I am liking the teaching of Nathan Jones. He gives very good answers to those who expect a local Muslim Antichrist. Besides this article he also had a very good article the other day on the Divided States of America. I wrote on this topic myself and like me, Jones also see the possibility of a break up of the United States because of deep moral divisions.
Having said that, lets go to this new article about the rational for a Global or Local Antichrist.
The Muslim Antichrist proponents see the Beast and its Antichrist fighting a regional war against Israel. They deny that the Antichrist will have power over the whole world. To me the weight of scripture makes a Global Antichrist argument a no brainier. Revelation and many other scriptures clearly indicate that the Antichrist will control the whole world. Nathan Jones has taken the time to put together many of the scriptures that should make it perfectly clear that the Beast/Antichrist will become truly Global. He also gives other good arguments against the reasoning of the critics of a Global Antichrist in his article. I will just add one scripture of my own to prove that the Antichrist is Global.
Rev 13:7 And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.
8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
People can look at the whole council of God and see that the power of the Antichrist will be truly Global or they can cherry pick scriptures to try to support their own wordview of a local limited Islamic Antichrist figure. Nevertheless, there can be only one truth about this Beast/Antichrist and that is what is clearly taught in scripture. Read again the scripture above and the ones Jones quotes in his article and there should be be no confusion.
The main thing I would like to add to the conclusion given by Nathan Jones is that the ten Kings of the ten Kingdoms that give there power to the Beast for one hour may not be ten heads of existing nations. These kings very will could be leaders of ten regional governments. The plans for regional powers have been in the works for a long time and we already have at least five regional governments being formed as I speak. Certainly others will soon soon pop up.
By Nathan Jones
Will the Antichrist rule over every nation of the earth, or just 10 of those nations? Will he be a global ruler, or a local ruler over a coalition of nations? Will the world tremble under his iron grip, or only the nation of Israel fear his wrath? Global, or local Antichrist?
Where does the local view that the Antichrist will rule just ten nations come from? Revelation 17:12-13 is the answer. It reads, “The ten horns you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but who for one hour will receive authority as kings along with the beast. They have one purpose and will give their power and authority to the beast.”
As the text states, in the future ten kings (presidents, dictators, whatnot) will arise to rule kingdoms and will for a short time in history grant their power to “the Beast,” which Bible prophecy students will recognize as the Antichrist. The Antichrist is given rulership over the ten kingdom nations.
The local view stops with this description. All the further acts in Revelation that the Antichrist commits against the Jews is just for the Jews, and as this view holds, has nothing to do with the rest of the world. It’s Israel against a ten-nation empire, and that’s that.
The global view takes Revelation 17:12-13 and puts it into context with other passages that express the scope of God’s wrath during the Tribulation, the time period the Antichrist has such prominence in. The references are as follows:
The Bible makes it clear the Antichrist will rule ten nations, but it also makes it clear their boundaries and authority encompass the entire planet. Like the Flood debate, the literal, biblical descriptions concerning the world-wide scope of God’s wrath upon the whole world overwhelmingly support a Global Antichrist.
In Ecclesiastes 1:9 it states That which has been is what will be,
That which is done is what will be done,
And there is nothing new under the sun.
I guess people cannot learn from other countries mistakes.
As far as the Antichrist being global, he will not rule over the kings of the east, so he will not be global. There are many facts which do point towards Islam as being the religion of the Antichrist. First of all, in Daniel 9:27, the Antichrist will sign a treaty with Israel. Who needs to sign a treaty? Islamic nations. Also, who needs to sign a treaty with Israel? Islamic nations. I believe that Gog is the Antichrist. Ezekiel says that he is the one all the prophets have spoken of. And he comes form an Islamic area. A key verse is found in Matthew 24: When you see the Antichrist in the temple, or the abomination that causes desolation, Judea will flee out of town so fast. Why? All through the OT, on the day of the Lord, a northern group of nations is predicted to invade Israel at peace on the day of the Lord. The Antichrist is predicted to invade an Israel at peace. Which nations are north of Israel? Islamic ones!
Who says he will not rule over the Kings of the East? You seem to overlook many passages that say it will be world wide such as Rev 16:12 that say “the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared. 13 And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.
14 For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.”
Or
7 And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.
8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
Or
9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
12 Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.
I guess you think Satan’s angels when they are cast out will be submissive to Islam? Ha!
Or
13 And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,
14 And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.
15 And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.
16 And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:
17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
Or
10 Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.
