A couple of years ago I taught the book of Revelation www.gbchs.com . During that series of messages I mentioned the possibility that the empire of the Antichrist may be the return of an Islamic Caliphate. Some of this information came from a book written by Joel Richardson titled "Antichrist, Islam's awaited Messiah ". In the book he proposes the idea that the empire of the Antichrist in the tribulation will be a revival of the Ottoman Empire which ruled a large portion of the Middle East from 1453-1921. His book presents some very good points that line up nicely with Biblical Prophecy regarding events that will take place leading up to the return of Jesus Christ to the earth. One of his proposals is that the Antichrist will come from the modern nation of Turkey.
We know from the book of Revelation that the nation of Israel will sign a 7 year contract with the Antichrist. This 7 year period of time is known as the tribulation. At the midpoint of the tribulation (3.5 years) the Antichrist will break his contract with the nation of Israel which will institute what the Bible calls the Great Tribulation. In Matthew 24 Jesus said it would be a time of trouble like the world has never seen; that if He (Jesus) does not return there would be no one left alive on the earth Matthew 24.21-22 .
Joel Richardson and I disagree about the rapture of the church. I believe the Bible clearly teach's a pre-tribulation rapture, that the church will not endure the wrath of God on the earth (the tribulation). Joel Richardson believes that the church will go through the tribulation and have to endure the wrath of God.
This post is not meant to create disagreement about the timing of the rapture. But it is my prayer that Christians will wake up to the realities that are taking place in our world today.
As before mentioned, if its true that the Antichrist will arise from Turkey, then it is interesting that Erdogan, the current leader of Turkey has expressed interest with normalizing ties with Israel seeking access to Israel's natural gas reserves. See the article here.
Also, regarding the rise of an Islamic Caliphate what ISIS is trying to do may serve as a precursor of things to come. See Joel Richardson's article here.
We as believer's in Jesus Christ need to wake up. In Revelation 22.20 Jesus said, "Yes, I am coming quickly." That was nearly 2000 years ago. We don't know when Jesus will return for His church. But one thing we do know is that we are one day closer then we were yesterday.
Keep your head up, your redemption draws nigh.
