Muslims

Fate of the Muslims

By Dr. David R. Reagan

What is the fate of the Muslims as it is revealed in end-time Bible prophecy?

Let's consider for a moment the fate of the Muslims as it is revealed in End Time Bible prophecy. The Bible prophesies that God will pour out judgment upon the Arab nations in the end times for their hostility towards the Jews and their attempt to claim the Jewish homeland as their own.

Consider Joel 3:19 for example, this passage has a clear end-time context and in that context it says, "Egypt will become a waste and Edom will become a desolate wilderness because of the violence done to the sons of Judah in whose land they have shed innocent blood." Keep in mind that "Edom" is often used as a symbolic term for all the Arab peoples, just as "Israel" is used as a term for all the Jewish tribes.

Ezekiel says that all of Edom will be dealt with in the end times because of its hatred against the Jews and its lust for their land. The result will be the desolation of the Arab states.

The book of Obadiah prophesies a similar fate for Edom in the Day of the Lord. Part of this destruction is going to take place in the wars of Psalm 83 and Ezekiel 38, most likely before the Tribulation begins. Psalm 83 indicates that Israel will defeat the inner ring of Arab nations that have a common border with it. Ezekiel 38 states that God will supernaturally destroy the outer ring of Arab nations that will invade Israel under the leadership of the Russians.

But, these wars affect only the nations in the Middle East. The vast majority of Muslims live in nations outside the Middle East. I believe the Muslims in other parts of the world like Pakistan, Bangladesh, India and Indonesia will taste the wrath of God at the beginning of the Tribulation when they refuse to accept the European Antichrist. They will become the focus of the Antichrist military actions to subdue all the world to his authority. The book of Revelation states that one-fourth of humanity will die in the initial military campaign of the Antichrist - that is one and a half billion people in today's terms! Then we are told the war will expand into what appears as a nuclear holocaust and during this second phase one-third of those remaining will die. That is another one and a half billion! So, a total of three billion people are going to be killed in the wars of the Antichrist during the first half of the Tribulation. I believe that most of these will be Muslims.

But, the future of the Arabs is not all bleak. They must suffer for their sins, just like the Jewish people will suffer during the Tribulation. And like the Jews, we are told in Jeremiah 12 that a remnant of the Arabs will emerge from their suffering with their hearts turned to the one and only true God. The Bible says in Zechariah 2:8, "that the Jewish people are the apple of God's eye." But, that does not mean that He has no love for their cousins the Arabs. Just as God has covenants with the Jews, He has a covenant with the Arab peoples. It can be found in Genesis 16 and 17. In this covenant God promised to make the decendents of Ishmael (the Arabs) a great nation and to give them all the land to the east of their Jewish brethren. God has been faithful to those promises. Today there are 22 Arab nations with a combined population of over 300 million people. The Arabs occupy a total area of 5.3 million square miles of oil rich land. By contrast, there is only one Jewish state with a population of only 5 million Jews who are squeezed into only 8,000 square miles of space. That is a population ratio of 58:1 and the land ratio of 662:1! The Arabs have truly been blessed.

There is no partiality with God. He chose the Jews not to be a repository of His blessings, but to be a vehicle through whom He would bless all the nations of the world, including the Arabs. But, the fundamental requirement to receive God's blessings for both Jew and Arab as well as all people is to accept God's gift of love in Jesus by receiving Him as Messiah.

When I consider the blessings that God has given the Arab peoples and the grace He is going to show them in the future despite their persecution of His chosen people, I am reminded of what Paul wrote when he considered God's grace towards his Jewish brethren. He cried out from his heart, "Oh the depth of the riches, both of the wisdom and knowledge of God, how unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways."