NEW ISIS VIDEO PROCLAIMS VICTORY AT 'FINAL BATTLE'
Issues chilling threats against New York, Washington
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The Islamic State has released two chilling new videos, one depicting its apocalyptic vision of the end of the world and the other issuing a series of threats against Western cities.
The apocalyptic video has been titled, "Meeting at Dabiq," which refers to a city in Syria where Sunni Islam believes a final battle will take place between the "Crusaders" of the West and the "Believers" of Islam.
The video also shows an ISIS "armored unit" advancing toward the Colosseum in reference to the "armies of Rome," the Mirror reported.
In one scene, a dead fighter is shown being kissed by his comrades. In another, a jihadist on horseback is portrayed as a conquering soldier riding through the desert. The jihadists are shown riding atop tanks and armored personnel carriers, which appear to be American heavy equipment that was commandeered by the terrorist army.
The film shows a map with the ISIS flag over Algeria, Libya, Egypt, Yemen, Syria and Iraq, then shows a graphic portraying the flags of 60 countries it has decided ISIS is at war with and will eventually conquer.
Among the 60 flags shown is that of the United States of America.
The latest video comes on the heels of one released last week in which two ISIS fighters sat on a beach and threatened terror attacks against Paris, New York, Washington and Moscow.
Watch second ISIS video released last week:
One of the fighters, speaking in broken English, says the "revenge has started" and the "blood will flow."
"France was the beginning," he says. "Tomorrow will be Washington. It will be New York and it will be Moscow."
Eleven years ago, Joel Richardson wrote "The Islamic Antichrist," a book that details Islam's apocalyptic vision as it relates to biblical prophecy.
At that time, Richardson said he addressed topics such as the Islamic dream of re-establishing a Caliphate and their prophecies of an army marching behind the Islamic black flags of conquest.
This scenario is no longer in the realm of speculation or postulating about biblical "prophecy."
"Today, these things are real," Richardson told WND.
He said he ascribes zero value to the prophecies of Islam. But Western leaders will be unprepared to meet the threat of groups like ISIS if they don't understand their theology and their eschatology.
"They are most certainly not inspired prophecies – at least not inspired by God," Richardson said. "Satan, however, is a counterfeiter at heart, and he does know what the prophecies of the Bible say. Thus, even as the Bible promises that the day will come when Jesus the Messiah will return to restore the throne of David and the kingdom of Israel, Satan has been busy doing everything in his power to resist these promises from coming to fruition."
For those with spiritual discernment, is it possible to hear Satan's whisper within the alleged prophecies of Muhammad? Richardson thinks so.
He said some of the Islamic prophecies appear to have been borrowed and tweaked from Jewish, Gnostic and Christian extra-biblical traditions.
"But they have clearly been manipulated by the evil one to mislead an army of willing vessels," he said.
This is exactly where the world finds itself today.
"While I do not believe the ISIS Caliphate will last, for now, Satan is showing his hand," Richardson said. "He is using the satanically manipulated prophecies of Islam to recruit literally tens of thousands of Muslims from throughout the world to join his forces."
ISIS' new video demonstrates just how obsessed the terror group is with the end-time prophecies of Islam.
The latest video leaves the impression that it is peeled directly from the pages of Richardson's book.
"ISIS soldiers are seen carrying the back flags that I wrote about over a decade ago. My purpose is not to play the role of prophet, for a prophet I am not," he said. "But anyone who has been really paying attention to the words of the biblical prophets alongside what is happening in the Islamic world could have seen all this coming."
So, is Richardson optimistic about the outcome?
"As much as I would like to be an optimist, it is only going to get worse," he said. "The bloodshed and difficulties have only just begun. The Bible makes this clear."
"But it also says that just before Jesus returns, most, if not all of the church would be asleep," he added.
"Remember Jesus' parable of the foolish and wise virgins. It also is being fulfilled in this hour."
Richardson points to recent polls by Pew Research showing that a mere 5 percent of Christians believe Jesus will return in their lifetime. Similar polls have shown that Muslims believe we are in the last days an average of five times higher than Christians. In some countries, it is as high as 80 percent.
"No wonder our churches are dwindling and the numbers of young people giving up everything to join ISIS is skyrocketing," he said. "As the modern church focuses on how to make our message more appealing to an increasingly godless culture, as we water down the message to make it easier to embrace, we are losing our youth."
Meanwhile, ISIS calls the youth to come lay down their lives, risk everything and die.
In a world with a vacuum of spiritual devotion and weak Christian leaders, the message of Islam is resonating. Pew Research recently issued a new study showing it is the world's fastest growing religion.
"ISIS' numbers are expanding so quickly, that the governments of the world are searching for ways to stop the message," Richardson said. "I would argue that it is time for the modern church to stop playing games and start preparing the sheep for what is coming. Before Jesus returns, the Bible says that the Great Commission would be fulfilled (Matthew 24:14-15). This includes throughout the Islamic world. I believe it is not then a coincidence that the Bible also says that before He returns, an uncountable number of Christians would die as martyrs for the sake of the Gospel (Revelation 6:11)."
In the hope of waking some Christians up, Richardson has just released a new film in partnership with Frontier Alliance International about the persecuted church in the Middle East. It's called "Sheep Among Wolves."
"If you want to wake up, watch this film," he said. "Watch it with your Bible study group. Watch it in your churches. Now is the moment for the Western church to rise up and meet the challenge of these last days. The Islamic world is wide awake. It's time for us to wake up and fulfill all that the Lord has for us."
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