Why Is the Roman Catholic Church Seeking Unity with Islam?

As events continue to unfold in the Middle East, some are watching closely through the lens of biblical prophecy. Is this the lead-up to the war of Gog and Magog described in Ezekiel (Ezekiel 38–39)? Could it be connected to the rising tensions between Israel and Iran; modern-day Persia?

To go deeper, we must revisit Daniel’s vision. The "Prince of Persia" mentioned there is widely interpreted by many scholars as more than a human figure. He is believed to be a territorial spiritual power; a fallen angel or demonic entity; part of a cosmic hierarchy of evil that exerts influence over entire nations.

With that in mind, a sobering question emerges: Why would the Roman Catholic Church seek unity with Islam? Could there be more at play than politics and interfaith dialogue?

And What Does the "Prince of Persia" Have to Do With It?

In the Book of Daniel, chapter 10, we encounter one of the Bible's most revealing glimpses into the unseen world of spiritual warfare. The angel; likely Gabriel; tells Daniel that he had been delayed for 21 days by “the prince of the kingdom of Persia,” until Michael, the archangel, came to assist him. This “prince” is not a human king or earthly monarch. He is widely understood by theologians and Bible scholars to be a territorial spiritual entity; likely a high-ranking fallen angel or demonic force.

This revelation offers a striking truth: behind earthly empires, there are often dark spiritual powers working to shape the course of history. The “Prince of Persia” represents such a force; exerting influence not just over a government, but over the ideology, religion, and destiny of an entire region. Persia, of course, is the ancient name for modern-day Iran. And in today’s world, Iran remains a hostile power against Israel and Christianity, suppressing believers and fueling the spread of radical Islamic ideologies. From a biblical worldview, one could reasonably infer that the spiritual power Daniel encountered is still very much at work.

With that spiritual backdrop in mind, the current actions of the Roman Catholic Church raise profound questions. Why was the Vatican, led by Pope Francis, actively seeking unity with Islam; an ideology that denies the core of the Christian gospel? Over the past several years, the Vatican has initiated and signed major interfaith agreements with Muslim leaders, most notably the Document on Human Fraternity signed in Abu Dhabi with the Grand Imam of al-Azhar, one of the most influential voices in Sunni Islam. The pope repeatedly referred to Islam as a “religion of peace,” even while Christians are being imprisoned, tortured, and killed in Islamic nations; all largely ignored in official Vatican statements.

This ecumenical push is often presented as a noble endeavor aimed at fostering global peace, reducing religious conflict, and building bridges between faith communities. The Vatican’s public message is one of inclusion, coexistence, and common ground. But there is a deeper question that must be asked: is this unity based on truth; or on compromise?

Islam, as laid out in the Qur’an, denies that Jesus is the Son of God. It denies the crucifixion and resurrection; truths that are central to the Christian faith. Even more troubling, Islamic eschatology portrays Jesus not as the reigning Messiah, but as a subordinate to the Islamic Mahdi, who will return to break crosses, kill swine, and convert or destroy all who refuse to embrace Islam. In this view, Jesus becomes a weapon used against Christianity, not its fulfillment.

So how can unity be built between two religions with such fundamentally opposite views of who Jesus is?

To many Bible-believing Christians, what the Vatican is doing is not bridge-building, but spiritual compromise; what the Bible might call “adultery” against the purity of the faith. Revelation speaks of a harlot that rides upon the beast, a global religious system drunk with the blood of the saints, seducing the nations with a counterfeit form of worship. The call in Scripture is not toward merging with false religions, but to “come out from among them and be separate,” holding firm to the truth of the gospel.

There is a growing sense among many that what we are witnessing is not merely ecumenical diplomacy, but the early formation of a global religious system prophesied in the book of Revelation. The False Prophet, as described in Revelation 13, unites the world in worship not of Christ, but of the Beast; through deception, unity, and even miracles. The groundwork for such a system would necessarily involve the world's major religions setting aside their doctrinal differences in the name of peace. But it is a peace built on sand, not on the Rock.

When seen through the lens of Daniel 10, the Vatican’s alignment with Islam becomes more than a political curiosity; it becomes a spiritual alignment with forces the Bible warns us about. If the “Prince of Persia” represents a demonic influence over Persia, and Islam emerged in that same spiritual geography centuries later, then modern efforts to merge Christianity with Islam could be viewed as a dangerous entanglement with that same ancient deception.

In the end, the question isn’t whether Christians should love Muslims. We should; with the love and truth of Christ. But love does not require theological surrender. Peace does not require spiritual compromise. And unity that denies the cross is not biblical unity at all.

The Roman Catholic Church’s effort to unify with Islam may be heralded by the world as progress; but in light of Scripture, it may in fact be a sign of prophetic regression, a step toward the very spiritual system the Bible warns believers to resist.

Timeline of Vatican–Islam Interfaith Moves

2014 – First Step Toward Chrislam Pope Francis publicly embraces Islamic leaders, saying Muslims and Christians worship the "same God." He begins laying foundations for the Abrahamic faiths dialogue.

