The Second Coming of Christ Announced by the President of Iran

The M+G+R Foundation

The Second Coming of Christ

As Announced by Mr. M. Ahmadinejad, then President of the Republic of Iran

At the United Nations General Assembly

September 26, 2012

PURPOSE

The purpose of this document is to illustrate the different versions of Second Coming of Jesus Christ when we compare the Christian and Muslim versions, with each other and compare them within the same faith.

BACKGROUND

In our document Judaism, Christianity and Islam Are Not Incoherent Amongst Themselves, On The Contrary... There Is Great Coherence Amongst Them (2) we have authoritatively shown that:

There is an undeniable common denominator that links the original teachings of Islam and Christianity and Judaism. To deny this common denominator necessitates the rejection of the teachings of the Torah, the New Testament and Qur'an. The acknowledgment and acceptance of this common denominator would be the foundation of the harmonious coexistence of the children of God.

Whether the Holy Texts of each faith are interpreted correctly is another matter, and whether this wicked, perverse, adulterous and sinful generation [Mat. 12:39, 16:4, 17:16, Mk. 8:38] is willing to accept those incoherence is yet another matter

INTRODUCTION

Mr. Ahmadinejad states in the first paragraph of his delivery (3) "God, Hasten the Emergence of Your Chosen Beloved, Grant Him Good Health and Victory, Make us Best Companions, and all those who attest to His Rightfulness."

It is clear that he is speaking about one individual; one male individual, but who?

Towards the end of the speech he states that: "There is no doubt that the world is in need of a new order and a fresh way of thinking:" Then, in the final stretch of his speech he states the following:

"The Almighty God has not left us alone in this mission and has said that it will surely happen. If it doesn't, then it will be contradictory to his wisdom.

- God Almighty has promised us a man of kindness, a man who loves people and loves absolute justice, a man who is a perfect human being and is named Imam al-Mahdi, a man who will come in the company of Jesus Christ (Praise Be Upon Him) and the righteous....

- The arrival of the Ultimate Savior will mark a new beginning, a rebirth and a resurrection. It will be the beginning of peace, lasting security and genuine life.".....

- The arrival of the Ultimate Savior, Jesus Christ and the Righteous will bring about an eternally bright future for mankind, not by force or waging wars but through thought awakening and developing kindness in everyone. Their arrival will breathe a new life in the cold and frozen body of the world. He will bless humanity with a spring that puts an end to our winter of ignorance, poverty and war with the tidings of a season of blooming.

DETAILS

It is obvious to anyone who is objective that Mr. Ahmadinejad is talking about two distinct persons - an Imam named al-Mahdi and the "Ultimate Savior" - Jesus Christ. He is in no way pretending to pass the Imam al-Mahdi as the Savior. The Savior, the Ultimate Savior, is clearly Jesus Christ and this was uttered by the President of a Muslim nation that has as its Supreme Leader a religious leader, Ali Khamenei, who is above Mr. Ahmadinejad.

Obviously Mr. Ahmadinejad would not announce the Second Coming of Jesus Christ before the General Assembly of the United Nations if that expectation was not shared by the Supreme Leader, Mr. Ali Khamenei.

Part I

Now then, who is this mysterious (to most Christians) Imam al-Mahdi?

According to Wikipedia (3), the Imam al-Mahdi (born c. July 29, 869 and has been in Occultation since 941) is believed by Twelver Shia Muslims to be the Mahdi, an ultimate savior of humankind and the final Imam of the Twelve Imams. Twelver Shia believe that al-Mahdi was born in 869 and did not die but rather was hidden by God in 941 (this is referred to as the Occultation) and will later emerge with Isa (Jesus Christ) in order to fulfill their mission of bringing peace and justice to the world.

Sunnis and other Shiites believe that the Mahdi has not yet been born, and therefore his exact identity is only known to Allah. Aside from the Mahdi's precise genealogy, Sunnis accept many of the same hadiths Shias accept about the predictions regarding the Mahdi's emergence, his acts, and his universal Khilafat (Caliphate).

Now then, who are the Twelvers?

According to Wikipedia (4). the Twelve Imams are the spiritual and political successors to Muhammad, the Prophet of Islam, in the Twelver or Ithna-ashariyyah branch of Shiah Islam. According to the theology of Twelvers, the successor of Muhammad is an infallible human individual who not only rules over the community with justice, but also is able to keep and interpret the Divine Law and its esoteric meaning.

The objective, thus logical question would be: Why does Jesus Christ, the Ultimate Savior, needs to bring the Imam al-Mahdi along. In Catholic terms it would be as if, at the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, a Pope who never died (who was "hidden in God") would come along to help Jesus Christ. Something completely illogical.

Part II

Obviously the Twelve Imams concept is not part of the Qur'an. Quotes ascribed to the Prophet Muhammad announce them but they are not part of the Qur'an. Therefore, there must have been some root cause for the Twelve Imams concept and, most specially for the 12th one - Imam al-Mahdi.

Let us find Imam al-Mahdi through association....

First of all, in the Judeo-Christian Faith we only have two individuals who have been taken up by God ("hidden in God") - not died. They are Enoch and Elijah.

Elijah showed up in the Biblical texts in the following reading without a clue as to his background:

And Elijah the Thesbite of the inhabitants of Galaad said to Achab: As the Lord liveth the God of Israel, in whose sight I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to the words of my mouth. [1 Kings 17:1]

And disappeared from the Biblical texts, with the exception of references to him later in the texts, at this point:

And as they went on, walking and talking together, behold a fiery chariot, and fiery horses parted them both asunder: and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. [2 Kings 2:11]

Then we have Jesus disclosing Elijah's final manifestation:

But he answering, said to them: Elijah indeed shall come, and restore all things. [Matthew 17:11]

and

Who answering, said to them: Elijah, when he shall come first, shall restore all things; [Mark 9:11]

There you have it! Imam al-Mahdi is Islam's interpretation of Elijah, but the timing is off.

In the telling and retelling of the story, confusion led the Muslim branch who believes in the Twelfth Imam concept that their interpretation of Elijah - the Imam al-Mahdi - was coming with Jesus Christ to "restore all things" as opposed to appearing before the Second Coming of Jesus Christ to prepare the Elect to receive Him.

CONCLUSION

The only real error regarding the Twelver Shia Muslim version of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ is in the timing. They expect Elijah (Imam al-Mahdi) to come at the same time as Jesus, not before, as it was foretold and has already happened in preparation for the Second Coming.

A similar timing error may be seen in Christianity in regards to the Rapture. Many Christians have interpreted the Rapture to take place before the tribulation, when that is not the case. Were it the case, why would the time be shortened for the sake of the Elect? To wit:

For there shall be then great tribulation, such as hath not been from the beginning of the world until now, neither shall be. And unless those days had been shortened, no flesh should be saved: but for the sake of the elect those days shall be shortened. [Matthew 24:21-22]

NOTES

(1) True Story of Creation

(2) Judaism, Christianity and Islam Are Not Incoherent Amongst Themselves

(3) Full text of Mr. M. Ahmadinejad deliver at the United Nations General Assembly

(4) Imam al-Mahdi

(5) The Twelve Imams