What did Jesus mean when He said,

"Take up your cross and follow Me"?

Answer:

Let’s begin with what Jesus didn't mean. Many people interpret "cross" as some burden they must carry in their lives: a strained relationship, a thankless job, a physical illness. With self-pitying pride, they say, “That’s my cross I have to carry.” Such an interpretation is not what Jesus meant when He said, “Take up your cross and follow Me.” When Jesus carried His cross up to Golgotha to be crucified, no one was thinking of the cross as symbolic of a burden to carry. To a person in the first-century, the cross meant one thing and one thing only: death by the most painful and humiliating means human beings could develop.

Two thousand years later, Christians view the cross as a cherished symbol of atonement, forgiveness, grace, and love. But in Jesus' day, the cross represented nothing but torturous death. Because the Romans forced convicted criminals to carry their own crosses to the place of crucifixion, bearing a cross meant carrying their own execution device while facing ridicule along the way to death.

Therefore, "Take up your cross and follow Me" means being willing to die in order to follow Jesus. This is called “dying to self.” It’s a call to absolute surrender. After each time Jesus commanded cross bearing, He said: Wherever Jesus went he drew crowds. Although these multitudes often followed Him as the Messiah, their view of who the Messiah really was and what He would do was distorted. They thought the Christ would usher in the restored kingdom. They believed He would free them from the oppressive rule of their Roman occupiers. Even Christ’s own inner circle of disciples thought the kingdom was coming soon. When Jesus began teaching that He was going to die at the hands of the Jewish leaders and their Gentile overlords: His popularity sank. Many of the shocked followers rejected Him. Truly, they were not able to put to death their own ideas, plans, and desires, and exchange them for His. Following Jesus is easy when life runs smoothly; our true commitment to Him is revealed during trials. Jesus assured us that trials will come to His followers: Discipleship demands sacrifice, and Jesus never hid that cost.

In Luke 9:57-62, three people seemed willing to follow Jesus. When Jesus questioned them further, their commitment was half-hearted at best. They failed to count the cost of following Him. None was willing to take up his cross and crucify upon it his own interests. Therefore, Jesus appeared to dissuade them. How different from the typical Gospel presentation! How many people would respond to an altar call that went, “Come follow Jesus, and you may face the loss of friends, family, reputation, career, and possibly even your life”? The number of false converts would likely decrease! Such a call is what Jesus meant when He said, “Take up your cross and follow Me.”

If you wonder if you are ready to take up your cross, consider these 5 questions:

• Are you willing to follow Jesus if it means losing some of your closest friends?
• Are you willing to follow Jesus if it means alienation from your family?
• Are you willing to follow Jesus if it means the loss of your reputation?
• Are you willing to follow Jesus if it means losing your job?
• Are you willing to follow Jesus if it means losing your life?

In some places of the world, these consequences are reality. But notice the questions are phrased, “Are you willing?” Following Jesus doesn't necessarily mean all these things will happen to you, but are you willing to take up your cross? If there comes a point in your life where you are faced with a choice—Jesus or the comforts of this life—which will you choose?

Commitment to Christ means taking up your cross daily, giving up your hopes, dreams, possessions, even your very life if need be for the cause of Christ. Only if you willingly take up your cross may you be called His disciple. The reward is worth the price. Jesus followed His call of death to self (“Take up your cross and follow Me”) with the gift of life in Christ:

The part of theology concerned with death, judgment, and the final destiny of the soul and of humankind. Eschatology is the study of what the Bible says is going to happen in the end times. Many treat Eschatology as an area of theology to be avoided. Have you ever asked yourself why that is? Could it possibly be because Christians themselves want to avoid the inevitable? or would you rather interpret scripture like you see all over the internet from these evangelist and the pastor that quote: is that your reason? if so it's a good one, so why not see what the bible actually SAYS instead of listening and reading what everyone tells you it says; Sound fair? What are you afraid of? Could it possibly be because the Jesus they have grown up with and have been taught all there life is a cuddly, warm, all loving Jesus without Judgement? Could that possibly be why? Well the truth is and can be outright frightening for many. Should we just forget that all the Apostles (The closest to Jesus) where all martyred and who were the absolute closest to him when he walked the planet? Why would any of us think we will avoid persecution of biblical proportions.

Give yourself one good reason why and justify it. Just keep in mind that facts exist and truth is the first casualty of war. So when you tear out a man's tongue, you are not proving him a liar, you're only telling the world that you fear what he might say.

An End Time Scenario

An End Time Scenario has been identified by several outstanding Christian scholars of the past – such as John Wesley, John Calvin, Martin Luther, Jonathan Edwards and Robert Anderson and it has been neglected or largely under-rated by modern scholars.

An End Time scenario comprised, in essence, a massive confrontation between Islam and Israel. While the central role of Islam, from its foundation in 622 AD, has been trying to establish itself as the only religion in the world. Its dramatic early successes were due to the brutal choice it gave to the nations it conquered – convert or die. The Qu'ran contains many verses which call for the destruction of unbelievers who according to the Qu'ran are trinitarians, and is very specific about its contempt for Trinitarian Christians.

Today Islam comprises around 57 nations and a total world population of some 1.8 billion believers. The principle of Jihad, aggressive expansion, is enshrined in the Qu'ran. Many Muslims are returning to the fundamental principles of Islam and embracing Jihad. The ongoing of millions of young Muslim men across the Middle East, Africa and Asia, and even in Europe and America, will ensure that global Jihad will only get worse. These believers require the destruction of the state of Israel and then the overthrow of all western powers which oppose the introduction of Sharia law, which has no regard to western principles of justice. The availability of modern weaponry, including nuclear devices, will ensure that the death toll, when the big clash comes, will exceed that of any war fought to date.

The Bible stated in numerous prophecies that the countries engaged in the massive End Time attack on Israel are those which currently surround Israel, all of which are Muslim. For example Psalm 83 alone, which deals with the dramatic events of the End Time, lists a number of geographical regions which will participate directly in the co-ordinated attack on Israel. According to the Psalm, these nations will say, The geographical regions include Edom, Moab, Ammon, Gebal, Tyre, Philistia, Assyria, and the land of the Ishmaelites, the Hagarites and the children of Lot. The modern countries which correspond to these regions are all Muslim -Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Syria, Iran, Iraq, Gaza, and the Turkish occupation of northern Syria (Turkey).

The Lord is coming back to the earth in the character of Gideon. Finally this Psalm offers another insight which I believe is a foreshadowing of the Islam situation. Twice he prays that the enemies would be ashamed... As stated earlier, the psychology of the modern Islamic world is very much based upon a shame/honor system. The humiliation of Al Naqba enrages the Muslims to murderous and self destructive lengths. A Danish cartoon can ignite murderous firestorms all around the world.

The self concept of the Arab Muslim male is fragile. All is comparison. This is why Muslims delight in building towers calculated to be the tallest structure in a city. They relish the humiliation and diminishment of their enemies. Even their vaunted battle cry is one of insecurity, for the literal meaning of Allahu Akbar is "Allah is bigger". Bigger than what? the word Great in the Arabic language is "Eazim" عظيم

The Psalmist prays that the enemies of God would be filled with shame, which hopefully would lead to a repentance towards the only true God. There is a healthy shame, rightfully earned which can accomplish a deep work in the soul. "That they may seek you Oh God..."! The Psalmist also prays for an eternal shame for those who would wipe Israel off of the map. "Let them be ashamed that they may perish forever...". When the Muslim confederation of Psalm 83 is utterly defeated, routed, even massacred because of the answer to this prayer, The Psalmist hopes that the rest of the world will see it and come to know something of the fear and Majesty of the "only true God".

The Psalms of the Bible are usually considered to be inspired devotion, useful for prayer and worship, beautiful and uplifting poetry. This is true, but it is a limited appreciation of what these Psalms have to offer.

The Psalms are Wisdom literature as well, and contain accounts of salvation history. The Psalms are also prophetic. The coming of Jesus the Messiah, his thoughts, suffering and triumph are predicted in great detail in the Psalms. Finally, the Psalms are Eschatological, they are prophetic teachings and exhortations concerning the end times. Psalm 83 is a prime example of this it seems to foretell the scourge of Islam.

Psalm 83 is a desperate prayer offered by a besieged Israel. Her enemies are all of her near neighbors. They have come together as never before in Biblical history, united by a common, visceral hatred of Israel, and also by an anti-God religion, Islam. The list of nations amounts to Syria, Gaza,Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, in short the Arab Muslim middle east. All of these modern nations are united in hatred by Islam.

