By Walid Shoebat (Shoebat Sunday Special PART I)
Holy Smokes! Is this man, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the Antichrist, who will demand worship in the Temple of God? Heck, Erdoğan is already accepting to be worshipped. But people still insist asking me: is he the Antichrist?
Well, what we do know is that Turkey will produce the Antichrist. If you object, please answer the Jesus-style questions that no biblical scholar can answer, unless of course, they admit Turkey is the land of Antichrist. If you are up to it, try answering this:
What other spot on earth matches Turkey as the land of Antichrist, especially that Erdogan and Turkey are "of the land of Magog"? What other man qualifies today but Erdogan to be "chief prince of Meshech and Tubal" (Ezekiel 38:3) "sits in Pergamum," the "seat of satan" (Revelation 2:12) qualifies as "king of the north" (Daniel 11:40) while has a "threat from the north" of him (Daniel 11:44) which is Russia, represents the landmass of ancient Greece, where the only verse in the whole of scripture that pin-point where Christ marches towards is the direction for the north (Zechariah 9:14): "And the Lord God shall be seen over them, and his dart shall go forth as lightning: and the Lord God will sound the trumpet, and go in the whirlwind of the south"?
No historian or geographer can find any other spot on earth, that could match all these requirements, unless they pin-point Turkey. No historian or biblical expert can pin-point any other "beast" (threat to Christendom) greater than the Ottoman Turks. Try picking Russia and Putin (since you argue that Meshech is Moscow) but north of Russia is an ocean and Russia is not Pergamum. Try picking Rome. While Rome has Germany to its north (that could be a threat from the north) but Rome is not Pergamum and neither is it "chief prince of Meshech and Tubal". No matter what you jimmy-rig, only Turkey qualifies. No matter how you describe the Antichrist, from the figment of your imagination; nothing matches unless all the verses; every single verse fits one man and one geography, perfectly.
BUT HOW CAN ERDOGAN BE ANTICHRIST IF HE DOES NO MIRACLES?
Is Erdogan the Antichrist? We are to wait and see. But I do get some challenges. The Antichrist is said to be a charismatic politician, a religious figure and a Houdini type who does 'signs and wonders' 'a miracle worker' all in one. How then does Erdogan qualify to be the "Houdini of Houdinis?"
Answer: First of all, Antichrist does not do genuine miracles. His "working miracles" as Paul tells us are "lying wonders" (2 Thessalonians 2:9) where only his followers believe such miracles. Secondly, he does not necessarily do these "lying wonders" himself; he does them via "three unclean spirits like frogs" (Apocalypse 16:14). Thirdly, these 'phony performances' are strictly done to "muster the world for war at Armageddon". These are not a circus Houdini style magical performances, but are "three ministers," sent out towards three directions, calling the Muslim world to come to battle at Armageddon. All three points I just made here are exactly what the context says:
"And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared. And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame. And he [the beast] gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon. And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done. And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great. And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath." (Rev. 16:13, 14)
So here is the text and context; does the Antichrist here perform these 'fake miracles' himself? No.
He performs these "lying wonders" through his "three unclean spirits like frogs". It is these "three unclean spirits" that do the work on his behalf as scripture clearly states. There goes out the window the circus Antichrist-Houdini. Also, these miracles are "lying wonders" (not genuine miracles) that are done to strictly call the nations for warfare against Israel at "Armageddon". All three points (1) lying wonders are (2) performed by three religious personalities (3) to strictly invite the Antichrist nations to come to war.
When it comes to prophecy, most formulate a figment of their own imagination. The figment then becomes the driving mold and not the scripture.
Antichrist sends out three religious figures towards three directions which can be constructed from scripture. From the east, one spirit calls the "two hundred million man army" (Rev 16:12). They come all the way from Japan, Indonesia, Uguristan, Afghanistan, Iran and Iraq. From the "north" a second spirit brings in Turkey, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan Turkmenistan (Magog, Gomer and Beth Togarma). From the south-west another spirit musters Sudan, Somalia, Libya, Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco and Mauritania (Cush and Phut).
