28 Bible and Quran - THE END TIMES AND THE BIBLE

A great deal of information regarding the end times and Jesus' return
to earth appears in Islamic sources. That being the case, the
following question arises: Could the subject of the end times also be
discussed in the texts of the pre-Islamic divine religions? Could God
have given information about the events of the end times to the
messengers who came before the Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him)?
That is of course possible. It is very likely that the Torah and the
Bible will contain references to the end times.
There is a strong likelihood that those references compatible with the
hadiths of the Prophet (peace be upon him) and the verses of the
Qur'an are original. In fact, when the references in the Bible are
examined it is indeedstriking that there are indications regarding
theend times, and that thereare many parallels between these and
thosein Islamic sources. Some of these references are asfollows:
Portents of the End Timesin the Bible
The most distinctive characteristic of the end times is Jesus' return
to earth. A number of signs are provided on the subject of the events
thatwill herald the coming ofJesus. Some of these signs may have
occurred at various times. Yet for all these signs, in other words
what we are told about the end times, to come together at the same
time is to be regarded as a portent that the coming of the Prophet
Jesus (peace be upon him) is approaching.
As it will be seen in the other sections of this website, according to
Islamic sources, the Mahdi must already have started his work aimed
atbringing the moral values of Islam to prevail in the world. Since
the Mahdi will prepare the ground for the Prophet Jesus and will act
with him when he returns, theappearance of Jesus mustbe close at hand.
The Bible and Islamic sources have many similarities in a number of
respects. Heading the list are the portents concerning the coming of
the Prophet Jesus. These portents before the return of Jesus are
described in the Bible in the following terms:
Now I tell you before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you
may believe that I am He. (John, 13:19)
Now as He [Jesus] sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to
Him privately, saying, "Tell us, when will these things be? And what
will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?" And Jesus
answered and said to them: "Take heed that no one deceives you.For
many will come in Myname, saying, "I am the Christ," and will deceive
many. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are
not troubled; for all thesethings must come to pass,but the end is not
yet. Fornation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.
And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various
places. All these are the beginning of sorrows."Then they will deliver
you up to tribulation andkill you, and you will be hated by all
nations for My name's sake. And thenmany will be offended, will betray
one another, and will hate one another. Then many falseprophets will
rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the
love of manywill grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be
saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the
world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will
come.(Matthew, 24: 3-14)
- The Spread of War:
In the Bible we can see a similar reference to the Prophet's hadith
concerning the appearance of the Mahdi in which he says, "The world
will be in utter confusion."
But when you hear of wars and commotions, do not be terrified; for
these things must come to pass first, but the end will not come
immediately." Then He said to them, "Nation willrise against nation,
and kingdom against kingdom." (Luke, 21: 9-10)
And you will hear of warsand rumors of wars. See that you are not
troubled; for all these things must come to pass,but the end is not
yet. Fornation will rise against nation, and kingdom against
kingdom... (Matthew, 24: 6-7)
- The Drying up of the Waters of the Euphrates, The Fire and Smoke That Burns
Then the sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river
Euphrates,and its water was dried up, so that the way of thekings from
the east mightbe prepared. And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs
coming out of the mouth of the dragon, outof the mouth of the beast,
and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are spirits of
demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of theearth and of
the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God
Almighty... And they gathered them together to the place called in
Hebrew, Armageddon. (Revelation, 16: 12-16)
Now the number of the army of the horsemen was two hundred million...
A third of mankind was killed--by the fire and the smoke and the
brimstone which came out of their mouths. (Revelation, 9: 16-18)
We are told in the above verses that the waters of the Euphrates will
dry up,that a great war will erupt in the place called Armageddon, and
that most people will die fromfire and smoke. These portents are also
to be found in the hadiths of the Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon
him). Thedrying up of the waters of the Euphrates, the fire and smoke
coming from the east and burning people; all of these are examples of
portents regarding the end times spoken by the Prophet.
- Natural Events (Famines,Earthquakes)
In the other sections of this website we have seen in some detail how
extraordinary natural events will take place. Similar indications can
be found in the gospels of saints Matthew and Luke. Two examples read:
...And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various
places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. (Matthew, 24: 7-8)
Men's hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those
things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens
will be shaken. (Luke, 21: 26)
In addition to the extraordinary natural phenomena on earth, other
portents are indicated in the sky. Indeed, we have already looked at
some signs concerning heavenly bodies.