They that hate thee, have lifted up their head, in other words the supplicant laments that the enemies of God and Israel have obtained a new confidence. The rebirth of the nation of Israel and the subsequent failure of five united Arab armies to defeat her in wars of overwhelming numerical, financial and even tactical superiority has been extremely dispiriting to the Muslim Arab world, which is a "shame/honor" culture. That is why the Arabs refer to May ,1948 as "Al Nak-ba", (The Palestinian Catastrophe).

But as of late the Muslim Arab world has gained a new confidence. This is because that after steady leveraging of the use of oil, bribery, and immigration, the Arab world has been able to flip the powerful western world, from her pro-Israel position to being anti-Israel. The Supplicant appeals to previous interventions of God on behalf of Israel, as recorded in the book of the Judges. "Do unto them as unto the Midianites..." Refers to the incident in Judges 6-7, in which God confused the Midianites, and in their confusion they turned on and slaughtered each other. As to Sisera and as to Jabin, this refers to the story in Judges 4-5. Jabin was a Canaanite King who subjected Israel to raids of plunder, rape and murder. Sisera was the commander of Jabin's army, which deployed 900 chariots.

The Psalmist is praying that the Arab Princes of this confederation will be pursued, executed and that the Lord himself will remove the crescent ornaments. Zebah and Zalmunna are two kings of Midian, what God did to Sisera was to send a rainstorm so intense it rendered the chariots useless. They bogged down on the plain, and were vulnerable to the footmen of Deborah and Barak. The proud general Sisera fled on foot for his very life. He was beckoned to hide in the tent of a woman, Jael (Yāʿēl), the wife of one whom he though was an ally. She coaxed him into relaxation giving the exhausted heathen Commander warm milk and when he fell into a deep sleep, she took a tent stake, and drove it into Sisera's temple.

Thus the proud heathen leader was slain by a woman! The superstitious among them believe that the warrior who is slain by a woman dies in disgrace and cannot go to paradise!

Strong's concordance, H7720, tells us that the Hebrew word translated as 'ornaments' in English literally meant 'little moons', which are akin to the crescent moons seen today throughout Islam. The crescent moon, which represents the moon god Baal, is probably the principal symbol of Islamic power in the world today. Psalm 83 is telling us, therefore, that in destroying Zebah and Zalmunna, Gideon was destroying the representatives of the same spiritual entity that now empowers Islam. Gideon prefigures Christ Jesus and the incredible work that he will do when he returns.

Biblical prophecy contains countless references to the End Time war that will precede the Second Coming of Christ. These may be found, in particular, in Isaiah, Ezekiel, Jeremiah, Daniel, Zechariah and the Book of Revelation.

The god of the Qu'ran is the moon god, Allah, which the Bible identifies with Baal or Satan. Thus the Qu'ran is a key element in Satan’s long-term plan to destroy both Judaism and Christianity. This is why it has so many passages and prophetic ideas which run parallel with, but counter to, those of the Bible. Satan cannot foretell the future, so he took the End Time prophecies of the Bible and wove them into the Qu'ran and the Hadith, but he did so in such a way that he, and not Christ, would ultimately emerge victorious. The Qu'ran has been so crafted that, when the events of the End Time begin to unfold, the majority of Muslims will see them as confirmation of the 'prophecies' made by Muhammad.

Many Muslims, especially the Shi'a, expect the imminent return of a great prophet whom they call the Mahdi. Though not referred to in the Koran, he is mentioned in six reliable collections of Hadith. The Mahdi is the return of the 12th and last Imam, who was born in 869 AD but who disappeared at the age of five. As the great world Redeemer, he will spearhead the global triumph of Islam. His coming will be opposed by a very powerful and very evil individual known as the Ad-Dajjal, whom the Mahdi will destroy in one final apocalyptic battle.

We propose that the Anti-Christ of Christianity will be the Mahdi of Islam, and that Islam will try to portray Christ (in his Second Coming) as the Ad-Dajjal

Based on our analysis of Biblical prophecy, we see a major role for Turkey in establishing the Caliphate and in uniting Islam under a single banner. The way would then be open for the creation of the pan-Islamic alliance referred to in Psalm 83 and the invasion of the tiny state of Israel with overwhelming military force. We will now proceed to examine the evidence and how the various pieces fit together to complete the End Time Islamic jigsaw.

The Imaam al-Mahdi as the Anti-Christ

One of our main components of this thesis is that the Mahdi of Islam will be the Antichrist of Christianity. We argue this, not on the basis of historical speculation, but on the remarkable correspondence between the description of the Mahdi given in Islamic doctrine and the description of the Antichrist given in the Bible.

The Table below gives a summary of these similarities.

This doctrinal information about Islam, and in particular its prophetic significance, may not have been fully understood by Christian scholars. Some of the similarities relate to the actual persons of the Mahdi and the Antichrist, while others relate to the dark supernatural entity that will empower them.

We will again and again show all the geographical areas which the Bible states will participate in the End Time attack on Israel are today part of Islam. We completely reject the thesis that the Antichrist will arise from a European confederacy. In our view the revived "Roman Empire" prophesied in the Bible will be that part of the Roman empire which lay in the Middle East, not the part which had its focus in Rome. The European Union will not play a central role.

Similarities between the Imaam al-Mahdi and the Anti-Christ

• #1. Both deny the Trinity and the Cross
• #2. Both deny the Father and the Son
• #3. Both deny Jesus as the Christ
• #4. Both are called the greatest of all deceivers
• #5. Both claim to be the Messiah
• #6. Both lost and regained a kingdom
• #7. Both have the power to work false miracles
• #8. Both come riding on a white horse
• #9. Both will change the law and the calendar
• #10. Both deny women's rights
• #11. Both rule over a kingdom with 10 regions
• #12. Both claim the power of death in their title
• #13. Both command colossal armies and military force
• #14. Both honour their god with silver and gold
• #15. Both advance the glory of their god through war
• #16. Both condone the mass rape of enemy captives
• #17. Both usher in a 7-year peace treaty with Israel
• #18. Both use peace as a means to achieve military objectives
• #19. Both break treaties
• #20. Both use war to garner booty and increase their wealth
• #21. Both desire world domination
• #22. Both lead a Turkish-Iranian invasion of Israel
• #23. Both claim to embody divine qualities
• #24. Both ascended to heaven (as Muhammad and Lucifer)
• #25. Both are associated with Angels of Light
• #26. Both perceive themselves as Beings of Light
• #27. Both are filled with extraordinary pride and self-regard
• #28. Both have authority over demons
• #29. Both are called 'Son of the Dawn'
• #30. Both boast of their power to afflict
• #31. Both came down from heaven
• #32. Both are possessed by a supernatural entity
• #33. Both use beheading to execute their victims
• #34. Both seek the destruction of Israel
• #35. Both occupy the Temple Mount in Jerusalem

Prophecy shows that Christ is coming in person to crush the Anti-Christ.

The LORD Jesus is coming in person to destroy the armies of the Antichrist. We show that even where born-again Christians accept this fact, they fail to recognise that the Bible actually gives a number of details about the way his campaign will be conducted. He does not destroy all the armies of the Antichrist in a single instant -though he could -but leads his heavenly host against different wings of the Antichrist coalition. This means also that his army, which will comprise the Elect Angels, the Raptured and the Risen Dead, will not merely observe but will have an active role in the End Time battles.

Taking just one short prophetic book, Habakkuk, shows how a very specific End Time campaign is being described: This is a definite End Time prophecy, which "will surely come". The Antichrist will embark on one course of action, then change his mind and adopt another course. He will ascribe all his power to his god (Satan). His appetite for gore and bloodshed is immense. The term "by wine" is a reference to the important role that oil plays, and will continue to play, in the world economy and to the control that the Antichrist coalition exercises through this valuable commodity. He will enlarge his powerful military confederacy but the Lord Jesus will oppose him in Teman and Paran -Saudi Arabia. This part of the great End Time conflict will also extend to the land of Cushan and Midian -Cushan includes modern Sudan and Somalila.

Lest Christians think this End Time scenario is revealed only in the later prophets, we cite the extraordinary prophecy given in the Book of Numbers: This prophecy was given by Balaam to Balak in the early years of the Exodus, around 1400 BC. Thus we can see that as early as the Pentateuch, the LORD was telling his people what the Messiah would do on their behalf when he came as King. The geographical regions cited -Moab, Edom and Seir -are all south east of Israel and embrace much of today's Saudi Arabia. In short, part of Christ's campaign against the Antichrist will be conducted in that region.

