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Lesson Four -- Is Qiyamat Near?
One day, 's disciples came to him and asked him,
"what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of
the age (qiyamat)?" In response, gave them a very
clear list of signs by which they would be able to understand
whether qiyamat is near or not. This list is found in the Holy
in Matthew 24:4-14, which is reproduced here for your convenience:
Isa answered: "Watch out that no one deceives you.
For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am ,' and
will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars,
but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen,
but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation,
and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes
in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains.
Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death,
and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time
many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each
other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people.
Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will
grow cold, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. And
this gospel of the kingdom will be preached to the whole world
as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. (Holy
, Matthew 24:4-14)
As we ponder these words of the holy prophet Isa, several
signs of the end are obvious:
1. Rise of False Masih (False Messiah, Antichrist) - Matt. 24:4-5 "Watch
out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name,
claiming, 'I am ,' and will deceive many." "Masih"
is the Arabic form of the Hebrew word "Messiah" which means "anointed one", that is,
one who is anointed with oil as a sign that he is chosen by Allah
to fulfill a special task. The Greek form of this word is "christos",
often rendered "Christ" in English. All these words mean
the same thing "one who is anointed (with oil)". Kings
of Israel were anointed in this way. So were priests who served
in the Jewish temple. This anointing with oil was done to show
that the kings and priests were chosen by Allah himself to fulfill
their task. Masih or Messiah, was also a special title the ancient
Jewish people knew referred to a special, one-of-a-kind individual
whom Allah would send in the future to save them from all evil.
Eventually, the prophet Isa was born into this world through
the virgin . Prophet Isa knew that he himself was
this "Masih". This is why Isa is called "Masih",
both in the holy and in the holy Qur'an. "Masih"
is not prophet Isa's family name; it is a title given to him.
When you say " " you are really saying "Isa,
Allah's chosen one".
's task was to save men from their sins. The angel
announced on the day of his birth, "Today in the city of
your Saviour has been born. He is ."
(Holy , Luke 2:11).
This truth is also proven by the God-given name of Isa. The
name Isa, in the Hebrew language means "Saviour", or
"he who saves". This means not only that he was to
intercede to Allah for men's forgiveness, but more importantly,
that he would do what was necessary to accomplish salvation for
men. This explains why the angel Jibrail said to the
husband of , concerning the child, "You will call
his name Isa, because he will save his people from their
sins." (Holy , Matt. 1:21). Isa is "he who saves"
people from their sins.
In the verses quoted at the beginning of this chapter, the
prophet Isa says that many false Masihs will
come during the time prior to qiyamat. This will be like a foretaste
of the coming of the great false Masih, Dajjal (also called Antichrist),
who will exercise power in the last days. Since the time of Isa
Masih, many men have come and gone claiming to be the Masih or
Saviour also. But this tendency of certain people to claim to
be Allah's Masih has multiplied dramatically in recent years.
According to one source, over 1,100 religious leaders in different
parts of the world in the last fifty years have claimed to be
Masih and the Saviour of the world.
2. Much News of War and International Unrest - Matt.
24:6,7 "You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see
to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but
the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and
kingdom against kingdom." Everyday in the newspaper and
on the television news, there are reports of "wars and rumors
of wars". This situation was not always true. One hundred
years ago, it used to take weeks, even months for international
news like this to arrive. In many cases, people never got to
hear of events occurring in distant lands. Now however, we hear
of such events the same day they are happening, and sometimes
even at the moment they are happening.
3. Famines - Matt. 24:7 "There will be famines
and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning
of birth pains." At one time, the World Health Organization
estimated that approximately one-third of the world is well-fed,
one-third is underfed, and one-third is starving. Today, the
threat of famine in various places is always near.
4. Earthquakes - The previous verse mentions "earthquakes
in various places". Now that there are good, scientific
methods for measuring earthquakes, we are more aware of "earthquakes
in various places" than ever before. Each year there are
many significant earthquakes throughout the world. For example,
in just one year there were 76 serious earthquakes throughout
the world. Many of them caused casualities or considerable damage.
