I met Joel Richardson at a conference in Dallas where he was one of the speakers on End Times. He was introduced to me by Nelson Walters who I have known for a number of years. Joel spoke on “The Scriptural Case for an Islamic Antichrist“.

Since then a number of other books have been written that focus on the long-awaited Muslim Messiah, al Mahdi, and how he fits the Biblical descriptions of the Antichrist. One book that I have used to extract much of the information for this post is Ralph Stice’s book “Arab Spring, Christian Winter – Islam Unleashed on the Church and the World“

Forty-two percent of Muslims in a recent survey believe the Islamic Superman will appear in their lifetime (www.mahdi-watch.org). His name is al-Mahdi, the “Rightly Guided One,” who has been discussed since the earliest days of Islam. This Islamic messiah was referred to by Muhammad’s grandson, Ali, who said that Islam would “prevail over all religions when the Messiah of this ummah (Islamic nation) makes his appearance.” (Ed Hotaling, Islam without Illusions: It’s Past, Its Present, and Its Challenges for the Future (Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 2003), 102).

The following quote is from what has been called the greatest Islamic history book from the pre-modern era:

“Let it be known that it is a narrated event by ALL Muslims in EVERY era that at the end of time a man from the family of the Prophet (PBUH&HF) will, without fail, make his appearance and will strengthen Islam and spread justice; Muslims will follow him and he will gain domination over the Muslim realm. He will be called al-Mahdi.” Ibn Khaldun, The Muqaddimah: An Introduction to History (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1967), 257-58.

Mahdi (also Mehdi or Maadi; the vowels are flexible in Arabic) will appear just as mankind reaches a stage of great suffering, to show the light of Islam when men and women need it most, and to prepare the world for Allah’s judgment just in time, according to accepted Islamic teaching.

One writer predicts: “The Mahdi will establish right and justice in the world and eliminate evil and corruption. He will fight against the enemies of the Muslims who would be victorious.” Sideeque M. A. Veliankode, Doomsday: Portents and Prophecies (Scarborough, Canada: Al-Attique, 1999), 4-5.

Note what these two Ayatullahs say, “He will reappear on the appointed day, and then he will fight against the forces of evil, lead a world revolution and set up a new world order based on justice, righteousness, and virtue … ultimately the righteous will take the world administration in their hands and Islam will be victorious over all the religions.” Ayatullah Baqir al-Sadr and Ayatullah Murtadha Mutahhari, The Awaited Saviour (Karachi, Pakistan: Islamic Seminary Publications, 2013), 4-5.

He will be assisted by prophet Isa “Jesus,” who will descend from heaven to work miracles and preach Islam. “Isa will testify against those who had called him son of God, the Christians, and those who had belied him, the Jews.”

This Islamic version of Jesus’ end-times role fits the description of the Antichrist’s assistant (False Prophet) in Revelation 13 perfectly. While Mahdi straightens out the ummah by “freeing Islam from the hypocrites who have corrupted it,” this Jesus will handle the evangelization of the Jewish and Christian communities. (http://www.awaitedmahdi.com/mahdi01.html, November 15, 2013).

If this sounds like the Antichrist and the False Prophet, you can see why many of us who have studied Islam for years believe that Mahdi will be that man. One Muslim Background Believer who has done a lot of speaking and writing about al-Mahdi, Walid Shoebat, says that as he read scriptural prophecy for the first time, he was astonished by the description of the Antichrist.

His conclusion? This is the Mehdi that we have long talked about in Islam.