Podcast # 27: The ISIS Crisis

Scott: My name is Scott Paton.  I am speaking today with Allan Colston.  He is the author of the book “The Last Days of Tolemac”.  This is a book dealing with prophecy.

For those listeners who may be new to this topic, this Podcast is another in the series “Signs of the Times”.  Hello Allan and welcome to the Podcast.

Hello Scott, it’s good to have the chance to talk to you again.

Scott: So tell me Allan, what’s new in the world of prophecy?

Well of course Scott, nothing is ever new in the world of prophecy. When the prophets of the Bible spoke about the “latter days” and the time of the “great tribulation”, they set out a road map of events that would occur during a seven year period at the end of the current age.

So from that point of view, I don’t have to spend time figuring out what is going to happen. That has already been set out in the prophecies recorded in the Bible. What I try to do is to compare what is predicted to happen with what is actually happening in the world today.

Now within the context of Judaism and Christianity, we need to remember that Israel is central to an understanding of the “End Times”, not only because it was the land where Jesus lived and taught, but also because Israel was the place where the prophets predicted that the events of this seven year period would begin and end.

We also need to remember that the Mount of Olives, located just outside the ancient city of Jerusalem, was the place where Jesus ascended into heaven, and that it was also the place where angels told the disciples who looked on in wonder, that Jesus would return in triumph at the time of the end.

The Old Testament prophets said that this seven year period of tribulation would begin with an event that would involve the land of Israel. They referred to this event as, and I quote, the “Great and Terrible Day of the Lord“.

They also predicted that this seven year period would end with the battle of Armageddon, that would take place in the valley of Jezreel in Israel. This would be followed by the return to earth of the long-awaited Saviour, who would lead the world into a new Golden Age of peace, that was predicted to last for a thousand years.

Now Scott, we need to realise that Judaism and Christianity are not the only religions that look forward to the arrival of a world saviour. There are others as well.

Scott: What other religions are you referring to?

I’m not just talking about some religions Scott. I mean all religions, because every religion has its own tradition of a saviour who will return to earth at the end of this current cycle of time. This saviour will come to punish the wicked, and restore peace and prosperity to the faithful who remain.

To those of the Christian faith, this saviour will be Jesus, the Son of man and the living Christ. To the Jews he will be the long awaited Messiah. To the Hindus he will be Kalki, the tenth incarnation of Vishnu. To the Buddhists he will be the Maitreya, the Buddha that is to come. And to the Muslims he will be the Mahdi, the expected one.

The Zoroastrians of ancient Persia called this saviour Saoshyant. Even today followers of this religion believe that at the end of the present age, Zoroaster himself will return to the earth to renew the world and bring blessings to those who have been faithful to his teachings.

But belief in this future saviour is not limited to followers of the major religions. The ancient cultures of the world await their own version of this saviour. The Incas of Peru believe in the return of their great teacher Viracocha. The Maya of central America wait for the return of Kukulcan. For the Aztecs of Mexico this saviour will be Quetzalcoatl, the leader of the Gods.

But Scott, I don’t think we should fall into the trap of thinking that a host of different saviours will suddenly appear on the world scene at some future time, with each claiming to be the long awaited saviour, and each ministering only to their own group of believers.

Instead, I believe that when this predicted Saviour appears at the end of the current age, every society will see in his arrival the fulfillment of their own holy books of prophecy. His coming will unite all the different cultures of the world. He will be their King, and they will be his people.

Scott: So Alan, do all the people of the world simply have to wait for this saviour to arrive, or should they be doing something to prepare for his coming?

That is an excellent question Scott. The fundamental message of almost every major religion is to exhort their followers to prepare for the arrival of their saviour by diligently following the teachings of that religion, and by living sober, virtuous and peaceful lives.

Unfortunately Scott, there is one glaring exception to this rule.

Scott: And what is that?

The exception to this rule is Islam, or to be more precise, radical Islam as interpreted by the Shi’ite Muslims of Iran and by the Sunni Muslims of ISIS, or the Islamic State. Both of these groups share similar beliefs about events leading up to the return the Islamic saviour, whom they call the Mahdi.

Here again, Scott, I need to clarify what I mean by this. I am not suggesting that everyone who lives in Iran is a radical Muslim, or that all Muslims are doomed. But what I do want to stress is that the leaders of both Iran and ISIS very definitely do believe in what I am about to say.

For example, both of these groups agree that we are now living in the “End of Days”, and that the Mahdi (or the 12th Imam) can be expected to appear at any time. They also believe that when he does appear, he will rule the entire earth, and that every person alive at that time will be converted to Islam.