Or all the other passages of the prophets that clearly talk about God judging all nations before the restoration of Israel. Seems to me that you do not know this subject very well so why bother?
For example you say Islamic nations will need to sign a peace treaty with Israel? What passage might that Islamic peace treaty be found in? There is no such concept in the Bible. It says “the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.
27 And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease
The prince is from Rome (from the people that destroyed the temple), the Covenant is not necessarily a peace plan at all, it could have something to do with an agreement on religious worship on the Mount.
You believe that Gog is the Antichrist? Nevertheless you believe wrong. The differences between the two wars are many and you really need to find out why. I am not going to educate you here. Try doing a little research (Okay, I will give you just one, the armies meet their destruction in different locations and one is buried and the other is not)
The prophets spoke of both the Beast and Gog you need to sort out which is which. Russia and many other nations North of Israel are Orthodox so it is not only Muslims north of Israel. Besides, you talk like the end has to take place next week and everything has to be like you see it today. It will not. The war of Gog is at least a decade off because there is no peace in Israel and there cannot be until after the war of Psalm 83. What is Muslim today could easily join with the Harlot tomorrow after the war against radical Islam and the likely Catholic Marian deceptions.
I think your problem is that you are trying to find an Antichrist that will fit your 2012 end time frame. It just is not going to happen that soon. By the time the Antichrist arrives on the scene Islam will just be another leg of the rising ecumenical one world religious Harlot. And I assure you, the hedonistic Western world is never going to submit itself to Islamic law. The ecumenical Harlot will be led by the Roman church. The concept of the hedonistic West being submissive under Muslim law is really laughable. After Satan indwells the Antichrist after he is booted out of heaven he will appeal to all who reject the truth. It will not just be those that are Muslims or any other religion today. More likely the Antichrist will appeal more to those who believe in “New Age” spiritualism.
Jesus said why the faithful Jews flee to the mountains. It is because Satan when cast out of Heaven will make war against Israel and the Saints. Satan always hated Israel because the Messiah comes from Israel, sure the hate is reflected in Islam but Islam is only one leg of a very long history of hate that leads all the way back to the Babylonian mystery religion. The Catholic Church hated Israel before Islam and the pagans hated Israel long before that. Nobody is saying that Islam will not play a role in end time events but the wars with Islam will bring the Beast/Antichrist out of the hedonistic lawless West.
The anti-Christ will not be Islamic. But! its a great topic with many people and exciting reading for many. However! the anti-Christ is western from one of the 4 divisions of Greece, He crushes and subdues and stomps on and divides the whole earth. Islam would need to conquer the combined armies and technology of the US, England, all of Europe, Australia, NZ, Japan, etc etc etc ( no way Islam overcomes the West which is superior in every way). Islam would need to produce a leader with such qualities of persuasion and charm to roll the intellectual world which is contrary to Ishmael who is a wild man….his hand is against every man and every mans hand is against him. Islam is not noted for its charm and persuasion but quite the contrary. The Jews will accept a Moslem as their Messiah that they have waited 3,000 years for? The anit-Christ will not be a paper mache fabrication conjured up to sell books and seminars and to roll shallow christian leaders and congregates and comfort former muslims with supposed revelancy and significance. He will be an absolute charming and wonderful genius…..he will destroy wonderfully. An Islamic anti-Christ would destroy but he would do it with such gauche, ouch.
Birkashish, those are very astute observations.
Hey Don I got your email today, where you talked about how the Antichrist will have a regional empire but will have control and influence globally all over the world. But how is that the Antichrist according to Revelation 13:7 has authority over every nation, tongue and tribe yet does not have a Global Empire encompassing the whole earth?
Shaikh,
There is a regional seat of the Beast and a regional Kingdom. The judgment of darkness in Revelation occurs there (Rev 16:10). There is reason to believe that the Beast headquarters will be moved to Babylon at the mid point of the last seven years when wickedness is taken to the plains of Shinar and established there (Zec 5: 5-11). Also keep in mind that Babylon is destroyed from powers from the North. The Antichrist has influence and authority worldwide because the ten kings give their power and authority to the Beast, not to mention that his False Prophet brings deceptive signs and wonders and then enforces the worship of the first Beast worldwide.
Having said that, this does not mean the Beast comes from Islam. Nobody will be worshiping Allah at this point. They will be worshiping the Beast and the only God he will acknowledge is the god of forces that his fathers knew not (Dan 11:38).