5. Persecution of 's Followers - Matt. 24:9
"Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to
death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me."
knew that his followers would not be liked by certain
people. Today, some people will speak of speak of followers of
as "Christians" or "Nasara", in
an uncomplimentary manner. Sometimes they are accused of worshipping
Allah incorrectly. In some countries, they lose their property,
homes, or employment opportunities. In other lands, they have
been imprisoned or even executed for being a follower of Isa
Masih. himself predicted that this would happen to
his people!
6. Apostasy and Unfaithfulness - Matt. 24:10 "At
that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray
and hate each other". Possibly due to persecution, many
followers of will turn away from following him and
become enemies of the believers. This happens sometimes today
in countries where his followers are in the minority and are
persecuted by believers in other religions or philosophies. It
also happens in some cases where the children of believers are
being tempted by worldly pleasures to forsake the faith of their
fathers. It is not enough to be born into the family of a follower
of . Such children must also decide for themselves that
they too will follow him.
7. Many False Prophets - Matt. 24:11 "and many
false prophets will appear and deceive many people." Although
most people cherish freedom of speech and religion (this writer
included), one unfortunate disadvantage of such freedom is that
it allows false religion to freely grow. said that
this would happen throughout the world and so it has. There are
many false prophets in the world today and they somehow manage
to obtain many followers. Without knowing it, anyone today who
proclaims, "I am Allah's prophet", is fulfilling the
prophecy of the true Masih, Isa.
8. Increasing Wickedness - Matt. 24:12,13 "Because
of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold,
but he who stands firm to the end will be saved." Not only
has false religion increased, but so has corrupt behaviour. While
wickedness has increased, love for fellowman has decreased. It
is a rare thing to meet someone who is known as a loving person.
But daily one can read in the newspaper about a man being killed
by his neighbour, a wife being murdered by her husband, and so
on.
9. The (gospel) to be proclaimed in the whole world
- Matt. 24:14 "And this of the kingdom will be preached
in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the
end will come." sent his followers out into the
world to proclaim his , or gospel (meaning "good news")
to all people. The good news is that anyone who calls to Allah
for forgiveness through Isa the Saviour finds salvation from
all his sins. Taking this message, the followers of Masih have
gone to almost all of the peoples of the world. Someday in the
near future, this good news will have been proclaimed in the
whole world. When that day comes, you can be sure that the end
will also come quickly.
Are You Ready for Qiyamat?
These nine signs of the end were spoken nearly two thousand
years ago by a trustworthy prophet of Allah. In these days, every
one of these signs is coming to fulfillment. Is qiyamat near?
Yes, it seems to be so. But perhaps an even more important question
is this, "Are you ready for qiyamat?" If the world
ended today, would you be ready to stand before Allah? You see,
there is a connection between the proclaiming of the and the end times. said that first, the
would be proclaimed in all the world, and then, the end
would come. Have you heard and believed the message of the ?
If you have, you are ready for the end. If you have not, then
continue to read. As you read, pray that Allah will guide you
into all truth so that you may understand how to become ready
for qiyamat.
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QUESTIONS: -- Choose the most correct answers
1. The prophet Isa is called "Masih" in
a. the Injil only
b. the only
c. the Qur'an only
d. the
Injil and the Qur'an
2. The word "Masih"
a. is a title given
to all prophets
b. is just prophet
Isa's family name
c. is a
special title of Isa which means "Allah's chosen one"
3. The name "Isa" means "Saviour".
a. true
b. false
4. came to
a.
conquer his enemies
b.
start a family dynasty
c. save
people from their sins
5.
a. will exercise
power in the last days
b.
will be a false Masih
c. will claim to be
a great Saviour
d. all of
the above
6. Prophet Isa said that before he returns
a. there will be famines
and earthquakes in various places
b. everything will get
better and better
c. everyone
will become followers of Allah
7. According to Isa's prophecy, someone who becomes his follower
a. will be liked
by everybody
b. will be misunderstood,
persecuted and hated
c. will easily obtain
good jobs and success
d. will
be safe from all harm
8. Prophet Isa said that after his departure
a. another prophet
like him would come to lead people to the truth
b. no one
else would claim to be a prophet of Allah
c. false prophets will
come and deceive many people
9. Isa said that before the end comes
a. all mankind will
be destroyed
b. all disbelievers
will be destroyed
c. the message of the
Injil (gospel) will be proclaimed in the whole world
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