Joel Richardson© 2009 WorldNetDaily |
With the Middle East still in chaos and rumors of war in the air,
the idea of rebuilding the Jerusalem Temple on a foundation occupied and administered
by Islamic militants might seem fanciful – even preposterous.
But the author of a new book,
The Islamic Antichrist: The Shocking Truth About the Real Nature of the Beast, returned from Turkey recently with news that a prominent Islamic
teacher
and best-selling author and Jewish Sanhedrin rabbis are conspiring to do just
that. Author Joel Richardson reveals the historically unprecedented development.
Adnan Oktar, who uses the pen name of Harun
Yahya, is a controversial but highly influential
Muslim intellectual and author with more than 65 million of his books in
circulation worldwide. Oktar recently met with three
representatives from the re-established Jewish Sanhedrin, a group of 71
Orthodox rabbis and scholars from Israel, to discuss how religious Muslims,
Jews and Christians can work together on the project.
"The objectives of the alliance
include waging a joint intellectual and spiritual battle against the worldwide
growing tide of irreligiousness, unbelief and immorality," explains
Richardson, who met in Turkey with Oktar. "But
even more unusual is their agreement with regard to the need to rebuild the
Jewish Temple, a structure that Mr. Oktar refers to
as the 'Masjid (Mosque)' or the 'Palace of Solomon.'"
An official statement about the
meeting has been published on the Sanhedrin's website. Concluding the statement
is the following call:
"Out of a sense of collective responsibility for world peace
and for all humanity we have found it timely to call to the World and exclaim
that there is a way out for all peoples. It is etched in a call to all
humanity: We are all the sons of one father, the descendants of Adam, and all
humanity is but a single family. Peace among Nations will be achieved through
building the House of G-d, where all peoples will serve as foreseen by King
Solomon in his prayers at the dedication of the First Holy Temple. Come let us
love and respect one another, and love and honor and hold our heavenly Father
in awe. Let us establish a house of prayer in His name in order to worship and
serve Him together, for the sake of His great compassion. He surely does not
want the blood of His creations spilled, but prefers love and peace among all
mankind. We pray to the Almighty Creator, that you harken to our Call. Together
– each according to his or her ability – we shall work towards the building of
the House of Prayer for All Nations on the Temple Mount in peace and mutual
understanding."
Oktar explained his vision for the rebuilding of
Solomon's Temple to Richardson:
"The Palace of Solomon is a historically important palace and
rebuilding it would be a very wonderful thing. It is something that any Jew, a
Christian or a Muslim should welcome with enthusiasm. Every Muslim, every
believer will want to return to those days, to experience those days again and,
albeit partially, to bring the beauty of those days back to life."
Oktar added that the Temple of Solomon "will be rebuilt and all
believers will worship there in tranquility." During his meeting with the Sanhedrin Rabbis, Oktar expressed his belief that the Temple could be rebuilt
in one year:
"It could be done in a year at most. It could be built to the
same perfection and beauty. The Torah says it was built in 13 years, if I remember
correctly. It could be rebuilt in a year in its perfect form."
Richardson later met with Rabbi
Abrahamson and Rabbi Hollander, two of the Sanhedrin representatives who
conferred with Oktar. Regarding the rebuilding of the
Temple, Rabbi Hollander explained, "The building of the Temple is one of
the stages in the Messianic process." But another possibility that has
been presented is that the Dome of the Rock that sits so prominently on the
Temple Mount be used as "a place prayer for all nations."
"This should be fairly
simple," explained Rabbi Hollander. "It is said that the structure of
the Dome in Haram E-Sharrif (the Temple Mount) was
originally meant by (Caliph) Omar to be a House of Prayer for Jews, and the
Al-Aqsa for Muslims."
However, he also explained that
religious Jews would not be able to enter the Dome of the Rock unless it had
first been ritually cleansed according to Jewish halakhic
regulations.
This is not the only similar
call to rebuild the Jewish Temple, points out Richardson. Yoav
Frankel is an Orthodox Jew who has been deeply involved in interfaith dialogue
with Muslims and also envisions a shared Temple Mount. The Interfaith Encounter
Association is working
on a project called "God's Holy Mountain." It sees the day when the rebuilt
Jewish Temple will exist side by side with the Dome of the Rock. Richardson
sees such plans tying in to Barack Obama's calls for internationalizing the
city of Jerusalem.
A recent poll showed nearly
two-thirds of Israelis back the idea of rebuilding the Temple. "Meanwhile,
the work of
the Temple Institute, a group that has openly dedicated itself for years to
rebuilding the Jewish Temple goes on," writes Richardson.
It has already created many of
the most significant priestly utensils and pieces of furniture necessary for
the Temple once it is ready.
"The suggestion of rebuilding the Jewish Temple is deeply
significant to Christians, particularly those who are students of Bible prophecy,"
explains Richardson. "According to the Bible, an impostor messiah known as
the Antichrist will someday invade the land of Israel and 'set himself up' in
the 'God’s Temple.'"
Richardson's book focuses on the
striking parallels between the Bible's prophecies about the coming messiah and
Islam's traditions regarding the one called "the Mahdi" – Islam’s
primary messiah figure, who will one day invade the land of Israel and establish
his seat of authority on the Temple Mount. Richardson's book stands in stark
contrast to most other popular prophecy books of the last 40 years.
The student of Islam and the
Middle East says that after decades of reading popular prophecy books and even
best-selling fiction like the "Left Behind" series, millions of evangelical
Christians around the world are expecting the Antichrist to emerge from a
revived Roman Empire, which many have assumed is associated with the Roman
Catholic Church and the European Union.
Not so, argues Richardson. His
book makes the case that the biblical Antichrist is one and the same as
the Quran's Muslim Mahdi.
"The Islamic
Antichrist" is almost certain to be greeted in the Muslim world with the
same enthusiasm as Salman Rushdie's "The Satanic Verses." The author,
Joel Richardson, is prepared. He has written the book under a pseudonym to
protect himself and his family.
"The Bible abounds with proofs that the Antichrist's empire
will consist only of nations that are, today, Islamic," says Richardson.
"Despite the numerous prevailing arguments for the emergence of a revived
European Roman empire as the Antichrist's power base, the specific nations the
Bible identifies as comprising his empire are today all Muslim."
Richardson believes the key
error of many previous prophecy scholars involves the misinterpretation of a
prediction by Daniel to Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar. Daniel describes the
rise and fall of empires of the future, leading to the endtimes.
Western Christians have viewed one of those empires as Rome, when, claims
Richardson, Rome never actually conquered Babylon and was thus disqualified as
a possibility.
It had to be another empire that
rose
and fell and rose again that would lead to the rule by this "man of
sin," described in the Bible. That empire, he says, is the Islamic Empire,
which did conquer Babylon and, in fact, rules over it even today.
Many evangelical Christians
believe the Bible predicts a charismatic ruler, the Antichrist, will arise in
the last days, before the return of Jesus. The Quran also predicts that a man,
called the Mahdi, will rise up to lead the nations, pledging to usher in an era
of peace. Richardson makes the case these two men are, in fact, one in the
same.
His book was an instant best seller on the
Amazon charts when it debuted Tuesday. It remains No. 1 in two religion categories.
Richardson is the co-author with Walid Shoebat of "God's War on
Terror: Islam, Prophecy and the Bible" and co-editor of "Why We Left
Islam: Former Muslims Speak Out." "The Islamic Antichrist" is
published by WND Books.