This is confirmed in very stark and dramatic terms by Ezekiel in chapter 35: References to Mount Seir and the land of Seir (or Idumea) are references to the land where Esau and his descendants, the Edomites, made their home. This would embrace a great part of Saudi Arabia. Ezekiel stresses that the whole of Idumea ("all Idumea, even all of it") will be caught up in this massive conflict.

The Saudi Arabian connection is confirmed in an earlier chapter of Ezekiel, where the land that will be made desolate by the Messiah will stretch from Teman, in today's Yemen, to Dedan, an ancient city in central Saudi Arabia: Note that Ezekiel 35 mentions their "perpetual hatred" against Israel. This hatred of the Jewish people, which is so characteristic of Islam, extends back to the earliest times -a truly perpetual hatred. The Messiah will slaughter vast numbers of the army of the Antichrist in this region because they tried to take "these two nations" or "these two countries" which belonged to the LORD, a reference to Israel (northern kingdom) and Judah (southern kingdom).

Ezekiel says also that the LORD heard all the blasphemies that the people of Idumea had directed against Him, how they had "multiplied" their blasphemies and their boasts against the LORD. these endless stream of blasphemies came in particular from one city in Saudi Arabia -Mecca, the city where the moon god is worshipped by millions of Muslims from around the world and from which endless invective is poured out upon Israel.

Isaiah takes up this theme, the total destruction of part of the army of the Antichrist in Saudi Arabia, in a remarkable passage in chapter 63: Bozrah is south east of the Dead Sea, a town one would normally pass through when travelling from Saudi Arabia into Judea. Isaiah depicts the Messiah coming north out of Saudi Arabia, his clothes drenched with the blood of his victims, whom he has trodden down in his "anger" and "fury." Remember, Saudi Arabia had just been a major protagonist in the genocidal attack against Israel in his which hundreds of thousands of Jews were murdered.

A recurring theme in this thesis is that modern born-again Christians have focused so much on God's love that they have largely forgotten that it is bound up with his judgment and righteousness. The LORD has stated categorically that he will come and defend his people, the children of Israel, when as a nation they call upon Christ as their Messiah. In doing so he will avenge the appalling crimes committed against them.

Many modern Christians try to allegorise the End Time prophecies because they are uncomfortable with the Messiah in his role as King and Conqueror. They confuse the meekness of Christ in his First Coming with the judgment of Christ in his Second Coming. They find it hard to accept that the Lamb will dispense bloody judgment on a truly grand scale. As a result they fail to see what ought to be obvious, that the intense anti-semitism and hatred of the Islamic nations, the descendants of Ishmael and Esau, will ultimately culminate in the appalling destruction of Israel which they have long promised to carry out.

Christ himself stated that, as soon as the fig tree blooms, the time is close at hand, "even at the door" (Matthew 24:32). The fig tree is a well recognised Biblical symbol for Israel. This tree bloomed on 14 May 1948 with the foundation of the modern state of Israel and, as prophesied by Zechariah and others, the scattered children of Israel began to return in large numbers to the land promised to Jacob and his descendants.

Ask yourselves whether a single thing we describe is inconsistent in any way with what we know is happening in the Middle East, with the rapid rise of militant Islam, with the huge increase in military power amongst Islamic nations, and with the claim constantly repeated by numerous Islamic leaders that they will utterly destroy Israel and slaughter every Jewish inhabitant.

The Messiah in Egypt

Another part of Christ's campaign against the confederacy of the Antichrist will be conducted in Egypt. These passages from Isaiah suggest that the Israeli airforce, led by the Messiah, will fly over Gaza ("the shoulders of the Philistines") and attack Egypt, where they will wreak devastation. The chaos will be so great that the Egyptians will even turn upon themselves. Isaiah also includes in his description a reference to the Nile delta.

The Messiah in Lebanon

A Lament over the King of Tyre (where is Tyre? ancient Phoenician city in what is now Lebanon).

The following passages from Isaiah show that the Antichrist will invade Lebanon and deal savagely with the Christian population of that country. The references to "after the manner of Egypt" and the slaughter of Midan would suggest that the attack upon Lebanon takes place after the above-mentioned events in Saudi Arabia and Egypt: "Because your heart is proud, and you have said, 'I am a god'" Baal, Allah, Cresent Moon. "yet you are but a man, and no god, though you make your heart like the heart of a god" this matches Isaiah 14 when he was speaking to the king of Babylon: The reference to "a mighty one" in verse 34 is a reference to the Messiah as King, vanquishing the enemies of Israel. Similar references may be found elsewhere in Isaiah: It should be remembered that the slaughter that the Messiah will visit upon these various Muslim nations is in recompense for the awful crimes which they will have committed against the Jews of Israel and the Christians of Egypt and Lebanon. For example, Joel says: Note that Tyre, Zidon and Palestine are the very places where Hezbollah and Hamas are based today.

Hebrew name of Lucifer is הֵילֵלבֶּן-שָׁחַר

The name "Lucifer" in Hebrew is "Helel" Ben/Bin means "Son of" Shahar means "Morning star / star of the dawn". Lucifer, son of the morning = הֵילֵלבֶּן-שָׁחַר literal meaning – Morning star son of black [as in just before the dawn]) – pronounced helel ben sahar. Lucifer in Hebrew is pronounced heylel. Heylel means: "Morning star". in Hebrew הֵילֵ "Light Bearer" in Latin. "Crescent Moon" in Arabic هلال If you type into Google translate, hilal bin sahar هلال بن ش you’ll get Crescent Moon son of Evil! Sahar is baby boy name mainly popular in Muslim countries. The meaning of the word "wise men" is astrologers, in Arabic it means "Al Sahareen"; its singular form is "Sahar", which means astrologer or a star. Sunrise when day starts early in the morning. "Cresent moon" and a "Morning Star".

The Messiah in Syria and Gaza

At some stage during his campaign of liberation and judgment, the Messiah will turn his attention to Syria and Gaza. He may not actually enter these regions, however, since Scripture says they will be delivered up to Edom (Saudi Arabia), which presumably means the armies of the Antichrist. This would suggest that the Antichrist may have difficulty holding his coalition together and that internecine tensions may cause some of his factions to turn on each other:

The Nations of the anti-Christ according to bible text

Jeremiah gives a chilling inventory of the nations which the Messiah, in person, will either destroyor subjugate in these cataclysmic End Time events: The original word for "earth" in the phrase, "all the inhabitants of the earth" (verse 29), is erets (Strong's H776). This is not a reference to the world or the planet as a whole, but to land or territory, often the land surrounding Canaan. The word erets appears about 2500 times in the Old Testament and is translated 'land' no fewer than 1500 times in the King James Bible. Thus we can see that, as we point out, the interpretation of End Time prophecies must have particular regard to the way words like erets are translated. Serious misunderstandings can ensue if they depart too far from the perspective of a prophet writing in Biblical times.

The Role of Christians before and after the Rapture

The End Time will witness both the Resurrection of the dead and the Rapture of the living. Here is how Daniel describes the former: We suggest that Christians should spend less time debating the timing of the Rapture (harpazo) and more time discussing the role that Christians will play in assisting Christ after the Rapture. We point out that the great End Time war and the Rapture are mentioned together in no fewer than 6 places in the Bible: The second chapter of Joel gives a remarkable description of the army of the Messiah and the role it will play, even down to street level battles and hand-to-hand combat: The words, "A fire devoureth before them" correlates exactly with Psalm 50:3 (already cited), which reads, "a fire shall devour before him." This is the army of the saints fighting alongside the Messiah and destroying the forces of the Antichrist.

The army is fighting in glorified physical bodies. They cannot be killed. As the prophet says, when they fall upon the sword, they shall not be wounded. They are therefore the saints, the believers, who have been lifted unto the LORD at the Resurrection of the Dead and the Rapture of born-again Christians.

The Apostle Paul confirmed the truth of the Rapture and the immortality of the saints. He went even further and revealed "a mystery," that is a truth not hitherto revealed in the Old Testament. This would appear to be the fact that all believers would be taken in the Rapture during the End Time, that it would occur "in a twinkling" (an instant), and that it would be preceded by the resurrection of all dead believers: If you are a born-again Christian, then, dear reader, this is all about YOU. During the Rapture you will receive a glorified body and join the ranks of the army of the Messiah as he sets out on his campaign to destroy the Antichrist and rescue Israel from the millions of fanatics who are bent on her destruction.

