Category Archive: Antichrist

Feb 07

Turkey ‘a useful model for new Arab regimes’

Categories:

Antichrist

by admin

February 7, 2012

Dreams of the caliphate have not died and Turkey intends to be the leader once again. The last caliphate or Islamic Empire died out in 1924. Turkey suffered a head wound. They are trying to assume leadership again. Read Revelatioin chapter 17 to understand how this fits. The caliphate is beginning to rise once again. Even Europe is afraid of what they see as their society and culture fade and Islam grows.

Keep looking up and pray that you are counted as worthy. (Luke 21).

For many in the Arab world, Turkey embodies something of an elusive ideal: an Islamist-based democracy with a strong economy.

A survey published Thursday by the Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation, a non-governmental think-tank, found almost 80 percent of respondents in the Middle East had a favourable view of Turkey, and three out of five considered the country a model for a modern Islamic state.

Following last year’s Arab Spring uprisings, an unprecedented wave of popular revolt that swept the Arab world and led to the ouster of a string of dictators, many analysts are wondering if Turkey serves as a useful example of what a moderate Islamist democracy looks like.

The country is seen as having “reconciled two dynamics: economic growth and a democratic system put in place by an Islamist-derived party,” Turkish foreign policy expert Sinan Ulgan said.

Turkey, a secular Muslim-majority country that straddles Europe and Asia, is viewed especially favourably by many in Libya, Tunisia and Egypt, countries in which Ankara backed the sprawling Arab Spring protest movements which led to the toppling of their dictators.

Turkey’s economy has staged a strong recovery after a severe recession, with gross domestic product (GDP) growing 8.9 percent in 2010 following a contraction of 4.7 percent the previous year.

GDP rose by a record 9.6 percent during the first nice months of 2011.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s AKP party, the Islamist-based party that has been in power since 2002, won a broad victory in June parliamentary elections, gaining 50 percent of the votes.

But some analysts temper the notion of Turkey as a model democracy, pointing to clampdowns on journalists and ongoing problems with the country’s sizable Kurdish population.

About 15 million Kurds live in Turkey, which has a total population of 73 million. The Kurdish population has for decades been trying to establish an independent state in Turkey.

Since 1984, the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) has led an armed rebellion in the Kurdish-majority southeast that has claimed some 45,000 lives.

A 2009 attempt to grant more rights to Kurds and sap support for the PKK went nowhere, and fighting has resumed along with mass arrests.

Critics also point to what they call the “Putinisation” of Erdogan, referring to the Russian prime minister’s at-times hardline stance against opponents.

“The number of those who are filling jails because of their opposing views and actions and those who are agonized by legal proceedings is increasing,” wrote university professor Ahmet Insel in the daily Radikal newspaper. “(The) number of arrested university students is increasing and except a few weak voices, academia is silent.”

At least 70 journalists and writers have been arrested for articles, according to rights groups and media outlets.

Some have been in prison for four years, accused of anti-government sedition, said columnist Semih Idiz in the Milliyet daily newspaper.

“They will probably get not restitution for this, if proven to be innocent in the end, unless they go to the European Court of Human Rights,” Idiz said.

The journalist-defending group Reporters Without Borders said Turkey had failed to implement reforms and continued to target journalists.

“Overseas, we are well aware of these shortcomings in democracy,” Ulgen said, “but Erdogan’s regime keeps on feeding the imagination because compared to political systems in Iran or Saudi Arabia, Turkey’s is preferable.”

For Tunisian academic Amor Boubakri, Turkey’s successes would not be easily replicated in Tunisia, which last year saw the overthrow of its president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, because the country has an increasingly vocal radical Islamist sector.

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Feb 04

666: Mark of the Beast Update

Categories:

Antichrist, Global Economy

by admin

February 4, 2012

India’s ID plan: An end to its inept bureaucracy or an Orwellian nightmare?

Eric Randolph

Sceptics of eye scans have raised fears about identity theft, saying a good quality camera could capture an image of the iris. But for this man joining the UIN in Bhopal, India, recently, it was a scheme worth looking into.

NEW DELHI // A plan to provide each of India’s 1.2 billion citizens with a unique identification number has been praised as an essential programme to impose some efficiency on India’s infamously inept bureaucracy.

But its opponents have said it is ripe for abuse. The government could use it to spy on its citizens and criminals could steal the data and create false identities.

Since the plan was launched in mid-2010, about 110 million Indians have queued up at data-processing centres across the country to have their irises scanned and their fingerprints recorded.

The unique identification (UID) number that arrives in the post a couple of months later can then be used to apply for welfare benefits and set up a bank account, without the endless form-filling and bribe-giving, which often goes along with proving your existence in India.

Headed by the respected former chairman of IT giant Infosys, Nandan Nilekani, the scheme has been a model of unusual government efficiency.

But the programme is now under threat from the Home Ministry, which has its own biometric database.

It collects not only fingerprints and irises, but also sensitive information such as caste and religion, which it wants to use for security purposes.

A turf war between the Home Ministry and the UID Authority led to a compromise last week. The agencies agreed to share their data to avoid duplication. That allowed Mr Nilekani to collect another 400 million people on to his database. The government is providing more than US$1.5 billion (Dh5.5bn) to merge the databases.

The deal is a boon for the Home Ministry, since it has only registered about 8 million citizens on its National Population Register (NPR).

It is unclear how all this information will be stored and shared, but it has done nothing to allay the fears of activists who foresaw the UID scheme turning into an Orwellian nightmare that could target, rather than help, India’s poorest citizens.

“These schemes are changing the relationship between the citizen and the state,” said Usha Ramanathan, an independent legal researcher and an opponent of UID.

“In the current climate, many of the poor don’t want to be identified because they will be subject to harassment.”

The paranoia is not entirely misplaced. The NPR emerged out of a scheme in the early 1990s to identify illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. More than 40,000 Bengali-speakers were later deported within a three-year period.

Many fear that the new data will be similarly used by parties – such as the ultra-right-wing Shiv Sena in Mumbai – that want to identify and remove migrant labourers from other states.

UID supporters said these concerns could be addressed through legal protections, and should not overshadow its work in streamlining welfare delivery.

One of the UID programme’s main tasks will be to cut out the millions of “ghost workers” that exist only on paper and allow contractors to siphon off extra money from the government.

Harsh V Pant

Payments for programmes such as the employment guarantee scheme – which provides 100 days of work to every adult in rural areas – are already starting to bypass middle men and go straight into verified bank accounts.

It is also expected to provide a “portable identity” for internal migrants, who often find it impossible to open bank accounts or receive welfare benefits outside of their home state.

“In a country where so many people are moving for short-term work or long-term relocation, we have not had a method by which people can take their identity with them,” said Pronab Sen, principal adviser at the government’s planning commission.

“Providing these people with public services has always been a problem. That’s where the UID will be essential.”

