Some Bible prophecy teachers and their disciples are looking for some Islamic Antichrist to appear in 2012 and most of them think it will be the Islamic 12th Imam Mahdi figure that Shia religious lore says will ascend out of a well. I think this Antichrist figure should be getting a swelled head by now with all the expectations for him coming from these Bible prophecy teachers. Therefore, their Mahdi figure will never get his swelled head up the well in time for some 2012 Antichrist.
Granted, that there are others that think Obama is the Antichrist but these people are only grasping at a strawman for their 2012 date. Obama might be America’s antichrist-in-chief but he is not the biblical Antichrist.
I am sure that there will be many antichrists in 2012, we usually have antichrists running the nations of the world, but none of them are thee Antichrist. The Antichrist figure cannot even appear until He that restrains is taken out of the way (2Th 2:7).
To me, people that see the Antichrist appearing in 2012 are just not being logical. I heard all the Islamic Antichrist arguments and I know they can sound convincing in view of today’s political realities if one does not take some of the wording in some of the prophecies literally. But, actual fulfillment of end time events are not bound by the expectations of Islam, those that fear Islam or those that write books.
A couple of decades ago certain people were on the Lord Maitreya Antichrist bandwagon and that was one of their main selling points to indicate that the Antichrist was imminent. I came to the conclusion in those days that the Lord Maitreya promoted by false prophet Benjamin Creme was just wishful thinking on Creme’s part. He put full page ads in world newspapers telling the world the Maitreya was about to appear but here we are decades later and still no Maitreya. Apparently Creme’s Maitreya took a long vacation. To bad some Bible prophecy students went with him.
In the 20th century there were well known Christian Bible Prophecy teachers that actually told their followers who the Antichrist was, but they were all wrong. Today we also hear some naming names for the Antichrist and other speculating, but the fact is that the Antichrist will not be revealed to the world until God allows Satan to give him power over the earth. That occurs in the middle of the last seven year period. It only happens after the 42 months of preaching from God’s two witnessess. After the witnesses are killed the Antichrist is revealed. But, even at that time angels will make it very clear to the world who the Antichrist is when they tell everyone that anyone that takes his mark cannot be saved. Nobody is going to sleep walk into the grasps of the Antichrist. Those that take his mark do so because they refused to believe the truth.
Sure, I know those facts do not argue against the increasing Christian belief that the Antichrist will be some Islamic Mahdi that will ascend out of a well. The problem is that I cannot find any such teaching in my Bible, nor is the concept of a Islamic Antichrist logical. There are plenty of other posts on this blog that deal with the Islamic Antichrist theory so I am not going to rehash all that here. I know some other writers on Bible prophecy like to find 88 different ways to say the same thing but I really don’t. So if you want to read the arguments just put “Muslim Antichrist” in the search box and read those articles, comments, and follow a few links. You might also look at the related posts. The real reason for this post is that the logic argument was not adequately addressed in those previous articles.
It just is not logical that any Antichrist could appear in 2012. If we are already in the last seven years where are the two witnesses preaching in Jerusalem? No, the Internet self appointed nut cases do not qualify. It also is not logical that any Antichrist that believes he is above anything called God (2Th 2:4) would then limit himself to being under Allah and Islam.
If we could take all the nations of Islam and join them into a great confederacy they would soon start fighting against each other. Remember the prophecy on Ishmael says that he will be a wild man and his hand will be against everyone (Ge 16:12). The descendants of Ishmael will never have the unity to form the final Beast empire. Further, if all descendants of Ishmael followed the Antichrist, his descendants could not be saved, but scripture makes it clear that the descendants of Ishmael will exist in the Kingdom and serve Israel. Therefore, is is not logical that the Islamic descendants of Ishmael could be the Beast of Revelation and Daniel, as some now claim.
Does anyone really believe that a mostly Sunni Islam will choose to follow an Iranian Shia Mahdi that most of them do not even believe in? That is not logical. Furthermore, Islam will not be a major military world power anytime in this decade so how are the prophetic end time events going to take place in this decade through the actions of Islam? Israel alone could probably handle all the forces of Islam today but the truth is that Israel will not be alone against Islam because when push comes to shove the Western world is never going to submit to Islam. I can just see the people of the lawless hedonistic West with their unbelief and homosexual spouses putting themselves under Sharia Law and the followers of Allah so they can get their heads cut off. Yeah, that will happen about the same year that hell freezes over. So lets live in reality here. Islam is not the Beast.
