The next President of the United States -- and his or her advisors -- need to carefully study and analyze the
latest issue of Dabiq, the full-color propaganda magazine of the Islamic State. So do other world leaders, Members of Congress and Middle East policy-makers. So do you.
Three reasons -- in this edition of Dabiq:
- ISIS leaders make clear they want to bring about the End of Days.
- ISIS leaders vow to "break the cross" -- that is, to slaughter Christians in the Middle East, in the West, and around the world, and to annihilate Christianity from the Earth.
- ISIS leaders lay out the six reasons they hate us, they state their ultimate objective, and they explain why they will never stop killing until they achieve total victory.
Far too many leaders in Washington believe the West is winning the war against ISIS. That is a dangerous fallacy. The sober truth is that we are not winning. ISIS is winning. Yes, ISIS is losing large tracts of territory in Iraq. They are also losing ground in Syria. But their forces are growing. The global reach of their attacks is spreading. Their blood-thirsty version of Apocalyptic Islam is metastasizing.
At the same time, far too few leaders in Washington and other capitals truly understand the theology, eschatology and objectives motivating the men and women running ISIS.
This is not Al Qaeda 2.0. The Islamic State and their pursuit of the caliphate is something far, far more dangerous. Those who misunderstand the nature and threat of this especially pernicious form of evil are at risk of allowing the country to be repeatedly blindsided by it with catastrophic results.
Consider....
ISIS LEADERS WANT TO BRING ABOUT THE END OF DAYS
Throughout the entire issue is the genocidal End Times language of Apocalyptic Islam.
ISIS wants readers to understand their plan to create a global caliphate where everyone submits to Islam comes from the Qur'an and other Islamic scriptures. Regardless of what their critics say, they are emphatic that they are following the true path and that there is a great sense of urgency to obey Allah because the end is very near.
To be clear, it is not wrong necessarily to hold to an eschatology that says the messiah is coming to establish peace and justice on the Earth. Jews and Christians have their own versions of End Times theology, based on the Biblical teachings of the Old and New Testaments. That said, the Bible never calls on Jews and/or Christians to annihilate their enemies to bring about the Kingdom of the Messiah.
However, Apocalyptic Islam teaches exactly this -- and this is one of the reasons it is both evil and dangerous.
For policy-makers unfamiliar with the concepts of Apocalyptic Islam, this issue of Dabiqprovides some clear and thus useful language about what ISIS leaders believe:
- "It is Allah who prepared the Earth for the bloodiest battle before the Hour, to see His slaves sweat in spilling their blood and that of His enemies." (p. 13)
- "When the Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, returns in the end days to battle the Antichrist -- the false messiah -- and his army, of the myths he will debunk once and for all are those of his crucifixion and divinity. This will be when he [Jesus] breaks the cross...." (p. 48)
- "When he [Jesus] returns in the final days, the Messiah will adhere to the Law of Muhammad and wage jihad for the cause of Allah...." (p. 49)
ISIS LEADERS WANT TO ACHIEVE THE ANNIHILATION OF CHRISTIANITY
Having studied and read through many previous editions of Dabiq, what strikes me about this edition is how directly ISIS leaders are aiming at the theology and eschatology of Biblical Christianity.
- There are articles that attempt to "debunk" the "myths" that Jesus died on the cross, rose from the dead, and was divine.
- The authors try to blame modern Christianity on the Apostle Paul whom they claim was a liar that perverted the real teachings of Jesus.
- The magazine is full of quotes from the Old and New Testaments, the Qur'an, and other sayings of Muhammad, pitting the ISIS brand of Islam against Judaism and Christianity.
- There are interview with ISIS jihadists who claim to have been raised as Christians but later converted to Islam -- the ISIS brand of Islam -- and now are waging jihad, killing with abandon.
- The article targets Protestants as well as Catholics and includes an article specifically attacking the current Pope as the "enemy" of Islam.
What emerges over eighty-some pages is this: ISIS leaders are calling on Christians around the world to renounce the Gospel and embrace their version of Islam or face slaughter at the hands of jihadists today, and ultimate annihilation by Jesustomorrow, followed by a sentence to eternal damnation in the fires of Hell.
ISIS LEADERS WON'T STOP KILLING UNTIL THEY ACHIEVE TOTAL VICTORY
Finally, I commend to your attention an article titled, "Why We Hate You & Why We Fight You." (p. 30) Consider a few excerpts:
- "We hate you, first and foremost, because you are disbelievers; you reject the Oneness of Allah -- whether you realize it or not -- by making partners for Him in worship, you blaspheme Him, claiming that He has a son, you fabricate lies against his prophets and messengers, and you indulge in all manner of devilish practices....
- "We hate you because of your secular, liberal, societies permit the very things that Allah has prohibited....
- "In the case of the atheist fringe, we hate you and wage war against you because you disbelieve the existence of your Lord and Creator....
- "We hate you for your crimes against Islam and wage war against you to punish you for your transgressions against our religion....
- "We hate you for the crimes against the Muslims....
- "We hate you for invading our lands and fight you to repel you and drive you out...." (p. 31-32)
The article concludes by stating clearly and unequivocally that ISIS will not stop killing until every person on earth is a Muslim they way they define Islam.
"[E]ven if you [infidels] were to stop bombing us, imprisoning us, torturing us, vilifying us and usurping our lands," note the authors, "we would continue to hate you because our primary reason for hating you will not cease until you embrace Islam." (p. 33)
"The fact is we wage -- and continue to escalate -- a calculated war that the West thought it had ended several years ago. We continue dragging you further into a swamp you thought you had escaped only to realize that you're stuck in its murky waters."
The ISIS leaders explain that, at best, the world of infidels can obtain a "temporary truce" by surrendering to the caliphate and paying the slave tax known as the "jizyah." But in the end, they are explicit in their objectives: they won't be deterred from conquering and slaughtering until every man, woman on child is a Muslim of the ISIS brand.
CONCLUSION
As I have been arguing repeatedly again in recent years (see
here,
here,
here,
here,here, and
here), it is critically important that leaders in Washington and in capitals around the world read and study carefully what the leaders of ISIS are saying.
ISIS leaders are not hiding their genocidal End Times objectives. Nor are they hiding their hatred of the world's two billion Christians, plus all other "infidels" who don't see God and the world and the future the way they do. Rather, they are being as explicit as they can. They want to be heard. They want to be understood. They do not fear being "found out." To the contrary, they are absolutely certain they are on the winning side of history.
Admittedly, eschatology is not the language of the West's historic enemies. Most world leaders and their advisor have interest in -- and certainly little if any desire to talk about -- varying interpretations of Jewish, Christian and/or Islamic End Times theology. But we are living in very different times. These are the cards we've been dealt. This enemy is unlike most others we have ever faced. Their motivations are different. Their strategies are different. So are their tactics.
We'd better understand the game, and how its stakes really are, before it's too late.
NOTE: Be advised that the magazine includes some graphic and gruesome color photographs of ISIS atrocities. I do not recommend children study this issue. Parents and educators should only proceed with caution.
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