A Muslim-Christian Clash Coming?

According to a recent study by the Pew Research Center, “Muslims are projected to be the world’s fastest-growing major religious group in the decades ahead” (PewForum.org, April 5, 2017). The study indicates that births to families which identify as Muslim are projected to surpass births of those who identify as Christian, especially in Europe. It also notes that the number of atheists and religiously non-affiliated are expected to decrease compared to both groups, which will reduce the influence of the nonreligious on the world scene and heighten the impact of religious views on world events. Respected scholar Samuel Huntington wrote in his seminal work The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order that 1,400 years of history have demonstrated a “stormy relationship” between the various varieties of “Christianity” and the Muslim world (p. 209). He also observed “increasing contact between and intermingling of Muslims and Westerners stimulate in each a new sense of their own identity and how it differs from that of the other. Interaction and intermingling also exacerbate differences” (p. 211).

Bible prophecy has long foretold an end-time conflict between a “king of the North” that will arise in Europe and a “king of the South” that will emerge in the Middle East (Daniel 11:40-43). It has become apparent that this is a conflict between “Christianity” and Islam. Jesus warned repeatedly that we should “watch” world events (Mark 13:29-37) because these prophecies will come to pass (Daniel 2:45; Isaiah 46:8-11). For more insight into these sobering times, read or listen to The Middle East in Prophecy.