Islam and Russia – Part 8

22 ISLAM AND RUSSIA (8) (Dr. Qazi Muhammad Barkatullah) Zul-Kifl’s (Ezekiel) Prophecy: Prophet Zul-Kifl (Holy Quran, 38:49) prophesied (600 and 1987) 2587 years ago the events which pertain to the present time. In the words of Hazrat Mirza Tahir Ahmad, Khalifatul Masih IV, the prophecy which was meant for “the future” at that time, that future has become “present” at this time. (Friday Sermon: Oct. 9, 1987) We are now living in the epoch making era in which that prophecy is being fulfilled. This prophecy refers to two nations called Yajooj and Majooj in English known as Gog and Magog. This prophecy was made 2587 years ago when Russia was hardly a nation of any significance, but at that time it was prophesied that Russia will rise to become a super power and it would be a Communist regime believing not in God. It would then clash with another super power. The conflict of the super powers would bring destruction in the world and bring an end to Communism in’ Russia. People would then be looking forward to make peace with the Creator of heaven and earth and everything in between. Russians would accept Islam as interpreted by the Ahmadiyya Movement in Islam. Generally speaking an era of peace would usher in the whole world and Islam would then overcome all religions of the world. This significant prophecy, is now quoted from the New English Bible: “These were the words of the Lord to me: Man, look towards Gog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal, in the land of Magog, and prophecy against him. Say, These are the words of the Lord God: I am against you, Gog, prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal. I will turn you about, I will put hooks in your jaws. I will lead you out, you and your whole army, horses and horsemen, all fully equipped, a great host with shield and buckler, every man wielding a sword, and with them the men of Pharas, Cush, and Put, all with shield and helmet; Gomer and all its squadrons, ISLAM AND RUSSIAN 23 Beth-togarmah with its squadrons from the far recesses of the north-a great concourse of peoples with you. Be prepared; make ready you and all the host which has gathered to join you, and hold yourselves in reserve for me. After many days you will be summoned; in years to come you will enter a land restored from ruin, whose people are gathered from many nations upon the mountains of Israel that have been desolate so long. The Israelites, brought out from the nations, will all be living undisturbed; and you will come up, driving in like a hurricane; you will cover the land like a cloud, you and all your squadrons, a great concourse of peoples. This is the word of the Lord God: At that time a thought will enter your head and you will plan evil. You will say, ‘I will attack a land of open villages, I will fall upon a people living quiet and undisturbed undefended by walls, with neither gates nor bars.’ You will expect to come plundering, spoiling, and stripping bare the ruins where men now live again,a people gathered out of the nations, a people acquiring cattle and goods, and making their home at the very centre of the world. Shebi and Dedan, the traders of Tarshish and her leading merchants, will say to you, ‘Is it for plunder that you have come? Have you gathered your host to get spoil, to carry off silver and gold, to seize cattle and goods, to collect rich spoil?’ Therefore, prophesy, man, and say to Gog, These are the words of the Lord God:In that day when my people Israel is living undisturbed, will you not awake and come with many nations from your home in the far recesses of the north, all riding on horses, a great host, a mighty army? You will come up against my people Israel; and in those future days you will be like a cloud covering the earth. I will bring you against my land, that the nations may know me, when they see me prove my holiness at your expense, O Gog. This is the word of the Lord God: when I spoke in days of old through my servants the prophets, who prophesied in those days unceasingly, it was you whom I threatened to bring against Israel. On that day, when at length Gog comes against the land of Israel, says the Lord God, my wrath will boil over. In my jealousy and in the heat of my anger I swear that on that day there shall be a great earthquake 24 REVIEW OF RELIGIONS throughout ‘the land of Israel. The fish in the sea and the birds in the air, the wild animals and all reptiles that move on the ground, all mankind on the face of the earth, all shall be shaken before me. Mountains shall be torn up, the terraced hills collapse, and every wall crash to the ground. I will summon universal terror against Gog, says the Lord God, and his men shall turn their swords against one another. I will bring him to judgement with pestilence and bloodshed; I will pour down teeming rain, hailstones hard as rock, and fire and brimstone, upon him, upon his squadrons, upon the whole concourse of peoples with him. Thus will prove myself great and holy and make myself known to many nations; they shall know that I am the Lord. And you, man, prophesy against Gog and say, These are the words of the Lord God: I am against you, Gog, prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal. I will turn you about and drive you, I will fetch you up from the far recesses of the north and bring you to the mountains of Israel. I will strike the bow from your left hand and dash the arrows from your right hand. There on the mountains of Israel you shall fall, you, all your squadrons, and your allies; I will give you as food to the birds of prey and the wild beasts. You shall fall on the bare ground, for it is I who have spoken. This is the very word of the Lord God. I will send fire on Magog and pn those who live undisturbed in the coasts and islands, and they shall know that I am the Lord. My holy name I will make known in the midst of my people Israe,! and will no longer let it be profaned; the nations shall know that in Israel I, the Lord, am holy. Behold, it comes; it shall be, says the Lord God, the day of which I have spoken. The dwellers in the cities of Israel shall come out and gather weapons to light their fires, buckler and shield, bow and arrows, throwing stick and lance, and they shall kindle fires with them for seven years. They shall take no wood from the fields nor cut it from the forests but shall light their fires with the weapons. Thus they will plunder their plunderers and spoil their spoilers. This is the very word of the Lord God. In that day I.will give to Gog} instead of a burial-ground ISLAM AND RUSSIA 25 in Israel, the valley of Abarim east of the Sea. There they shall bury Gog and all his horde, and all Abarim will be blocked and they shall call it the Valley of Gog’s Horde. For seven months the Israelites shall bury them and purify the land