But much of its success depends on untested methods and technology. There are immediate practical concerns, with technicians reporting widespread difficulties in reading the worn-down fingerprints of manual labourers and the cataract-blocked irises of elderly citizens. Experts also said that without a proper design, the scheme could prove far less secure than its proponents imagine.

“All it would take to steal someone’s biometric identity is a photograph taken with a high-resolution camera or a fingerprint off a glass,” said Sunil Abraham, of the Centre for internet and Security in Bangalore.

“And once your biometric identity has been compromised, there is no way of re-securing it without surgery.”

He points to the recent incident in which several thousand Israeli biometric identities were leaked on to the internet by Saudi hackers. Stolen identities could be used to frame individuals for crimes or set up bank accounts for money laundering.

“I can see a situation in which a black market for biometric identities emerges,” said Mr Abraham.

Many in parliament share these concerns. Last month, the standing committee on finance rejected a proposed bill that required certain legal protections for people in the UID database.

The committee concluded that the standards were drafted with “no clarity of purpose and leaving many things to be sorted out during the course of its implementation … [it has been] implemented in a directionless way with a lot of confusion”.

Mr Nilekani said he will assess the committee’s concerns. “We will review the security concerns in the next six to eight weeks,” he said last week.

But with trust in the government at an all-time low in India, he will have a lot of convincing to do before his opponents back down.

“Every attempt at regulation in this country has failed,” said Ms Ramanathan. “They say this data will not be abused, but how can we believe them?”

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Jan 24

Ottoman Empire Movement

Categories:

Antichrist

by admin

January 24, 2012

Two stories over the weekend bring to light the possibility that the Ottoman/Turk empire could be trying to reform. In Turkey you will see from the attached article that the Erdogan government is trying to remove the Ataturk secular government structure and make it more of an Islamic government and from the second article you will see one of the Stan’s making it’s move toward a purer for of Islam.

Keep looking up!

Turkey: Govt eyes secular events, opposition

Secularity eroded,CHP. ‘Christians intimidated’, Protestants

18 January, 18:38

(ANSAmed) – ANKARA, JANUARY 18 – In a Turkey with a secular constitution and a government and population of the Muslim faith, the social-democrat opposition has denounced an attack by the government and the presidency on the tradition of Ataturk festivities, symbol of the state’s secular nature. The alarm has come on a day in which a daily paper provided details on a report by the Association of Protestant Christian Churches noting numerous ”attacks” on Christian communities. As concerns celebrations linked to the acts of Mustafa Kemal (known as Ataturk, ‘Father of the Turks’), the founder of modern Turkey after World War I resulted in closer ties to the West of the country created from the dissolved Ottoman Empire, a high level representative of the People’s Republican Party (CNP) has denounced an initiative by Head of State Abdullah Gul to place under review celebrations for national festivities. The move is an attempt by the moderate Islamic party AKP under Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to erode Turkey’s secular tradition and that of its founding father, said CHP vice president Birgul Ayman Guler in a statement released yesterday.

These ”shameful acts”, which Erdogan and Gul’s party call ”updating”, are in reality – said the politician – an ”attempt to discredit and sweep away what remains of Ataturk.” Implying that the festivities are mass events that bear little relevance to present times, events redolent of the 1930s or of a dictatorial nation, the presidency confirmed that they are carrying out an ”update”. Heated debate on the matter has been underway for almost a week, when a ministerial circular was issued that (according to a journalistic summary) restricts May 19 student celebrations – a holiday celebrating the day in 1919 on which Ataturk reached Samsun in Anatolia and gave rise to the war of independence – to those held on school property, excluding those in stadiums and in central Ankara. The reason cited for the semi-cancellation of the ceremonies in remembrance of the beginning of the Turkish war of independence is a risk of mishaps and loss of lessons. However, the teachers union has announced an appeal, denouncing an attack on the secular nature of the state, and the CNP have followed in their footsteps in speaking out against it. The cult of Ataturk, and with it the secular nature of the state, is embodied in the enormous mausoleum in Ankara; in an anti-insult law for which journalists remembering him as a dictator are placed under investigation; in omnipresent portraits and in sirens which ring out at 9:05am on November 10, the date of his death in 1938 from cirrhosis of the liver. The cult does, however, come under harsh criticism in political-media debates on the mass killings which occurred during his time as leader (such as those of the Dersim separatists) and requests to change the name of an Istanbul airport dedicated to his adoptive daughter, the war pilot (who engaged in the bombing of Dersim) Sabiha Gokcen.

The attention on the erosion of the legacy of the ultra-secular Ataturk runs parallel to that of the advance of Islam in the country’s politics and society. It is within this context that the opposition paper Milliyet reports on a dossier in which Protestant churches noted a bomb attack in May 2011 on one of their places of worship in Bursa, and shots fired at a Smyrna church in April during religious services. Also noted are access denied to places of worship, missionaries described as security threats in a textbook and numerous rejections of requests for exemption from Islam classes in schools, with the case of a teacher who was not punished in any way after beating a student who did not want to say the the declaration of Muslim belief.

Kazakhstan: Fall of Soviet Union Gives Birth to Islamic Religious Revival in Former Soviet Republic, and the Rise of Islamic Terror

01/19/2012 ICA Leave a comment

By Jacob Zenn – “After the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, the people of Kazakhstan, like those in the rest of the former Soviet Republics, experienced a revival in religious affiliation.

In some sectors of Kazakh society, the repression of spiritual life in the Soviet days was reversed when Kazakhstan became independent in December of that year. Previously non-existent elements of Salafism crept to the surface in Kazakhstan and are now apparent, especially in the southern and western regions of the country located near the Caspian Sea and the volatile North Caucasus.

Salafism is a reform movement of Islam in which followers believe that the life of their Prophet Mohammad and the earliest Muslim community constitutes a universal paradigm for interpreting world events and history…

‘Jihadi-Salafists’ see historical evolution as the unfolding of a single contest: the struggle of Good (true Islam) versus Evil (false Islam and Disbelief)…

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Jan 20

The Powerful Delusion

Categories:

Antichrist, Prophecy Studies

by admin

January 20, 2012

Great article from Jack Kelley of Grace Thru Faith. Enjoy!

The Powerful Delusion

 

 

The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders, and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness. (2 Thes. 2:9-12)

 

It’s no secret that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad  is preoccupied with the coming of a Shiite Islamic messiah figure, al Mahdi.  This continues to raise concern that a nuclear-armed Iran would create the kind of global chaos he believes will be necessary to set the stage for the Mahdi’s return.  Recent events  seem to confirm this.  For example, after years of promising that their nuclear ambitions are purely peaceful, Iran just announced their intention to test a 1 kiloton nuclear warhead this year. Iran’s Supreme Leader is thought to favor announcing Iran’s nuclear capability as an accomplished fact as soon as possible.

