Many Bible students disagree on the origin of the Antichrist.Many believe he will be Jewish while others believe he will be a Gentile.This raises the question:
Does the Bible tell us about the possible origin of the Antichrist?
In this article we will try to answer this question by examining what the Bible says about the possible identity and origin of the coming man of sin.Those who says that the Antichrist will be Jewish base their conclusion on a verse found in Daniel:
''Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all.''(Daniel 11:37)
Those who say the Antichrist will be Jewish says that the phrase ''the God of his fathers'' refers to the God of Daniel's fathers.If Daniel was referring to his God,he would have written, the God of ''our'' fathers and not the God of ''his'' fathers.There is another problem.It is not Daniel who is speaking in the passage,but someone else is speaking to Daniel.Daniel was responsible for recording the words in chapter 11,but hew was not the one speaking them.The impression that most people get when reading Daniel 11 is that Daniel is speaking to Darius throughout the chapter based on verse 1:
''Also I in the first year of Darius the Mede, [even] I, stood to confirm and to strengthen him.''(Daniel 11:1)
It seems that Daniel is the one speaking to Darius in the opening verse of chapter 11,but it is not so and we will explain why.
In chapter 10 Daniel has a vision of a heavenly being who comes to give him a vision:
''In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a thing was revealed unto Daniel, whose name was called Belteshazzar; and the thing was true, but the time appointed was long: and he understood the thing, and had understanding of the vision.In those days I Daniel was mourning three full weeks.I ate no pleasant bread, neither came flesh nor wine in my mouth, neither did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled.And in the four and twentieth day of the first month, as I was by the side of the great river, which is Hiddekel;Then I lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a certain man clothed in linen, whose loins were girded with fine gold of Uphaz:His body also was like the beryl, and his face as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as lamps of fire, and his arms and his feet like in colour to polished brass, and the voice of his words like the voice of a multitude.And I Daniel alone saw the vision: for the men that were with me saw not the vision; but a great quaking fell upon them, so that they fled to hide themselves.Therefore I was left alone, and saw this great vision, and there remained no strength in me: for my comeliness was turned in me into corruption, and I retained no strength.Yet heard I the voice of his words: and when I heard the voice of his words, then was I in a deep sleep on my face, and my face toward the ground.And, behold, an hand touched me, which set me upon my knees and upon the palms of my hands.And he said unto me, O Daniel, a man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak unto thee, and stand upright: for unto thee am I now sent. And when he had spoken this word unto me, I stood trembling.Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words.But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia.Now I am come to make thee understand what shall befall thy people in the latter days: for yet the vision is for many days.And when he had spoken such words unto me, I set my face toward the ground, and I became dumb.And, behold, one like the similitude of the sons of men touched my lips: then I opened my mouth, and spake, and said unto him that stood before me, O my lord, by the vision my sorrows are turned upon me, and I have retained no strength.For how can the servant of this my lord talk with this my lord? for as for me, straightway there remained no strength in me, neither is there breath left in me.Then there came again and touched me one like the appearance of a man, and he strengthened me,And said, O man greatly beloved, fear not: peace be unto thee, be strong, yea, be strong. And when he had spoken unto me, I was strengthened, and said, Let my lord speak; for thou hast strengthened me.Then said he, Knowest thou wherefore I come unto thee? and now will I return to fight with the prince of Persia: and when I am gone forth, lo, the prince of Grecia shall come.But I will shew thee that which is noted in the scripture of truth: and there is none that holdeth with me in these things, but Michael your prince.''(Daniel 10:1-21)
In this passage Daniel is visited by a heavenly being who comes to tell him what will befall his people (the Jews) in the last days.Now we now that when the Bible was written there were not chapter division.The vision that starts in chapter 10 ,goes all the way to the end of chapter 12 without any pause,therefore, the heavenly being keeps talking to Daniel throughout chapter 11.If we do not use the chapter division between chapters 10 and eleven,the text would read:
''Then there came again and touched me one like the appearance of a man, and he strengthened me,And said, O man greatly beloved, fear not: peace be unto thee, be strong, yea, be strong. And when he had spoken unto me, I was strengthened, and said, Let my lord speak; for thou hast strengthened me.Then said he, Knowest thou wherefore I come unto thee? and now will I return to fight with the prince of Persia: and when I am gone forth, lo, the prince of Grecia shall come.But I will shew thee that which is noted in the scripture of truth: and there is none that holdeth with me in these things, but Michael your prince.Also I in the first year of Darius the Mede, [even] I, stood to confirm and to strengthen him.And now will I shew thee the truth. Behold, there shall stand up yet three kings in Persia; and the fourth shall be far richer than they all: and by his strength through his riches he shall stir up all against the realm of Grecia.(Daniel 10:18 -11:2)
Notice the heavenly being touches Daniel to strengthen Daniel and to tell Daniel that he (the heavenly being) will fight the king of Persia.The same heavenly being starts chapter 11 by telling Daniel that he stood to strengthen Darius the Mede in the first year of his reign.Then he goes on to tell Daniel what will happen in the future between the kings of Persia and the realm of Grecia.The heavenly being gives Daniel information about the future throughout the entire chapter and finishes the message in the end of chapter 12.That being the case,when we get to verse 37 of chapter 11,we read the heavenly being talking to Daniel,not Daniel talking to someone else.In this case,the heavenly being is telling Daniel that the coming king will not regard the God of his father,therefore,the God of this king's fathers must be a God other than Jehovah,the God of Daniel because if the heavenly being was referring to Daniel's God,he would have said to Daniel, the God of ''your'' fathers,not the God of ''his'' fathers.
This proves that the Antichrist will not be Jewish.
People say that the Antichrist will be Jewish because the Jews will never sign a peace treaty with a non-Jew.This is not true because the Jews have signed a peace treaty with Yasser Arafat known as the Oslo Accords.Arafat in not Jewish but a Gentile.The Jews are just about to sign another peace treaty with Gentile leaders of the Palestinian government after the Annapolis Peace Conference.Below is a photo of the Oslo Accords being signed between former Prime Minister of Israel Yitzhak Rabin and former PLO leader Yasser Arafat.The second photo shows Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas with Prime Minister of Israel ,Ehud Olmert in the recent Annapolis Peace Conference.The third photo shows Egyptian President Anwar al-Sadat signing a peace treaty with Israeli Prime Minister,Menachem Begin at the White House with President Jimmy Carter.Watch related video here.The fourth picture shows Israeli Prime Minister, Yitshak Rabin and king Hussein of Jordan signing a peace treaty.These photos show how much the Jews are willing to sign a peace treaty with Gentile leaders.It won't be different when the Antichrist appears on the scene.The interesting thing is that all these Gentile leaders are Muslims.Could it be that God is trying to show something?
Dr. Arnold Fruchtenbaum who is a Jew and a great prophecy scholar totally rejects the view that the Antichrist will be a Jew.In his book entitled The Footsteps of the Messiah he writes:
The Antichrist will not be a Jew
''Those who believe that the Antichrist has to be a Jew do so for several reasons.One reason that is given could be classed as the logical reason.Stated in a syllogism,this argument goes as follows:
Major Premise: The Jews will accept the Antichrist as the Messiah;
Minor Premise: The Jews will never accept a Gentile as the Messiah;
Conclusion: The Antichrist will be a Jew.
The argument is that the Jews will accept him as the messiah.The Scriptures make no such claim.While the Bible teaches that Israel enters into a covenant relationship with the Antichrist,this in no way means that they will accept him as the messiah.Some have stretched this reasoning to say that the Jews would not even enter into a covenant with a Gentile.But none of this is valid,for the Jews have often entered into covenant relationships with non-Jews in the past.[1] But this logical reason also fails to view the whole issue.It could be asked another way:how would the Gentiles accept him if he was a Jew?So the logical reason could be used either way,and it is not valid in and of itself.The argument for his Jewishness based on this kind of logic is not valid.It is an argument based on two assumptions,neither of which is able to stand on its own.Furthermore,the final analysis as to whether something is true cannot be based on logic,but on Scripture.The ultimate question is not,''Is it logical?'' but,''Is it Scriptural?'' The assumption necessary for the logical reason cannot be validated by Scripture.
