Archive for September, 2014

7 Trumpets Placement of 3 Woe Trumpets in Regard to Tribulation Period – Part 7

Saturday, September 20th, 2014

Placing of 3 Woe Trumpets in 7 Tribulation Period Trumpets

Part 7

September 20, 2014

http://www.tribulationperiod.com/

SPECIAL PROPEHCY UPDATE 82A

August 17, 2002

THREE WOES AND THE RAPTURE

I EXPECT TO BE HERE TO SUFFER WOE BUT NOT TO SUFFER WRATH

SAVED WILL SUFFER WOE – BUT NOT GOD’S WRATH!

THREE TRIBULATION WOES THAT WILL BEGIN ON THE EARTH BEFORE THE SAVED LEAVE IT IN ADVANCE OF THE WRATH OF GOD ON THE LOST!

Revelation 9:1,2,12 – The First Woe – And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit. [2] And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit. [12] One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter.

Revelation 9:13-15 – The Second Woe Begins – And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, [14] Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates. [15] And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay THE THIRD PART OF MEN.

Revelation 6:8 – Where Most Deaths Will Occur – And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto THEM over the FOURTH PART OF THE EARTH, to kill with SWORD, and with HUNGER, and with DEATH, and with the beasts of the earth. (“GES” IS TRANSLATED AS “EARTH,”) AND IS NEVER ASSOCIATED WITH THE NUMBER OF THE POPULATION KILLED, BUT WITH THE SIZE OF THE PORTION OF THE EARTH WHERE THEY WERE KILLED)

I believe that most of the Tribulation Period deaths will occur in the Eastern Hemisphere to the north, south, west, and east of the Euphrates River zone.

Revelation 11:13,14 – The Second Woe Ends – And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven. [14] The second woe is past; and, behold, the third woe cometh quickly.

Revelation 11:15 – The Third Woe Begins – And the seventh angel sounded and there were great voices in heaven saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.

I Corinthians 15:51 – The Mystery is Described – Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,

Revelation 10:7 –The Mystery is Finished – But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.

I Corinthians 15:52 + I Thessalonians 4:16 – [52] In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. [16] For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:

ALL OF THE SAVED, WHO LEFT THE EARTH ON THE 7TH TRUMPET, ARE BEING JUDGED IN HEAVEN WHILE THE WRATH OF GOD IS POURED OUT ON ALL UNBELIEVERS

Revelation 11:15 – And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.

Revelation 11:18 + 16:1,2 – [18] And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth. [1] And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth. [2] And the first went, and poured out his vial upon the earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshipped his image.

THE BELIEVER’S FAITH WILL BE HEAVILY TESTED BY THE WOES.  IT WILL MAKE ALL BELIEVERS MORE ANXIOUS FOR CHRIST’S COMING FOR US, AND VERY THANKFUL WE WILL NOT SUFFER HIS WRATH IN HELL OR DURING THE VIALS OF WRATH.

I Thessalonians 5:9 – For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,

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“THAT WICKED” IS WAITING IN THE WINGS OF PROPHECY – PART 2

Friday, September 19th, 2014

Please review Part 1 before reading this continuing exposition of II Thessalonians 2:1-12.

II Thessalonians 2:3 – Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;

At times in the New Testament, the expression “that day” has a wide variety of prophetic time periods, which are determined by the context of the verses in which it is found.  In these verses the context determines “that day” to mean specifically the day of the rapture.

Paul advises the local church that those who are telling them that the rapture has already occurred, or is about to happen in the immediate future, are misinforming them.  And he then gives then two reasons why what they have been told by these men is simply not true. 

The first reason is that the great “falling away” had not occurred at the time he wrote the epistle, and until it did no one could say the coming of the Lord was going to happen right away.  The Greek word translated “falling away” is “apostosia,” from which our English word “apostasy” is derived.  In the context of these verses, it is preceded by the definite article in the Greek text, and can only refer to “the falling away” from something, and that something represents the gospel truths of the faith once delivered to the saints.

Jude 1:3 – Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.

At the time Paul wrote II Thessalonians he knew the rapture was not in the immediate future, because the faith had not been delivered by the gospel to all the world of his day, as Jesus had indicated it would before the end.

Matthew 24:14 – And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.

The faith, a system of teaching and doctrine, had to first be in place in order to have a “falling away” from it.  In an attempt to justify the “first of the week” position, in very recent times, someone came up with the idea that “apostosia” meant “a catching out” of the saved at the rapture, but that is stretching the linguistic meaning of     the word far beyond allowable limits.  It’s a cute idea, but it just isn’t true.