The Antichrist is also called the lawless one, people are not dancing in the streets when the two witnesses of God are killed by the Antichrist because they are now going to submit to Sharia Law. There is no logic to such a belief.
We need to understand that some people just want to sell books. Others that buy them like to read books that will scare them to death. Still others are looking for a short cut to the end. Nevertheless, real students of Bible prophecy need to try to separate truth from fiction. Some of the Muslim Antichrist proponents even make claims that Christians that do not believe in their Muslim Antichrist spiel will be deceived and lose their faith. But, do not be deceived yourself by them. Christians do not lose their faith because they are looking for the appearing of the Lord rather than the appearing of the Antichrist like these others do.
Here is a sequence you can trust. First the Rapture of the chosen vessels containing God’s Holy Spirit. After that the two prophets appear for 42 months and only after their ministry can the Antichrist come. There is no Mahdi coming out of any well and Islam is not the harlot of Revelation or the Beast. Islam is really the threat to the West that will allow the Antichrist to rise out of the old Roman Empire..
Don, I buy your argument that, “Israel alone could probably handle all the forces of Islam today but the truth is that Israel will not be alone against Islam…” I stopped there because my feeling is that Islam (and Islams’ god),in my opinion, is very soon to be shown as the sham religion it is, in fact it probably is already happening. Islam, therefore will be utterly useless to Antichrist.
If Satan’s MO is to mimic Christ, and I believe it is. Wouldn’t it be more reasonable to assume that any worldly system of power that Satan, and by proxy Antichrist, would exploit would be some sort of false Christianity?
That is the reason I take your posts on milquetoast Christianity so seriously. These are the people, again, I remind you in my opinion, that Anti-CHRIST (emphasis on Christ)will prey on to expand allegiance to him, and by proxy, Satan.
Christ didn’t teach Islam. Islam is a worldly religion. As Dr. Missler is fond of saying, “Religion is mans’ attempt to reconcile with God. Christianity is Not a religion, it’s a relationship.”
Very soon Islam will be reduced to its’ rightful place. Probably by God through Israel. Whether an apostate Israel realizes by whose hand remains to be seen.
I agree, before long Islam will just become another religion in the all inclusive world harlot headed in Rome. I think it will come through Queen of Heaven apparition deceptions during a time of great war against Islam. There will be a promise of peace for all that put down religious fundamentalism and the ways of war and join with the inclusive Harlot religion. It works for a short period and that is why she is so smug in Revelation chapter 17. But, then comes the Antichrist who claims to be God and demands worship and he turns against the religious Harlot and burns her with fire.
Here’s a sample of exactly what your talking about.
http://www.christiantoday.com/article/tony.blair.faith.foundation.seeks.to.bridge.religious.divide/25517.htm
At first glance it seems rather innocuous until you do more in depth research into “The Tony Blair Foundation” an his aim at “an inter-religious dialouge”. A quick Google search will accomplish that.
Why is a so-called Christian sight promoting this? We don’t need “inter-religious dialouge” we need “The Word” and that’s it.
By the way. Have you seen these stupid “COEXIST” bumper stickers? I have a good chuckle everytime I run across one.
Why does Rick Warren who is arguably one of the most influential Evangelicals in the world sit on the board of Tony Blairs interfaith foundation and is also a member of the globalist CFR?
https://www.thepropheticyears.com/wordpress/willow-creek-leadership-conference-the-making-of-a-harlot.html
Pardon this barrage of posts, and also my mispelling of dialogue previous. But the more I thought of that phrase, “inter-religious dialogue”, the more it seemed insidious to me. Think about it. The only “inter-religious dialogue” we need is to say, forget about your religion and know the one true Christ. The one who died for the ungodly.
What makes it so insidious is that it comes from The Tony Blair Foundation. Keep in mind he is Catholic. I would suppose to most believers of “other faiths”, these beliefs (the belief in the all inclusive power of the redemptive work of Christ) coming from a catholic, includes the Gospel, and ONLY the gospel. But they don’t.
“One of the central aims of my Faith Foundation is to make the case for faith as relevant, and a force for good in the world. I hope these young people from around the globe showing us how their faith has inspired them will make this case very powerfully.” Tony Blair
Faith in what? Faith. In other articles Blair seems to imply that you can use your faith, regardless of what god is it’s object, as a force for good in the world.
