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Dueling Prophecies in the Middle East
(03-17-11)

The Middle East is home turf to Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The history of each faith is deeply rooted in the region; and all three have prophetic traditions that point to the future. Are such prophecies adding to the present turmoil?

First the disclaimer: none of these religions possesses only one view of the future. All three contain multiple perspectives. Nevertheless, some prophetic views are better known than others and may serve as examples for comparison.

Among American evangelicals, for example, probably the best known school of prophecy is dispensationalism. First developed in Great Britain in the 1830s by John Nelson Darby, it came to America after the Civil War and by World War I had won over many self-identified fundamentalists and Pentecostals. Though dispensationalism is held by only about one-third of contemporary American evangelicals, it is by far the best known of the evangelical prophetic alternatives, thanks to best sellers (Hal Lindsey’s The Late Great Planet Earth, Tim LaHaye’s Left Behind series, and the Scofield Reference Bible) and the many pro-Israel organizations that they have founded since the 1980s.

Dispensationalists believe that the Bible contains a detailed scenario of the Last Days. At the center of their expectations is the restored State of Israel, whose founding they had been predicting since the early 19th century. Before Israel’s final destiny can be carried out, however, God must rapture the church, both living and dead, to heaven.

Based on their interpretation of Daniel, Ezekiel, and Revelation, dispensationalists believe that Israel will be surrounded by hostile neighbors, which eventually culminates in an invasion from the north and south by Russia and her Arab allies. But God destroys them before they can destroy Israel. Shaken to its core, Israel then turns to a charismatic European leader to ensure its future security. This protector is really the Antichrist in disguise. After a period of peace, the Antichrist betrays the Jews: he defiles the newly rebuilt Jewish Temple in Jerusalem, declares himself to be God, and demands to be worshipped. Against all who refuse he unleashes the Great Tribulation that makes Hitler’s holocaust look tame in comparison.

Most Jews are killed during Antichrist’s onslaught. Those who survive pray for the Messiah to rescue them. Just as Antichrist’s forces gather at the Battle of Armageddon (a valley northeast of Jerusalem) for a final assault on the Jews, Jesus arrives with his raptured saints. He destroys Antichrist’s army and is hailed as the Messiah by the Jewish remnant. Jesus then assumes David’s throne in Jerusalem, animal sacrifices resume in the Temple, Satan is bound, and the millennial kingdom begins. At the end of this period, Satan is let loose and tries one more time to overthrow God’s plan, but is easily defeated, just in time for the last resurrection and the judgment. (Timothy P. Weber, On the Road to Armageddon: How Evangelicals Became Israel’s Best Friend)

Jews have a prophetic tradition too, though most Jews today pay it little mind. Israeli Jews are mostly secular; and American Jews are divided into a number of groups in which prophetic study is rare. Among those who still study the prophecies in the Hebrew Bible are the Orthodox who look for the coming of Messiah and the so-called Religious Zionists who see prophetic significance in the founding of Israel in 1948 and promote the building of a Third Temple in Jerusalem.

In Israel such people can be found in a variety of organizations called the Temple Movement, which is considered provocative and dangerous by most Israelis. People in this movement want to rebuild the Temple by removing the Muslim holy places on the Temple Mount. These views and occasional demonstrations often precipitate violent clashes with local Muslims. They believe that God re-established the State of Israel so that the Messiah can come and the nation can be redeemed. To succeed, God’s plan requires Jewish hegemony in the Holy Land and the expulsion of Islamic influence in Jerusalem and the rest of Israel.

Islam also has a prophetic tradition. The Qur’an and the Hadith (a collection of the Prophet’s sayings and experiences) contain prophetic teachings which mainly focus on the fate of Islam and its opponents during and shortly after Muhammad’s lifetime. From these sources there arose a classical Muslim prophetic tradition that has been studied for centuries.

