The Biblical Antichrist compared to the Islamic Mahdi

A Comparison

A review of the many startling similarities that exist between the biblical Antichrist and the Islamic Mahdi (Messiah)

Bible: The Antichrist is an unparalleled political, military, and religious leader that will emerge in the last days.
Islam: The Mahdi is an unparalleled political, military, and religious leader that will emerge in the last days.
Bible: The False Prophet is a secondary prominent figure that will emerge in the last days who will support the Antichrist.
Islam: The Muslim Jesus is a secondary prominent figure that will emerge in the last days to support the Mahdi.
Bible: The Antichrist and the False Prophet together will have a powerful army that will do great damage to the earth in an effort to subdue every nation and dominate the world.
Islam: The Mahdi and the Muslim Jesus will have a powerful army that will attempt to control every nation of the earth and dominate the world.
Bible: The False Prophet is described essentially as a dragon in lamb’s clothing.
Islam: The Muslim Jesus comes bearing the name of the one that the world knows as “the Lamb of God,” Jesus Christ. Yet the Muslim Jesus comes to murder all those who do not submit to Islam.
Bible: The Antichrist and the False Prophet establish a new world order.
Islam: The Mahdi and the Muslim Jesus establish a new world order.
Bible: The Antichrist and the False Prophet institute new laws for the whole earth.
Islam: The Mahdi and the Muslim Jesus institute Islamic law all over the earth.
Bible: The Antichrist is said to “change the times.”
Islam: It is quite certain that if the Mahdi established Islam all over the earth, he would discontinue the use of Saturday and Sunday as the weekend or days of rest, changing to Friday, the holy day of Islam. Also, he would most certainly eliminate the Gregorian calendar and replace it with the Islamic calendar currently used in every Islamic country.
Bible: The Antichrist and the False Prophet will both be powerful religious leaders who will attempt to institute a universal world religion.
Islam: The Mahdi and the Muslim Jesus will institute Islam as the only religion on the earth.
Bible: The Antichrist and the False Prophet will execute anyone who does not submit to their world religion.
Islam: Likewise, the Mahdi and the Muslim Jesus will execute anyone who does not submit to Islam.
Bible: The Antichrist and the False Prophet will specifically use beheading as the primary means of execution for nonconformists.
Islam: The Mahdi and the Muslim Jesus will use the Islamic practice of beheading for executions.
Bible: The Antichrist and the False Prophet will have a specific agenda to kill as many Jews as possible.
Islam: The Mahdi and the Muslim Jesus will kill as many Jews as possible, until only a few are left hiding behind rocks and trees.
Bible: The Antichrist and the False Prophet will attack to conquer and seize Jerusalem.
Islam: The Mahdi and the Muslim Jesus will attack to reconquer and seize Jerusalem for Islam.
Bible: The Antichrist will set himself up in the Jewish Temple as his seat of authority.
Islam: The Mahdi will establish the Islamic caliphate from Jerusalem.
Bible: The False Prophet is said to do many miracles to deceive as many as possible into supporting the Antichrist.
Islam: The Mahdi himself is said to control the weather and the crops. His face is said to glow. We can also assume that since Jesus is viewed as having been empowered by Allah to work miracles when He was here on earth the first time, He will most likely be expected to continue to do so when He returns.
Bible: The Antichrist is described as riding on a white horse in the Book of Revelation
Islam: The Mahdi is described as riding on a white horse (ironically in the same verse).
Bible: The Antichrist is said to make a peace treaty with Israel for seven years.
Islam: The Mahdi is said to make a peace treaty through a Jew (specifically a Levite) for exactly seven years.
Bible: Jesus the Jewish Messiah will return to defend the Jews in Israel from a military attack from a vast coalition of nations led by the Antichrist and the False Prophet.
Islam: The Dajjal, the Islamic Antichrist , will gain a great Jewish following and claim to be Jesus Christ; he will fight against the Mahdi and the Muslim Jesus.
Bible: The spirit of antichrist specifically denies the most unique and central doctrines of Christianity, namely the Trinity, the incarnation, and the substitutionary death of Jesus on the Cross.
Islam: Islam doctrinally and spiritually specifically denies the most unique and central doctrines of Christianity, namely the Trinity, the incarnation, and the substitutionary death of Jesus on the Cross.
Bible: The primary warning of Jesus and the Apostle Paul was to warn Christians of the abundance of deceit and deception in the last days.
Islam: Islam is perhaps the only religion on earth that practices deceit as one of its tools to assist its own ascendancy. It actually has a specific doctrine that allows and even calls for deception to be used to achieve its desired end.
Bible: The specific nations pictured in the Bible as part of the final empire of the Antichrist are all Islamic nations.
Islam: All Muslims are commanded to give their allegiance to the Mahdi as the final caliph and imam (leader) of Islam.
Bible: From the Bible and history we learn that the final Antichrist empire will be a revived version of the empire that succeeds the Roman empire.
Islam: The empire that succeeded the Roman/Byzantine empire was the Islamic Ottoman empire.
Bible: When the Antichrist emerges, a system will already exist that is poised to receive him as a savior and to give allegiance to him.
Islam: Islam is already the second-largest religion and will at present growth rates become the largest religion within a few decades. Islam awaits the coming of the Mahdi with universal anticipation.