all the people shall take their share in the burying.The day thatl win myself honour shall be a memorable day for them. This is the very word of the Lord God. Men shall be picked for the regular duty of going through the country and searching for any left above ground, to purify the land they shall begin their search at the end of the seven months. They shall go through the country, and whenever one of them sees human bone he shall put a marker beside it, until it has been buried in the Valley of Gog’s Horde. So no more shall be heard of that great horde,and the land will be purifiied. Man, these are the words of the Lord God; Cry to every bird that flies and to all the wild beasts: Come, assemble, gather from every side to my sacrifice, the great sacrifice I am making for you on the mountains of Israel; eat flesh and drink blood, eat the flesh of warriors and drink the blood of princes of the earth; all these are your rams and sheep, he goats and bulls, and buffalos of Basha. You shall cram yourselves with fat and drink yourselves drunk on blood at the sacrifice which I am preparing for you. At my table you shall eat your fill of horses and riders, of warriors and all manner of fighting men. This is the very word of the Lord God. •^ I will show my glory among the nations; all shall see the judgement that I execute and the heavy hand that I lay upon them. From that day forwards the Israelites shall know that I am the Lord their God. The nations shall know that the Israelites- went into exile for their iniquity, because they were faithless to me. So I hid my face from them and handed them over to their enemies, and they fell, every one of them, by the sword. I dealt with them as they deserved, defiled and rebellious as they were, and hid my face from them. These, therefore, are the words of the Lord God: Now I will restore the fortunes of Jacob and show my affection for all Israel, and I will be jealous for my holy name. They shall forget their shame and all their unfaithfulness to me, when they are at home again on their own soil, undisturbed, with 26 REVIEW OF RELIGIONS no one to alarm them. When I bring them home out of the nations and gather them from the lands of their enemies, I will make them an example of my holiness, for many nations to see. They will know that I am the Lord their God, because I who sent them into exile among the nations will bring them together again on the soil of their own land and leave none of them behind. No longer will I hide my face from them, I who have poured our my spirit upon Israel. This is the very word of the Lord God.” Thus the Book of Ezekiel gives a clear description of the Russian danger as it is developing now. Prophet Zul-Kifl (Holy Quran, 38:49) that is Prophet Ezekiel lived 600 years before Jesus Christ. We are now approacing-1988. It means that the prophecy was given to the world (600 and 1987) 2587 years ago. The time of the prophecy is also of important consideration. At that time Russia was an insignificant nation and hardly known outside its own borders. Russia was divided into tribal regimes. That was the time prophet Ezekiel prophesied that at some future time the insignificant territory will rise to emerge as a great power. Also, that having become a super power it would come into’clash with other powerful nations. Prophet Zul-Kifl’s prophecy clearly indicates that after bursting through the boundaries of Iran and Turkey, Russia would advance into Palestine and Syria. It appears that the time of the fulfilment of the prophecy was then in the distant future. Because it was to be fulfilled in latter days indicates the time would be in the age of the second advent of Jesus Christ or of the Promised Messiah. At that time, the Israelites would Have been gathered from various quarters of the earth and settled again in Palestine to call themselves the nation of Israel. As such, America and other allies who have helped the Jews to settle in the land of Palestine, have brought the time of the fulfilment of the prophecy closer. It was then, according to prophet Zul-Kifl, that Russia would emerge as a great and strong power capable of launching as well as controlling several satellites. It also indicates that at the time of the fulifilment of the prophecy, Russia will be Communist which is officially avowedly atheist. The enhanced significance of the prophecy lies in the fact that when prophesied no such power as described was in existence at the time. Russia (Rus) is indicated as Rosh, the chief prince of Meshcch and Tubal. Meshech clearly stands for Moscow. Tubal or Tobal was an Asiatic town after which a town named ISLAM AND RUSSIA 27 Tobalsk has now been built in the Eastern part of Russia. The combinations of these two names in the prophecy is an indication that at the time of its fulfilment, the dominion of Russia will have extended to Asia. The language goes on to make it clear that God regards Russia as having abandoned the path of righteousness and He views with disfavour her irreligious designs. It is true that those opposed to Russia are also not favourably mentioned in the prophecy. However, the expression of divine displeasure against Russia is perfectly clear and beyond doubt and the prophecy about her eventual destruction is very explicit. Americans, no doubt, are attached to religion and condemn irreligiousness. However, a study of the prophecy of Ezekiel should furnish them with a divine sign and warning for a further keener sense of their obligations and indebtedness to God. Prophet Ezekiel says that on that day God will gather people from the ‘mountains’, meaning, from all powerful nations. Those, therefore, who are opposed to materialism and irreligiousness should combine to withstand the onslaught of Communism. In a sense, part of the prophecy is in course of fulfilment. The majority of the states that are members of the United Nations have awakened to a realization of the danger of Communism and have declared their resolve to oppose it. But this is the era of democracy. A government may declare war but it is only the support and sacrifices of the people that can help to carry it on to victory. Therefore, those who desire to partake of the blessings that the fulfilment of this prophecy and of the prophecies of those elect of God who besides Ezekiel have prophesied about the present time will bring in its wake, must be ready to listen to the voice of God and must prepare themselves to fulfil His commands. No doubt there is a promise of victory in the prophecy of Ezekiel and the other prophecies that support it. But it must be realized that the fulfilment of these prophecies calls for a high spirit of dedication, endeavour and sacrifice. If these are lacking, the fulfilment may be deferred or may take on a form different from that which the prophecy seems to-day to bear.