The Islamic Antichrist (29 page)

Okay, so let’s say that I have demonstrated that not every single last nation of the earth will attack Jerusalem with the Antichrist, but instead enough nations that Zechariah and Joel were justified in using such emphatic expressions. Why am I taking so much time making this point in a chapter on prayer? Simple. The reason is that I believe that, while the Bible indeed gives us a general prophetic framework of what will happen in the last days,
many of the specific details have yet to be determined
. God did not reveal every final detail for a reason.
He rarely does. If He did, then we would be justified in simply waiting for the Antichrist to come and get us. We would be entirely justified in digging holes in the ground as secret hideouts to store our survival food. But instead, God desires us to actually wrestle with Him in prayer, not only for our own souls and those of our families, but also for the very nations that we live in and call home. God did not, for instance, warn David Pawson that Islam may indeed eventually take over England in order to give him fair time to flee, but rather to warn the church in England to join together and fight for the very soul of their country through prevailing prayer! Islam may have an attitude of almost fatalistic resignation to Allah’s will: “
Inshallah
” (if it be Allah’s will…it will be), they say. But we serve a God who asks us to participate with Him as He affects the nations. We serve a God who expects us to spread
His
beautiful kingdom throughout the earth through preaching (invitation)
and prayer
.

The point here is that if you find yourself feeling a tad hopeless after reading the scenario that has been opened up in this book, do not fear; you can always do something. You can pray, you can pray, and you can pray some more. And you can join with those doing likewise. Never underestimate the ability of prevailing prayer to affect reality and the final end of
any
matter. Remember, the story is not over until it has come to pass. I believe the lack of, or the presence of, an abundance of prevailing prayer will determine the final chapter in the story of
many
nations. The Lord has given us the ability to affect the measure of His mercy versus the measure of His judgment that will touch our homes, our cities, our regions, and our nations. Every nation will receive its own measure of God’s judgment. Indeed, every person on earth will undergo a deep refining process during the last three and a half years of this terrible period.
Everything that can be shaken will be shaken
. So now is the time to cry out for God’s mercy for the days to come.

I should also mention another very important aspect of prayer. I also believe that prayer can forestall the judgment of God and buy more time for positive changes. We must remember that the reason that the Lord has held off His return thus far is for the sake of more people coming to know Him and be saved. “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9).

There are today dramatic revivals in many nations that would be cut short if the end came now, and there may very well be future revivals that would never take place if the end came now. While I personally believe that the day will indeed come when all of the terrifying prophecies in the Bible will come to pass, I believe that we can beseech God to give us more time and to pour out revival on our nations before these dark days come. Prayer can forestall His wrath in order that His mercy will have more time to work in the heart of a nation.

God came and spoke to Moses. He said that he was about to judge and destroy the children of Israel. For most of us, that would have been enough. God said it—it was a done deal. But Moses would not accept it. He interceded with God:

“I have seen these people,” the Lord said to Moses, “and they are a stiff-necked people. Now leave me alone so that my anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them. Then I will make you into a great nation.” But Moses sought the favor of the Lord his God. “O Lord,” he said, “why should your anger burn against your people, whom you brought out of Egypt with great power and a mighty hand? Why should the Egyptians say, ‘It was with evil intent that he brought them out, to kill them in the mountains and to wipe them off the face of the earth’? Turn from your fierce anger; relent and do not bring disaster on your people. Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, to whom you swore by your own self: ‘I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and I will give your descendants all this land I promised them, and it will be their inheritance forever.’” Then the Lord relented and did not bring on his people the disaster he had threatened. (Exodus 32:9–14)

Now go back and rewind this scene. First God speaks to Moses and says, “Now leave me alone so that my anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them. Then I will make you into a great nation.” Okay, press pause. Now let’s insert a few theologians into the scene at this point to discuss whether or not God will destroy the Israelites. “Of course He will,” they all agree, “God said it and that settles it.” Many might argue the same thing today. Maybe you feel as though judgment is inevitable for our nation. Okay, fine. What are you doing about it? Are you complaining really loudly? Or are you interceding for mercy like Moses? Indeed, maybe God will pour out His judgment on your nation. Or perhaps He will desist.

Seek the Lord, all you humble of the land, you who do what he commands. Seek righteousness, seek humility; perhaps you will be sheltered on the day of the Lord’s anger. (Zephaniah 2:3)

“Even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.” Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity.
Who knows
? He may turn and have pity and leave behind a blessing. (Joel 2:12–14, emphasis mine)

I personally believe that we now live in a crucial time when the future of many nations hangs in the balance. Now is not the time to fear. Nor is it the time to gripe. Now is the time to pray!

I want to end this chapter by quoting a portion of an article written by prominent Bible teacher and author Francis Frangipane. I felt particularly inspired by Francis’s article as he addressed this very issue that we are discussing and I believe you will as well. The title of the article is “This Day We Fight!”

