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In my article on ‘Biblical Symbolism and Idioms – The vine and the stone’, I explained why I believe that Daniel 2 points to an end times entity in the form of an Islamic Caliphate. Furthermore, I view the ‘Beast from the Sea’ in Revelation 13:1 as a composite picture of many beast-empires throughout the ages, whose final manifestation is indeed a restored Islamic Caliphate.

The beast from the sea

The seven heads on the beast from the sea represent seven empires (or 'mountains') dominating the Middle East, each of which is controlled by a ‘harlot religion’ (Rev 17:9). Revelation 17:10 tells us that five of these empires existed long ago (Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia and Greece), one was still in existence when John received this revelation (Rome), and one empire lay in John’s future (the Islamic Caliphate that existed from the seventh century right through to the early twentieth century). I believe the Caliphate was the beast’s head that appeared “as if it had been mortally wounded, but his deadly wound was healed” (Rev 13:3). Revelation 17:11 tells us that the whole beast from the sea itself represents an eighth entity, which is effectively a re-born version of one of the original seven, and I maintain that this refers to a re-born Caliphate – and I give you the Caliphate of Islamic State.

The beast from the earth

The end times antichrist, the ‘Beast from the Earth’ (Rev 13:11), is the man responsible for overseeing the creation of the resurrected Caliphate as “an image” (Rev 13:14-15) of the original Caliphate. The restored Caliphate is meant to be a perfect replication of the original, with all its brutal laws, so that anyone failing to pay due homage to this image of the original Caliphate should be killed. Revelation 20:4 informs us that many of those killed would in fact be beheaded. If the beast from the sea is Islamic State, then the beast from the earth, who oversaw many beheadings, must be Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

Daniel 9:26 describes the end times antichrist as “the prince who is to come” and tells us that people from his ethnic group would destroy Jerusalem and the temple. Jerusalem and Herod’s temple were destroyed in 70 A.D. by Roman soldiers who were recruited from the region that was once called Assyria, so the antichrist can legitimately be described as ‘an Assyrian’.

The author Walid Shoebat¹ points out that Isaiah 14 refers to an end times antichrist possessed by Satan, who has “fallen from heaven” (verse 12). The antichrist is initially called “the king of Babylon”, and he is “the Assyrian” in verse 25. Since Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was born in the region once called Assyria (probably in Samarra, north of Baghdad), I will call him ‘The Assyrian Antichrist’.

The little horn

Daniel chapter 8 describes a vision in which Daniel is shown the emergence of Medo-Persia as a regional power, followed by a fast-growing Greek empire. However, in Daniel 8:17, the angel Gabriel tells Daniel that the vision also refers or extends “to the time of the end”.

The section of Daniel 8 pertaining to the time of the end refers to a sinister ruler called “little horn” (Dan 8:9). Most scholars agree that the prophecy about ‘little horn’ had an initial fulfilment in the person of King Antiochus IV Epiphanes, but that ultimately this prophecy would also apply to the End Times antichrist. Antiochus Epiphanes was an evil Seleucid (Syrian) king, and it is logical that his end times counterpart would also come from the same region, which was once called Assyria. Some of this prophecy about our Assyrian antichrist is a little difficult to understand, so let us begin by looking at Gabriel’s interpretation of the relevant part of Daniel’s vision – and see how well it might describe Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

The antichrist is initially called “the king of Babylon”, and he is “the Assyrian” in verse 25.

“In the latter time of their kingdom, when the rebels have reached their fullness, a ruler shall arise, having a fierce countenance, who understands sinister schemes. His power shall be mighty; but not by his own power, he shall destroy extraordinarily, and he shall prosper and thrive; and he shall destroy numerous [or mighty] people and holy people. Through his cunning he shall cause deceit to prosper under his rule, and he shall exalt himself in his heart. He shall destroy many in their prosperity, and he shall even rise against the Prince of princes, but he shall be broken in [many] pieces without a hand [laid upon him]. And the vision of the evenings and mornings which was told [in vv. 13-14] is true. Therefore, seal up the vision, for it refers to many days in the future.” (Dan 8:23-26).

Seven years

I see the context of 'rebels' (v. 23) referring to the many rebellions right across the Middle East and North Africa in January and February 2011 – a totally unprecedented number of simultaneous uprisings that sought to overthrow the existing rulers in as many Muslim countries as possible. It is highly unlikely that this so-called ‘Arab Spring’ was completely unorchestrated, and I believe the leaders of Islamist groups made “a covenant with many” (Dan 9:27) at this time to lay the foundations for a restored Caliphate – thus marking the beginning of the long-awaited seven [Babylonian] years of the antichrist. These seven years pertaining to the antichrist, as described in Daniel 9:27, are given as a sign that the end of the age is near. Some scholars have jumped to the conclusion that the end of the seven years would coincide with the return of Jesus, but the Bible does not explicitly state that. Assumption is the mother of many mistakes!

Some scholars have jumped to the conclusion that the end of the seven years would coincide with the return of Jesus, but the Bible does not explicitly state that. Assumption is the mother of many mistakes!

Al-Baghdadi, the secretive and sinister leader with “a fierce countenance”, definitely “exalted himself in his heart” when he proclaimed himself to be ‘Caliph of all Muslims’ on 29th June 2014, right in the middle of the seven years. When he announced the new Caliphate on that date, automatically a whole raft of strict laws in Sharia were made ‘active’ – repressive laws that only apply when there is a Caliphate. Under these laws, “the regular things were taken away” (Dan 8:11), and many “temples of the Holy Spirit” (1 Cor 6:19) were ‘cast down’ as al-Baghdadi sought to “bring an end to all sacrifice and offering” (Dan 9:27) that did not conform to the religious practices of Islamic State.

