Source: http://p2alm.com/2013/08/18/do-christians-and-muslims-both-worship-god-is-yeshua-and-allah-the-same-being/
Many Muslims will tell you that Christians and Muslims both worship God. This declaration is often offered as a response to the noticeable differences in the way Christians and Muslims live out what they believe. It is only one attempt among many to quell fears that Islam is not really a violent belief system in spite of its fruits.
Ultimately, the “fact” that Christians and Muslims both worship God becomes an evangelistic tool toward Christians, atheists and people of various religions. If this were true and we both do worship God, one might ask why they would rather people become Muslim than Christian and worship Allah rather than Yahweh.
Why the need to evangelize to Christians at all? Essentially, this idea is just part of a giant public relations campaign to verbally promote Islam as a religion of peace in order to make it acceptable worldwide.
Anyone who reads the Bible and the Quran (along with the other Islamic writings) can tell right away that God and Allah are not the same. But, rather than compare verses between the Bible and the Quran, I’m going to take a different approach to answering these frequent questions to show you the most striking and astonishing difference between Yahweh and Allah.
Comparing Prophecies
I’m going to show you a comparison of Islamic prophecy with Bible prophecy (yes, Islam has end-time prophecy, too) and in doing so we will be able to actually identify beyond a reasonable doubt that Allah is a real being who is familiar to all of us whether we are Christians or not. What follows is a concise comparison of the main figures in Christian and Islamic eschatology (prophecy).
Christian Bible prophecy tells of three main persons of darkness and destruction who will be present on the earth at the time of the end. They are the Antichrist, the False Prophet and the Dragon, or Satan. After a time, all three will be defeated and destroyed by the returning Christian Messiah, Jesus Christ.
Islamic prophecy also tells of three main persons who will be present on the earth at the time of the end and who will wage war against a returning Jesus Christ. They are the Mahdi, the Muslim Jesus (Isa) and Allah. Islam also has an “antichrist” figure called the Dajjal. All three will wage war against the Dajjal. The Dajjal is, of course, the biblical Jesus Christ.
Let’s take a brief look at the Islamic end-time persons.
The Mahdi is Islam’s awaited messiah. Muslims believe he will come to help them defeat the Christians and the Jews at the time of the end. He will rule the entire world. The Mahdi is the biblical Antichrist.
Isa is Islam’s Jesus figure. Muslims believe Jesus was a great prophet but they do not believe He was the Son of God or Savior of the world. The Muslim Jesus will “return” and deny he ever said he was God. He will join together with the Mahdi. He will teach people about Islam and eventually direct people to worship the Mahdi. He is obviously not the real Jesus. The Muslim Jesus is the biblical False Prophet.
The Dajjal is Islam’s Antichrist figure. According to Islam, the Dajjal will return and claim to be Jesus Christ. He’ll claim to be divine and He’ll fight for Israel. The Dajjal is actually the biblical Jesus Christ who returns as the King of kings.
In other words, Islamic end-time prophecy is the polar opposite of Christian end-time prophecy. Wrap your mind around that one. It’s an astounding realization!
I think you are already beginning to see the direction I’m headed, but let’s take a deeper look at two of these persons via Joel Richardson’s excellent research from his first of two outstanding books on biblical end-time prophecy “The Islamic Antichrist: The Shocking Truth about the Real Nature of the Beast”.
The Mahdi
The coming Mahdi is the Islamic savior of the world.After reviewing the various Islamic traditions and opinions of the Muslim scholars, let’s now review and walk through a list of what we have learned about the person and the mission of the Mahdi as he exists in the minds of the 1.5 billion Muslims worldwide. Remember, this is the man that the Muslims of the world eagerly await:
- The Mahdi is Islam’s primary Messiah figure.
- He will be a descendant of Muhammad and will bear Muhammad’s name (Muhammad bin Abdullah).
- He will be a very devout Muslim.
- He will be an unparalleled spiritual, political, and military world leader.
- He will emerge after a period of great turmoil and suffering upon the earth.
- He will establish justice and righteousness throughout the world and eradicate tyranny and oppression.
- He will be the caliph and imam (vice regent and leader) of Muslims worldwide.
- He will lead a world revolution and establish a new world order.
- He will lead military action against all those who oppose him.
- He will invade many countries.
