I always believed that Pop Culture is God’s parable to us. Talk about Star Trek and the Datapad -> iPad right?
Dune: Messiah is due for release next year on the very same date as Marvel Studio’s Avengers: Doomsday. Talk about prophetic coincidences because we are facing a Global Intifada and the infamous Doomsday Clock is currently set at the closest timing ever, at 89 seconds to an unprecidented global disaster!
Dune: Messiah brings our attention to the mysterious Islamic Messiah, The Mahdi.
Should we be concerned about how The Mahdi is viewed by Islamic radicals?
A Word of Peace Before We Dive In
I’m going to tackle a controversial topic taking the side of the Bible, Jewish prophecy and Christianity against the ideals of radical Islam. However, I am not against peace nor am I Islamophobic because Jesus calls us to love our neighbor as ourselves. Jesus loves you no matter who you are.
Christianity and Islam are also the fastest growing religions in the world, but Islam is more inclined to radicalization in this generation so my post are my opinions based on what I observe in our world today. Regardless of your views whether religious or not, whether dogmatic or not, I implore us to love our neighbors as Jesus commanded, let us strive to become children of God, for a better world, if possible.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.
– Matthew 5:9 New International Version Bible
The Messiah of Radical Islam: The MAHDI
I thoroughly enjoyed Dune (2021) and Dune: Part Two (2024) for director Denis Villeneuve’s breathtaking scale of space and depth of the set and characters. The theme of Dune is heavily based on themes of Islam which specifically revolves around the Islamic Messiah also known as the Mahdi.
Who is the Mahdi?
A simple wiki search will yield several interesting studies about this mysterious character. Quoting the very first paragraph of the wiki entry of the Mahdi:
The Mahdi (Arabic: ٱلْمَهْدِيّ, romanized: al-Mahdī, lit. ’the Guided’) is a figure in Islamic eschatology who is believed to appear at the End of Times to rid the world of evil and injustice. He is said to be a descendant of Muhammad, and will appear shortly before Jesus.
Are we able to find an extraordinary connection between the Mahdi and the Antichrist within this paragraph above? And by Antichrist, I mean THE Antichrist and Lawless Anti-Messiah as mentioned in the Bible.
Similarities between The Mahdi and the Antichrist according to Christian doctrine
| CHRISTIANITY’S VIEW ON THE ANTICHRIST | RADICAL ISLAMIC VIEW ON THE MAHDI |
Who is the liar? It is whoever (1.) denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a person is the antichrist—denying the Father and the Son. No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also. – Excerpt from the letter of St. John, the Apostle of Jesus the Messiah, taken from 1 John 2:22 | O People of the Book! Do not go to extremes regarding your faith; say nothing about Allah except the truth. (1.) The Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, was no more than a messenger of Allah and the fulfilment of His Word through Mary and a spirit ˹created by a command˺ from Him. So believe in Allah and His messengers and do not say, “Trinity.” Stop!—for your own good. Allah is only One God. Glory be to Him! He is far above having a son! To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth. And Allah is sufficient as a Trustee of Affairs. – Excerpt from the writings in Surah 4:171 in the Qu’ran |
| “Now, as our Lord Jesus Christ, who is also God, was prophesied of under the figure of a lion, on account of His royalty and glory, in the same way have the Scriptures also aforetime spoken of Antichrist as a lion, on account of his tyranny and violence. For the deceiver seeks to liken himself in all things to the Son of God. Christ is a lion, so (1.) Antichrist is also a lion; Christ is a king, so (2.) Antichrist is also a king. The Saviour was manifested as a lamb; so he too, in like manner, (3.) will appear as a lamb, though within he is a wolf. The Saviour came into the World in the (4.) circumcision, and he will come in the same manner. The Lord sent apostles among all the nations, and (5.) he in like manner will send false apostles. The Saviour gathered together the sheep that were scattered abroad, and (6.) he in like manner will bring together a people that is scattered abroad. The Lord gave a seal to those who believed on Him, and he will give one like manner. The Saviour appeared in the form of man, and (7.) he too will come in the form of a man.“ – Saint Hippolytus, Church Father Worthwhile to note: St. Hippolytus (170 – 235 AD) was the disciple of St. Irenaeus (130 – 202 AD), who was the disciple of the beloved Apostle of Jesus and Gospel writer, St. John (6 – 100 AD). Therefore, St. Hippolytus lived approximately 400 years before the rise of Islam, making his words strikingly accurate don’t you think? | Based on St. Hippolytus’ prophetic understanding of how the Antichrist will be like, these are some observable points about The Mahdi: 1. The Mahdi is compared to a lion for his people just like Jesus is mentioned as the Lion of Judah in the Book of Revelation in the Bible 2. The Mahdi would be a conqueror king 3. The Madhi is a man of peace according to Islamic tradition 4. Muslims, like Jews, are a religion where every male is required to undergo circumcision as a sign of their faith/ethnicity/belonging 5. As I write this article in May 2025, we are continuing to witness a global Intifada against Jews, especially in the Universities, and watching radical Islamic trying to dominate the sphere of politics. 6. Radical Islamic ideas have influenced many who are pro-Palestine and have rallied them into one voice 7. As Jesus was God incarnate in human flesh as the Messiah to the Jews (and the world), so will the Mahdi be in the form of a man in human flesh imitating to be a Messiah, hence the Antichrist – the Anti-Messiah. |
| Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come. Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. – Excerpt from the letter to the Thessalonians of Apostle Paul in 2 Thessalonians 2:1-4 New King James Version Bible | According to the article in Wikipedia about the Mahdi: The Mahdi (Arabic: ٱلْمَهْدِيّ, romanized: al-Mahdī, lit. ’the Guided’) is a figure in Islamic eschatology who is believed to appear at the End of Times to rid the world of evil and injustice. He is said to be a descendant of Muhammad, and will appear shortly before Jesus. |