The Muslim Jesus

After the emergence or the “rising” of the Mahdi, the second most important event among the Major Signs is the return of Jesus Christ. Christians who love Jesus understandably get quite excited by the prospect that Muslims look for and long for His return. Unfortunately, the Islamic belief of just who this Jesus is that is coming, and what He does once He has arrived, is drastically different than what Christians believe about Jesus.

The first thing that Christians need to understand regarding the Islamic belief about Jesus is that Muslims of course reject the idea that Jesus was or is the Son of God. According to Islam, Jesus is not, as the Bible articulates, God in the flesh. Second, in Islamic belief, Jesus never died on a cross for the sins of mankind. The Qur’an specifically denies that Jesus was ever crucified or that He ever experienced death. Muslims believe that after Allah miraculously delivered Jesus from death, He ascended into heaven alive in a similar fashion to the biblical narrative regarding Elijah. Since then, Muslims believe, Jesus has remained with Allah, awaiting His opportunity to return to the earth to finish His ministry and complete His life. As such, to the Islamic mind, Jesus was not in any way a “savior.” To Muslims, Jesus was merely another prophet in the long line of prophets that Allah has sent to mankind. The special title of Messiah, although retained in the Islamic tradition, is essentially stripped of any truly biblically defined messianic characteristics. According to the sacred texts of Islam, as we are about to see, when Jesus returns, it most certainly will not be to restore the nation of Israel to the Jewish people. Nor will Jesus’ purpose be to save and deliver His faithful followers from the ongoing persecution of the Antichrist. In order to understand the Islamic concept of Jesus’ return, the first thing that needs to be realized is that when Jesus comes back, He comes back as a radical Muslim.

The Antichrist Spirit of Islam

While we have already discussed the actual person of the Antichrist, the Bible also talks of an antichrist spirit. Apart from the one direct reference in the Bible to the Antichrist, there are four other times that the Apostle John uses the word in a more general sense. Each time it is in reference to a particular spirit. This spirit is defined by its denial of some very specific aspects of Jesus’ nature and His relationship to God the Father. Following are the verses that describe this “antichrist” spirit:

1 John 4:3 (NKJV) and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.

1 John 2:22-23 (NKJV) ²² Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son. ²³ Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either; he who acknowledges the Son has the Father also.

2 John 1:7 (NKJV) For many deceivers have gone out into the world who do not confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.

From these verses, we learn that the antichrist is a spirit that is identified as a “liar” and a “deceiver” who specifically denies the following:

That Jesus is the Christ/Messiah (the savior/deliverer of Israel and the world).
The Father and the Son (the Trinity or that Jesus is the Son of God).
That Jesus has come in the flesh (the incarnation—that God became man).

The religion of Islam, more than any other religion, philosophy, or belief system, fulfills the description of the antichrist spirit. The religion of Islam makes one of its highest priorities the denial of all three of the points regarding Jesus and His relationship to the Father. In fact, we can fairly claim that Islam is a direct polemical response against those essential Christian doctrines.

Regarding the previous points, however, Muslims will be quick to argue that Islam teaches that Jesus is indeed the Messiah. But this is really just trickery. While it is true that Islam does retain the title of Messiah for Jesus, when one asks a Muslim to define what the title “Messiah” actually means in Islam, the definitions given are always hollow and fall entirely short of containing any truly messianic substance.

In Islam, Jesus is merely another prophet in a very long line of prophets. Biblically speaking, however, the role of the Messiah among other things entails being a divine priestly savior, a deliverer, and the king of the Jews. As we saw in earlier chapters, rather than delivering His followers, the Muslim Jesus leads Israel’s enemies against her and seeks to convert or kill all the Jews and Christians. This would the equivalent of calling Adolph Hitler, rather than Moses, Israel’s deliverer. But the Apostle John informs us that in the last hour, a man is coming who will fully personify the antichrist spirit and deny many of the essential biblical doctrines regarding who Jesus is and what He came to do. That man will be the Antichrist.