Iran  has also made repeated threats to close the Straights of Hormuz, blocking over 35% of the world’s ship borne oil supply, and they’ve warned the US not to send it’s recently departed aircraft carrier back into the Persian Gulf. The US has responded by reversing the carrier’s departure course and ordering an additional carrier into the vicinity, which entered the Persian Gulf  this week.  In addition to the thousands of  troops the US recently stationed in Israel and Jordan in case of trouble in Syria,  15,000 more have now been stationed  in Kuwait in case of trouble in Iran.  It’s widely assumed that some kind of military showdown between the US and Iran is imminent.

Al Mahdi, which means the guided one,  is said to have gone into “occlusion” (disappeared) in the year 941 AD, at the age of five.  Shiite Moslems believe he will reappear at the end of the Age. They say his reappearance will be preceded by chaos, war and bloodshed. When he comes he’ll establish a world wide Islamic caliphate, and following a cataclysmic confrontation with evil and darkness that lasts 7 years, the Mahdi will lead the world to an era of universal peace.

This is obviously similar to Christian eschatology of the anti-Christ. Indeed, the Hidden Imam, as he’s also called, is expected to return in the company of Jesus.  Iran’s “Twelver” sect of Islam  believes the Mahdi is Mohammed ibn Hasan, regarded as the 12th Imam, or righteous descendant, of the Prophet Mohammad. Both the Ayatollah Khamanei and Pres. Ahmadinejad claim to have communicated with him.

As he has has publicly explained, Ahmadinejad believes he’s been called to “pave the path for the glorious reappearance of Imam Mahdi, may Allah hasten his reappearance.” To some, this means creating the chaos necessary to bring al Mahdi back.

He will confirm a covenant with many for one ‘seven.’ In the middle of the ‘seven’ he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on a wing of the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him.(Daniel 9:27)

 

The Prophet Daniel spoke of a seven-year rule by one who brings about Earth’s final judgment over 1000 years before Mohammed fashioned the religion we know as Islam. And as is the case with Shiite beliefs, Daniel’s ruler will rise to power on the heels of a great battle between the forces of good and evil as well. How else would he be able to use the promise of peace to deceive the world? (Daniel 8:25)

According to Revelation 13, this ruler and his false prophet will force the world into a common religion, killing all who resist. Shiites agree.  They insist the religion will be Islam, and that in the process all the Jews and Romans (Christians) who don’t convert will be put to death.

Good News And Bad News

Please understand, I’m not trying to give these Islamic beliefs about al Mahdi any legitimacy.  I’m only trying to show how similar they are to Biblical prophecies of the anti-Christ.  In fact the only discernible difference lies in one fact. Whereas Daniel and other Biblical figures who prophesied of this coming ruler viewed him as the ultimate expression of evil, eventually indwelt by Satan himself, Shiites see him as a force for good, ushering in a glorious age of worldwide Islamic rule. The two perceptions couldn’t be more opposite.

I think this difference is the sprouting seed of the powerful delusion Paul spoke of in 2 Thes. 2:11. During the Great Tribulation the world will experience a total reversal of perception from that of its Judeo-Christian past. Consider these two passages from the Revelation as confirmation.

Men worshiped the dragon because he had given authority to the beast, and they also worshiped the beast and asked, “Who is like the beast? Who can make war against him?”(Rev. 13:4) The dragon is Satan and the beast is the anti-Christ.

Men gnawed their tongues in agony and cursed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, but they refused to repent of what they had done. (Rev 16:10-11)

As they clearly show, the End Times world will worship Satan and curse God.

Amazingly, this reversal of perception is also the basis of a New Age heresy called the Luciferian Doctrine. Simply put it holds that Lucifer, the angel of light (in Latin, Lucifer means light bearer) is desperately trying to bring mankind through the final, spiritual phase of human evolution, into the Utopian world man longs for.   But Lucifer is being thwarted in his efforts by the evil Adonay (from the Hebrew Adonai, which means Lord) who wants to destroy man. As you can see, it’s also the opposite of the truth, just like Paul warned (2 Thes. 2:9-12), and just like prophecies of al Mahdi appear to be.

By whatever name, this doctrine will permeate the One World religion of Daniel’s 70th Week. Because of the dramatic manifestations of supernatural signs and wonders during that time, the last vestiges of the godless secular humanism will finally die. Satan, who during our age has been content with giving anyone but God credit for the Creation of Earth and Man, will begin demanding credit for himself. And having refused to love the truth, man, who needs to believe in someone greater than himself, will be fair game for this lie.

The Luciferian Doctrine explains the difference between the Shiite view and Bible Prophecy and could be the powerful delusion Paul spoke of.  The god of Islam is not the God of the Bible, after all, and besides man there’s only one other created being who aspires to be God.

“The days are coming,” declares the Sovereign LORD, “when I will send a famine through the land— not a famine of food or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the LORD.” (Amos 8:11)

 

The man who doesn’t stand for something will fall for anything, the saying goes, so after the church disappears and the famine of God’s word prophesied by Amos takes hold, there will be a real longing for something to believe in on Earth. The Luciferian Doctrine will fit the bill nicely, especially when its two leading proponents, the anti-Christ and the False Prophet, will seem to have such supernatural power.

Mahmoud The Zealot

The introduction of religious zeal, counterfeit though it may be, into world events is the most dramatic proof since 1948 of the nearness of the end. In the final days of Communism, when some folks thought Gorbachev was the anti-Christ, they overlooked the absence of this critical component. Coming from the perspective of the Modern Rationalism of the 50′s, when God wasn’t thought to be real anymore, the godless Soviet enemy seemed sufficient to fulfill end times prophecy. And yet, the Bible speaks of powerful spiritual contention at the end of the age. After all the final battle is fought and won in the spiritual realm. It just takes place on Earth. It’s clear that events at the end of the age will include powerful, opposing, spiritual forces.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is a religious zealot of the first magnitude. By his statements, it’s clear that he believes his Mahdi is coming soon, and that he has been chosen to have his country ready to receive him. An old Islamic saying goes, “When the students are ready, the teacher will come.” And he himself has declared, “We don’t shy away from declaring that Islam is ready to rule the world.” A man with that kind of zeal, given the kind of power he has, will not hesitate to plunge the world into chaos to hasten the day of his lord.

For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way (2 Thes 2:7).  But remember this, my friends. Before the powerful delusion can truly take hold, the truth has to disappear. The repository for truth in this age is the church, so when these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near” (Luke 21:28).  If you listen closely, you can almost hear the footsteps of the Messiah.

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Jan 20

Obama: US, Jordan to consult closely on Middle East peace

Categories:

Antichrist, Israel

by admin

January 20, 2012

All I will say without being dogmatic is keep your eye on Abdullah of Jordan. Keep looking up!

The U.S. and Jordan pledge to push Israel and the Palestinians to negotiate a peace accord in a “serious fashion” • Jordan’s King Abdullah II has hosted three meetings of Israeli and Palestinian negotiators, but talks have shown little signs of progress.

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama pledged Tuesday to cooperate closely with Jordan, an important ally in the Middle East, to push Israel and the Palestinians to negotiate a peace accord in a “serious fashion,” even as a fresh attempt at talks shows little signs of progress.

