a “Religion of Peace” often quote a small portion of the preceding verse (Qur’an 5:32) — purportedly the most “peaceful” verse in the entire Qur’an — in an effort to somehow suggest that Islam expressly forbids murder. “To kill someone,” their argument contends, “is like killing all of mankind.” If we read this “peaceful” verse in its proper context, however, it doesn’t take long to realize that 5:32 merely refers to what the “children of Israel” (Jews) were purportedly instructed to believe and teach, not Muslims. The next verse refers to what Muslim believe and teach, and it’s anything but compassion and peaceful coexistence. Like capturing and crippling, murder is not only permitted, but is often required for the express purpose of revenge or for halting the spread of un-Islamic influences in the land. One recent example of this is the case of an Iranian Christian pastor imprisoned and facing death for the crime of “spreading corruption on Earth.” Due to the fact that non-Islamic teachings and belief systems (particularly Christian teachings) are considered corrupt in Islam and are viewed by many Islamists as an affront to Allah and his prophet, the fact of the matter is that even the most “peaceful” passage in the entire Qur’an is itself yet another teaching among many that devout Islamists use to justify all kinds of atrocities against the “enemies” of Islam:

Qur’an Sura 5:32-33, “… [for the Children of Israel] whoever slays a soul, unless it be for manslaughter or for mischief in the land, it is as though he slew all men; and whoever keeps it alive, it is as though he kept alive all men … [but for Muslims] The punishment of those who wage war against Allah and His messenger and strive to make mischief in the land is only this, that they should be murdered or crucified or their hands and their feet should be cut off on opposite sides or they should be imprisoned; this shall be as a disgrace for them in this world, and in the hereafter they shall have a grievous chastisement …”

Hadith, Bukhari 9.84.57, “Muhammad said, ‘Whoever changed his Islamic religion, then kill him.’”

Qur’an: Sura 4:89, “… Kill the unbelievers [non-Muslims] wherever you find them …”

Hadith, Tabari 9:69, “Killing Unbelievers [non-Muslims] is a small matter to us” – The Words of Mohammad, “Prophet” of Islam

Hadith, Tabari 7:97, “The morning after the murder of Ashraf, the Prophet declared, ‘Kill any Jew who falls under your power.’”

Qur’an Sura 3:151, “Soon shall We cast terror into the hearts of the Unbelievers, for that they [Christians] joined companions with Allah [they believe in the Trinity], for which He had sent no authority …”

Sorceries. The Greek word often translated as “sorceries” or “witchcraft” in Revelation 9:21 is “pharmakeia” (it is where we get the word “pharmacy” from) but this word is also used metaphorically to refer to “the deceptions and seductions of idolatry.” Although belief in witchcraft, magic and sorcery of all kinds is widespread in the Islamic world and there are Islamist groups that raise billions each year to finance global terrorism through illegal drug trafficking, the immediate context of Revelation 9:21 deals specifically with the worship of demons “and idols of gold, silver, brass, stone, and wood” (9:20). As such, it is likely that idolatry may be its intended meaning which, according to Webster, is defined as “excessive devotion to or reverence for some person or thing.” Instead of worshiping the true God of salvation, the Beast’s multitude replaces God with other things entirely. Although Muslims will insist on one hand that Islam strictly forbids the worship of idols, on the other they turn around and then commit blatant idolatry according to Biblical Scripture.

Aside from the Occult, drug-financed Jihad, the “holy” Qur’an itself and the virtually deified status of Mohammed, Islam’s self-declared “prophet (and described as the “Savior of Humanity” by many Muslims, like a precursor to the Islamic messiah figure known as the Mahdi), one of the most blatant idols in the Muslim world is a large, cube-shaped structure that sits at the center of the most sacred mosque in Islam, Al-Masjid al-Haram, in Mecca. Known as the Kaaba and adorned with gold doors, a wooden staircase and embroidered with gold Qur’anic verses along the top corners of its walls, Muslims around the world bow down in prayer five times a day facing nowhere but toward this cuboid structure. In the eastern cornerstone of the Kaaba rests a sacred stone called the Black Stone which, according to Muslim tradition, used to be “whiter than paper, but became black from the sins of the children of Adam” (The Hajj, F.E. Peters, 1996). According to Islam, all sincere Muslims who perform The Hajj (or pilgrimage) to visit Mecca and kiss, touch the stone (or even point towards it if unable to reach it but in close proximity) will be absolved from all previous sins. In the eyes of the God of the Bible, idolatry doesn’t get any more flagrant than this. What was true for the Hebrew children of old remains true for all today. “Ye shall make you no idols nor graven image, neither rear you up a standing image, neither shall ye set up any image of stone in your land, to bow down unto it …” (Leviticus 26:1).