| (1.) And he will enter into a binding and irrevocable covenant with the many for one week (seven years), but in the middle of the week he will stop the sacrifice and grain offering [for the remaining three and one-half years]; and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate, even until the complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who causes the horror.” – Excerpt from the book of Daniel in Daniel 9:27 from the Amplified Bible “Thus the angel said, ‘The fourth beast shall be a fourth kingdom on earth, which will be different from all other kingdoms and will devour the whole earth and tread it down, and crush it. As for the ten horns, out of this kingdom ten kings will arise; and another will arise after them, and he will be different from the former ones, and he will subdue three kings. He will speak words against the Most High [God] and wear down the saints of the Most High, and he will intend to change the times and the law; and they will be given into his hand for a time, [two] times, and half a time [three and one-half years]. But the court [of the Most High] will sit in judgment, and his dominion will be taken away, [first to be] consumed [gradually] and [then] to be destroyed forever. Then the kingdom and the dominion and the greatness of all the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be given to the people of the saints (believers) of the Most High; His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all the dominions will serve and obey Him.’ – Excerpt from the book of Daniel in Daniel 7:23-26 from the Amplified Bible | …Then there will arise a man of Quraysh whose maternal uncles belong to Kalb and send against them an expeditionary force which will be overcome by them, and that is the expedition of Kalb. Disappointed will be the one who does not receive the booty of Kalb. He will divide the property, and will govern the people by the Sunnah of their Prophet (ﷺ) and establish Islam on Earth. (1.) He will remain seven years, then die, and the Muslims will pray over him… – Excerpt from Hadith 4286 |
Final Combo Against Radical Islamic Belief from Thomas Aquinas and John Calvin
| Thomas Aquinas , Summa Contra Gentiles I:6 | John Calvin , Institutes, 2.6.4 (Battles edition) |
| …those who founded sects committed to erroneous doctrines proceeded in a way that is opposite to this, The point is clear in the case of Muhammad. He seduced the people by promises of carnal pleasure to which the concupiscence of the flesh goads us. His teaching also contained precepts that were in conformity with his promises, and he gave free rein to carnal pleasure. In all this, as is not unexpected, he was obeyed by carnal men. As for proofs of the truth of his doctrine, he brought forward only such as could be grasped by the natural ability of anyone with a very modest wisdom. Indeed, the truths that he taught he mingled with many fables and with doctrines of the greatest falsity. He did not bring forth any signs produced in a supernatural way, which alone fittingly gives witness to divine inspiration; for a visible action that can be only divine reveals an invisibly inspired teacher of truth. On the contrary, Muhammad said that he was sent in the power of his arms—which are signs not lacking even to robbers and tyrants. What is more, no wise men, men trained in things divine and human, believed in him from the beginning, Those who believed in him were brutal men and desert wanderers, utterly ignorant of all divine teaching, through whose numbers Muhammad forced others to become his followers by the violence of his arms. Nor do divine pronouncements on the part of preceding prophets offer him any witness. On the contrary, he perverts almost all the testimonies of the Old and New Testaments by making them into fabrications of his own, as can be seen by anyone who examines his law. It was, therefore, a shrewd decision on his part to forbid his followers to read the Old and New Testaments, lest these books convict him of falsity. It is thus clear that those who place any faith in his words believe foolishly. | For this reason I subscribe to the common saying that God is the object of faith, yet it requires qualification. For Christ is not without reason called “the image of the invisible God.” This title warns us that, unless God confronts us in Christ, we cannot come to know that we are saved. Among the Jews the scribes obscured with false glosses what the prophets had taught concerning the Redeemer. Yet in spite of this, Christ took to be commonly known, as if received by general agreement, that there is no other remedy for a hopeless condition, no other way of freeing the church, than the appearance of the Mediator. Indeed, Paul’s teaching was not commonly known — as it ought to have been — that “Christ is the end of the law” Yet this is true and certain, as is perfectly clear from the Law itself and the Prophets. I am not yet discussing faith because there will be a more suitable place for it elsewhere. Only let the readers agree on this point: let the first step toward godliness be to recognize that God is our Father to watch over us, govern and nourish us, until he gather us unto the eternal inheritance of his Kingdom. Hence, what we have recently said becomes clear, that apart from Christ the saving knowledge of God does not stand. From the beginning of the world he had consequently been set before all the elect that they should look unto him and put their trust in him. In this sense Irenaeus writes that the Father, himself infinite, becomes finite in the Son, for he has accommodated himself to our little measure lest our minds be overwhelmed by the immensity of his glory. Fanatics, not reflecting upon this, twist a useful statement into an impious fantasy, as if there were in Christ only a portion of divinity, outflowing from the whole perfection of God. Actually, it means nothing else than that God is comprehended in Christ alone. John’s saying has always been true: “He that does not have the Son does not have the Father.” For even if many men once boasted that they worshiped the Supreme Majesty, the Maker of heaven and earth, yet because they had no Mediator it was not possible for them truly to taste God’s mercy, and thus be persuaded that he was their Father. Accordingly, because they did not hold Christ as their Head, they possessed only a fleeting knowledge of God. From this it also came about that they at last lapsed into crass and foul superstitions and betrayed their own ignorance. So today the [Muslim] Turks, although they proclaim at the top of their lungs that the Creator of heaven and earth is God, still, while repudiating Christ, substitute an idol in place of the true God. |
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