april · two thousand
september
· two thousand
fourteen
fourteen
Dear Partner
Whenever anyone brings up the last days, the
conversation eventually turns to Israel and the Middle
East. Before my surgery, I was writing to you about
Abraham and Israel’s right to the land of Israel, formerly
called Palestine. When we last left Abraham, he had just
won a great victory. It was, in fact, one of his greatest
victories—the victory over himself. He refused the
promotion offered him for defeating the eastern kings
father 12 nations and be a prince over another. Those
13 nations now form much of the Arab world.
Islam espouses the idea that they descended
from Ishmael. Whether or not Mohammad is a direct
descendant of Ishmael is actually a subject of debate,
but it is less debatable if you see him coming from one
of the 12 nations Ishmael fathered.
and bringing home the people and bounty taken
Ask any Arab on the streets of Israel or elsewhere, “Who
captive by those kings. Instead, he let God promote him.
did Abraham offer as a sacrifice on the altar?” and he or
Abraham’s Disappointment
We have spent a lot of time discussing Abraham’s
victories, but in this letter, we need to take a look at one
of his greatest disappointments. Why? Because it directly
ties in with what the Bible calls the last days. What was
Abraham’s great disappointment? I believe it was the
child he fathered by Hagar: Ishmael.
When the boy was 13 years old, God told Abraham
that Ishmael was not the promised seed. In response,
Abraham exclaimed, or perhaps moaned, to God, “Oh,
that Ishmael would live before You!” I think Abraham
really did not want to explain this sudden twist in the
story to those who had, for the last 13 years, believed
him when he’d said that Ishmael would be his heir. Now
he had to tell them he was wrong—Isaac was coming.
she will tell you it was Ishmael, not Isaac.Though the rest of
the world debates Mohammad’s descent from Ishmael, it
is not a debatable matter in the eyes of the masses in the
Islamic world. They are still carrying the rejection of Sarah
and Abraham, and as the earth races toward the end
times, that attitude will spawn wars and battles, and the
last days will see much violence.
The Two Factions of Islam
At this point, things begin to grow a little complicated. I
will try to make them as simple as possible. Remember the
following as you read this letter—all of Islam comes from
one of two ideologies, which split about one hundred
years after Mohammad: the ideology of the Sunni or the
ideology of the Shiite (Shia). Both are branches of Islam
and both are Muslims, all bound by the same Quran
and the same five pillars of Islam: belief in Allah, daily
The problem escalated as Ishmael grew older. Hagar
prayer, fasting, charity and a hajj or pilgrimage. Sunnis
rebelled against Sarah, Abraham’s wife, and eventually
and Shiites have common holidays as well as their own
was asked to leave Abraham’s community. While she
respective religious holidays, customs and shrines. So
was in the desert, God spoke to her and told her to go
what is the issue?
back and submit to Sarah, which she did—for a while.
But in spite of God’s command, she did not submit for
long and was once again asked to leave.
Ishmael and Mohammad
God did not forget Ishmael. He gave a stunning
prophecy to Hagar about her son—that Ishmael would
The schism between Sunni and Shiite stems from the
early days of Islam and arguments over who would
succeed Mohammad as caliph, the spiritual leader.
The Shiites wanted the caliphate, the government of
the caliph, to descend through Ali, Mohammad’s son-inlaw. Ali eventually became the fourth caliph, but he was
murdered, and his son al-Hussein was massacred with
his fighters at Karbala (now Iraq). These untimely deaths
of caliphs spawned a new way of thinking.
Shiites believe leaders must be direct descendants
of the prophet Mohammad, while Sunnis believe
Muslim leaders are to be elected, or picked, from those
qualified for the job. Neither side recognizes the same
Islamic authority. In a way, it is similar to Catholics and
Which Nations Are Shiite?
The largest Shiite populations live in Iran,Yemen, Bahrain,
Afghanistan, Pakistan and the southern half of Iraq.
Which Nations Are Sunni?
Protestants. All are Christians and have the same Bible,
Sunnis form the majority in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan,
but only Catholics recognize the authority of the pope.
Kuwait, Turkey and the northern half of Iraq. Sunnis
Both the Sunnis and Shiites believe in the coming of the
al-Mahdi, also known as the Twelfth Imam. It is how this
leader is chosen that becomes a point of division. The
Quran expressly states that the al-Mahdi will materialize
when those who follow him are severely oppressed in
every corner of the world. He will fight the oppressors,
unite the Muslims, bring peace and justice to the world,
make up about 85 percent of the world’s Muslim
population, including the vast majority of Muslims in
the United States.
In an apparent contradiction of religious loyalties, Syria is
a Sunni-majority country, but President Bashar al-Assad
is a close ally of Shiite-dominated Iran. This is why the
Sunni-based “rebels” are trying to overthrow him.
rule over the Arabs and lead prayer in Mecca, at which
Two Geographic Areas of Note
Isa (Jesus) will be present as a lesser prophet.
Lebanon is split almost evenly between Shiite and Sunni.
Both groups believe that the al-Mahdi will be a
descendant of Mohammad, will be fully named as
Mohammad al-Mahdi and will come from the lineage
of Fatima. Prophecy also says that his coming will be
Remember how Hezbollah fired rockets into Israel?
Hezbollah is based in Lebanon. However, the ideology
of Hezbollah is Shiite. Being Shiite based, Hezbollah
receives financing through Iran and other Shiite nations.
marked by the raising of a black flag, or standard, out of
The most recent rocket fire on Israel came from Gaza—
Iran (you see this black flag carried today in the Islamic
Gaza is Sunni and therefore receives funding primarily
group ISIS). Syria will no longer exist, and all foreigners
from Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Turkey. This is why we hear
will be removed from Arab land. Death and fear will
about fishing boats filled with arms being shipped over
afflict the people of Iraq (thus the ISIS invasion of Iraq is
the Mediterranean Sea from Turkey to Gaza. Egypt was
seen by ISIS as a prophetic fulfillment). The al-Mahdi will
asked to broker the recent ceasefire between Israel and
rule until he brings oversight of the final judgment and
Gaza because both are Sunni.
the end of the world.