Well, I would say it is finally getting close to the first resurrection, because the falling away from the truth is now in full swing on a worldwide basis, just as Paul indicated in his second epistle to Timothy.

II Timothy 4:1-4 – I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; [2] Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. [3] For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; [4] And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.

The second reason he gave them that the rapture had not yet occurred, and was not in the immediate future, was that the man of sin, the antichrist, had not yet been revealed to them.  The Greek word rendered “revealed” in the KJV is “apokalupto,” which means “to remove the veil or covering away from, so as to expose to open view what was before hidden, hence, to reveal, to make manifest.”  The same word is used in the same epistle to refer to Christ’s visible manifestation at the time of his Second Advent.

II Thessalonians 1:7,8 – And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, [8] In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:

Revelation 1:7 – Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.

Some who hold the “first of the week” position teach we will be caught out before the antichrist is revealed to the believers, but that is simply not true.

I have a suspicion that many who believe they will be caught up before the manifestation of the antichrist are going to be as surprised as an animal suddenly finding itself trapped inside a snare.  They will suddenly find themselves trapped in the tribulation period with a real manifested antichrist in the Middle East.

Luke 21:35 – For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth.

Revelation 12:17 – And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

Matthew 28:20 – Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

7 Trumpets Placement of 3 Woe Trumpets in Regard to Tribulation Period – Part 6

Thursday, September 18th, 2014

7 Trumpets Placement of 3 Woe Trumpets In Tribulation Period

Part 6

I believe all the Saved will go through the 3 Woe Trumpet Period

And rise through the cloud to meet Jesus above in glorious Light

September 18, 2014

http://www.tribulationperiod.com/

Revelation 8:12,13 – And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; so as the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise. [13] And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels, which are yet to sound!

Trump 4 Begins A Slow Blacking Out of All Heavenly Bodies

The Sun disappears in 1st Woe to create cloudy days on Earth

Last of 3 Woe Trumpets Will Have Created a Solid upper Cloud

Over the earth and heavenly bodies will not be visible on Earth!

THE FIRST WOE IS TRUMPET 5

By the time the first “woe” begins, on the sounding of the fifth trumpet in the book of Revelation, I think about 5 months of great tribulation will continue on the earth.  By the time the last “woe” occurs on the sounding of the seventh and last trumpet, a complete cloud shroud will have been built over the entire earth from the base of the tropopause upward deep into the stratosphere.  Some light will pass through it as it does even on a dark overcast rainy day, but man will not see the sun directly until the brilliant light of the glory of the person of Christ breaks through the cloud over Jerusalem to close the Tribulation Period at His Second Advent.

Luke 21:27 – And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.

Malachi 4:1-3 – For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch. [2] But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall. [3] And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the Lord of hosts.

CHAPTER 8, WHICH FOLLOWS, WAS EXTRACTED FROM “BIRTH PANGS FROM THE BOTTOMLESS PIT,” WHICH I WROTE IN 1979.

CHAPTER 8- THE SHAFT ABYSS

To view the Birth Pangs Figures, click on “Birth Pangs” on our Web Site Menu, then click on “Birth Pang Figures”:

http://www.tribulationperiod.com/

 Revelation 9:1,2 – And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit. [2] And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit.

I am a literal interpreter. That does not mean that I take all the inspired writings to be absolutely literal. I am very aware that certain parts of God’s Word are inspired poetically, figuratively and symbolically, but unless it yields ridiculous results, I am always more inclined to accept a literal interpretation over a figurative or symbolic explanation.

In verse one there are some points that can be made literal­ly concerning the symbols, things, places and events described. First of all, the star is identified by the personal pronoun “him” as a masculine spiritual being that comes from Heaven.

Secondly, this masculine spiritual being comes to a physical place: the planet Earth. Now, putting these two factors togeth­er, we have a being sent from Heaven to the physical earth. That means he is standing on the surface of what you see in fig­ure 3, on top of these massive tectonic plates that float on top of an underground ocean of liquid rock.

Fourthly, I call your attention to the Koine Greek words translated “bottomless pit,” those being phreatos tes abussou, or literally, SHAFT OF THE ABYSS. This is a perfect scientific description of these great geological faults shown in Figure 9. They are a great interconnecting shaft system that extends down through the crust into the abyss. It is this locked system that the heavenly being is sent to unlock. He unlocks the locked plate structure with the power of God symbolized by the key.

