30 March 2016

Thursday, March 31, 2016, 14:46

This news item was posted in Presbyterians Week category.

“But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman’s hand.” [Ezekiel 33:6]

“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” [Ephesians 6:12]

Presbyterians Week Headlines

[1] The Islamic Mahdi

[2] Trinity Foundation Adds Three New Lectures and a Q&A by John W. Robbins from 2004 Reformation Conference

[3] Church of Scotland Study Concludes People Who Stop Attending Church Still Believe in God

[4] PCUSA Stated Clerk Gradye Parsons Applauds Georgia Governor’s Veto of Bill Protecting Christian Pastors That Refuse to Marry Homosexuals; Says Similar Enacted North Carolina Legislation Should Be Repealed

[5] News from the Deepest Recesses of Hell

[6] The Thinning Blue Line

[7] Raging Heathen and Vain Imagining

[8] The Religion of Peace

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[1] The Islamic Mahdi

Excerpted from The Future According to the Bible by David Cloud, ISBN 978-1-58318-172-0

Members of both Sunnis and Shiites believe in an Islamic messiah, the Mahdi, who will appear at the end of the world to establish Allah’s kingdom on earth.

Both Sunnis and Shiites accept hadiths (writings of Muhammad collected after his death) which predict the coming of a Mahdi who will establish a global caliphate in Allah’s name and rule for a period of time (seven, nine, or nineteen years, according to varying interpretations), ridding the world of evil before the day of judgment.

The coming of the Mahdi is believed to coincide with the second coming of Jesus, whom they call Isa, who will join hands with the Mahdi against a false messiah or antichrist.

The Shiites have developed this theology more extensively and emphasize it more forcefully.

As we have seen, “Twelver” Shiites (and Sufis) believe that the 12 Imams who succeeded Muhammad inherited Muhammad’s spiritual perfection and wisdom and are therefore interpreters or and trustees of the light of Islam.

They believe that the 12th Imam, Muhammad ibn Hasan al-Mahdi, was the prophesied Mahdi. He is believed to have died or otherwise disappeared in AD 941 and to be hidden by God until he will reappear at the end of time. The hiding is called the Occultation. (This is “an event that occurs when one object is hidden by another object that passes between it and the observer,” such as a sun eclipse.)

Other groups of Muslims, such as the Druze, the Mustaali, the Zaidi, and the Nizari, believe in a different Mahdi and are not “Twelvers.”

The Sunnis believe that the Mahdi has not yet been born but will be named Muhammad and will be a descendant of Muhammad.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, former president of Iran, has zealous faith in the coming of the Imam Madhi, and Iranian radio has broadcast prophecies of his coming.

“In short, when he reappears, peace, justice and security will overcome oppression and deceit and one global government, the most perfect ever, will be established. … Another beautiful moment of the Savior’s appearance is the coming down of Prophet Jesus (PBUH) from heaven. Hazrat Mahdi receives him courteously and asks him to lead the prayers. But Jesus says you are more qualified for this than me. We read in the book Tazkarat ol-Olia, ‘the Mahdi will come with Jesus, son of Mary, accompanying him.’ This indicates that these two great men complement each other. Imam Mahdi will be the leader while Prophet Jesus will act as his lieutenant in the struggle against oppression and establishment of justice in the world. Jesus had himself given the tidings of the coming of God’s last messenger and will see Muhammad’s ideals materialize in the time of the Mahdi” (“Police Storm Home,” WorldNetDaily, June 23, 2007).

We see that Islam’s “Jesus” is given a subordinate position in these prophecies.

The following is from the London Telegraph, Jan. 14, 2006:

“As Iran rushes towards confrontation with the world over its nuclear programme, the question uppermost in the mind of western leaders is ‘What is moving its President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to such recklessness?’ … The most remarkable aspect of Mr. Ahmadinejad’s piety is his devotion to the Hidden Imam, the Messiah-like figure of Shia Islam, and the president’s belief that his government must prepare the country for his return. One of the first acts of Mr. Ahmadinejad’s government was to donate about £10 million to the Jamkaran mosque, a popular pilgrimage site where the pious come to drop messages to the Hidden Imam into a holy well. … A common rumour–denied by the government but widely believed–is that Mr. Ahmadinejad and his cabinet have signed a ‘contract’ pledging themselves to work for the return of the Mahdi and sent it to Jamkaran.”