Jordan’s King Abdullah II, whose country has hosted three meetings this month of Israeli and Palestinian negotiators, emphasized that the talks were in the early stages.

“We have to keep our fingers crossed,” King Abdullah said after an Oval Office meeting with Obama.

The Jordan meetings are taking place under the auspices of the international Quartet of Middle East peace mediators — the U.S., U.N., EU and Russia. The Quartet hopes to broker a peace deal by the end of this year.

But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu played down the prospect of progress this week, charging that the Palestinians “have no interest in entering peace talks.”

“I’m ready to travel now to Ramallah to start peace talks with [Palestinian Authority President] Mahmoud Abbas, without preconditions. But the simple truth is that Abbas is not ready,” Netanyahu said Monday.

Talks have been stalled for more than three years over the issue of Israeli settlement construction.

Abbas says the Palestinians will not resume talks unless Israel stops building in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, areas Israel captured in the 1967 Six-Day War from Jordan and claimed by the Palestinians for their future state. Israel maintains that the issue of settlements would be solved automatically once there are agreed-upon borders, and rejects any preconditions to negotiations.

In statements issued after their White House meeting, Obama and Abdullah gave no indication that Israel and the Palestinians were any closer to ending the stalemate.

Obama said the two leaders also discussed developments in Iraq, Iran and Syria, where the government has waged a deadly, 10-month crackdown against opponents of President Bashar Assad.

King Abdullah, a favorite of Western leaders, was the first Arab leader to call for Assad to leave power, and Obama praised him for his “willingness to stand up.” The king faced some protests last year, although on a lesser scale than other Arab Spring movements that emerged throughout the region. He announced a series of political reforms in response, including parliamentary elections this year. Jordan’s opposition parties alleged that elections for parliament in 2010 were flawed.

Obama said Tuesday that King Abdullah had been “ahead of the curve in trying to respond to the legitimate concerns and aspirations, both politically and economically, of the Jordanian population.”

He pledged U.S. support to help Jordan continue its reforms.

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Nov 22

Demonic Plan: Has it Been Hiding in Plain Sight?

Categories:

Antichrist, Tribulation

by admin

November 22, 2011

There has been a demonic plan set way back in time by Satan to stop the Messiah. This goes all the way back to Genesis 3:15 prophecy of the emnity between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent.

But it has always been God’s plan that would win in the end and trump the Evil One’s pplan. Keep looking up!

With all the hype about the ancient Mayan calendar suggesting the demise of human civilization taking place in 2012, an American author wants everyone to know that other calendars predict the same outcome, and he claims a demonic plot bringing about the end date could be hiding in plain sight inside the U.S. Capitol and your wallet right now.

Tom Horn, a Bible-believing Christian and author of “Apollyon Rising 2012,” says he never actually had an interest in the Mayan calendar, which comes to a cyclical end on Dec. 21, 2012. But then he became aware of numerous unrelated calendars and prophecies spanning many centuries, all predicting the end of the current human age at next year’s winter solstice.

“I started finding that it wasn’t just the Maya,” Horn told WND, noting prognostications from Jewish mystics, as well as the ancient Chinese, Hindus, Cherokee Indians, and even artwork among famous American symbols that all point to the same time frame.

Despite not having telescopes, the Mayan people of Central America were extremely accurate observers of celestial movements, with the zenith of their civilization occurring between A.D. 250 and 900.

“The Maya understood this procession of the equinox, basically not to end, but to roll over, to start over,” in December 2012, Horn explained.

He says their prophets coupled that date “with prophecies of unrest on Earth after which a new form of man appears on Earth, plus the return of their dragon god, a flying serpent who has the power of air.”

“The Aztec saw the same thing, a flying serpent, Quetzalcoatl,” Horn said, adding, “their calendar ends in 2012.”

He says the Kali Yuga calendar of the Hindus forecasts global changes around 2012, and China’s “Book of Changes,” also known as the “I-Ching,” predicts the end for the same year.

Horn says 38 years ago, when scientists Terrence and Dennis McKenna created a stock-market-like linear graph based on the “I-Ching,” the timeline abruptly plunged off the graph into infinity on precisely Dec. 21, 2012.

“This finding is all the more astonishing given that McKenna’s research was published in 1973 independent of any knowledge of the ending date in the Mayan calendar,” Horn noted.

Meanwhile, the Zohar, a collection of books in the mystical Jewish Kabbalah that first debuted in Spain in the 13th century, talks about the coming of the Messiah at the same general time the other calendars forecast the end.

It predicts in late 2012, “All the kings of the world will assemble in the great city of Rome, and the Holy One will shower on them fire and hail and meteoric stones until they are all destroyed, with the exception of those who will not yet have arrived there. These will commence anew to make other wars. From that time the Mashiach (Messiah) will begin to declare himself, and round him there will be gathered many nations and many hosts from the uttermost ends of the Earth.”

Horn says, “Given the rejection of Jesus by orthodox Jews as Messiah, this coming could herald the coming of Antichrist in 2012.”

What’s perhaps most fascinating is Horn’s discussion of what could be the mother of all conspiracy theories, dating back to the Bible’s Book of Genesis, involving Noah’s great grandson Nimrod, who not only built the famous Tower of Babel, but is the “mighty hunter” who scholars believe became worshipped as the sun god, with names such as Osiris in Egypt and Apollo in Greece.

Horn says from deepest antiquity, a plot involving pagan sun-worshippers, America’s Founding Fathers, Masons and Freemasons has apparently been in the works, culminating in the end time with the return or resurrection of an evil, supernatural being. That character may actually be pictured as the all-seeing eye on top of the uncapped pyramid on the Great Seal of the United States, found on the back of a $1 bill.

Others have speculated the eye on top of the pyramid could be a representation of Jesus Christ, since the Bible notes, “The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone.” (Psalm 118:22 New International Version).

The date at the base of the pyramid is 1776, which is not only the year the Declaration of Independence was signed, but also the beginning of a new Mayan “katun,” a time period of 19.7 years. If each of the 13 levels of the pyramid on the Great Seal represents one of these time periods, the top level would mark the year 2012.

The Latin phrase “Novus ordo seclorum” is part of the American seal, and translates to “New order of the ages,” which some fear is what many U.S. presidents, including George Herbert Walker Bush, allude to when they use the phrase, “New World Order.”

Other strange connections to the United States include the Frieze of American History, a painted panorama at the U.S. Capitol.

Among the artwork is “Cortez and Montezuma at Mexican Temple” by Italian artist Constantino Brumidi.

Montezuma is shown gesturing to the sacred fire with a serpent wrapped around it. According to the Aztec calendar, the fire is predicted to burn out on Dec. 21, 2012.

It depicts Spanish explorer Hernando Cortez, the conqueror of Mexico, entering the Aztec temple in 1519. He’s welcomed by Emperor Montezuma II, who thought Cortez was a god.

“Montezuma’s hand is pointing directly down at the sacred fire, which, in point of fact, goes out … Dec. 21, 2012, the end of the calendar,” Horn noted.