Tawhid And Shirk

In order to properly understand the antichrist spirit of Islam, there are two doctrines that must first be understood. Tawhid refers to the belief in the absolute oneness of God. Islam adheres to the strictest form of unitarian monotheism possible. In Islam, God is utterly alone. But in order to understand tawhid, one must understand that it is more than just a doctrine; in Islam, belief in tahwid is an absolute commandment. And if adherence to tawhid is the highest and most important commandment in Islam, then the greatest sin is shirk. Shirk is, in essence, idolatry. From the “Invitation to Islam” newsletter published by a Muslim group from Toronto, we read a very telling statement that helps us to understand exactly how shirk is viewed by Muslims:

Murder, rape, child molesting, and genocide. These are all some of the appalling crimes which occur in our world today. Many would think that these are the worst possible offences which could be committed. But there is something which outweighs all of these crimes put together: It is the crime of shirk.

Thus many Muslims feel as though believing in the Trinity or ascribing divinity to Jesus are among the greatest sins conceivable. In fact, believing in these essential Christian doctrines is more than just a sin; it is the most heinous of all crimes! In the Muslim mind, shirk refers not only to the beliefs of polytheists or pagans, but also to the essential historical doctrines of the Christian faith. We will examine these three essential doctrines and how Islam specifically denies them.

Islam Denies The Sonship Of Christ

The religion of Islam has as one of its foundational beliefs a direct denial of Jesus as God’s Son. This denial is found several times throughout the Qur’an:

In blasphemy indeed are those that say that God is Christ the son of Mary. (Sura 5:17; Yusuf Ali)

They say: “God hath begotten a son!”—Glory be to Him! He is self-sufficient! His are all things in the heavens and on earth! No warrant have ye for this! Say ye about Allah what ye know not? (Sura 10:68; Yusuf Ali)

They said, “The Most Gracious has begotten a son”! You have uttered a gross blasphemy. The heavens are about to shatter, the earth is about to tear asunder, and the mountains are about to crumble. Because they claim that the Most Gracious has begotten a son. It is not befitting the Most Gracious that He should beget a son. (Sura 19:88–92 Rashad Khalifa)

The Christians call Christ the son of Allah. That is a saying from their mouth; [in this] they but imitate what the unbelievers of old used to say. Allah’s curse be on them: how they are deluded away from the Truth! (Sura 9:30; Yusuf Ali, emphasis mine)

The Qur’an pronounces a curse on those who believe that Jesus is God’s Son. People who say such things utter “gross blasphemies” and are likened to “unbelievers” or infidels. Without question then, in this regard, Islam is an antichrist religious system. Remember Jim Hacking’s comments from chapter one? He was the priest in training who converted to Islam. “The thing I’ve always latched to is that there’s one God, he doesn’t have equals, he doesn’t need a son to come do his work.” Islam attempts to create an acceptable form of monotheistic worship yet it not only leaves out the most essential aspects of a saving relationship with God, but it also directly confronts these things and calls them the highest forms of blasphemy. “Far be it from God that he should have a son!” These words encircle the inside of the Dome of the Rock Mosque in Jerusalem—the very location where for centuries God’s people, the Jews, worshipped in their Temple awaiting their Messiah. This is also where Jesus, the Son of God and the Jewish Messiah will someday rule over the earth. Islam has built a monument of utter defiance to this future reality

Islam Denies The Trinity

Islam applies the same claim of blasphemy to those who believe in the Trinity:

They do blaspheme who say: Allah is one of three in a Trinity: for there is no god except One Allah. If they desist not from their word [of blasphemy], verily a grievous penalty will befall the blasphemers among them. (Sura 5:73;)

Thus belief in the Trinity is also defined as blasphemy. But what is the “grievous penalty” that shall befall those who believe such things? Well, as we saw in previous chapters, many Muslims ironically expect their version of Jesus to return and kill these “polytheist Trinitarian Christians.”

And the Qur’an does not stop at denying that Jesus is the Son of God or that God exists as a Trinity.

