(And upon his heads the name of blasphemy)
This means that all seven of the heads/empires of Revelation 13:1 blasphemed YHWH God of the Bible, either by worshipping pagan gods or human leaders instead of YHWH, or by denying a true work of YHWH.
(See Mark 3:29 above, and the "Islam" section of Galatians 1:8 above)
The empire of the future Antichrist having "a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months" (Revelation 13:5) could connect with the beast having a mouth "as the mouth of a lion" (Revelation 13:2), and could mean that the Antichrist (the individual-man aspect of the beast) will revive the specific blasphemy of the ancient empire of Babylon, which was represented by a lion in Daniel 7:3-4.
(See section 1 of Revelation 13:1 above. Also, see Daniel 7(space) above)
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*Revelation 13:2 / *Rev. 13:2 -
(Re: Will the Antichrist's reign be *legal?) / (*Pergamum / *Pergamos)
The future Antichrist's reign will be legal, for it will be part of Satan's legal reign over the earth (Luke 4:5-7). For Revelation 13:2b refers to when Satan (the dragon, Revelation 12:9) will give the Antichrist (the individual-man aspect of Revelation's "beast") Satan's own earthly throne (seat) and power, so that the Antichrist will have power over all nations (Revelation 13:7). This is what Satan offered Jesus Christ, if He would worship Satan (Luke 4:5-7). In the first century AD, Satan's earthly throne was in the city of Pergamos (Revelation 2:12-13), also called Pergamum (in what is now western Turkey). Satan's earthly throne could be the Great Altar of Pergamum, also called the Pergamon Altar, which in ancient times was sometimes included as one of the seven wonders of the world.
It may not be just a coincidence that shortly after the Pergamon Altar was moved to Berlin around 1900 AD, both World Wars were started from Berlin, or that "the Nazi-era architect Albert Speer used the Pergamon Altar as the model for the Zeppelintribüne, 1934-37. The Führer's pulpit was in the center of the tribune" (Pergamon Altar - Wikipedia) (quote has been deleted for some reason). When the future Antichrist is given power over the whole earth (Revelation 13:7), his throne could be located in the center of the actual Pergamon Altar, which he could move from Berlin to a main temple to himself (and to Lucifer/Satan) in the literal, rebuilt city of Babylon (in Iraq). For a temple to "wickedness" will be built in Shinar (Babylonia) (Zechariah 5:8,11; cf. Daniel 1:1-2), and the Antichrist is called "that Wicked" (2 Thessalonians 2:8). Also, the dragon has been the god worshipped in the city of Babylon since ancient times.
(See also Revelation 13:1 above)
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*Revelation 13:3 / *Rev. 13:3 -
(Re: *Head wound / *Wound)
Revelation 13:3 could have a dual meaning. It could refer to the revival of a dead, past empire, that is, one of the seven heads of Revelation's "beast" in its empire aspect (Revelation 13:1). And at the same time, it could apply, along with Revelation 13:14b, to the revival of the future Antichrist (the individual-man aspect of the beast), after he dies from a head wound in an assassination.
Regarding the revival of a dead, past empire... (See Revelation 13:1 above)
Regarding the revival of an assassinated Antichrist... (See Revelation 13:14 below)
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*Revelation 13:4 / *Rev. 13:4 -
(Re: The *Religion of the future Antichrist)
Christians need to be aware that during the future Antichrist's literal 3.5-year worldwide reign (Revelation 13:4-18), even though the world will consciously and openly worship Lucifer (Satan, the dragon) and the Antichrist (the individual-man aspect of Revelation's "beast") (Revelation 13:4-8, Revelation 12:9), this will not require that the Antichrist's one-world religion will say that Jesus is evil, or will turn the world against Jesus. For almost the entire world reveres Jesus, at least as being a good man. The Antichrist could confirm this basic world belief, but simply (in his words) "clarify" that while Jesus is indeed a good man, he is not the Christ or the Son of God (1 John 2:22). No doubt the Antichrist will also deny that Jesus suffered and died on the Cross for our sins, as this, just as believing that Jesus is the Christ and the Son of God (John 20:31, John 3:36), is one of the core beliefs of the Gospel by which people become saved from hell (1 Corinthians 15:1-4).
So what the Antichrist could do is keep the idea of a good Jesus, but strip it of everything by which Jesus saves people from hell. And this would not require that the Antichrist deny Jesus' Second Coming. Indeed, the Antichrist and his False Prophet (of Revelation 19:20) could even try to employ to their own ends the Biblical prophecy of Jesus' Second Coming, as well as the Muslim prophecy which says that the miracle-working prophet Jesus will return bodily from heaven in the last days to bring the whole earth into the worship of the true God. For the False Prophet could claim that he is Jesus returned (via "reincarnation"). And he could perform amazing miracles (Revelation 13:13) as purported proof of his claim (cf. John 3:2). This is one reason why it is important to know when and how the real Jesus' Second Coming will occur (Matthew 24:29-31; 2 Thessalonians 2:1-8; 1 Thessalonians 4:14-17, Revelation 19:7 to 20:6, Zechariah 14:3-21).
