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3.091 Binding Speed Bumps in the Fast Lane
September 2003
“Watch and pray so you will not fall into temptation [or trepidation?]” Mk 14:38
Yeshua’s classic clue (using His Hebrew name) for the end of days was to watch, quoted almost a
dozen times either directly or by parable. In Mark 13:33 and 14:38 He couples it with the added
dimension of prayer, and Apostle Paul reinforces both components in Colossians 4:2. So for our
end time scenario, watching is in and calculators, Gregorian calendars, private predictions and
threadbare theories of yesteryear are out.
And we can’t forget prayer. An increasing number of committed believers are fervent in it, and
numbers in prayer fellowships large and small are swelling. So far so good!
Only one caution: If our prayer pursuits are both watchful and wedded to the Word, we won’t be
binding an assumed adversary when the Almighty has him hitched up to a plough to effect a bit of
divine judgment here and there. May we not curse His knee-bending procedures that He warned
us over 2 millennia ago we could expect in these days. There might be some pain and there could
be some blood. An apropos quote from Showdown of the Gods is: “The affluence of a Western
society with a bathroom shelf full of pain killers has obviously made great strides, not only in
medicine but in [painless] theological understanding as well!” There is no substitute for intimacy
with the Most High before we open our mouths on how we think He ought to best fix things!
There can be no question but that our global social order is disintegrating fast. Despite those
darkened corners where there are welcomed sparks of revival, it’s more than obvious that society
as a whole (and her leaders) is not all that interested in coming to the party!
But this is hardly a Gloom and Doom Show for the watchful. If the King of the Universe was right
on about the disintegration of a humanistic game plan at the end of days, I’ll bet my life on His
capacity to brilliantly bring a New Jerusalem out of the ashes. Thus it behoves us to have the
sensitivity to differentiate between what painful procedures are part of His planning and which
need to be rebuked—and when.
These are tremendous times to be alive and awesome opportunities to partner with the King of
Glory as He prepares His return!
So what about an antichrist? Suggesting first a thorough insight into 1 John 2:18-25, the jury is
still out on whether the “man of lawlessness” of 2 Th 2:3-4 is a single individual or collective
humanity, whether he [or it] is yet to appear or has already been around for some 1300 years and
soon to be judged. Or it may be none of the above or all of the above. If we haven’t noticed a
candidate or two by now, it could be that we have been programmed to look for the wrong thing!
Of course, the same people that have already explained this phoney end time impersonation to us
in painstaking detail, also assured us that we wouldn’t be here for fireworks like 911. So it’s back
to the drawing board, namely the Bible. Theories are out, and Yeshua’s warnings and the Old
Testament prophets are in!
So having established these valuable insights, let us now bring this all to a head with an editorial
commentary by World Net Daily on one of Christian Journalist Joseph Farah’s very recent G2
Bulletins copied below.
What Farah tells us does bear ‘watching’ not to mention updating our preconceived notions on
what antichrists might look like! And isn’t it clever of Osama bin Phoney to paint Jesus into the
picture. It might just impress those “christians” who have never ever given the King of kings first
place anyway!
Victor Schlatter, South Pacific Island Ministries
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Is bin Laden the 'Mahdi'?
From Joseph Farah’s G2 Bulletin © 2003 WorldNetDaily.com
Some Muslim followers believe he is prophesied 'awaited enlightened one'
U.S. military intelligence experts are studying a video clip of Osama bin Laden in which he
stands before a dry-erase board with an Arabic phrase written upon it – "awaited enlightened
one," reports Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin.
No one who has seen the video is quite certain of the meaning or the context. But, the Hadith, a
collection of Islamic holy writings that supplement the Quran, predicts a messianic figure will
arise in the last days of history. This "Mahdi," along with the "Prophet Jesus," will lead the
believers to victory over the infidels.
The video raises the question of whether bin Laden sees himself as this Mahdi or if he is
expecting another to arise and lead. Either way, the addition of a dimension of Islamic prophecy
to the global terror war may seriously complicate matters for planners in the West, G2 Bulletin
reports.
According to G2 Bulletin's military sources, some of the detainees currently held at Guantanamo
Bay have told interrogators they joined bin Laden's al-Qaida offensive because they think he is
the "awaited enlightened one." Others in military intelligence say some of the terrorists crossing
the border into Iraq with al-Qaida ties are doing so because of their belief in this Islamic
prophecy.
Muslim believers – both Sunni and Shiite – expect the Mahdi to return one day to restore justice
to the world. This messenger is not as great as Muhammad, but is a messianic figure found in
all branches of Islam.
Interestingly, since the end of 2001, bin Laden has been signing his name "Osama bin
Muhammad bin Laden," rather than just Osama bin Laden. This is significant, reports G2
Bulletin, because it gives the al-Qaida leader an apocalyptic dimension. The Hadith says the
Mahdi will be recognizable, among other things, by the fact that he carries the name of the
Prophet.
"Al Mahdi" is supposed to appear at a time when Muslim believers are severely oppressed in
every corner of the world. He will fight the oppressors, unite the Muslims, bring peace and
justice to the world, rule over the Arabs, and lead a prayer in Mecca at which Jesus will be
present.
While some Islamic analysts have expected bin Laden to declare himself as "caliph," few have
speculated about the possibility of the terrorist upping the ante. Operating as he does without a
territorial base, bin Ladin could, some suggest, resort to claiming the most powerful title in
Islam – the Mahdi.
The Mahdi is one of two positive prophetic figures who, according to Islamic teachings, will
appear at the end of time – Prophet Jesus being the other. Together, these two will combat
unbelievers and the forces of evil: the antichrist-like Dajjal, or "Deceiver"; the Dabbah, or
"Beast"; and the murderous, rapacious hordes of Yajuj wa-Majuj, who appear earlier in the
Bible as "Gog and Magog."
The description of the Mahdi that emerges from these Islamic sources can be summarized as
follows:
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he will be descended from the Prophet via his daughter Fatima;
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he will have the same name as the Prophet, and his father's name will have been the
same as the Prophet's father;
he will have a distinct forehead and prominent nose;
he will be extremely generous and altruistic;
he will arise in Arabia and be compelled by popular acclamation in Mecca to lead the
Muslims;
he will withstand attack by an army from Syria, which will be swallowed up by the
desert;
he will fill the earth with justice and equity;
he will reign for five, seven or nine years, perhaps as co-ruler with Jesus (after which,
an unspecified amount of time later, the last trumpet will sound and the final judgment
will ensue).
If bin Ladin – or some other Islamist leader – were to declare himself the Mahdi, should that
make a difference to U.S. policy-makers? Yes.
If the claim were believable to the Islamic world, then the U.S. could no longer claim to be
fighting terrorism alone. Indeed, it would become a global religious conflict. [Underscore mine vs]
Editor's note: Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin is an online, subscription intelligence news service from the
creator of WorldNetDaily.com – a journalist who has been developing sources around the world for the
last 25 years.