The Antichrist is Islamic (Revised)

This blog is for all you eschatology thinkers out there.  I have an important announcement:  You may think seriously about adjusting your “charts,” particularly if you are a follower of Lindsey, LaHaye, or Hagee, because this study considers why I believe that the Antichrist is a Muslim (source material is from the book The Islamic Antichrist by Joel Richardson).  His best proof for that claim is by proving that the same man is in the Bible and in the Quran.  The irony is, this man is the Antichrist in the Bible, but he is considered the savior for those who follow the Quran! This one chapter in the book that I will summarize might convince you too. 

Now, first, keep in mind that there is more than one sacred text to their Scripture:  In addition to the foundational Quran (Muhammed’s writings of God's actual words through the "angel"), you have the Sunna (Muhammed’s life and thoughts) and the hadiths (Muhammed’s sayings); these are sacred as well.  A true Muslim believer will follow any of these to the death, if need be. 

Why is this study worthwhile?  The Quran records five things that a Muslim must believe in to be a true Muslim; these five areas are fixed and non-negotiable.  As it says in sura 2:177:  “righteous is he who believeth in (1) Allah and (2) the Last Day and (3) the angels and (4) the Scripture and (5) the prophets.”  Note the importance of the Last Day to them.  Eschatology may be optional for study to us Christians, but their scary Last Days may lead the ultra-believer to some irrational and murderous action—on us.  We need to know their predictions of their future, in thinking about a defensive strategy against the determined Muslim who wants to help bring about their version of the Last Day.  There is no doubt in their minds how those days will go, and their scenario does not look good for us. The Bible, thank God, spells a different ending.

Of their many key figures in the Last Days, the man above all men was al-Mahdi,  which means “the Guided One.”  Other names given to him by Shia Muslims are Sahib Al-Zaman and Al-Madhi al-Muntadhar. These names mean “the Lord of the Age” and “the Awaited Savior.”  Let me quote hadiths, much of the details Muslims have in their theology about him.  Then we’ll compare to what the Scripture says about the same man.

What Their Scripture Says:

The Mahdi will be a world ruler

To quote Al-Sadr and Mutahhari (people who interpret Mohammed), “He will reappear on the appointed day, and lead a world revolution, and set up a new world order…   Quoting Izzat and ‘Arif again, this will bring ”victory of the Truth and the fall of all tyrants.” According to Islamic tradition, the Mahdi is said to preside over the entire earth as the final caliph of Islam.

What Our Scripture Says:  

The Antichrist will be a world ruler through military power (Daniel 7:23)

‘The fourth beast shall be A fourth kingdom on earth, Which shall be different from all other kingdoms, And shall devour the whole earth, Trample it and break it in pieces

The first three kingdoms (“beast” or “beasts” can mean kingdoms or people). were Babylon, Medo-Persia, and Greece, most experts agree.  Each of those dominated the known world.  Based on 7:24-25, a revived fourth kingdom will be worldwide, but is yet future. Some say the fourth kingdom was the Roman empire in two parts.  Part 1 has already occurred. Part II is future, they say.  We’re suggesting that this latter kingdom is Islamic.

Revelation 13:7:…authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation.

To continue the comparison with their Scripture and our Scripture:

The Mahdi will be worshiped, a popular political genius

“Allah will sow love of him in the hearts of all people…everyone only talks about Him.”  He will have control over the wind and the rain and the crops; the world will live in prosperity, says Sahih Hakim Mustadrak. 

The Antichrist will be worshiped, a popular political genius (Revelation 13:3,4,8): 

³And I saw one of his heads as if it had been mortally wounded, and his deadly wound was healed. And all the world marveled and followed the beast.…they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?”… ⁸ All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

Daniel 7:19-20:  “Then I wished to know the truth about the fourth beast, which was different from all the others, exceedingly dreadful…²⁰ and the ten horns that were on its head, and the other horn which came up, before which three fell, namely, that horn which had eyes and a mouth,… whose appearance was greater than his fellows. 

“Horns” means kings.  The three and ten horns are what makes this kingdom future.  

The Mahdi will be spiritually good and a Messiah;

Sahih Hakim Mustadrak claims:  “He will give away wealth profusely, flocks will be in abundance.”  He will be perceived to be a miraculous archaeologist, uncovering Jewish and Christian sacred treasures, perhaps to convert them to Islam at the beginning: he finds the Torah (first five books of the Old Testament) from a mountain in Syria, and the Gospel from a town called Antioch (a major town in south-central Turkey during Paul's days).  And if that weren’t enough, the Ark of the Covenant (a wooden chest clad with gold, containing the Ten Commandments) will be brought forth from the Lake of Tiberias and will be placed in Jerusalem.  As quoted by Ayatullah Baqir al-Sadr:  “For the ultimate salvation of mankind he is the Pole Star of hope on which the gaze of humanity is fixed…He stands high above the narrow walls in which humanity is cut up and divided.”  To quote Al-Sadr and Mutahhari, “He will…set up a new world order based on justice, righteousness, and virtue.” From Sachedina again:  “He will create a just social order and a world free from oppression.” 

