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.
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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