Thirdly, this heavenly visitor has been given a key which rep­resents the authority to unlock something. He has been sent to unlock the earth itself. The earth is the bottomless pit. There are hundreds of geometric figures that have bottoms, but the earth is an oblate spheroid, and as such, it has no bottom. If it were possible to dig through the earth you could never reach bottom for you would simply come out on the opposite side from which you started; the earth has no bottom.  those being phreatos tes abussou, or literally, SHAFT OF THE ABYSS. This is a perfect scientific description of these great geological faults shown in Figure 9. They are a great interconnecting shaft system that extends down through the crust into the abyss. It is this locked system that the heavenly being is sent to unlock. He unlocks the locked plate structure with the power of God symbolized by the key.

Fifthly, please note that the interior of the bottomless pit is likened to a “great furnace.” Virtually all-scientific texts of today use this term to describe the interior of the earth.

And, lastly, please notice the results of the unlocking of the tectonic plates in verse two—a great smoke that rises up to darken the sun and the atmosphere. This is precisely what would occur if these huge tectonic plates were unlocked.

Volcanic smoke would pour upward into the earth’s atmosphere along all areas indicated by the dashed lines shown in figure 3. This smoke would most assuredly darken the sun on a world­wide basis as it collected and advected around the earth under a great temperature inversion just above the tropopause.

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“THAT WICKED” IS WAITING IN THE WINGS OF PROPHECY – PART 1

Wednesday, September 17th, 2014

“THAT WICKED” IS WAITING IN THE WINGS OF PROPHECY!

HE SHALL BE REVEALED IN GREATER SYRIA AS ANTICHRIST,

WHEN HE DRIVES ISRAEL  INTO A VAST NEGEV WILDERNESS

PART 1

September 17, 2014

http://www.tribulationperiod.com/

II Thessalonians 2:1 – Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him,

This is, of course, referring to the gathering together, the catching up, of the saints in I Thessalonians 4:16,17.

I Thessalonians 4:16,17 – For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: [17] Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

The primary subject of II Thessalonians 2:1-12 involves the event known as the “rapture,” which is identified as the first resurrection in the New Testament.  The only angel specifically identified as an archangel is Michael, but it is generally accepted that Satan and Gabriel were also archangels, created by God to rule over the three angelic realms he created for different specific purposes.

Daniel 10:13 – But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia.

Daniel 12:1 – And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.

Jude 1:9 – Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee.

II Thessalonians 2:1,2 – Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, [2] That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.

Paul tells them specifically in unmistakable terms – If any stand up among you, and tell you something I told you about the rapture, which is different from what I taught you, don’t get shook up in your spiritual mind or troubled in your daily walk, even if they claim to be led of the Holy Spirit to say it, or claim it is the word of God, or even if they show you an epistle they say we wrote, which they use to tell you the Lord is coming at some specific time in the near future.  His major thrust is a simple one – do NOT believe anything different from what I originally taught you.  Do NOT believe them if they tell you the rapture is in the immediate future or it has already occurred, such as was the case Paul mentioned in his second epistle to Timothy.

II Timothy 2:18 – Who concerning the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection is past already; and overthrow the faith of some.

II Thessalonians 2:1-3 – Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, [2] That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. [3] Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;

In verse one Paul tells them the subject he is about to address is the first resurrection.

In verse two he tells them not to believe anything that is different from what he originally taught them about the first resurrection, especially as it pertains to being in the immediate future or having occurred in the past.

Paul begins verse three by referring back to verse two by telling them again, “Let no man deceive you by any means,” meaning, as he had previously advised them against believing anything different from what he had previously taught them.  So, just what did he tell them had to first happen before the rapture occurred?  He said two things had to happen before the rapture would occur: “for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition.”  First, there had to be a falling away from the faith once delivered to the saints – So this means the truths of the faith had to be taught in many places before believers could fall way from it, which meant the rapture had not already occurred, nor was it in the near future when Paul wrote this epistle.  The second event, which was to occur before the rapture, and which had not occurred when Paul wrote the epistle, was a visible revealing of the antichrist to the eyes of believers.

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MIDDLE EAST WAR IS INEVITABLE!

