The Islamic Antichrist (26 page)

• Islam: Islam is perhaps the only religion on earth that practices deceit as one of its tools to assist its own ascendancy. It actually has a specific doctrine that allows and even calls for deception to be used to achieve its desired end.

• Bible: The specific nations pictured in the Bible as part of the final empire of the Antichrist are all Islamic nations.

• Islam: All Muslims are commanded to give their allegiance to the Mahdi as the final caliph and imam (leader) of Islam.

• Bible: From the Bible and history we learn that the final Antichrist empire will be a revived version of the empire that succeeds the Roman empire.

• Islam: The empire that succeeded the Roman/Byzantine empire was the Islamic Ottoman empire.

• Bible: When the Antichrist emerges, a system will already exist that is poised to receive him as a savior and to give allegiance to him.

• Islam: Islam is already the second-largest religion and will at present growth rates become the largest religion within a few decades. Islam awaits the coming of the Mahdi with universal anticipation.

In the next section we will both analyze this information and discuss some proper responses.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

POTENTIAL PROBLEMS WITH THE THESIS

I
believe it only responsible
to address what I anticipate may be some of the arguments and objections raised against the thesis presented in this book. In this chapter I will address the potential difficulties that I have personally pondered myself and share why I feel as though they are easily resolved. In fact, some of the challenges may actually help shed even greater light on the details of how things just may unfold according to the biblical template.

JUMPING TO CONCLUSIONS

Throughout Christian history, many Christians have seen the Antichrist and his system in whoever happened to be their archenemy or bogeyman of the day. Many Protestants have singled out—and some still do—the Pope as the most likely candidate to be the Antichrist. More recent speculations have ranged from Mikhail Gorbachev to Saddam Hussein to Prince Charles. For quite some time, communism with its atheist doctrines was the favorite Antichrist system for many. Before the European Union was formed, many speculated that when the number of participants in the EU reached ten, then the Antichrist would surely emerge as the ruler of the “revived Roman empire.” In the popular
Left Behind
series, it is Nicolae Carpathia, a Romanian politician, who plays the role of the Antichrist. A whole book could be written about all of the
various missed and zany speculations of Christians over the years. In fact, just such a book has been written.

Paul Boyer, professor of history at the University of Wisconsin, in his informative, though quite jaded, book entitled
When Time Shall Be No More
, thoroughly examines premillennial belief throughout the history of the church.
¹
Boyer succeeds in demonstrating the repeated gullibility and hastiness of Christians who have been all too quick to jump to conclusions regarding the identification of the Antichrist or his system. In our times, I would hazard to say that the occupation of some end-time teachers of speculating about the identity of the Antichrist and his system has become a bit of a sport and an industry.

So the challenge might arise, “Aren’t you doing the same thing? Aren’t you just taking today’s bogeyman (Islam) and making it into the Antichrist system?” I don’t believe so. Here’s why: I didn’t go looking for a way to identify Islam as an Antichrist system, but rather I went looking to befriend Muslims and get to know Islam. And I still love Muslims. But through my journey of understanding and becoming intimately acquainted with Islam, the material covered in this book pretty much forced itself on me. It is not through any negative feelings or biased agenda that I have come to the conclusions I reached—the information speaks for itself. Also, the simple fact of the matter is that someday the Antichrist system
will
emerge. When it does, will we simply look the other way for fear of being the next gullible Christians to falsely identify the Antichrist? When the real thing arrives, will the church allow the fear of looking dumb to cloud its discernment?

At this point, my response to those who would challenge the idea that Islam is the primary driving force behind the Antichrist system would be to issue a challenge to show biblically why it is not. What aspect of the Antichrist spirit and system as described in the Bible
does not
line up with the spirit
and doctrines of Islam? What weaknesses are there in the argument presented here? And if not Islam, then what other system fulfills the long list of biblical requirements necessary to fulfill such a role?

Ultimately, the purpose of this book is not so much to prove a point, but merely to present the information to the church. I believe that in doing so I have fulfilled my responsibility before God to warn the church regarding this undeniably startling information. This book is ultimately about turning the reader to the Scriptures and prayer in order to study and meditate to see if these things are so. If they are, then many others will follow with their own insights and add to what has been presented here. And of course, world developments will continue to substantiate this theory as well. But rather than viewing this information as some form of end-time trivia, or merely some interesting information to satisfy our intellectual curiosity, I appeal to every reader to take this information as a strong warning to remain both prayerful and watchful. The days that we live in have an intensity to them that requires a diligent attitude of prayerfulness and watchfulness. We all need to be aware of world developments both naturally and spiritually. If ever a day existed that demanded such a high level of sobriety, then surely this is that day.

We now turn to some potential holes in the argument.

THE ANTICHRIST HIMSELF DEMANDS WORSHIP

Perhaps the strongest argument that could be made against the idea that the system of Islam will fulfill the role of the Antichrist system is the fact that, despite all of the specific parallels and similarities between the two, the Antichrist demands personal worship and surely Islam does not allow for the worship of any man. Indeed this is the big problem that Islam has with Christianity. While I am plainly speculating, I believe that a thoughtful examination of this future scenario can clear up any
doubts that might attempt to negate the notion that Islam is the Antichrist system.