Look at this way. Satan counterfeits God. God intends to set up a world kingdom but the seat of its power will be in Israel and the headquarters will be in Jerusalem. Satan will establish a world kingdom that God calls Babylon the Great. The seat of this world power will be set up where the first organized rebellion against God began at Babylon on the plains of Shinar. Satan will want the world to believe that this is the start of the Kingdom of God on earth. However, it will be destroyed and the Kingdom will be given to the rightful king at God’s chosen location.
People like Walid Shoebat conclude using Daniel 11:40-45, Daniel 11:30 and Ezekiel 28:7-8 as evidence that that the Antichrist’s reign will not be Global. My rebuttal quite simply is first of all Revelation 13:7-8 clearly tells us that the reign of the Antichrist is global, so how do we reconcile all these passages? Well one plausible way is that the wars mentioned Daniel 11:40-45, Daniel 11:30 and Ezekiel 28:7-8 occur after the Antichrist has established his One World Government and eventually nations start breaking away and the Antichrist is fighting these nations that have broken away from the One World Government.
Furthermore, the incidents mentioned in Daniel 11:30 and Daniel 11: 40-45 I believe occurs AFTER Daniel 7:23, “…and shall devour THE WHOLE EARTH, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.” (capitalization emphasis are mine)
/However, it will be destroyed and the Kingdom will be given to the rightful king at God’s chosen location./
Amen Don! I pray to live to see the day where I eternally live with Christ forever. Amen!
What do you think of my analysis personally? I am referring to my second last comment, where I discuss Daniel 11:40-45, Daniel 11:30 and Ezekiel 28:7-8.
Blessings,
Shaikh
Shaikh,
What you said is one subjective interpretation. I am not sure a one world government where all were once living in peace under the Antichrist is ever firmly established but Shoebot does not have a case that the influence of the Antichrist will only be regional and come from Islam. The worship of the Antichrist will be worldwide and some of the judgments of Revelation will be worldwide yet the campaigns mentioned in Bible prophecy will take place in the Middle East.
Don,
My intention was to give an interpretation that is possible. I did not mean to imply that the one world government would be peaceful, just that the one world government will take place and eventually start breaking into pieces with Daniel 11:40-45, Daniel 11:30 and Ezekiel 28:7-8 taking place afterwards. It was just my attempt to reconcile Daniel 11:40-45, Daniel 11:30 and Ezekiel 28:7-8 with Daniel 7:23 and Revelations 13:7-8. From what I think I have gathered, most prophecy teachers do believe in the one world government actually taking place. And Christ knows best.
Shaikh,
It seems to me that the Antichrist cannot be controlling a worldwide system until he is empowered by Satan at the mid point of the last seven years. Even then he removes three of the ten kings. Before that time the Two Prophets are controlling events while they give their 1260 day testimony.
Most Bible prophecy teachers are wrong because they read into scripture what it does not say and that is also why they agree on so little among themselves. The world has always been controlled by the god of this world system (Satan) and he has never been able to put together a workable worldwide world government. He will attempt it again with his chosen serpent seed and he may have what looks like success for a short season but once again He will fail because a house divided cannot stand. The last 3.5 years when the Son of Perdition is trying to establish this world government will have great internal wars.
I do not like to get too dogmatic about end time speculations anymore because there are so many versions out their that people are just getting confused and ignoring the more solid Bible prophecy teachers they lead people to Christ rather than the Antichrist or to the study of demonology. Today people want the future all spelled out in a novel that has a little scripture and a whole lot of speculation that much too often comes from pagan sources. People want hidden knowledge because they want to know the future, so they follow those that tickle their ear. The Bible only says what it says. All this emphasis on minute details of Bible prophecy is not making things clearer it is bringing in neo-gnosticism.
Another reason is that we will not be here so what does it really matter if we get all the end time sequences correct. The sequences are for Israel and those left behind not the Church. The two prophets will set things straight for those that remain on earth just prior to the Antichrist. All this subjective speculation really becomes a great waste of time. If God wanted the Church to get all of this correct it would be a major part of the NT instruction to the Church and it is not. We are to be looking for Christ and we need to be half as concerned about the error that is increasing infiltrating into the Evangelical churches as we are about the linage of the Antichrist.
By the way Alan Brooks, now you know why your many posts setting everyone straight on all the issues with all your own subjective reasoning from your own subjective book are not being posted.