Our Scripture believes the opposite about him:

The Antichrist will be spiritually the embodiment of evil, with hate and murder at his core beliefs:

II Thessalonians 2:4 shows his hunger to be worshiped, his blasphemy: 

…who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God

Revelation 13:4a shows the Antichrist (the beast) gets his authority from Satan (the dragon):

So they worshiped the dragon who gave authority to the beast

     In further proof of his Antichrist nature, let’s quote Muslim sacred texts which indicate his hatred and murderous spirit.  As Sunan Abu Dawud says, “Every believer will be obligated to support him.”  As Ibn Maja says, “Give him your allegiance, even if you have to crawl over ice.” The Mahdi’s means of accomplishing world revolution will include multiple military jihads (holy wars), as Abduallrahman Kelani says.  Even Harun Yahya, supposedly a moderate, says, “the Mahdi will invade all the places between East and West.” Sheikh Kabbani says, “black flags coming from the area of Khorasan (in Iran) will signify the appearance of the Mahdi is nigh.”  The black flag is the flag of jihad.  On the flag is one word written in Arabic:  punishment.  Here are some really ugly quotes which highlights their anti-Semitism:  Egyptian authors Muhammad ibn Izzat and ‘Arif:  “The Mahdi will be victorious and eradicate those pigs and dogs and idols of this time…will abolish the leadership of the Jews…and put an end to the domination of the Satans who spit evil into people and cause corruption in the earth, making them slaves of false idols and ruling the world by laws other than the Sharia of the Lord of the worlds.”    

To quote a famous Islamic tradition:  “the last hour would not come unless the Muslims will fight against the Jews, and the Muslims would kill them until the Jews would hide behind a stone or a tree and a stone or tree would say:  “Muslim, or the servant of Allah, there is a Jew behind me; come and kill him.” 

The Mahdi will have his seat of authority in Jerusalem

As Tirmidhi says, “No power will be able to stop them and they will finally reach Eela Baitul Maqdas, where they will erect their flags (i.e., the jihad black flags).”  This place is  the Jewish Temple Mount, in Jerusalem, which no longer exists—but will then.  (Will the Jews erect another Temple?)

To quote Izzat and ‘Arif again: Jerusalem will be the location of the rightly guided caliphate and the center of Islamic rule, which will be headed by Imam al-Mahdi. 

The Antichrist will set his throne in God’s Temple (Jerusalem) and desecrate it

Zechariah 14:2: For I will gather all the nations to battle against Jerusalem; The city shall be taken, The houses rifled, And the women ravished.  Half of the city shall go into captivity, But the remnant of the people shall not be cut off from the city.

Matthew 24:15, 21:  “Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (i.e., in Jerusalem)…²¹ For then there will be great tribulation.

To return to direct comparisons:

The Mahdi will present Jews and Christians with a “Hobson’s Choice”

To quote the Ayatollah Ibrahim Amini:  The Mahdi will offer the religion of Islam to the Jews and Christians; if they accept it, they will be spared, otherwise they will be killed.

The Antichrist will present Jews and Christians with a “Hobson’s Choice”

This is in Rev. 12:17, keeping in mind that the Antichrist is the embodiment of Satan (the dragon).  Note the reference to “her offspring, who….keep the..testimony of Jesus Christ.”  This refers to Christians.  Thus, we Christians will not escape the Antichrist’s intense persecution:

And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ

The Mahdi will ride a white horse

The Muslims’ authority for that, surprisingly, is the Bible, of all things (which they consider it a “less than sacred” book).  They quote Revelation 6:1-2:

Now I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals; and I heard one of the four living creatures saying with a voice like thunder, “Come and see.” ² And I looked, and behold, a white horse. He who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer.

The Antichrist will ride a white horse

The same Bible verse is used.  But a deeper inspection proves that this is not a messiah, but a deceiver.  For proof, first, we look at the word “crown.”  The Greek word is “stephanos,” used for the winner of war games.  Jesus’ crown is different, a “diadem,” a kingly crown.  Plus, note the events of subsequent seals in Revelation 6:3-17:  war, famines, death and Hades, martyrdom, and cosmic disturbances.  There is no way this follows a triumphal entry of a Messiah.  No, it follows a deceiver, one who pretends to be a Messiah.  And the world chaotically reels under his hatred and destruction.  

The Mahdi will make a Seven year treaty with Jews

This is the most convincing testimony that the Antichrist and the Mahdi are the same.  Note the hadith first:  this is called the “fourth treaty,” to be made with a descendant of Moses’ brother Aaron the priest.  Now to quote Muhammad Ali Ibn Zubair:  There will be four peace agreements between you and the Romans (i.e., Christians, Westerners).  The fourth will be mediated through a person who will be from the progeny of Hadrat Aaron and will be upheld for seven years.  The people asked, “Who will be the leader of the people at that time?”  The prophet said: He will be from my progeny and will be exactly 40 years of age.

The Antichrist will make a seven year treaty with Jews

This is from Daniel 9:27.  Note the use of “abominations” and “desolate,” which we tie in to Jesus’ reference to the Antichrist (from Matthew 24, above).  Using “seven” to mean “seven years” works best (see my blogs on End Times).

²⁷ Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one seven; But in the middle of the seven he shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering.  And  on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate.

Thus, in these seven important areas, what happens when the Antichrist comes to power will mean the Muslims who read their sacred texts will be completely deceived into thinking this horrible man, this embodiment of Satan, is Their Messiah!  This will bring about, I believe, an intensity to follow their sacred texts—which are texts of murder and hatred.  (I have a blog on their version of Allah vs. our Biblical God). And with over a billion Muslims in the world, they would rise up in religious fervor and perform whatever their sacred texts tell them to.   This would lead to unbelievable deaths and chaos. 

Christians, think nothing of your bodies, which are temporary abodes.  If all this happens in this age, be ready to be a martyr if given the choice of Jesus or al-Mahdi.  Your reward will be a place in heaven for eternity. 

Acknowledgement:  The Islamic Antichrist, Joel Richardson