WHAT'S

HAPPENING?

BY

SANDRA ROBINSON

PART IV

THE THREAT OF ISLAM

CONTENTS

Chapter 18 Prophecies from the Bible Chapter 19 The Messiah, The Mahdi, The Anti-christ Chapter 20 So How Does This Apply to Us?

CHAPTER 18

PROPHECIES FROM THE BIBLE

It is very important to pay attention to the lessons that can be learned from history, as well as the facts. In Apocalypse Soon: The End Times Explained, Looking Back To See The Future, by Dr Selwyn Stephens, he writes “All symbolism calls for wisdom and context.” Referring to the Woman on the Beast, in Revelation 17:3-18, verse 9 tells us that “the seven heads are seven hills/mountains. They are also seven kings. Mountains are symbolic of kingdoms or empires. How could Rome, the “city on 7 hills” also have 7 kings, each with the name of blasphemy on it? Look at it again. There are actually 8 “beast” empires, and the eighth will be ruled by Antichrist.

“Image from Nebuchadnezzer's Dream

Daniel 2 (one view)

1. 606 BC - Babylon (gold - Nebuchadnezzer's empire)

2. 536 BC - Medes and Persians (silver)

3. 336 BC – Greek (copper)

4. 200 BC - Roman Republic and Empire (iron)

5. 300 AD - Rome divided into west and east, fall in 476 & 1453 AD

? Revived Roman/ European confederacy? (iron and clay).”

“There are actually 8 [world] empires, and the eighth will be ruled by Antichrist!

1. Egyptian

2. Assyrian

3. Babylonian

4. Medo-Persian

5. Greek-Macedonian

(These have fallen, Rev. 17: 10

6. Roman (during John's life)

7. Not yet existing when John lived, will come, cease to exist, and then

return.

“The 7^th must come from the regions of the first five. The common view is this is a revived Roman Empire. If Rome was 6, returns as 7, what is 8? (By the way, Rome isn't the city on seven hills – it actually has eight hills: Vatican hill, Quirinal hill, Capitoline hill, Aventine hill, Caelian hill, Palatine hill, Esqualine hill, and Viminal hill.)

“Every one of the previous empires ruled the Middle East including Jerusalem. Each of the empires, by and large, destroyed and absorbed their predecessor. Who absorbed the Roman Empire? It decayed, fractured, and every attempt to revive it has been unsuccessful. Rome was in decay in 395 AD when it divided into East and West: West conquered by Odoacer who deposed the last Western emperor, Romulus Augustus; East was called Byzan-tine, later conquered by the Ottomans in 1453, led by Mehemet 2^nd.

“In 637, Umar Ibn Khattab founded the Islamic Caliphate. They took Jerusalem, and ruled the middle East until 1924.

“Islam's domination of the Middle East saw Europe lose access to India through the Black Sea. The search for new sea routes saw discovery around South Africa, and then later ultimately saw the discovery of the Americas.

“Following the fall of the Ottoman Empire as a result of their alliance with Germany during World War One, it was Western “Christian” nations (mainly Britain and France), that abolished the office of the Caliphate, thus severing the head of Islam. They also redrew the boundaries on many Middle East nations, including Syria, Iraq, Jordan etc. Let's not forget that the Ottoman Empire was based in Turkey.

“Let's consider all those early empires again:

1. Egypt (3100-1070 BC) included Sudan, Syria, central Turkey. Now all Muslim.

2. Assyria (1800-609 BC) Eastern part of Turkey, Syria, Iraq, western half of Iran, Jordan, Lebanon, most of Egypt and northern part of Saudi Arabia. Now all Muslim.

3. Babylon (1764-689 BC) All of the above plus more of Iran and Saudi Arabia. Now all Muslim.

4. Media-Persia (550-330 BC) All of Turkey, Greece, Georgia, Afghanistan, some of the old Soviet Central Asian republics, Pakistan, parts of western India, all of Iran, Iraq over to eastern Libya. Overwhelmingly Islamic.

5. Greek-Macedonia (350-64 BC) Most of the above plus Bulgaria, Romania, but less of the old Soviet Central Asian republics. Overwhelmingly Islamic, with only Greece and Israel not.

NOTE: When Alexander the Great died 323 BC, his four most important generals fought for control, and decided to have a quarter of the empire each. Cassander took the west – Greece; Lisimachus took the north – Asia/Turkey; Seleucius took the east – Babylonia and Syria; and Ptolemy took the south – Egypt.