Another reason people often give for the Jewishness of the Antichrist is based on Revelation 7:1-8.Stated as a syllogism,this argument would read as follows:
Major Premise: The tribe from which the Antichrist would come would not be listed among the 144,000;
Minor Premise: Dan is not among the 144,000;
Conclusion: The Antichrist is from the Tribe of Dan
The folly of such reasoning should be clear to anyone holding to a literal interpretation of Scripture.First of all,it is an argument of conjecture.If the interpreter is at all honest,he would have to admit that he really does not know why Dan is left out of the 144,000.The Bible nowhere spells out why Dan is excluded.If the reason is what the proponent of this view says it is,then it should be explained why an entire tribe is punished because of one man.Furthermore,why is Dan included in the Millennial Israel (Ezekiel 48:1) if there is a curse on him?Assuming information where the Bible is silent is a danger to sound hermeneutics.This argument also involves circular reasoning.
To repeat the syllogism:
Major Premise: The tribe from which the Antichrist will come will not be listed among the 144,000;
Minor Premise: Dan is not among the 144,000;
Conclusion: The Antichrist is from the tribe of Dan.
From this syllogism another is developed:
Major Premise: The Antichrist is from the Tribe of Dan;
Minor Premise: Dan is a Jewish tribe;
Conclusion: The Antichrist is a Jew.
Or they could be stated another way:
1. The Antichrist is a Jew,
2. The tribe from which the Antichrist would come would not be listed among the 144,000
3.Dan is not among the 144,000;
4. The Antichrist is from the tribe of Dan;
5. Dan is a Jewish tribe;
6.The Antichrist is therefore a Jew.
No matter how it is put,this is purely circular reasoning,the truth of which is dependent upon the truth of the presupposition.
While circular reasoning is consistent within itself,the consistency does not make it scriptural.The presupposition of circular reasoning has no proof on which to base this doctrine
The scriptural text used most often for the Jewishness of the Antichrist is found in Daniel 11:37,which in the King James Version reads as follows:
''Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers,nor the desire of women,nor regard any god:for he shall magnify himself above all''
The whole argument rests on the phrase ,the God of his fathers ,which is taken to be clear-cut evidence that the Antichrist is a Jew.It should be pointed out,however,that the argument for the Jewishness of the Antichrist from this verse is based upon the King James Version.But even if it is granted (and it is not) that the King James is the correct translation from the original,the phrase ''God of his fathers'' need not be be used exclusively of the Jews.The phrase ''God of his fathers'' allows for a wider interpretation.For instance,he could be a person who had Christian parents but rejects their God in this sense.It could refer to a Roman Catholic or a pagan just as easily to a Jewish person.The one phrase where the term ''Antichrist '' is used in 1 John 2:18-19 refers to those who apostatize from Christianity and not from Judaism.
Ultimately,Bible doctrine should be based on the Hebrew and Greek texts since they are the closest to the original autographs.To base a doctrine on a translation,especially when that translation is known to contain errors,is folly.This is exactly the case with the King James rendering of Daniel 11:37.Any student of Hebrew would see from the original that the correct translation should be: ''the gods of his fathers'',and not ''the God of his fathers.''In the whole context,Daniel 11:36-39,the term god is used a total of eight times.In the Hebrew text,six of these times it is in the singular and twice in the plural,one of which is the phrase in verse 37.The very fact that the plural form of the word ''god'' is used in a context where singular is found in the majority of the cases makes this reference to heathen deities and not a reference to the God of Israel.
