End Times Prophecy Author's Dire Warning About 'Apocalyptic Islam' and 'Annihilation

Author Joel C. Rosenberg is warning that the greatest threat to America's security is now coming from "apocalyptic Islam," a dangerous, end times philosophy that he said many world leaders simply fail to understand.

Bible expert Joel Rosenberg (Photo Credit: Facebook/Joel Rosenberg)

Differentiating between "radical Islam" and "apocalyptic Islam," Rosenberg said that the latter has replaced the former as the key and primary security concern, as he believes that eschatology is now motivating extremists to do the unthinkable.

"The forces of radical Islam want to attack us, while the forces of apocalyptic Islam want to annihilate us," Rosenberg told TheBlaze from his home in Israel on Friday. "Radical Islam is like Al Qaeda, the Taliban, Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas and various terror groups [that are] trying to drive us out of the holy lands and holy places that they consider sacred to Islam."

But he said that apocalyptic Islam is an entirely different animal, as it is comprised of individuals and groups who believe that their messiah is coming at any moment — and that they must abide by his will at any cost.

"If they are not faithful, they [believe they] will burn in the fires of hell with no escape," he said, explaining that the Islamic Mahdi, or messiah, is at the heart of the theology. "The way to serve Mahdi is to annihilate Judeo-Christian civilization and, in so doing, establish God's kingdom on Earth, known as the caliphate."

Rosenberg said that it is essential for presidential candidates and policy makers to understand radical Islamic end-times eschatology in order to properly frame how the Shia leadership of Iran and the Sunni leaders of the Islamic State operate, warning of what might happen if this ideology is underestimated.

Here's how Rosenberg explained that dynamic in a National Review op-ed published on Friday:

Both believe that any moment now their messiah, the Mahdi, will be revealed on Earth as he establishes his global Islamic kingdom and impose sharia law. Both believe that Jesus will return not as the Savior or Son of God but as a lieutenant to the Mahdi, and that he will force non-Muslims to convert or die. What’s more, both believe that the Mahdi will come only when the world is engulfed in chaos and carnage. They openly vow not simply to attack but to annihilate the United States and Israel. Iran and ISIS are both eager to hasten the coming of the Mahdi.

What’s more, both believe that the Mahdi will come only when the world is engulfed in chaos and carnage. They openly vow not simply to attack but to annihilate the United States and Israel. Iran and ISIS are both eager to hasten the coming of the Mahdi.

It is a paradigm that Rosenberg said the U.S. ignores or fails to understand at its own peril.

"If a policy maker or a presidential candidate doesn't understand ... then they're not going to be prepared for the magnitude of genocide that's coming if these leaders can acquire the weapons they need," he told TheBlaze. "That's what makes this whole Iran nuclear deal issue so complicated."

As for President Barack Obama, Rosenberg said that the commander in chief clearly believes that Iran's leaders want a pathway back into "civilized international commerce and society," and that Obama presumably thinks that he can help them attain that.

Iran Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (Pool/Iranian Religious Leader Press Office/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

But Rosenberg said that Iranian leaders have been calling for genocide, saying that he believes the regime is motivated by eschatology; Rosenberg also questioned why leaders like Obama would give Iran a "path that could lead to genocidal weaponry." 

Read Rosenberg's op-ed about the end times and the Mahdi here.

As TheBlaze previously reported, Rosenberg is hardly the first expert to warn about the Islamic State's end times theology, with others cautioning against underestimating and failing to understand the underlying constructs.

Past reports have also claimed that Iran sees itself as having a central role in helping usher in the return of the Mahdi.