Islam, A Weapon in the Hand of God!
Dr. Allen Barber
January 26, 2012 (a repost)
Proverbs 17:24 NLT
24 Sensible people keep their eyes glued on wisdom, but a fool's eyes wander to the ends of the earth.
I Corinthians 10:14-22 NKJV
14 Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. 15 I speak as to wise men; judge for yourselves what I say. 16 The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? 17 For we, though many, are one bread and one body; for we all partake of that one bread. 18 Observe Israel after the flesh: Are not those who eat of the sacrifices partakers of the altar? 19 What am I saying then? That an idol is anything, or what is offered to idols is anything? 20 Rather, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice they sacrifice to demons and not to God, and I do not want you to have fellowship with demons. 21 You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the Lord's table and of the table of demons. 22 Or do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than He?
There is nothing like idolatry to provoke the jealously and anger of Holy God. The Old Testament, which the Bible says was written for our benefit that we may observe how God dealt with Israel of old and learn from them, was replete with warnings against idolatry and the consequences of disobeying the First Commandment – “You shall not have any other gods before me.”
A careful reading of Revelation 17 presents an interesting phenomenon. While the Lord destroys Mystery Babylon the city, the Antichrist and the False Prophet, He does not destroy the great whore – the Harlot religious system – men do!
Dr. W. A. Criswell, however you may or not agree with his theology, in his sermon series on the book of Revelation, Chapter 17 provides some thought-provoking commentary that is relevant to our world today (the series of messages on Revelation were delivered to the First Baptist Church in Dallas over an extended period and published in 1962 by Zondervan):
When we read history and watch the course of this world, that is exactly what God has done and what God has said. We are not to think that God is peculiarly different here in the Revelation. The great, eternal, spiritual principles by which God directs history and destiny are no different in the Revelation from what they were yesterday or will be tomorrow, or are today. We can follow these things in history books. We can read these things in the daily newspapers. God is ever true to the great principles by which He governs the world. We can herein follow the work of God as it is projected out to the end of time. The Apocalypse says it is not the intervention of Christ; it is no appearing from God that destroys the scarlet whore. Men do it. “The ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, those kingdoms of the earth, they hate the whore, and they make her desolate and naked and they eat her flesh, and they burn her with fire.”
Let us see if this prophecy (the judgment of the great whore – emphasis mine) made two thousand years ago is demonstrated in history. God has said in the text that men shall destroy this whore, this idolatrous system. Men do it. Do you remember reading in history of the ferocious onslaught of this terrible Moslem, Mohammedan, Islamic movement and its conquest with the scimitar (sword – emphasis mine)? That terrible, bloody conquest began in the seventh century A.D. and continued through the centuries. Against what was Mohammedanism a reaction and against what was the fierce onslaught of Mohammedanism thrust? It was against idolatry. In the fierce conquest of the Caliphs of Mohammed who overran the world as they destroyed idolatry, could you explain to a Mohammedan Caliph, the idols of Western Christianity (emphasis mine), who felt called of God with a sword in his hand, to destroy idolatry in the earth. When the Mohammedan Caliph came with his sword in hand, he destroyed the idol temples, the churches of all Africa, of all Palestine, of all Asia Minor and Turkey and of Istanbul, and thrust through to the Philippine Islands on the east. It was against idolatry that the Mohammedan religion arose as a fierce and terrible antagonist. The sweep of the Mohammedan was the sweep of the fierceness of the wrath and the judgment of Almighty God. Men destroyed the idolatrous whore in Africa and Asia.
Though preached and taught over fifty ago, Dr. Criswell’s rendition of history is not only accurate, but serves as a warning to the West today – that idolatry is the primary reason for the rise of Islam in this last days. As He did in the past, God is again using the Islamic hordes to judge the West for its worship of the great whore and her many religions. I was given a word in March 1994 from Jeremiah 46:20 that God was going to raise up an enemy (spiritual horse flies) to destroy the fortresses of the United States for its sins, and primarily one sin – the worship of other gods. The reason for this is that the United States began as a Christian nation, but today it allows and worships many false gods – Islam being one of them. While 9-11 was certainly a judgment upon our financial empire, it also was the result of turning God out of our nation and inviting the worship of other gods. For example, since 2000, the U.S. Congress has recognized and applauded Moonism, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Islamism while showing little or no respect for Christianity. This is idolatry and God hates it! Even our own military leaders at the highest level (Pentagon) promote Islam among the ranks while debasing Christianity. Special provisions are given to Muslims for daily prayers and worship centers. Christian chaplains are fired or made to retire for using the name of Jesus in public prayers. This is why I know an unusual judgment is coming to our military, that is, one not expected because in the Word I was given from Hosea 10:10-15, a judgment on our military fortresses was the second of three judgments unless the nation repents. This is not to discredit the brave men and women who put their lives on the line for this daily. However, God judges leaders that misuse His name, laws and who punish His people. His judgments are always slow to come because He is a merciful loving God, but come they will if a nation or people spurn His warnings to repent and turn back to Him.
Each time I write something like this, I receive all kinds of hate mail accusing me of being a prophet of doom for suggesting that God would use Islam to judge America. As Dr. Criswell rightly taught, God used Islam to judge idolatry in Africa and Asia, and He is again using Mohammed’s Caliph’s to attack the symbols and stations of idolatry in the West. The problem is not Islam, as bad as it is, but IDOLATRY IN WESTERN CIVILIZATION!
Unless and until the U.S. repents and turns from its idols back to the worship of the one true God, we will continue to witness the wrath of God in our land and upon our people. The false prophets are the ones preaching, “Peace, Peace, when there is no peace!” The true prophets are warning of judgment for our nation’s great sins and they are great in the eyes of God.
The prophet Jeremiah preached repentance or judgment to the Southern Kingdom of Judah for 40 years (626 B.C. to 586 B.C) before judgment came. His message was not popular with the priests, the king and the false prophets. He was beaten, put into the stocks by a priest and false prophet, attacked by his own brothers, imprisoned by the king and threatened by death, thrown into a cistern with mud up to his armpits by Judah's officials and opposed by a false prophet who died according to Jeremiah's word. Do you think he got discouraged? Yes, he did but he never stopped preaching a message of judgment because he was called of God for that purpose. However, he did prophesy of a time when God would forgive them and restore the kingdom. That must be understood in light of the New Testament. The Jews will be forgiven and restored in Jesus Christ, but the kingdom will be His not a Jewish monarchy. The Jews who are delivered at the end of the tribulation will serve the Lord and the Body of Christ - the Judah Church in His kingdom. (See Revelation 2:9; 3:9).
Who is a Jew Paul asks? It is not one who is circumcised in the flesh, but circumcised in the heart by the Holy Spirit - the one who is reborn of the Spirit and accepts Jesus as Messiah and Lord. Who is an Israelite Paul asks? Not all Israel is the true Israel, but a remnant will come to Christ and become part of what Paul says is the One New Man - saved Jews and Gentiles.
God bless you.