Such studies have not been fruitful in explaining current events or addressing issues following the Six Day War of 1967. Consequently, a new wave of prophetic teachers has emerged that have supplemented the classical prophetic tradition with new sources of information, including the Old and New Testaments and insights from dispensationalist Bible teachers! Though the classical scholars reject this approach, the new school of Muslim apocalyptists are extremely popular and are shaping Muslim expectations about the End Times, especially among the Sunnis, who make up about 90% of Muslims. (David Cook, Contemporary Muslim Apocalyptic Literature)

Not surprisingly, such teachers find it hard to agree on prophetic details, but major themes are detectable that include three main prophetic figures. The first is the Mahdi, the Muslims’ messianic hero of the Last Days. He will appear on the scene to restore Islam’s fortunes and re-establish the Caliphate, the Muslim Empire under Shari’a law. As the Mahdi expands the Caliphate, he faces fierce opposition, first by resistant fellow Muslims and then by the forces of the Antichrist who leads hostile Jews and Christians against Islam. A series of apocalyptic wars ensue, including the Battle of Armageddon, where the Western powers attempt to save Israel from the advancing armies of the Mahdi. Over time the Western powers are decimated (often by nuclear weapons); and the Jews are destroyed. Finally in a decisive battle between the Mahdi and what remains of Antichrist’s forces around Jerusalem, the second coming of Jesus occurs. Jesus kills the Antichrist, orders Christians to convert to Islam (and kills all those who refuse), and assists the Mahdi in securing the final victory of Islam around the world. After 40 years, Jesus dies and is buried next to Muhammad to await the resurrection and judgment.

A variation of this prophetic scenario is taught by the Shi’ites (who make up 10% of Muslims). They trace themselves from Ali, Muhammad’s cousin and son-in-law, who was killed in a dispute over selecting the Prophet’s successor. The followers of Ali believed that there would be only twelve Imams (leaders of the Islamic community) before the End. When the 11th Imam died in the late 9th century, his son and successor suddenly disappeared. Shi’ites believe that Allah hid the 12th Imam (in a state they call “occultation”) until it is time to reveal him as the Mahdi.

The leaders of the Iranian Revolution fully embrace this scenario and believe that Iran will play a central role in the unfolding of Allah’s plan. Iran’s task is to establish a political and religious system suitable for the Mahdi’s program. Iranians expect to pay a heavy price for doing so. Antichrist (the Western powers) will launch attacks against them which will result in many Iranian martyrs. Such losses are inevitable and should be welcomed, since they lead to the complete destruction of Israel. Like the Sunnis, the Shi’ites predict the second coming of Jesus to defeat Antichrist, affirm Islam, and help the Mahdi establish the Caliphate around the world.

It is striking how the Christian and Muslim prophecies contain common themes—the Antichrist, the Battle of Armageddon, and the Second Coming of Christ, though they are defined in very different terms and contribute to very different ends.

Probably the most striking difference between the two concerns the role of Israel in the Last Days.

• For dispensationalists, the unfolding of end-time prophecy cannot occur until Israel is restored to the Holy Land and stays there.
• For Muslims, the coming of the End is impossible without the utter destruction of Israel first.

It would be difficult to imagine more diametrically opposed perspectives than these. President Ahmadinejad of Iran believes in the coming of the 12th Imam and has said so at the UN and other international venues. The attempt of Iran to secure nuclear weapons is especially ominous when seen in relation to this view of the future.

The other prophetic scenarios have political implications as well. Politically-engaged dispensationalists lobby hard to ensure that the USA supports Israel “no matter what” and opposes any concessions to the Palestinians or a two-state solution. Religious Zionists in Israel are not afraid to incite Muslims in order to carry out their prophetic expectations.

Where does that leave Christians who do not accept a dispensationalist interpretation of the future—and that includes most of them? Is it possible to seek a just solution in the Middle East or are such efforts hopeless? Are those who seek peace actually opposing God’s plan?

Last updated: 8/6/2011 9:19:34 AM