Initially, this post was an answer to Robert Lawson’s message on Daniel's 70th week’s thread but since the issue at hand is important,maybe it’s worth posting as a different thread.

Feedbacks are always appreciated. ;- )

Shalom Robert,

If you allow me, here are a few comments regarding the commonly held idea that the antichrist will "astonish the whole world so much so that he becomes an object of worship and veneration".

As knowledge increase, it will require the elects (those who seek wisdom to instruct the many) to abandon old paradigms in order to adjust our understanding to the actual biblical end time scenario as taught in the Scriptures.

For most people, this is not an easy thing. It takes humility and maturity to recognise that one may have been incorrect on some interpretations of the Bible. It's all the more difficult when one has a position of leadership and has been teaching the Bible for a long time.

But we know that “Abba has no greater joy than to hear his children walk in truth” (3 John 1.4) and since we’ve been sanctified by Yah’s truth (John 17.17), we are called to seek correct interpretations in order to be ambassadors of the truth. Praise Yah, we have His Spirit to guide us in all truth!

It is now getting all the more important, especially if we are entering into the last 7 years before our King’s return (which I believe it to be the case thanks to the ground breaking teaching of Messiah2030!).
Now is the time to readjust our end time scenario understanding and be good Bereans to make sure that what we are actually sharing is true and 100% based on the Scriptures.

All this to say that the commonly held ideas that the antichrist will :

1- Astonish the whole world
2- Be worship and venerate by all human beings

Is actually not taught in the Bible!

I know this is what most people have been taught all their Christian lives, but a close look at the Scriptures does not reveal such. And this has very important applications and ramifications.

In order to see it, one has to shift form the revived Roman empire (Western) paradigm to the revived Caliphate (Middle Eastern) paradigm.
Basically, it’s a shift from reading, understanding and interpreting the Bible with a Greco-Roman mindset to reading, understanding and interpreting the Bible with a Hebrew mindset.

When we do so, we realise that Rome is not included neither in the vision of Daniel 2 nor in the vision of Daniel 7.
The fourth terrible kingdom (which is never mentioned by its name, contrary to the three preceding ones) does not point to Rome but to Islam.

Also, the people of the prince who came to destroy the temple in 70 AD where mainly recruits from Israel’s surrounding nations (under the command of Rome. They were not Romans, per se). We are talking here about the very nations that Elohim has been using all throughout Israel’s history to chastise His people. All the prophets confirm these are the very same surrounding nations that will attack Israel one last time in the end times.

When we understand the above, then we understand that the revived empire to come is not a Western one (Rome) with a Western antichrist, but a revived Muslim empire (namely a resurrection of the last one, which was the Ottoman empire) with a Middle Eastern (i.e. Muslim) antichrist.

Western people usually think GLOBAL. Middle Eastern people usually think REGIONAL.
And this fits perfectly within the whole Bible narrative – from Genesis to Revelation – which takes place in the Middle East with Israel/Jerusalem being the epicentre.

This may surprise some, but the Bible does not talk about the World Economic Forum, nor its join plan with communist China to submit the Western world unto a totalitarian regime. This is not part of the end time biblical scenario.
That does not mean it cannot or won’t take place. It means that it does not play a central and direct role in the unfolding of what the Bible says to expect.

In reality, the Bible reveals that:

1- the reign of the antichrist will be geographically limited to the Middles East
=> mainly a coalition of 10 nations
2- the antichrist will only be “worshipped” by a certain group of people
=> Muslims

The notion that the Jews will welcome the antichrist as their saviour is also not taught in the Bible. It's very important to understand that the antichrist will only be worshipped by blood thirsty Muslims. When one understands that what we have just experienced last shabbat (the horrendous killings) is precisely what the antichrist armies will do on a much larger scale (involving millions of deaths, at least one third of Israel or people in the Middle East), who in his right mind would worship such man who pushes his followers to commit such atrocities?

Saddly some will, as we are seeing right now. As I write, I’ve just read a piece of news that says “thousands are marching in front of the White House to chant 'Free Palestine'.

“Free Palestine” means “kill the Jews”

The reign of the antichrist will be limited to the Middle East, but that does not mean its impact won’t be global. When the Land of Israel returns to the hands of the Muslims for a very short while, we can easily imagine what will happen worldwide, especially if the antichrist calls for a global Jihad, which he most probably will.