The conflict before our generation is no less threatening than Nazism and Soviet Imperialism. Radical Islam is a demonic power that seeks world domination. We cannot lose the war against terrorism or morality. We must not open to fear or unbelief, for we were born to fight and win the battles of our times. Again the argument arises, “I was taught that life is supposed to only grow more evil until Christ returns.”
Yes, such a day will come, but we must not assume that it has arrived. In every age God requires we walk as overcomers
. The very fact that there are nations today that are experiencing great harvests and breakthroughs reminds us there is still time for our nations. One of our readers sent us the following excerpt from Aragon, king of Gondor, in
The Return of the King
. The book’s author, J.R.R. Tolkien, an Englishman, denies his work had anything to do with the Great War. Yet, much of his manuscript was written during the height of WWII. The book is a metaphor of all the battles that each generation must face to conquer evil…

Hopelessly outnumbered, King Aragon sought to inspire his men against what seemed like sure defeat against the swarming hordes of their hellish enemies. Riding in front of his gathered, but rather lowly army, he shouted, “I see in your eyes the same fear that would break the heart of me. A day may come when the courage of men fails, when we forsake our friends, and break all bonds of fellowship.
But it is not this day. This day, we fight…by all you hold dear on this good Earth, I bid you stand with me, men of the West
!”
¹

To which I can only add a very heartfelt
Amen
!

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

RESPONDING WITH OUTREACH

W
hile the power and necessity of prayer are indisputable
, there is another dimension to our response that is absolutely necessary. We must also reach out to Muslims with the consummate Christian message of good news. It is a message of freedom to those held captive by the false Islamic gospel of fear. It is a message of love and acceptance to those who have never really known what it feels like to be accepted and fully loved by God. It is the message that says, “God loves you this much. And here’s how He proved it forever…” We must never take the Gospel message for granted. We must never underestimate its power. Indeed, “
It is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes
” (Romans 1:16).

REACHING OUT

How can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? (Romans 10:14)

The purpose of this chapter is not to discuss methods of outreach to Muslims, but rather the spirit in which God desires us to reach out to Muslims in order that not only they, but also we, might be transformed. Nevertheless, I want to make just a few comments regarding outreach to Muslims. There are of course two primary ways that Christians can reach out to Muslims at home or abroad. While most Christians might
assume that plenty of missionaries already labor away among Muslim peoples, consider this statistic: only 2 percent of the Protestant missionary force is reaching out to the Muslims of the world, who make up practically half of the non-Christian world population.
¹
That’s astounding, and much could be said about this. But while the majority of those who read this book may never actually move themselves and their families overseas to become missionaries to Muslims in foreign lands, that does not mean, however, that outreach to Muslims is not possible. Today, with approximately eight million Muslims living in America, America is part of the Islamic world. The same can be said of any number of Western countries. Most Muslims have moved to America from countries where you or I could face imprisonment or death for sharing the Gospel message with them. But here they are in America—the land of the free—and most Christians ignore their presence. Has there ever been a time when Jesus’ words rang more true? “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few” (Luke 10:3).

If you are a follower of Jesus then I encourage you to meditate on Jesus’ words when he told us all to “go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” To what degree are you obeying this commandment?

Perhaps you think that outreach to Muslims is impossible. Perhaps after reading this book you are more afraid of Muslims than you previously were. Let’s talk about those feelings.

A MUSLIM JUST LIKE ME

After reading this book, you may be surprised to find out that I actually love Muslims. And if you are someone who has been embraced by the love of God in Christ, then you should too. One of my biggest fears in writing this book was that it would foster a negative reaction toward Muslims. Of course the natural reaction after reading so much negative information is probably to shrink
back from Muslims in fear. But when faced with such fear, the Lord does not want us to retreat, but rather to boldly shine forth his love to those in the darkness,
despite our fears
. Let me declare very loudly: “Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 6:12). In other words,
Muslims are not the enemy
! This book is not about Muslims—it is about Islam. It’s about the spiritual forces and deceptive doctrines that hold people captive. Despite the fact that I’ve argued that Muslims follow an “antichrist” religion, I want to make it clear that as followers of Christ we need to see in every Muslim, never an enemy, but someone created in the image of God—
just like us
.

As a matter of fact, this is perhaps one of the issues that takes many Westerners by surprise when they begin to get to know Muslims. Instead of discovering small-minded, angry people, many are taken aback to discover that most Muslims are just like anybody else. I have met many very warm, very kind, and very intelligent Muslims. And the reason that they
seem
just like us is because they
are
just like us. The majority of Muslims that you meet sincerely desire to live a good life before God and do what pleases Him. So this is how we should view most Muslims: as genuine God seekers.