The second process the false prophet will insist on being implemented will be to make an image of the beast. The false prophet will then give breath to the image of the beast thus enabling it to speak. So why will the false prophet insist on the nations making an image of the beast? The answer to that question lies in the method that the anti-Christ will employ to rule over his subjects. We have already seen that the anti-Christ will be reigning from the temple in Jerusalem, proclaiming that he is God. So how will he communicate with the people in the various nations under his rule? One option he will have is via the media. As far as the anti-Christ is concerned however, there are numerous shortcomings with that form of communication. Firstly it has limited reach, because not everyone will have access to TV’s, etc. Secondly it can also not be enforced, because if people choose not to watch or listen, then no one would know. Thirdly it has no ability to communicate directly with a local audience, because the message broadcast would be forced to address the whole nation and not specific communities, e.g. the anti-Christ would not be able to call out individuals in local communities who are not worshipping him. So how will the anti-Christ overcome these shortcomings? He will do that through the image of the beast which is able to speak. In order for us to understand that concept we need to realize that there will more than one image made for each nation, because as a form of communication, one image per nation would prove to be even more impractical than the use of media. And so rather than one image, there will be multiple images of the beast made and each one will be installed in the local Mosque. Therefore when a nation chooses to submit to the anti-Christ’s rule, they will be required to construct sufficient Mosques for their populations. This is the mechanism which will facilitate the anti-Christ’s ability to control the masses. Firstly, because the image of the beast being able to speak is supernatural and everyone in the Mosque will be able to see and hear that, it will continue to reinforce the populace’ perception of the anti-Christ’s deity. Secondly it will not have limited reach, because everyone will have access to the local Mosque. Thirdly it can be enforced, because everyone will be required to attend the services held in the local Mosque. And then finally, it will have the ability to communicate directly with the local audience. So how will the anti-Christ do that? Although the anti-Christ will have access to supernatural powers, he is neither omniscient nor omnipresent, because he is not God. And so the anti-Christ will not have the ability to communicate directly with each local audience. Nevertheless, Satan will use his demons to impersonate the anti-Christ by speaking through the image. The local communities, being ignorant of what is really happening, will assume that the anti-Christ himself is speaking to them. Because the demons will be localised to the community, they will know exactly what is going on in that community and can thus name any in the community that are stepping out of line. For example they will name those who secretly transact with people who do not have the mark of the beast, and they will name those who continue to practice their previous religions in secret. Because both transgressions are punishable by death, after the first round of executions the local communities will very quickly learn not to step out of line. Obviously the saints dwelling in those communities will be forced to flee to nations that have not yet succumbed to the reign of the anti-Christ or face the almost certain prospect of martyrdom. As an aside, because the false prophet is the one who will introduce the mark and image of the beast, the ten Islamic states that form the core of the anti-Christ’s kingdom will also only implement them during the second half of the anti-Christ’s reign.
Daniel 7:24-25 “The ten horns are ten kings who shall arise from this kingdom. And another shall rise after them; He shall be different from the first ones, and shall subdue three kings. (25) He shall speak pompous words against the Most High, Shall persecute the saints of the Most High, and shall intend to change times and law. Then the saints shall be given into his hand for a time and times and half a time.”
Another aspect of the anti-Christ’s reign is mentioned in the above quoted passage of scripture. In this passage the angel mentioned that the anti-Christ will intend to change times and law. So what does that statement mean? It simply means that when a nation subjects itself to the reign of the anti-Christ, they will be required to replace their Calendars with the Islamic Calendar and they will be required to replace their nation’s laws with the strictest interpretation of Islamic (Sharia) Law[1]. As an aside, the ten Islamic states that form the core of the anti-Christ’s kingdom would have already adopted both the Islamic Calendar and Sharia Law during the first half of the anti-Christ’s reign. Some examples of the Sahria laws that will be enforced are; all women will be required to be completely covered when in public and all men will be required to grow their beards. The anti-Christ will demand full and complete submission to his authority in this area, and any and all transgressions of these laws will be swiftly and severely dealt with. Even “secret” transgression of these laws will be called out by the anti-Christ’s image in the local Mosque, resulting in the corresponding punishment being inflicted on the transgressor. And so we see that by the time the false prophet leaves a nation to move on to the next nation on his agenda, the people in that nation will have become completely subordinated to the anti-Christ’s reign. In other words every area of the individual’s life will be monitored and any attempt to step out of line will be swiftly dealt with and severely punished without mercy.