- He will make a seven-year peace treaty with a Jew of priestly lineage.
- He will conquer Israel for Islam and lead the “faithful Muslims” in a final slaughter/battle against Jews.
- He will establish the new Islamic world headquarters from Jerusalem.
- He will rule for seven years (possibly as much as eight or nine).
- He will cause Islam to be the only religion practiced on earth.
- He will appear riding a white horse (possibly symbolic).
- He will discover some previously undiscovered biblical manuscripts that he will use to argue with the Jews and cause some Jews to convert to Islam.
- He will also rediscover the Ark of the Covenant from the Sea of Galilee, which he will bring to Jerusalem.
- He will have supernatural power from Allah over the wind and the rain.
- He will posses and distribute enormous amounts of wealth.
- He will be loved by all the people of the earth. 1
After comparing Scripture to the above Islamic traditions, Richardson writes, “So in conclusion, we see that several of the most unique and distinguishing aspects of the biblical Antichrist’s person, mission, and actions are matched to quite an amazing degree by the descriptions of the Mahdi as found in the Islamic traditions. And now, even further, we see that Muslim scholars actually apply Bible verses about the Antichrist to their awaited savior, the Mahdi. This must be seen as quite ironic, if not entirely prophetic.” 2
The Islamic Mahdi is the biblical Anti-Christ.
And the dragon stood on the sand of the seashore. Then I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads, and on his horns were ten diadems, and on his heads were blasphemous names. And the beast which I saw was like a leopard, and his feet were like those of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. And the dragon gave him his power and his throne and great authority. I saw one of his heads as if it had been slain, and his fatal wound was healed. And the whole earth was amazed and followed after the beast; they worshiped the dragon because he gave his authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast, and who is able to wage war with him?” There was given to him a mouth speaking arrogant words and blasphemies, and authority to act for forty-two months was given to him. And he opened his mouth in blasphemies against God, to blaspheme His name and His tabernacle, that is, those who dwell in heaven. It was also given to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them, and authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation was given to him. All who dwell on the earth will worship him, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been slain. [Revelation 13:1-8 NASB]
“And he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate, even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate.” [Daniel 9:27 NASB]
The Muslim Jesus (Isa)
The name “Jesus” as used below refers to the Muslim Jesus, not the biblical Jesus Christ. So, where number ten says “Antichrist”, it is referring to the biblical Jesus Christ or the Dajjal, Islam’s Antichrist figure.Now let’s review the various defining characteristics and actions of the Muslim Jesus upon his return to the earth:
Jesus is said to return to the earth in the last days near a mosque in Damascus.
He will arrive at a time when the Mahdi and his army will be preparing to pray.
The Mahdi will ask Jesus to lead the prayer, but Jesus will decline in direct reference to the Mahdi, whom Jesus declares to be the leader of the Muslims. He will then pray behind the Mahdi as a subordinate.
He will be a faithful Muslim.
He will make a pilgrimage to Mecca.
He will visit Muhammad’s grave and salute Muhammad, whereby Muhammad will return the salute from the grave.
He will destroy Christianity.
He will repeal the jizyah tax, thus leaving Jews and Christians with the only options of conversion to Islam or death.
He will establish Islamic shariah law throughout the entire earth.
He will kill the Antichrist and his followers, made up largely of Jews and women.
He will remain on the earth for roughly forty years during which time he will marry, have children, and then die. 3
After comparing Scripture to the above Islamic traditions, Richardson writes, “Muslims await a man who will claim to be Jesus Christ… In the Bible, we see that it is for these very purposes that Satan will empower his False Prophet.” 4
The Muslim Jesus is the biblical False Prophet.
“So if they say to you, ‘Behold, He is in the wilderness,’ do not go out, or, ‘Behold, He is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe them. [Matthew 24:26 NASB]
Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb and he spoke as a dragon. He exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence. And he makes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose fatal wound was healed. He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down out of heaven to the earth in the presence of men. And he deceives those who dwell on the earth because of the signs which it was given him to perform in the presence of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who *had the wound of the sword and has come to life. And it was given to him to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast would even speak and cause as many as do not worship the image of the beast to be killed. And he causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves, to be given a mark on their right hand or on their forehead, and he provides that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast or the number of his name. [Revelation 13:11-17 NASB]
So, is Allah God?