Thus it is incumbent on all born-again Christians to consider their role in defending Israel, not just after the Rapture -as set out in the above passages from Scripture -but before it as well. Scripture is telling us, loud and clear, that this really matters to the LORD. And if it matters to Him, it should matter to us: This passage tells us that Christ shared in the afflictions suffered by the children of Israel and that he bore and carried them "all the days of old", that is right up to the End Time. In the parable in Matthew 25 he refers to them as "my brethren" (verse 40). He intends to judge all nations in accordance with their treatment of the children of Israel. This important message did not emerge only after it became clear that the Jews would be scattered among the nations but was emphasized right from the start:

The Book of Revelation

The reader may have noticed that it has been possible to establish a great deal of information about the End Time without once quoting from the Book of Revelation. We note that many students of the End Time begin with Revelation and miss all that can be learned from the Old Testament prophets. The Second Coming of Christ is so important that it is mentioned repeatedly throughout the Bible. Thus the Book of Revelation should be seen, not as a separate prophetic statement about the End Time, but as a restatement, consolidation and expansion of earlier End Time prophecies.

All of these prophecies have the very same author -the LORD. Therefore they are completely consistent and, like all Scripture, shed considerable light on one another. Thus it is hardly ever necessary, according to us, to seek an allegorical interpretation when the Bible's own internal dictionary can be used to determine the meaning of the more difficult prophetic passages. we say that many End Time Bible scholars have made the mistake of taking what seemed to be the 'obvious' meaning behind apparently allegorical passages and are then obliged to overlook or downplay other passages which didn't quite square with this 'obvious' interpretation. They have also relied too much on the Book of Revelation as their starting point or key text and failed to give equal weight to other End Time prophecies, especially those of lesser known prophets like Micah, Amos, Obadiah and Habakkuk. This had led to an emphasis on the role of the European Union and Russia in End Time prophecy which, in our view, is not warranted.

Gog and Magog

We do not agree with those modern Bible scholars who treat the word Rosh in Ezekiel 38:2-3 as a proper noun and interpret it as a reference to "Russia". In every other case where the word "Rosh" appears in the Bible -nearly 600 times -it is always translated as "chief of", as in "Rosh Hashana", the chief or first day in the Jewish calendar. For example, the King James Bible translates Rosh in Ezekiel 38:2-3 as "chief prince" - We agree with Tim Lahaye the author of the Left Behind series that the land of Magog is part of, or contiguous, with the steppes of central Asia, sometimes known as Scythia, which runs along the rim of southern Russia. But he stresses that the Biblical focus is on Scythia itself and not on the sprawling land mass of Russia proper. Ancient Scythia was a ribbon of land stretching from Turkey through several central Asian states -Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan -all of which are Muslim today. And while Scythia may well have been included within the former USSR for a time, it would be a major error to conclude that this temporary annexation drew Russia proper into the mainstream of End Time prophecy.

Our view is reinforced by the fact that most Bible scholars today would accept that Magog, Meshach and Tubal are all in Turkey, along with two other locations mentioned in Ezekiel 38, namely Gomer and Beth Togarmah.

We attribute the 'Russian' interpretation to an error in the very popular Scofield Study Bible of 1909 and 1917, which made a somewhat bizarre association between the words Meshech and Tubal and the modern Russian cities, Moscow and Tobolsk, respectively. Modern Bible scholars would reject this -see, for example, map #21 in The Moody Atlas of Bible Lands(1985) which locates both Meshech and Tubal in modern Turkey, along with Magog, Gomer and Togarmah. The word Gog itself derives from the name of an actual tyrant in ancient Turkey known as Gyges (which may be a royal title, like Csar or Khan). This link with Turkey is consistent with the five Turkish locations mentioned by Ezekiel. Gog is one of many names used in the Bible to designate the Antichrist, where a known historical figure or leadership position is used to designate the Antichrist or Satan's emissary on earth. Other examples are the King of Babylon, the Prince of Tyre and the Pharaoh.

Armageddon

We state that many western scholars make the mistake of treating the military campaign in Ezekiel 38 and 39 as a separate one from that conducted by the Antichrist. They see it as a major crisis in world affairs which they believe is needed to bring the Antichrist to power in the first instance. We believe that no such crisis is needed, that militant Islam and the planned reintroduction of the Caliphate will provide more than sufficient basis for the emergence of a figure with the power, authority and military objectives of the Biblical Antichrist.

There are several passages in Ezekiel 38 and 39 which show that the prophet is referring exclusively to Armageddon and the End Time, that are the same events described in the Book of Revelation. These verses proclaim the final end to the profanation of the LORD's name and to the lo ng-awaited commencement of the age in which all nations "shall know that I am the LORD". In accordance with other End Time prophecies, this must be Armageddon. We know also that Christ the Messiah is actually present during the Gog Magog campaign since Ezekiel says: We confirm this in the following chapter The prophet is saying that the Holy One is in Israel.

Ezekiel also refers to the great shaking of the earth which will occur at this time. This is clearly a traumatic event, almost without precedent. And yet the Book of Revelation describes a similar cataclysmic geophysical upheaval when the Messiah returns. Why postulate two separate events of this magnitude, only years apart, when it would be more logical to conclude that the prophets, Ezekiel and John, are speaking about the same event? Zechariah also speaks of an enormous earthquake that will occur when the Messiah descends to the earth and his feet touch the Mount of Olives.

We also know for certain that Gog is the Antichrist since Ezekiel states: This individual, of whom the prophets of Israel had long spoken, can only be the Antichrist. Even Ezekiel's description of the battle of Armageddon is strikingly similar to that of Revelation. For example, both refer to the massive field of carnage on which the birds of the air will feast: It would seem unusually obtuse to argue that these descriptions refer to two separate events, only years apart. Ezekiel and John even refer to the role that heavy hailstones will play in this great battle:

Unlocking Biblical Symbolism

We take very seriously the injunction in 2 Peter: We say, "The purpose of studying the Bible is to properly understand the meaning of any passage as the author intended it to be understood."

All Biblical prophecy has a specific meaning, as those prophecies which have already been fulfilled clearly demonstrate. It is the task of a dedicated Bible student to find the intended meaning in those prophecies which have not yet been fulfilled, not by treating prophecy merely as allegory -with many possible, usually abstract, meanings -but as a specific message with a very clear meaning which God intends man to understand.

To do this one must study the Bible's own language, which is always internally consistent. We cite several examples of symbols which have been misunderstood in the past, even though their meaning can be readily established by examining the various instances in which they are used. These include:

• Mountain:
  When used symbolically mountainal most invariably means a kingdom or an empire. When head is used as a symbol, it too is very likely a reference to a kingdom, or a king(head) with his kingdom.
• Waters:
  When used symbolically, waters(or rivers or seas) usually mean a nation or a people.
• Beast:
  When used allegorically, a beast is an empire that follows a false religion, while the beast's horn represents the empire's leader.
• Name:
  When it is not used to designate a proper noun, a name points to a person's attributes. Thus it can also designate his beliefs or his creed.
• Fish:
  When used symbolically, fish are followers.
• Stone/Rock:
  When used symbolically, a stone or a rock means the Messiah.
• Tree:
  When used allegorically, a tree (except the olive tree and the fig tree) usually means a fallen angel. A bird can have this meaning also.
• Stars:
  When used allegorically, stars are angels. Stars that are cast down to earth are fallen angels.
• Woman:
  When used allegorically, a woman is a spiritual entity (either good or evil).

The Seven Heads are Seven Mountains

We argue that great confusion has arisen, not just from a failure to identify the allegorical meaning of the words just given, but by conclusions founded on poor hermeneutics (formal principles of interpretation). We refer in particular to: This has often been taken to be a reference to the city of Rome since it sits on seven hills. But if mountains represent nations or empires, then this cannot be a reference to Rome. Consider the verses which follow 17:9 The woman is a spiritual entity associated with seven empires. Five of these empires had fallen by 96 AD; one was still in existence; and the seventh would come along, cease after a time, and reappear as the eighth. This seventh, or resurrected eighth, is described as a "Beast," that is an empire founded on a false religion.

So, in order to put the passage in an historical perspective, one must identify the eight empires that are referred to. If the Book of Relevation by itself does not supply the key, then End Time prophetic passages in other parts of the Bible must do so.

