The Inspiration of ISIS

Have you ever wondered what is the inspiration and motivation of ISIS? On the surface it looks like its just acts of terrorism or the desire to inflict violence and fear. Other perspectives may portray political and even religious motivations. All of these are true to a very large extent. But there's an inspiration that ISIS has that needs to be duly considered by the believer in Christ. Part of the inspiration of ISIS is what I'd like to describe as "eschatological". This is a word that is derived from the term "eschatology" which is the study of the end times. Members of ISIS are not strictly motivated by political aspirations, there are spiritual and eternal motivations as well.


One of the fundamental beliefs of Islam (not just ISIS) is that at the end of time Muslims will rule the world. They have a "messiah figure" likened unto Jesus Christ named the Mahdi. One scholar on the teachings and ideology of ISIS put it this way: "the Islamic State is no mere collection of psychopaths. It is a religious group with carefully considered beliefs, among them that it is a key agent of the coming apocalypse...".  Why is this important? Because part of what's driving these so-called "radical Islamists" is a view of the afterlife. It's hard to shut somebody down when they feel their reward for killing is beyond the rewards of their temporal existence. Recently a pizza store owner was arrested for supporting ISIS in New York. When he made a statement on why he participated, his response was, "a person who helps or sponsors a fighter to engage in violent jihad obtains the same religious rewards from Allah as the fighter himself". I'm sure no one suspected this New York business owner of being a "jihad supporter". But because of his religious beliefs, he was predisposed to this philosophy.

Why is all of this important? Because it's suspicious to me how Muslims can be so on fire for their faith and their beliefs to either lay down their lives or risk their civil freedoms (going to jail) in order to support the cause of the worldwide expansion of Islam in preparation for the end times. Christians have been offered this same hope, but where's our fire, where's our sacrifice, where's our willingness to suffer in order that we may "reign with Christ" (Romans 8)? The hope of the believer in Christ is that if we are faithful to Him, when Jesus returns we will rule and reign with Him (Revelation 20). All that we do during this temporal period is supposed to be driven by the rewards we receive in Eternity (2Corinthians 4). However, such is not the case for the "mainstream witness" of the church. Maybe we should take a lesson from the Muslims and re-examine the status and commitment of our faith to suffer and die for the advancement of the Kingdom of God. We would do well to assess for ourselves the inspiration of ISIS.