We had glance of such call last Friday when Hamas called Muslims for a day of rage. This is just rehearsals, my friends, the worse is yet to come…

It is high time people stop falling for the adversary's trap where the antichrist is at the head of a Worldwide government (with a one world religion combining Judaism, Islam and Christianity) and is adored by the masses. This will never happen.

What makes a lot more sense is a Muslim barbarian who unites both Shiites and Sunnis and who is heralded as their "savior" or Mahadi as he leads a coalition of Muslims armies (including Turkey and Iran) to take back the land of Israel. And he will be successful.

If the above is the actual real biblical end time scenario - and there are tons of verses to prove it - then don't you think it's important to re-ajust our understanding?

“None of the wicked shall understand, but those who are wise shall understand.”

Blessings

@François-Xavier

1. I think it might be as you have written. For me it is also new. Before, I was exposed only to this old/classical paradigm that you have described ➜ of Western Antichrist.

What is hard for me to understand – in this new paradigm of Middle-East Antichrist and everything attached to it – is:

“What about all this Western-World Masonic/Illuminati conspiracies – meaning – what about all those celebrities covering their one eye (pointing to perhaps the Antichrist), what about all this symbolism in music videos, and movies, etc.? Is this all irrelevant?”

I think that there are no Muslim Masons/Illuminati – so – are then Masonic/Illuminati actions/plans even connected to Islam? Do they cooperate with each other? Illuminati and Islam? Masons and Islam?

2. According to the above, I was also wondering about those Islamic characters:

– Isa al-Masih
– ad-Dajjal
– Mahdi

I heard that Isa al-Masih & Mahdi are positive characters for Muslims, but that they are basically False Prophet & Antichrist for Christians. Regarding ad-Dajjal I heard that he is a negative character for Muslims, but a positive character for Christians. Some say, that this ad-Dajjal is our real Jesus Christ – but it is hard for me to trust this idea. One of the reasons is because I’ve heard that this ad-Dajjal will have his one eye injured. So it sounds more like this ad-Dajjal is the one, who the Western celebrities point to, by covering their one eye ➜ so this looks suspicious.

In the book of Zachariah, there is this negative character (bad shepherd) described:

“Woe to the idol shepherd that leaveth the flock! the sword shall be upon his arm, and upon his right eye: his arm shall be clean dried up, and his right eye shall be utterly darkened.” ➜ Zachariah 11:17

This shepherd might look like ad-Dajjal. So ad-Dajjal would not be positive but a negative character for Christians. He would be negative for Muslims and negative for Christians. This is all strange. For a moment I thought that maybe this supposedly positive character for Christians – this ad-Dajjal – is maybe connected to the Two Witnesses or to this Michael (great prince) that shall “stand up” (Daniel 12:1). So I thought that maybe he is one of them. But all this is hard for me to understand.

Do you have any thoughts regarding “1” and “2”?

Hello Michael,

Thank you for your feedback!

1- “What about all this Western-World Masonic/Illuminati conspiracies – meaning – what about all those celebrities covering their one eye (pointing to perhaps the Antichrist), what about all this symbolism in music videos, and movies, etc.? Is this all irrelevant?”

=> I think it is.

Personally, I do not see such conspiracy theories in the Bible, especially when it comes to biblical eschatology.

Let us not forget that the Bible gives us the list of all the countries that are set to receive the wrath of Elohim during the great day of Yahweh. Every single one of them are Muslim nations today.

The main arguments of those who try to merge Illuminati conspiracy theories with biblical eschatology rely on extra biblical sources in order to try to "prove" their case. One of the problems is that their arguments are impossible to prove since everything is happening "behind the curtains" by a "selected" few.

One cannot reconcile a careful biblical exegesis with such theories. This is not possible.

Also note that in many of the Illuminaties scenarios out there, the "bad" people behind the curtains happen to be Jews (whether they are the Bilderbergs or the Rothschilds or the Khazar mafia). Doesn't it sound antisemitic?

Let us not forget that the primary demonic spirit that first tried to destroy the promised seed was done through Ismael when Isaak was still a little boy. Then it carried on through Esav, who mixed his seed with Ismael's. And then it carried through their descendants who mostly happen to have populated Israel's surounding nations and who all have in common two things: the same religion (Islam) and a hatred for Israel.