But this is where they differ radically from the Jewish and Christian religions. Although Islam recognises Jesus as a prophet, they consider him to be inferior to Muhammad. Furthermore, they claim that at the time of the end, Jesus will return to the earth before the Mahdi.

However, when Jesus does return, they believe that he will not come as the Messiah or the Son of God. Instead, he will come as the deputy to the Mahdi who will force all Jews, Christians and other infidels or unbelievers to make a simple choice. Convert to Islam or die.

So according to this radical interpretation, Jesus will come to prepare the world for the arrival of the Mahdi by helping to establish a global Islamic kingdom or Caliphate, whose headquarters will be in Jerusalem. And this is the motivating force behind the gospel of ISIS, and why it has so much appeal to Muslims everywhere.

Scott: So what exactly is the message of ISIS?

Well Scott, in a nutshell, the message of ISIS is this:

• We are now living at the time of the end.
• There are no longer any individual countries. Instead they are all part of the future world-wide “Caliphate” or Islamic State.
• It is the duty of every Muslim, no matter where they live, to prepare for the final battle between the faithful and the infidels. (Jews, Christians, unbelievers, etc.)
• The arrival of the Mahdi is imminent.
• When the Mahdi returns to the earth there will be a Day of Judgement.
• On that day, every person will have to give an account of their life, and whether they fulfilled the demands of the Mahdi.
• Those Muslims who did will join the Mahdi in Paradise. Those who did not will die.
• Time is short. The time to save your soul is NOW.

So the appeal of ISIS to Muslims everywhere, is that by joining them in their quest to rid the world of infidels, they are preparing for the arrival of the Mahdi. These people are not being radicalised, as the West calls it. Instead, they are being saved, since every person who joins ISIS today is guaranteed personal salvation.

However, Scott, it is worth noting that although the radical leaders of ISIS and Iran both agree on the need to destroy infidels and establish a new Islamic Caliphate based in Jerusalem, they differ in their strategy of how to achieve this.

Scott: So Allan, what sort of strategies do they have?

Well Scott, the main difference between the strategy adopted by Iran and that of ISIS is this. ISIS is motivated by the desire for conquest, while Iran is motivated by the desire for destruction.

As I’m sure you know Scott, the main headquarters of ISIS are based in Raqqa, a Syrian city located on the north bank of the Euphrates River, about 160 kilometres (100 miles) east of Aleppo. However, the focus of everything they do is on a tiny town just outside Aleppo. Its name is Dabiq.

What makes Dabiq unique is its significance in the Islamic end-time scenario. According to the Hadith, which are recorded sayings of Muhammad, the prophet said that the last hour would not come until the “Romans” arrived in Dabiq.

Followers of ISIS believe that the final battle between the Muslims and the unbelievers, who are lumped together under the title of Romans or Crusaders, will take place in Dabiq. In other words, Dabiq is the Islamic equivalent of the Biblical Armageddon.

ISIS places such great emphasis upon the name Dabiq, that they use it as the title of their glossy propaganda magazine which is available online to recruit followers from around the world. So if you don’t understand the symbolism of Dabiq, Scott, then you really don’t understand what ISIS is all about.

As I said earlier, the main objective of ISIS is conquest. They want to conquer as much land as possible and include it as part of their new Islamic Caliphate, in readiness for the arrival of the Mahdi. And at the moment, the prime target in their sights is the city of Damascus.

It is worth mentioning in passing here the words of Isaiah. In the first verse of the seventeenth chapter of the Book of Isaiah, the Hebrew prophet wrote: “The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap“.

I don’t know if you have seen recent pictures of the Syrian cities of Alleppo and Homs Scott, but they are already ruinous heaps. They have been reduced to piles of rubble as a result of prolonged artillery barrages and barrel bombs dropped by the forces of Assad.

And it is also worth noting that ISIS is already entrenched in parts of Damascus. So how long do you think it will be Scott, before Assad bombs the rest of the city to pieces in order to “save” it from the terrorists as he calls them? Isaiah’s words are coming true before our eyes.

Scott: So Allan, you said that Iran has a different strategy from ISIS.

Yes Scott. As I said earlier, Iran’s motivation is the destruction of everything that opposes their view of Islam. And not just in the Middle East, but in the entire world. No sooner had the Ayatollah Khomeini succeeded in establishing the Islamic Republic of Iran in 1979, when he announced:

“The governments of the world should know that Islam will be victorious in all the countries of the world, and Islam and the teachings of the Qur’an will prevail all over the world“.

And just last year his successor Ayatollah Khamenei went on record to say:

“I can tell you with utmost confidence that the promise of Allah for the coming of the Mahdi and the establishment of a new Islamic civilization is on its way. The battle to establish the Mahdi’s kingdom will only end when the Islamic society can get rid of the oppressors’ front, with America at the head of it“.