Once the False Prophet by his amazing miracles has brought the world under his spell (Revelation 13:13-18, Revelation 19:20), including many Muslims and Christians who may not care much for scriptural dogma, but could go wild over his signs and wonders, he could begin to (in his words) "restore to the world the real message which was spoken by me (Jesus) at my first coming, and by the great prophet Mohammed, but which message became corrupted by power-hungry men when they copied and changed the early manuscripts of the Bible and the Koran". He could then gradually initiate the world into the Antichrist's Gnostic Luciferianism (1 John 4:3, Revelation 13:4-6), also called Satanism, a religion which could have existed since ancient times in some "mystery" cults, and which still exists today in the highest degree of initiation of a worldwide secret society. The False Prophet could present his miraculously calling fire down from heaven (Revelation 13:13) as purported proof that Lucifer (the dragon, Satan) and the Antichrist are the true God (Revelation 13:4-8, Revelation 12:9), in an inversion of how back in Old Testament times the prophet Elijah miraculously called fire down from heaven to prove that YHWH is the true God (1 Kings 18:37-39).
The person whom the Antichrist will revile is YHWH (Revelation 13:6, Daniel 11:36), whom many people mistakenly think of as being (in their words) "the God of only the Old Testament, that cruel and hateful God who commanded people to commit genocide and to kill babies (1 Samuel 15:3), whereas Jesus came and preached love for everyone (Matthew 5:44)". The truth is that Jesus Christ confirmed that the God of the Old Testament, YHWH (Deuteronomy 6:4-5, Leviticus 19:18), is the same as the God of the New Testament (Mark 12:29-31), and that the Old Testament is true (Matthew 5:17-18, Luke 24:44-48). Jesus suffered and died for our sins in fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy from YHWH (Isaiah 53; 1 Peter 2:24). And He rose from the dead in fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy from YHWH (e.g. Psalms 16:10, Acts 2:31). Jesus died to establish the New Covenant (Matthew 26:28), which YHWH had foretold in the Old Testament (Jeremiah 31:31-34). And Jesus died to bring about the defeat of Satan (Hebrews 2:14), which YHWH had foretold from even the first book of the Old Testament (Genesis 3:15).
Nonetheless, building on many people's misconceptions of YHWH as being (in their words) "the cruel God of the Old Testament", no doubt one of the future Antichrist's chief blasphemies against YHWH (Revelation 13:6, Daniel 11:36) will be that YHWH is an evil god. This is one of the ancient blasphemies of Gnosticism, another being the antichrist lie that Christ is not in the flesh (2 John 1:7). The world will be deceived into completely rejecting YHWH, and worshipping Satan and the Antichrist instead (Revelation 13:4-8, Revelation 12:9). But Satan might not be worshipped as "Satan", which almost everyone sees as a bad name (it means "Adversary"), but as "Lucifer" (Isaiah 14:12), which means "the morning star". The Antichrist could falsely say that it is YHWH who is the true "Satan", the true "Adversary" of mankind. And the Antichrist could claim that even 2 Samuel 24:1 and 1 Chronicles 21:1 together prove this by showing that it was the single entity of YHWH/Satan who moved King David to number Israel. Of course, the truth is that 2 Samuel 24:1 and 1 Chronicles 21:1 together simply mean that YHWH used Satan to move David. YHWH elsewhere rebuked Satan (Zechariah 3:2), so they are in no way the same person.
Because the Antichrist and his False Prophet (possibly masquerading as Jesus) will deny that Jesus is the Christ (1 John 2:22) and will deny that Christ is in the flesh (1 John 4:3), and because they will bring the unsaved world into the worship of Lucifer (Satan, the dragon) instead (Revelation 13:4, Revelation 12:9), they could falsely say that (the non-mortal flesh) Lucifer is the Christ, that the new name of Christ (Revelation 3:12c) is "Lucifer Christ". For just as "Lucifer" means "the morning star", so Christ is the morning star (Revelation 22:16b). Also, Christ identified himself with the serpent (John 3:14), and Lucifer is the serpent (Revelation 12:9). Also, Christ said: "Ye are gods" (John 10:34), and it was the serpent who said: "ye shall be as gods" (Genesis 3:5).