Moreover,there is much external evidence to show that this is the correct rendering of the text.The earliest known translation of the Old Testament is the Septuagint (LXX),which is a Greek translation of the Old Testament made about 250 B.C.The LXX has translated the word as ''gods'',which is in keeping with the Hebrew text.Further evidence that the King James Version is incorrect in its translation here is seen in the fact that almost all other English translations,both from Jewish and non- Jewish sources,have rendered the word for ''god'' in the plural.Two major Jewish translations,the Jewish Publication Society of America and the Isaac Leeser translation,have rendered the phrase ''the gods of his fathers''.In Christian translations - such as the American Standard Version,the Revised Standard Version,the Amplified Old Testament,the New American Standard,and the New International Version,among others - have all translated the phrase to read the gods of his fathers.Furthermore,the New Scofield Reference Bible,itself based on the King James Version,has done a great service to scholarship by rendering this passage to read in the plural form.Commentaries based on the Hebrew rather than the English text recognize correct reading of Daniel 11:37.This is true of the official Orthodox Jewish commentary in the Soncino Commentary on the Old Testament,as well as the prominent Christian commentary in the Kiel and Delitzsch Commentary
All this evidence shows that Daniel 11:37,the chief argument used by proponents that the Antichrist is to be a Jew,gives no validity to this belief.A doctrine of such magnitude must not be based solely on the King James Version as is this one.It has been shown that even if the King James Version were correct,it would not limit the expression to Jews,but it would be valid for believers as well.However,the truth is that the text is dealing with heathen deities and not with the Jewish Jehovah.If anything ,this passage implies that the Antichrist will be a Gentile rather than a Jew.''
[1] Footnote on page 206-Recent examples include the peace treaties signed between Israel and Egypt,Jordan,and the Palestine Liberation Organization,but no one in Israel believed that Sadat,Hussein,or Arafat were the Messiah
His Origin
In Daniel 7 we read about four world empires that would rise and fall.In our Great Tribulation study we examine these empires more closely ,but here we will only look at the order of these empires.
First beast:A lion with wings-Babylonian empire from 586 B.C. to 539 B.C.
Second beast:A bear -Medo-Persian empire from 539 B.C to 331 B.C
Third beast:A leopard with four wings-Grecian empire from 331 B.C to 63 B.C.
Fourth beast:An animal without description with 10 horns-Roman empire phase 1 from 63 B.C. to 476 A.D.
Fourth beast:Roman empire phase 2.The 10 horns represent 10 kings that will arise from the fourth beast in the end times.
Then in Daniel 7 we read:
''And of the ten horns that were in his head, and of the other which came up, and before whom three fell; even of that horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spake very great things, whose look was more stout than his fellows.I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them; And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.''(Daniel 7: 20-21,24-25)
The eleventh horn that comes up from the beast is the Antichrist.He will be more stout then the other 10 kings,that is,he will have a dictator type of personality.
In Revelation 13,John has a vision of this same beast with 10 horns.Unlike Daniel,John is able to describe the beast:
''And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as [the feet] of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.''(Revelation 13:1-2)
Notice that the fourth beast of Daniel 7 is seen by John possessing characteristics of the 3 previous beasts.The beast is partly leopard,partly bear,and partly lion having 7 heads and 10 horns.Daniel could see the 10 horns but could not describe the body and the 7 heads of the beast.This beast that will rise in the end times will have a geographical combination of Babylonian,Persian,Grecian, and Roman empires.The 10 horns are the 10 kings that will arise out of this beast and the 7 heads represent the 7 kingdoms that will be revived under the political dominion of this beast as we read in Revelation:
''And here [is] the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, [and] the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space.And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.''(Revelation 17:9-11)
John here sees that five of those kings had already fallen,one was alive during his time,and the seventh would come to live a short time.The beast will be the eight but he will be of the seven.This means that the beast will be a resurrected king or kingdom of the past.
The order of these 7 kings or kingdoms is:
1 Egypt
2 Assyria
3 Babylon
4 Medo-Persia
5 Grecia
6 Rome (the one that was during the time of John)
8 The resurrected king which will be the Antichrist
With the exception of Assyria,all these kingdoms still exist today as nations,namely Egypt,Babylon as Iraq,Medo-Persia as Iran,Grecia as Greece,Rome as Europe,and the Ottoman empire as Turkey.It appears that the eighth king that will be of the seven will be the Assyrian kingdom.May I sugget that Assyria will once again be a nation in the future.It is interesting to note that there are in northern Iraq descendants of the ancient Assyrian people who still hold to some of the Assyrian culture and language.Some of them are orthodox Christians and were heavily persecuted by Saddam Hussein when he was in power.Now with Saddam Hussein out of the way,it is possible that the Assyrians will gain independence and have a nation called Assyria again.See Isaiah 19:23-25.