“Narrated Salim that his father said: ‘I saw Allah’s Apostle [Mohammed] arriving at Mecca; he kissed the Black Stone Corner first while doing Tawaf [ritualistic circling around the Kaaba seven times] and did ramal [ritualistic walk for men around the Kaaba] in the first three rounds of the seven rounds (of Tawaf)’ … Narrated Az-Zubair bin ‘Arabi: ‘A man asked Ibn ‘Umar about the touching of the Black Stone. Ibn ‘Umar said, ‘I saw Allah’s Apostle touching and kissing it.’” (Hadith, Bukhari, Volume 2, Book 26, Number 673 and 680)

Qur’an Sura 33:21, “Indeed in Allah’s Messenger (Mohammad) you have an excellent example to follow for him who hopes in (meeting with) Allah and the Last Day …”

Fornication/Sexual Immorality. Muslim rape gangs. Sex slavery. Forced child marriage. Female genital mutilation. Although not all Muslims are sexual deviants, sexual deviancy is explicitly permitted, even encouraged, in Islam. Apostate and non-Muslim women, for instance, can be kidnapped as the “spoils of war” and raped (cf. sura 4:24, sura 33:50a). In Saudi Arabia, a Muslim cleric issues a fatwa allowing Syrian rebels to rape women to solve their “sexual problems.” Another Muslim cleric issues a fatwa defending pedophilia as “marriage” (the “prophet” of Islam himself, at around 51 years of age, married a 6-year old child  and “consummated” the marriage when she was just 9-years old). A Muslim writer explains why women who work ought to be sexually molested in the workplace. In the spiritual birthplace and homestead of Islam, sexual immorality is given complete sanction under Islamic law. If Mohammed did it, then so can all Muslim men seeking to follow his most “excellent example” (sura 33:21).

This behavior isn’t confined to Saudi Arabia, the Middle East or even to Islamic countries, however. In a non-Muslim land such as the UK, for instance, the Muslim population accounts for just 4% of the British population yet has 200 times the number of sexual perpetrators than any other group. Muslim taxi drivers are reportedly assaulting and raping hundreds, perhaps thousands, of British girls every year. Muslim sex gangs are waging “rape Jihad” against British children. An alarming number of Muslim clerics across the UK are condoning child marriage. From Sweden to Norway, from France to Germany, Denmark, Spain and elsewhere, sexual immorality within the Muslim community is running rampant all across Europe and far beyond. As a Muslim prayer leader from Egypt who was caught sexually assaulting girls during a trip to Australia explained, such behavior is simply part of his Islamic culture.

Qur’an Sura 33:50a, “O Prophet! Lo! We have made lawful unto thee thy wives unto whom thou hast paid their dowries, and those whom thy right hand possesseth of those whom Allah hath given thee as spoils of war…”

Al Rod Al Anf, Volume 2, Page 182, “You see [our god Allah] will soon make you inherit [steal] their land, their treasures and make you sleep with [rape] their women.” – The “prophet” Mohammed

Sunan Abu Dawud 2150, “The Apostle of Allah sent a military expedition to Awtas on the occasion of the battle of Hunain. They met their enemy and fought with them. They defeated them and took them captives. Some of the Companions of the Apostle of Allah were reluctant to have intercourse with the female captives in the presence of their husbands who were unbelievers. So Allah, the Exalted, sent down the Qur’anic verse [sura 4:24]: ‘And all married women (are forbidden) unto you save those (captives) whom your right hands possess.’ That is to say, they are lawful for them when they complete their waiting period.”