42 months

However, as prophesied in Revelation 13:5, the beast-empire of Islamic State only had authority over a civilian population for 42 Biblical months – from 1st Tammuz 5774 (Jewish calendar) to 1st Kislev 5778 (19th November 2017), on which day Syrian state media reported that they had liberated the last urban stronghold of Islamic State. Accurate to the day! Eventually the antichrist himself met his predicted fate. On 26th October 2019 (27th Tishri 5780), al-Baghdadi was “broken in [many] pieces without a hand [laid upon him]” (Dan 8:25) when his suicide-vest detonated.

And the “two thousand three hundred evenings and mornings” (Dan 8:14 and 8:26)? If we count 2,300 days from 29th June 2014, when “the regular things were taken away” (Dan 8:11), we come to 15th October 2020 – or 27th Tishri 5781, exactly one Biblical year after the death of al-Baghdadi (just a coincidence?). So, what happened then?

Both of these time-spans start on the same day, 29th June 2014, and both were fulfilled to the exact day as foretold.

On 15th October 2020, the Israeli Knesset authorised the Normalization Agreement with the United Arab Emirates, which changed the legal status quo on the Temple Mount, paving the way for Jews to pray on most of this holy place and re-consecrate it. (I refer to the seventh paragraph in the ‘Abraham Accords’, which form an integral part of the Normalization Agreement with the UAE). Prior to that Agreement being legislated, the Jordanian Islamic Trust (or Waqf), which still has administrative control of the whole Temple Mount complex, strictly limited the admission of non-Muslims to the site and prohibited non-Muslims from praying there. In Bible-speak, the sanctuary was “trampled underfoot” (Dan 8:13) – or controlled and profaned by Gentiles.

The ‘Abraham Accords’ effectively limit the ‘Muslim-only’ rule to just the Al-Aqsa Mosque, at the southern end of the Temple Mount, and thus permit Jews to worship in “the place of the sanctuary” – the site of the former temples. According to a subsequent report in ‘The Times of Israel’ on 17th July 2021, groups of Jewish worshippers have now been praying discreetly on the Temple Mount for some time. Furthermore, the number of Jewish visitors to the Mount has continued to increase, and over the past twelve months it has actually exceeded 50,000 – which is believed to be the highest number of Jews to visit the Temple Mount since the Bar Kochba revolt in the second century. We might presume, therefore, that by the prayers of these God-fearing Jews, “the sanctuary is cleansed” (Dan 8:14).

What is the Probability?

Whilst I do not have the space in this article to examine every single Biblical prophecy that pertains to the End Times antichrist, I am convinced that al-Baghdadi has fulfilled every single one of them except for those prophecies that relate to his escape from “the bottomless pit” (Rev 11:7) or Sheol, the place of the dead, at the time indicated in Daniel 12:2 (when “many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake”), and the events occurring thereafter. We know from Isaiah 24:18 that all the unrighteous who “come up from the midst of the pit shall be caught”, and the capture of the beast from the earth and his false prophet is specifically foretold in Revelation 19:20.

Those readers who have questions about “the mark or name of the beast” (Rev 13:16-17) and “the number of the beast” (Rev 13:18) should find their questions fully answered in Walid Shoebat’s book.² I give a brief explanation myself in my own book, in which I also cover the seven years of the antichrist more fully.³

My book also examines the final section of Daniel 11 from verse 40, which commences: “At the time of the end…”. In these verses, the title of “King of the North” applies to the antichrist, whose forces sweep southwards “like a whirlwind” (Dan 11:40), just as al-Baghdadi’s fighters stormed their way across Syria and southwards, deep into Iraq, in 2014. I find it notable that “Edom, Moab and the prominent people of Ammon” (Dan 11:41), which is Jordan today, did indeed “escape from [al-Baghdadi’s] hand”, since Jordan continued to remain an island of calm and peace throughout all the fighting that raged in neighbouring countries.

So, what is the probability that one man, chosen at random, could fulfil all these Biblical prophecies? Even as a mathematician, who has taught probability theory to A-level students, I hesitate to put a value on this. The two prophecies that specify a precise time-span are probably the key ones. Whilst many men might have had “a fierce countenance” (Dan 8:23), the joint fulfilment of both the 42 Biblical months in Revelation 13:5 and also the 2,300 days in Daniel 8:14 is pretty remarkable. Both of these time-spans start on the same day, 29th June 2014, and both were fulfilled to the exact day as foretold. The probability that any man chosen at random would not only have “a fierce countenance” but would also be associated with the double fulfilment of those prophesied time-spans must be very close to zero!

Be ready!

I know that al-Baghdadi is probably not most people’s idea of the End Times antichrist, especially since many people are looking for a global ruler rather than a “little horn”, but nothing was ever going to turn out as most people have expected. Jesus knew that many people would not understand and will be caught unawares by his return, so he told us to watch very carefully. This has to be in order that “none of the wicked shall understand, but the wise shall understand” (Dan 12:10).

Jesus knew that many people would not understand and will be caught unawares by his return, so he told us to watch very carefully.

I will conclude by urging you all to be ready. You must make up your own minds about what I have written. However, if you share my understanding that the antichrist has already come, lived and died as prophesied, then we must be very close to the return of Jesus. This might occur any year, but it will not be very far away. So, I say: “Maranatha! Come, Lord!”

End Notes

¹ Chapter 56 of ‘God’s War on Terror’ by Walid Shoebat with Joel Richardson.
² Chapters 79 to 81 of ‘God’s War on Terror’.
³ ‘Countdown to Messiah (Second Edition)’ by Ian Liddle.