From time to time, various individuals have claimed to be the Mahdi and have gotten large, enthusiastic followings. One of these was Siyyid Ali Muhammad Shirazi, who was called the Bab (“gate”) and is one of the central figures of the Baha’i. They consider the Bab to have been the Mahdi, Elijah, and John the Baptist. Others who have claimed to be the Mahdi are Muhammad Jaunpuri, founder of the Mahdavia sect, Muhammad Ahmad, founder of the Mahdist state in Sudan in the late 19th century, and Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, founder of the Ahmadiyya sect.

In this way, we probably see what will happen in the time of the Antichrist, in that either he or his prophet or both will be accepted as the fulfillment of prophecy by Muslims, and they will obey him. [The article’s author is a dispensational, fundamentalist, independent Baptist. Ed.]

+ Way of Life Literature, Post Office Box 610368, Port Huron, Michigan 48061, 519-652-2619, fbns@wayoflife.org

[2] Trinity Foundation Adds Three New Lectures and a Q&A by John W. Robbins from 2004 Reformation Conference

The Trinity Foundation has added three new lectures and a Question and Answer session to Collection 13 in their MP3 Lectures. The Lectures are all by John W. Robbins and were given at the Reformation Conference in 2004. The titles are “Forgotten Principles of the Reformation,” “The Reformation Betrayed,” “The Current Justification Controversy,” and a “Question and Answer Session.” The Trinity Foundation expresses its special thanks to Paul Elliott for uncovering these lectures. Each of these lectures and the Question and Answer session is available on The Trinity Foundation website.

+ The Trinity Foundation, Post Office Box 68, Unicoi, Tennessee 37692, 423-743-0199, Fax: 423-743-2005, tjtrinityfound@aol.com

[3] Church of Scotland Study Concludes People Who Stop Attending Church Still Believe in God

A 26 March 2016 BBC article by John McManus titled “People Who Stop Going to Church ‘Still Believe in God’” reports that a study commissioned by the Church of Scotland concludes that two-thirds of those who stop attending weekly church services have a strong personal faith and maintain a belief in God, which is practiced in different ways including gathering in small groups for prayer and discussing theological issues. People’s homes, cafes, restaurants and shared activities like walking are common substitutes for church attendance.

+ BBC, 201 Wood Lane, London W12 7TS, England, Fax: 020-8008-2398

+ Church of Scotland, 121 George Street, Edinburgh EH2 4YN, Scotland, 0131-225-5722

“Since 1977 the General Assembly of the Presbyterian church has advocated for just treatment of LGBT persons in regard to their civil liberties, equal rights, and protections under the law from social and economic discrimination that is due all citizens (Minutes, PCUS, 1977, Part I, p. 174).

“Therefore, we applaud Governor Nathan Deal of Georgia on his veto of Georgia House Bill 757, which would have caused discrimination against LGBT persons. Governor Deal said, “I do not think we have to discriminate against anyone to protect the faith-based community in Georgia, of which I and my family have been a part of for all of our lives.”

“At the same time, we find that the recent legislation approved in North Carolina and signed into law, which bans people from using bathrooms that don’t match the sex indicated on their birth certificate, is discriminatory. It would be good for legislators and the governor in Raleigh to hear the words of Governor Deal.

“The North Carolina law also prevents cities and counties from establishing ordinances extending protections covering sexual orientation and gender identity to restaurants, hotels, and stores. It overrode the desire of the city of Charlotte’s duly elected leadership to be a city of nondiscrimination.

“This law is discriminatory both to the LGBT community and everyday employees in North Carolina, and is defended by casting all transgender persons as sexual offenders. It is our hope that the legislature and the governor of North Carolina will listen to the citizens of their state, do factually based analysis, and repeal this discriminatory law.”

+ Presbyterian Church (PCUSA), 100 Witherspoon Street, Louisville, Kentucky 40202, 888-728-7228, Fax: 502-569-8005

[5] News from the Deepest Recesses of Hell

— Utah Governor Signs Bill to Require Anesthesia Before Abortion Because Baby Can Feel Intense Pain

— Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe Vetoes Bill to Defund Planned Parenthood Abortion Business

— Hillary Clinton: I Would Not Appoint Someone to the Supreme Court Who Didn’t Support Abortion

— Baby Who Screamed for an Hour While Left to Die after Botched Abortion Causes Global Outrage

— Belgium Allows Doctors to “Presume” a Patient is Dead to Harvest His Organs

— Alabama Legislature Considers Bill to Train Teachers to Not Have Sex with Students

— North Korea Close to Attacking U.S.A. with Nuclear Missiles

— Pope Francis Declares That Muslims and Hindus Are All Children of the Same God

— New York City Will Recreate the Temple of Baal in Times Square in April 2016

— Abortion Activists Upset Congress Wants Names of People Selling and Using Aborted Baby Parts