Tuesday, September 16th, 2014

MIDDLE EAST WAR IS INEVITABLE

KNOW THE ENEMIES WE ARE FACING

AND DIFFERENCES BETWEEN AL QAEDA

AND ISIS PLANS FOR A WORLD CALIPHATE

IT’S A LONG WAY TO ARMAGEDDON BATTLE

BUT A POST OBAMA INITIAL WAR DRAWS NIGH

DURING WHICH THE IST RESURRECTION OCCURS

FOLLOWED BY A FINAL BATTLE AT THE 2ND ADVENT

TO END THE AGE OF THE GENTILES AT ARMAGEDDON

Please Read The MEMRI Article Which Follows DMBC Heading! 

September 16, 2014

http://www.tribulationperiod.com/

Matthew 24:7,8 – For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. [8] All these are the beginning of sorrows.

We’re now in the beginning of sorrows and are down to Seal 5

Revelation 6:9-11 – And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: [10] And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? [11] And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.

Seal 6 opening will mark beginning of Tribulation Period War 

Revelation 6:12 – And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;

Trumpet 7 is the 1st Resurrection (Rapture) of all the Saved

Revelation 11:15,18 – And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.  [18] And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.

GENEA marks the Beginning and End of the Age of the Gentiles

Luke 21:24 was the beginning of the Age of the Gentiles

Revelation 11:15,18 Is the 1st Resurrection of the Saved

Luke 21:27 is the 2nd Advent of Jesus at the final Battle!

Luke 21:32 is the End of the Gentile Age or Generation!

Luke 21:11,25-33,24 – And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven. [25] And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; [26] Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. [27] And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. [28] And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption DRAWETH NIGH.  [29] And he spake to them a parable; Behold the fig tree, and all the trees; [30] When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now NIGH AT HAND.  [31] So likewise ye, when ye see THESE THINGS come to pass, know ye that the KINGDOM OF GOD IS NIGH AT HAND. [32] Verily I say unto you, This GENERATION (genea) shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled. [33] Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.  [24] And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.

GENERATION – (genea) – “It denotes an age or generation from the point of view of race.”    

AGE – (genea) – “Generally an age or period

Ephesians 3:1-5,21 – For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles, [2] If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to youward: [3] How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words, [4] Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ) [5] Which in other AGES (genea) was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; [21] Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all AGES (genea), world without end. Amen.

Romans 11:25-28 –     For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. [26] And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: [27] For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins. [28] As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved for the fathers’ sakes.

Begin Excerpt from MEMRI

Middle East Media Research Institute

September 14, 2014

Understanding Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi And The Phenomenon Of The Islamic Caliphate State

By: Y. Carmon, Y. Yehoshua, and A. Leone*

September 14, 2014

Inquiry & Analysis Series

Report No. 1117

Introduction

The successive atrocities committed by the Islamic State (IS, previously called the Islamic State in Iraq and Al-Sham – ISIS) have diverted the discussion away from an understanding of this organization’s political program, creating the erroneous impression that it is simply a more vicious version of Al-Qaeda. According to this view, this organization presumably intends to attack the West by means of its foreign militants who hold Western passports and could return to Western countries to carry out terror attacks – and hence it is paramount to destroy the IS forthwith. Saudi King ‘Abdallah bin ‘Abd Al-‘Aziz promoted this approach when he said that he was certain that those jihadists “would arrive in Europe within a month and in America within two months”.

This report seeks to clarify the IS’s doctrine based on the organization’s official writings and speeches by its leaders. It will argue that, unlike Al-Qaeda, the IS places priority not on global terrorism, but rather on establishing and consolidating a state, and hence it defers the clash with the West to a much later stage. In this, it is emulating and reenacting the early Islamic model.

Unlike Al-Qaeda, IS Prioritizes State-Building

Although the IS and global jihad organizations affiliated with Al-Qaeda share similar beliefs about the necessity to wage jihad for the sake of Allah and establish a caliphate where Islamic shari’a law will be instated, a major distinction exists between them in terms of the order of priorities for implementing these major goals. Whereas in Al-Qaeda, emphasis is on worldwide jihad prior to the declaration of the yearned-for Islamic caliphate (see Osama bin Laden’s February 23, 1998 declaration of jihad against the Crusaders and the Jews), IS doctrine is characterized by prioritizing the establishment and consolidation of the caliphate state as the immediate and overriding objective. This objective is presented by the IS leaders as a matter of survival that warrants making compromises dictated by reality, the major compromise being deferral of the struggle with the West to a distant future. In other words, the IS’ doctrine under Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi explicitly puts off the clash with the West to different times, and concentrates in the immediate term on the region where the Islamic caliphate is being established. The IS’s English-language magazine Dabiq says that the Islamic State “is a marvel of history that has only come about to pave the way for al-Malhamah al-Kubra [the grand battle against the Crusaders at the End of Days.”

