In 1946 the Military Intelligence Service of the U.S. War Department published a confidential (declassified in 1979) 76-page document on the political force of Islam. It stated:

“The Moslems remember the power with which once they not only ruled their own domains but also overpowered half of Europe, yet they are painfully aware of their present economic, cultural and military impoverishment. Thus a terrific internal pressure is building up in their collective thinking. The Moslems intend, by any means possible, to regain political independence and to reap the profits of their own resources.... The area, in short, has an inferiority complex, and its activities are thus as unpredictable as those of any individual so motivated.

“In an atmosphere so sated with the inflammable gases of distrust and ambition, the slightest spark could lead to an explosion which might implicate every country committed to the maintenance of world peace.”

In a biography of one of the most influential modern Islamic thinkers, Abdullah Azzan, Chris Suellendrop noted that his life “revolved around a single goal, namely the establishment of Allah’s Rule on earth.” When Theo van Gogh, the Dutch film maker was assassinated in 2005, his murderer, Mohammed Bouyeri, attached a note on the body: “Islam will be victorious through the blood of martyrs who spread its light in every dark corner of this earth.”

At his trial he said: “I did what I did purely out of my beliefs. I want you to know that I acted out of conviction and not that I took his life because he was Dutch or because I was Moroccan and felt insulted.”

Analysts have struggled to define the motives behind the growing Islamic violence. Though “inferiority” and “poverty” often come to the top, most say that it goes “unexplained.” When Islamic radicals commandeered a Russian elementary school in 2004 and killed so many children, the world was aghast, yet could not explain. Its lack of outrage rivaled the heinous crime itself.

One out of six people on earth today are Muslims – 2.3 billion strong. They are infiltrating many countries with seemingly unlimited financial resources, creating educational institutions and building mosques, which spew out hatred against Christians. The Koran states:

•    Kill the disbelievers wherever we find them (2:191).

•    Fight and slay the pagans (translation: that’s us) seize them, beleaguer them, and lie    

     in wait for them in every stratagem (9:5).

•    Slay or crucify or cut the hands and feet of the unbelievers (5:34).

•    Strike off the heads of the disbelievers ... [make a] wide slaughter among them,

     carefully tie up the remaining captives [for ransom] (947:4).

•    [Treatment of disbelievers] ... garments of fire shall be cut and there shall be poured

     over their heads boiling water whereby whatever is in their bowels and skin shall be

     dissolved and they will be punished with hooked iron rods (22:19).

•    The Koran also instructs Muslims to slay or crucify or cut the hands and the feet of

     the unbelievers (5:34), fight unbelievers until no other religion except Islam remains (3:85).

Articles are pouring from the presses with titles such as “Judgment Day!” and “It’s Later than We Think” related to this Islamic phenomena. The late Pope John Paul II worked for over twenty years to establish a constructive dialogue with Islamic people. After his death 115 cardinals came to Rome to elect his successor. A Vatican official said that the issue of Islam came up in their discourse and the church was now debating whether to consider it a collaborator in combating secularism or a religious rival. Peter Hans Kolvenback, head of the Jesuits, said last year (2005), “There is an unbridgeable gap between” Christianity and Islam.

Because Islam is a rising world religious force bent on violence and desiring to conquer, many scholars are reinterpreting prophecy, viewing the “man of sin” and the “antichrist” as representing the Islamic world. That’s a problem. There are significant parallels to the characteristics of the Biblical antichrist – but the differences are significant. The papacy, the “classic” antichrist in Protestant literature, fits the mold with precision. Let’s look at some of the issues.

Antichrist Characterized

In both the Old and New Testaments there are many references to an end-time apostate power associated with conflict and desolation. Let’s begin by looking at the comparisons and then the contrasts between Christ and that Antichrist.

Comparisons between Christ and the Antichrist

1. Christ was the subject of Old Testament prophecy: so also is the Antichrist; many are

    the predictions which describe this coming one, see especially Dan. 11:21-45.

2. Christ was revealed only at God’s appointed time: such will also be the case with the

    Antichrist. Of Jesus we read, ‘But when the fulness of time was come, God sent forth

    His Son’ (Gal. 4:4); of the other it is said, ‘And now we know what withholdeth that he

    might be revealed in his time’ (2 Thess. 2:6, Daniel 8:17, 19 – an appointed time).

3. Christ was a Man, a real Man, ‘the Man Christ Jesus’ (1 Tim. 2:5); the Antichrist be –

    ‘that Man of Sin’ (2 Thess. 2:3).

4. Christ is our ‘Great High Priest;’ so Antichrist will yet be “Israel’s” great high priest

    (Ezek. 21:26).

5. Christ was and will be the King of the Jews (Matt. 2:2); the Antichrist will exalt himself

    above God (Dan. 11:36).

