CAN WE EXPECT A MUSLIM ANTI-CHRIST? PART 1

     

Looking at Micah 5, this evening, I was struck with something that I have read over and over and never really grasped, concerning end time prophecy.  God clearly identifies the Anti-Christ by the title, the Assyrian.  Micah 5:5-6  And he shall be their peace. When the Assyrian comes into our land and treads in our palaces, then we will raise against him seven shepherds and eight princes of men;   they shall shepherd the land of Assyria with the sword, and the land of Nimrod at its entrances; and he shall deliver us from the Assyrian when he comes into our land and treads within our border.  This passage comes immediately after the well known prophecy concerning Christ being born in Bethlehem and a reference to His millennial reign.  

Not long after I read this and pondered the growing movement among prophecy buffs to identify the Anti-Christ as a Muslim, I saw an article stating Russia is now using Iranian air bases to stage attacks on Syria, bringing to mind Ezekiel 38 & 39.  (CLICK HERE for article)  As I pondered these things, I was reminded of Erogan of Turkey who just emerged from an attempted coup stronger than ever.  

     I must confess, I have always been in the camp that believes the EU would be the revived Roman Empire of Daniel's prophecy (which we will look at in a moment) and the Anti-Christ would be a European leader, who would emerge in a time of great crises and unite the world under one government and religion. I am beginning to rethink this and am going to postulate a theory that the Anti-Christ can indeed come from the Middle East, be a Muslim and still be considered part of a revived Roman Empire, according to Daniel's interpretation of King Nebuchadnezzar's dream. 

Daniel's interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar's dream 
  
  The prophet Daniel interpreted a dream for King Nebuchadnezzar, in which God revealed to the king all the major world empires that would rule the region up to the coming of Christ's kingdom.  Daniel 2 records this prophecy, if you are unfamiliar with it, you may want to go read it for yourself before continuing.  History tells us that the prophecy was dead on and we can easily identify each empire and it's geographic role.  For our purposes, I would like to focus on the legs of iron and feet of iron mixed with clay.  The legs of iron, indisputably refer to the Roman Empire.  Every Bible scholar agrees on this point.  The interesting thing is the fact that the Roman Empire is depicted as two legs.  Every previous empire enveloped the Middle East and Northern Africa, Rome was the first to envelope all of the land occupied by previous empires, plus greater Europe.  Rome was by far the most prolific empire due to it's sheer size.  

For many years, prophecy scholars have believed that the rise of the European Union was the revived Roman Empire, described in Nebuchadnezzar's dream as two feet made up of iron and clay.  Surely the EU is a major component of this prophecy, but often neglected is the fact that Bible prophecy deals almost exclusively with the region we call the Middle East, the Anti-Christ is alluded to as coming from the region of the Middle East, and the kingdom of the Anti-Christ is referred to as Babylon, a direct reference to Nimrod, the forerunner of the Anti-Christ.  Nimrod was the first person to rise to power and attempt to unite the world under one government and one religion, in opposition to God and declaring himself divine.  Evidence suggests that the Anti-Christ will come from the Middle East, yet have a strong leadership role connected to the EU.  Until recently, such a scenario would have seemed unlikely, even impossible.

The EU and Islam and the Jesuit takeover of the Roman Church

      The majority of the Eastern remnant of the Roman Empire is

under Muslim control.  Currently, Europe, the land of origin of the Roman Empire is considered Christian, mostly under the influence of Roman Catholicism.  This traditionally posed a major problem for prophecy buffs trying to reconcile a revived Roman Empire, clearly depicted by the feet of clay and iron, with a Middle Eastern Anti-Christ.  Casting more confusion into the mix is a reference made by the prophet Daniel concerning the Anti-Christ, recorded in Daniel 9.  Daniel writes that the Messiah will come, be cut off  and the people of the prince who will come will destroy Jerusalem.  Daniel 9:26  And after the sixty-two weeks, an anointed one shall be cut off and shall have nothing. And the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. Its end shall come with a flood, and to the end there shall be war. Desolations are decreed. Clearly, Rome was the "people of the prince who will come".  In the very next verse, Daniel directly references the Anti-Christ's rise to power: Daniel 9:27  And he shall make a strong covenant with many for one week, and for half of the week he shall put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall come one who makes desolate, until the decreed end is poured out on the desolator." Daniel 9 is one of the most important prophecy passages in scripture as it allows us to calculate to the very day the first coming of Messiah and identifies the Anti-Christ as being the head of a revived Roman Empire.  