All these converge towards Armageddon in the Golan Heights area. In other parts of scripture we have the "eagles" from the West "ships of Chittim" (Christendom) including the threat to Antichrist in Daniel 11:44 from the North (Russia is north of Turkey). These are led by "seven Shepherds" and "eight principled men" (Micah 5).
ALWAYS LOOK FOR WHERE GOD REVERSES THE CLOCK
In that event, even God's clock rewinds to the same time and to the same place where Christ was crucified. This event even includes the same peoples who invaded Jerusalem's temple. Antichrist in Revelation persecutes the Church (Christ's Body), which parallels Christ's suffering on the Cross. Notice Revelation 16:17 "there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done".
Christ on the cross said "it is finished".
Then "there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake" just as it was when Christ was crucified and on the same spot.
Then "came a great voice out of the temple of heaven". God's clock reverses to when Christ gained His First victory against the devil through His crucifixion and now His Second victory against the devil at Armageddon.
Even the very same exact peoples who came against His temple: Legion X (tenth legion) of the Romans comes again comprising ten kings under Antichrist. Christ even describes these peoples depicted in His Crucifixion: “Many bulls have surrounded Me; Strong bulls of Bashan have encircled Me” (Psalm 22:12), who will be the same peoples as Legion X that converged on Jerusalem comprised of the same nationalities (Syrian, Turks, Arabs) and we find Christ combating the “fatlings of Bashan” in Ezekiel 39:18.
Bashan points to either Syria or Bashan in the Caucasus in the southern regions of Russia. This time around, it is Christ's fury on His face where "the fishes of the sea, and the birds of the air, and the beasts of the field, and every creeping thing that creepeth upon the ground, and all men that are upon the face of the earth, shall shake at my presence" (Ezekiel 38:20). Christ is present there.
This is Jerusalem's punishment. It lives in grave sin. The clock turns backwards revealing even the same pagan Roman style debauchery where Jerusalem is called "Sodom and Egypt" for it too (like Pharaoh) has become a persecutor of the saints and "Sodom" just as you see us being persecuted for exposing homosexuality. Today even Israel wants nothing to do with anyone who is anti-sodomy. Only the Christians who withstand Sodom will be redeemed. The clock even turns to when Lot (the church) is rescued while the traitors (Lot's wife) who sympathize with Sodom are cursed. God honors only the ones who complete (not bail out) the marathon; the five virgins who were "not of this world".
ALWAYS UNDERSTAND ANCIENT ALLEGORY
So what are these fake miracles? In Apocalypse 13:13 it says: "And he [the beast] did great signs, so that he made also fire to come down from heaven unto the earth in the sight of men". But this is speaking of a "beast with two horns" (v.11). If this is literal "fire coming down from heaven" are we to also expect that this "fire" performance is done by a Houdini looking like "a lamb" with literal "two horns"?
Modern people do not understand how the ancients tell a story in parable format. John speaks in allegory, vision, sort of a dream, a piece of wisdom. He tells it in hints as a story of what the church has to endure throughout the ages after John departs. This is a theme that runs all the way through the end of the Apocalypse.
Photo of Antichrist: from the One Thousand And One Idiots Guide To Prophetic Interpretations
Now seriously, which of the two portraits that more resemble the Antichrist? The portrait provided by the idiot who made the photo on the left? Or the portrait made by the possible idiot who made the photo on the right?
Never interpret Revelation word for word. Listen to it like a story:
"And I saw one of his heads as it were slain to death: and his death's wound was healed. And all the earth was in admiration after the beast. And they adored the dragon, which gave power to the beast: and they adored the beast, saying: Who is like to the beast? and who shall be able to fight with him?"
“He was given power to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that it could speak and cause all who refused to worship the image to be killed”?
John is dispensing prophecy in story telling format. Imagine being children and your father speaks of a beast coming after you. A beast is a threat. The obvious interpretation is that the prior beast kingdom which threatened and persecuted the children of God was wounded. John simply tells us, that this same beast is coming back to life again to hunt down God's children once more.
So figure out the first beast, and you will figure out the second beast, including the very peoples involved.