But the truth is that Lucifer fell from his office of morning star (Isaiah 14:12) and became Satan (cf. Luke 10:18). Jesus Christ has taken over the office of morning star (Revelation 22:16). And Jesus Christ identified Himself only with the brass serpent on the pole in Numbers 21:8-9 (John 3:14), which typified Jesus Christ's crucifixion for our sins (John 19:16, Matthew 26:28). And in John 10:34, Jesus Christ (John 20:31) was quoting YHWH in Psalms 82:6-7, which shows that even though humans have knowledge of good and evil as gods do (Genesis 3:22), they will still die like humans (Psalms 82:7), contradicting the serpent's lie (Genesis 3:4). Nonetheless, the Antichrist could falsely say that Lucifer is the Christ and the true and beneficent God of mankind, and that the False Prophet is the miracle-working prophet Jesus (cf. John 3:2, Acts 3:22-24) returned to point the world to the true Christ/God. The Antichrist could falsely say that he (the Antichrist) is the human/divine "Son" of Lucifer, who must be worshipped as God along with Lucifer (Revelation 13:4,8). This would be similar to how Biblical Christians rightly worship the human/divine Jesus Christ (John 1:1,14) as YHWH God (the Son) along with YHWH God the Father (John 20:28, Hebrews 1:8).
Near the end of the future Tribulation of Revelation chapters 6 to 18 and Matthew 24, unclean spirits like frogs will come out of the mouths of Lucifer, the Antichrist, and the False Prophet (Revelation 16:13). And these unclean spirits like frogs will go forth and perform amazing miracles to convince the world's armies to gather together at Armageddon (Har Megiddo: Mount Megiddo in northern Israel) (Revelation 16:16) in an attempt to fight and defeat YHWH Himself (Revelation 16:14, Revelation 19:19). After gathering together at Armageddon, the armies will travel south and pillage Jerusalem, right before the real Jesus (who is YHWH: John 10:30) returns from heaven and defeats them completely (Zechariah 14:2-21, Revelation 19:20 to 20:3).
So the Second Coming of Jesus Christ will be a total shock to the world. The world will have been expecting to wage war against some evil Old Testament god named "YHWH" with the help of the good Jesus (played by the False Prophet), and with the help of the true and beneficent Christ/God (played by Lucifer), and with the help of the good Son of God (played by the Antichrist), and with the help of the good angels of God (played by the fallen angels of Lucifer: Revelation 12:9). But then, instead of some evil god appearing in the sky, the world could see the glorious sign of the Cross (cf. Matthew 24:30), the symbol of the good YHWH suffering and dying for our sins (Acts 20:28b). And then the world will see the glorious appearance of the real Jesus sitting on a white horse descending from the sky (Revelation 19:11-21).
When the people of the world realize at that moment how thoroughly they have been duped, and see in the sky the huge angelic armies (2 Thessalonians 1:7, Matthew 25:31) of the true Jesus, the true Christ, the true Son of God, and the good YHWH, who are all the one and the same Jesus Christ of Nazareth, then they could utterly mourn and wail for themselves (Matthew 24:30, Revelation 1:7), knowing in their spirits that Jesus has returned in wrath to destroy most of them for their unrepentant sins (2 Thessalonians 1:8-9, Revelation 19:15-21).
~
(Re: *Not Islam)
The future Antichrist (the individual-man aspect of Revelation's "beast"), during his literal 3.5-year worldwide reign (Revelation 13:5-18), will not support Islam in its past and current form, insofar as Islam affirms that Jesus is the Christ (e.g. Koran 4:157, Koran 4:171), while the Antichrist will deny that Jesus is the Christ (1 John 2:22). And Islam affirms that Christ is in the flesh, while the Antichrist (like the Gnostics) will deny that Christ is in the flesh (2 John 1:7). And Islam affirms that the God of the Bible (YHWH) is the true God, while the Antichrist (like the Gnostics) will utterly revile YHWH (Revelation 13:6, Daniel 11:36). And Islam (mistakenly) affirms that no man can be God, while the Antichrist will say that he is God (2 Thessalonians 2:4, Daniel 11:36). And Islam forbids the worship of any images (Koran 21:52, Koran 6:74), while the Antichrist will have an image made of himself to be worshipped (Revelation 13:15). And Islam rejects Lucifer (Satan) as being evil, while the Antichrist will bring the world into the conscious and open worship of Lucifer (Satan, the dragon) (Revelation 13:4, Revelation 12:9). So the future Antichrist's religion, during his 3.5-year worldwide reign, will not be Islam in its past and current form, but a blend of Gnosticism and Luciferianism, also called Satanism.
Nonetheless, before Lucifer/Satan gives the Antichrist power over all nations (Revelation 13:4-7), the Antichrist, and the man who will be his False Prophet (Revelation 19:20) (who could be a secretly apostate pope), could at first pretend to wholly support Islam in its current form (as well as Christianity), in order to start gaining a worldwide following.