Islam Denies The Cross

With tears in his eyes, Paul the Apostle warned the Thessalonians that, “many live as enemies of the cross of Christ” (Philippians 3:18). It should not come as a surprise, then, that Islam also denies the most central event of all of redemptive history: the crucifixion of Jesus. Speaking to the Jews of Jesus’ day, the Qur’an says:

That they said [in boast], “We killed Christ Jesus the son of Mary, the Messenger of Allah”; but they killed him not, nor crucified him, but so it was made to appear to them, and those who differ therein are full of doubts, with no [certain] knowledge, but only conjecture to follow, for of a surety they killed him not: Nay, Allah raised him up unto himself; and Allah is exalted in power, wise. (Sura 4:157–8; Yusuf Ali)

Islamic scholars put forth conflicting theories regarding exactly what happened to Jesus. (Ironically, regarding this issue it is actually they who are the ones who have “only conjecture to follow.”) But despite the inability of Muslims to arrive at any form of consensus regarding what happened to Jesus, they are very much in agreement on at least one issue: He was not crucified! This passage of the Qur’an makes at least this much clear.

How Does The Antichrist Spirit Of Islam Affect Muslims?

So we see that Islam very specifically and very deliberately denies all three of the doctrines that the Apostle John says the antichrist spirit will deny. The Qur’an does not merely deny these doctrines but expresses utter disdain for them, actually cursing those who believe these things, accusing them of gross blasphemy. But how do these Qur’anic attitudes then affect Muslims? This statement may sound strong, but in all of my years of outreach, interfaith dialogue, and casual conversations with those who are not Christians, the two groups that I have personally witnessed expressing the strongest degree of contempt and mockery toward the Gospel have been Satanists and Muslims. Only these two have expressed such a high degree of venomous disgust.

While many religions and systems of belief exist that do not agree with the doctrines of Christianity—many of which do not even believe in God—only Islam fills the role of a religion that exists to deny core Christian beliefs. And of course, following the lead of the Qur’an, the three doctrines most severely and most often attacked and mocked by Muslims are the doctrines of the Trinity, the divine incarnation, and the atoning sacrifice/crucifixion of Jesus.

We should not be surprised then to find that one of the descriptions of the Antichrist is that he will be very fond of uttering great blasphemies against the God of the Bible:

Daniel 11:36 (NKJV) “Then the king shall do according to his own will: he shall exalt and magnify himself above every god, shall speak blasphemies against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the wrath has been accomplished; for what has been determined shall be done.

Daniel 7:25 (NKJV) 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.

The Qur’an itself expresses such blasphemies. As someone who is in continual dialogue with numerous Muslims from all over the world, I can testify that the blatant antichrist spirit that we saw expressed in the previous Qur’anic passages quite often blooms into an overt disdain and utter contempt, not only for Christian beliefs, but also for Christians themselves. While this is not always the case, should we really be surprised when Muslims act out against those whom the Qur’an curses as idolatrous infidel blasphemers? And if we are being realistic, should we expect the future of Islam to rest with those Muslims who identify with the Qur’anic scorn for Christians, or with those who show an amiable attitude despite the curses of their own holy book?

In regard to whether or not Islam is specifically the antichrist system that the Bible foretells, there can be no question that this, the second-largest, fastest-growing religion in the world, is, and has been from its inception, the quintessence of the very antichrist spirit about which John the Apostle warned us.

Antichrist & Martydom

This does not mean that those in other countries will escape the Antichrist or that the Church will escape persecution (not to be confused with God’s wrath).

As for martyrdom, even though it is often associated with end time events, and rightly so, I see it as something everyone who claims the name “Christian” should be preparing his or her heart for potentially. This is not an optional preparation for only those who live in Third World countries or those who live at certain times in world history. Preparing for martyrdom has always been part of what it means to be a true Christian. Christianity is the only religion that has as its highest example a man who was tortured and put to death publicly. As Christians, we are his followers.

Martyrdom is not macho. Martyrdom is not glorious. Martyrdom is not merely enduring great amounts of pain. Martyrdom is also not merely dying gracefully. Martyrdom is utter embarrassment, shame, confusion, and turmoil beyond what most have ever experienced.

If it does not take very long before even the mildest of difficult circumstances in life move one to begin complaining to God and giving over to sinful attitudes, how does one prepare his or her heart for martyrdom? We begin today. Martyrdom is not a one-time event. Martyrdom is identification with Jesus on the Cross. And taking up our cross is supposed to be a daily exercise.

Luke 9:23 (NKJV) Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.

Isn’t that what we signed up for? A lifelong exercise of daily dying to ourselves, living for God’s glory and not our own? We cannot expect to walk according to our own ways today and yet expect to die for God tomorrow. Martyrdom is something that we need to begin living now.

Revelation 3:21-22 (NKJV) 21 To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. 22 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.