2. "According to the above, I was also wondering about those Islamic characters:

– Isa al-Masih
– ad-Dajjal
– Mahdi"

These are part of Islam's folklore. These characters play a role in Islamic eschatology, but let us not forget that Islamic eschatology is not inspired.

Except the Mahdi who corresponds pretty well with the biblical antichrist, personally, I do not see Isa al-Masih and ad-Dajjal in the end time biblical narrative. Some try to find a correspondance between the false prophet and Isa al-Masih or ad-Dajjal, but I do not.

Hope this helps.

Be blessed

@François-Xavier

Thank you for your answer. It helps.

God Bless.

Francisco-Xavier you are so correct the ones positioned in leadership and have taught the Bible for years are the ones that have a hard time to look at the scripture with open eyes and a humble heart. They are set in their ways and it is sad to see that they can not open their minds to see other views of the end times. My pastor believes in pre trib like so many others. I can very much see how we thought these end times would be western and now looking at it the way you have explained it makes more sense of how it will play out. I am asking the Holy Spirit to teach me what is the truth of our Messiah’s second coming. How does the mark of the beast play out in this?

Hello Shelli,

Thank you for your message.

How does the mark of the beast play out in this?

=> A few things to consider:
1- What is the mark? I it physical? Spiritual?
2- Will it be implemented to every single humain being?
3- When will it be implemented?

In my understanding, the mark is spiritual and could very well be the allegiance to Islam. The mark is connected to the worship of a false god. It is likely to be implemented only where the antchrist rules, that is in a limited area, not the whole world. And it will be implemented during 3,5 years, just prior to Yeshua's return.

Needless to say that it has nothing to do with the jab!

Blessings

@François-Xavier

Modern eschatology is a sad and appalling thing.

Now brother, with much respect I am going to challenge you on a few points so that I might come to some greater understanding. Take a look at some verses with me.

[Revelation 13:3, 7-8 NKJV] 3 And I saw one of his heads as if it had been mortally wounded, and his deadly wound was healed. And all the world marveled and followed the beast. ... 7 It was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation. 8 All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

Is it a Western global thinking that leads me to believe that the man of sin will have authority over all the earth or is 'every tribe, tongue, and nation' and 'All who dwell on the earth...whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb' not to be taken literally and should be interpreted to mean exclusively Islam?

Now concerning the beast from the earth (false prophet) and the beast from the sea (man of sin), respectively:

[Revelation 13:13-17 NKJV] 13 He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men. 14 And he deceives those who dwell on the earth by those signs which he was granted to do in the sight of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who was wounded by the sword and lived. 15 He was granted [power] to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed. 16 He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, 17 and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.

Are the signs and wonders of the false prophet and the MOTB/beast system he implements once again exclusive to Islam? In fact, Messiah gave direct warning of the false christs (beast from the sea) and false prophets (beast from the earth), and of the signs and wonders they will perform to deceive, if possible, even the elect.

[Matthew 24:23-26 NKJV] 23 "Then if anyone says to you, 'Look, here [is] the Christ!' or 'There!' do not believe [it]. 24 "For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 25 "See, I have told you beforehand. 26 "Therefore if they say to you, 'Look, He is in the desert!' do not go out; [or] 'Look, [He is] in the inner rooms!' do not believe [it].

It would be hard for me to believe all this is localized (primarily) to the eastern Mediterranean. Also while there have been many false christs and prophets already, the crucial elements here are great signs and wonders that deceive many.

I am however convinced at this time that the MOTB will be spiritual, and one of thought (forehead) and action (right hand) just as the Shema is a type of spiritual mark for those who are the Lord's.

[Deuteronomy 6:4-8 NKJV] 4 "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD [is] one! 5 "You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. 6 "And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. 7 "You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. 8 "You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.

Credit to Messiah 2030 team for pointing that out.

Furthermore, when the wrath of YHWH is poured out over the earth, and I am referring specifically to the Bowl judgments which I believe comprise the Day of the Lord (not to be confused with the Great Tribulation), those remaining on the earth will exclusively be the wicked and the sealed. Messiah will have returned after the great tribulation and gathered His elect (first resurrection). All the wicked at that point will have worshipped the beast and received his mark and comprise of those who remain.