6. Christ will be the King of kings (Rev. 17:14); so also will the Antichrist be a king of

    kings (Rev. 17:12,13).

7. Christ wrought miracles: of Him it is said ‘approved of God among you by miracles and

    wonders and signs’ (Acts 2:22); so also will the Antichrist, concerning whom it is

    written, ‘whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying

    wonder’ (2 Thess. 2:9).

8. Christ’s public ministry was limited to three years and a half; so also will the Antichrist’s

    final ministry be (Rev. 13:5).

9. Christ will return to the earth as Prince of Peace (Isa. 9:6,7); the Antichrist will portray a

    time of peace (1 Thess. 5:3).

10. Christ is called ‘the Morning Star’ (Rev. 22:16); so also is the Antichrist (Isa. 14:12).

11. Christ is referred to as Him ‘which was, and is, and is to come’ (Rev. 4:8); the

      Antichrist is referred to as him that ‘was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the

      bottomless pit’ (Rev. 17:8).

12. Christ died and rose again; so also will the Antichrist (Rev. 13:3).

13. Christ will be the object of universal worship (Phil. 2:10); so also will the Antichrist

      (Rev. 13:4).

14. The followers of the Lamb will be sealed in their foreheads (Rev. 7:3; 14:1); so also

      will the followers of the Beast (Rev. 13:16,17).

15. Christ has been followed by the Holy Spirit who causes men to worship Him; so the

      Antichrist will be followed by the Anti-spirit –the False Prophet – who will cause men

      to worship the Beast (Rev. 13:12).

These show the incredible lengths to which God will permit Satan to go in mimicking the Lord Jesus. Did you observe the golden thread that weaves itself through each comparison? We turn now to consider:

Contrasts between Christ and the Antichrist

I. In their respective Designations

1. One is called the Christ (Matt. 16:16); the other the Antichrist (1 John 4:3).

2. One is called the Man of Sorrows (Isa. 53:3); the other the Man of Sin (2 Thess. 2:3).

3. One is called the Son of God (John 1:34); the other the Son of Perdition (2 Thess. 2:3).

4. One is called the Seed of woman (Gen. 3:15); the other the seed of the Serpent (Gen. 3:15).

5. One is called the Lamb (Isa. 53:7); the other the Beast (Rev. 11:7).

6. One is called the Holy One (Mark 1:24); the other the Wicked One (2 Thess. 2:8).

7. One is called the Truth (John 14:6); the other the Lie (John 8:44).

8. One is called the Prince of Peace (Isa. 9:6); the other the wicked, profane Prince (Ezek. 21:25).

9. One is called the glorious Branch (Isa. 4:2); the other the abominable Branch (Isa. 14:19).

10. One is called the Mighty Angel (Rev. 10:1); the other is called the Angel of the Bottomless Pit (Rev. 9:11).

11. One is called the Good Shepherd (John 10:11); the other is called the Idol Shepherd (Zech. 11:17).

II. In their respective Careers

1. Christ came down from heaven (John 3:13); Antichrist comes up out of the bottomless pit (Rev. 11:7).

2. Christ came in Another’s Name (John 5:43); Antichrist will come in his own name (John 5:43).

3. Christ came to do the Father’s will (John 6:38); Antichrist will do his own will (Dan. 11:36).

4. Christ was energized by the Holy Spirit (Luke 4:14); Antichrist will be energized by Satan (Rev. 13:4).

5. Christ submitted Himself to God (John 5:30); Antichrist defies God (2 Thess. 2:4).

6. Christ humbled Himself (Phil. 2:8); Antichrist exalts himself (Dan. 11:37).

7. Christ honored the God of His fathers (Luke 4:16); Antichrist refuses to (Dan 11:37).

8. Christ cleansed the temple (John 2:14,16); the Antichrist defiles the temple (Matt. 24:15).

9. Christ ministered to the needy (Isa. 53:7); Antichrist robs the poor (Psa. 10:8,9).

10. Christ was rejected of men (Isa. 53:7); Antichrist will be accepted by men (Rev. 13:4).

11. Christ leadeth the flock (John 10:3); Antichrist leaveth the flock (Zech. 11:17).

12. Christ was slain for the people (John 11:51); Antichrist slays the people (Isa. 14:20).

13. Christ glorified God on earth (John 17:4), Antichrist blasphemes the name of God in heaven (Rev. 13:6).

14. Christ was received up into heaven (Luke 24:51); Antichrist goes down into the Lake of Fire (Rev. 19:20).”²

The references to an end-time anti-God leader are protean and extensive. His energies are bent on opposition to heaven’s moral and representative framework. There is an irrational quest for power over persons and ideas. At the end there is a battle over individual choice versus subjugation. Loyalty will be defined from moral standards or from ideals based on opposition and rebellion against God. What is the golden thread? The whole Biblical antichrist concept is a religious paradigm bonding the world together.