Qur’an Sura 4:24, “And all married women (are forbidden unto you) save those (captives) whom your right hands possess.”

Thefts. “Thou shall not steal” (Exodus 20:15). It’s one of the Ten Commandments and a moral law upon which the Judeo-Christian faith stands firm. It can even be argued that the Decalogue itself revolves around this one commandment. There is only one God that we must worship and revere, otherwise we’d be stealing the worship and reverence He alone deserves and would be giving it to another. We must honor our parents, otherwise we’d be stealing the honor God expects us to give them and replacing it with something else. We must not steal one’s life, nor the trust of a spouse, nor a neighbor’s possessions nor the truth and justice they are entitled to. Stealing, in any form, is expressly forbidden in Biblical Scripture. The same cannot be said, however, for Islam.

ISIS Mark Christian Homes With “N” (Nasara) To Identify It As Belonging To Nazarenes (Christians). These Homes Now Belong To The “Islamic State.”

In addition to mass slaughter, another “excellent example” for all Muslims to follow today is Mohammed’s plundering and pillaging for the cause of Allah, the modus operandi of Islam and the core of Mohammed’s conquests. In Egypt and elsewhere, Christians are robbed of employment  and unable to buy or sell for the simple fact that they are Christian, and their properties are seized and taxed by Muslim gangs. In Bangladesh, a mob of Muslims attack a church and steal everything of value within it. In Iraq, ISIS terrorists order all Christian business assets over to the Islamic State, turns stolen Christian homes into bomb factories and opens a market in Mosul for stolen Christian property. All across the “Islamic State” Muslim terrorists loyal to their marvelous new Caliphate rob and plunder Christians fleeing their advance. Even a Muslim preacher in the Land of the Free, in the state of Tennessee, has openly declared it perfectly acceptable under Islam to steal the lives and property of non-Muslims for the sake of Jihad. The core of Mohammed’s conquests have been reflected all throughout Islamic history, and remains the reality of Islamic law today.

Qur’an Sura 8:69, “So enjoy what you took as booty; the spoils [of war] are lawful and good.”

Qur’an Sura 33:27, “And He caused you to inherit their land and their houses and their wealth [through conquest], and land ye have not trodden. Allah is ever Able to do all things.”

Ibn Ishaq 503, 508,  “Allah saw what was in their hearts [what they coveted] so he rewarded them with victory and with as much spoil as they could take. Allah promised that they would soon capture a great deal of booty … Whenever they heard of a Meccan caravan setting out for Syria, they intercepted it, and killed everyone they could get a hold of. They tore every caravan to pieces and took the goods.“

Hadith Bukhari 2996, “… [Mohammed] said, ‘Become Muslim and you will be safe. Know that the earth belongs to Allah and His Messenger. I want to expel you from this land. Whoever of you has some property should sell it. However, the earth belongs to Allah and His Messenger.’”

Islam: Worship, Unrelenting Defiance and the Image that Speaks

Revelation 13:4, 7, 15; 20:4, “People worshiped the dragon because he had given authority to the beast, and they also worshiped the beast and asked, ‘Who is like the beast? Who can wage war against it?‘ … It was given power to wage war against God’s holy people and to conquer them … The second beast was given power to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that the image could speak and cause all who refused to worship the image to be killed … And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony about Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands …””

Worship. The primary reason why the Beast’s kingdom is filled with murder, idolatry, sexual deviancy and thievery centers around worship. The Greek word for worship is “proskyneō” and one of the definitions is “to fall upon the knees and touch the ground with the forehead as an expression of profound reverence” which is precisely what Muslims do five times every day as they bow down to the Kaaba in Mecca. As the teachings of Islam make clear, however, much more is expected from Muslims as it relates to worship than simply facing Mecca and touching the ground with one’s forehead. According to Jihad in the Qur’an and Sunna by Sheik Abdullah Bin Muhammad Bin Humaid:

After the testimony of Oneness of Allah swt and the Messengership of Muhammad (pbuh), with firm belief and True Faith, one has to perform the acts of worship as ordained by Islam. Among the obligatory acts of worship are offering the Salat (prayers), observing the Saum (fasts), paying the Zakat and performing the Hajj (pilgrimage to Makka)…

But, as regards the reward and blessing, there is one deed which is very great in comparison to all the acts of worship and all the good deeds — and that is Jihad!