Also featured in the frieze is the Aztec calendar stone, and the sun god Tonatiuh, to whom pagan priests had 80,000 people sacrificed in the year of 1487 alone.

“Hiding in plain sight is the god who demands human sacrifice,” said Horn.

He says another high-profile piece that may hold end-time clues is the famous painting in the Rotunda of the Capitol, titled “The Apotheosis of George Washington.” The word “apotheosis” means to deify or elevate to divine status, and Washington is depicted being resurrected and becoming divine.

The U.S. Capitol Rotunda features “The Apotheosis of George Washington,” with America’s first president becoming glorified as a god, along with numerous pagan gods.

But Horn notes in “Apollyon Rising 2012″:

Those who believe the United States was founded on Christianity and visit the Capitol for the first time will be surprised by the stark contrast to historic Christian artwork of the ascension of Jesus Christ compared to the “heaven” George Washington rises into from within the energized Capitol Dome/womb of Isis. It is not occupied by angels, but with devils and pagan deities important to Masonic belief. These include Hermes, Neptune, Venus (Isis), Ceres, Minerva, and Vulcan (Satan), of course, the son of Jupiter and Juno to which human sacrifices are made.

Horn says the symbolism in the painting associated with the deeply rooted idea that chosen humans are selected by supernatural forces, and their earthly kingdoms are formed and guided by these pagan gods.

Washington was himself a Mason, and, according to the book “The Age of Washington” by George W. Nordham, the president was dressed in Masonic attire as he laid the cornerstone of the U.S. Capitol on Sept. 18, 1793.

When it comes to biblical references to the end, a central theme is that Jesus Christ will be returning to Earth in what is often referred to as the “Second Coming” to administer the kingdom of God. While Scripture does not provide a specific date for “the day of the Lord” as it’s often called, it does suggest everyone be ready at all times, because His return would come suddenly, like “a thief in the night,” and Jesus Himself warned to “be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” (Matthew 24:44 New King James Version)

The 24th chapter of the Gospel of Matthew features Jesus answering his apostles’ questions about signs of His coming and the end of the current age, and Jesus provides a laundry list of events including wars and rumors of wars, false Christs, famines, pestilences, earthquakes and great tribulation, with many believers being slain.

Jesus noted, “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.” (Matthew 24:14 King James Version)

He also said: “The day is coming when you will see what Daniel the prophet spoke about – the sacrilegious object that causes desecration standing in the Holy Place.” (Reader, pay attention!) “Then those in Judea must flee to the hills.” (Matthew 24:15-16 New Living Translation)

This reference to the “Holy Place” has many believing that a new temple of God will have to be constructed in Jerusalem before Jesus’ return.

Some Christians, such as Noel Hornor of the Good News Magazine, think the 2012 prognostications are the result of misplaced fears and reliance on pagan systems rather than the Bible itself.

Hornor writes: “Yes, Dec. 21, 2012, will come and go, Dec. 22 will arrive, and the Earth will go on. And so will new theories regarding new exact dates for the end of the world. The cry has been shouted by strident voices for millennia, and you can be sure it will continue.”

As for Tom Horn, he says he never places any pagan prophecy ahead of the Bible, but just wonders why so many different and unrelated civilizations talk about the end of days in December 2012.

“I would not say that I’m yet convinced that 2012 will be anything more than the next Y2K,” he said, referring to the misplaced hysteria about the world coming to an end when 1999 turned into 2000.

“It’s very easy to take extraordinary circumstances to interpret in Bible prophecy, and then it doesn’t develop. There were lots of reasons to believe Hitler was the Antichrist. He wasn’t. He was an antichrist, but not the Antichrist.”

“All I can do is bring to the surface the good research,” Horn concluded. “I’m kind of holding back, leaning today that 2012 isn’t going to mean anything. But in the back of my mind, I can’t forget all these cultures.”

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Nov 17

Iran’s Ayatollah Khamenei Calls for ‘Islamic Power Bloc’

Categories:

Antichrist, Gog-Ezekiel 38 & 39

by admin

November 17, 2011

For months now, I’ve reported on the Iranian regime’s view that the so-called Arab Spring marks a great “Islamic Awakening” that will soon see Iran lead a united Muslim world to victory over Israel and the West–and in the process, usher in the return of the Islamic messiah, or Mahdi.

To the average Westerner, it all sounds insane. But to the Iranian regime, it is the very essence of their existence, and they’ve been laying the groundwork for some time.

Iran’s leadership has been pushing to lead this renewed Islamic Caliphate that would unite the entire Muslim world, whether Sunni or Shia, into one all-powerful economic/political/military bloc.It’s very real.  And if you don’t believe, then here’s Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, with more:

TEHRAN, Nov 5 (Agencies): Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has called on the world’s Muslim nations to form an international Islamic power bloc.

Referring to the popular uprisings in the Arab world and the recent anti-capitalism movement across the world in his message to Hajj Pilgrims in 2011, Ayatollah Khamenei called on the Muslim world to “make the most of this opportunity for the formation of an international Islamic power-bloc.”

Ayatollah Khamenei said such global developments “can change the destiny of the Islamic Ummah (nation)” and herald “a bright future accompanied with dignity and progress.”

“Today, the West, the United States and Zionism are weaker than ever before,” the Leader pointed out.

The message was addressed to more than 2.5 million pilgrims from around the globe who converged in the vast plains of Mount Arafat in Saudi Arabia to perform a ritual of the annual Hajj pilgrimage.

The leader described the present era as a “new chapter” in the history of the Islamic world in which “a young generation has emerged from the heart of these nations.”

Islam has become the guiding principle of popular movements despite the efforts of secular rulers to curtail the influence of religion in the Muslim countries, Ayatollah Khamenei added.

Ayatollah Khamenei pointed to the victory of Islamic Ennahda Party in Tunisia’s recent elections and noted, “Without doubt, free elections in any Islamic country will result in nothing but what happened in Tunisia.”

Ah, yes, “moderate” Tunisia. On that last point, sadly, Khamenei is correct. Islamists worldwide are rejoicing over the upheavals in the Middle East (and the upheavals here in America).

For the first time in close to 90 years, their long-awaited dream of a renewed Caliphate is within their grasp.

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Nov 13

Iran and the Mahdi

Categories:

Antichrist, Prophecy Studies

by admin

November 13, 2011

Why would Iran authorize a major terrorist operation on American soil? Skeptics say the much-discussed “foiled” Iranian plot makes no sense. We will know soon enough if the Feds have sufficient evidence related to this specific plot. But Iranian leaders may, in fact, have a motive to accelerate direct attacks on the U.S.: Shia Islamic eschatology, or “End Times” theology.

Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad are convinced that the End of Days has come. They believe the Shia messiah known as the “Twelfth Imam” or the “Mahdi” will appear soon to establish a global Islamic kingdom known as the caliphate.