What is ISIS? ISIS is Sunni and receives the majority of
Why is all of this important for you to understand?
its funding from Saudi Arabia. So I am a little perplexed
by the United States’ recent idea to furnish arms to the
These two ideologies are much of the reason we see
“rebel movement” in Syria so they can attack ISIS on the
such turmoil in the Middle East. Both sides feel they are
ground. Remember that the rebels are also Sunni—and
the one who will usher in the al-Mahdi and worldwide
will not be able to attack their fellow brothers. This is what
Muslim rule. It is part of the prophecy of Jesus in Matthew
happened in northern Iraq (Sunni) when ISIS (Sunni)
24: “Nation [ethnos or ethnic group] will fight against
invaded; in essence, Sunni invaded Sunni and said,
nation [ethnos or ethnic group].” In this case, Muslim
“Join us or die.” In response, the Sunni-based northern
fights against Muslim.
Iraqi military dropped their arms and ran.
Sunni and Shiite Nations and Locations
To better grasp the perplexity we face and why it is
important who the United States supports or does not
support, it might help to know where the two Islamic
groups have settled.This might also help you understand
who ISIS is, why ISIS has risen so quickly and who is
financing that group. This way, when you watch TV and
see Yemen, Kuwait or any other Muslim nation involved
in some conflict, you will understand that the nation is
responding that way due to its religious ideology.
Politicization of Religion
Where the conflict between Sunni and Shiite was once
religious, it has become more political.
Mohammad lived from 570–632—or some 600 years
after Jesus. If Islam began about 1,400 years ago, what
are they fighting about? The answer is power over the
Muslim world and who the al-Mahdi will come from. Do
you remember when the president of Iran, Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad, proclaimed he was to prepare for the arrival
of the al-Mahdi? The very thought of a Shiite bringing in
because most Muslims are more fervent about their belief
the al-Mahdi sent a shiver of anger through 85 percent of
in Allah than many Christians are about their belief in God
the Muslim world.
(Jehovah/Yahweh).
The current headlines in Iraq are due to the actions
Finally, you should care because of the role the Muslim
of the former prime minister, Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, who is
religion plays in Israel and the last days. I will write more
a Shiite oppressing the Sunnis in the north. The Sunnis in
about this topic next month. In the meantime, I hope you
northern Iraq were tired of being oppressed by the Shiite
found all of this information helpful.
government, which is why ISIS (Sunni) was able to invade
northern Iraq so easily. The United States demanded alMaliki to resign (which he has . . . kind of).
Why This Should Matter to You
If all of this is taking place on the other side of the world,
Thank You
As always, thank you for your support of this ministry and
all God has called me to do. I am looking forward to the
future and launching new endeavors. We could not do
any of them without you as faithful partners.
why should you care?
Blessings,
You should care because Islam is a global religion
and is growing in the United States at five times the
rate of the non-Muslim population—in other words, it
is multiplying. You should care because America has
significant strategic and military interests in the Middle
John Paul Jackson
East in order to protect this nation from attack. You should
care because according to the Pew Research Center, the
number of Muslims is expected to rise by 35 percent in the
next 20 years to reach 2.2 billion people. You should care
MUSLIMS IN THE MIDEAST
TRAINING INDIA 2015
When we were planning this training-focused mission
trip to Mumbai, India we had three goals we hoped to
accomplish: A huge citywide conference, teaching The
Art of Hearing God and Understanding Dreams & Visions
courses, and training and certifying 50 handpicked local
pastors and leaders to become certified to teach The Art
of Hearing God in India before we leave.
Update
hundreds of churches throughout Mumbai and the
greater Maharashtra region of India.
WHAT’S NEXT
We also need your prayers over the next phase of our
Training India plan—securing a multi-purpose training
center building in Mumbai. This office would serve
We’re pleased to share that we’re on schedule to
several functions. First, it would be a high-speed internet
accomplish all three goals. We’ve secured the largest
facility where local church members could come and
venue in Mumbai for a city-wide conference that we will
take our online courses. Even though India is one of the
be hosting with John Paul and RT Kendall. We expect the
information technology capitals in the world, access to
2800-seat hall to be packed to capacity for this two-day
reliable internet connections is very sparse. This facility
event for pastors and leaders. In addition to renting the
could be a complete game-changer for most of the
facilities, Streams will be providing meals for the attendees
pastors in the city.
during both days of the conference. The dates for this citywide conference will be February 6-7, 2015.
Next, we’ve reserved a second venue the following
week that will allow us to teach both 3 ½ day courses
at the same time—the majority of the Indian pastors
who were taught The Art of Hearing God from John Paul
this past January are now moving on to Understanding
Dreams & Visions. We are bringing several Streams
teachers as part of our ministry team to help John Paul
instruct the delegates.
Lastly, we’ve handpicked 50 future Streams teachers
in India to undergo a special day of teacher training
and impartation that will culminate in them becoming
certified to teach The Art of Hearing God themselves.
Incredibly, we will already have manuals printed in Hindi
for them to begin hosting their own classes as soon as
they become certified.
Thank you again for your prayers and financial support
of our 2015 Training India Mission Trip. With your help, John
Paul’s Art of Hearing God course will be spread through
In addition to holding classes here, this facility would
also warehouse John Paul’s books, course manuals, CDs
and DVDs.