JERUSALEM, Israel – Many in the West see the US pullout from Afghanistan as a geopolitical disaster and an epic tragedy for those left behind under Taliban rule.
The Taliban and other radical Muslims see their takeover of Afghanistan not only as a military victory, but as a fulfillment of Islamic prophecy.
The Taliban Twitter page carried this message: “Black flags will arise from Khorasan and nothing will be able to return them.”
Joel Richardson, author of the best-selling book, The Islamic Anti-Christ, explained why this Islamic prophecy is so important on CBN’s recent webinar, “Afghanistan: What’s Next After the US Pullout.”
“This is very important. I haven’t heard this talked about in the mainstream media at all. But if we look at some of the main end time prophecies within Islam. I mean, one of the biggest prophecies. There’s a prophecy that says armies carrying black flags will come from the area of the east or Khorasan,” said Richardson.
Khorasan is an ancient land that includes modern northwestern Pakistan, eastern Iran, and all of Afghanistan.
“It says an army will come from Khorasan carrying black flags and then it says this: ‘If you see them give them your allegiance. Even if you have to crawl over ice. Because this is the army of the Mahdi,’ or in English, you can just say the Mahdi, the vice regent of Allah. So, this is one of their biggest end time prophecies,” said Richardson.
Sheikh Imran Hosein, a well-known Muslim expert on Islamic prophecies explained the US pullout in Afghanistan through this prophecy on his YouTube channel.
“Afghanistan is the heart of Khorasan,” said Hosein. “What is happening in Afghanistan is validating the prophecy of Prophet Muhammad … that the Muslim armies designed to come out of Afghanistan, of Khorasan…no one will be able to stop it until it reaches Jerusalem.”
The prophecy says Jerusalem will be the final goal of the army of the Mahdi when they plant their flags here on the Temple Mount.
“Jerusalem is the barometer. Jerusalem’s the epicenter. Jerusalem is the goal and Satan’s target. That’s where Jesus is going to return, re-establish the throne of his father David and rule the world from. Satan’s very aware of that,” said Richardson.
While many Muslims do not ascribe to this prophecy, Richardson says we need to understand how parts of the Islamic world perceive the US pullout from Afghanistan.
“As Christians, of course we don’t give any credence to Islamic prophecy, it’s not inspired by God. It’s largely inspired by Satan, but the point is this: itXgives us a glimpse into the playbook of the enemy. Muslims, many Muslims that are very well aware of their own prophecies, they see this as the fulfillment of Islamic prophecy and there’s power in prophecy. It’s a tremendous recruiting tool.”
The Taliban see themselves as this army from Khorasan and the ISIS branch in Afghanistan call themselves ISIS-K, K for Khorasan. Given the unfolding developments after the US pullout, it’s likely Afghanistan will now become a magnet for radicalized Muslims around the world to join the black flags of Khorasan.
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