The first point to remember is that while the Antichrist accomplishes much in the first half of the seven years of his rule, he does not actually demand worship until after the middle point of the seven years. Not until after the Antichrist has achieved several significant military victories and gained a great measure of allegiance will he invade Israel and establish his position of authority in the Jerusalem Temple. It is at this time that Paul the Apostle explains that Antichrist will “set himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God” (2 Thessalonians 2:4). This is also the time that Paul said that “the man of lawlessness is revealed” (2 Thessalonians 2:3). While many Christians with discernment will already have recognized the Antichrist by this point, he will not be fully revealed until the middle of the “week” of seven years.

We need to understand that the Antichrist will not demand worship until well after the Islamic world has universally acknowledged and accepted him as the Mahdi. The imams, mullahs, sheikhs, and ayatollahs—all of the world’s Islamic leadership—will have already given their allegiance to the Mahdi. To deny him after this point would be the ultimate shame for Islam. It would come at a time when Islam will experience its greatest rush of vindication and fulfillment. In the midst of all of this incredible elation, to suddenly declare and acknowledge that an absolute-evil charlatan has deceived the entire Islamic world would simply be unthinkable. Once the deception has taken place, it will be impossible to undo. The die will have been cast.

Other important factors will be at play here as well. Throughout this time period, the False Prophet, whom the Islamic world will believe to be Jesus, will work as the Antichrist’s miracle-working “campaign manager,” as it were. As Paul the Apostle says:

The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs, and wonders, and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness. (2 Thessalonians 2:9–12)

So the followers of the Mahdi/Antichrist are already in a deep spiritual state of deception founded on a combination of factors, including some very powerful psychological dynamics as well as the spiritual dimensions that Paul describes. Because “they refused to love the truth and so be saved…God sends them…
all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs, and wonders…in every sort of evil that deceives…a powerful delusion
so that they will believe the lie.” This is strong language. And it is God Himself who sends the delusion. God Himself causes them to become cemented in their own poor decisions, just as God hardened Pharaoh’s heart in order that he could accomplish God’s purposes for His people Israel. Indeed, Pharoah’s Egypt foreshadowed the coming followers of the Antichrist.

The Bible also gives us a hint into one of the specific powerful delusions that will cause the world to awe over the Antichrist. He is said to experience some sort of deadly head wound and yet come back to life, forming a parallel to the death and resurrection of Jesus. The Apostle John, in the Book of Revelation, describes this fatal head wound for us:

One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed. The whole world was astonished and followed the beast. (Revelation 13:3)

Of course this great event will be “promoted” and exploited for gain by the False Prophet/False Jesus:

He exercised all the authority of the first beast on his behalf, and made the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose fatal wound had been healed. And he performed great and miraculous signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to earth in full view of men. Because of the signs he was given power to do on behalf of the first beast, he deceived the inhabitants of the earth. He ordered them to set up an image in honor of the beast who was wounded by the sword and yet lived. (Revelation 13:12)

Exactly what this “fatal head wound” will be remains to be seen, but it is described in two ways: in the first reference it “seemed” to be fatal, and in the next reference it is simply called “fatal.” The Antichrist is then specifically described as “the beast who was wounded by the sword and yet lived.” Whatever this specifically means, it undoubtedly refers to some form of false sign that the Antichrist/Mahdi and the False Prophet/False Jesus will use to deceive and capture the wonder of the people. The very “sign” that Jesus pointed to as the greatest vindicating fact of his earthly ministry was His resurrection. The Antichrist, as the ape of Christ, may indeed fabricate his own counterfeit resurrection as a response to the central redemptive event of all time.

And of course, another important factor to consider here is that it will also be at this time that those who do not support the Antichrist/Mahdi or give him the worship that he demands will be killed under the new globally enforced Islamic law. “He was given power to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that it could speak and cause all who refused to worship the image to be killed” (Revelation 13:15). Speaking of this specific time, Jesus says:

So when you see standing in the holy place “the abomination that causes desolation,” spoken of through the Prophet Daniel—let the reader understand—for then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again. If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened. (Matthew 24:16–22)

Clearly, multitudes will be killed. Multitudes will not accept or worship the Antichrist/Mahdi. I believe that it is quite likely
that at this time multitudes of Muslims will see the evil person that the Antichrist really is and will turn to the true Jesus for salvation. Who knows?

So we need to try to envision this total scenario: the Antichrist/Mahdi has emerged. The entire Islamic world acknowledges him as such. Having been primed throughout their entire lives psychologically, doctrinally, and spiritually to receive him, much of the Islamic world rallies to his cause and joins his ranks. He gains several military victories and grows in power as an unparalleled world leader with an equally unparalleled military force under his control. All the people of the earth stand in awe and say, “Who is like him and who can make war with him?” On top of all this, the other man whom the Islamic world has been awaiting, the Muslim Jesus, is also on the scene, openly declaring the Mahdi Allah’s man of the hour. Along with the False Jesus’ stunningly powerful rhetorical skills, he will perform “all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs, and wonders” to deceive and hook as many people as possible. Among these great signs is one that seems to utterly amaze the people of the earth. The Antichrist undergoes some form of false resurrection from the dead. He recovers from a “fatal head wound.” And as if all of this is not enough, the Antichrist then proceeds to accomplish that which the Muslim world has longed and yearned for probably more than any other event: he utterly defeats Israel and establishes the Islamic caliphate from Jerusalem. Islam is now vindicated! It is now mere inches away from its absolute final victory over the entire earth. And it is now, in the midst of all this, that the Mahdi throws the ultimate curve ball. In the same way that Christians view Jesus to be the incarnation of God, so the Mahdi now declares himself an incarnation of Allah, and as such, he demands worship. A more suspenseful novel has never been written.