Click the links below to read relatred news
This means that the Antichrist will be an Assyrian.The Bible seems to indicate in some passages that the Antichrist will be an Assyrian:
''The LORD of hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, [so] shall it stand:That I will break the Assyrian in my land, and upon my mountains tread him under foot: then shall his yoke depart from off them, and his burden depart from off their shoulders.''(Isaiah 14:24-25).
The fourteenth chapter of Isaiah is about the future destruction of Babylon.In 14:4 the Antichrist is called the king of Babylon who will be empowered by Lucifer in verses 12 through 15.In verse 25 he is called the Assyrian.This suggests that the Antichrist besides being an Assyrian,he will also be the king (president) of Babylon which is modern day Iraq.
In Isaiah 30 we read something very interesting:
''And the LORD shall cause his glorious voice to be heard, and shall shew the lighting down of his arm, with the indignation of [his] anger, and [with] the flame of a devouring fire, [with] scattering, and tempes, and hailstones.For through the voice of the LORD shall the Assyrian be beaten down, [which] smote with a rod.''(Isaiah 30:30-31)
This verse says that the Assyrian will be destroyed by the voice of the Lord.Could it be that this is what Paul had in mind when he wrote?:
''Let no man deceive you by any means: for [that day shall not come], except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God . . .And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:''(2 Thessalonians 2:3-4,8)
Here Paul says that the Antichrist will be destroyed by the spirit of the mouth of the Lord just as Isaiah wrote that by the voice of the Lord will the Assyrian be destroyed.Although Paul and Isaiah use different terms,the idea is the same.
Some may object the view that the Antichrist will be of Assyrian origin because of a verse found in Daniel 9:
''and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof [shall be] with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.'' (Daniel 9:26 b)
The people of the prince that shall come who destroyed the city (Jerusalem) and the sanctuary (The Second Temple) were the Romans.Therefore,based on this verse,many conclude that the prince (Antichrist) will be of Roman origin.Some even believe he will be an Italian.The propblem is that Rome in ancient times was an empire,not just a city.In fact some of the Roman legions were located in the areas known today as Syria,Lebanon and Jordan.Click here to view map.Thereofre,it is possible that the Roman soldiers who were involved in the destruction of the Second Temple were of Arab,Assyrian and Edomite descent
If Assyria is not to become an independent kingdom in the future ( I strongly believe it will ),the problem will be identifying which section of the Assyrian empire the Antichrist will come from because the Assyrian empire encompassed a very large portion of the Middle East.See map below.The modern nations that were under the dominion of the Assyrian empire include Egypt,Israel,Jordan,Syria,Lebanon,Eastern parts of Turkey,Armenia,Iraq,Kuwait, and Kurdistan.
Map of the Assyrian Empire.
He cannot be from Israel because his very purpose will be to destroy the nation of Israel.He cannot be from Syria nor from Egypt because in Daniel 11:40-45 he will be fighting against the kings of the North and of the South which are Syria and Egypt.He cannot be from Kurdistan because the Medes will come against Babylon which will be his economic capital according to Isaiah 13:17.The Medes are the modern Kurdish people.He could come either from Lebanon or Northern Iraq where Nineveh, the capital of Assyria was located.It is also possible that he will come from Jordan.It is interesting to note that the Hashemite family of Jordan is the custodian of the Temple Mount where the Jews will rebuild the Jewish Temple after the Antichrist confirms a covenant with them according to Daniel 9:27.
The Mahdi is supposed to rule the world for seven years according to Islamic eschatology.The Antichrist will rule for seven years according to Biblical eschatology.The Mahdi must be a descendant of the prophet Mohammed.Prince El Hassan bin Talal is a descendant of the prophet Mohammed.
