I hope I’ve been able to prove through the past 50 articles — yes, 50 — that I’m not trying to be sensational in writing on Bible prophecy, but rather trying to rightly divide the Word. Of course, it’s for you to decipher if it is according to the Word, for we all need to be “Bereans” and test all things. Along with trying not to just share things because they sound sensational, I try to begin with the text not the “Times.” We all can easily open our newsfeed or turn on our TVs and find something that looks like the unfolding of prophecy. It may or may not be, but Scripture tells us enough for us to have a foundation of what will happen in the last days.
There appears to be overwhelming evidence that the Antichrist and his empire will rise from the Middle East. It’s a safe assumption then, that it will be an Islamic kingdom. If that’s the case, it’s possible that Islamic eschatology reveals what could be the Great Deception warned about in II Thessalonians 2.
In previous articles, we looked at how their messiah, the Mahdi, matches the Biblical Antichrist. Their “Jesus” who returns, matches the Biblical False Prophet. Their Dajjal or Antichrist matches the Biblical Jesus. Add in the forewarned counterfeit miracles done by the False Prophet and this is the recipe for a great deception. Therefore, it’s likely that Satan set the trap for the Great Deception in a cave near Mecca in 610 AD.
Before this last installment (for now) of the possible actual Great Deception, I want to make clear that we shouldn’t look to the evil twist of Islam’s prophecies as the only ingredient to this Great Deception. There will likely be other factors and players. Satan has done what any wise investor would do — diversify. I believe there are many Great Deception traps set. Whether they are backup plans or additional traps, there are multiple modes of deception for sure.
Part of the danger of these deceptive traps is that the biblical truth that would warn us seems to be veiled to some degree in modern Christianity. I’d argue that the avoidance of a level-headed look at prophecy veils the danger of this Islamic deception. Another area in which the truth may be veiled for us is a biblical understanding of the “unseen world.”
There’s one element within Islamic prophecy where the bblical topics of the end-times and the supernatural collide. Along with the other things said about the Mahdi, one is that he will have control and dominion over the jinn. We don’t use the term “jinn,” but you may recognize it from the term Genie. They are one and the same, but in Aladdin, I Dream a Genie and others, only partially describe the nature of these jinn. In Christianity, jinn are called demons.
Therefore, you see the potential for deception already, I’m sure. But in Islamic prophecy, their Messiah, who could be our Antichrist, is in control of demons. This also matches teachings of the Antichrist in Revelation: “Then I saw three impure spirits that looked like frogs; they came out of the mouth of the dragon (Satan), out of the mouth of the beast (Antichrist) and out of the mouth of the false prophet. They are demonic spirits that perform signs, and they go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them for the battle on the great day of God Almighty (Rev. 16:13-14 NIV).
That’s one place demons are directly connected to the Antichrist, and they’re doing exactly what is said the jinn will do for the Mahdi. This is far from the only mention of demons and other supernatural entities mentioned in the Book of Revelation. A couple of these are in Revelation 9, where we read of an entire army of demons coming out of the Abyss and of angels being released from the river Euphrates.
Our imaginations could run wild of how a man seeming to have control over demons could deceive the world, but we’re not given much detail there. One thing that does seem to be found in Scripture is that there will be an increase in supernatural activity in the last days. We could have a fair debate over how visible this supernatural activity will be, but I believe we can use the first advent of Jesus as a template.
There is more evident activity of demons described in the gospels during Jesus’ time on earth than any other point in Scripture. Other traditional Jewish writings from around the time of Jesus’ first coming tell of an increase in the supernatural at what we know now as Jesus’ return.
Now this sounds wild, but we believe in wild stuff already. We believe in a Savior who was born of a virgin and was resurrected from the dead. We believe the Spirit of God dwells in each of us. The supernatural is all over the pages of Scripture, yet we seldom embrace the reality of it.
The verdict is out if the falsely received messiah, the Mahdi, will have any influence over demons, but it’s not a stretch since they will be working for the same team. I do believe one way we can prepare to stand firm from this possible part of the Great Deception is to embrace a truly biblical view of the unseen world. I’d also argue this isn’t just something that will prepare us for then, but even now as there is a rise in interest in the occult and paganism in America.
Jake is the newest state missionary and would love to share about the work in Northwest Arkansas and encourage your church to stand firm. (standfirmministries.com)