“Image from Nebuchadnezzar's Dream

Daniel 2 (another view)

606 BC – Babylon (gold)

536 BC – Medes & Persians (silver)

350-64BC – Greece/Macedonia (copper)]

27 BC-1453 AD – Roman/Byzantine ]

647-1924 AD – Islamic Caliphate & Ottomans (iron)

? - Revived Islamic Caliphate (iron and clay)

“Virtually all the old Eastern Roman Empire, called Byzantine, is now under Islamic control.

Most think and teach these empires are Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece and then Rome. But the key to understanding is the statement in verse 35 of Daniel 2:34-35 “crushed together” by Jesus Christ on His return. All those kingdoms will be destroyed together. Rome never crushed Babylon.” [They never got that far because of Trajan's forced retreat in 116 AD, so the Roman and Babylonian Empires really didn't overlap.]

“Nebuchadnezzer's dream was about the future of the territories he then ruled. Rome had little influence in Babylon and the Mesopotamia regions. His dream covered a time frame of about 1300 years. Far from conquering the other empires, Rome was in turn strongly influenced and even dominated by the Greek culture. It is fair to state that Rome is really an outgrowth of Greece; they are related ethnically and culturally. When the Greek religion came to Rome, the Greek gods were given Roman names; Zeus became Jupiter, Aphrodite becane Venus, etc. They are cousins in virtually all aspects. Even the New Testament was written in Greek, rather than Latin. Rome might have controlled, but was unable to “crush”.

“Only the Islamic Caliphate can fulfil the criteria for Daniel 2:40. All of the territory of those ancient kingdoms on the preceding pages is now under Islamic control, with the exception of Greece and Israel.”

The Islamic Goal

“Consider that every Moslem's duty is to Arabize the world, with one language, one government, and one religion, Islam. Babylon changed its language to Arabic and adopted Islam. Persia replaced its religion, kept its language but adopted the alphabet. Egypt and others lost all and were absorbed into all things Islamic.

Daniel 2:42-43 talks of the iron not mixing with the clay. “It's chemically impossible. But God is able to use symbolic language to show what he means. Strongs 6148 uses terms like 'mixture, mongrel race, Arabia, mingled people, mixed'. Mixed but not united! So to be mixed is to be 'arabized' but not remain united.” The kingdom of Ishmael. Genesis 16:12 says 'He will be a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be against everyone and everyone's hand against him, and he will live in hostility towards all his brothers.'

“The sectarian divide between Sunni and Shia Islam must be obvious to all. As Ezekiel records: 'Every man's sword shall be against his brother.' (Ezekiel 38:21)

“Revelation 17 speaks of seven empires plus a revived number eight. Daniel 2 speaks of four empires plus a fifth one revived. These are parallels and both show that the second last one in each has a second distinct phase into the last empire.

“In Revelation 17, the last empire (numbers 7 and 8) follow and are distinct from Rome. The fatal wound was in 1924 when the Caliphate was abolished and the Middle East was divided and colonised by Britain and France. The fifth's empire of Nebuchadnezzar is the revival of the Islamic Caliphate.

“Daniel dreamed about the kingdoms of the age – recorded in Daniel 7 & 8. The Apostle John also dreamed of similar beasts, representing end-time kingdoms, recorded in Revelation 13 & 14.”

“Daniel 7:20-24 shows it will break into ten horns or kingdoms. When Alexander the Great died, his empire broke into four, and then ten kingdoms: Ptolemaic Egypt, Seleucia, Macedon, Pergamum, Pontus, Bithynia, Cappadocia, Armenia, Parthia and Bactria. Antiochus the Great subdued Cappadocia, Armenia and Parthia. His son, Antiochus Epiphanes greatly persecuted the Jews.

Egypt, replaced by Assyria

Assyria, replaced by Babylonian

Babylon, replaced by Persia

Persia, replaced by Greece

Greece, replaced by Rome

Rome, replaced by Islam

Islam, replaced by the West

“Each king was replaced or 'plucked' by its successor. From Babylon onwards all are destroyed by Jesus Christ on His return. Islam isn't decayed or conquered, but is utterly and decisively destroyed by Jesus Christ as a judgment from God. This will be complete and absolute destruction.”

“But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end. And the kingdom and the dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him. (Daniel 7:26-27).

“There is connecting information that will assist our understanding, but it hasn't been widely available until recently. Remember the sacking of Jerusalem in 70 AD by General Titus. Yes, he was a Roman, but where did he come from originally? From the area we now call Turkey, near the Syrian border.

