God’s War on Terror: A Book Review

By Mike Coldagelli

Walid Shoebat with Joel Richardson. God’s War on Terror: Islam, Prophecy, and the Bible. Top Executive Media, 2008, 490 pages.

Walid Shoebat was born and raised in Bethlehem, Israel to an Arab father and an American mother. He was raised a Muslim and grew up a terrorist, but when he married a Christian woman, he was challenged to examine the Bible. Today he is the founder of the Walid Shoebat Foundation. His life mission and driving passion is to bring the truth of the Bible, and contrast the persecution of Israel and Christians by Islam. Walid has spoken at many prestigious universities including Harvard, Columbia, and Stanford. He has also addressed Homeland Security, Capitol Hill, Boeing, the FBI and the Air Force Academy. (Inside cover)

Shoebat attempts to integrate Bible prophecy with the rise of Isalm. He sees a symmetry between the return of Christ and the coming of the Isalmic Mahdi. But Shoebat who is a believing Christian equates the Mahdi with the antichrist. He develops several parallels between the Mahdi and the antichrist. For example, both the Mahdi of Islam and the antichrist blaspheme by denying Jesus as the Son of God.

The warfare mentality of Islam is explored including a feigned moderation that would turn radical at the appropriate time. The warfare theme is incorporated into the antichrist’s war with God as portrayed in the Book of Revelation. Shoebat draws on his many years as a PLO terrorist.

A novel take on the beasts of Daniel chapter 7 is presented. Shoebat believes that the fourth beast is not Rome as is the prevalent view. He believes that Rome was just an extension of Greece and that the beast that follows is Islam and its ruling caliphate.
The beast that receives a head wound so as to be killed is the Ottoman empire that expired in 1924. This empire is now near a miraculous revival.

Shoebat writes that Babylon the Great of Revelation chapters 17 and 18 is the Saudi Arabian peninsula. He also applies prophecy regarding Edom to Saudi Arabia because Edom extended to the south for an undetermined distance.

The most compelling approach presented in the book is with regard to Gog and the nations with him in Ezekiel chapters 38 and 39. Shoebat sees Magog, Meshech, Tubal, Gomer, and Beth Togarmah as located in modern Turkey and Syria. Persia, Cush, and Put are identified as Iran, Sudan-Somalia, and North Africa respectively. To him the significance of all these places is that they are Muslim. He rules out Russia because of the weak translation of “Rosh” to “Russia” and because Russia is not currently Muslim.

The weakest part of the book was Appendix C, The Three Woe Trumpets. Shoebat thinks that the star that falls from Heaven unto the Earth (in Revelation 9:1) and is given the key to the bottomless pit is a heretical minister of religion. He cites the stars in Revelation 1:20. According to Shoebat this star is Mohammed. The explanation of the Three Woes falls apart from there.

One of the benefits of the book is its Middle Eastern centric framework and its recognition of Jerusalem as the center for Bible prophecy. At times it drifts rather far afield by too confidently assigning Biblical symbols to modern people, places, etc. Still, for students of prophecy I found the book an interesting read.