Boat loads of books, magazine articles and newspaper reports have been devoted to the topic of Iran’s ultimate goal, which is to destroy Israel, whom they call the “Little Satan”, as well as America, which of course is the “Great Satan”. As the present Ayatollah announced in 2001:

“It is the mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran to erase Israel from the map of the region.”

Iran continues to pound this message home at every opportunity. They even have an annual day of protest known as “Al-Quds” day, (Quds being the Arabic name for Jerusalem) where they hold public demonstrations in support of the Palestinians and calling for the destruction of Israel and the conquest of Jerusalem.

It never ceases to amaze me Scott, that here we are in the 21st century, and we have one country calling for the total annihilation of another country, and is able to do so with impunity for year after year without any repercussions from the United Nations or the international community.

But Iran is not content with mere words. For years now they have embarked on a clandestine campaign to achieve their goals. They do this in two ways. First of all, they spend billions of dollars every year sponsoring terrorist organizations like Hamas and Hezbollah, as well as other Jihadi groups around the world.

The second way they do this is of course through their long-term plan to develop nuclear weapons, as well as the missiles necessary to deliver them to any part of the world. Iran’s recent test of a precision-guided medium-range missile was just another step towards their ultimate goal.

In fact, Scott, I would like to recommend that listeners watch a documentary that is now available on YouTube. Although it was made over three years ago, it provides graphic evidence of Iran’s sinister activities. The documentary is called “Iranium“. I’ll put a link to this video on my Blog.

Scott: Obviously this is a subject that we could talk about for hours. However, at the beginning of this Podcast Allan, you talked about a road map of events that would occur at the time of the end. Does this road map tell us anything about how this ISIS crisis is going to end?

Actually Scott it does. And it does so in great detail. I don’t know if you recall a discussion we had several years ago on the subject of the invasion of Israel. In that Podcast I outlined what the prophet Ezekiel had written, and it is worth repeating now.

In chapter 38 of the Book of Ezekiel, the prophet wrote about a time when Israel would be threatened by many nations, and that the armies of these nations would surround Israel on every side. This great coalition of armies would come from, and I quote, “the north parts”, and from countries like “Persia, Libya and Ethiopia”.

As I said earlier, Scott, the immediate goal of ISIS is the conquest of Damascus. And although the present government of Assad is presently being propped up by weapons and manpower from Russia and Iran, I fully believe that Assad will soon fall and that ISIS will succeed in conquering the capital.

Once they have done that, they will undoubtedly turn their attention towards Israel, and in particular, the long awaited Islamic dream of recapturing Jerusalem. Such a holy crusade would undoubtedly attract other Jihadis from all the countries mentioned by Ezekiel.

According to Ezekiel, this coalition of Islamic forces would gather on the borders of Israel with the goal of over-running the country and slaughtering all the Jews, thus ridding the land at last of the hated Zionists, and leaving it free to be taken over by ISIS and their cohorts.

But just when they are poised for success, Ezekiel predicts that there will be a miraculous intervention by God. As he writes:

“And I will plead against him with pestilence and with blood; and I will rain upon him, and upon his bands, and upon the many people that are with him, an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, fire and brimstone.”

As a result of the earthquakes on the land, and the aerial bombardment from the skies, the armies that had gathered on the borders of Israel will be decimated. Those few who survive these disasters will either be unable, or unwilling, to pursue their assault.

Ezekiel writes that only “a sixth part” of the invading armies will survive the onslaught of brimstone and fire descending on them from the skies.

“Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say, thus saith the Lord God; behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal: And I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee.”

So to answer your question Scott, if Ezekiel is correct, only one in six of this Islamic alliance will survive. The forces of ISIS and Iran will be crushed, never to threaten Israel again.

Scott: So where does that leave Israel?

I was listening to someone on the radio recently, and he said that if he wanted to be safe in the coming days, he would move to Israel.

While I admire his confidence Scott, my interpretation of Bible prophecy suggests that Israel will soon witness some of the greatest atrocities in the history of the planet. And heaven knows, the Jews have experienced enough of them in their own history already. But that is a topic for another time.

Scott: Thanks again Allan. This has been a fascinating glimpse into end-time prophecy. I hope that we can get together soon and continue this discussion.

 You have been listening to Allan Colston, author of the book “The Last Days of Tolemac“. Do join us for our next Podcast in the series titled “Signs of the Times”.

This entry was posted on Monday, November 23rd, 2015 at 2:38 pm and is filed under AUDIO, Signs of the Times. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Comments and pings are closed.