[Revelation 19:18, 21 NKJV] 18 "that you may eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them, and the flesh of all [people], free and slave, both small and great." ... 21 And the rest were killed with the sword which proceeded from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse. And all the birds were filled with their flesh.

Notice that those free and slave, both small and great in Rev 19:18 are also those both small and great, free and slave who received the mark in Rev 13:16. After the beast and his armies are defeated by Messiah, the rest are killed with the sword that proceeded from His mouth. Who are the rest? It is all who dwell on the earth at this point who worshipped the beast and received his mark.

[Revelation 13:8 NKJV] 8 All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

There is one more point I wish to make as well as a bit of speculation. I believe that COVID-19 mandates and lockdowns were both a primer and litmus test to prepare and gauge the world's readiness to accept a global beast system. Remember that Satan is not all-knowing. Surely you remember how quickly and easily the world succumbed to such a system. People were willing to forfeit all personal liberty and rationale to a global authority for the sake of safety and security. Intelligent, critically thinking people quickly fell to the spell of mass psychosis. Now think of an even greater, dare I say actual, global crisis and what the world will do when a dragon-powered authority comes along with great signs and wonders to deceive.

Shalom Oro y Planta,

Thanks for the challenge!

That’s why we are here for: to challenge one another in order to get a better understanding of the Word of Elohim.

I will address each of your questions in separate posts so that it won’t be too long to read in one go!

“[Revelation 13:3, 7-8 NKJV]… Is it a Western global thinking that leads me to believe that the man of sin will have authority over all the earth or is 'every tribe, tongue, and nation' and 'All who dwell on the earth...whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb' not to be taken literally and should be interpreted to mean exclusively Islam?”

I believe so, and here's why...

=> Most people use this passage to try to “prove” that the kingdom of the beast will be global, extending over all the nations of the world.
However, when we look more closely at the text, we can easily come to a different conclusion where Islam fits the text a lot better than the common interpretation where every single human being will be under the authority of the beast.

Please consider the following arguments :

1- First the expression “every tribe, tongue, and nation' and 'All who dwell on the earth" is immediately limited and refers only to "those whose names have not been written... in the book of life".

2- The expression "every tribe, tongue, and nation" is a hyperbole found in several passages of Scripture.
The Septuagint translation of Daniel 5:18-19 uses exactly the same words as those used in Revelation 13:7-8. Daniel uses the words "laos, phulé, and glóssa", while John uses the words "laos, phulé, glóssa, and ethnos". If we interpret Daniel's passage without taking the hyperbole into account, then we would effectively come to the conclusion that all the inhabitants of the earth feared King Nebuchadnezzar. However, we know that this was not the case, as history and common sense demonstrate.

Here, not all the inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast, but a multitude from many nations. More precisely, it will be those "whose names have not been written in the book of life."

3- “And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation”. The Greek uses the word “epi”, here. This word can mean “over”, but can also mean "in", "within", or "among".

We can therefore read this verse as follows: "He was given authority within or among every tribe, people, language and nation".

If Islam is indeed the religion used by the antichrist, then those who give allegiance to the kingdom of the beast will come from virtually every countries in the world.

Remember the self-proclaimed caliphate of Daech (Isis) from 2014 to 2019. Didn’t we see thousands of Muslims from all over the world pledged allegiance to the Caliph and joined its ranks?

The domination of the beast's kingdom will not affect all the world's governments, but the beast will have authority and a strong influence over large numbers of people within all nations.

So the beast won't literally rule over all the nations of the world, but he will have some authority within each nation.

Be blessed

“Now concerning the beast from the earth (false prophet) and the beast from the sea (man of sin), respectively”

=> You equate the beast from the earth with the false prophet and the beast from the sea with the man of sin.

I have a different premice.

First, it's important to understand that, depending on the context, the beast is either a kingdom (made up of a multitude of men or nations), an ideology or a man (the antichrist). These identities are interchangeable. It is therefore necessary to take this fact into account to fully grasp the context and understand who we are dealing with.