We point consistently to the centrality of the Middle East -specifically Israel and the surrounding nations -as the focus of the Bible and its prophets. The empires must therefore be intimately linked to the history of Israel and the children of Israel. The empires which fit this description are:


These seven empires flowed one into the other, and in all cases they ruled or subdued Israel at some time or other. What is more, they progressively absorbed the entire Middle East. Even the Roman Empire, which comprised territory in both Europe and Asia, as well as North Africa, survived for far longer in the Middle East -as the Byzantine Empire -than it did in the west.

The eighth empire mentioned in Revelation 17 is therefore a revival of the seventh -the Ottoman Empire.

This ceased to exist after World War I when the allies dismembered the Middle East and abolished the Caliphate in 1924. The resurgence of Islam in the late 20th century and its massive increase in both population and military power is, compelling proof that a new Islamic (or revived Ottoman) Empire is in formation -just as the Bible predicted.

This revival of the Ottoman Empire is a fulfilment of the prophecy in Revelation which states that The beast would revive after receiving a deadly wound: The Ottoman Empire lost its head, the Caliph, in 1924 -an office that that been filled almost continuously since the foundation of Islam in 622 AD. Thus it appeared that the beast (the Islamic empire) was dead and would never revive. But it has and is growing stronger by the day.

The power of this beast and the threat it poses to Christianity simply cannot be ignored. Christianity has been threatened with destruction on only two occasions in the last 1500 years. The first was when the armies of Islam invaded Spain and France and threatened to over run the whole of Europe. Had they not been stopped (providentially) by the army of Charles Martel at Tours in 732 AD, the Christians of Europe would have been faced with the Islamic "choice" -convert or die.

The second occasion was after the fall of Constantinople in 1453, when the armies of expanding Islam had taken a huge chunk of eastern Europe (Greece, Rumania, Bulgaria, Hungary and the Balkans) and were threatening to capture Vienna. Had this key city fallen in 1529, when it was besieged by a powerful Muslim army, or had its army been defeated by the Muslims at the Battle of Vienna in 1683, Europe would have collapsed and Christians would have been persecuted and butchered on a grand scale.

The survival of Christian Europe during this period (1453-1683) was in doubt right till the end, when the Hapsburgs finally prevailed. Thus we can readily see why the Book of Revelation describes Islam as the beast, both under its old (seventh empire) and under its emerging (eighth empire).

It should be noted also that the emergence of Islam in the first place was a disaster for Christianity. Within a hundred years of its foundation in 622 AD the forces of Islam had overrun the whole of the Middle East and north Africa -both of which were predominantly Christian. Thus more than half of Christianity was wiped out by Islam even before Europe itself came under threat.

If our thesis is correct, then it must account for the description of the empires given in Nebuchadnezzar's dream, which Daniel interpreted. The dream concerned a large statue of a man: Daniel explained to the Babylonian king that each layer represents an empire that will succeed his. These are: The Roman Empire never extended so far east that it established control over ancient Persia or modern-day Iran and had little influence beyond the Euphrates. Thus it cannot be an empire which falls within the ambit of Nebuchadnezzar's dream. If it does figure, then it is only to the extent that it came from the same cultural and religious source as the Greek empire and absorbed it largely through its western rather than its eastern conquests. From a Babylonian perspective, Greece and Rome were much alike.

There is a very clear progression from one empire to another. The Babylonian Empire was crushed by the Persian Empire which in turn was crushed by the Greeks. This in turn was overrun by the forces of Islam. The reference in Nebuchadnezzar's dream to feet which were "part of iron and part of clay" is interpreted by us to be a reference to the original Ottoman Empire (iron) and the newly emerging Ottoman (Islamic) empire (a mix of iron and clay). While the former was as strong as iron, the latter will be far more brittle and of much shorter duration.

An interesting claim by muslim's within there Qur'an simply states that "They will bring forth a beast of the earth" themselves, which does substaneiate our thesus. In the Bible the Beast is evil but in the Qur'an the Beast has a "holy mission to revive Islam".

Daniel's Vision of the Four Beasts

Later in his career, Daniel had a vision of "four beasts" which "came up from the sea," that is from the multitude of nations: We and most scholars agree, that these four beasts (or empires) correlate precisely with the four empires in Nebuchadnezzar's dream. This in turn provides valuable clues for interpreting certain details in the Book of Revelation. For example the beast with Ten horns in Daniel 7 is the same as the beast with ten horns in Revelation 12, 13 and 17. (We noted earlier that "horn," when used allegorically, means the leader of a nation or empire.)

Daniel's vision included two references to a "little horn": Scholars agree that this little horn represents the Antichrist, that is a leader of such power and influence that he manages to bring the other ten under his command.

This interpretation is fully consistent with the Book of Revelation. It should be noted that this Book was written by John the Apostle on the island of Patmos, off the coast of Turkey. Thus he could refer to the Roman Empire as a distinct political entity, while Daniel, who lived in Babylon, could not.

Here is how we account for the ten horns in Revelation and the emergence of the "little horn" described by Daniel

The People of the Prince that Shall Come

The Book of Daniel contains the famous 70 week prophecy, the full meaning of which was explained so convincingly by Robert Anderson in the 19th century. This referred to the time that would elapse between the signing of the royal edict to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem and the triumphant entry of the Messiah into Jerusalem. In the course of his prophecy, Daniel makes a reference to "the prince that shall come", namely the Antichrist: Many Biblical scholars took the reference to "the people of the prince that shall come" as a clear reference to the Romans (and the Roman Empire), since Jerusalem was sacked by the Roman general, Titus, in 70 AD. We challenge this assumption on the grounds that the majority of the people who actually destroyed Jerusalem were not Roman at all. Titus led the eastern legions of the Roman empire, not the western legions. Specifically, the four legions under Titus were Legion XV Apollinaris, Legion V Macedonica, Legion XII Fulminata, and Legion X Fretensis.

Most Roman soldiers were normally recruited from the regions in which the garrisons were located. Thus most of the soldiers in these four legions were not Italian (or European) at all, but Turks, Syrians and Arabs. For example, he quotes Josephus: "The greatest part of the Roman garrison was raised out of Syria; and thus being related to the Syrian part, they were ready to assist it". With typical Roman expediency, Titus (like Vespasian before him) recruited and employed soldiers who, as natural enemies of the Jews, would have no reservation about committing genocide against them. It is estimated that over a million Jews died in the siege and destruction of Jerusalem.

We conclude, therefore, that the people of the Antichrist will be the same people who sacked Jerusalem, namely Turks, Syrians and Arabs, and that the Antichrist will be a Muslim.

What is more, the Book of Revelation states that his empire will be located in the same broad geographical area:
Sand of the Sea References a desert, according to John, the empire ("beast") of the Antichrist will comprise elements of each of the four empires identified by Daniel. These are Iraq (Babylonian/lion), Iran (Persian/bear) and Turkey/Syria (Greek/leopard). Thus the two prophets are describing the same region in slightly different ways. This region is entirely Muslim today and, with the apparent exception of Turkey, radically opposed to the existence of the state of Israel.

We point to the rapidly evolving political situation in Turkey, the election of an Islamist party(the AKP) in late 2002, and the ongoing attempts to weaken the control which the secularists currently exercise over the Turkish military. Once this secularist element is neutralised, the Islamists will draw Turkey within the broad umbrella of Devout Islam, thereby setting the stage for the emergence of the Antichrist.

The Mark of the Beast

In order to make sence of it all we must make a case that fits every criterion that the bible demands us to make when understanding the BIBLE TEXT. first note, notice in revelation 14:11 First note it specifically says "mark of his name", so right here you can make a case specifically that this "mark" is associated with a "name".

The meaning of the "mark of the beast" (Revelation 19) has long been a source of heated debate among Bible prophecy scholars. One of the great strength's of our thesis is that it gives a very clear and consistent explanation of the meaning of this mark. Please note that just understanding that there two things happening here, there is "mark" and there is "beast" and a coming together of the Phrase "mark of the beast" found in: This is so crucial to understand, the bible's wording is perfect and percise within its message to us is as clear and cristal but we humans love to put a spin on meanings and words, we declare that when the bible says "mark of the beast" we understand it is just that! not "A" mark of the beast but infact "Thee" mark of the beast.

