May 14, 2016

Muslim Eschatology

Reprint of an essay called Christians as Soft Targets written by Howard Kainz on December 5, 2015 (Part 2 of 2)
 
New Testament apocalyptic passages in the Book of Revelation about final battles between the powers of good and evil are hard to interpret, but Christians may be faced with the possibility of a strange “Armageddon”. Instead of (as usually depicted) two massive armies facing each other in a final decisive battle, another scenario in which billions of sincere Christians, the greatest “soft target” ever produced in the world, are abandoned to the devices of billions of Muslims. Indeed, Muslim eschatology involves the destruction and subjugation of all “unbelievers” in a final battle in which the rather far-fetched Muslim version of Jesus (Isa, the son of Maryam, the sister of Moses’ brother, Aaron (Quran 19:27-28)) would come and break all Christian crosses, exterminate pigs as the supply of pork, and grant the laurels of victory to Islam.
 
But events during the last hundred years make such a lopsided Armageddon scenario less fantastic: Millions of Christians massacred in Armenia, Syria, Iraq, and elsewhere; a million killed in just the first thirteen years of the 21st century; more martyrdoms than in all previous centuries, not to mention the pillaging and destruction of hundreds of churches in Iraq, Egypt, and Nigeria in the last few years; in formerly tolerant Indonesia, according to a report of the Gatestone Institute, more than 1,000 Christian churches have been shut down, torn down, or burned down since 2006. (If you follow only the mainstream media, you may be excused for not knowing about such things.)
 
At present, with the “Islamic State” (ISIS), we have the advent of a new “caliph,” Caliph Ibrahim (Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi). For most Muslims, the caliph, if he manages to survive threats from alternative claimants, is not just a figurehead. His existence could dramatically change the eschatological views of obedient and traditional Muslims. While “defensive” war is always permitted to Muslims, only the Caliph has the authority to order an offensive war of conquest and destruction. This is being done now, with tens of thousands of young Muslims rushing to join ISIS in Syria and other strongholds.
 
Catholics call themselves the “Church Militant,” but this is just a metaphor, and meant spiritually. The days when a pope could order or bless a crusade are long gone, especially in view of the documents of the Second Vatican Council, which offer fulsome praises of Islam as an “Abrahamic” religion which adores the same God and submits to His hidden decrees. And it goes without saying, that no nation now would be willing to defend the Christians being murdered or exiled by Islamists, since for “enlightened” moderns this would be a “religious war,” repeating pre-Enlightenment mistakes of the past.
 
The combination of the surrender to modernism in the “developed world” and Christians’ helpless exposure to violence and subjugation in Muslim-dominated regions leads to a possible alternative vision of Armageddon and victory: a final martyrdom of the Church.
 
My Thoughts:
I'll admit that I'm a bit worried about this "soft target" argument, especially in light of the current immigration crisis. I am not in any way suggesting that Americans should oppose immigration or that all Muslims should be registered, imprisoned, or deported. I am suggesting that with immigration comes a serious threat, in that it is the modern equivalent of the Trojan Horse scenario. Even if only 1 out of a thousand are anti-American, we are "opening the gates" to our oppressors.
 
If you've been thinking for yourself during the last few years, you recognize that terrorism is present within our boarders. If you haven't been thinking for yourself look around and do some research, it's not coming but is in fact here! Furthermore, the government and media’s insistence that the recent attacks are not part of a bigger agenda is not good news.
 
At this writing about 53% of Americans are against the confiscation of "scary looking black" rifles; but I can only hope that people quickly come to realize that disarming American citizens is a serious mistake. If you are convinced that guns should be taken away from law abiding people, for the common good, then you better be prepared to suffer and die as a witness for your faith.