The Bible makes reference to extraordinary natural events taking place
in the skies. One of these takes the following form:
And there will be great earthquakes in various places, and famines and
pestilences; and there will be fearful sights and great signs from
heaven. (Luke, 21:11)
- There Will Be Signs in the Sun, the Moon and the Stars
We have already stated that there will be an eclipse of the Sun and
Moon during the month of Ramadan, that Halley'sComet and Hale Bob
Comet will pass by the earth, and have looked at the interesting
connections between these and the hadiths. The Bible also says that
these phenomena in the sky will herald the end times:
And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, andin the stars; and
on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the
waves roaring; men's hearts failing themfrom fear and the expectation
of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of the
heavens will be shaken. (Luke, 21: 25-26)
Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be
darkened,and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall
from heaven, andthe powers of the heavens will be shaken. (Matthew,
24: 29)
- An Increase of Evil
Moral degeneration among people and the resulting loss of love and
respect between them is shown as another of the signs of the end
times. These also appear in the Bible:
And then many will be offended, will betray oneanother, and will hate
one another... And because lawlessness will abound, the love of
manywill grow cold. (Matthew,24: 10-12)
- Non-religious Life Will Spread
Religion's ceasing to play a defining role in peoples' lives is also
shown as another sign ofthe end times:
For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but
according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they
will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears
away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.(2Timothy, 4: 3-4)
Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart
from the faith.... (1Timothy, 4: 1)
But know this, that in thelast days perilous times will come: For men
will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud,
blasphemers, disobedientto parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving,
unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of
good,traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than
lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And
from such people turn away! (2Timothy, 3: 1-5)
But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of
Manbe. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and
drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah
entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them
all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Manbe. (Matthew, 24:
37-39)
- Oppression
In many regions of the world people are regarded as a danger for
saying "God is our Lord," and are thus subjected tooppression. This
danger awaiting believers is referred to in these termsin the Bible:
Then they will deliver you up to tribulation andkill you, and you will
be hated by all nations for My name's sake. (Matthew, 24: 9)
Another reference in the Gospel of Saint Luke describes the oppression
and torture awaiting believers thus:
But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and
persecute you, deliveringyou up to the synagogues and prisons. You
will be brought before kings and rulers for My name's sake... You will
be betrayed even by parents and brothers, relatives and friends;
andthey will put some of youto death... By your patience possess your
souls. (Luke, 21: 12, 16,19)
- The Wealthy Will Become Wealthier
As poverty and famine prevail on the one hand in the end times, the
goods and fortunes of the wealthy will increase still further on the
other. In other words, the few wealthy people will groweven wealthier,
and a huge chasm will emerge between people.
Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming
upon you! Your riches arecorrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten.
Your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be a
witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have heaped
up treasure in the last days. (James, 5: 1-3)
- False Prophets Will Appear Most Will Claim to Be the Messiah
In the end times many people will emerge claiming to be Jesus and some
will openly declare themselves to be prophets. The appearance of false
Messiahs, described as a portent of the coming of the Mahdi in the
hadiths of our Prophet, is also to be found in the Bible:
For many will come in My name, saying, "I am the Christ," and will
deceive many. (Matthew, 24: 5)
Then if anyone says to you, "Look, here is the Christ!" or "There!" do
not believe it. For false christs and false prophetswill rise and show
great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. See,
I have told you beforehand. (Matthew, 24: 23-25)
Then many false prophetswill rise up and deceive many. (Matthew, 24: 11)
And He said: "Take heed that you not be deceived.For many will come in
My name, saying, 'I am He,' and, 'The time has drawn near.' Therefore
do not go after them." (Luke, 21: 8)
- There Will Be Great Tribulations and Confusion in the End Days
For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since
the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. And
unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the
elect's sake those days will be shortened. (Matthew, 24: 21-22)
"Therefore when you seethe 'abomination of desolation,' spoken of
byDaniel the prophet, standing in the holy place"... For then there
will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of
the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. (Matthew, 24: 15,21)
- Jesus' Return to Earth
As we have already mentioned, Jesus' returnto earth is one of
fundamental subjects in the Bible, which seeks to teach people by
giving examples from his life. In addition, there are frequent
references to the return of Jesus and all believers are called upon to
be prepared for such a great event. Some of the references in the
Bible to the coming of Jesus read as follows:
Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all
the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man
coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. (Matthew,
24: 30)
Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken
up, and a cloud received Him out oftheir sight. And while they looked
steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them
in white apparel, who also said, "Men of Galilee, whydo you stand
gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into
heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven."
(Acts, 1: 9-11)
Looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God
and Savior Jesus Christ. (Titus, 2: 13)
And to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is
revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, inflaming fire taking
vengeance on those who do not know God, and onthose who do not obey
the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Thessalonians, 1: 7-8)
So Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who
eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for
salvation. (Hebrews, 9: 28)
Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him...
(Revelation, 1: 7)
Therefore if they say to you, "Look, He is in the desert!" do not go
out; or"Look, He is in the inner rooms!" do not believe it.For as the
lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will
the coming of the Son of Man be. (Matthew, 24: 26-27)
Jesus said to him, "It is as you said. Nevertheless, I say to you,
hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the
Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven." (Matthew, 26: 64)