Jihad is regarded as the best thing, one can offer voluntarily. It is superior to nonobligatory prayers, fasting, Zakat, Umra and Hajj as mentioned in the Qur’an… The benefits of Jihad are of great extent and large in scope, while its effects are far-reaching and wide-spreading as regards [to] Islam and the Muslims. For an individual Muslim, Jihad includes all acts of worship and all aspects of belief — thus bringing him greatest reward and vast blessings; and for the Muslim nation, Jihad provides all kinds of successes in respect of prosperity and dignity, victory and glory — thus bringing magnificence and splendor.

Western apologists who seek to portray Islam as a “peaceful” religion often attempt to define Jihad as an inner spiritual struggle. Although the Arabic word for Jihad means “struggle” the normative usage of Jihad according to Islamic teachings refers to violent holy war, evidenced by the fact that the Qur’an exempts the physically disabled from Jihad and declares those who “go forth to fight in the cause of Allah” as superior to those who do not (sura 4:94-95). Furthermore, the Hadiths of al-Bukhari — recorded sayings or traditions of Mohammed and considered among the most authentic collections by the Muslim world — refer to violent warfare in the context of Jihad over 200 times with few exceptions.

“Allah (swt) sent us Muhammad (saas) as the prophet at a time when we knew nothing. Whatever we saw Muhammad do, we do the same, in the same way.” (al-Nasa’i, Taqsir 1)

According to the Qur’an in suras 3:31, 4:80 and 48:10, to follow the “prophet” Mohammed is to follow and worship Allah. As the most sacred of men in Islam and an “excellent example” for Muslims to follow, Mohammed remains the personification of Jihad as an act of worship to the Islamic world. Before his death in 632 AD, the “prophet” of Islam had personally beheaded hundreds for their refusal to convert and worship Allah, kissed and touched the Kaaba idol in Mecca, had a multitude of female sex slaves and concubines with whom he had sex and plundered & looted those he conquered. And this has been the true face of Islam ever since.  Today we can read Islamist material online and in print from organizations like Al-Qaeda and ISIS praising global terrorism and urging more attacks  against those who do not worship Allah. We see Al-Shabaab terrorists attacking and killing people for not professing allegiance to Allah. The Islamic State continues capturing and forcing sex slaves to convert to Islam and worship Allah while offering others the chance to convert to Islam and worship Allah before killing them.

“We praise Allah for enabling us to perform this great act of worship which is the peak of Islam …” – Al-Shabaab fighter Sufyan Al-Muhajir in Kenya in reference to violent Jihadist “holy” war

“Praise be to you, our Lord. You have made our killing of the Jews an act of worship, through which we come closer to you. Allah’s prayers upon you, our beloved prophet [Muhammad]. You have made your teachings into constitutions for us … and the fire with which we harvest the skulls of the Jews… Oh sons of Palestine… wage jihad, wreak destruction, blow up and harvest the heads of the Zionists… Like a bad seed, we shall uproot you from our land, so that it can blossom in the light of the everlasting sun of our Jihad, and of our invincible religion.” – Speaker at Palestinian Rally in Gaza

“In the moments before he raped the 12-year-old girl, the Islamic State fighter took the time to explain that what he was about to do was not a sin. Because the preteen girl practiced a religion other than Islam, the Quran not only gave him the right to rape her — it condoned and encouraged it, he insisted… ‘He told me that according to Islam he is allowed to rape an unbeliever. He said that by raping me, he is drawing closer to God … He kept telling me this is ibadah,’ she said, using a term from Islamic scripture meaning worship.” – “ISIS Enshrines a Theology of Rape” by The New York Times

