Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
COGwriter
Iran hopes to increase its influence in the Middle East and North Africa as its “Supreme Leader” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned the Arabs against trusting the Americans and Europeans today:
Khamenei says the U.S. and NATO will try to dominate the future governments in Egypt, Tunisia and Libya. He says the Arab nations should not let this happen but preserve their Islamic traditions.
Khamenei contends the collapse of the regimes in Egypt and Tunisia was a blow to U.S. influence in the region and an “Islamic awakening.”
Tehran has portrayed the uprisings as a replay of its own 1979 Islamic Revolution that toppled the pro-U.S. shah and brought hardline clerics to power. http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle-east/irans-top-leader-warns-arab-nations-that-had-uprisings-not-to-trust-us-nato/2011/09/17/gIQAXgzMZK_story.html
Iran’s revolution replaced a secular pro-Western, pro-economic growth, leader with leaders with a highly radical Islamic agenda. Iran’s current president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has publicly stated that the purpose of the Iranian revolution was to prepare the way for an Islamic leader, the 12th Imam, also called the Imam Mahdi, to rise up (this was several years ago, but he still seems to believe it). This Imam Mahdi sounds a lot like the final King of the South that the Bible warns against.
Furthermore, earlier this year, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad claimed that it was the Imam Mahdi who was behind the revolutions in the various Arab lands as well as other events in the world (see Mahmoud Ahmadinejad: World Order About to Collapse, Mahdi Behind it). He also was part of a video earlier this year that indicated that Iran intended to relatively soon invade and takeover Jerusalem so that the Imam Mahdi would rise up. The video hinted that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was somehow prophesied within Islam as a particular leader that would do that (see Iran’s Ahmadinejad to Conquer Jerusalem?).
Various prophecies of the Mahdi state that he would return in an even numbered year, like the end 2012 (the Islamic calendar runs differently than the Roman calendar). The Mahdi is supposed to be recognized in an even numbered year, and since Ahmadinejad’s term ends in 2013 (Islamic year 1434), and he indicated he wanted to cause the Mahdi to arrive before he leaves office, he may cause enough chaos to try to cause this to happen soon (the current Islamic year 1432 ends November 26, 2011, so the current year until then is another time that the Mahdi could be expected based on Islamic prophecy). It may even be that the bid for Palestinian statehood at the United Nations this month could be a possible trigger for this (though not necessarily an immediate trigger).
To bring enough Arab nations together, I have felt that some type of “strongman” needed to rise up. One who Arabs would tend to respect–who might use the title Imam Mahdi and/or Caliph. This is also consistent with the historical positions of various Church of God writers in the past. Notice a few examples:
The supreme office of caliph, originally elective, became hereditary…Eventually…caliphs became figurehead or “puppet” leaders…Many Arabs…seek to re-create the political and theological unity of the early Islamic caliphate (Stump K. The Arab World in Prophecy. Plain Truth, December 1979, pp. 9-10).
Al Qaeda named its Internet newscast, which debuted in September, ‘The Voice of the Caliphate.’…Kerem Acar, a tailor in central Istanbul {said} ‘…one day maybe my children’s children will see someone declare himself the caliph, like the pope, and have an impact’” (January 14, 2006). Indeed, a coming “Mahdi” whose arrival Muslims are expecting—in Bible prophecy known as the “King of the South” (Daniel 11:40–45)—will soon arise and have a dramatic impact on world events. This powerful Muslim religious leader will unite many of the more than one billion Muslims. He will pose a genuine threat to the coming European Empire, which will have to crush that threat in order to continue exploiting Middle Eastern oil to further its military ambitions. (Meredith RC. Prophecy Fulfilled: God’s Hand in World Affairs. LCG Booklet, 2007, pp. 16-17)
Opinion polls show that significant majorities in many Arab countries favor the establishment of Sharia law, derived from the Qur’an and centuries of Muslim jurisprudence. Several nations, such as Afghanistan, Iran, Libya, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Yemen already have Sharia law in some form. Others, such as Egypt, Morocco, Jordan, Pakistan, Syria, Qatar and United Arab Emirates, mix Sharia with other systems. To the great surprise of many Western analysts, University of Maryland researchers polled Arab nations and found that substantial majorities in Pakistan, Egypt and Morocco favored the establishment of the Caliphate—which would mean autocratic Islamist rule!…(Daniel 11:40–45…This “king of the South” will be a great leader, likely the head of a Muslim coalition, who will attack or challenge a great northern power in Europe. Europeans are well aware of the threat of Islam. (Wakefield D. Nine-Eleven Plus Ten. Tomorrow’s World magazine, September-October 2011, p. 24).
As the above shows, we in the Living Church of God have long taught that a pan-Islamic leader will rise up in the Middle East and become the final King of the South in Bible prophecy (Daniel 11:40). Iran wants to make this happen.
Its “supreme leader’s” warnings today are apparently intended to fan the flames of pro-Islamic and anti-Western sentiment in the Arab lands and to encourage them to install less secular governments than they have had. And ultimately, the Arabs will do that.
In the meantime, however, I would not be surprised if Iran and Syria get together to cause trouble (including possible war) with Israel as a means of hoping to provoke the rise of the Imam Mahdi, as well as to hope to get the Arab states to support the Iranian version of Shi’ite Islam (most of the Arab nations are mainly Sunni Islam).
Syria is being increasingly isolated by the West and may need to rely more and more on Iran for economic and other assistance. And while Iran will not succeed in destroying Israel (though an Iranian-Syrian attack could, and probably would, do a lot of damage to Israel), this does not mean that it will not engage in warfare for the hope of accomplishing that. If so, Syria may regret it (cf. Isaiah 17:1).
Watch (Mark 13:37).
Some articles of related interest may include:
Is There A Future King of the South? Some no longer believe there needs to be. Might Egypt, Islam, Iran, Arabs, or Ethiopia be involved? Might this King be called the Mahdi? What does the Bible say?
The Arab and Islamic World In the Bible, History, and Prophecy The Bible discusses the origins of the Arab world and discusses the Middle East in prophecy. What is ahead for the Middle East and those who follow Islam? What about the Imam Mahdi? What lies ahead for Turkey, Iran, and the other non-Arabic Muslims?
Is There an Islamic Antichrist? Is Joel Richardson correct that the final Antichrist will be Islamic and not European? Find out.
Who is the King of the North? Is there one? Do biblical and Roman Catholic prophecies for the Great Monarch point to the same leader? Should he be followed? Who will be the King of the North discussed in Daniel 11? Is a nuclear attack prophesied to happen to the English-speaking peoples of the United States, Great Britain, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand? When do the 1335 days, 1290 days, and 1260 days (the time, times, and half a time) of Daniel 12 begin? When does the Bible show that economic collapse will affect the United States?
Barack Obama in Islamic Prophecy? There is actually a 17th century Shiite prophecy that some believe that Barack Obama will fulfill that will lead to a rising up of Islam.
When Will the Great Tribulation Begin? 2011, 2012, or 2013? Can the Great Tribulation begin today? What happens before the Great Tribulation in the “beginning of sorrows”? What happens in the Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord? Is this the time of the Gentiles? When is the earliest that the Great Tribulation can begin? What is the Day of the Lord? Who are the 144,000?
