STAND FIRM: The Great Deception Trap is Set
In the previous two articles, I shared that at the end of the age it’s foretold we will face two great spiritual dangers — the Great Apostasy and the Great Deception. Both are tied with the rise of the Antichrist. The apostasy or turning away occurs due to the persecution his rise brings. Specifically, this is said to be done as beheadings. The deception or delusion is caused by the miracles and amazing works performed by the False Prophet on behalf of the Antichrist. These two devasting faith challenges will entrap many. The fear of gruesome death and the stunning intrigue of the wonders connected with a possible messiah-figure Antichrist will be a trap — a trap I believe may already be set.
If you’ve been tracking through my past two series of articles — “The Location of the Antichrist” and “Future Headlines” — then my next few questions may be easy for you. Would you think through these factors with me and consider the possible end-time scenario that is forming?
• Where is the center stage of the end times events? It’s Jerusalem, Israel and Israel’s neighbors. In other words, it’s the Middle East.
• Where does the biblical evidence of the origin of the Antichrist, such as Magog, the north, Javan and others point to his empire rise from? The evidence seems to all point to modern-day Turkey.
•What empire does Rev. 17:9-11 point to coming back as the final empire of the Antichrist? The Ottoman Empire or Islamic Caliphate ruled from Turkey.
• What type of execution for Christians has been characteristic of the Islamic Caliphate throughout history? Beheadings.
You see where I’m going, don’t you? If we add this up, the biblical evidence seems to strongly point to the Antichrist being the leader of a revived Ottoman Empire or Islamic Caliphate. Therefore, what is likely to be the religion of the Antichrist and False Prophet? There’s no doubt it will be Islam. There isn’t a distinction between the Ottoman Empire apart from Islam. Its leader is seen as not just a political leader, but a religious one as well. Therefore, I believe it’s very likely that the religion of the Antichrist and False Prophet will be Islam.
Most prophecy teachers over the past several decades have taught that a one-world religion would rise in the end times. They present the idea that with the rise of the Antichrist the world would become engulfed in a new singular religion. This is nearly impossible. Christianity is the largest religion on the globe today, and it has been spreading for 2,000 years. Islam is number two and it’s been spreading for 1,400 years. The idea that a brand-new religion could appear in 3.5 or 7 years seems crazy to me.
We can’t find that the religion of the Antichrist will be Islam anywhere in Scripture, and assuming things is usually dangerous ground, but I believe the evidence points to this possibility. And because of the danger such a reality would bring, it’s important we consider the possibility.
If this is the case, the trap of the Great Apostasy and Great Deception has been set. It was set in 610 AD and currently has 24% of the world’s population ensnared. The Pew Research Center forecasts that by 2050 AD, Islam will catch and surpass Christianity as the world’s largest religion.
When projecting an end time scenario, it seems easier to propose wild grandiose ideas, but the end of the age will happen on the same earth where we live now. The actual end of the age will be rooted in the world as we know it. The idea of the Antichrist or False Prophet starting a brand-new religion — it’s hard to conceive what that would look like, but we know what a steamrolling Islamic Caliphate could look like. We know how people are deceived into Islam. We know the oppression within Islam. We know the persecution Islam can bring to this world. We’ve seen the news footage of beheadings.
For this reason, I believe it’s important to consider Islam being the religion of the Antichrist and his coalition of nations. If the False Prophet’s miracles are performed on behalf of Islam, this should become even more concerning when the Islamic end time’s view is considered. The Islamic end-time view is the exact opposite of the Christian view. The description of their Messiah matches our description of the Antichrist. The description of their Jesus who returns is identical to our description of the False Prophet. The description of their Dajjal (Antichrist) is identical to our description of Jesus.
I will dive into this more in my next article, but you can begin to see that this twist would greatly intensify the Great Deception.
Jake is the newest Arkansas state missionary and would love to share about the work in Northwest Arkansas and encourage your church to stand firm. Contact him at standfirmministries.com.
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Jake McCandless
Jake McCandless authors a weekly column titled, Stand Firm and Live Epic, through which he seeks to encourage the modern church to not just survive, but thrive in current times. He also addresses many end-times topics.
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