Furthermore, Al-Baghdadi’s vision of the Islamic state is modeled on ancient Islamic history, and therefore does not descend to the level of wallowing in contemporary Middle East politics and struggles. Hence, it addresses political issues such as the Palestinian national struggle quite marginally, and even postpones them to the End of Days era as well.

In the current stage, the IS is concentrating on consolidating its rule in the parts of Iraq and Syria it has already conquered, and on expanding its rule in these countries, beginning with areas where there is a Sunni majority. The next stage will be conquering the bordering Muslim states. The second issue of Dabiq cites a reliable hadith of the Prophet that precisely defines the organization’s order of priorities following the establishment of the state – first Saudi Arabia, then Iran and ultimately “Rome”: “You will invade the Arabian Peninsula, and Allah will enable you to conquer it. You will then invade Persia, and Allah will enable you to conquer it. You will then invade Rome, and Allah will enable you to conquer it. Then you will fight the Dajjal, and Allah will enable you to conquer him.” In his declaration of the caliphate, IS spokesman Abu Muhammad Al-‘Adnani stated that the area from which the caliphate will expand is the region presently under Al-Baghdadi’s rule, extending “from Aleppo to Diyala”.

What supplants the struggle against the West at this stage are the duties of hijra (migration to the Islamic caliphate state) and bay’ah (pledge of allegiance to the Caliph), both of them central components in building the caliphate. In an audio message published immediately after the caliphate was declared, Al-Baghdadi said to Muslims everywhere,  including in the West: “Whoever amongst you can migrate to the Islamic State should migrate. Hijra to Dar Al-Islam is obligatory.”

In his first public appearance, his Friday sermon in Mosul,  he referred to the implementation of the shari’a as “a religious obligation,” while avoiding any call to global jihad or to harming the West. Both Al-‘Adnani in the declaration of the caliphate and Al-Baghdadi in his Mosul sermon refer to the caliphate as an “obligation that has been forgotten for generations.” In this, their discourse contrasts sharply, for example, with the discourse of Muhammad ‘Abd Al-Salam Faraj, a major theorist of the Egyptian jihad movement in the 1980s, who termed jihad (rather than the establishment of a caliphate) the forgotten obligation.

In his speech following the declaration of the caliphate, Al-Baghdadi presented the vision of the caliphate following the hijra. He said: “Lift your heads up high. You now have a state and a caliphate that restores your honor, your might, your rights and your sovereignty.  The state forms a tie of brotherhood between Arab and non-Arab, white and black, Easterner and Westerner. The caliphate brings together the Caucasian, Indian, Chinese, Shami, Iraqi, Yemeni, Egyptian, North African, American, French, German and Australian… They are all in the same trench, defending each other, protecting each other and sacrificing for one another. Their blood mingles together under one flag [with] one goal and in one camp…”

While Al-Qaeda publications in English, such as its magazine Inspire, are brimming with incitement, practical advice, and professional information for performing terror attacks in the West – either in organized groups or in “lone wolf” fashion – nothing of the kind appears in the IS’ publications and in speeches by its leaders. On the contrary, IS spokesmen and mouthpieces constantly implore Muslims residing in the West to perform hijra to the Islamic State – which needs experts and qualified personnel (physicians, engineers, military experts, clerics and administrators) to ensure its consolidation and success. The sequential order is clear: hijra is the path to jihad (specifically, jihad aimed at guarding the nascent caliphate and its evolving borders), and “the Islamic state [comes] before al-malhama [the battle against the Crusaders” Dabiq, which, being in English, is clearly directed at Western readers, states further: “A life of jihad is impossible until you pack your belongings and move to the caliphate.” Another article in the same issue states that “life amongst the infidels is heartrending.”

The issue also says: “Many readers are probably asking about their obligations towards the Khilafah right now. Therefore the Dabiq team wants to convey the position of the Islamic State leadership on this important matter. The first priority is to perform hijra from wherever you are to the Islamic State, from darul-kufr to darul-Islam. Rush to perform it as Musa (‘alayhis-salam) rushed to his Lord, saying ‘and I hastened to You, my Lord, that You be pleased’ [Taha:84]. Rush to the shade of the Islamic state with your parents, siblings, spouses and children. There are homes here for you and your families. You can be a major contributor towards the liberation of Makkah, Madinah, and al-Quds. Would you not like to reach Judgment Day with these grand deeds in your scales[i.e. in your favor when your good and bad deeds are weighed against one another]. Finally, if you cannot do any of the above for reasons extremely beyond your control, inshallah your intention and belief that the Islamic State is the Khilafah for all Muslims will be sufficient to save you from the warning mentioned in the hadith, ‘Whoever dies without having bound himself by a bay’ah dies a death of jahiliyya.'”

