Sunday, October 14, 2012

The Mahdi The Antichrist


The Mahdi
The Antichrist

"Daniel 9:26 refers to the antichrist as the ruler of the people that will come, he will be of the lineage of the race that destroyed Jerusalem.  Historically this was the Roman Empire; therefore he will be Roman."  ("Revelation Unveiled" - By Tim LaHaye)

Research
By de Andrae
October 13, 2012

One fundamental problem with this popular line of teaching is that not all people or even armies of the Roman Empire were European or traditional Romans from Italy.

The antichrist may indeed arise out of the historic Roman Empire based on Daniel 9.  But the scripture says antichrist will come from the lineage of the people of the Prince, not the lineage of the prince.  I will not only show that the antichrist will not be European but he will not be from the Roman Empire of Europe.  He will be Assyrian.  (Middle Eastern)  The people that destroyed the temple were from the Roman Empire alright, but they weren’t Europeans, they were a previously conquered people from the Assyrian Empire.

Lahaye, and most other Bible scholars are quick to suggest that the antichrist will come out of Europe or the European Union, based on this one passage in Daniel.  This is what happens when one ignorantly takes one part of God’s complex truth and misinterprets it by disregarding the rest.  One will see that further study reveals this is not likely the case.  Remember the entire Bible history and earths beginnings took place in the Middle East, why wouldn’t it follow that it would also end in the Middle East.
     
History shows that the Roman Empire became much too large to be governed effectively as a single unit and so it was divided:
The statue in Daniel depicts this with the two legs of iron (Daniel 2:33). So we see that the "people" that the "ruler" will come from, not only includes the European nations (the west leg), but also includes the Middle Eastern nations (the east leg).  The western leg eventually fell, but the eastern leg continued as the Byzantine Empire for almost 1000 more years, and was headquartered in Turkey, in the Middle East.  The most brilliant of medieval civilizations was the Eastern’ Roman Empire.  The Roman Empire was divided in AD 395 into two parts.  The Western half, ruled from Rome, fell to the tribal Germanic peoples in the 5th century.  The Eastern half, known as the Byzantine Empire, lasted for more than 1,000 years.  Until the mid-11th century, when it began to decline in power, the Byzantine Empire was one of the leading civilizations in the world.

In 324 Constantine, the first Christian emperor, became sole ruler of the Roman Empire.  He set up his Eastern headquarters at the ancient Greek colony of Byzantium in 330.  The city, renamed Constantinople after its founder, was also known as the "new Rome.”  It became the capital of the Byzantines after the Roman Empire was formally divided.

The Muslim Ottomans conquered what was left of the Byzantine Empire near the turn of the 14th century, and ruled until the 1924 when it was dismantled.  The Muslim Brotherhood begam in 1928 in Egypt and has become the revived Modern Ottoman Empire.  It is interesting to note, that Satan had his throne in the eastern leg, in the area of Turkey (Revelation 2:13). The original seven churches in Revelation were also in Turkey (Revelation 1:11) the Middle East.

The original Roman army typically did not consist of all Roman soldiers but of people from the region led by Roman Generals, called "legions" (source http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_legion).  This was necessary because with the massive size of the whole empire there were not enough Roman born soldiers to go around.  In other words, it is more than likely that the "people" of Daniel 9:26, that the antichrist will be a descendant from, as the people [from the army] that destroyed the temple were from the Middle East, Assyrians.

Revelation 13:2 and Daniel 7:3-7 depict the beast as a combination of the previous beasts or kingdoms.  So it would make sense that the origin of the antichrist will be associated with all of these kingdoms; much like Christ was born in Bethlehem, came out of Egypt, and was called a Nazarene.  Interestingly, the modern-day nations that were once a part of all four kingdoms in Daniel (lion=Babylon, bear=Medo-Persian, leopoard=Grecia, beast=Roman) are Israel, parts of Turkey, Armenia, parts of Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan.  The latter four kingdoms surround Israel.  The antichrist will come out of the surrounding nations of Israel.
The Bible also refers to the antichrist as the Assyrian (Isaiah 10, 14 & Micah 5) and the King of the North (Daniel 11:40-45).  Assyria was a kingdom centered in Mesopotamia, or Babylonia, which was the kingdom north of Israel.  The Assyrian empire ruled prior to the Babylonian empire.