(See also the "Islam" section of Galatians 1:8 above. And see Revelation 13:11 below, and the prior section here)
~
(Re: Do not Muslims deny that Jesus is the Christ?)
No, Muslims affirm that Jesus is the Christ (Koran 4:157, Koran 4:171, Koran 5:17, Koran 5:72, Koran 5:75, Koran 9:31). But they say that Jesus Christ is only an apostle of God (Koran 4:171, Koran 5:75; cf. Hebrews 3:1) and not also the divine/human Son of God (Koran 4:171-172, Koran 5:17, Koran 5:72, Koran 9:30-31; contrast Hebrews 1:8). And they deny that Jesus Christ suffered and died on the Cross for our sins (Koran 4:157; contrast 1 Corinthians 15:1-4). The future Antichrist will not support Islam during his literal 3.5-year worldwide reign (of Revelation 13:5-18), insofar as he will deny that Jesus is even the Christ (1 John 2:22). He will also contradict other teachings of Islam, as was shown in the section above here.
(See also the "Islam" section of Galatians 1:8 above)
~
(Re: Do not Muslims bow and worship toward a black rock in Mecca five times a day?)
Only "toward", that is, they never worship the rock itself. And the rock is not an image of anything. Instead, they only worship "Allah"/"God" himself. And they do not allow any images of "Allah"/"God" (or anything else, even animals) to ever be made.
~
(Re: They believe that this black rock takes away their sins!)
Can you quote a widely accepted Muslim writing which says that the rock itself takes away their sins, instead of "Allah"/"God" himself? Also, does not Islam claim that sins are not so much taken away, but rather must be ultimately outweighed at the last judgment by one's good deeds, if one is to enter heaven instead of hell?
~
(Re: Are not the Muslims being made out to be the scapegoat?) / (*Red herring)
Islam is currently serving as a red herring for some Christians who have been drawn away from the trail of the future Antichrist's actual religion of Gnostic Luciferianism, also called Satanism, which could have both a false Christ and a separate, false Jesus.
(See section 1 of Revelation 13:4 above)
~
(Re: Are not Muslims awaiting the arrival of their own Messiah?)
The Muslim Messiah is Jesus (Koran 4:157, Koran 4:171, Koran 5:17, Koran 5:72, Koran 5:75, Koran 9:31). And Muslims are awaiting Jesus' Second Coming.
(Regarding the separate "Mahdi", see that section below)
~
(Re: What about Muslim prophecies of Jesus' Second Coming?)
The detailed Muslim prophecies regarding what Jesus will do at His Second Coming are not Biblical, and so nothing requires that they will all be fulfilled by someone who will claim to be Jesus returned and who will support Islam.
Also, regarding the Muslim idea that the returned Jesus "will kill the Antichrist and his followers made up largely of Jews and women", here "the Antichrist" is not the future man whom Christians commonly call the Antichrist, but the future man whom the Muslims commonly call the "Masih ad-Dajjal", which means "The False Messiah", or "The False Christ", who indeed could be Jewish.
(See the "Dajjal" and the "Not Christ" sections of Revelation 13:4 below)
~
(Re: But *beheading is what Muslims do)
Note that beheading is not limited to Muslims. The future Antichrist (the individual-man aspect of Revelation's "beast"), who will not be a Muslim, could employ beheading as his preferred method of execution (Revelation 20:4) for the same reason that the atheists employed beheading during the French Revolution, using guillotines: that is, to instill terror in people who would oppose his rule. For beheading is the most graphic and bloody (that is, the visually most shocking) way to kill people.
Also, the Antichrist could employ beheading for the same reason that the ancient pagan Romans employed it: Because it is painless (when it is done with one blow, such as with a large axe). The Romans employed it whenever they executed a Roman citizen, such as Paul the apostle (Acts 21:39, Acts 22:25-29), who was beheaded when he was executed (Tertullian, Scorpiace, chapter 15). People who were not Roman citizens, such as Jesus Christ and Peter the apostle, were executed by the very painful method of crucifixion (Tertullian, Scorpiace, chapter 15). That is, the Antichrist could claim that he is beheading people (with one blow, such as with guillotines) because he is such a good guy that he does not want to cause them any pain; he just needs to remove them from the scene so that they will not (in his words) "hinder the return of humanity to a higher spiritual level".
Also, the Antichrist could employ beheading because he could have grown up surrounded by Muslims. That is, since his childhood he could have been aware of beheading as being claimed to be a very religious act (that is, in Islamic jihad: Islamic "holy war"). And the Antichrist himself could have grown up as a Druze Arab in Lebanon, in the modern city of Tyre (Ezekiel 28:2; 2 Thessalonians 2:4). And the Druze religion is quasi-Islamic.
The Druze religion is different from Islam in that it is...