In Revelation 13.1, John says that the beast rises from the sea. If we use the Bible to interpret the Bible (which is the best hermeneutic!), in the allegorical language of Scripture, the sea symbolizes a multitude of nations and peoples. The sea and the waters symbolize ethnic groups (Daniel 7:2; Jeremiah 51:41-42; Ezekiel 26:3; Revelation 17:1,15).

In other words, this beast arises from a multitude of nations.

Daniel chapter 7 uses a similar expression to describe the appearance of the four beasts. The four empires "came out of the sea".

Many argue that the "beast rising from the sea" corresponds to the antichrist. But this does not seem to be the case here. Presumably, the beast here represents a kingdom made up of a multitude of men. It is leopard-like (Yavan), has bear feet (Medo-Persia) and a lion's mouth (Babylon).
This beast thus appears to be a conglomeration of the empires described in Daniel 7 and represents an empire and not the antichrist as most teach.

This empire - like the ones in Daniel 2 and 7 - is based in the Midle East.

The book of Daniel reveals that the antichrist is a little horn (Daniel 7.7) that will emerge from the ten horns of the fourth beast - the final empire. Daniel also reveals that the ten horns are ten kings (Daniel 7.24). The Book of Revelation speaks of a first beast rising from the sea, with ten horns (Revelation 13.1). These ten horns are ten kings (Revelation 17.12). By analogy with the verses of Daniel 7.7-8, 7.24, the first beast described here seems to represent the last empire, and its ten horns, ten kings. From one of these ten horns, a "little horn" will emerge, with authority over the other horns.

Clearly, the "beast rising from the sea" cannot be the antichrist. The antichrist is one of the ten horns of that beast/kingdom.

Now regarding the beast from the earth:

“And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon” (Revelation 13.11).

The traditional interpretation of this passage sees the appearance of a second character called the "false prophet". Most teach that the first beast coming out of the sea is the antichrist, and that this second beast coming out of the earth is the false prophet.

Personally, I do not think this is the correct interpretation.

Here, the beast rises from the earth. This is a prophetic allegory, indicating that this beast will rise from among men. Man is created from the earth and will return to the earth (cf. Genesis 2.7, 3.17). The first beast represents a kingdom; here we are more likely dealing with the person who will be at the head of this kingdom, i.e. the antichrist.

This man will have two horns like a lamb. He wants to present himself as the Lamb of God/Messiah, the saviour - but he will be the anti-Messiah. The horn symbolizes power and royalty. The two horns could symbolize this man's reign over the Sunnis and the Shiites. If so, this second beast will be the long-awaited "saviour" of the Muslim world - the Mahdi (also known as the "Twelfth Imam") of the ultimate resurrected Caliphate.

The second beast speaks like a dragon. Like the antichrist, the "little horn" described in Daniel 7.8, the second beast will have great arrogance and will speak "like the dragon".

Daniel 7.8: " I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things”.

Some translations talk about “speaking with arrogance". This perfectly describes the antichrist whom will be empowered by the devil/dragon and will speak like him.

If the above is the correct interpretation, then to properly understand Revelation 13, the biblical premice is as follow:

Beast from the sea = a regional kingdom based in the Middle East (And Scriptures point to Islam as the religion of this kingdom)
Beast from the earth = a man (the antichrist, who is also called the false prophet. And Scriptures point to him emerging from the Middle East)

Are you ready to chage your paradigm?

; -)

“Are the signs and wonders of the false prophet and the MOTB/beast system he implements once again exclusive to Islam?”

I believe so, especially if the context of Revelation 13 is a Muslim kingdom and a Muslim antichrist and if the “earth” here does not point to the whole wide world, but only to the region where the antichrist will rule (ie. he will rule over 10 Middle Eastern nations and then the Land of Israel).

Does it make sense?

“I am however convinced at this time that the MOTB will be spiritual, and one of thought (forehead) and action (right hand) just as the Shema is a type of spiritual mark for those who are the Lord's.”

Have you ever made the parallel between Revelation 13:16 and Exodus 13:16?

Revelation 13:16 : "And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads"

The Word of Elohim leaves no room for coincidence! Here's what we read in Exodus 13.16:

"It shall be as a sign on your hand and as frontlets between your eyes, for by strength of hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt.”

Clearly, Revelation 13:16 and Exodus 13:16 are connected. Both passages speak of a sign or a mark and mention the hand and the forehead (between the eyes). In Exodus 13.16, the mark is clearly spiritual.

