This is an excellent commentary by Joel Rosenberg on an often unrecognized but important aspect of the growing radicalized Islamic beliefs that are spreading throughout the Middle East:
Eschatology is not a word that typically comes up in public policy forums. Yesterday afternoon, however, I had the honor of addressing the Jerusalem Leaders Summit here in the heart of the epicenter. My remarks focused on the rise of Apocalyptic Islam — what it is, why it is emerging as a far more serious threat to the U.S., Israel, and the world than Radical Islam, and how Shia and Sunni eschatology differ immensely from Jewish and Christian eschatology.
In my remarks to the Summit, and in individual conversations with Israeli leaders, journalists and business leaders, I have been making the case that I have expressed in numerous forums in the U.S., Canada, South Korea and around the world.
- We cannot defeat an enemy we refuse to define.
- To misunderstand the nature and threat of evil is to risk being blindsided by it.
- Evil, unchecked, is a prelude to genocide.
- That we are facing not one but two nation states right now (Iran & the Islamic State) whose leaders are motivated by a genocidal version of Islamic eschatology, or End Times theology.
- Attention needs to be paid by government leaders and public policy experts on the theology and eschatology driving our enemies.
I argued at this Summit that the evidence strongly indicates that we are dealing with “true believers” in Iran and ISIS, men who believe deeply — passionately — in a cause few Westerners even comprehend, much less accept. Indeed, for the first time in human history, the top leaders of not just one nation state but two — Iran and the Islamic State — are being driven by Islamic eschatology, or End Times theology. Their particular brands of Shia and Sunni eschatology are driving them towards genocide. Why? Because they believe:
- that the End of Days have arrived
- that the Islamic messiah known as the “Mahdi” will appear at any moment
- that when the Mahdi appears, he will rule the entire Earth
- that Jesus will also return to Earth, but not as the Messiah, or Savior, or Son of God, but as the deputy to the Mahdi
- that Jesus will force all Jews, Christians and other so-called “infidels” to convert to Islam or be executed
- that the way to hasten the arrival and full establishment of the global Islamic kingdom or “caliphate” is to annihilate Jews and Christians, and specifically to annihilate Israel (which they call the “Little Satan” in their eschatology), and the United States (which they call the “Great Satan.”)
- that time is very short, and they must move decisively because soon each Muslim will face the Mahdi face to face and be brought into judgment if they have not faithfully followed the Mahdi’s orders.
They discuss such matters often — not in the shadows, but in public. Yet, Western leaders are not paying attention, much less carefully analyzing the implications of such beliefs.
If my analysis is correct, there is no earthly chance the leaders of Iran — or ISIS — will change course. Rather, they are Hell-bent on committing genocide of historic proportions and totally destroying Judeo-Christian civilization as we have known it. Thus, our leaders must study the facts carefully and determine whether Iranian and ISIS leaders really believe such things, and formulate strategies to protect our people and neutralize such enemies accordingly.
During my remarks, I promised to post several fact sheets so those attending the Summit and those watching the live streaming webcast around the world could study the issue more closely. Here they are.
- FACT SHEET: The Iranian Leadership’s Apocalyptic Beliefs
- FACT SHEET: The Islamic State’s Apocalyptic Beliefs
- FACT SHEET: Why Is The Iran Nuclear Deal So Dangerous?
- COLUMN: Islamic Extremists Are Trying to Hasten the Coming of the Mahdi
Also, here is a link to an excellent new book by Brookings Institution scholar, William McCants, titled, The ISIS Apocalypse: The History, Strategy & Doomsday Vision of the Islamic State. It is a work I highly recommend to government leaders, public policy experts and lay people, as well.
Last key point for now: I noted at the Summit that devout, Bible-believing Jews and Christians also have End Times theologies. But neither hold that Jews or Christians are supposed to commit genocide. Rather, we believe from the prophets Daniel, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Zechariah and others that the Messiah will come at the End of Days, conquer His enemies, and establish a global kingdom whose capital is Jerusalem. The Messiah will judge and conquer His enemies. That is not our job. Most Jews and Christians differ, of course, on the identity of the Messiah and whether His arrival on Earth to establish His global Kingdom will be His first visit, or His second. Still, neither Jewish nor Christian eschatology requires us to commit genocide. But the Iranian and ISIS versions of Islamic eschatology are genocidal in their very nature.
When the video of my remarks becomes available, I will post it here and through social media.
Hope you find this helpful. Please feel free to share this post with others.
Earlier today the Obama White House attempted to downplay any links to ISIS in relation to the recent Russian airline disaster that took place shortly after Metrojet Flight 9268 took off from Egypt last week on its way back to Russia, killing everyone on board. For days British officials have quietly suggested foul play while U.S. officials were noticeably tight-lipped. Now some within American intelligence are voicing very similar thoughts to their British counterparts, despite the Obama White House’s apparent desire that no official statement on the matter be made.
As for Russia’s Vladimir Putin, he is said to be at this very moment reviewing a myriad of counter-measure options – all of them intending to “unleash hell” in the form of powerful military-based retribution the likes of which ISIS militants have yet to have faced.
Putin is said to have already initiated warnings to various Middle East nations of his intent while ignoring the Obama White House, though some have suggested Russian intelligence officials have been in contact with Pentagon officials directly as a sign of professional courtesy.
Apparently it is Barack Obama himself Mr. Putin has no use and even less regard, for.
One D.C. Whispers source went so far as to suggest part of the Obama administration’s hesitation to make public statements regarding the Russian airline tragedy is based upon concerns there is a Muslim Brotherhood connection and that measures are being taken by administration officials to make certain no such connection, if in fact it exists, will become part of the investigation.
The Muslim Brotherhood is a radical and highly influential Islamic group with strong ties to the Obama White House.
The Russian Air Force has carried out 81 sorties hitting 263 Islamic State (IS) targets in two days in Syria, the Defense Ministry said in a statement.
Russian jets hit targets that mostly belong to Islamic State and other militants in such provinces as Aleppo, Damascus, Deir ez-Zor, Idlib, Latakia, Raqqa, Hama and Homs, Igor Konashenkov, a Defense Ministry spokesman, said Thursday. After their combat missions all the jets returned to the Russian Khmeimim airbase in Latakia, he said.
Russian Su-24M bombers destroyed IS repair facilities with seven armored vehicles near an airport in Aleppo province, Konashenkov said.
“In the area of the populated locality of Raqqa, SU-34 bombers hit two fortified block posts belonging to the terrorists, located on the outskirts of the city. Direct aerial bomb hits destroyed the terrorists’ fortified structures housing four units of automobile and armored vehicles,” the spokesman said.
He added that Russian airstrikes also hit a base belonging to one of the ISIS-affiliated gangs in the gorge of the Jebel-Mgar mountains near Damascus, destroying a ammunition warehouse, command post and hidden military equipment.
Su-24 bombers have carried out a strike hitting an IS stronghold near the city of Tadmur in the Homs province, the ministry said in a statement. The strike destroyed a tank in a firing position, a ZSU-23 anti-aircraft system, and a mortar battery, he added.
“The destroyed IS stronghold was located more than 30 kilometers from ancient Palmyra,” Konashenkov said. “Let me point out that Russian aircraft have been hitting only terrorist targets far away from architectural monuments.”
Su-25 fighters also targeted a warehouse storing anti-tank missile systems belonging to the Al-Qaeda affiliate Al-Nusra Front in Idlib province, northwest Syria.
“According to data obtained via the joint information center in Baghdad, several days ago a consignment of anti-tank missile systems was delivered to one of the warehouses located in the area of Maarat al-Numan city in Idlib province,” Konashenkov said, adding that the weapons were intended to be used against the advancing forces of the Syrian army.
“After the information had been confirmed via several channels, a pair of SU-25 jets carried out strikes hitting the target and destroying the warehouse together with its contents.”
Su-34 bombers also destroyed an Al-Nusra training base and ammunition warehouses near the Al-Muhasan settlement in Deir ez-Zor province, he added.
During the press conference on Thursday, Konashenkov also made comments in response to recent criticism of Russia’s operation in Syria made by Assistant Secretary Victoria Nuland, who testified before the House Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday.She claimed that the strikes have failed to target terrorists, and are instead targeting “areas where the Assad regime has lost territory to forces led by the moderate opposition,” naming several provinces including Hama, Homs, Aleppo and Idlib.
Konashenkov, in turn, said that the Russian Air Force has been carrying out strikes “targeting not areas, but terrorist infrastructure facilities.”
He added that Moscow has provided the US-led anti-ISIS coalition’s military attaches with detailed information on the location of terrorist facilities in Syria. He stressed that the information that has been provided has not been contested by either the Pentagon or the US State Department.
Russia launched airstrikes targeting ISIS and other terror groups in Syria on September 30, following a formal request from President Bashar Assad. Russian aircraft have made over 1,600 sorties and hit more than 2,000 terrorist facilities since the start of the operation in Syria, Chief of the Main Operations Department at the Russian General Staff Colonel-General Andrey Kartapolov said Tuesday.
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