| E-Mail Contact Message by Charles E Wigg To Index
When in Bangalore (India), some years ago, during a discussion with a Muslim Mullah, I was shown a tract-like publication, which bore the title, Mohammed in the Bible. The Mullah was unwilling to part with the tract, but I have since learned of many claims that Muslims make, that their Prophet is referred to in many places in the Bible, in both Old Testament, and New. A careful examination of the passages to which the Muslims refer proves their argument to be patently false. I have been a student of the Bible for many years, and of recent years I have come to the conclusion that there is only one place where Islam is referred to. I would point out that it is not Mohammed personally that is referred to in the passage, but rather the Religious System that he founded. I am referring to Revelation, chapter 13:11 to the end of the chapter. It is obvious that the second beast mentioned in this passage is the same as the Power spoken of as the False Prophet, in chapters 16:13, and 19:20. One Clarence Larkin, made this comment in a book of his on Revelation. Commenting on chapter 13, he suggests that Satan also has a trinity, and on page 124 of his book, Dispensational Truth, or God’s Plan for the Ages, Mr. Larkin states, The Dragon then will be Anti-God, the Beast, Anti-Christ, and the False Prophet, Anti-Spirit. I suggest that there is a lot of truth in this statement. The suggestion that the False Prophet is Anti-Spirit, is borne out by the claims that Muslims make, that their Prophet, is the other Comforter, to whom the Lord Jesus referred, and whose coming He promised in John, 14:16-17. There the Lord Jesus clearly explained that that Comforter, was the Person of the Holy Spirit. That Divine Person came from Heaven on the day of Pentecost, (more than 600 years before Mohammed’s advent), and has remained in the Church, which He formed; ever since. Thus the one whom the Muslims claim to be their Prophet, is put forward to take the place of the true Paraclete, the Spirit of truth. The false nature of this claim will be seen when we compare what Mohammed was, and what he did, with what the Lord Jesus said the Spirit of Truth would do. This you may read for yourself in chapters 13-16 of John’s Gospel. Mohammed was no ‘comforter’, unless such as Job said of his friends, Grievous comforters are ye all. The very mention of his name struck fear into many a heart. He is called ‘The prophet with the sword. His ultimatum was ‘submit or perish’, (now). History records that when his triumphant armies surrounded a village, he would give that whole village until 4.30PM to either submit and become Muslims, or they would be destroyed, put to the sword. I think then that we have established the veracity of Larkin’s claim that the second beast, is Anti-Spirit. So now let us look at what is said about this second beast, that we assert is the False Prophet, spoken of in chapters 16 and 19, referred to previously. John sees this second beast, Coming up out of the earth, in contrast to the first that comes up out of the sea. It is plain that the Sea in prophecy is the Mediterranean Sea, surrounded as it is on several sides by European nations, and on the South by nations that once were European Colonies. It is plain from careful consideration that this beast existed before in time. It had previously received a deadly wound, but now was rising from what seemed to be death. It is without doubt the revived form of the ancient Roman Empire. It is a conglomerate Beast, combining the elements of several countries and regimes. Most evangelical believers accept this basic interpretation without question, though some have different specialities about it that they emphasise. If this is so, then we may apply the same criteria to the second beast. That is to say, it is not just something that begins at the end of the Church dispensation, but it rises to prominence then, and is very prominent throughout the terrible days of the Great Tribulation. This beast arises Out of the Earth. Many expositors relate this expression to The Land, that is the ‘Land of Israel’, thus they give to this beast the title of the Anti-Christ. Claiming that he is a person, and especially that he is a Jew. However as Larkin pointed out, the first Beast is Anti-Christ, and it is possible that the wicked system that the European Power is, will be finally headed up by a renegade Jew. I suggest to my readers that The Earth, as mentioned here and in other prophecies, is not the land of Israel, but the Arabian Peninsula. Take for instance the twice-repeated prophecy of the coming Kingdom of Christ, in Psalms 72:8 He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth. Zechariah 9:10 and his dominion shall be from sea even to sea, and from the river even to the ends of the earth. Please note that the two seas mentioned in both passages, are the Mediterranean Sea on the West, and the Arabian Sea, on the East, or South East. The River, is the Euphrates River, which is prominent