We at Bible Prophecy In The News do not expect the identity of the Antichrist to be revealed before the Rapture of the Church,but there are some interesting things about this man.
Prince Hassan can communicate in 8 languages:
Arabic,English,French,German,Turkish,Urdu,Spanish and interestingly enough,Hebrew.
The Antichrist will be a great communicator according to Daniel 8:25a
Prince Hassan is the Moderator of the World Conference of Religions for Peace and one of the world’s leading advocates of inter-faith dialogue and understanding according to the Synopsis of Prince Hassan's book entitled To Be A Muslim: Islam, Peace, and Democracy
The Antichrist will promise religious peace between Arabs and Jews by confirming a covenant with Israel allowing the Jews to rebuild their Holy Temple in Jerusalem according to Daniel 9:27 and will promote a One Wrld Religion in order to be worshiped by the entire world according to Revelation 13:3-4
Prince Hassan was the president of the Club of Rome between 1999-2007
The Club of Rome initiated an attempt to revive the Roman Empire.The Antichrist will be the head of the revived Roman Empire which will include the Middle East according to Daniel 7:23-25,Revelation 13:1-2 and 17:11-13 click here to read related article
Muslims believe the Islamic Mahdi will be a descendant of the Prophet Mohammad.Some believe the Islamic Mahdi is the Antichirst of Scriptures.
Prince Hassan wrote three interesting books:
A Study on Jerusalem
Synopsis of the book
A work on aspects of the juridical status of the City of Jerusalem, and the Holy Places related to it, "at a time in the history of the Middle East where thoughtful discussion, rather than emotional judgement alone, is needed to improve our understanding of the issues." Through an examination of the literature on the political, historical and religious claims to Jerusalem, this study takes a first step towards clarifying the background on questions of sovereignty as well as municipal rights and control of the Holy Places.
Search for Peace
Synopsis of the book
With a clinical eye of a detached commentator, Prince El Hassan steps back from an ongoing world crisis to view its causes and possible cure. Convinced of the imminent threat of Armageddon, he writes this book - not just to urge his country's cause, nor solely to warn the world of its danger. He sees the key to the situation in the quest for identity of his people, the Arabs. The author sees that the future salvation of the region lies with two very different forces: the superpower[s] and the individual, above all the individual Palestinian, in quest for a national identity. He tells us how we can bring about the peace that the whole world needs.
To Be A Muslim: Islam, Peace, and Democracy
Synopsis of the book
This book is an incisive, personal statement about the essence of Islam by one of the world’s leading advocates of inter-faith dialogue and understanding – Prince El Hassan bin Talal of Jordan. There is much ignorance about Islam in the West, and negative opinions of Islam feed on that ignorance. The views and attitudes about Islam in public dialogue since the Osama bin Laden-inspired terrorist attack on September 11, 2001 require a response that sets Islam in a light that shows its fundamental belief structures and humanity.
The core of the book is a statement of belief in a question and answer format that allows Islam’s basic tenets to be quickly grasped by a wide audience. In form and content To Be A Muslim reaches both a Western audience and also Muslims (who themselves can be Westerners) who are seeking to articulate their faith and to explain it to themselves and to others. The questions put by His Royal Highness’s collaborator, Alain Elkann, are those frequently posed by people not knowledgeable about Islam.
Prince El Hassan’s answers are precise and informative. He presents a persuasive argument that the beliefs and culture of the majority of the Islamic world not only are compatible with but are contributive to a world at peace – a world of diversity in which Muslim and non-Muslim nations can and should collaborate to create a more humane and just global society. He cites the Qur’an, the Hadith (sayings), and the Sunna (tradition) of the Prophet Muhammad, and describes how most of Islam during most of its history has applied the teachings of the Prophet so as to treat other ethnic groups, cultures and faiths – especially the Jewish and Christian monotheists – with respect, tolerance and fairness.