(See "waiting" under the "Druze" section of Revelation 13:4 below)
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Next entry / Prior / Table of Contents
Jan 2, 2019
This means that all seven of the heads/empires of Revelation 13:1 blasphemed YHWH God of the Bible, either by worshipping pagan gods or human leaders instead of YHWH, or by denying a true work of YHWH.
(See Mark 3:29 above, and the "Islam" section of Galatians 1:8 above)
The empire of the future Antichrist having "a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months" (Revelation 13:5) could connect with the beast having a mouth "as the mouth of a lion" (Revelation 13:2), and could mean that the Antichrist (the individual-man aspect of the beast) will revive the specific blasphemy of the ancient empire of Babylon, which was represented by a lion in Daniel 7:3-4.
(See section 1 of Revelation 13:1 above. Also, see Daniel 7(space) above)
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*Revelation 13:2 / *Rev. 13:2 -
(Re: Will the Antichrist's reign be *legal?) / (*Pergamum / *Pergamos)
The future Antichrist's reign will be legal, for it will be part of Satan's legal reign over the earth (Luke 4:5-7). For Revelation 13:2b refers to when Satan (the dragon, Revelation 12:9) will give the Antichrist (the individual-man aspect of Revelation's "beast") Satan's own earthly throne (seat) and power, so that the Antichrist will have power over all nations (Revelation 13:7). This is what Satan offered Jesus Christ, if He would worship Satan (Luke 4:5-7). In the first century AD, Satan's earthly throne was in the city of Pergamos (Revelation 2:12-13), also called Pergamum (in what is now western Turkey). Satan's earthly throne could be the Great Altar of Pergamum, also called the Pergamon Altar, which in ancient times was sometimes included as one of the seven wonders of the world.
It may not be just a coincidence that shortly after the Pergamon Altar was moved to Berlin around 1900 AD, both World Wars were started from Berlin, or that "the Nazi-era architect Albert Speer used the Pergamon Altar as the model for the Zeppelintribüne, 1934-37. The Führer's pulpit was in the center of the tribune" (Pergamon Altar - Wikipedia) (quote has been deleted for some reason). When the future Antichrist is given power over the whole earth (Revelation 13:7), his throne could be located in the center of the actual Pergamon Altar, which he could move from Berlin to a main temple to himself (and to Lucifer/Satan) in the literal, rebuilt city of Babylon (in Iraq). For a temple to "wickedness" will be built in Shinar (Babylonia) (Zechariah 5:8,11; cf. Daniel 1:1-2), and the Antichrist is called "that Wicked" (2 Thessalonians 2:8). Also, the dragon has been the god worshipped in the city of Babylon since ancient times.
(See also Revelation 13:1 above)
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*Revelation 13:3 / *Rev. 13:3 -
(Re: *Head wound / *Wound)
Revelation 13:3 could have a dual meaning. It could refer to the revival of a dead, past empire, that is, one of the seven heads of Revelation's "beast" in its empire aspect (Revelation 13:1). And at the same time, it could apply, along with Revelation 13:14b, to the revival of the future Antichrist (the individual-man aspect of the beast), after he dies from a head wound in an assassination.
Regarding the revival of a dead, past empire... (See Revelation 13:1 above)
Regarding the revival of an assassinated Antichrist... (See Revelation 13:14 below)
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*Revelation 13:4 / *Rev. 13:4 -
(Re: The *Religion of the future Antichrist)
Christians need to be aware that during the future Antichrist's literal 3.5-year worldwide reign (Revelation 13:4-18), even though the world will consciously and openly worship Lucifer (Satan, the dragon) and the Antichrist (the individual-man aspect of Revelation's "beast") (Revelation 13:4-8, Revelation 12:9), this will not require that the Antichrist's one-world religion will say that Jesus is evil, or will turn the world against Jesus. For almost the entire world reveres Jesus, at least as being a good man. The Antichrist could confirm this basic world belief, but simply (in his words) "clarify" that while Jesus is indeed a good man, he is not the Christ or the Son of God (1 John 2:22). No doubt the Antichrist will also deny that Jesus suffered and died on the Cross for our sins, as this, just as believing that Jesus is the Christ and the Son of God (John 20:31, John 3:36), is one of the core beliefs of the Gospel by which people become saved from hell (1 Corinthians 15:1-4).
So what the Antichrist could do is keep the idea of a good Jesus, but strip it of everything by which Jesus saves people from hell. And this would not require that the Antichrist deny Jesus' Second Coming. Indeed, the Antichrist and his False Prophet (of Revelation 19:20) could even try to employ to their own ends the Biblical prophecy of Jesus' Second Coming, as well as the Muslim prophecy which says that the miracle-working prophet Jesus will return bodily from heaven in the last days to bring the whole earth into the worship of the true God. For the False Prophet could claim that he is Jesus returned (via "reincarnation"). And he could perform amazing miracles (Revelation 13:13) as purported proof of his claim (cf. John 3:2). This is one reason why it is important to know when and how the real Jesus' Second Coming will occur (Matthew 24:29-31; 2 Thessalonians 2:1-8; 1 Thessalonians 4:14-17, Revelation 19:7 to 20:6, Zechariah 14:3-21).
