Grace Through Faith: Thereӳ a lot of interest in the role of Islam in the End Times. And from what Iӭ reading, a lot of misunderstanding, too. Recent surveys are shedding some light.

Itӳ becoming clear that Moslems are increasing in number faster than any other religious group in the world. Their current growth rate is four times faster than that of Christians. According to a recent survey by The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, those who practice Islam now make up nearly one-fourth of the worldӳ population at 1.57 billion members, second only to Christianity. This is revolutionary in nature and even though itӳ happening right before our eyes, most Western Christians havenӴ even noticed. And not only are Moslems the fastest growing religious group in the world, they also hold that distinction in the United States, Canada and Europe, with Europe perhaps being the model of where Canada and then the US are headed.

Comparing the current birth rates of native Europeans with Europeӳ Moslem immigrant population leads us to one very clear and surprising conclusion: the Europe we have known is very quickly changing into what some refer to as Eurabia, where Europe will soon find itself under the power and control of Islam. Today there are more Moslems in Germany than there are in Lebanon. Franceӳ Moslem population, while fewer in number than Germanyӳ, represents a greater percentage of French citizenry, and given the current rate at which church buildings are being converted there may soon be more mosques in England than functioning churches.

Following the rapture of the Church, Islam will be the most populous religious system on Earth by a wide margin. Whether you believe that Islam is a religion of peace or not, itӳ pretty obvious that theyӲe not going to just go away after the rapture and abandon their long held dream of becoming the worldӳ dominant religion just at the point of realizing it.

What About Ezekiel 38?

DonӴ make the mistake of thinking that Islam will no longer be a viable religious force after the Battle of Ezekiel 38 either. According to The Pew Forum report, the countries who will unite against Israel and be defeated there are a small percentage of the total Islamic population. For example, the four largest Islamic countries by population arenӴ even involved. In fact, two thirds of all the worldӳ Moslems live in 10 countries and of those only Turkey (5) and Iran (6) are named by Ezekiel. Rough estimates indicate that as little as 15% of the Islamic world will be represented by the forces aligned against Israel, and remember itӳ only their soldiers who die in battle, not their total populations.

Compare that to what will likely happen to the 2.2 billion strong ԃhristianԠworld in the Rapture and itӳ not hard to see that Islam will still be the strongest religious force on Earth as Danielӳ 70th Week begins. (After all, none of them will be raptured.) Islam would be the obvious choice for a man who wants to use a religious system to gain control of the world.

And remember, the anti-Christ wonӴ be confirming a covenant with Israel for the purpose of helping them. HeӬl be doing it to help himself. By means of peace heӬl deceive many, Daniel warned (Daniel 8:25). And with the exception of the fleeing Jewish remnant, the world will be deceived, saying Ԑeace and safetyԠjust as sudden destruction comes upon them (1 Thes. 5:9). But God will not be deceived. Heӳ already on the record, calling it a covenant with death. (Isaiah 28:15) But doesnӴ this covenant serve Godӳ purpose, you ask? Well of course everything that happens serves Godӳ purpose, but that doesnӴ mean everything that happens is good for man. The Jews will think theyӲe getting a guarantee of peace but God will use the covenant to usher in Danielӳ 70th Week, a time when HeӬl completely destroy the nations, and purify His covenant people. ItӬl be anything but peaceful.

Letӳ also remember how crafty the enemy is. For example, MI-6, the British intelligence service, has just confirmed that Iranian Pres. Ahmadinejad, who could be one of the leaders of the Islamic coalition in Ezekiel 38, was born Jewish. The family converted when he was 4 years old. Knowing that, how could we say the anti-Christ (who some believe has to be Jewish) could not come from an Islamic country that was once part of the Roman Empire? Please, Iӭ not saying Mr. Ahmadinejad is the anti-Christ. Iӭ only saying that someone like him could be.

Almost 4 years ago I first reported on the similarities between Islamic prophecies of al Mahdi and Christian prophecies of the anti-Christ. I noted how both are said to come on the scene during a time of great turmoil on Earth, both come claiming a desire to restore peace, both have a seven year reign, both head a one world religion and one world government, both claim supernatural origins, and both reigns end in a battle between good and evil that brings Earthӳ final judgment. It almost sounds as if theyӲe the same person.

At that time the majority of prophecy students were still convinced that the anti-Christ had to be of Western European origin, aligned somehow with the Roman Catholic Church. But since then IӶe become aware of more and more who are taking a second look at this traditional view, and are considering the possibility of a coming world leader whose roots are in Islam.

A Lesson From Daniel

When Daniel had his vision of Gentile Dominion, the period of Gentile rule over the Earth, it came to him in the form of 4 great beasts. The first was a lion, representing Babylon. The second was a bear, the Medo-Persians, and the third was a leopard, Greece. Then in Daniel 7:7 he said, ԁfter that, in my vision at night I looked, and there before me was a fourth beast-terrifying and frightening and very powerful. It had large iron teeth; it crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left. It was different from all the former beasts, and it had ten horns.ԠThis is a reference to Rome. In animal imagery, the horn demonstrates authority, and when used symbolically the number 10 denotes the completion of divine order. This 4th beast would have complete authority over Earth and would never totally relinquish it until the Lord comes to take it by force. (Daniel 2: 44)

The anti-Christ will make his first Biblical appearance in Rev. 6:2, disguised as the man on the white horse. According to Daniel 8:25 heӬl seem to be a great peacemaker, but his intent will be to conquer the world. His true identity wonӴ be revealed until Revelation 13:1-2 where it becomes clear that heӳ been empowered by Satan. Verses 1- 2 describe him thus. And I saw a beast coming out of the sea. He had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on his horns, and on each head a blasphemous name. The beast I saw resembled a leopard, but had feet like those of a bear and a mouth like that of a lion. The dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority.

Compare Rev. 13 to Daniel 7 and youӬl see that while the 10 horns show that heӬl have all the authority of the fourth gentile kingdom, his identifying characteristics will be more like the first three of Danielӳ beasts. Babylon, Persia, and Greece were all oriented toward the East. Only Rome had a western orientation (which made it different from the other three, as Daniel noted) Could this mean that the anti-Christ will also look first to the East (Isalm) to consolidate his power?

Time will tell. In his interpretation of Nebuchadnezzarӳ dream, Daniel told us how the end times version of the 4th kingdom would be characterized by inner conflict. He said that where it had once been as two strong legs of iron (the Eastern and Western divisions of Biblical times) rebuilding it at the end it would be like trying to mix iron and clay. (Daniel 2:40-43) He could have been describing some of the social unrest weӶe witnessed in several European countries as their native populations have not always responded well to Moslem immigration.

My purpose in writing this is not in any way to confirm or endorse the views of some experts on Islam whoӶe whoӶe burst on the scene recently with all sorts of new interpretations of Christian prophecy. Itӳ to remind us all to keep our eyes open. Things are happening fast and will continue to challenge our traditional perspective. Daniel was told that as the End of the Age approaches knowledge will increase (Daniel 12:4). That means weӬl be given a clearer understanding of how events will unfold than those who came before us. This will happen through careful observation, actually seeing the pieces of the puzzle fall into place and comparing them to Scripture. But God knows the end from the beginning, so none of this is new to Him. Where we see change, He just sees a closer alignment of Earthly events with Heavenly truth. Itӳ time to keep an open Bible handy as we watch the headlines because we now have another reason to search the Scriptures daily (Acts 17:11). You can almost hear the footsteps of the Messiah. 10-10-09