in prophecy, and especially in the book of Revelation. The Ends of the Earth then, must of necessity be the whole of the Arabian Peninsula. When John says that the second beast comes up out of the Earth, I suggest that we are justified in thinking that it is a reference to the Arabian Peninsula. We may then ask, what power arose in the Arabian Peninsula? The answer undoubtedly is Islam! Like the first beast mentioned in the earlier part of the chapter, it arose in ancient times. Mohammed was born in Mecca in the year Ad 570. It is claimed that he received the beginning of his call in the year 610. His own tribal brethren, (the Quraish), rejected him and he had to flee from Mecca to Medinah, (called the Hijrah, meaning flight or migration), in the year 622. It may be remarked that Muslims date their calendar from that date, indicated by the letters AH. By the time of his death on June 8th 632, Mohammed had brought all the Arab tribes into subjection, converted them to Islam, as well as other nations. We may also ask, which religious movement acknowledges their founder and leader as The Prophet? The answer surely is Islam. Then we may ask, is he a false Prophet or a true? Others have pointed out more convincingly than I am able, that the claims of Mohammed to be a prophet are patently false and that on many grounds. Thus the Title of the False Prophet, may rightly apply to him. However these prophetic references are not to Mohammed personally, but to the movement that he founded. Let us now look at the form in which this power appears. It is said to be like A Lamb, and that it has two horns. The form shows that it is obviously a counterfeit, or an attempt to copy The Lamb, the One that is drawn to our attention throughout the book of Revelation. Muslims claim that their ‘prophet’ is the last, that all who arise after him are false, blasphemous, and are to be destroyed. They also claim that the Koran is the ‘Last Testament’. (I have seen this slogan scrawled on walls in Vijaywada (India), as well as the claim that Islam is the ‘religion of PEACE’. Both claims are false, and the second flies in the face of glaring facts. The inter-religious riots in India bear out my claim. It is a fact that wherever Islam has entered countless lives have been sacrificed and great quantities of human blood has flowed. Nevertheless there are some similarities between Islam’s claims, and what is offered to lost men in the Gospel that our Lord Jesus proclaimed. One is that every chapter of the English translation of the Koran (that I possess) begins with the proclamation that their ‘Allah’ is All Merciful, and All forgiving, however it should be noted that this mercy and forgiveness is for Muslims only. Our God, (the God of the Bible), is also merciful, but His mercy extends to all men, and His desire is for All men to be saved, and come unto the knowledge of the truth, (1Tim.2:4.) However in His great wisdom, He does not compel men to accept His pardon, forgiveness and salvation, though He offers it righteously and freely to all. The mercy and all forgiving nature of the ‘Allah’ whom Muslims claim to worship, does not translate into actions of mercy or forgiveness in the deeds of those who profess to serve him. A prime example of this is to be seen in our days in the person and works of one Yasser Arafat. I am told that ‘Arafat’ means mercy, (it is the name of a mountain in Arabia that is called the ‘Mountain of mercy’. However the world has yet to see anything of mercy in the person that bears that name. He is perhaps the world’s greatest living terrorist, and has sacrificed the lives of countless people. Another similarity is found in that the Koran, (Muhammad), continually calls people to repentance, and to confess that there is No god but Allah, and Muhammad is his prophet. Though to do so is no promise or guarantee of salvation, or a place in ‘Paradise’. That can only be earned by a life of ‘good works’ and is a reward for such a life. The Lord Jesus and His Apostles also called men to repentance. The first words preached by Christ were, Repent ye and believe the Gospel, (good news). Mark, 1:15. This call was repeated by His Apostles, and is perhaps summed up in the words of the Apostle Paul in Acts, 17:30. God.commands all men everywhere to repent. Though God warns men of the consequence of their refusal to do so, yet He never holds them over the flames of hell, as a means of terrifying them to acceptance of His offer of mercy. In the days of the prophet with the sword, to refuse to do as he commanded, meant certain physical death, often preceded by torture. Mohammed was said to be a ‘warner’ of the people. Though warnings are given in the Gospel, of the consequence of either rejecting God’s offer of mercy and salvation in Christ; yet it is never used as a threat, to frighten people into accepting that free gift. Another similarity could be the longevity of Mohammed’s religion, because it will endure until the battle of ‘Armageddon’. This is claimed by the Muslims to be proof