The End Times: Islam vs. Christianity, Part 1

The End Times: Islam vs. Christianity, Part 1
Wednesday, May 28, 2025 by Dr. James W. Walraven

Categories: Apologetics / Contemporary issues / Scripture discussion / Spiritual deception / Spiritual warfare / The church / Thought for Today

Prophecy and the end times. If there is one topic that is likely to get a large crowd within the church, it is prophecy and the end times. According to Jesus what signs indicate his coming? Hint: see Matthew 24. When will the Rapture take place? Think of all the heated debates on that topic. Think also of how almost every person is absolutely certain that their position is the correct one. Even more intriguing, with seemingly never-ending speculation throughout Church history:: who is the Antichrist?

Then there is Jesus’s sobering warning at the end of Luke 18:8: “However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?” (NAU) One can build a case that we are seeing signs of 2 Thessalonians 2:3, the falling away or apostasy, as seemingly more and more “Christians” abandon the Gospel, for their own preferred interpretations, various forms of “spirituality,” the occult, or any one of a number of alternatives. It sure looks like 1 Timothy 4:1 is in focus, of people falling away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons.

Rooms could be filled with books on these biblical subjects.

But, what about Islam? Many Christians have blogged, posted memes, or otherwise commented about some of the biblical issues with Islam. But, did you know that Islam also has much to say about the end times, the return of Isa (their version of Jesus), and other prophetic events? Yes, Islam teaches that Isa will return. Islam also has predictions about what life will be like leading up to Isa’s return, and the arrival of their Mahdi (more about him later).

As Christians (or even for non-Christians, or Muslims), why does any of this matter? What we will find is that what Islam teaches about the end times fits in with key biblical concepts. We will find that how it fits in, should be very concerning to all Christians, and for that matter, for Jews. There are also implications for Muslims, though not in the way they are expecting.

Why have so few Christians written about Islam’s teachings on the end times? I suspect one answer is that most of those teachings are not found in the Qur’an, but in various hadith. Yes, the Qur’an has much to say about Islamic Paradise and Hell, and who goes to which place (all Christians, all who believe that Jesus is God, end up in Islam’s Hell). The Qur’an also emphasizes salvation by works. There is no “savior.”

But the details of the end times, the prophecies about those times, are generally not found in the Qur’an. Rather, as just mentioned, they are found in various hadith, the sayings and actions of Muhammad. In Islam, the hadith are second in importance only to the Qur’an, and in reality almost equally important, as it is in the hadith that one finds the details of how to live.

What does Islam teach about the end times? How do those teachings relate to Biblical Scripture? Beyond that, in Islam, what trials do people face after death? How does one reach Paradise? We will find many contradictions to Biblical Scripture.

Over the next several posts, we will begin to address some of these questions.

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