Exodus 13.9 specifies the reason for the mark: " It shall be as a sign to you on your hand and as a memorial between your eyes, that the LORD’s law may be in your mouth." It seems that those who take the mark of the beast will forsake God's law to embrace the law of the antichrist.

Could it be sharia law?

“Are the signs and wonders of the false prophet and the MOTB/beast system he implements once again exclusive to Islam?”

All the biblical elements seem to point into this direction. Take for instance all the nations marked to receive the wrath of Yahweh: they are called by their names and all of them happen to be Muslim nations today.

Rome (or the West) is never ever mentioned in the context of the wrath of Yahweh in Scriptures. Don't you think this is very telling?

Now when it comes to the actual MOTB, the Greek letters used in Revelation 13.18 give us an interesting clue:

"Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six".

In Greek, the "famous" 666 is Chi (χ), Xi (ξ) and Sigma (Σ). In ancient Greek, the third letter is an accent.

The Chi represents two crossed swords, which is a symbol used on several muslim jihads flags ; and the Xi is the actual name of Allah in Arabic (ξ, if put horizontally)!

What the Greek text reveals is quite astonishing because it fits with all the other prophecies of the Bible which all point to a Muslim antichrist.

Thus, from the Greek, Revelation 13.18 could be paraphrased as follows:

"This is wisdom. Let him who has understanding interpret [who is] the multitude of the beast, for it is the multitude of a man [Muhammad] and his multitude [comes] 'In the name of Allah' [bism Allah].

If the above is the solution to the riddle, then the actual mark of the beast (which is spiritual) could very well have to do with reciting the Islamic shahada, the allegiance to the god of Islam.

Now think about the Isis short lived Caliphate and ask yourself this question:

What options did non-muslim have under Isis Caliphate?
In most cases, convert to Islam or die. That is: take the mark of the beast or die.

Those who escaped this fate were not able to buy or sell, unless they were Muslims, that is unless they had the mark (=allegiance to Islam/the Caliphate).

One again, the above makes perfect sense when you put everything back into what could very well be the actual biblical context of Revelation :
1- Beast = Islam
2- A limited reign of the antichrist (Middle East and NOT the whole world)
3- A Muslim antichrist
4- The mark being the allegiance to Islam
5- A local implementation of the mark (not a world wide one)
6- Wrath of Yahweh being poured on the surrounding nations that have attacked Israel (not on every single nation of the world)

“Who are the rest? It is all who dwell on the earth at this point who worshipped the beast and received his mark.”

=> Depending on the paradigm one is adopting, one won’t have the same reading (interpretation/understanding).

This is where the difference lies between global events versus local events, between interpreting the end time scenario (including the events described in the book of Revelation) as being local (epicentre being Jerusalem/Israel/Middle East, the wrath of Yahweh being poured only on the surrounding nations that have attacked Israel) or being global (Antichrist being at the head of a OWG, with every single human being imposed the mark of the beast, with the wrath of Yahweh falling on the whole wide world, etc.).

The question we need to answer is the following: Which paradigm is the Biblical one? The global or the local one?

If the biblical paradigm is global then you are correct: the wrath of YHWH is poured out over the (whole) earth, those remaining on the earth will exclusively be the wicked and the sealed.

But if the biblical paradigm is local, then the implications are totally different. The whole end time scenario is completely different than the one most people foresee. For instance, when Revelation 9.15 talks about the slaying of the third part of men? Is it the third part of men of the whole globe? Is it the third part of men of the land of Israel or of the Middle East?

In the local scenario, the main end time events take place in the Middle East, the epicentre being Jerusalem/Israel. This is where the biblical narrative focuses and the context we need to take into account if we want to properly interpret the events describes in the book of Revelation.

In the local scenario, the wrath of Elohim only falls on the antichrist coalition and its armies. We are not talking about the armies of every single nation of the world here. These are not the ones who will attack Israel.

When Yeshua returns, he does not kill every single unsaved human being, but only those who have directly participated in the carnage of the Jews and Christians.

Zechariah 14:16 makes it VERY clear that there will be survivors and people graced, even amongst those from the nations which came against Jerusalem!

"And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles".

Can you believe it?!

