The Future of Radical Islam

I will set My glory among the nations; and all the nations will see My judgment which I have executed and My hand which I have laid on them.
–Ezekiel 39:21

What is the future of radical Islam, and what does it have to do with Bible prophecy? I admit that nowhere in the Bible does the word “Islam” or “ISIS” appear. Moses wouldn’t have understood that any more than he would have understood an airplane or a smartphone. But as we look at what Scripture says about the end times, we see three mentions of what we know as radical Islam in God’s prophetic future.

The first reference to radical Islam is the Islamic invasion of Israel. Ezekiel prophesied that Israel will be invaded by Iran and other Muslim nations (Ezekiel 38:1-6). Nothing in history corresponds to this event; it hasn’t happened yet. These Muslim nations will invade Israel during the Tribulation, but God will intervene and deliver Israel, with two results. First, all nations will know that God has delivered Israel. Ezekiel 39:21 says, “All the nations will see My judgment which I have executed and My hand which I have laid on them.” Second, Israel will know God’s power and faithfulness. Israel has not been saved at this point. God does this great act of deliverance to bring them to Himself. Ezekiel 39:22 says that as a result, “The house of Israel will know that I am the Lord their God from that day onward.”

The second reference to the future of Islam in prophecy is the “army from the east” in Revelation 9:16 and 16:12. In the final days, before Jesus returns, there will be a great battle on the plain of Megiddo. Leading up to that great battle, an army of 200 million will march from the east. People used to read this and wonder what nation could have an army of 200 million. Today, China has over 318 million people fit for military service. India has over 249 million people fit for military service. Add to that the approximately 98 million people from Muslim countries surrounding Israel, and it is easy to see how if Muslims respond to ISIS’s call for the Caliphate, an army of 200 million could march from the east to Israel. The Bible says that will happen.

The third reference to Islam in Bible prophecy has to do with the beheadings we see more and more frequently. In Revelation 20:4, John said, “I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God.” For 40 years, I have read and studied Revelation. Every time I read that passage, I had the same reaction: “Beheaded? That’s an ancient practice. Surely John got it wrong. Who in the future would ever resort to this barbaric way of execution?” I think we have the answer today. The beheadings and barbaric acts that we are going to see in the future, these things are going to increase in frequency.

All the things we are seeing in the world today are setting the stage for the greatest event in human history–the apocalypse, the revelation, the unveiling, the return of Jesus Christ.

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Today’s devotion is excerpted from “The Rise of Radical Islam” by Dr. Robert Jeffress, 2015.

Scripture quotations are taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.