Now it’s also true, lest anyone misconstrue my argument as Catholic bashing, (for historical Catholicism that to my understanding the Tony Blair Faith Foundation has been criticised in no uncertain terms by senior Catholic academics in Rome, as stated in this headline. http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/belief/2009/may/13/tony-blair-faith-foundation
Don, I apologize if I’ve taken this post so quickly off topic. But it seems to me germane to the post if Antichrist can convince people to follow some pseudo-christianty in those days rather than Islam.
I meant to say in my post at 6:36.
(for historical Catholicism has certainly taught the Gospel and that to my understanding the Tony Blair Faith Foundation has been criticised in no uncertain terms by senior Catholic academics in Rome),
Some words were ommitted.
I think it is on topic. The rising interfaith movement will impact Islam as much as Christianity and if that happens Islam cannot be the Harlot or the Beast.
This is what Daniel says about the antichrist, note he say he will exalt himself above ALL that is called god and speak blasphemies against the God of gods and honor a god of fortress, a god which his fathers did not know!
Dan 11:36 “Then the king shall do according to his own will: he shall exalt and magnify himself above every god, shall speak blasphemies against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the wrath has been accomplished; for what has been determined shall be done.
Dan 11:37 He shall regard neither the God of his fathers nor the desire of women, nor regard any god; for he shall exalt himself above [them] all.
Dan 11:38 But in their place he shall honor a god of fortresses; and a god which his fathers did not know he shall honor with gold and silver, with precious stones and pleasant things.
Dan 11:39 Thus he shall act against the strongest fortresses with a foreign god, which he shall acknowledge, [and] advance [its] glory; and he shall cause them to rule over many, and divide the land for gain.
Dan 11:40 “At the time of the end the king of the South shall attack him; and the king of the North shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter the countries, overwhelm [them], and pass through.
Dan 11:41 He shall also enter the Glorious Land, and many [countries] shall be overthrown; but these shall escape from his hand: Edom, Moab, and the prominent people of Ammon.
Dan 11:42 He shall stretch out his hand against the countries, and the land of Egypt shall not escape.
Dan 11:43 He shall have power over the treasures of gold and silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt; also the Libyans and Ethiopians [shall follow] at his heels.
Dan 11:44 But news from the east and the north shall trouble him; therefore he shall go out with great fury to destroy and annihilate many.
Dan 11:45 And he shall plant the tents of his palace between the seas and the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and no one will help him.
Gary, point please.
The point is that from scripture one can prove the antichrist wont be islamic, ie: he exalts himself above all that is called god and honors a god his fathers didnt know.
Thanks for clarification Gary. I concur.
Don, I agree with your excellent opening post regarding the Antichrist not being a muslim.
To sharpen your already sharp view of bible prophecy, I would like to offer that you made one technical miscue in that you stated the two witnesses prophesy 42 months. Actually, Revelation 11:3 says 1260 days.
One might say they are “equivalent” timeframes.
However, if we start converting we lose sight of two very important reasons for the 1260 days, the 42 months and the time, times, and half times. Firstly, the manner of the times expressed form the basic framework for the timeline of events.
First Half:
1260 days (Revelation 11:3)
Second Half:
42 months (Revelation 11:2, 13:5)
time, times, half times (Revelation 12:14, Daniel 7:25, Daniel 12:7)
Secondly, the manner of the times expressed take into account important actions. I will explain.
From day 1 to day 1260 the two witnesses prophesy and are killed by the AC beast on the exact 1260 day mid point of the 7 years. However, they lay in the streets an additional
3 1/2 days before coming back to life and ascending to heaven – which would be on day 1263 1/2. That leaves a little bit less than 1260 days of the second half for the AC to reign unhampered by the two witness – thus it is 42 months in Revelation 13:5. 42 months is a little less precise than saying 1260 days.
Next, “the time, times, and half times”. We already see that the 3 1/2 days of the witnesses laying dead in the streets eats into the second half timeframe. After they ascend, there is the war in heaven (second heaven) and Satan cast down to earth. We don’t know how long that war takes earth time, but coupled with the already 3 1/2 days of the two witnesses, it eats further still into the second half – thus, the time remaining for Satan is expressed as the time, times, and half times in Revelation 12:14.
The time, times, and half times is a little less precise than saying 42 months; and the 42 months is a little less precise that saying 1260 days. Being a little less precise of each other, does not mean that they are not accurate. They are very accurate because they take into account specific actions that will take place.
Doug L.
That comment really is off topic and just more subjective reasoning. The earth just might go back to a 360 day orbit as it had in the past. But since it is off topic this issue will not be further discussed on this post.
No once truly knows when the antichrist will arise with this master plan of his, all we can do it is have faith in the most high and stand by his word.