In the Bible names can refer to a person's nature, character, and mission. Jesus is prophetically called Immanuel (which means God with us) or (King of kings) or (Word of God) yet His name was Jesus or Yeshua in Hebrew. Likewise, the name of the Beast or Antichrist is not the literal name of a political figure. Rather, it is a creed ordeclaration of faith about the nature, character, or mission of the Antichrist. This verse declares that the name of the beast or Antichrist is "blasphemy". We define the biblical meaning of this term: "Blasphemy is an anti-Yahweh or anti-Christ word or deed to claim the attributes of God, claim to be Messiah, deny the Holy Spirit, deny the trinity, the cross, or even denying God's edicts and declarations all are blasphemy. Satan blasphemed when he said, Satan has always desired to be like God, thus the name of the beast or Antichrist will contain a credal aspect to it that will be anti-Yahweh and anti-Christ and will exalt another one over God. The Shahada is the Islamic creed which declares, "There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is The One sent by Allah [The Messenger of Allah]." This creed alone fulfills the blasphemy requirements by stating there is another God other than Jehovah and that Muhammad supercedes the place of Jesus the Messiah. We say, "the Mark, the Name, the Number, and the Image of the Beast are indicators of allegiance and submission to the Beast." In the simplest of terms, the Mark of the Beast is essentially the emblem, the symbol, or the identifying mark of the coming Beast kingdom. By donning this mark, people will identify with the Kingdom of the Beast and the values and beliefs that this kingdom represents. And I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, The witness of Jesus is proclaiming the Gospel, all Christians are commanded to spread the Gospel message to the ends of the earth, and the word of God is the Bible itself. Spreading the Gospel in an Islamic country is punishable by death. Note 2 things: Worship his image and false prophet

As we have already noted, "name" does not always designate a literal name, a proper noun, but may mean the attributes, nature or character of an individual. Many Biblical names are themselves an expression of the attributes, character or circumstances of the person concerned – for example: The Book of Revelation states specifically what the "name" of the beast means -"the name of blasphemy" (13:1). And as the beast is the Antichrist, one must expect his blasphemies to be of the worst kind: to claim to be God (allah), to claim to be the awaited one, to deny the person of the Holy Spirit, to deny the Holy Trinity, to deny the cross -all of which are characteristics of Islam and the Mahdi. Thus the name of the beast designates, not just a form of blasphemy, but the highest and most Biblical form of blasphemy, the complete and utter rejection of Christ and his sacrifice for the saved and as such the name of the beast is a creed or belief system which opposes Yahweh in the most forceful and deliberate way imaginable.

We draw a parallel between this and two recurring proclamations in Islam which express its creed or "name" in a well understood and crystallized form. The first is the "Shahada", which is such a potent creed or declaration of faith that to state it in public is to announce that one is and will always be Muslim. In Arabic, the language of the Qur'an, the Shahada reads: "La ilaha il Allah, Muhammadan Rasul-Allah". In English this means, "There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is his messenger".

This is what is written in the Arabic language on all the flags: Every Islamic group in the world uses this declaration including the Islamic Emirates of Afghanistan (Taliban) on their headbands and flags, the major deception that is told to us in the west is that (ISIS) "Islamic State of Iraq and Syria" are some different orginization that has nothing to do with Islam, What is amazing about this Sign and Wonder is that the flag they use is Exactly Identical in writing and Message just a different style / font to decieve non muslims, they both read exactly the same "There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is his prophet".

The second is the well-known "Bismillah", a proclamation which means literally "In the Name of Allah". It is a shortened, and universally recognised, version of the Arabic phrase, "In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful." This phrase is without doubt the most frequently used religious slogan in Islam. It constitutes the opening words of 113 of the 114 chapters of the Qur'an and is written or recited ad nauseum by every Muslim all over the world over, at the beginning of every letter, every ceremony, every speech, every sacred recitation, every meal, every task, and on many other occasions. In the course of his lifetime, every Muslim could be expected to repeat this phrase thousands, if not millions of times. From an Eastern perspective we believe the theory on the mark of the beast is more plausible than Western ideas such as a microchip implant or some kind of UPC code tattoo. A common interpretation of the number 666 usually involves Gematria, (a mystical form of numerology that assigns a numerical value to each letter from any given name. After the sum total of all of the letters is added up, the final result is the number of that individual's name.) One major problem with this method of interpretation is which alphabet does one use in determining the name of the Antichrist? The biblical Hebrew, the biblical Greek, Latin, English? We state that if there is a Gematria interpretation for the number 666 it must correlate with the Name of the Beast which is the anti-Yahweh and anti--Christ creed of blasphemy.

After examining the Codex Vaticanus Greek text of Revelation, we say that we noticed the Greek letters Chi, Xi, Stigma, which formed the 666 of Revelation 13:18, resembled "the most common creed of Islam Bismillah, written in Arabic. Bismillah literally means "In the Name of Allah", and is followed by the symbol of crossed swords on the clocktower at Mecca (Saudi Arabia), which is used universally throughout the Muslim world to signify Islam.

Note: The Greek and Arabic language is read from right to left*3 χ *2 ξ *1 ϛ Every muslim in the world MUST BOW DOWN towards the city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia 5 times a day for prayer, this of course is a basic form of worship thus all muslims are worshipping this beast / system

We say that only the first two words Bismi (Name of) and llah (Allah) are necessary to constitute the Basmalah. The similarities between the two sets of letters/words led us to the conclusion that it was possible that John, to whom God revealed the visions of Revelation, saw the Arabic writing and recorded them with their Greek letter counterparts. This would fulfill the requirement that the number 666 also depict the Name of Blasphemy or as we point out, the Name of Allah. [Note: Others have stated that Codex Vaticanus does not contain an original copy of the Book of Revelation but that we may have looked at some other ancient manuscript] The Mark of the Beast The Greek word charagma translated as mark in Revelation 13:16-18 means "a stamp, an imprinted mark". We say that in John's time charagma was reserved for slaves in what was called "a badge of servitude". From a purely Biblical viewpoint, both the Shahada and the Bismillah are profoundly blasphemous, not simply because they put another god in the place of Yahweh, but because, uniquely, they embody a belief system which deliberately opposes Yahweh. They are anti-Yahweh or Antichrist in the fullest sense.

We point out that the Book of Revelation is a statement of what John was shown in his vision of the End Time and the events leading up to battle of Armageddon. When he saw the armies of the Antichrist he saw a mark or sign which was common to every member of that army but absent from the armies of Christ. What was this mark?

The letters for the "mark" or the "number" of the Beast in the original Greek manuscript of the Book of Revelation were Chi, Xi and Stigma - χ ξ ϛ We reason that the word "number" could as easily be translated "multitude" and that the word "name", as already noted, could designate a "creed". In which case "the number of his name" could actually mean "the multitude of his creed" -that is the vast number of people who follow the Antichrist religion. If that is the case, then it is reasonable to assume that each of these warriors, when arrayed in battle, was proclaiming his affiliation with this creed by wearing a religious armband or headband with an appropriate, universally recognised slogan or mark -John specifically notes that the warriors wore the "mark of the beast" on either their head or their arm. This mark could be one of the two credal slogans of Islam, the Shahada or the Bismillah. We offer convincing evidence that it is in fact the Bismillah, or specifically the first two words thereof (Bism and Illah), preceded by the crossed swords of Islam.

When John had his vision he saw the Bismillah slogan on all the Antichrist warriors. It was the one thing that absolutely set them apart from everyone else. So, when he recorded the Bismillah mark in his manuscript, the early copyists assumed the three symbols -the crossed swords followed by two Arabic words -were actually Greek letters (since the entire manuscript was otherwise in Greek).

The Whore of Babylon the Woman in the Desert

Many scholars have identified the whore of Babylon with the Roman Catholic Church. There are many parallels between the whore or decadent woman described in the Book of Revelation and the pageantry, militancy and apostasy of the Roman Catholic Church down through the ages. However, we state that such an interpretation is simply not consistent with the rest of Biblical prophecy and that an interpretation should be sought which completely fits with the entire End Time scenario. (In saying this we do not appear to dismiss the possibility that the savage persecution of born-again Christians by the Catholic Church may have been a type, that is an instance where a Biblical prophecy is partly fulfilled by an intermediate entity or agency which happens to shed even greater light on the main subject of the prophecy. For example, Antiochus Epiphanes, who carried out an abomination in the Temple in Jerusalem in 167 BC, is generally taken to be a type of the Antichrist prophesied by Daniel, who will carry out a similar abomination.)

