SIGNS OF THE MAHDI IN THE NEW TESTAMENT
The New Testament contains a great many passages regarding the End Times and the second coming of Prophet Jesus (pbuh). Although some parts of the New Testament have become corrupted, those sections that are compatible with the verses of the Qur'an and the hadith of our Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) describe social phenomena and natural events that will take place before and after the return of Prophet Jesus' (pbuh).
As our Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) has revealed, Prophet Jesus (pbuh) will conduct a great struggle against the Anti-christ, the manifestation of atheism on Earth, will finally overcome the Anti-christ and thus, usher in a holy age in which religious moral values reign supreme.
According to the hadiths of our Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), the Mahdi will meet up with Prophet Jesus (pbuh), and they will perform the daily prayer together. One account relates that the Mahdi will recognize Prophet Jesus (pbuh) and offer him public recognition. The Mahdi and Prophet Jesus (pbuh) will reign together for a while on Earth and collaborate in order to eradicate the system of the Anti-christ. (Allah knows best.)
Just as the portents of Doomsday and those concerning the appearance of the Mahdi agree, so do the portents regarding the second coming of Prophet Jesus (pbuh) also agree that he and the Mahdi will join forces in the same period--the End Times. The descriptions of this period include indications of the coming of the Mahdi and the second coming of Prophet Jesus (pbuh). Even if we cannot be absolutely certain of the accuracy of relevant accounts in the New Testament, still it is noteworthy that some descriptions exhibit the closest agreement with the Qur'an and the hadiths of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace).
In the light of these similarities, practically all the descriptions foretold in the New Testament are coming about in the present day, one after the other. On the basis of Islamic texts first, and also of the Old and New Testaments, this makes it possible to say that we are living in the age in which the Mahdi is expected to appear.
THE EVENTS LEADING UP TO THE APPEARANCE
OF THE MAHDI IN THE NEW TESTAMENT
In referring to the End Times, the New Testament sometimes uses very clear terminology as to when the Mahdi will appear, and sometimes more figurative language. Looking at the relevant terms that the New Testament employs, it appears that this period preceding the coming of the Mahdi will be one of social and moral degeneration, major wars, terrifying catastrophes, extraordinary phenomena in the skies, a turning away from religious moral values, the spread of injustice and unfairness, the oppression of true believers, and peace and security being replaced by chaos and unease.
Some of these signs in the New Testament include:
1. The spread of irreligion:
At that time, many will turn away from the faith. . . . (Matthew 24:10)
. . . in later times, some will abandon the faith. . . . (1 Timothy 4:1)
. . . [That day will not come] until the rebellion occurs. . . . (2 Thessalonians 2:3)
In the last times, there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires. (Jude 1:18)
. . . these men oppose the truth--men of depraved minds, who, as far as the faith is concerned, are rejected. (2 Timothy 3:8)
2. The denial of creation:
But they deliberately forget that long ago by God's word, the heavens existed and the Earth was formed out of water and by water. (2 Peter 3:5)
3. The spread of polytheism (ascribing equals to Allah):
The rest of mankind that were not killed by these plagues still did not repent of the work of their hands; they did not stop worshiping demons, and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone and wood--idols that cannot see or hear or walk. (Revelation 9:20)
. . . in later times, some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. (1 Timothy 4:1)
4. A failure to abide by Allah's commandments and prohibitions:
. . . . these dreamers... reject authority [of the Lord]. . . . (Jude 1:8)
. . . they never stop sinning. . . . (2 Peter 2:14)
5. Loss of respect for religious values:
These dreamers . . . slander celestial beings. (Jude 1:8)
6. The emergence of people who use religion for their own ends:
For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. (2 Timothy 4:3)
. . . many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. (Matthew 24:11)
7. The faith is distorted and distanced from its true essence:
For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. . . . They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. (2 Timothy 4:3-4)
They . . . order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth. (1 Timothy 4:3)
8. Increasing corruption:
. . . just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies. . . . (2 Peter 2:1)
Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. (2 Peter 2:2)
Because of the increase of wickedness. . . . (Matthew 24:12)
. . . . they seduce the unstable. . . . (2 Peter 2:14)
9. The spread of superstition:
Nor did they repent of . . . their magic arts. (Revelation 9:21)
. . . in later times . . . some will . . . follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. (1 Timothy 4:1)
For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. 2 Timothy 4:3)
10. An increase of hypocrisy:
. . . people will be . . . having a form of godliness, but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them. (2 Timothy 3:5)
11. The oppression of true believers:
. . . you will be brought before kings and governors, and all on account of my name. . . You will be betrayed even by parents, brothers, relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death. All men will hate you because of Me. . . By standing firm, you will gain life. (Luke 21:12,16, 17, 19)v
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. (Matthew 24:8-9)