Once the False Prophet by his amazing miracles has brought the world under his spell (Revelation 13:13-18, Revelation 19:20), including many Muslims and Christians who may not care much for scriptural dogma, but could go wild over his signs and wonders, he could begin to (in his words) "restore to the world the real message which was spoken by me (Jesus) at my first coming, and by the great prophet Mohammed, but which message became corrupted by power-hungry men when they copied and changed the early manuscripts of the Bible and the Koran". He could then gradually initiate the world into the Antichrist's Gnostic Luciferianism (1 John 4:3, Revelation 13:4-6), also called Satanism, a religion which could have existed since ancient times in some "mystery" cults, and which still exists today in the highest degree of initiation of a worldwide secret society. The False Prophet could present his miraculously calling fire down from heaven (Revelation 13:13) as purported proof that Lucifer (the dragon, Satan) and the Antichrist are the true God (Revelation 13:4-8, Revelation 12:9), in an inversion of how back in Old Testament times the prophet Elijah miraculously called fire down from heaven to prove that YHWH is the true God (1 Kings 18:37-39).
The person whom the Antichrist will revile is YHWH (Revelation 13:6, Daniel 11:36), whom many people mistakenly think of as being (in their words) "the God of only the Old Testament, that cruel and hateful God who commanded people to commit genocide and to kill babies (1 Samuel 15:3), whereas Jesus came and preached love for everyone (Matthew 5:44)". The truth is that Jesus Christ confirmed that the God of the Old Testament, YHWH (Deuteronomy 6:4-5, Leviticus 19:18), is the same as the God of the New Testament (Mark 12:29-31), and that the Old Testament is true (Matthew 5:17-18, Luke 24:44-48). Jesus suffered and died for our sins in fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy from YHWH (Isaiah 53; 1 Peter 2:24). And He rose from the dead in fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy from YHWH (e.g. Psalms 16:10, Acts 2:31). Jesus died to establish the New Covenant (Matthew 26:28), which YHWH had foretold in the Old Testament (Jeremiah 31:31-34). And Jesus died to bring about the defeat of Satan (Hebrews 2:14), which YHWH had foretold from even the first book of the Old Testament (Genesis 3:15).
Nonetheless, building on many people's misconceptions of YHWH as being (in their words) "the cruel God of the Old Testament", no doubt one of the future Antichrist's chief blasphemies against YHWH (Revelation 13:6, Daniel 11:36) will be that YHWH is an evil god. This is one of the ancient blasphemies of Gnosticism, another being the antichrist lie that Christ is not in the flesh (2 John 1:7). The world will be deceived into completely rejecting YHWH, and worshipping Satan and the Antichrist instead (Revelation 13:4-8, Revelation 12:9). But Satan might not be worshipped as "Satan", which almost everyone sees as a bad name (it means "Adversary"), but as "Lucifer" (Isaiah 14:12), which means "the morning star". The Antichrist could falsely say that it is YHWH who is the true "Satan", the true "Adversary" of mankind. And the Antichrist could claim that even 2 Samuel 24:1 and 1 Chronicles 21:1 together prove this by showing that it was the single entity of YHWH/Satan who moved King David to number Israel. Of course, the truth is that 2 Samuel 24:1 and 1 Chronicles 21:1 together simply mean that YHWH used Satan to move David. YHWH elsewhere rebuked Satan (Zechariah 3:2), so they are in no way the same person.
Because the Antichrist and his False Prophet (possibly masquerading as Jesus) will deny that Jesus is the Christ (1 John 2:22) and will deny that Christ is in the flesh (1 John 4:3), and because they will bring the unsaved world into the worship of Lucifer (Satan, the dragon) instead (Revelation 13:4, Revelation 12:9), they could falsely say that (the non-mortal flesh) Lucifer is the Christ, that the new name of Christ (Revelation 3:12c) is "Lucifer Christ". For just as "Lucifer" means "the morning star", so Christ is the morning star (Revelation 22:16b). Also, Christ identified himself with the serpent (John 3:14), and Lucifer is the serpent (Revelation 12:9). Also, Christ said: "Ye are gods" (John 10:34), and it was the serpent who said: "ye shall be as gods" (Genesis 3:5).