What’s more, they believe the way to hasten the coming of the Twelfth Imam is to annihilate Israel (which they call the “Little Satan”), and the United States (which they call the “Great Satan”). We should not, therefore, be surprised that Iran is probing for weaknesses in American intelligence and homeland security.

Khamenei told Iranians in July 2010 that he personally met with the Twelfth Imam. He also claimed to be the personal representative of the Mahdi on earth, and said all Muslims must “obey him.” Meanwhile, Western intelligence agencies say he continues to work with Ahmadinejad and the Iranian military to develop nuclear warheads and the ballistic missiles to deliver them.

Much of the media has focused on Iran’s threats to wipe Israel “off the map.” But journalists have generally ignored the fact that the Iranian regime is equally determined to destroy the United States.

On October 26, 2005, for example, Ahmadinejad said, “God willing, with the force of God behind it, we shall soon experience a world without the United States and Zionism.”

On June 2, 2008, Ahmadinejad said, “Today, the time for the fall of the satanic power of the United States has come, and the countdown to the annihilation of the emperor of power and wealth has started.”

Iran’s leaders actually believe that the destruction of the U.S. is foreordained, just as the Soviet Union’s implosion was predetermined. They see U.S. economic weakness as a sign that the end of America is near.

Other signs include President Obama’s political weakness in the polls and his unwillingness to use force against Iran even after the Iranian murder of Americans in Iraq, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia and Lebanon over the years.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sees the gravity of the situation. “The Obama presidency has two great missions: fixing the economy, and preventing Iran from gaining nuclear weapons,” he told The Atlantic magazine in March 2009. “You don’t want a messianic apocalyptic cult controlling atomic bombs,” Netanyahu said of the Iranian leadership. “When the wide-eyed believer gets hold of the reins of power and the weapons of mass death, then the entire world should start worrying, and that is what is happening in Iran.”’

Unfortunately, Netanyahu hasn’t seen the Obama administration strengthen the American economy or take decisive measures to stop Iran from getting the Bomb, and he is getting anxious. “The international community must stop Iran before it’s too late,” Netanyahu warned in his United Nations speech last month. “If Iran is not stopped, we will all face the specter of nuclear terrorism, and the Arab Spring could soon become an Iranian winter….The world around Israel is definitely becoming more dangerous.”

To truly understand how just how dangerous Iran’s regime really is, American leaders need to better understand Shia eschatology.

The Twelfth Imam was a real, flesh-and-blood person who, like the eleven Shia leaders who went before him, was an Arab male, a direct descendent of the founder of Islam, and was thought to have been divinely chosen to be the spiritual guide and ultimate human authority of the Muslim people. His actual name was Muhammad Ibn Hasan Ibn Ali, and it is generally believed by Shias that he was born in Samarra, Iraq, in AD 868.

At a very young age, however, Ali vanished from society. Some say he was four years old, while others say five and some say six. Some believe he fell into a well in Samarra but his body was never recovered. Others believe the Mahdi’s mother placed him in the well to prevent evil rulers from capturing him and killing him, and that little Ali subsequently became supernaturally invisible. This is where the term “Hidden Imam” is derived, as Shias believe that Ali is not dead but has simply been hidden from the sight of mankind – Shias refer to this as “occultation” – until the End of Days, when Allah will reveal him once again.

Shias believe the Mahdi will return in the last days to establish righteousness, justice, and peace. When he comes, they say, the Mahdi will bring Jesus with him. Jesus will be a Muslim and will serve as his deputy, not as King of kings and Lord of lords as the Bible teaches, and he will force non-Muslims to choose between following the Mahdi or death.

By most accounts, Shia scholars believe the Mahdi will first appear in Mecca and conquer the Middle East, then establish the headquarters of his global Islamic government—or caliphate—in Iraq. But there is not universal agreement. Some believe he will emerge from the well at the Jamkaran Mosque in Iran and then travel to Mecca and Iraq. Some say that he will conquer Jerusalem before establishing his caliphate in Iraq. Others believe Jerusalem must be conquered as a prerequisite to his return.

None of this is actually written in the Kuran, and Sunnis reject this eschatology.

But one thing that is fairly well agreed upon among devout “Twelvers” is that the Mahdi will end apostasy and purify corruption within Islam. He is expected to conquer the Arabian Peninsula, Jordan, Syria, “Palestine,” Egypt and North Africa, and eventually the entire world. During this time, he and Jesus will kill between 60 and 80 percent of the world’s population, specifically those who refuse to convert to Islam.

Ayatollah Ibrahim Amini, a professor at the Religious Learning Centre in Qom, wrote a noteworthy book entitled, Al-Imam al-Mahdi, the Just Leader of Humanity, describing the connection between Shia eschatology and Iranian foreign policy. “Those who persist in their disbelief and wickedness shall be killed by the soldiers of the Mahdi,” wrote Amini. “The only victorious government in the entire world will be that of Islam, and people will devotedly endeavor to protect it. Islam will be the religion of everyone, and will enter all the nations of the world. . . .The Mahdi will offer the religion of Islam to the Jews and the Christians; if they accept it they will be spared, otherwise they will be killed. . . . It seems unlikely that this catastrophe can be avoided. . . . Warfare and bloodshed [are] inevitable. . . The Imam of the Age and his supporters will overcome the forces of disbelief and godless materialism by undertaking jihad.”

In light of such End Times theology, we shouldn’t be surprised that the Iranian regime is taking a more aggressive posture towards the U.S. and Israel. Instead, we should be taking decisive measures to prevent Iran from blind-siding us in the not-too-distant future with a nuclear terrorist attack or even an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) attack.

Unfortunately, most of Washington and the world’s leadership is asleep to the prospect of this gathering storm. It is time to wake up, before it’s too late.

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Oct 01

Is the Last Pope on the Horizon?

Categories:

Antichrist, The Church

by admin

October 1, 2011

Malachy was an Irish monk who believed he received a vision from God telling him the list of Pope’s until the last one who would take the name of Peter and who would deny the deity of Chirst.

When Cardinal Ratzinger took the name of Benedict he was the next to last Pope and had fulfilled what Malachy had described.

While we do not know if this next Pope is the False Prophet from Scripture, all it would take for this false Christianity to blend with Islam would be for this next Pope to deny the deity of Christ.

With this announcement of Benedict possibly stepping down in the Spring it brought this to mind.

Keep looking up!

 

Pope is thinking about resigning during the Spring of 2012. Journalist Antonio Socci has confirmed the same in the Italian daily, Libero.

“For now,” Socci writes, “he is saying that this may be true (Joseph Ratzinger’s personal assumption), but I hope the story does not reach the news. But this rumor is circulating high up in the Vatican and therefore deserves close attention. The Pope has not rejected the possibility of his resignation when he turns 85 in April next year.”

Socci recalls that the assumption he will resign, without any hitches, was the same thing Ratzinger talked about in an interview in the book “Luce del mondo” (Light of the World), when, in response to a question by interviewer Peter Seewald, he said: “When a Pope arrives at a clear awareness that he no longer has the physical, mental, or psychological capacity to carry out the task that has been entrusted to him, then he has the right, and in some cases, even the duty to resign.”