You will be handed over to the local councils. . . . On account of Me, you will stand before governors and kings as witnesses to them. . . . All men will hate you because of Me. . . . (Mark 13: 9, 13
12. Groups that orchestrate evil are in unity:
Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather. (Matthew 24:28)
13. Increasing earthquakes:
. . . see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. There will be . . . earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains. (Matthew 24:6-8)
There will be great earthquakes. . . . (Luke 21:11)
. . . the time will come when not one stone will be left on another. (Luke 21:6)
Then there came . . . a severe earthquake. No earthquake like it has ever occurred since man has been on earth, so tremendous was the quake. The great city split into three parts, and the cities of the nations collapsed. (Revelation 16:18-19)
There will be earthquakes in various places. . . . (Mark 13:8)
14. Famine:
. . . see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. . . . There will be famines . . . in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains. (Matthew 24:6-8)
There will be. . . famines . . . in various places. (Luke 21:11)
They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by . . . famine. . . . (Revelation 6:7)
There will be . . . famines. (Mark 13:8)
15. Hurricanes and tsunami:
On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. (Luke 21:25)
16. Volcanic eruptions:
When he opened the Abyss, smoke rose from it like the smoke from a gigantic furnace. The sun and sky were darkened by the smoke from the Abyss. (Revelation 9:2)
The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the Earth and everything in it will be laid bare. (2 Peter 3:10)
17. An increase in storms and lightning:
. . there came peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning and an earthquake. (Revelation 8:5)
And there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake and a great hailstorm. (Revelation 11:19)
18. Falling of hailstones:
From the sky, huge hailstones of about a hundred pounds each fell upon men. . . . the [hail] plague was so terrible. (Revelation 16:21)
19. Reshaping of the structures of the Earth by natural disasters:
Every island fled away, and the mountains could not be found. (Revelation 16:20)
. . . every mountain and island was removed from its place. (Revelation 6:14)
20. Landslides:
They called to the mountains and the rocks, "Fall on us. . . ." (Revelation 6:16)
21. Extraordinary events in the skies:
The heavens will disappear with a roar. . . . (2 Peter 3:10)
There will be. . . great signs from heaven. (Luke 21:11)
The sky receded like a scroll, rolling up. . . . (Revelation 6:14)
22. Meteorite storms:
. . . and the stars in the sky fell to earth, as late figs drop from a fig tree when shaken by a strong wind. (Revelation 6:13)
23. A meteor falls to the ground:
I saw a star that had fallen from the sky to the earth. . . . (Revelation 9:1)
24. Signs in the Sun and Moon:
There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. . . . (Luke 21:25)
Immediately after the distress of those days, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken. (Matthew 24:29)
But in those days, following that distress, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken. (Mark 13:24-25)
The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red. . . . (Revelation 6:12)
. . . a third of the sun was struck, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of them turned dark. A third of the day was without light, and also a third of the night. (Revelation 8:12)
25. Global warming:
. . . and the sun was given power to scorch people with fire. They were seared by the intense heat. . . . (Revelation 16: 8-9)
26. Increasing fires:
A third of the earth was burned up, a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up. (Revelation 8:7)
27. Epidemics:
There will be . . . pestilences. (Luke 21:11)
They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by . . . plague. . . . (Revelation 6:8)
28. Plagues of locusts:
And out of the smoke, locusts came down upon the earth and were given power like that of scorpions of the earth. They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any plant or tree, but only those people who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads. (Revelation 9:3-4)
29. Wars and maritime accidents destroy marine life:
. . . something like a huge mountain, all ablaze, was thrown into the sea. A third of the sea turned into blood, a third of the living creatures in the sea died. . . . (Revelation 8:8-9)
. . . [The sea] turned into blood like that of a dead man, and every living thing in the sea died. (Revelation 16:3)
30. Terrifying catastrophes:
Men will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world. . . . (Luke 21:26)
Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and every slave and every free man hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains. . . . For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand? (Revelation 6:15-17)
31. A lowering of the water of the Euphrates (with the Keban Dam):
The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up to prepare the way for the kings from the East. (Revelation 16:12)
32. Major wars:
When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. . . . These are the beginning of birth pains. (Mark 13:7-8)
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. . . . (Matthew 24:6-7)
When you hear of wars and revolutions, do not be frightened. These things must happen first, but the end will not come right away. Then he said to them: "Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom." (Luke 21:9-10)
33. The disappearance of peace:
[It] was given power to take peace from the earth and to make men slay each other. . . . (Revelation 6:4)
34. Increased rebellion:
When you hear of . . . revolutions, do not be frightened. These things must happen first, but the end will not come right away. (Luke 21:9)
35. Increased corruption and separatism:
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