Perhaps the antichrist's initial dominion will cover most of the ancient area of Assyria and be called "New Assyria" with "New Babylon" as its capital.  This kingdom would likely emerge after the "Great Middle East" and "Gog and Magog" wars (See "Amy's Speculation Corner" http://www.trackingbibleprophecy.com/speculation.php).  Let's not forget that the strongest foreshadow of the antichrist was Antiochus IV., Epiphanes, who was King of Assyria from 175-164BC.

Antiochus carried out an "abomination of desolation," defiling the Jewish temple, which is prophesied to take place again during the middle of the 70th Week in Daniel 9:27, by the antichrist, who is also called the king of Assyria.  It is also interesting to note, that the Assyrian Empire included Persia or modern day Iraq.  The Bible also indicates that the antichrist will rule from Babylon (Isaiah 14), where it will be the capital of the world during the Tribulation (Revelation 18).

Lahaye also suggests in his book the possibility of the antichrist having Jewish blood.  In light of the prophecy from Jacob in Genesis 49:17, where Dan is said to be like a serpent in the last days, we should not rule it out.  However, it is probable that the false prophet of the beast could fulfill this prophecy about Dan instead.  This is because the false prophet will arise out of the land, a type of Israel (Revelation 13:11), and the antichrist will arise out of the sea, a type for the Gentile nations (Revelation 13:1).

To me, it makes sense that the antichrist will be of the bloodline of Abraham, but come from the line of Ishmael, who is considered a Gentile.  Ishmael was cursed to be a wild donkey of a man; he also did not get God's blessing.  As we know today, Ishmael's descendants are still cursed and being led by Allah/Satan against God's chosen people. 

Now the last Gentile kingdom that we haven’t touched on is Egypt.  Pharaoh was a strong foreshadow of the antichrist, much like the kings of Babylon and Assyria were.  Ishmael's mother Hagar was Egyptian.  So if the antichrist is from the line of Ishmael, he also has ties to Egypt.  The Egyptian kingdom, like the other Gentile kingdoms, included Lebanon, Syria, and parts of Turkey and Jordan, but not as far as Armenia.

If the antichrist was from a country that was included in all the Gentile kingdoms, this would then literally fulfill  Revelation 13:1, where the beast will come from all seven heads or kingdoms (1. Egypt - 2. Assyria - 3. Babylon - 4. Medo-Persia - 5. Greece - 6. Roman Empire - 7. Revived Roman Empire).

And then there was Esau.  Why did God say that He hated Esau?  I believe it was because he married two of Ishmael's daughters in disobedience.  Genesis 28:8 tells us that Ishmael's daughters lived in Canaan.  Interestingly, Canaan was cursed back in Genesis 9:25 for the sin of his father Ham.  Ham, Canaan, Ishmael, and Esau are then all tied together in disobedience to God, and have all been cursed.  Allah/Satan has used their offspring, the Arab Muslims, as enemies and a continual stumbling block to God's chosen people under the umbrella of the religion of Islam.

It is no wonder that the headlines and wars today are centered on the continual conflict between the Jews and the Muslims with this spiritual battle going on.  The Muslim eschatology even has their own prophecy with a Muslim Messiah, the Mahdi, and with the return of Jesus as a prophet, which is strikingly similar to the Biblical antichrist and false prophet.  Is Allah/Satan using Iran/Persia in trying to force the hand of God, or does he know from Scripture where the antichrist will originate from?

The Bible tells us that the antichrist will come as a “peacemaker”, is this portrayed by the so-called “Peaceful Nation of Islam”?(Daniel 11:21-24 & Revelation 6:1-2)

In my mind, someone that is Muslim would be more successful in being able to bring the people in the Middle East together for peace.  However, I don't think that the antichrist will be a fundamental Muslim as these groups appear to be targeted in the "Gog and Magog War" of Ezekiel 38 & 39, which will likely take place near the beginning, or before the Tribulation begins.