Unrelenting Defiance. John witnessed those worshiping the Beast asking, “Who is like the beast? Who can wage war against it?” (13:4). In addition to being guilty of murder, idolatry, sexual immorality and thievery, all who worship the Beast would also present themselves as a powerful, resolute, unbeatable force. It is the reason for which they remain unrepentant. Islamists all around the world are conditioned by Mohammed’s teachings to view their cause as one that is unassailable, a view that is only reinforced with the rise and ideological growth of the ISIS Caliphate, the newest and most powerful terror entity in the history of the world (formerly Al Qaeda in Iraq, or AQI). Members and supporters of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria self-identify as Mohammed’s most loyal followers who adhere to Islamic teachings as prescribed by their prophet. They “truly believe that they are invincible and that if they practice what they believe to be true Islam, Allah will bless them and use them to conquer the Earth to bring all people to their form of Islam under their brand of Sharia” (Stratfor, The Islamic State’s Use of Extreme Violence by Scott Stewart).

Qur’an Sura 3:160, “If Allah helps you, none can overcome you …”

Qur’an Sura 4:141, “… never will Allah give the disbelievers over the believers a way to overcome them.”

Qur’an Sura 5:56, “And whoever takes Allah and His messenger … then surely the party of Allah are they that shall be triumphant.”

Qur’an Sura 58:20-21, “Indeed, the ones who oppose Allah and His Messenger – those will be among the most humbled. Allah has written, ‘I will surely overcome, I and My messengers.’ Indeed, Allah is Powerful and Exalted in Might.”

The “Image” That “Speaks”. Time and again, we read in the Old Testament how the word of the Lord would speak to His people through the prophets and how those words would serve to warn, guide or instruct them (cf. Deut. 18:21, Jer. 10:1, Ezek. 12:25). In the Book of Revelation, John foresaw the Islamic Beast somehow giving its “image” the power to “speak” which, in doing so, would then compel those who follow the Beast to kill and even behead those who held to the faith of Jesus and the Word of God. Five centuries after these prophetic texts of Revelation were penned by John, the self-declared prophet of Islam claimed to receive his own revelations from Allah which have been compiled into the Qur’an. Interestingly, the word “Qur’an” means “The Recitation” or “Continuous Recitation” or, in other words, to literally speak. In fact, Muslims even believe that the “revelations” Mohammed spoke are word-for-word directly from Allah and read the Qur’an as if it is Allah himself who is speaking directly in the first person to them through their prophet to warn, guide and instruct.

Before the death of Mohammed, the “Word of Allah” decreed that, because of their belief in the Trinity, Christians were to be viewed as “pagans” and guilty of “polytheism” who should be killed for rejecting the Qur’an and holding fast instead to the “corrupted” non-Islamic texts of the Bible. One of Mohammed’s latter “revelations” from Allah — commonly referred to as the “Verse of the Sword” — would become the final marching orders for all faithful Muslims throughout the ages, an immutable command from Allah for Muslims to either subjugate or annihilate non-Muslims holding to a faith other than Islam until only Allah is worshiped in all the earth (Sura 9:5). Mohammad’s loyal followers idolized and enforced those “divine” words then, and relentless efforts to institute an Islamic Caliphate serves to continually breathe new life into the Qur’an by idolizing and enforcing those same words as spoken by Allah, doing all it can to ensure that everyone both near and far hears and obeys what Allah has to say. Or else. As one ISIS recruiter puts it, “It is every Muslim’s duty to fight those of a different belief until only Allah is worshiped around the world.” Make no mistake about it. What we are witnessing today is exactly what John prophesied in Revelation.

Qur’an Sura 25:52, “… listen not to the Unbelievers [non-Muslims], but strive against them with the utmost strenuousness, with the Qur’an.”

Qur’an Sura 33:36, “… if any one disobeys Allah and His Messenger [Mohammed], he is indeed on a clearly wrong Path.”

Qur’an Sura 4:115, “… whoever opposes the Messenger [Mohammed] … We will give him what he has taken and drive him into Hell …”

Qur’an Sura 8:12, “… terrorize and behead those who believe in scriptures other than the Qur’an …”

Qur’an Sura 8:39, “And fight them until there is no more Fitnah (disbelief and polytheism: i.e. worshipping others besides Allah) and the religion (worship) will all be for Allah Alone [in the whole of the world]. But if they cease (worshipping others besides Allah), then certainly, Allah is All-Seer of what they do.”

Qur’an Sura 9:5, “… kill the polytheists wherever you find them and capture them and besiege them and sit in wait for them at every place of ambush. But if they should repent, establish [Islamic] prayer, and give zakah, let them go on their way…”

Islam and the Mark of the Beast

Revelation 13:16-17, “It also forced all people, great and small, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads, so that they could not buy or sell unless they had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of its name.”

The Mark. The “Mark of the Beast” has been the subject of debate all throughout Christendom, and today is no exception. Various interpretations and theories have attempted to link it to anything from the Papacy and Roman Catholicism, to Sunday worship, gematria, tattoos, modern day bar codes, microchips and any number of things in between. Interestingly enough, Islamic teaching also emphasizes the significance of a Muslim’s forehead and right hand in the Qur’an, with the forehead being physically marked during the worship of “Allah” with a “zebibah” (required in order to be saved from hellfire according to the Hadith) and the right hand with which a Muslim’s works would be judged by what is physically in their right hand on the Day of Judgment. Since the Qur’an falsely literalizes many aspects of Christian teachings that Mohammed either attempted to define (Mohammed falsely understood the term “Son of God” to be literal and the product of God and Mary having sexual intercourse) or that he had plagiarized from Judeo-Christian Scriptures and distorted to conform to his own theocratic dictates, this isn’t surprising. Even though the “Mark of the Beast” appears to be primarily spiritual in nature according to the Biblical text, a quick comparison between similar eschatological language found in the Bible and Islamic teachings reveal a striking, and antithetical, parallel:

Qur’an Sura 48:29, “Muhammad is the messenger of Allah. And those with him are hard against the disbelievers [non-Muslims] … The mark of them is on their foreheads from the traces of prostration …”

Sahih Bukhari, 9:93:532c, “The people said, ‘O Allah’s Apostle! Shall we see our Lord on the Day of Resurrection?’ The Prophet said, ‘… When Allah has finished His Judgments among the people, He will take whomever He will out of Hell through His Mercy. He will then order the angels to take out of the Fire all those who used to worship none but Allah … The angels will recognize them in the Fire by the marks of prostration (on their foreheads), for the Fire will eat up all the human body except the mark caused by prostration as Allah has forbidden the Fire to eat the mark of prostration. They will come out of the (Hell) Fire …’”

Qur’an Sura 18:49, “And the Book (one’s Record) will be placed (in the right hand for a believer in the Oneness of Allah, and in the left hand for a disbeliever in the Oneness of Allah) …”

Qur’an Sura 69:19, “Then, as for him who is given his record in his right hand, he will say: Take, read my book!”

Qur’an Sura 57:12, “On that day [of judgement] you will see the faithful men and the faithful women [Muslims] — their light running before them and on their right hand …”

In His foreknowledge, did God already outline His Divine judgment in Revelation against those who would follow after the Beast and “twist to their own destruction” (2 Peter 3:16) the words given to John? After all, if anyone adds to the things written therein, “God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life” (Revelation 22:18-19). Such are the mysteries of the Divine middle knowledge of an all-knowing God. Where the Qur’an promises Paradise on the Day of Judgment for those with a mark on their forehead and holding a book of “good works” they’ve done for the cause of Allah in their right hand, the Bible reveals a foreboding judgment for those with the Beast’s mark on their foreheads or in their right hands on the Day of Judgment. For those who follow after and worship the Beast, no mark on the forehead nor all the “good deeds” in their right hand will ever save them from eternal damnation. Instead of being granted Paradise, they will be granted a one-way ticket to the Lake of Fire.

Revelation 19:20, 20:12, 15, “… the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who in its presence had done the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image … And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done … And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.”