Revelation 17:15-18 “Then he said to me, "The waters which you saw, where the harlot sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues. (16) And the ten horns which you saw on the beast, these will hate the harlot, make her desolate and naked, eat her flesh and burn her with fire. (17) For God has put it into their hearts to fulfil His purpose, to be of one mind, and to give their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled. (18) And the woman whom you saw is that great city which reigns over the kings of the earth."
There is another aspect of the fourth kingdom’s expansion that we need to mention, which is the destruction of today’s Western culture. In the above quoted passage of scripture we see that the anti-Christ and his leaders will hate the harlot, make her desolate and naked, eat her flesh and burn her with fire. So what does that statement mean? The harlot mentioned in this passage refers to Babylon the Great, the Mother of Harlots and of the abominations of the earth (Revelation 17:5). The abominations of the earth refer to all the degenerate practices that the various nations of the earth choose to embrace, e.g. all forms of sexual perversion and debauchery. Although it is mainly the Western nations that have embraced the culture of debauchery today, nevertheless Western culture has gained a foothold in many other nations in the world. Such cultural practices are an anathema to those who embrace Sharia Law. And so we can see why the Muslim nations of the fourth kingdom will hate the harlot, make her desolate and naked, eat her flesh and burn her with fire. Therefore whenever a nation decides to align itself with the fourth kingdom, one of the first things that will happen is that all forms of debauchery will be banned and all practitioners thereof will be destroyed. We can therefore see why this passage declares that God has put it into the hearts of the anti-Christ and his leadership to fulfil His purpose, for God abhors the debauchery being practiced in Western cultures today. And so we see that God will also use the anti-Christ as His instrument of judgment of today’s Western culture of sexual perversion and debauchery.
Matthew 24:21-22 “For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. (22) And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect's sake those days will be shortened.”
In the above quoted passage of scripture the Lord Jesus spoke about the great tribulation. The word translated tribulation in this passage literally means pressure. The context of this passage is dealing with the final three-and-a-half years of the anti-Christ’s reign. And so we see that in the last three-and-a-half years of the anti-Christ’s reign, the inhabitants of the earth will be subjected to extreme pressure in their lives, some of which we have already briefly discussed. Our Lord mentioned two aspects about this period that is very telling. Firstly, Jesus tells us in this passage that the level of tribulation (pressure) that people will experience during this period will be far greater than at any other time in the history of mankind. In context, our Lord’s comment about the great tribulation refers mainly to the Jews and the Christians, for it these two people groups that the anti-Christ will be determined to annihilate. We have already seen how the Jews in Israel will bear the initial brunt of the anti-Christ’s persecution. Nevertheless as the anti-Christ’s kingdom begins to expand to more and more nations, the Christians that are caught up in his net will be included in that persecution, for the scripture says that it will be “granted to him (the anti-Christ) to make war with the saints and to overcome them” (Revelation 13:7). Secondly, Jesus tells us in this passage that God shortened the second half of the anti-Christ’s reign, which we know to be forty two months. Jesus explained that the reason why God has done that is for the sake of the Lord’s saints. Jesus also tells us in this passage that if God did not limit the second half of the anti-Christ’s reign, no flesh would be saved. So what does that statement mean? We have already mentioned that due to his limited time available i.e. forty two months; the false prophet will only be able to proselytize approximately thirty five percent of the nations of the earth. We have also seen that once each nation is proselytized, that nation will become a completely hostile environment for the Lord’s saints to live in. In other words if the saints don’t flee those nations then they will be martyred. And so we see that given sufficient time, the false prophet would proselytize every nation on earth, which would ultimately result in every Christian being martyred, i.e. no flesh would be saved. And so for the elect’s sake God has limited the final half of the anti-Christ’s reign to three-and-a-half years. It is also important to note that by the time the anti-Christ is revealed, the Gentile believers in the earth will be relatively few in number. The reason for that is because the fullness of the Gentiles would have been brought into the kingdom many years before the anti-Christ’s appearance, which means that fewer and fewer Gentile believers will be added to the kingdom in the period leading up to his manifestation. As an aside, based on the information discussed in this section, it would be prudent for Christians to assess where they are living when they see the anti-Christ begin the first half of his reign. In other words, if the nations they are living in have a Muslim population of twenty percent or more, then it would be prudent of those believers to relocate to a nation that has a much lower Muslim population; preferably lower than at least ten percent.
Michael E.B. Maher
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