“And what about those Roman legions that he was directing to take Jeru-salem? The 5^th Legion was called 'Macedonica' and came from Serbia, Bulgaria and Moesia. The 10^th Legion was called 'Fretensis' and came from Turkey and Syria. The 12^th Legion was called 'Fulminata' and came from Eastern Turkey, Syria and Melitene. The 15^th Legion was called 'Apollinaris' and came from Syria. These were not peoples friendly to Israel, ever!

“THE LOCATION OF GOG AND MAGOG

“Many recent 'prophets' have mis-interpreted the Scriptures relating to this. The reason for their error has been their own political prejudices based on the Cold War. Russia and its allies had to be demonised. (Interestingly, the Russians didn't exist until the 9^th Century AD.) Consequently, the following was frequently claimed:

“Please check out the map of the Roman Empire's provinces for the area. Apart from the last three listed above, almost all the above-named regions are in the area controlled by the Scythians, to the south and east of the Caspian Sea.

“The Matthew Henry Complete Commentary speaks of this diversity of opinion. 'Some think they find them [Gog and Magog] afar off, in Scythia, Tartary, and Southern Russia. Others think they find them nearer to the land of Israel, in Syria, and Asia the Less Turkey.' ^{(Matthew Henry, Bible Commentary)} Josephus also points to the Scythians.

“Not only Matthew Henry, but every Bible map agrees. If we examine some of the greatest Biblical references, like the Macmillan Bible Atlas, Oxford Bible Atlas, and The Moody Atlas of Bible Lands, they all locate Magog, Meshech, Tubal, Gomer and Beth Togarmah in Asia Minor, and not Russia proper. In fact, no serious historian agrees with this new theory founded by Schofield.

“The text doesn't say 'farthest' but 'remote parts', 'sides', 'quarters', which easily fits the maps – sides of the north. In other words, go north and like a windshield wiper, go on either side – this is Asia Minor (Turkey) and the C.I.S. Nations of Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kirgizstan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Azerbajan, Turkistan, and the Russian province of Chechnya … all Muslim. When the text says 'remote parts', 'sides', 'quarters', the text is perfect.

“Gog is located very close to the city of Ankara, the capital of modern Turkey. Magog is in the southwestern part of Turkey, near Diyarbakir on the border with Syria.”

CHAPTER 19

THE MESSIAH, THE MAHDI,

AND THE ANTI-CHRIST

The rise in terrorism recently can be put down to the fact that a prophecy has been fulfilled that proves the Mahdi's imminent return is expected to take over the world. “In anticipation of Judgment Day, it was essential that the people return to a simple and vigorous, even puritanical Islam.”^{Apocalypse Soon: The End Times Explained, The Islamic View on the Appearance of the Antichrist and the End of the World, Dr Selwyn Stephens}

As this prophecy becomes known, Moslems who have been living in peace for years are suddenly awakened into radicalism, and begin to commit acts of terrorism to hasten his return, not fearing death, because they believe that a martyr is sent to Paradise and is given 20 virgins (or according to other Quranic verses different numbers) for his reward. Do they realize the character of, and whose 'paradise', they go to?

Mohammed was considered to be the perfect man, a mercy to all mankind, greatest of all sent by God, healer, saviour, guided one/deliverer, chosen, the prince, first, last, messenger of the Last-Days battles, the praised one. The Moslem's Mahdi is Satan's counterfeit of the Messiah, and is the Antichrist. The Mahdi is the so-called reincarnation of Mohammed, and those names are all blasphemous, as they apply only to the Lord Jesus. The Quran 27:82 says the Beast will mark all Muslims on the forehead in order to distinguish them from non-Muslims.

The mark, we have always believed to be 666. However, the Arabic sign for “In the name of Allah, most Gracious, most Compassionate” is like an E (the Greek letter for 666) on its back, and is usually shown with two crossed swords. This could very well be the mark referred to in Rev. 13:18.

“ISLAM is a RELIGION in which god (Allah) DEMANDS YOU SEND YOUR SON to DIE for HIM; CHRISTIANITY is the FAITH in which GOD SENT HIS SON to DIE FOR YOU.” ^{(US Attorney General John Ashcroft in an interview with Cal Thomas)}

Continuing from Apocalypse Soon: The End Times Explained, Looking Back To See The Future, The Islamic View on the Appearance of the Antichrist and the End of the World, Dr Selwyn Stephens:

“Following the Fatwa or declaration made in 1976, belief that the Madhi is coming is compulsary belief of every Moslem.