In fact, the type-based approach when we propose that Babylon of old is actually a type of the "Mystery Babylon" mentioned in the Book of Revelation. Both Isaiah and Revelation use the highly prophetic phrase, "Babylon [the great] is fallen, is fallen". This connection is extremely important since it links Isaiah's prophecy, in all its details, with John's vision. We know that Isaiah's prophecy has not yet been fulfilled since the ancient city of Babylon was never actually destroyed. The Persians took it from the Babylonians by stealth, entering the city by night after diverting the river from the city walls. It was virtually a bloodless conquest which left the city completely intact. In the centuries that followed, as Babylon waned in political and commercial importance, it was never subjected to a destructive assault -certainly nothing of the kind envisaged by Isaiah -but simply faded away.

If one examines Isaiah's prophecy regarding the future destruction of Babylon, one will find several references to specific locations, but none of them are in ancient Babylon or the surrounding plain of Shinar. In fact, they are all in Arabia: Arabia is actually referred to twice by name, while all of the regions or locations mentioned are in Arabia -Dumah, Seir, Dedan, Tema (or Teman) and Kedar. We have already made reference to Seir, Dedan and Teman. Kedar is a reference to the tribe of the Kedarites, descendants of Kedar, son of Ishmael, who lived in Arabia. Dumah was yet another of Ishmael's twelve sons, also based in Arabia.

If Isaiah had actually been referring to ancient Babylon in his prophecy, and not Arabia, he would surely have cited locations or regions found in the plain of Shinar (Sumer) -such as Ur, Susa, Der, Akkad, Sippar, Tekrit, Assur, Nippur, Eshnunna or Nineveh (See maps#60 and #64 in The Moody Atlas of Bible Lands(1985). However, he made no reference to any of these. We cite several other prophetic references which identify Babylon with Saudi Arabia. We note, for example, that Isaiah opens his prophecy about Babylon by referring to it as, "The burden [or oracle] of the desert of [or by] the sea": while John in the Book of Revelation makes a special point of stating that the angel took him in spirit into the desert to see the harlot. Isaiah's reference to "the desert by the sea" is very telling since the Arabian peninsula is a vast desert surrounded on three sides by the sea -the Persian Gulf, the Gulf of Oman, the Arabian Sea, the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea. No other desert region in the Middle East comes remotely close to fitting this description. The angel said to John: Here he is referring, not just to Arabia, but to a particular city with in Arabia. There are a few strong candidates -Riyadh, Jedda, Medina, Mecca, and Damman. However, the city must possess certain characteristics, notably it must have reigned over the kings of the earth and exercised significant spiritual control over them. Only one city fits this description perfectly -Mecca. Countless Muslim "kings" -leaders, monarchs, eminent, magnates and religious dignitaries -from dozens of countries around the world have bowed to Mecca from time immemorial and submitted to its authority.

This authority comes from its pre-eminent role in Islam, the holiest of holy cities and home of the sacred Ka'aba. The Qur'an stipulates in one of the five injunctions that are binding on all Muslims that they visit this holy city atleast once in their lifetime. This pilgrimage, known as the hajj, is considered sacred by Muslims and is an acknowledgment by them that Mecca is the centre of world -not just the world of Islam, but of the world in every sense, as viewed by Allah. The ultimate goal of Islam is to turn every person on earth into a hajji, someone who has visited Mecca and submitted unconditionally to the will of Allah. Thus no city of earth can compare in any way with Mecca in its profession of contempt for Yahweh and the Jewish religion. It is the complete inverse of Jerusalem or Zion, the City of David.

While there are several cities on earth today which are filled with corruption, vice, black magic and every type of perversion, their blasphemous -as distinct from sinful -nature is not remotely comparable with that of Mecca whose whole existence has been predicated on its outspoken and total rejection of Yahweh since 632 AD (and even before that time).

Mecca is the centre from which the darkest anti-semitic and anti-Christian rhetoric has been broadcast from the earliest times. It even contains a shrine to the moon god, Allah, known as the Ka'aba, which houses a fragment of a meteorite which fell to earth before Muhammad was born and which has been worshipped continuously ever since. The 1.3 billion Muslims in the world today consider it a privilege of the highest order to be allowed to kiss this shrine. On the other hand, if a Christian or a Jew were found in the city he would be executed.

The End Time destruction of Mecca will put an end to all of this. As Jeremiah says: Interestingly, the Book of Revelation states that when this city -the Whore of Babylon -is utterly destroyed, with pillars of smoke rising to the sky. the devastation will be so spectacular that it will be visible to passing ships -even though Mecca is located 45 miles from the Red Sea: The suddenness of its destruction, plus the huge pillars of smoke, would suggest that it will succumb to a nuclear missile attack. The Book of Revelation says that this will be carried out by the Antichrist himself. A number of other Arabian cities will also come under attack, thus completing the annihilation of the "whore" and all of her satellites.

We also show how the Bible even refers to the role that oil has played in the rise of Saudi Arabia and its consequential impact on, and influence over, the entire world economy. For example, he cites the prophecy by Isaiah that the "streams" (nachal, underground springs) of Babylon will be turned into pitch and will burn forever: Pitch, of course, is bitumen, or oil in its unrefined state. Jochebed, the mother of Moses, sealed his little basket of bulrushes with pitch, but no one at that time would have imagined that pitch could be used in the manner foreseen by Isaiah. The fires he describes are very similar to the great oil fires of Kuwait after the first Gulf War.

Oil is also referred to in the Book of Revelation (17:2) as the "wine of her fornication", that is the source of her vast wealth which she has used to finance every conceivable form of depravity.

Turkey as the Anti-Christ Power Base

We go further than most Bible scholars in identifying the country from which the Antichrist will emerge. From our examination of Scripture, and given the central role that Islam plays in the End Time catastrophe, we conclud that the Antichrist will come out of Turkey. Our reasons are as follows:

• #1. Ezekiel
  Ezekiel linked the Antichrist with eight geographical locations, five of which are definitely in Turkey -Magog, Meshech, Tubal, Gomer and Togarmah.
• #2. Ottoman Capital
  The most recent Biblical "beast" empire was the Ottoman empire, whose capital, Constantinople, was in Turkey. This was also the capital of the eastern or Byzantine wing of the Roman Empire. Since the eighth "beast" empire will be a revival of the seventh, it is reasonable to infer that Turkey will play a key role.
• #3. The people of the prince to come
  As we have already seen, over 80 percent of the troops which destroyed the holy city of Jerusalem in 70 AD were Turkish, Assyrian and Arabic. Since these are "the people of the prince to come", according to Daniel, this is further evidence that the Antichrist will be a Turk or come from the region of modern Turkey/Syria.
• #4. Antiochus Epiphanes
  We have also noted that Antiochus Epiphanes was the main historical "type" of the Antichrist, whom Daniel described as "the king of the north". The Seleucid Empire, which Antiochus ruled, was located north of both Jerusalem and Babylon and included the territory of modern Turkey.
• #5. The Assyrian
  Isaiah referred repeatedly to the Antichrist as "the Assyrian". Both Micah and Hosea also refer to him as "the Assyrian". Since the Assyrian Empire embraced a large portion of modern Turkey, it is further Biblical evidence that the Antichrist will come from that region.
• #6. Ionia
  Zechariah speaks ofthe End Time conflict in the following terms:
  Zechariah 9:13

  ¹³When I have bent Judah for me, filled the bow with Ephraim, and raised up thy sons, O Zion, against thy sons, O Greece, and made thee as the sword of a mighty man.
  Ephraim and Judah are the combined houses of Israel, while Zion represents the essential unity of the Jewish people. These are confronted by "the mighty man", the Antichrist -whom Zechariah connects with Greece. The word translated "Greece" is Yavan(Strong's reference H3120). Yavan was a son of Japheth who settled in Asia Minor, defined by Strong as Greece and Ionia. The latter corresponds with the western part of modern Turkey.
• #7. Pergamum The Book of Revelation also points to Turkey:
  Revelation 2:12-13

  ¹²And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write; These things saith he which hath the sharp sword with two edges; ¹³ I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satan's seat is: and thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth.
  Pergamum or Pergamos is on the west coast of modern Turkey. This is a very significant reference since it is the only time that the Bible tells us the actual location of Satan's throne or seat of power (thronos). We know from Isaiah 14 that he wants to exalt it above the stars (the angels), but we are not otherwise told its location. (Note that Pergamum is in Ionia.)
  