But the truth is that Lucifer fell from his office of morning star (Isaiah 14:12) and became Satan (cf. Luke 10:18). Jesus Christ has taken over the office of morning star (Revelation 22:16). And Jesus Christ identified Himself only with the brass serpent on the pole in Numbers 21:8-9 (John 3:14), which typified Jesus Christ's crucifixion for our sins (John 19:16, Matthew 26:28). And in John 10:34, Jesus Christ (John 20:31) was quoting YHWH in Psalms 82:6-7, which shows that even though humans have knowledge of good and evil as gods do (Genesis 3:22), they will still die like humans (Psalms 82:7), contradicting the serpent's lie (Genesis 3:4). Nonetheless, the Antichrist could falsely say that Lucifer is the Christ and the true and beneficent God of mankind, and that the False Prophet is the miracle-working prophet Jesus (cf. John 3:2, Acts 3:22-24) returned to point the world to the true Christ/God. The Antichrist could falsely say that he (the Antichrist) is the human/divine "Son" of Lucifer, who must be worshipped as God along with Lucifer (Revelation 13:4,8). This would be similar to how Biblical Christians rightly worship the human/divine Jesus Christ (John 1:1,14) as YHWH God (the Son) along with YHWH God the Father (John 20:28, Hebrews 1:8).
Near the end of the future Tribulation of Revelation chapters 6 to 18 and Matthew 24, unclean spirits like frogs will come out of the mouths of Lucifer, the Antichrist, and the False Prophet (Revelation 16:13). And these unclean spirits like frogs will go forth and perform amazing miracles to convince the world's armies to gather together at Armageddon (Har Megiddo: Mount Megiddo in northern Israel) (Revelation 16:16) in an attempt to fight and defeat YHWH Himself (Revelation 16:14, Revelation 19:19). After gathering together at Armageddon, the armies will travel south and pillage Jerusalem, right before the real Jesus (who is YHWH: John 10:30) returns from heaven and defeats them completely (Zechariah 14:2-21, Revelation 19:20 to 20:3).
So the Second Coming of Jesus Christ will be a total shock to the world. The world will have been expecting to wage war against some evil Old Testament god named "YHWH" with the help of the good Jesus (played by the False Prophet), and with the help of the true and beneficent Christ/God (played by Lucifer), and with the help of the good Son of God (played by the Antichrist), and with the help of the good angels of God (played by the fallen angels of Lucifer: Revelation 12:9). But then, instead of some evil god appearing in the sky, the world could see the glorious sign of the Cross (cf. Matthew 24:30), the symbol of the good YHWH suffering and dying for our sins (Acts 20:28b). And then the world will see the glorious appearance of the real Jesus sitting on a white horse descending from the sky (Revelation 19:11-21).
When the people of the world realize at that moment how thoroughly they have been duped, and see in the sky the huge angelic armies (2 Thessalonians 1:7, Matthew 25:31) of the true Jesus, the true Christ, the true Son of God, and the good YHWH, who are all the one and the same Jesus Christ of Nazareth, then they could utterly mourn and wail for themselves (Matthew 24:30, Revelation 1:7), knowing in their spirits that Jesus has returned in wrath to destroy most of them for their unrepentant sins (2 Thessalonians 1:8-9, Revelation 19:15-21).
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(Re: *Not Islam)
The future Antichrist (the individual-man aspect of Revelation's "beast"), during his literal 3.5-year worldwide reign (Revelation 13:5-18), will not support Islam in its past and current form, insofar as Islam affirms that Jesus is the Christ (e.g. Koran 4:157, Koran 4:171), while the Antichrist will deny that Jesus is the Christ (1 John 2:22). And Islam affirms that Christ is in the flesh, while the Antichrist (like the Gnostics) will deny that Christ is in the flesh (2 John 1:7). And Islam affirms that the God of the Bible (YHWH) is the true God, while the Antichrist (like the Gnostics) will utterly revile YHWH (Revelation 13:6, Daniel 11:36). And Islam (mistakenly) affirms that no man can be God, while the Antichrist will say that he is God (2 Thessalonians 2:4, Daniel 11:36). And Islam forbids the worship of any images (Koran 21:52, Koran 6:74), while the Antichrist will have an image made of himself to be worshipped (Revelation 13:15). And Islam rejects Lucifer (Satan) as being evil, while the Antichrist will bring the world into the conscious and open worship of Lucifer (Satan, the dragon) (Revelation 13:4, Revelation 12:9). So the future Antichrist's religion, during his 3.5-year worldwide reign, will not be Islam in its past and current form, but a blend of Gnosticism and Luciferianism, also called Satanism.
Nonetheless, before Lucifer/Satan gives the Antichrist power over all nations (Revelation 13:4-7), the Antichrist, and the man who will be his False Prophet (Revelation 19:20) (who could be a secretly apostate pope), could at first pretend to wholly support Islam in its current form (as well as Christianity), in order to start gaining a worldwide following.