In conclusion, the summation of the law of YHWH, the One True God of the Bible, rests upon loving God and loving one another. Where no such love exists, however, all that remains is lawlessness. Before the return of Christ, the Book of Revelation paints a portrait of a war-mongering, predatory kingdom that would arise in the Middle East. Murder, idolatry, sexual immorality, thievery, capital punishment for refusing to worship as they worship, waging war against God and against His children. According to John, these are some of the most indisputable traits of those who follow after the Beast. And the taking of innocent lives, idolizing Mohammed and his words, bowing down to the Kaaba, touching and kissing the sacred Black Stone, incessant immoral sexual behavior (both spiritual and literal), and the complete expropriation of people and property through violent jihadist warfare for the cause of Allah and his religion, particularly against Jews and Christians, are given absolute sanction under Islamic law. Such “good Muslim conduct” is a definite reflection of the key behaviors outlined by the followers of the Beast in Revelation. It is unadulterated lawlessness that necessitates unending war against the God of Israel in order to bring about the desired destruction of the Israel of God. It is the precise goal that Satan, “enraged with the woman” (Revelation 12:17), seeks to accomplish.

Killing those who believe in YHWH and His Messiah and destroying as many churches as possible for the cause of Allah and his Messenger is Islam’s twisted idea of community planning and development. But as dark as the clouds may become for Christians all over the world today, there is Hope for tomorrow. Our faith rests upon a God who is mighty to save, upon a Creator who has already made known the end from the beginning (Isaiah 46:10). And one thing He’s made known is this: Even if the Islamic world were to succeed in destroying every last church of brick and stone built upon the face of the earth, they will never succeed in destroying the Church that is built upon the Rock.

Daniel 7:21-22, “I was watching; and the same horn was making war against the saints, and prevailing against them, until the Ancient of Days came, and a judgment was made in favor of the saints of the Most High, and the time came for the saints to possess the kingdom.”

2 Thessalonians 2:8, “And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming.”

Daniel 7:27, “Then the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people, the saints of the Most High. His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey Him.’”

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For Muslim Readers

Here is a copy of a random page from one of the Qur’ans where you can see the variant readings listed in the margin. Which is the most accurate? Approximately two thirds of the verses of the Qur’an have some type of variant, which total approximately 4000 variants. Out of the 4000 examples, which reading is the most correct?

For any Muslim who may be reading, please consider the following questions: How can the Qur’an truly be a “timeless” and “eternal” miracle from Allah as you’ve been taught if earlier verses revealed to Mohammed needed to be cancelled out and replaced with later verses? A timeless and eternal book would necessitate that all verses be true for all time and not require numerous cancellations over the course of just 23 years. And why would Allah expect you to ignore those early verses and follow the new-and-improved verses when the Qur’an isn’t even arranged chronologically? If the Qur’an were the divine word of God, why does it contradict modern science by claiming that the sun revolves around the earth and not the other way around (sura 21:33; 36:38, 40 and 91:1-2)? Why would the Qur’an claim that stars are actually close to us when the opposite is true (sura 37:6)? Why would the Qur’an claim that bones are formed first and later covered with flesh (sura 23:14) when modern science now knows this to be false? How could the Qur’an fail to identify where male sperm originates (sura 86:6-7)?

The prophet of Islam, Mohammed, did not believe that the Bible was corrupt while claiming to be receiving the Qur’an and called upon Christians to adhere to the Scriptures they possessed. According to archaeology, however, the Scriptures we have today are the same texts they had then. And, as demonstrated above, those Scriptures accurately predicted the rise of Islam. If they accurately predicted the rise of Islam, then chances are that they’ve accurately predicted its fall and the eternal damnation of its followers as well.

In light of the fact that even Mohammed himself did not know for certain what would happen to him in the afterlife, why should any Christian who knows beyond a shadow of a doubt that they are guaranteed eternal life through faith in the Jesus of the Bible give up the Christian faith of Jesus for the Islamic faith of Mohammed which we know can guarantee us nothing? You, too, can have the same guarantee that we as Christians share. All you have to do is believe in and put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. Seek the Lord while He may be found, for today is your day to truly believe and tomorrow may be too late. Would you be willing to pray with an open heart and ask God to guide you to His truth, even if that truth is found in Christianity, and not in Islam?

Qur’an Sura 24:35, “Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth… Allah doth guide whom He will to His light…”

2 Corinthians 11:14-15, “… for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.”

Qur’an Sura 3:54, “… Allah is the best of the deceivers.”

Revelation 13:4; 20:10, 15, “… And they worshiped the dragon [Satan], for he had given his authority to the beast, and they worshiped the beast … and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever … And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.”