“I've been doing some research into this topic. I note the following about:

“Both the Mahdi and the entitled 'Anti-Christ' in the Bible share a considerable amount of similarities, including:

They both deny the Trinity

They both deny the Cross of Calvary (1 John 4:2-3)

They both are blasphemous

They both are called 'deceiver'

They both claim to be the Messiah

They both suffer head wounds (Rev. 12:2-3)

They both work miracles (2 Thess. 2:8-9)

They both ride a white horse (Rev. 19:11)

They both try to change laws (Dan. 7:25)

They both deny women's human rights (Dan. 11:37)

They both rule over ten kingdoms (Rev. 17:12-13)

They both are the source of death and war (Rev. 9:11)

They both use military force (Rev. 13:4; Dan. 7:23)

They both honour their god with gold and silver (Dan. 11:38)

They both advance their god through war (Dan. 11:38-30)

They both condone rape of women (Zech. 14:2)

They both proclaim peace with Israel (Dan. 9:27)

They both deceive and destroy by peace (Dan. 8:25) (This is called Hudaibiyah)

They both break treaties when it suits them (Dan. 9:27)

They both love war and collecting booty (Isaiah 10:5-7)

They both seek world domination (Rev. 13:6-7)

They both seem beautiful (Ezekiel 28:12)

They both lead a Turkish & Iranian invasion of Israel (Zech. 9:13)

They both ascend to heaven (Isaiah 14:13-14)

They both suffer from pride (Isaiah 10:12; Ezekiel 28:2)

They both appear to be beings of light (Rev. 8:10; 2 Corinthians 11:14)

They both cause harm, and are cast out of heaven (Obadiah 1:4)

They both are Lord of the Demons (Ephesians 6:12)

They both behead people (Rev. 20:4)

They both seek Israel's destruction (Rev. 11:7; Daniel 7:21)

They both occupy the Temple Mount (2 Thess. 2:4; Isaiah 14:13)

They both enjoy desecrating bodies (Rev. 11:7-11)

“That list shows 32 of the 47 distinct parallels between the Mahdi and the Anti-Christ. It seems appropriate to ask the question: 'Is it possible these two beings are actually the same person?”

“The great religious traditions share references to a saviour of humanity at the end of time. These religions share glad tidings of his coming, though there are differences in detail and deep controversies in interpretation.”

COMPARISON OF ANTI-CHRIST WITH THE TRUE CHRIST, MESSIAH

Anti-Christ Christ

Has 10 horns (Rev.13:1) Has 7 horns (Rev. 5:6)

A king of the earth (Dan. 7:8,24) Ruler of earth's kings (Rev.1-4)

Claims deity (Dan. 11:36 Is deity (John 20:28)

Proud (Dan. 7:25) Meek (Matt. 11:29)

Blasphemous speech (Rev.13:5) Speech controlled by Father (Jn 14:10)

Deceiver (Dan. 8:23) Guileless (1 Peter 2:22)

Fights saints (Dan. 7:21) Comforts saints (Rev. 7:7-17)

Sheds blood (Rev. 6:2-10) Gave His blood (Rev. 5:9)

Devours earth (Dan. 7:23) Smites nations (Rev. 19:15)

Speaks great words (Dan. 7:25) Speaks words of life (John 6:63)

Reign is limited (Dan. 7:25) Reign is unlimited (1 Cor.15: 24-28,

Rev.20:4-6

Rules from Jerusalem (2 Thess.2:4) Rules from Jerusalem (Is. 2:2-4)

His power not his own (Dan. 8:24) His power not His own (Matt. 28:18)

Called a prince (Dan. 9:26) Called a Prince of princes (Dan 8:25)

Breaks covenant with Israel (Dan.9: Fulfils covenant with Israel (Zech. 26-27) 12:10; 13:1; Rom. 11:25-27)

Does his own will (Dan. 11:36) Does His Father's will (John 6:38)

Is worshipped (Rev. 13:4) Is worshipped (Rev. 5:8-14)

Son of Perdition (2 Thess. 2:3) Son of God (John 1:14)

Man of Sin ((2 Thess. 2:3) Son of Righteousness (Mal. 4:2)

Called wicked one (2 Thess. 2:8) Called Lord of glory (James 2:1)

Wears a crown (Rev. 6:2) Wears crowns (diadems) (Rev. 19:12)

Rides a white horse (Rev. 6:2) Rides a white horse (Rev. 19:11)

Has bow in hand (Rev. 6.2) Has sword in hand (Rev. 19:15)