Furthermore, in another passage, Benedict XVI wondered if he would be able to “withstand it all, just from the physical point of view.”

Socci makes the following observation in today’s edition of Libero: “Today, Pope Benedict seems to be in really good form; just the same, there’s the issue of his age and just how much energy he has left.”

But the writer/journalist also recalls another passage from the same book interview, which has to do with the attacks and controversies related to the pedophile priests’ scandal: “When there is a great menace, one cannot simply run away from it. That is why, right now, it is definitely not the time to resign.”

“It is actually at moments like these that one needs to resist and overcome difficult situations. One can only resign at a time when things are calm, or simply, when nothing more can be done about it. But one cannot run away right when the threat is alive and say, ‘Let somebody else take care of it.”

The issue of papal resignations has been the subject of debate for many decades. Pope Pius XII had prepared a letter in which he stated he would resign if he were taken away by the Nazis (“In that way, they will have Cardinal Pacelli, but not the Pope.”)

Pope John XXIII, while talking with his confessor, had taken into consideration that he would possibly have to leave when his illness worsened.

Even Pope Paul VI, who had established the exclusion of those who were over 80 from the conclave, and renunciation of the episcopal seat at the age of 75, seriously thought about resigning in 1977, when he turned 80, but his entourage dissuaded him from going ahead with this. This issue came up again, in a dramatic fashion, with Pope John Paul Il’s long illness; he had even prepared a letter of resignation.

Anyone who knows Ratzinger would confirm that the answer he gave to Seewald, is what he feels would be best, in the event of him becoming physically, mentally, or psychologically incapacitated. However, such a possibility seems, at the moment, somewhat remote.

In fact, one is immediately struck by the contrast between the front page story in Libero and the images coming from Germany, where Benedict XVI is concluding an historic trip, during which he made 18 speeches in four days. Many of these put him under considerable pressure, especially as they were entirely written by him.

The German press was astonished at the old Pontiff’s endurance, which he demonstrated by the fact that he was able to manage all the exhaustion from moving around; he did not sleep more than one night in a single bed. And he was successful in carrying out a packed schedule of engagements, meetings, vigils, and celebrations.

This would show that nothing of what Benedict XVI himself said in answer to his alleged plans to resign, seems to be materialising.

Finally, a total media “distortion” caused an outburst of fear after explosive gunshots were heard yesterday in Erfurt. They were fired by an unbalanced youth with an air gun, who targeted two security guards, without wounding them, on a street just 500 meters from where the Pope was to celebrate mass, two hours before Ratzinger arrived.

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Sep 26

Antichrist

Categories:

Antichrist

by admin

September 26, 2011

Here is an interesting article for study on the Antichrist! Enjoy!

Who is the Antichrist?  

by Britt Gillette

Who is the Antichrist?

From the days of the first Christians to today’s believers, this
question has fascinated millions through the centuries.

And rightly so, the Antichrist is an intriguing figure.

Some say he doesn’t exist, that there’s no scriptural
evidence.  While others describe him as the human incarnation of Satan.

So who is the Antichrist?  Is he a real figure?  Is he
alive today?  And if so, how will the world recognize him?

Fortunately, the Bible provides us with answers to all these
questions and more.

The Antichrist in the Bible

Who is the Antichrist according to the Bible?

While some people claim the Bible never refers to an individual as
the “Antichrist,” but rather the existence of “a spirit of Antichrist,” a
complete picture of this infamous man emerges from a thorough reading of the
scriptures.

In fact, the Antichrist is referenced throughout the Bible as a
man of many names…

  • The Seed of Satan – Genesis
    3:15     (NLT)
  • The Little Horn – Daniel
    7:8     (NLT)
  • The Fierce King, a Master of Intrigue – Daniel 8:23 (NLT)
  • The Prince Who is to Come – Daniel
    9:26     (NLT)
  • The Defiler – Daniel 9:27 (NLT)
  • The King Who Does as He Pleases – Daniel 11:36 (NLT)
  • The King of Assyria – Isaiah
    10:12     (NLT)
  • The Worthless Shepherd – Zechariah
    11:17     (NLT)
  • The One Who Brings Destruction – 2
    Thessalonians 2:3     (NLT)
  • The Man of Lawlessness – 2
    Thessalonians 2:8     (NLT)
  • The Antichrist – 1 John
    2:18     (NLT)
  • The Beast – Revelation 13:11 (NLT)

As the above verses and many others attest, the Antichrist is a
very real person.

During the final seven year period before the Glorious Appearing
of Jesus Christ, the Antichrist will achieve unprecedented global power:

“And he was given authority to rule over every tribe and
people and language and nation.” Revelation
13:7 (NLT)

The reach and power of the Antichrist will extend to the farthest
corners of the earth.  In fact, his dominion will be so extensive, not a
single person will be able to buy or sell without his permission:

“He required everyone – great and small, rich and poor, slave
and free – to be given a mark on the right hand or on the forehead.  And
no one could buy or sell anything without that mark, which was either the name
of the beast or the number representing his name.” Revelation 13:16-17 (NLT)

The Antichrist will use his position of authority to persecute
Christians and Jews:

“And the beast was allowed to wage war against God’s holy
people and overcome them.” Revelation
13:7 (NLT)

Not only will the Antichrist assault God’s holy people, but he’ll
even dare to raise his hand against Jesus Christ:

“He will destroy powerful leaders and devastate the holy
people. He will be a master of deception, defeating many by catching them off
guard. Without warning he will destroy them. He will even take on the Prince of
princes in battle, but he will be broken, though not by human power.” Daniel 8:24-25 (NLT)

This final act of rebellion will be the Antichrist’s ultimate
undoing.

Characteristics of the
Antichrist

Any attempt to answer the question, “Who is the Antichrist?”
requires an in-depth examination of the man’s characteristics as outlined in
the bible.  By studying these characteristics, those who are alive on
earth during the end times will be able to recognize the Antichrist.