This is simply a revival of a wounded kingdom—not an individual. After Rome, which was eventually christianized, the greatest persecutor of the Church was none other than the Muslim Ottoman Empire, which will revive again as the eighth head being a replica of the seventh. John was not only referring to the time of the end, but to the seventh kingdom which will re-arise as the eighth, in the end (Revelation 17:10-11). It is crucial to keep in mind that Prophecy was intended for the whole of Church history and not just the end-days. Revelation 9 for example was commonly interpreted to be the Ottoman.
WHY ARE SO MANY CONFUSED (THERE ARE ALWAYS TWO CAMPS)
There are always two camps. Even the confused are two camps. In modern times many Catholics study prophecy exclusively from seers, while they ignore scripture; while another camp, the Evangelicals, these study prophecy from scripture alone without the fathers. I happen to have delved in all camps: Muslim, Protestant and now Catholic. What can I say. The Lord works in mysterious ways.
Even the errors repeat twice. Israel missed Messiah's first coming and when Christ comes again, we have five unworthy virgins missing the wedding. Everything repeats. Even during Israel, one camp had Messiah as the "suffering Messiah" (Messiah son of Yousef) while the other camp had the Messiah Who will "defeat Rome" and will be "King Messiah" (Messiah son of David).
Then Messiah showed up. And He was one Messiah coming twice.
So where the Rabbis wrong? No. It was the duty of each individual faithful to seek with all their strength in putting the two puzzles together. Both camps in ancient Israel were correct. Messiah will be a "suffering Messiah" and will also defeat pagan Rome by converting it later through His seed. What people lacked was the patience of Job.
Similarly, we also have the same beast coming twice; the "first beast" comes out of the sea to conquer one half of Christendom in Constantinople. Then that same beast gets a death wound and is buried in the earth to later come back out of the earth as the "second beast" to conquer the other half of Christendom: Rome.
When I was Muslim we used to say: "first we conquer Constantinople and then we will conquer Rome". The Islamic threat comprises the two beasts and the day when I studied scripture (as Muslim) it all came together.
The prophecy is for the whole of church history. Yet you still have people trying to find both beasts coming at once in the end times. Why? Its because the first beast (the Ottoman Turks) do not match the Vatican whom they insist is the "first beast".
There is always two sides with one side that hates the other; a Cain and an Abel. One loves an elaborate service to God. So he (Abel) sets an animal sacrifice with fire and all, where the smoke pleases God's nostrils. The other (Cain) simply offers fruit. Nothing changes. Today we have one side who goes elaborate and burns incense to please God's nostrils. The other side says that God has no nostrils so he offers grape juice.
So which side is right and which side is wrong? The answer to this is very simple. Just google and see which side hates the other and mouths off the most. Always remember, Cain hated Abel. Find the hate and you found Cain. Find the quite one who does not even consider the hatred and you found your Abel.
Holy Smokes. Abel loves to dress up for the King's Son's wedding and loves Holy Smokes. He is always accused of nearly setting the church on fire. Cain on the other hand is known by his gluten free and alcohol free sensitivities by banning whole wheat Communion including all the Holy Smokes, since, Cain says "it causes cancer". It will matter little to Cain if Antichrist bans gluten, the alcohol, and all the smoking that goes with it, while Abel prefers to die before he gives up his 2000 year old habit since old habits never die.
Christ always defies the interpreters who were limited. But only the meek were able to see it. Some had a piece of the puzzle, while others had the other piece, just as it is with Antichrist where John has one piece while Daniel has the other piece. The wise examines both pieces. The wise consider two comings, two beasts (the first out of the sea and the second out of the earth where the first was buried).
The problem is that whenever someone puts the puzzle together, the masses oust him out, since this new puzzle builder does not conform to either side of the two camps, yet he does, by putting both camps together. Yet the two camps refuse to unite. This, the puzzle builder has no control of since one camp has to accept Holy Smokes.
It is that new "John the Baptist type" who all camps reject. This is why he is a voice that "cries in the wilderness" and he is not found in the hauls of the churches. People must go out of their way to meet him and listen to his instruction crying "prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.".
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