      No one could have predicted the rise of Islam that has taken place around the world in recent years.  Currently, Europe, because of misguided principles, is undergoing a silent Muslim invasion.  London has elected an openly Muslim mayor and major European cities are being overrun and terrorized by Muslim refugees. Slowly, the very face of Europe is changing as EU governments seem impotent in facing the challenges brought by waves of Sharia Law abiding Islamists.   The Muslim takeover of Europe reconciles these prophecies.                                                                         

Here is an eye opening vido detailing the Islamazation of Europe

Traditionally, the Roman Church was a stalwart against the influence of Islam.  Going back to the days of the Crusades when the Jesuits led military campaigns against the Ottomans, driving Islam out of Europe and slowing it's growth and influence in the Eurasia.  Unfortunately, the Jesuits chose the use of military might to battle against Islam, rather than evangelistic campaigns.  Caught up in Papal zeal, the Jesuits went on a mad killing spree in which Jews and Protestant Christians were targeted along with Muslims.  While the Islamic forces were bent on military conquest, the Jews and Protestants were not.  The times of the Crusades and the later Spanish Inquisition are dark times for the Roman Church.  

BLACK POPE/WHITE POPE UNITED 

     In the mid 1960's during the transition of the Vatican 2 council, the Jesuit order was undergoing a major transition of it's own.  The order begun by Ignatius Loyola, for the express purpose of defending the Pope and his decrees, rebelled against Papal authority and embraced Liberation Theology and Marxism.  The order of the Jesuits no longer believed in a special creation of man, the deity of Christ, sexual purity nor the prohibition of abortion.  Pope Paul VI attempted to challenge the head of the Jesuit Order and sanction their rebellion, only to be met with an assassination attempt. Too old and weak, Paul VI was unable to oppose the transition of Jesuitism from strict Papist to seemingly atheists. Pope John Paul I was preparing to deliver a strong rebuke to the Jesuit order, however, two weeks prior to his scheduled meeting, he died under mysterious circumstances and few in Vatican circles deny he was murdered.  Pope John Paul II delivered John Paul I's prepared speech to the Jesuit Order, planning on bringing them back to orthodoxy with threats of ex communication.  Shortly after, John Paul II met with an assassin's bullet.  Coincidence?  You decide.  Coincidence or not, John Paul II no longer made bringing the the Jesuits to Papal obedience a priority.  Joseph Ratzinger, the Vatican's doctrinal expert became Pope Benedict XVI until health concerns forced him into early retirement.  Enter Pope Francis - the first Jesuit pope.  By the time Francis ascended to power, the Jesuits were the renegade branch of the Roman Catholic Church, actively challenging every sacred doctrine, openly supporting secularism to the point of seeming atheist. In fact, well known atheist and nemesis of all things sacred and moral, Bill Maher declared that he believed the Pope must also be an atheist  based on Francis' stated position on many social issues.  In the sense that a broken clock is right twice per day, I may have to agree with Maher on this one. (CLICK HERE to read more on Francis' heresy)  

    So, I say all that to say this, if the Roman Church was once the sole protector against Islam in Europe, that line of defense is now gone as Pope Francis openly visits Mosques and prays with Imams.(CLICK HERE for more on Francis embracing Islam)  The False Prophet of Revelation shall be a well respected religious figure who will eventually direct all human worship and devotion to the Anti-Christ.  Is it possible that Francis may indeed be the False Prophet of Revelation?  Again, you can decide that for yourself.  The fact is, aside from Christian evangelism, there is no force capable of stemming the Islamic takeover of Europe.  Christians need to pray for a great spiritual awakening. 

This concludes part 1 of this topic, in part 2, I will link Russia and Iran together in an invasion against Israel, according to Ezekiel 38 &39, the connection between Turkey and the ancient city of Ninevah and the Muslim's 12th Imam prophecy in relation to the Beast of Revelation