  The Pergamum Altar was built about three hundred years before John penned the Book of Revelation. Today it is housed in the Pergamum Museum in Berlin, having been reconstructed from thousands of frieze fragments. This great monument to Zeus (Satan), which is about 36 metres wide and 33 metres deep, is revered by practitioners of witchcraft and the occult the world over and many make a pilgrimage to Berlin to connect with its perceived supernatural power.
• #8. Supposed Neutrality
  Turkey has possibly been the most impartial Muslim state in its attitude to Israel. It has long housed an American military base in its territory and is a member of NATO. It has also been trying to join the EU. Since the Antichrist will make a seven year peace treaty with Israel, we know he must be trusted by the Jewish people. At present, Turkey is the Islamic country most trusted by Israel, so it is the one most likely to produce the Antichrist.
• #9. Military Might
  Turkey has an enormous military capability. Among the 26 members of NATO, only the US has a larger army. The military has always played a major role in Turkish politics and has removed the civil government in nofewer than three coups d'etats since 1950. Traditionally, Turkey has always been the most militarised and belligerent of the Islamic states, even to the extent of siding formally with the Axis Powers in World War I.
• #10. Historically Anti-semitic and Anti-Christian
  Historically, Turkey has always been deeply anti-semitic and anti-Christian, though they make every effort to conceal this. For example, Turkey was responsible for the 1915-1917 genocide against the Armenians -virtually all of whom were Christian -in which 1.5 million people lost their lives, yet it continues to this day to deny this appalling crime.

Deceieve, Deception, and Admission

The Qur'an describes Allah as the best deceiver there is, a liar who is not above using the same evil and wicked schemes of his opponents. For example, the Qur'an calls Allah a makr, in fact the best makr there is: Other texts that identify Allah as a makr include: The word for deception/deceiver/scheme is makr. The lexical sources define the term as: Miim-Kaf-Ra = To practice deceit or guile or circumvention, practice evasion or elusion, to plot, to exercise art or craft or cunning, act with policy, practice stratagem. here is a snapshot of Lanes Lexicon for the proof: And here is a link to that very Lexicon here:
http://ejtaal.net/aa/#hw4=1089
https://wikiislam.net/wiki/Allah,_the_Best_Deceiver_(Qur'27an_3:54)
What does the bible say about Deceivers: John 8:44 "and you want to do the desires of your father" is reflected in: Here is a extensive and very detailed study on this concept by Sam Shamoun can be found here:
https://www.answering-islam.org/Shamoun/allah_best_deceiver.htm
Recommended Reading:
http://answering-islam.org/Shamoun/allah_deceiver.htm http://answering-islam.org/Authors/Wood/deceptive_god.htm http://answering-islam.org/Shamoun/does_god_deceive.htm http://answering-islam.org/Shamoun/preserved-crucifixion.htm http://answering-islam.org/Responses/Osama/zawadi_paul_deceiver.htm http://answering-islam.org/Quran/Contra/command_evil.htm https://answering-islam.org/Shamoun/god.htm

Allah Denies God is not the Fathership and he has no Son

It's very important to note that the bible is very specific when it comes to who this anti-christ really is, God tells us in 1 John 2:22 The concept of a liar is mentioned four other times in this letter (1 John 1:10; 2:4; 4:20; 5:10). A liar denies Jesus is the Savior. A liar may acknowledge some aspects of who Jesus is, but does not accept the true message of Jesus as both fully human and fully divine. After mentioning "antichrists" in verse 18, John adds that an antichrist denies the Father and Son. One noted aspect of an antichrist, or false teacher, in this verse, is that the false teacher denies the triune God. Allah denies that he is a Father to anyone and declares that he absolutely has NO SON! and if you say that he does have a son, you are partnering with Allah it is considered to be the absolute unforgivable sin in islam punishable by death! and this is why Christians are guilty because "Father", "Son", "Holy Spirit" are attributed to God (Triune) Trinity. So if anyone makes the claim that "We" Christians worship the same God as the muslims are in clear error. For example we read in Qur'an 5:72 - 73... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shirk_(Islam)
According to the Encyclopedia of Islam, the Quran states "twice", in Chapter 4, verses 48 and 116, "that God can pardon all sins save one", that of shirk ("associationism"). Blasphemy in Islam is impious utterance or action concerning Allah, but is broader than in normal English usage, including not only the mocking or vilifying of attributes of Islam but denying any of the fundamental beliefs of the religion. Examples include denying that the Quran was divinely revealed, the prophethood of Muhamamd, insulting an angel, or maintaining Allah had a son.

In the modern Muslim world, the laws pertaining to blasphemy vary by country, and some countries prescribe punishments consisting of fines, imprisonment, flogging, hanging, or beheading. In the modern era some states have used charges of blasphemy in an effort to burnish their religious credentials and gain popular support. Here are other verses in the Qur'an to hammer down this point: Qur'an (2/116), (2/120), (2/136), (4/171), (6/100-101), (21/25-26), (39/4)

Allah hates the King of Kings

"King of Kings" (βασιλεὺς τῶν βασιλευόντων) is used in reference to Jesus Christ several times in the Bible, notably once in the First Epistle to Timothy (6:15) and twice in the Book of Revelation (17:14, 19:11–16);[55]... which He will bring about at the proper time-He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, ... Following the fall of the Sasanian Empire in 651 AD, the title of Shahanshah was sternly criticized in the Muslim world. It was problematic enough that the adoption of Shahanshah by the Muslim Buyid dynasty in Persia required a body of jurists to agree on its lawfulness and the title itself (both as "king of kings" and as the Persian variant Shahanshah) is condemned in Sunni hadith, a prominent example being Sahih al-Bukhari Book 73 Hadiths 224 and 225;

Allah's Apostle said, "The most awful name in Allah's sight on the Day of Resurrection, will be (that of) a man calling himself Malik Al-Amlak (the king of kings)." Sahih al-Bukhari Book 73 Hadith 224
https://sunnah.com/bukhari/78/229 Muhammad the (false)Prophet said, "The most awful (meanest) name in Allah's sight." Sufyan said more than once, "The most awful (meanest) name in Allah's sight is (that of) a man calling himself king of kings." Sufyan said, "Somebody else (i.e. other than Abu Az-Zinad, a sub-narrator) says: What is meant by 'The king of kings' is 'Shahan Shah.,"Sahih al-Bukhari Book 73 Hadith 225"

The condemnation of the title within the Islamic world may stem from that the concept of God alone being king had been prominent in early Islam. Opposing worldly kingship, the use of "King of Kings" was obnoxious and blasphemous.
https://sunnah.com/muslim/38/26

Behold a pale horse

It is often in mis-translated that the wod Pale means a dull white or a dull (other) but this is completely wrong as you can see in Thayer's Greek Lexicon STRONGS NT 5515: χλωρός χλωρός, χλωρά, χλωρόν, from χλόη, tender green grass or grain; Transliteration: chlóros, Phonetic Spelling: (khlo-ros') Pale Green flag with Sword and the Name of Death (Allah in the Qur'an says he is the bringer of Death) al-Mumit ٱلْمُمِيتُ (The Bringer of Death 3:156, 7:158, 15:23) Notice: fourth part of the earth are adherents of Islam, they constitute the world's second largest religious group. According to a study in 2015, Islam has 1.8 billion adherents, making up about 24.1% of the world population growing to 25% "1/4" (fourth part of the earth). In 2020 the percent of the world is Muslim is now 24.9% 1.907 billion they are now at 25% 1/4.

The arrival of the Mahdi will be facilitated by the reintroduction of the Caliphate. The office of Caliph was continuously in existence from the foundation of Islam until 1924, when it was abolished following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. The Caliph combines the religious and temporal leadership of Islam in one individual. If the leading Islamic countries succeed in setting aside their differences and agree the basis on which the Caliphate could be introduced, it would instantly become the most powerful political structure on the planet. It is precisely the kind of official position that the Mahdi could be expected to occupy on his return.

Whoever changes his Islamic religion then kill him

https://sunnah.com/nasai/37/94 https://sunnah.com/nasai/37/95 https://sunnah.com/nasai/37/96 https://sunnah.com/nasai/37/97 https://sunnah.com/nasai/37/99 https://sunnah.com/nasai/37/98 https://sunnah.com/nasai/37/100 https://sunnah.com/nasai/45/16 https://sunnah.com/urn/1268520 https://sunnah.com/urn/414650 https://sunnah.com/urn/2053430 https://sunnah.com/tirmidhi/17/42 https://sunnah.com/bukhari/88/5 "Whoever changes his Islamic religion, then kill him."

It was narrated from 'Abdullah that the Messenger of Allah said: "It is not permissible to shed the blood of a Muslim except in one of three cases: A soul for a soul, a adulterer who has been married, and one who separates leaving his religion