Moreover, this struggle to establish the Islamic State also involves a major confrontation with rival jihad organizations, whom the IS expects to disband and swear allegiance to the Caliph. This is bound to delay the later stages of struggle even further. In his declaration of the caliphate, IS spokesman Al-‘Adnani addressed the other organizations, saying: “Now that the caliphate has been established, the legitimacy of your groups and organizations is null and void. None of you who believe in Allah can remain for even a single night without declaring loyalty to the Caliph.” This demand  necessarily means a series of bloody confrontations that extend the first stage of building the caliphate and further postpone the battle to realize stages two and three. Dabiq often stresses the internal ideological struggle and the illegitimacy of the rival organizations, including by mocking their leaders, whose behavior, the IS believes, deviates from the true Islamic model. This contempt extends even to Al-Qaeda leader Ayman Al-Zawahiri and to Jabhat Al-Nusra leader Abu-Muhammad Al-Joulani.

The IS even directs oblique criticism at the global jihad movement for advising Muslims in the West to stay put in order to carry out terror attacks. Thus, for example, according to the third issue of Dabiq, anyone remaining in the West is a hypocrite who enjoys the illicit pleasures of Western living and is content to surf jihadi forums instead of participating in the preservation and defense of the Islamic State. Furthermore, it is argued that anyone failing to support the Islamic State falsely associates himself with jihad: “Those who are falsely associated with jihad turn away from the Islamic State, even publicly declaring their enmity against it in bizarre competition with the crusaders and the apostates.”

Pursuing A State As A First Priority, Even At The Cost Of Compromises – Emulating The Strategy Of Muhammad

In his approach that prioritizes the consolidation of the Islamic State over an all-encompassing battle with Islam’s enemies, Al-Baghdadi is emulating the Prophet Muhammad – the ultimate Islamic role model. The Prophet, while displaying cruelty in battle ­– cruelty mirrored by the IS – put off battles with his enemies and integrated compromises and tactical agreements in his policy, in order to gather strength prior to renewing action to obtain his ultimate goals. The IS, ruling from its informal capital in Syria’s Al-Raqqa, conducts itself in a similar manner, enforcing the laws of the shari’a while selling oil to Europe via the black market.

Assessing The Threat Posed By The Islamic State To The West

The IS’s ideology, discourse and conduct thus demonstrate that terror attacks in the West are at the bottom of its order of priorities. However, it is equally clear that, once the near and immediate enemy has been defeated, the West’s turn will arrive. Moreover, if allowed to implement its strategy of stages, upon reaching the third stage, the stage of war against the West, the Islamic state will no longer marshal only a few thousand fighters riding pickup trucks. Instead, it is likely to command a wide range of modern military assets, possibly including planes, guided missiles, and chemical weapons or some other kind of WMD. Therefore, postponing the clash with the West serves the IS’ interests rather than the West’s (which is precisely why it opts to postpone it in the first place). Furthermore, while the threat of terror in the West is not part of the IS’s immediate agenda, the threat to Western interests in the Middle East, for instance in the Gulf States, Yemen, and Jordan, materializes in the second stage, a good deal before the millenarian battles.

It should be emphasized that although the doctrine of postponing the clash with the West is solidly entrenched, as reflected in the organization’s writings and actions, it cannot be ruled out that certain developments, such as a massive Western attack, could change the organization’s order of priorities and advance the stage of conflict with the West. The Western strategy of nipping the Islamic State in the bud may provoke counterattacks that were not planned by the organization at the outset. This places the West in a bind: inaction endangers the West in the long run, while immediate action may exact a heavy price that Al-Baghdadi did not plan to exact in the present stage.

Indeed, the parties who should have countered the caliphate, thus obviating the need for Western intervention in the first place, are the regional Muslim states who are threatened by the IS. However, these countries are incapable of acting alone. They need the U.S. to form an anti-IS coalition, and even with American and other Western assistance, the job is proving difficult, as evident from the refusal of Egypt, Jordan and Turkey to commit themselves to the effort on the ground.

Y. Carmon is President of MEMRI; Y. Yehoshua is Vice President for Research and Director of MEMRI Israel; A. Leone is an editor at MEMRI.

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