This unique book is complemented by chapters from David L. Boren, President of the University of Oklahoma and Ambassador Edward J. Perkins, who set the exposition of the Prince (who was awarded a Doctorate of Humane Letters by the University of Oklahoma) in a wide historical and political context.
The Antichrist will promote a false peace according to Daniel 8:25 ,9:27,1Thessalonians 5:3, will make Jerusalem (The Glorious Land) his headquarters according to Daniel 11:41,45,and will promote religious interfaithsm which will ultimately cause the world to worship him as god according to Revelation 13:3-4.Peace,interfaithsm, and Jerusalem are the same subjects of Prince Hassan's books mentioned above.
Prince Hassan was also awarded by the Abraham Geiger rabbinical seminary:
Abraham Geiger Award 2008 goes to HRH Prince Hassan bin Talal of Jordan
The Abraham Geiger Award 2008 is conferred upon HRH Prince Hassan bin Talal of Jordan, a voice for global sustainability, reconciliation and interreligious understanding. HRH will receive the 2008 Abraham Geiger Award in commemoration of the great liberal thinker of Judaism, Abraham Geiger (1810-1874). The award ceremony will be held in Berlin on March 4, 2008. Prince Hassan follows in the footsteps of Cardinal Karl Lehmann, Alfred Grosser, Emil Fackenheim and Susannah Heschel, past recipients of the Award.
Abraham Geiger stood for three eminent principles: freedom of conscience and belief, academic freedom and political freedom for all of humanity. Abraham Geiger is also considered to be the founder of modern Qur'anic Studies.
Honouring the President Emeritus of the Club of Rome follows this noble tradition and underlines Prince Hassan's courage in defending pluralism, promoting understanding among different cultures and enhancing dialogue between Jews, Muslims and Christians.
The Prince's efforts to promote understanding between the Islamic and Western Worlds are crucial at a time when we seem to be drifting apart, with perceived differences appearing to overwhelm the many things we have in common, both culturally and religiously.
Founded in 1999, the Abraham Geiger College is the first rabbinical seminary on the continent of Europe since the Shoa. It confers the Abraham Geiger Award in commemoration of a truly outstanding teacher and interpreter of Judaism.
To know more about prince El Hassan bin Talal,visit these web sites:
Is PrinceEl Hassan bin Talal of Jordan the Antichrist? As I stated above,we at Bible Prophecy In The News do not expect the identity of the Antichrist to be revealed before the Rapture of the Church,but there are some prophecy teachers with a firm belief that prince Hassan is the coming Antichrist because of the reasons presented above.
I personally believe the Antichrist will rise from a new independent nation called Assyria in in the Middle East,not from Jordan.
There is a great possibility that the Antichrist will be a Muslim.First because except Israel,all the nations of the Assyrian empire mentioned above are Islamic nations.Secondly because the Antichrist will seek to change times and laws according to Daniel 7:25.This is exactly what Islamic law requires.They want to bring the world under Shariah law.That would change the calendar form A.D. which referes to Christ to an Islamic calendar.That would also change the laws to Islamic theocracy instead of democracy.Thirdly because the Antichrist will deny Christ and the God of the Bible (Daniel 8:25,11:36).Islam denies the God of the Bible and denies that Jesus was the Christ and the son of God.The Islamic Mosque Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem has a phrase which states:
''God is not begotten neither does he begat''.
This is a denial that God has become incarnate and that he had a son who is Jesus.
''Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son.'' (1 John 2:22)
'' And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that [spirit] of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.''(1 John 4:3)
Fourthly because he will seek to destroy the nation of Israel.No religion other than Islam seeks the destruction of Israel.The Antichrist will seek to do this very thing.
Although the Antichrist will probably have a Muslim background,he will be an apostate Muslim because he will not regard the gods of his fathers (ancient Assyrian gods and Allah,his modern god) and above Allah and every other so called god and will speak great things against the God of the Bible .(Daniel 11:36-37)
One might ask:
If the Antichrist is an Assyrian who will come from a reborn Assyrian independent state in the Middle East,then how can the Antichrist be an Assyrian Muslim if the Assyrians of today are orthodox Christians?
