I can not read the book. How can I make a comment ?
English Fantastic book. Many think the final beast will be the resurrected Roman Empire. Joel Richardson makes the case it will be the resurrected Ottoman Empire. I think he is correct. Very good book. English
Just started reading it. I'm only up to chapter Eight. So far I appreciate the author's approach - very informative, yet with a heart to evangelize to Muslims. He brings up concepts and facts I had not previously considered or been aware of. Challengin. English Intriguing read about Islamic eschatology juxtaposed to Christian end-times prophecy. The messiah of Islam and the Jesus of Muslims fit the description of the anti-christ and the false prophet. It would make sense that Islam would have much to do with the last days -the most compelling correlation is that of the act of beheading prophesied in Revelation which fits in accordance with Islamic practice. English I was lent this book by the same person who lent me Islam and the Jews and Inside Islam. Since I have an interest in millennialism generally, I dived straight in. Richardson's work is a prime example of what John Reilly called the 'Standard Model' of Christian millennialism. This is the common-sense, popular, literal model based on direct identification of particular events with the prophecies contained with the Apocalypse of St. John. This model has taken different forms at different times, but in twenty first century America it takes the form of premillennial dispensationalism. This is the frame of reference of the author, who then sets out a detailed comparison between al-Mahdi and Isa bin Maryam and the Antichrist and the False Prophet depicted in the book of Revelations.
The author wrote this book under a pseudonym, out of a rightful fear of retribution. At least in the United States, such things are not yet commonplace, but in Europe, violence or threats of violence against those critical of Islam is commonplace. For example, the makers of the game Little Big Planet recalled the game after it came to light that one of the songs in the game featured verses from the Koran. Given the location of the developer in London, actual violence was a possibility. However, the author is at pains to emphasize that he means no ill will, but simply wishes to tell the truth as best he understands it.
Richardson's account is based largely on the hadith and the commentaries thereon that have been translated into English. This is not a complaint, since this is an admirable amateur effort. Acquiring sufficient linguistic expertise to read Islamic commentaries on the hadith in Arabic is the province of the ivory tower, and such a work would likely have been stillborn within the academic world. That being said, there are strange gaps in Richardson's knowledge that are the likely result of autodidactism. When self-taught, one does not know what one does not know. For example, Richardson seems wholly innocent of Islamic tradition with regards to the people of the book, as opposed to other faiths.
Interestingly enough, Islamic tradition speaks much of the Mahdi's special calling to convert Christians and Jews to Islam, yet speaks very little specifically of conversions from other faiths. It seems as though converting Christians and Jews to Islam will be the primary evangelistic thrust of the Mahdi. -pg 61
Indeed. Given that the Mahdi's job is to conquer the entire world, there will not be believers of any other faiths except Christians and Jews. Christians and Jews, being people of the Book, get special treatment. One may convert, or one may remain a Christian or Jew and pay the Jizyah. Neglected people of the Book include the Sabbateans, who lived in Baghdad and were eventually massacred en toto in the twelfth century. Other faiths only have the option of conversion or death. Thus, by the time the Mahdi has done his work, there will be no Hindus or Buddhists or what-have-you left. Ask the Zoroastrians how that works out.
This book is really good for a ground-eye view of a living millennial belief, worked out in light of objections and the shifting situations in the world. If you want to learn about the terms used in premillennial circles, this book is quite good. This work also has generally good basic info about Islamic millennialism, including the fact that al-Mahdi is not exclusively a Shia figure. However, it would be wise to cross-check the meanings of Arabic words and the preeminence of interpretations with more scholarly works.
I admire the author for including a chapter of likely rebuttals to his work. Chief among these is the popular model has been identifying Antichrists without notable success for two millennia. He is bound and determined to move forward however, because he believes that he sees real parallels. This is actually what is most interesting about the book. Richardson is on the very edges of the premillennial model, and has included material in his book that actually points away from his thesis considered literally. Simply stated, millennial expectations are a completely normal aspect of all human cultures, so we cannot be all that surprised by similarities between different accounts. But there is more to it than that. As St. Augustine put it in Book XX of the City of God, each age is equally close to the Millennium, because each age instantiates the elements of the Last Days. Thus the parallels that Richardson sees are real, but that does not necessarily mean that the events he foresees will therefore be the unique, final end that St. Augustine also believed in. Biblical prophecy exhibits properties analogous to quantum indeterminacy. The more one knows about what is going to happen specifically, the less one knows about when exactly this will take place. (Mark 13) Whereas, the less one tries to apply prophecy to particular events, the more certain you can become that will occur eventually.
A worthy book, and an act of personal bravery on the part of the author. Worth a read if you are interested in millennialism of either Christian or Muslim varieties. Most flaws are probably due to to a lack of editing in volumes of this type. English Several years ago I took a class about Islam. I recall at the time being startled when learning about Islamic Eschatology (end times teaching). I couldn’t help but wonder how Muslim beliefs about the end times fit into the Christian end of the world scenarios I was more familiar with. As I learned about the coming of the Mahdi (the Islamic savior), I remember thinking there were striking similarities between the Christian Antichrist and the way the Mahdi is depicted in Islamic tradition. I briefly considered writing a work of fiction on the topic. My plan was to write a book about the Antichrist appearing on Earth in the form of the Mahdi. As it turns out, I was not the only person to have such thoughts.
Joel Richardson did not write a peace of fiction, but he did write an incredibly well researched book that compares the eschatology of Islam and Christianity. Richardson quotes the Bible, the Quaran, and other Islamic sources to compare the Mahdi with the Antichrist. He then takes his study one step further and compares the Muslim version of Jesus with the False Prophet that is depicted in the Bible. To further solidify his thesis, Richardson then compares the Biblical Jesus with the Dajjal (Islam’s Antichrist). Richardson then analyzes other aspects of Islam to see how it fits into Biblical eschatology.
I want to point out that this book is not anti-Islam. Richardson seems to have a genuine love for Muslim people and does not seem to harbor any ill-will towards Islam as a religion. His book is well researched and well written. Many people who study or write about eschatology are portrayed as “nut jobs” or “zealots,” Richardson is neither. His book is a scholarly study of the two faiths. I must say that while I enjoyed Joel Rosenberg’s Epicenter tremendously, I find that certain aspects of Richardson’s work makes more sense intellectually.
I highly recommend this book for anyone that is interested in eschatology or Islam. It is a fantastic book. English Fascinating English
Free read Antichrist: Islam's Awaited Messiah
A highly acclaimed and fascinating examination of Islamic and biblical end-time prophecies. Discover the startling similarities between the biblical Antichrist and Islam's Messiah figure known as Imam al-Mahdi. A must read for anyone interested in Islam, Bible prophecy or the underlying spiritual factors behind many of today's current events. Antichrist: Islam's Awaited Messiah
