Yes, I believe that groups like ISIS are bringing about the end of the spread of radical Islam as we know it. We can put our stock in the fact that the Lord has already revealed to us certain events that will take place during a time that is yet still in the future. Right now the Tribulation has not yet begun because the Rapture of the church has not yet taken place. No one really knows how long it will be until the Rapture of the church but many signs are saying that it must be very soon.
We can also decipher current events based upon the main event that we know will kick start the Tribulation:
“Then he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week” (Daniel 9:27a).
The Antichrist will broker a peace treaty between Israel and the rest of the world. Right now, the world very much hates Israel. I can only assume that Israel will have to show mighty and fearsome God-given supernatural strength in order to humble the world into giving in and signing a peace treaty with a nation that it loathes.
We all know that the sons of Ishmael who predominantly follow Islam, are the largest and nearest enemy to Israel. It seems very unlikely to me that the brand of extremely demonic Islam that is currently becoming popular would ever bend a knee to the hated Jewish enemy. It is the entire rest of the world, as represented by the one-world beast government, which will sign the peace treaty with Israel.
By the way, the closer a group follows the “holy” book of Islam, the more extreme and brutal that group will be. Any Islamic group that claims to offer peace to unbelievers is actually practicing apostasy according to the Koran. [1]
I just don’t see a scenario in which a world that has “been taken over” by radical Islam would ever sign a “peace” treaty with Israel. How can we know that it would be “radical” and “extreme” Islam as opposed to “peaceful” Islam that would take over the world? Because it would have to be pretty radical and brutal to pull of such a feat in the first place.
Satan is just using and abusing all those who sell their souls to his evil ways. No matter how great their numbers or how many generations that must be used, when he is finished he just casts them aside and moves on to the next set of useful idiots.
It is Satan who will be the “head” of the one-world government that will soon break over the skies of planet Earth. Although they all no doubt have had, and continue to have their place in Satan’s plans, it will not be Islam or Obama, or liberals or communists, or progressives or the Illuminati that will one day have sole rule over the planet—it will be Satan representing himself, in the human body of the Antichrist.
“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. So they worshiped the dragon who gave authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, ‘Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?’ Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon” (Revelation 13:3-4, 11).
Let’s talk briefly about the Antichrist.
It is usually the “wolf” part that people remember about “a wolf in sheep’s clothing.” However, it is the “sheep” part that is most important. You will never see the wolf without the leading of the Holy Spirit. All you will see is a safe and docile sheep, and that is exactly what Satan will manifest as when the Antichrist rises up on the world stage. The world will not actually see a “beast” in the form of a wolf; they will only see a beast that has “two horns like a lamb.”
I believe the Word of God will still be found in great numbers on earth at the beginning of the Tribulation. God is going to make sure that the gospel is not lost on a single inhabitant of the earth during the Day of the Lord.
“Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth—to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people” (Revelation 14:6).
Since he will claim to be the real Yeshua Ha Mashiach, Satan will be a counterfeit Christ, not someone who outwardly opposes Christ. Of course, inwardly, Satan will oppose Christ with more fury than any other being in existence.
“Who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God” (2 Thessalonians 2:4).
How do we know that Satan will claim to be the God of the Bible and not some other false god? Because he will be sitting “in the temple of God” built in Jerusalem to facilitate the worship of the God of the Bible. He will not build another temple in another city and claim to be a god from another world like depicted in a comic book.
Jesus gave us repeated warnings to not be fooled by the Antichrist and his false prophets who will claim to be Christ Himself:
“Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There!’ do not believe it. For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you beforehand. 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” (Matthew 24:23-26).
I believe people will be able to realize by reading a Bible, just what the Antichrist should act like if he really is Jesus Christ. They certainly will not believe someone who has just come out of the fields of Jihad is Jesus Christ.
“The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders… God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie” (2 Thessalonians 2:9, 11b).
Notice that the world will believe a “lie.” Now would it be a lie if Satan were to reveal to the world that he is indeed the leader of all the cruel and hellish evil that it has ever seen? No, that would be the truth and God said that the world will believe a “lie.”
The world will not believe Satan if he presents himself as a radical Muslim cleric who also claims to be Jesus Christ. No, the world will be deceived by the fake and false peace treaties through which Satan will promise only comfort and prosperity, not death and Jihad.
The first horseman of the apocalypse rides on a white horse and conquers with only a crown and a bow, not with arrows or a sword:
“And I looked, and behold, a white horse. He who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer” (Revelation 6:2).
During the second half of the Tribulation Satan shows his true colors:
“And he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and he was given authority to continue for forty-two months. Then he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, His tabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven. It was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them” (Revelation 13:5-7a).
When a forest hunter lays a trap for his prey, he covers it with leaves and branches. He hides his true intent. That is at the beginning of the hunt. Once the trap is sprung, the close of the hunt has begun and the hunter shows himself to the prey, and the prey knows that he is the hunter.
After the first half of the Tribulation the world will realize they signed a deal with the devil. By then for most it will be too late.
“Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, ‘If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb’” (Revelation 14:9-10).
The key reason for writing this article is to point out the difference between who the Bible says the Antichrist will claim to be and the growing opinionof who the Antichrist will be. As the verses above state, the Bible teaches that the Antichrist will claim to be Jesus Christ. Growing public opinion claims that the Antichrist will be the Muslim Imam Mahdi. Although there may end-up being many Muslim “converts” in other than Arab countries, they will undoubtedly abandon their “faith” as soon as it no longer serves as a “security” blanket for them.
People are very fickle creatures and their loyalties travel with the wind. A great and mighty supernatural Israeli victory over the main forces of Islam would quickly turn the peer pressure of Islamic conversion into the next trend of the wind. And what a dark and cold wind that will be.
Endnotes
[1] See: True Islam vs. True Christianity