Let's suppose for a moment that a good number of these Assyrians are true Christians.If they are taken up to heaven during the Rapture of the Chrurch,what do we have left?Assyrians who have no faith and who will be forced to accept the false religion of the Antichrist who himself will be an Assyrian.This scenario will cause Assyria to appear on the geopolitical scene as a new Islamic nation in the Middle East.We know that the Antichrist will first appear as a man of peace who will even favor Israel during his rise to power on the political arena (Daniel 9:27).
He will confirm a covenant with Israel and most likely he will convince the Islamic-Arab world to accept such a covenant which will allow the Jews to have access to the Temple Mount and have a rebuilt Jewish Temple there.In the Middle of his covenant with Israel he will become a tool of Satan and will break this covenant with Israel.Then he will form an Assyrian-Arab confederacy against Israel to fulfill Psalm 83 and will cause the Islamic nations that surround Israel to persecute the Jewish nation as predicted in Zechariah 12:1-5,14:1-4,Joel 3:1-3 and many other passages.
His Empire
We saw above that the kingdom of the Antichrist will be the fourth beast of Daniel 7.The beast as in Revelation 13:1-2 ,comes out of the sea.The sea when spoken symbolically in Scriptures,is a reference to the Gentile world.This is another evidence that the Antichrist will be a Gentile.Ten kings will rise out of that empire and will be in submission to the eleventh horn who is the Antichrist.It is believed that the 10 kings of the fourth empire of Daniel 7 will be a revival of the Roman empire.Many see the European Union as the revived form of the Roman Empire.We explain in our Great Tribulation study that inside the European Union there is another entity called ''Western European Union'' This entity has 10 member states which some believe are the 10 kings of Daniel 7 and Revelation 17:11-13.But that might be a premature conclusion because the beast that Daniel saw was described by John as being a combination of the first three beasts of Daniel 7,namely Babylon,Medo-Persia , and Grecia.
This means that this future world empire will be a combination of Babylonian,Medo-Persian,Grecian and Roman imperialism,all of which had political power over the nation of Israel.
It may also mean that the geographical boundaries of this future empire will include areas that were dominated by the Babylonian, Medo-Persian ,Grecian, and Roman Empires in the past.If the 10 kings of Daniel 7:24 and Revelation 17:12 are not the 10 nations of Western Europe,they will be 10 regional political divisions that will cover the geographical area dominated by these former empires under the leadership of the Antichrist.These areas include all of the European continent,parts of northern Africa,Egypt ,Asia Minor where modern day Turkey is located,the Middle East,Mesopotamia which goes from Northern Iraq Southeasterly to the Persian Gulf ,the near East reaching all the way to the Indus River ,the border between India and Pakistan,and former Soviet states like Kazakhstan,Afghanistan,Turkmenistan,etc.See the four maps at the end of the article and try to visualize all the grey areas together into one single empire.The map below illustrates the area represented by the symbolism of Revelation 13:1-2.It could be that the 10 kings of the empire of the beast will be 10 political division within the red portion of the map.Click here to see a larger version.
These boundaries will bring Israel and all of the Islamic-Arab world under the dominion of this future Empire.The present geographical boundaries of the European Union might extend to a larger territory than what we see presently because the territories covered by the final stage of the Roman Empire might include characteristics of the Babylonian,Medo-Persia and Grecian Empires from a geographical point of view as seen in the symbolism of Revelation 13-1-2.All we can do now is wait and watch to see how things will develop politically and geographically in the European Union in the coming months and years.Click here to read our related article
Click the links below to read related news
Apologies from the ministry
We want to apologize for any spelling and grammatical errors in our writings.As you might have noticed,we are from Brazil and English is not our first language.We do everything by ourselves including the creation and editing of the web site from our computer at home since we do not have a hired web master.We do not have anybody available at the moment to help us correct the English for us since this ministry is run by one person alone.Thank you for your support and for taking the time to read our material.
Rodrigo Silva.
Maps of the four empires of Daniel 7.Click the links below
