Unleashing the Beast

74 / U NLEASHING THE B EAST

Islamic scholars say 50,000 years).

I SLAM ' S F INAL P ROPHET , T HE M AHDI If you ask Muslims if they believe in Jesus, they will reply, "Of course." If you ask them if they believe Christ will return one day, they will again reply "yes." But their concept of Jesus and His return is far different than what the Scripture teaches. The Jesus of Islam is a Muslim who will return and help convert the world to the Islamic religion. Years ago, I was amazed to discover that Muslims believe they will one day control the entire world and that everyone will eventually become a Muslim. I was also disturbed to discover what most Muslims felt about Jews and the state of Israel, especially among those Muslims living in the Middle East. The Shiites have a teaching called the Doctrine of the Twelve. It states that after Mohammed, there were 11 caliphs. The 12 th was the son of the 11 th , and he disappeared when he was a young boy. Since the graves of the other 11 are known and the grave of the 12 th has never been discovered, the tradition states that the 12 th caliph has been supernaturally protected by Allah for the past 1,200 years. Most say he is in a desert in Arabia. Still others believe he is being preserved in Iraq. Since the disappearance of the 12 th Imam in 878 A.D., Muslims have been expecting a final prophet to appear. He is called the Mahdi and will lead a last-days Islamic revival. This man, according to tradition, will be a military