At the beginning of this article we asked the questions: Do Christians and Muslims both worship God? Is Yahweh and Allah the same being?God’s Word tells us that at the time of the end, the Antichrist will establish a world-wide military, economic and religious state with the help of the False Prophet. Islamic eschatology also describes these same individuals.
In examining the paradox between Christian and Islamic end-time prophecy, we can know that the Mahdi is the biblical Antichrist and the Muslim Jesus is the biblical False Prophet. Since we know from Scripture that the Antichrist and the False Prophet are both empowered by Satan, who do you suppose Allah is when we plug him into this unholy trinity?
And the beast which I saw was like a leopard, and his feet were like those of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. And the dragon gave him his power and his throne and great authority. [Revelation 13:2 NASB]
The unholy trinity is the biblical Antichrist (the Mahdi), the biblical False Prophet (the Muslim Jesus) and Satan the Dragon (Allah).
And I saw coming out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs; for they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them together for the war of the great day of God, the Almighty. [Revelation 16:13-14 NASB]
And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; [Revelation 20:2 NASB]
Can there possibly be a more distinct contrast between God and Allah?
Knowing this, consider what Christ said in the Olivet Discourse:
“They will make you outcasts from the synagogue, but an hour is coming for everyone who kills you to think that he is offering service to God. “These things they will do because they have not known the Father or Me. [John 16:2-3 NASB]
Is this not what Islam, the most antichristian religion to ever exist, does?
Wake up, Church!
At a time in history when the Church is most needed, we are asleep specifically when it comes to Bible prophecy. For decades the Church has been taught errant Bible interpretation claiming that we are awaiting a revived Roman Empire. This, plus the false idea that Christ’s return could happen at any moment (i.e. pre-tribulation rapture) and that nothing needs to happen before then, has contributed to blinding us from seeing the very prophecy from Daniel 11 and Isaiah 19 that is coming true today, right now, in the Middle East. As a result, the Antichrist’s future kingdom is aggressively grabbing the world politically, physically and spiritually while the Church is watching Europe, a geographic area of the world Bible prophecy has nothing to say about.God is shaking up the Middle East and bringing about the formation of the Antichrist’s future kingdom but we can’t warn others of the danger that is coming when we don’t know we should be warning them. And because we do not recognize Islam for what it is, we have conceded to being put in a position where telling the truth about Islam is condemned and those who do so are labeled as “islamophobic” and “haters” sometimes even by Christians! Well, what else would you expect when we don’t pay attention despite Christ’s many warnings to do so [Matthew 24:42; Mark 13:37; et al]?
The spread of Islam is spiritual
Ultimately, all of this is why the rest of the world’s unexplainable attraction and submission to all things Islam despite its obvious goal of world dominance by tyrannical oppression through violence can best be explained as something spiritual in nature. It is a spiritual phenomenon. It is the great delusion [2 Thessalonians 2:7-11]. This is why secular analysis and even most Christian analysis no matter how good it is can’t make sense of what is happening. They do not recognize the severity of the concern because they are missing the eternal perspective that only God’s prophetic Word can give.Consider right now that the West, having the same ambition of global governance through the United Nations, is militarily engaged with the budding kingdom of the Antichrist and that our President, by toppling governments in the Middle East and consistently siding with the Muslim Brotherhood, is encouraging, enabling and assuring its growth. That is astonishing! Everyone wants to know America’s role in Bible prophecy. Well, here it is. The nation of the world that is most free from tyranny is the greatest enabling force for the development of the most tyrannical rule the world will ever know! I say most free from tyranny because, unless something changes, we know where we are headed and the West’s continual descent into tyranny will allow this greater evil to thrive. It already is.
It’s here where I would remind you that our battle is not against flesh and blood [Ephesians 6:12]. “Muslim” is only the name given to a person who is under the influence of Islam. God desires all men to be saved and if He would be so gracious as to allow us to turn the tide of the cultivation of Sharia law here in our own country I believe it will only be through witnessing to Muslims about Jesus Christ [1 Timothy 2:1-6].
It’s time to get serious about who Christ is to you!
Bibliography:
1. Richardson, Joel. The Islamic Antichrist: The Shocking Truth about the Real Nature of the Beast. WND Books, 2009. p. 44
2. p. 57
3. p. 64
4. p. 71