Here are just a few of his characteristics:

Arrogance / Hubris

The Antichrist will also be a man of unrivaled arrogance:

“This little horn had eyes like human eyes and a mouth that
was boasting arrogantly.” Daniel
7:8 (NLT)

He will believe his great boasts, thinking himself to be greater
than God Himself:

“The king will do as he pleases, exalting himself and
claiming to be greater than every god there is, even blaspheming the God of
gods.” Daniel 11:36 (NLT)

Powered by Satan

In addition, the Antichrist will be a man of unprecedented power,
not of his own accord, but because he is backed by Satan:

“He will become very strong, but not by his own power.” Daniel 8:24 (NLT)

Because of the power given to him by Satan, the Antichrist will be
able to deceive many people with false signs and miracles:

“This evil man will come to do the work of Satan with counterfeit
power and signs and miracles. He will use every kind of wicked deception to
fool those who are on their way to destruction because they refuse to believe
the truth that would save them.” 2
Thessalonians 2:9-10 (NLT)

Unfortunately, these deceived people will follow the Antichrist,
believing his power to be that of God and not Satan.  Nevertheless, the
bible reveals that the Antichrist derives his power from Lucifer:

“And the dragon gave him his own power and throne and great
authority.” Revelation 13:2 (NLT)

Worships a God of
Fortresses

The Antichrist will also worship a god his forefathers never knew
– a brand new god of fortresses:

“He will have no regard for the god of his ancestors, or for
the god beloved of women, or for any other god, for he will boast that he is
greater than them all. Instead of these, he will worship the god of fortresses
- a god his ancestors never knew – and lavish on him gold, silver, precious
stones, and costly gifts.” Daniel
11:37-38 (NLT)

To understand who the Antichrist is, we need to understand that
he’s a man of unrivaled arrogance and inflated self-worth, who believes himself
to be greater than anyone else who has ever lived.

He’s also an idolater who worships “a god of fortresses,” which in
all likelihood represents his enormous military power.

Speculations About Who is
the Antichrist

So now that we know who the Antichrist is, can we identify him
today?

According to Paul, the Antichrist will not be known until there is
a great rebellion in which the Antichrist enters the Temple of God in Jerusalem
and exalts himself above every object of worship:

“For that day will not come until there is a great rebellion
against God and the man of lawlessness is revealed – the one who brings
destruction.  He will exalt himself and defy everything that people call
god and every object of worship. He will even sit in the temple of God,
claiming that he himself is God.” 2
Thessalonians 2:4 (NLT)

Since that event (the abomination of desolation) has yet to
happen, we can say with confidence that the man of lawlessness has not yet been
revealed, and we can not identify the Antichrist today.

Nevertheless, that’s never stopped people from speculating about
the Antichrist’s identity.

However, this list does serve a valuable purpose.  It vividly
illustrates the pitfalls associated with singling someone out as the Antichrist
before the appointed time.

Is the Antichrist Alive
Today?

When studying the biblical prophecies of the Antichrist, many
inevitably ask the question, “Is the Antichrist alive today”?

The best answer is, “we don’t know for sure.”

However, given the lateness of the hour, it’s highly probable the
Antichrist is alive today.

As Paul stated, we will only know for sure when the Antichrist
enters the Temple and commits the abomination of desolation:

“He will put an end to the sacrifices and offerings. Then as
a climax to all his terrible deeds, he will set up a sacrilegious object that
causes desecration, until the end that has been decreed is poured out on this
defiler.” Daniel 9:27 (NLT)

This can not happen until the Jewish Temple is rebuilt in
Jerusalem, and in all probability, this will happen soon.

Less than a century ago, Israel did not exist.

Then, one day in 1948, Israel became a nation.

Less than twenty years later, Israel regained control over
Jerusalem.

In due time, Israel will rebuild the Temple in that same City.

How can I be so sure?  Because God’s Word demands it.

And since Jesus stated that the generation which witnesses these
things will not pass before His Glorious Appearing, in all likelihood, the
Antichrist is alive today.

“Now learn a lesson from the fig tree. When its buds become
tender and its leaves begin to sprout, you know without being told that summer
is near. Just so, when you see the events I’ve described beginning to happen,
you can know his return is very near, right at the door. I assure you, this
generation will not pass from the scene before all these things take place.
Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words will remain forever.” Matthew 24:32-35 (NLT)

Why Does It Matter?

Why bother asking “who is the Antichrist?”

One reason is because the appearance of the Antichrist precedes
the Glorious Appearing of Jesus Christ and the establishment of God’s
Millennial Kingdom.  And the rapture precedes all of these events.

Being watchful in regard to these events lends an element of
urgency to God’s Word.

If we live each day as though Christ can return at any moment,
then we are inspired to live Godly lives:

“For the grace of God has been revealed, bringing salvation
to all people. And we are instructed to turn from godless living and sinful
pleasures. We should live in this evil world with self-control, right conduct,
and devotion to God, while we look forward to that wonderful event when the
glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, will be revealed.” Titus 2:11-13 (NLT)

“Another reason for right living is that you know how late it
is; time is running out. Wake up, for the coming of our salvation is nearer now
than when we first believed.” Romans
13:11 (NLT)

“So think clearly and exercise self-control. Look forward to
the special blessings that will come to you at the return of Jesus Christ. Obey
God because you are his children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of doing
evil; you didn’t know any better then. But now you must be holy in everything
you do, just as God – who chose you to be his children – is holy.” 1 Peter 1:13-15 (NLT)

While a Christian’s primary focus should always be Jesus Christ,
the study of the Antichrist and end times bible prophecy in general serves a
valuable purpose.  Those who believe Christ can come for His church at any
moment remain alert and prepared, prompting them to holy living on a daily
basis.

As Paul reveals, a special crown awaits those who eagerly await
Christ’s return:

“And now the prize awaits me – the crown of righteousness,
which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on the day of his return. And
the prize is not just for me but for all who eagerly look forward to his
appearing.” 2 Timothy 4:8 (NLT)

Conclusion

So who is the Antichrist?

The Antichrist is a man of unrivaled arrogance who will ascend to
the pinnacle of wordly power in the end times.  He will boast of his
greatness, place himself above God, and persecute God’s people.

Ultimately, he will rally a godless world to wage war against
Jesus Christ Himself:

“And I saw three evil spirits that looked like frogs leap
from the mouth of the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet. These
miracle-working demons caused all the rulers of the world to gather for battle
against the Lord on that great judgment day of God Almighty.” Revelation 16:13-14 (NLT)

“And they gathered all the rulers and their armies to a place
called Armageddon in Hebrew.” Revelation
16:16 (NLT)

However, the gathering at Armageddon marks the end for the
Antichrist and his allies:

“He will halt between the glorious holy mountain and the sea
and will pitch his royal tents there, but while he is there, his time will
suddenly run out, and there will be no one to help him.” Daniel 11:45 (NLT)

When the Antichrist comes to Armageddon, he will face the wrath of
Jesus Christ.  Christ will strip the Antichrist of all power and
completely destroy his godless world government:

“But then the court will pass judgment, and all his power
will be taken away and completely destroyed.” Daniel 7:26 (NLT)

In the end, despite his acquisition of power undreamed of by
dictators past, the destiny of the Antichrist is the eternal lake of fire:

“Both the beast and his false prophet were thrown alive into
the lake of fire that burns with sulfur.” Revelation 19:20 (NLT)

Ultimately, it’s nowhere near as important to ask “Who is the
Antichrist?” as it is to ask “Who is Jesus Christ?”

Because it doesn’t do any good to know the answer to the former if
you don’t know the answer to the latter.  If you want to avoid sharing in
the Antichrist’s eternal punishment, make sure you develop and cultivate your
relationship with the Lord of lords, Jesus Christ.

“Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have God’s
Son does not have life.” 1 John 5:12 (NLT)

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