Islam Characterized

The roots of Christianity, Judaism and Islam go back to Abraham and his two sons. One by God’s purpose, the other from man’s will. Ishmael and his mother Hagar were driven from home, work, family and associations because of hatred towards the heir of God’s promise.³ How did this happen?

•    Hagar and Ishmael (perhaps even Abraham and Sarah) thought Ishmael would

     inherit Abraham’s wealth and the covenant promise.

•    When Sarah became pregnant, their disappointment culminated in hatred towards

     Isaac.

•    Sarah saw that spirit and “mistreated” (NIV) Hagar – Hagar fled. Abraham loved

     Ishmael. This caused “unspoken grief.”⁴

Hagar had idolatrous kindred and Ishmael had intimate associations with heathen women.⁵ Hatred towards Isaac and his descendants were to become a legacy. God did promise Ishmael that he would become a great nation – but noted that he would be:

1.       A wild man

2.       His hand would be against every man

3.       Every man’s hand would be against him

The curse on Ishmael, his life and his future was violence. The prophetic imagery was a destiny against man. The Antichrist was against God. The Ishmaelites were in opposition to and in rebellion against people. The antichrist heritage was in opposition to and in rebellion against the principles of heaven.

The present-day animosity of Islam towards Christianity and the Jews can be traced to the spirit of Ishmael. Out of his line came a man called Muhammad (570–632 A.D.), who founded Islam. It perpetuates the spirit of violence, rebellion and opposition toward mankind. Reconciliation is foreign to its “spiritual” ideals.

He hallowed violence by sanctifying vengeance (Quran 42:39) and fighting (Quran 2:216, 4:74, 9:5 and 61:4, as examples). Will there ever be peace? Never. The stumbling block is Jesus Christ, the “seed of Abraham.”⁶

Complicating the tension is another Biblical story related to Esau. After the birthright was sold to Jacob, the Scriptures say that “Esau hated Jacob” (Genesis 27:41). Esau’s descendants were the Edomites. Over the centuries the descendents of Ishmael and Esau have intermarried. Esau’s grandson was Amalek (Genesis 36:12), the father of the Amalekites. They became bitter foes against Jacob and his descendants. Prophecy said that they would be people of violence “from generation to generation” (Exodus 17:16).

The Prophetic Connection

With these characteristics we question: Is there any imagery in Prophecy that is forward-moving to our time that represents Islam. The answer is in Daniel 11.

Relegated as one of the “more difficult” chapters of Biblical understanding, its study has either been neglected or filled with the fascinations of conjecture. In the light of the “antichrist” metaphors in Daniel 11, an amazing picture unfolds. This has been outlined in detail in three fascinating chapters:

www.endtimeissues.com/articles/163/Daniel-8-12-Ch31-The-Vile-Person-Rises-Again/

www.endtimeissues.com/articles/168/Daniel-8-12-Ch32-Pretending-to-be-Like-God/

www.endtimeissues.com/articles/173/Daniel-8-12-Ch33-The-Papacy-Comes-to-its-End/

The King of the North is a great end-time symbol for the “man of sin,” “the son of perdition” (II Thessalonians 2:3). The description is precise and extensive in Daniel. It ties to the ever-growing accord one can make between that King and the actions and spirit of the Vatican.

Biblically, that vast civil and ecclesiastical power is seen as the “beast” in Revelation 13:1-2. It is honored and even worshiped by the world (something that will never occur with Islam). And – it is tied to spiritualism and apostate Protestantism in a false trinity called Babylon. The King of the North in Daniel is first that anti-Christian pivotal power, but in its greater apocalyptic imagery, Babylon.

Is violence depicted against that “king of the north” by the “king of the south?” Just before Michael stands up (Daniel 12:1-2) and the last scenes of earth’s history unfold, the King of the South fights the “Christian powers” symbolized by the King of the North. The Hebraic description is explicit and reveals what is unfolding today.

Islam is not the antichrist. Any attempt to instruct otherwise undermines the message regarding the papacy. Daniel 11 makes amply clear that the King of the North is against the restoration themes of the covenant. Additionally, the third Angel’s message of Revelation 14 is thematically tied to Daniel 8–12. The Sabbath issue is a pivotal prophetic concern at the end in all those chapters. Only powers that draw that into question can fulfill the antichrist issue. Islam – the antichrist? No way!

Franklin S. Fowler, Jr.

References:

¹www.danielpips.org/article/3370

²www.biblebeleivers.com

³Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 146.

⁴Ibid., p. 147.

⁵Prophets and Kings, p. 174.

⁶www.injil.org