This is very telling. If Yahweh forgives the Muslim fighters who came to fight Jihad against Jerusalem, who sincerely repent, what about the billions of humans who have never left a finger against Israel and have not participated nor supported the crimes that will be committed during the great tribulation ? Will they be spared too?

It stands to reason.

A lot of people do not understand that this world continues after the return of Yeshua! There will be HUGE changes, but things carry on for mankind. Yeshua’s kingdom will grow slowly but surely and this is during the Millenium that glorified Israel (made of the saints from the "old and the new testament") will be the light to the nations.

“There is one more point I wish to make as well as a bit of speculation. I believe that COVID-19 mandates and lockdowns were both a primer and litmus test to prepare and gauge the world's readiness to accept a global beast system”.

=> There could well be a global communist system imposed upon us in the years to come, but what one needs to understand is that the Bible doesn’t talk about it. It won't be the beast system as described in the Scriptures. What happens in the world outisde the Middle East is not part of the Biblical narrative which takes place in the Middle East from Genesis to Revelation.

Concretely this means that if implemented, this global communist system will have nothing to do with the antichrist and his kingdom and the end times events described in the Bible. This is paramount to understand, IMHO!

At least, this is my understanding and I hope the above posts will explain why I lean toward a local biblical end time paradigm, rather than a global one.

And once again, in this local biblical end time paradigm:
1- The beast is Islam
2- The reign of the antichrist is limited to the Middle East (ie: the antichrist does not rule the whole world)
3- The antichrist's religion is Islam
4- The mark of the beast is the allegiance to Islam and is only forced upon people in the antichrist's controled areas
5- The wrath of Yahweh is only poured on the people of the surrounding nations that have come to attack Israel (not on every single nation of the world)

Hope this helps.

If you have further questions, don't hesitate!

Be blessed!

François-Xavier

@François-Xavier

I want to ask you, if I understand this correctly about “little horn”. You have written that:

“““The book of Daniel reveals that the antichrist is a little horn (Daniel 7.7) that will emerge from the ten horns of the fourth beast - the final empire […] the first beast [𝕨𝕙𝕚𝕔𝕙 𝕚𝕤 𝕥𝕙𝕖 “𝕓𝕖𝕒𝕤𝕥 𝕗𝕣𝕠𝕞 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕤𝕖𝕒”] described here seems to represent the last empire, and its ten horns, ten kings. From one of these ten horns, a "little horn" will emerge, with authority over the other horns.“““

And:

“““Beast from the sea = a kingdom (And Scriptures point to Islam as the religion of this kingdom)
Beast from the earth = a man (the antichrist, who is also called the false prophet. And Scriptures point to him emerging from the Middle East)“““

I understood that the “beast from the sea” is a “kingdom”, and that the “beast from the earth” is a “man”. This convinces me. But I have a question about this “little horn”.

Do I understand correctly that the antichrist, being a “little horn”, being a “man”, being a “beast from the earth” ➜ is also a “false prophet”, and that he will come from the “beast from the sea”?

antichrist = little horn = man = beast from the earth = false prophet ⇒ coming from the kingdom of the “beast from the sea”?

Is it like that?

I have problem with understanding that the antichrist is a "beast from the earth” but that he is also coming from the "beast from the sea”. How to explain this?

Can we say that the "beast from the earth" comes from the "beast from the sea"?

Hello Michael,

"Antichrist = little horn = man = beast from the earth = false prophet ⇒ coming from the kingdom of the “beast from the sea”?

Is it like that?"

=> Yes, this is the correct equation in my curent understanding!

This view differs from the one of 99,99% of Christians who think that we are dealing with 2 main characters in the end times: 1- the antichrist and 2- the false prophet.

In reality (or should I say, in my understanding, as I could be wrong) the antichrist and the false prophet are one and the same person.

"I have problem with understanding that the antichrist is a "beast from the earth” but that he is also coming from the "beast from the sea”. How to explain this?"

=> If the beast coming from the see is both a Kingdom made of several nations/people and an ideology/religion (Islam), the beast from the earth comes out of this Kingdom/nations/people - he is one of them - and share the same ideology/religion: Islam. This is this very person has satan is going to empower to lead the Kingdom beast.

Does it make sense?

"Can we say that the "beast from the earth" comes from the "beast from the sea"?"

=> Yes!

Blessings