that it is of God. However this is no proof, otherwise the same claim could be made for Hinduism, Buddhism, and other pagan religions. These have existed for a much longer time that Islam. Gamaliel’s counsel may be quoted, (Acts, 5:38-39) However the Lamb of God, existed from eternity, and will exist to all eternity. Of Him only it can be said, that He is and was, and is to come Rev. 1:7. The Allah of Islam also offers a reward to those who faithfully follow his ways. That reward is the Muslim heaven. As I am reading through the Koran, I am hi-lighting all the references to heaven. I have come to the conclusion that the heaven offered as a reward to the faithful is such as would be very attractive to the unregenerate heart of man. Those who enter there will be able to indulge their sexual and sensual lusts to the full, without any sense of guilt, and never growing weary, or suffering hangovers from drinking wine etc. It is the promise of such a heaven that has led young men to rush to the battlefront, and lay down their lives in prosecuting the ‘Jihad’. It was such a vain promise that led the men who took control of the aeroplanes that were then crashed into the World Trade Centre, and the Pentagon, as well as the field in Pennsylvania, on Sept 11th 2001. Thereby sacrificing their own lives, as well as the lives of thousands of others. However it must be pointed out that the Muslim heaven is for men only, the only women there are specially created ‘dark eyed houris’, virgins who have never been defiled either by men or Jinn, (demons). These are for the eternal enjoyment of the men who are faithful. The Gospel of the Lord Jesus also offers rewards for good works that are done by believers after they have been saved. 2Cor. 5:10. (It is impossible for a person to do works that God regards as ‘good’, until after that person is saved, and indwelt by the Holy Spirit. These works can only be done by the help of the Holy Spirit, and in His power. They are done, not to obtain any reward, but simply out of gratitude to God who has saved us). However these rewards relate to the Millennial Kingdom of Christ, and have nothing to do with heaven. All who enter God’s heaven receive that eternal felicity as a gift. Not one person will ever claim it to be a reward for faithfulness. All will gladly confess that they have no right to be there, but that all is the gift of God’s grace, through the finished work of Christ. It is because of His righteousness and His mercy alone. Titus, 3:4-7. The heaven of the Bible is a place of absolute holiness, where lust or sexual, sensual desire can never enter. When the believer finally enters there, we will be having new bodies that are like the body of glory that the Lord Jesus now has. When we have such bodies, we will no longer suffer pain or weariness, hunger or thirst. The bible says that we will be ‘as the angels’. We now notice that when the beast speaks, all its lamb-like characteristics disappear, because it speaks its voice is like the voice of the Dragon. That is to say, fierce, terrifying, causing the hearer to shudder at the utterances. Such were the proclamations of Mohammed; such are the proclamations of the leaders of Islam today. At the time of writing we are being told of the ravings of Osama Bin Laden, and those who support and obey him. Those who attend the Mosques on Fridays tell me that there is no comfort, consolation, nor even instruction in the addresses that they hear there. Whereas those who were sent to take the Lord Jesus in His words had to testify, Never man spoke like this man. John, 7:46 When He spoke His first message in the synagogue it is said that those present, Wondered at the gracious words that proceeded out of His mouth. Luke 4:22. It is said that this beast has two horns. The horns in scripture speak of power, so it seems that the beast will possess two kinds of power, and I would suggest that these two kinds of power are the political and the religious. This seems to be borne out by the ensuing details, because the beast exercises all the powers of the first beast before him. The first beast received his power from the Dragon, (Satan), and it too was both political and religious. The great harlot wielded the religious power of the first beast, which she rode upon. (chapter 17.) However the ten kings hated her, ate her flesh and burned her with fire The second beast uses his power to spread the influence and control of the first to cause those who dwell on the earth, (men world wide), to worship, (bow down to), the first. This shows, (as is now becoming evident), that eventually there will be a close relationship between the two powers. It is said that this second beast, (whom we will refer to hereafter as the ‘false prophet’) that he does wonders. This can be in the areas of trade, construction etc. I have visited the countries of the Middle East, and I am constantly amazed at the almost miraculous development that has taken place. Within the past 30 years, modern cities with skyscrapers have sprung