While Islam will be judged in the "Gog and Magog War," http://www.trackingbibleprophecy.com/gog_magog.php  the Muslims that are left after that war will likely be absorbed into the One World Religion of Mystery Babylon.  Islam, fundamentally speaking, will likely cease to exist as God says he will "reduce to nothing all the gods of the earth" in that war (Zephaniah 2:11).

Another point to bear in mind is that one can be born a Muslim, but be lukewarm in their beliefs, much like a Christian of the Laodicean church is (Revelation 3:14-22).  In fact, the antichrist may not hold to the god of his father (Allah?) or any gods (Daniel 11:37-38), but that doesn't mean he won't hold on to Muslim traditions or encourage his Muslim brethren to join the One World Religion to gain power through his push for peace.  A deceiver of the ignorant, the ignorant will enable the antichrist to their own destruction.

Prophecy teachers have also traditionally held that the European Union will fulfill the prophecy in Revelation 17:9-11, which predicts the re-birth of the Roman Empire.  This may come from the widely held belief that the antichrist will be European.  I have no doubt that the European Union is a prototype for the revived Roman Empire, but it certainly doesn’t fulfill this prophecy.  The emerging Mediterranean Union seems more likely to fulfill the prophecy in Revelation.  Consider the following maps:
What the Mediterranean Union has that the European Union lacks is the northern Africa and Middle East countries that were part of the original Roman Empire.  Not only is the Mediterranean Union more geographically similar to the Roman Empire, but it also could fulfill the prophecies in Daniel about the mixing of iron and clay (European and Arab seed?) and having 10 "toes."

Daniel 2:40-43 - And the fourth kingdom shall be as strong as iron, inasmuch as iron breaks in pieces and shatters everything; and like iron that crushes, that kingdom will break in pieces and crush all the others.  Whereas you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter's clay and partly of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; yet the strength of the iron shall be in it, just as you saw the iron mixed with ceramic clay.  And as the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly fragile.  As you saw iron mixed with ceramic clay, they will mingle with the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another, just as iron does not mix with clay.

Currently, the Mediterranean Union is more of a forum for strengthening relations between Europe and the Arabs rather than a real economic or political union.  Interestingly, the Mediterranean Union framework is a "5+5" forum, a group of 10 leading nations; five from Europe and five from northern Africa (source http://www.idis.gr/GR/Ereuna/policy_papers/Mediterranean.pdf ).  Time will tell if this framework becomes the 10 toes of the revived Roman Empire.  If it is, the European Union will crumble and the Mediterranean Union will rise from the ashes.

There is a plethora of catalysts that could force the move to strengthen the Mediterranean Union.  The most prominent in the works now, being the worsening of the current economic crisis of the European Union.  The rapture of the Church and the resulting "sudden destruction" (1 Thessalonians 5:3) could also crumble the European Union, as well as the other struggling world powers.  Also the so-called Arab Spring or the recent rise of the Muslim Brotherhood all over the Middle East and Africa is the revival of the Islamic Ottoman Empire.

In conclusion, not only do the scriptures point to the antichrist being from a Middle Eastern Country or Countries, but the geographical area of the original Roman Empire supports this notion.  The Mediterranean Union appears to fit what will become the revived Roman Empire better than the current European Union.  The only country that seems to be missing from the Mediterranean Union, is Babylon. Moreover, is’ present day Iraq the new Babylon?  Remember Saddam Hussein began the rebuilding and restoration of the City of Babylon.  Of course Babylon will be the capital of the antichrist's kingdom.  The addition of Babylon to the rising Mediterranean Union would truly become a revived Roman Empire in the geographical sense.

All this being said, another fact of today is, that there is a good possibility that Europe itself, the Western Roman Empire, is on the road to becoming an Islamic State.  This would make all of the Roman Empire, Islamic.  No matter how one slices it the antichrist will be the Muslim Mahdi from the old world Nation of Islam.

For additional teaching on the Origin of the antichrist, read: “The Nationality of the Antichrist” by Britt Gillette at http://brittgillette.com/WordPress/?p=51

Thanks for listing – de Andréa

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