Gathers armies to Armageddan Brings armies to Armageddan

(Rev. 16:13-16) (Rev. 19:14)

Ascends from the pit (Rev. 11:7) Descends from Heaven (Rev. 19:11)

Symbolised as leopard, bear, lion Symbolised as Lion and Lamb

& beast (Rev. 13:1-2) (Rev. 5:5-6)

Wounded to death (Rev. 13:3; 12, 14) Wounded to death (Rev. 5:6)

Death wound healed (Rev. 13:3, 12,14) Death wound healed (Col. 2:12)

Hailed as a king (Rev. 13:4) Hailed as the King (Luke 19:38)

Demon-possessed (Rev. 16:13-14) Holy Spirit-controlled (Luke 4:1)

Mark of Anti-Christ (Rev. 13:15-18) Mark of Christ (Rev. 3:12)

Comes in own name (John 5:43) Came in Father's name (John 5:43)

Comes to destroy (Rev. 13:1-10) Came to save (Luke 19:10)

Ascends from the Pit (Rev. 11:7) Came from above (John 6:38)

Exalts himself (2 Thess. 2:4) Humbled Himself (Phil. 2:8)

Admired (Rev. 13:3-4) Despised (Is. 53:3; Luke 23:18)

Cast down to Hell (Rev. 20:10) Exalted (Phil. 2:9)

The Evil Shepherd (Zech. 11:16-17) The Good Shepherd (John 10:4-15)

Is the “lie” (2 Thess. 2:11) Is the “Truth” (John 14:6)

The Lawless one (2 Thess. 2:8) The Holy One (Mark 1:24)

Son of Perdition (2 Thess. 2:3) Son of God (Luke 1:35)”

CHAPTER 20

SO HOW DOES THIS APPLY TO US?

I believe we are at the very threshold, based on the biblical fact of a day with the Lord being as one thousand years, and the creation week is a picture of history: we are born, live, work and die for six days = thousand years, and then we enjoy God's rest for the seventh day = thousand years. We are presently at the end of the sixth millennium since the creation of humankind (Ex. 20:11: “..in six days the LORD made heaven and earth....but he rested on the seventh day”). God rested on the seventh day, and will rule the world during the seven thousandth year, by His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Another reason is in Psalm 102:

“You will arise and have mercy on Zion; for the time to favour her, yes, the set time, has come. For Your servants take pleasure in her stones, and show favour to her dust. So the nations shall fear the name of the Lord, and all the kings of the earth Your glory. For the Lord shall build up Zion; He shall appear in His glory.

(Psalm 102:13-16)

The Hebrew word for “set time” is moed (feast). On a feast day it will happen. Amazingly, in 1967 Zion was back in Jewish hands after 2000 years! All of the bickering going on in Israel is because Jerusalem, or Zion, is being built up with all those settlements! Look at the verse that follows:

This will be written for the generation to come...

(Psalm 106:18)

In Hebrew, the word for “generation to come” is acharone, and means the terminal generation or the last generation. So the generation that sees Jerusalem being built is the generation that will see the Lord appear in His glory!

A paraphrase of Genesis 1:14 could read: “And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven and let them be for signs and signals when they occur on Passover, Rosh Hashanah (Trumpets), and Tabernacles!”

The Lord, the Creator of the universe wants to communicate with us, and the only way for us to realize the full ramifications is by knowing, following and being on His calendar!

Being aware of the fact that there are a great many Moslems in this country, and the fact that many of those could be radicalized (some have already joined IS to fight in the Middle East), we should prepare to protect our-selves from terrorist attacks from now on. Nobody is safe – their aim is to kill as many infidels as they can before they are stopped permanently, martyred they call it.

Soon and very soon, the Moslems will have taken over country by country, and blood will flow if people do not convert to Islam. The events of Revelation 13 will soon take place, but before that there is the great falling away, and persecution of true believers. We must be strong in the faith to be able to stand up and refuse to deny the faith. We must be courageous to be unpopular. We must keep obeying Christ's command to “Love your enemies”. We need to know the scriptures and especially prophecies, so that when we are without scriptures (they could ban or confiscate Bibles), we can still know what was in the Bible. Now is the time to win souls, to stand up for Jesus, to show love and compassion to the lost, before we are silenced.

Time is very short. Get ready, be prepared for what is to come. We are going through the tribulation, suffering persecution and martyrdom, so prepare for that. Jesus promised persecution and martyrdom for his followers, and they have been treated that way all through history since then. Why should you think you are special and will escape? Your Bible tells you otherwise, so read it carefully, and believe what it says.

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