up. There are wide sealed roads, abundance of desalinated water etc. Near Dubai is the world’s largest man made harbour, where the largest container ships can dock. All has been done without the imposition of taxes. There are no taxes in those countries. Western countries have also developed, but all at the taxpayers expense. He makes fire to come down from heaven in the sight of men. This statement makes me to think that the fundamentalist Muslim powers may yet destroy America with nuclear weapons. The false prophet causes men to make an image to, (or of), the first beast. This does not necessarily mean the making of an idol, because Islam is fiercely anti-idolatrous. It can and perhaps does, mean making a copy of the system, a replica of the world power that the European power will yet become. These replicas may well replace democracy, which though preferable to any political system that has arisen yet, has failed miserably. This is being done even today through the United Nations. Even in Australia, in fact in our own island of Tasmania, large areas of our territory have been handed over, as ‘World Heritage’ areas. Our Government has signed up to U.N treaties that have taken the government of our country out of the hands of the elected Parliament. I refer to the present crisis with the so-called ‘asylum seekers’. The simplistic explanation of this passage is that an image, or idol, will be made to which the false prophet will give life and the power of speech to that idol. This can easily be done today by clever deceivers who are able to make dinosaurs out of plastic, make them to walk and even to speak. However it seems that something much greater than this simplistic explanation is in mind. As mentioned earlier, Islam is fiercely anti idolatry. They will not even have pictures in their houses, lest they be tempted to worship them. They will not have flowers for the same reason. This is why we find so many geometrical designs in frames, carpets etc. However there are very definite contradictions even in this area. As an example their ensign is a crescent moon, with star. This is an idolatrous symbol, and has been so from ancient times. It was warn on chains of gold around the necks of their camels, as a good luck charm and a symbol of their worship of the moon. They thought that it secured for them the favour and protection of the Moon god. In addition the custom down through the ages of gathering around the Kab’a the black granite mausoleum in Mecca. The tomb of Mohammed, and also of his son-in-law, Abu Bakr is in Medina, and between those tombs there is an empty tomb, which the Muslims claim is the tomb of Jesus, son of Mary. The Kab’a was a temple containing many idols before the rise of Islam. I its wall there are some sacred stones that were previously objects of worship, And it seems that in spite of claims made otherwise, they still are. The same practise (of surrounding and bowing to the Kab’a was carried on in the days of the worship of idols. It is obvious that it is a ‘system’ that is envisaged in the details of our chapter. A ‘system’ that will be duplicated all over the world, not just the making of a literal idol. Buying and selling, social and trade privileges are involved, and none could engage in these activities unless they wore the mark of the false prophet or the name of the first beast or its number. This will involve the introduction of a World currency, in all probability a cash-less society. However it is not my intention to go into the fine details of all that is involved in the mark of the beast etc. Others have speculated somewhat wildly on such matters. Most are quite interesting, but some seem to be bordering on the ridiculous. Nevertheless we will now look at what may take place in the area of religion. It must be understood that most of the things or events prophesied here will not take place fully until after the true Church is translated to glory, at the rapture. But we may see the beginning of these things. It used to be said that ‘coming events cast their shadows before them’. This statement seems to be correct as we look at the way things have happened in the past. The Lord Jesus spoke about the ‘Beginning of sorrows’, Matt. 24:8, and tells us that ‘when these things begin to come to pass’, to lift up our heads. Luke, 21:28. After the rapture of the Church takes place, things will rapidly take place. At the rapture, every true believer will be taken home to glory but the empty shell of Christian profession will continue. . Many Churches and fellowships will continue as though nothing has happened. The reason for this is because those who lead the congregations have never been saved, and many of those in the congregations are not truly saved also. The great apostate Roman Catholic Church will continue, and the ecumenical movement will then succeed. All Christian denominations will then be rapidly gathered back into the fold of the false Church. Not only this, but also all idolatrous religions will join with Rome, because