Saturday, September 6, 2014

You say Armageddon, I say Dabek

Think Christians have a monopoly on the apocalypse? Not really. In the sequel to Revelation 11, tentatively titled, “Continuing Revelation”, I touch upon some Islamic prophecies that dovetail with Christian eschatology. However, events may be overtaking my story.

Some Quranic teachings say that Islamic warriors will square off against Christians at the city of Dabek (also known as Dabiq) in an apocalyptic battle. Dabek is generally considered to be the modern day Syrian hamlet of Murj Dabek.

Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS or ISIL) head, Abu Al-Baghdadi, set his sights on the town of about 4,000 because he apparently subscribes to the Islamic doomsday prophecy. Currently, forces loyal to Syrian President Assad hold the hamlet.

Al-Baghdadi places such importance on Dabek or Dabiq that he has named the official ISIS publication Dabiq. In its initial issue, Dabiq contains 50 plus vivid color photographs showing the organization’s military successes in an attempt to build an aura of inevitability to its mission. Like its other slick media presentations, Dabiq, is equal parts propaganda and recruiting tool.

The Dabek prophecy predicts that the Islamic forces will destroy both the forces of “Constantinople” and “Rome”, referring to the two early branches of Christianity, the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic. In Islamic prophecy, Jesus (Issa ibn Maryam) descends from heaven near Damascus to lead the Islamic forces and “break the cross” a term meaning Christ will reveal Islam to be the one true religion.

Both Christian and Islamic prophecies foretell the two witnesses mentioned in Revelation 11 and both claim their appearance foreshadows the return of Christ. The question ISIS raises is the same one I pose in all three of the novels. Are these events fulfillment of prophecy or are individuals choosing actions that mimic prophecy to develop a following while pursuing their own agenda? Of course, some of them could just be crazy. We won’t know until either the Second Coming, or the end of the books.

8 comments:

  1. As an update, Islamic State forces have pushed into the area around Dabiq. They now control Aleppo, Al-Bab, and Ayn al-Arab. Follow this link to a map with the pin over Dabiq. https://www.google.com/maps/place/Dabiq,+Syria/@36.539778,37.269556,7z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x152fd8da58024a57:0x3e80b3126d7df3f3

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  2. It is interesting to compare the Christian and Moslem accounts of Armageddon considering the Bible doesn't mention the Battle of Armageddon!

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  3. Revelation 16:16 doesn't mention a battle.

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  4. I think this illustrates the problems with interpretation of prophecy. It is so cryptic that it leaves itself open to widely varying interpretations. As a result, those who wish to may interpret it to their own ends. This is a running theme through the Revelation novels. Thank you for your comments Alexander.

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  5. Thank you for receiving my comment in the spirit it was intended, not all do. You are spot on with your reply.

    Are you aware that 'The Antichrist' is never mentioned in the Bible either?

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  6. The Beast of Revelation is generally regarded as the Antichrist. Again, this is something I play with in the novels. Because the Beast is apparently a metaphor for a person, those seeing the person may not recognize the person as the Antichrist.

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  7. If you can spare the time I would value your opinion on the following article:

    http://searchinsany.hubpages.com/hub/The-Antichrist-the-Title-the-Timeline-and-the-Tyrant

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