(See also the "Islam" section of Galatians 1:8 above. And see Revelation 13:11 below, and the prior section here)
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(Re: Do not Muslims deny that Jesus is the Christ?)
No, Muslims affirm that Jesus is the Christ (Koran 4:157, Koran 4:171, Koran 5:17, Koran 5:72, Koran 5:75, Koran 9:31). But they say that Jesus Christ is only an apostle of God (Koran 4:171, Koran 5:75; cf. Hebrews 3:1) and not also the divine/human Son of God (Koran 4:171-172, Koran 5:17, Koran 5:72, Koran 9:30-31; contrast Hebrews 1:8). And they deny that Jesus Christ suffered and died on the Cross for our sins (Koran 4:157; contrast 1 Corinthians 15:1-4). The future Antichrist will not support Islam during his literal 3.5-year worldwide reign (of Revelation 13:5-18), insofar as he will deny that Jesus is even the Christ (1 John 2:22). He will also contradict other teachings of Islam, as was shown in the section above here.
(See also the "Islam" section of Galatians 1:8 above)
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(Re: Do not Muslims bow and worship toward a black rock in Mecca five times a day?)
Only "toward", that is, they never worship the rock itself. And the rock is not an image of anything. Instead, they only worship "Allah"/"God" himself. And they do not allow any images of "Allah"/"God" (or anything else, even animals) to ever be made.
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(Re: They believe that this black rock takes away their sins!)
Can you quote a widely accepted Muslim writing which says that the rock itself takes away their sins, instead of "Allah"/"God" himself? Also, does not Islam claim that sins are not so much taken away, but rather must be ultimately outweighed at the last judgment by one's good deeds, if one is to enter heaven instead of hell?
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(Re: Are not the Muslims being made out to be the scapegoat?) / (*Red herring)
Islam is currently serving as a red herring for some Christians who have been drawn away from the trail of the future Antichrist's actual religion of Gnostic Luciferianism, also called Satanism, which could have both a false Christ and a separate, false Jesus.
(See section 1 of Revelation 13:4 above)
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(Re: Are not Muslims awaiting the arrival of their own Messiah?)
The Muslim Messiah is Jesus (Koran 4:157, Koran 4:171, Koran 5:17, Koran 5:72, Koran 5:75, Koran 9:31). And Muslims are awaiting Jesus' Second Coming.
(Regarding the separate "Mahdi", see that section below)
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(Re: What about Muslim prophecies of Jesus' Second Coming?)
The detailed Muslim prophecies regarding what Jesus will do at His Second Coming are not Biblical, and so nothing requires that they will all be fulfilled by someone who will claim to be Jesus returned and who will support Islam.
Also, regarding the Muslim idea that the returned Jesus "will kill the Antichrist and his followers made up largely of Jews and women", here "the Antichrist" is not the future man whom Christians commonly call the Antichrist, but the future man whom the Muslims commonly call the "Masih ad-Dajjal", which means "The False Messiah", or "The False Christ", who indeed could be Jewish.
(See the "Dajjal" and the "Not Christ" sections of Revelation 13:4 below)
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(Re: But *beheading is what Muslims do)
Note that beheading is not limited to Muslims. The future Antichrist (the individual-man aspect of Revelation's "beast"), who will not be a Muslim, could employ beheading as his preferred method of execution (Revelation 20:4) for the same reason that the atheists employed beheading during the French Revolution, using guillotines: that is, to instill terror in people who would oppose his rule. For beheading is the most graphic and bloody (that is, the visually most shocking) way to kill people.
Also, the Antichrist could employ beheading for the same reason that the ancient pagan Romans employed it: Because it is painless (when it is done with one blow, such as with a large axe). The Romans employed it whenever they executed a Roman citizen, such as Paul the apostle (Acts 21:39, Acts 22:25-29), who was beheaded when he was executed (Tertullian, Scorpiace, chapter 15). People who were not Roman citizens, such as Jesus Christ and Peter the apostle, were executed by the very painful method of crucifixion (Tertullian, Scorpiace, chapter 15). That is, the Antichrist could claim that he is beheading people (with one blow, such as with guillotines) because he is such a good guy that he does not want to cause them any pain; he just needs to remove them from the scene so that they will not (in his words) "hinder the return of humanity to a higher spiritual level".
Also, the Antichrist could employ beheading because he could have grown up surrounded by Muslims. That is, since his childhood he could have been aware of beheading as being claimed to be a very religious act (that is, in Islamic jihad: Islamic "holy war"). And the Antichrist himself could have grown up as a Druze Arab in Lebanon, in the modern city of Tyre (Ezekiel 28:2; 2 Thessalonians 2:4). And the Druze religion is quasi-Islamic.
The Druze religion is different from Islam in that it is...
(See "waiting" under the "Druze" section of Revelation 13:4 below)
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