2016 – Pope Visits Al-Azhar in Egypt In a historic gesture, Francis meets with the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, Sunni Islam’s highest authority. This was the first such meeting in nearly 1,000 years.

2019 – Abu Dhabi Declaration on “Human Fraternity” Pope Francis and Grand Imam Ahmed el-Tayeb sign a joint document promoting religious unity, global peace, and mutual understanding. The statement explicitly endorses the idea that the plurality of religions is “willed by God.” This claim caused backlash among Christians who believe only the gospel leads to God.

2021 – Abrahamic Family House Announced A multi-faith worship complex is launched in Abu Dhabi, set to house a church, mosque, and synagogue side by side. The symbolism is striking: one ground, one God, one humanity—but three faiths offered equal standing, without Christ’s lordship.

2022 – Global Faith Leaders Meet in Kazakhstan Pope Francis calls for a new form of universal spirituality, focusing on peace, environmentalism, and human fraternity—echoing language straight from interfaith documents.

2023 – Abrahamic Family House Opens The project is completed and opened to the public. Interfaith prayers are offered, and sermons stress unity over truth. The “House” becomes a real-world image of the religious syncretism warned about in Revelation.

The Danger of a False Peace

What’s developing is not just theological cooperation; it’s a soft merger of spiritual authority. The gospel of Jesus Christ is being recast as just one path among many, and the unique claims of Christ are being drowned in language of inclusion.

But the Bible is clear: there is no peace without the Prince of Peace. Unity that ignores the cross is not biblical unity; it is spiritual deception.

The Apostle Paul warned in 2 Thessalonians 2 that a great delusion would come upon the earth. Jesus warned of false prophets and signs that would deceive, if possible, even the elect. Revelation warns of a counterfeit lamb; a leader who looks gentle but speaks like a dragon.

When the Church joins hands with ideologies that deny Jesus as Lord, that deny His crucifixion, and that preach a different eschatology; one in which Jesus returns to destroy His own Church; we are not building bridges; we are paving the road to Babylon.

History Speaks: The Inquisition Was Real—and It Was Ruthless

As modern religious leaders call for unity and peace, and as the Vatican embraces Islam and praises it as a “religion of peace,” we must ask: has the Roman Catholic Church forgotten its own blood-soaked past? Or worse; have we?

It’s easy to be swept up in diplomatic gestures, interfaith summits, and poetic words about “human fraternity.” But behind the polished photos and global headlines, the system now calling for global religious unity is the same system that once burned, tortured, and mutilated those who dared to dissent from its authority.

Let us not forget what unity under a religious empire once looked like.

Consider the chilling account of Isaac Orobio, a Jewish doctor who was arrested and tortured by the Roman Catholic Inquisition under the supposed authority of the "infallible" pope.

“It was towards evening,” Orobio wrote, “when I was brought to the place of torture in the Inquisition. It was a large, underground room, arched, and the walls covered with black hangings. The candlesticks were fastened to the wall, and the whole room was illuminated with candles placed in them. At the end there was an enclosed place like a closet, where the inquisitor and notary sat at the table; so that the place seemed to me the very mansion of death, everything appearing so terrible and awful.”

He was warned to confess before the torment began. When he insisted that he had spoken the truth, the inquisitor coldly declared that if he perished under torture, the Holy Office would bear no guilt; because they had offered him a chance to recant.

Then the nightmare began.

They placed a linen garment over his body and drew it so tight from both sides that it nearly squeezed the life out of him. When he was on the edge of unconsciousness, they suddenly released it, prolonging the torment. Still refusing to confess what they demanded, they tied his thumbs so tightly with cords that his fingers swelled and blood spurted from beneath his nails.

Next, they strapped him against a wall, his arms and legs stretched and bound with ropes pulled through iron pulleys. With each turn, his limbs were crushed against the wall; his toes, fingers, arms, and legs locked in such excruciating agony that he said it felt as if his body were being dissolved in flames. When that agony passed, he was met with yet another new form of torture, even more creative in its cruelty.

This was not a rare event. This was not a “misuse” of Catholic authority. It was official policy under the authority of popes who claimed to be infallible. These weren’t rogue priests; they were inquisitors, sanctioned in the name of “holy” justice.

And now; this same institution seeks to link arms with Islam, another system that denies the divinity of Christ, imprisons believers, and beheads those who refuse to convert.

The same system that once tortured Jews, Protestants, and anyone who held a Bible in their own language, now preaches religious tolerance; not because it has repented, but because it now seeks a different kind of power: global spiritual control under the banner of unity.

Remember the Martyrs.

This is not about hatred. It is not about division for its own sake. It is about truth. It is about remembering that the gospel of Jesus Christ as given to the true apostles.

Let the account of Isaac Orobio be a sobering reminder: When a religious empire claims power without submission to the Word of God, it will always persecute the truth.

If the Church forgets this history, it will walk blindly into the arms of Babylon, mistaking darkness for light and compromise for compassion.

We are told in Scripture to “come out from her, My people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues” (Revelation 18:4).

So ask yourself, in light of Scripture, history, and current events:Is the call to unity a call to Christ; or Satan?