The New World Power To Rise

The New World Power To Rise 

Today, terrorists loom at large.  We are rightfully waiting for Christ to return, but in the interim, wrongfully nor praying or praying very little for world events not realizing our prayers can shape history!  Some Bible prophecy teachers now claim that Islam will become the end time world religion of the anti-Christ. But this is not what the Bible says!

The rise of the Sunni Jihadis of the ISIS believe that if the infidels (that is everyone who is not Islamic) are to be annihilated as this will hasten the arrival of the 12th Imam and for this reason, terrorism is on the pathway of destruction of all the nonbelievers to hasten the 12th Imam's arrival and "purify" the world to birth his arrival and rule. If noticed, an Islamic terrorist is not asking for any material wealth or trying to strike a treaty.  Their goal is eradication of other races simply to prepare the way for the 12th Imam

As some Bible prophecy teachers now claim that Islam will become the end time world religion of the anti-Christ, this teaching comes from the fact some Muslims are waiting for a Messiah called the Mahdi or the 12th Imam, and because of this, the theory rises that the Muslim world will rally to the anti-Christ when he appears, thinking that he is their 12th Imam. This is what is causing the Jihadis to kill non Islamics with a fury that all of us infidels are polluting the world and delaying the arrival of the 12th Imam.

The Arabs according to the Bible will attack Israel in the end times trying to take Israel's land and in Ezekiel 35:6-7, 15, God will make the Arab lands desolate.  Yet God has a plan for the Arabs too, and during the Tribulation, a remnant of the Arabs along with the Jews will turn their hearts to the one and only true God, Yahweh (Jeremiah 12:14-17).  Even today, many Muslims are turning to Christ, through the decades in very supernatural ways through even dreams and visions of Christ!

A prophecy concerning the future salvation of an Arab remnant is in Isaiah 19:16-25. Isaiah says that when the Lord strikes Egypt and Assyria, they will turn to Him and He will have compassion on them and “heal them.” Isaiah then presents an incredible picture of Egypt, Assyria, and Israel living together in peace, worshiping the same God!

While some of us may think the anti-Christ is a Muslim, the Bible teaches that the anti-Christ will be of Roman descent and will rise to power in Europe. The book of Daniel clearly states that the anti-Christ will come from among the people whose armies destroy the Temple.

"A ruler will arise whose armies will destroy the city and the Temple" (Daniel 9:26, NLT).

The city and the Temple referenced in this passage were destroyed in AD 70 by Titus and the Roman legions, but Titus was not the ruler spoken of in this verse. Daniel 9:27 describes the ruler as one who will make a seven-year treaty with Israel, put an end to the sacrifices and offerings, and set up a sacrilegious object that causes desecration. These are events that will occur during the life of the anti-Christ.  The book of Daniel says that the anti-Christ will come from among the people who destroyed the Temple. Therefore, we can be certain that the anti-Christ will come from among the Roman people.

Daniel 9:26 refers to the power base from which the anti-Christ will operate. The book of Daniel clearly states that the final world empire before the establishment of Christ's millennial kingdom will be a resurrected form of the Roman Empire. The anti-Christ will be the ruler of a revived Roman Empire, which will "devour the whole earth," and in this way, Christians will be able to recognize him as the anti-Christ. The Bible teaches that the initial religion that the anti-Christ will openly profess is Catholicism.  This is seen in Revelation 17 where the religion of the end times is represented by a whore who is “drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the witnesses of Jesus” (Revelation 17:6). This religion is pictured as being seated on “seven mountains” (Revelation 17:9). This imagery which, in the apostle John’s time most certainly is referring to Rome.  This identification is affirmed at the end of the chapter when John states that the woman is also “the great city which reigns over the kings of the earth” (Revelation 17:18). Definitely, in John’s time, this could only be a reference to Rome.  The Muslims at large would never accept the anti-Christ's world religion and as they are "radical and intolerant" would never accept another religion or worship someone claiming to be god and they will never bow before a European either if the anti-Christ is Roman, so they too will suffer during the tribulation and accordingly many will turn to Christ.  Even today over the decades, we see, millions of Muslims are turning to Christ the Savior.  Their testimonies are unusual either seeing Christ in a dream or some even accepting Christ due to the rising violence seen in Islam today.

Some Bible scholars believe that the anti-Christ will use Islam as his world religion.  But not so, as in the Tribulation, possibly at its mid-point, the anti-Christ will turn against the Catholic Church and destroy it, (Revelation 17:16). He and his False Prophet will then create a new religion that will mandate the worship of the anti-Christ as god on earth (Revelation 13:11-17).

The Muslims who do not accept the anti-Christ's religion will undergo persecution along with the Jews.  The result is a war in Revelation 6, probably nuclear, Revelation 8 and 9 and these wars result in the death of half of humanity during the first three and a half years of the Tribulation.

The anti-Christ will be the only dictator in the world who ever had control of all the people in the nations at one time having “authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation” (Revelation 13:7).  A third or more of the earth will be ruined and one-half of humanity left alive will suffer nuclear poisoning and left in a half alive condition with sores that never heal in Revelation 16:2 and 11.

At the middle of the Tribulation, the anti-Christ will desecrate the Temple in Jerusalem and declares himself to be god, the Jews will reject him, and he will start annihilating them during the last three and a half years of the Tribulation (Revelation 12:13-17). He will be successful in killing two-thirds of them (Zechariah 13:7-9).

While killing the Jews, the Bible says that his worldwide empire will start to fall apart as Asia will revolt against him, sending an army of 200 million to overthrow him  in Revelation 9:13-18, Revelation 16:12, and Daniel 11:44-45.

It is evident from this that it is Rome under the rise of the anti-Christ initially adopting the religion of Catholicism and later on the anti-Christ wants to establish his own religion of worship of himself.

Here, we see Islam does not figure as a world dominating power, but rather another one who will rise in Rome and start his rule in Europe initially to spread to the world.

So, today, let us pray for the Arabs and Muslims that the Lord may touch and turn many to Him.  Let us not hate and judge them as God has a plan for them too, to turn to Him and to accept Christ as their Savior.  Already, many Arabs are turning to Christ!

We forgot how to pray, how to plead prayers for ourselves, for families, friends, for countries, and for nations.  Prophesy will happen in the very end, in the Last Battle between God's Kingdom and the Kingdom of Darkness, but in this intervening time we have left, much evil can be prevented as we fall down on our knees and intercede, we are still not at the very end.  God's clock is different from our clock.

There were great intercessors in the past who pleaded before God, to hold back the judgment and instead pour down mercy, and God did it.  Exodus 32:11-14New International Version (NIV)  11  We could pray that millions of people would come to Christ, to experience His forgiveness, the joys of His Presence and be in Heaven one day.

Let us prepare for the day of the rapture of the church, so many more can go to Heaven, and many more can escape the more evil tribulations to come on Earth...

© Rita Farhat Kurian