the idols that they worship are the same as those worshipped in the R.C.Church now. It is a fact that in India today many of the Hindu idols can be found in the R.C.Church. Hindus feel quite at home attending Roman Catholic Church services, because of their similarity to the services conducted at their Hindu temples. The Roman Catholic festivals are quite similar to the Hindu Juttras, or Melas. I was in India when the Pope made his visit some years ago, and I was most interested to see the attempts that were made by the Pope, to win over the Hindu people as well as the other Christian denominations. It was easy for me to see how that once every true believer is gone, all these false religions will quickly unite. Once this takes place, Rome will resort to her old tricks, ruling over the kings of the earth. The woman will ride the scarlet beast. She will once more manipulate the secular powers and cause them to do her will. She will then become richer than ever; (she is the richest organisation in the world even today). However Rome’s domination will be short lived, because the secular powers, (the ten kings), will tire of her manipulation and will eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.Rev. 17:16. Doubtless the Muslim power, (the false prophet), will also be behind this, because once the last vestiges of corrupt Christianity have gone, Islam will then be the World Religion. As well as Islam, there will be, authodox Judaism and the godly remnant that during this time, (the first part of the tribulation), will be saved from amongst the nations. Satan will use the false prophet to turn his fiercest persecution against them. Many will be beheaded, (the favourite method of execution used by the Muslims), others will be driven out of the then society. The head of the first beast, (the Anti-Christ), will make a covenant with the Jews, which he will break in the middle of the tribulation period. The question arises, Where is America in all this? It seems that America does not appear as a world power in the prophetic scriptures relating to the end times. This makes me to think that she and her allies may not win the present war against terrorism, and Osama Bin Laden. A fear and fatalism has settled on that country. A large percentage of the population believes that their nation will be destroyed. This is the conclusion of a brother who has recently travelled that land and has just returned to Tasmania. The prospect of this makes me to tremble, because America has been a source and channel of blessing to much of the world. However it has been the birthplace of most of the false pseudo-Christian cults. Such as Christian Science, Mormonism, Seventh Day Adventism, Jehovah’s Witnesses, The Charismatic Movement, Pentecostalism, and many others of lesser note. I have many very dear Christian friends in that country, many of them have gone there from India. Australia also may yet be visited by the judgement of God. Because this nation, (like America), have turned their backs upon God and His word. They have made a god of sport, have legalised things such as murder, (abortion), Sodomy, and many other such things that the word of God plainly condemns. We have a large Muslim community in our midst, and they are being joined by an invasion of fellow Muslims, who come to our country illegally. It is quite possible that these people have infiltrated the highest offices of our land. It may be that Australians will one day be second class citizens in their own land, just as Christians are today in Muslim lands. At length the Dragon, the Beast, and the False prophet will unite the world in their hostility to God, and to His people Israel. They together will stir up hatred towards both, and assemble a vast army to that place called Armageddon. Then the Lord Jesus will come out in judgement, leading the armies of heaven to victory. There He will execute judgement on rebellious mankind; the destruction will be terrible indeed. The Beast and the false Prophet will be taken and cast into the Lake of Fire, the Dragon, (Satan) will be bound and imprisoned in the bottomless pit, and the Lord Jesus will then set up His glorious kingdom. He will come into a cleansed earth, (cleansed by the fire of judgement). He will then be glorified in His saints and marvelled at in all that have believed. He will arise as the Sun of Righteousness, with healing in His wings, and the knowledge of His glory shall cover the earth, as the waters cover the sea. Amen, Even so, Come Lord Jesus! I realise that there are many things in the prophetic scriptures that I have not explained. I did not intend doing so. My purpose is only to suggest to the minds of my fellow believers these things that I have observed over many years. I commend these things to your careful and prayerful study and consideration. May it please God to erase from the minds of my fellow believers, any and every thought or suggestion, contained in this paper, which is not of Himself, or is contrary to truth! Message by Charles E Wigg
|