Returning to the Imam Mahdi sepculation

In my post The Imam Mahdi of Shia Islam I talked about how some Sunni Muslims think the Shiite Imam Mahdi will be the Dajjal.  I concluded that I felt the Biblical Antichrist is more likely to be a Sunni Mahdi claimant if a Mahdi at all, and therefore a Shiite one could be a decoy.  But something has come to my attention since then.

In that post I barely alluded to the part about Shiites teaching The Imam Mahdi will destroy Saudi Arabia, maybe even specifically Mecca and Medina.  You can find on YouTube and google searches Shiites saying the Mahdi will destroy Saudi Arabia.

If the Shiite Imam is The Beast of Revelation 17, that fits well with theories of Mecca being Mystery Babylon.  Because as I like to remind people who oversimplify The Beast's relationship to Babylon, the Beast hates and destroys Babylon in Revelation 17.

Chris White has written a book dedicated to debunking Islamic Antichrist theories.  Much of what he says I agree with, but not all.  He refuted the Saudi Arabia as Mystery Babylon argument, but only in terms of how people like Walid Shobat make that argument.  I agree with him there, and even promoted that in my Isaiah 21 post.

However I have developed my own way of making that argument possible, in-spite of my general bias for Babylon simply being Babylon (or at least in Mesopotamia/Iraq). First is my post about The Woman of Revelation 12 and the Woman of Revelation 17 possibly being the same Woman.  Then my earlier theory that The Woman of Revelation 12 will be taken to where Israel wandered in the Wilderness for 40 years.  And then the post on my Revised Chronology Blog where I supported viewing Mecca as Kadesh-Barnea.

Kadesh-Barnea was where Israel rejected the Land because of the Spies bad Report in Numbers, and then were defeated by the Amalekites.  Numbers 14.  It also might be accurate to say they were still at Barnea for Korah and Dathan's rebellion in Numbers 16.

Wikipedia says about the history of the Kaaba.

According to Sarwar,^[42] about 400 years before the birth of Muhammad, a man named "Amr bin Lahyo bin Harath bin Amr ul-Qais bin Thalaba bin Azd bin Khalan bin Babalyun bin Saba", who was descended from Qahtan and was the king of Hijaz had placed a Hubal idol onto the roof of the Kaaba.

In other words, it seems Sheba Ben Joktan had a son named Babylon.  Whether there is any truth to this tradition or not, we have an ancient precedent for linking the name of Babylon to Mecca.  This king however was of a Tribe that had migrated to Mecca from Yemen.  And I've also argued for Mt Sinai being in Yemen, in it's capital City of Sana'a, where there is a Gate called the Bab al-Yaman.

But there is also a theory out there that Mt Sinai was a mountain near Mecca, and the Kaaba could be where the first Tabernacle was first raised.

But if you want to keep Babylon in Iraq, another candidate for a Sunni Babylon that a Shiite Mahdi claimant could destroy is Samarra.  It was an important Capital of many early Sunni Caliphs.  And Contains a Spiral Minaret that I think inspired later European depictions of the Tower of Babel as a Spiral.  And it's supposedly the hometown of the founder of I.S.I.S.  But also if you wanted to view Babylon as a Shiite capital a Sunni Mahdi claimant will destroy, there is Najaf where Ali was buried, to Shiites that is the 3rd holiest site in Islam, not anything in Jerusalem.

What about the possible importance of Egypt I have talked about on this Blog?  Well while today the main regions where the Shia are dominant are in Iran and eastern Iraq.  Historically there was an important Shiite Caliphate in Egypt, the Fatimid Caliphate.  So maybe a Shiite Mahdi claimant will rule in Egypt, but summon his supporters from East of the Euphrates, as Revelation 16 depicts in the account of the 6th Bowl of God's Wrath.

Now is a time to talk about how not all Shia believe in the Twelfth Imam view specifically, they're just the most dominant eschatological view.  For example Al-Hakim, a Fatamid Caliph, is who the Druze believe will someday return.  Of the Fatamid Caliphs, there are only 7 who both ruled Egypt and were considered proper Imams, Al-Hakim was among the first five.  What Hakim and the Twelfth Imam have in common is being descended from Ali.

But I can't help but suspect there are some Shiites who might just cut out the middle man and think it'll be Ali himself.  I talked about Ali a bit on my other Blog last month, when I discussed how the Sunni/Shia split was originally about Democracy vs Hereditary Monarchy.

Some sects have even already outright deified Ali.  In fact it's curious how Ali seems to be more popular to Deify then Muhammad himself, even sects who view Ali as one of many Avatars of Allah, don't view Muhammad as one.  Ali being said to have been born inside the Kaaba, a completely unique occurrence, possibly helps that.

Ali married Fatimah, Muhammad's Daughter.  Fatimah was alive already when Muhammad's was supposedly first called to be a Prophet.  Also it's said Muhammad was told to marry Fatimah to Ali by Allah.  So since some people think Ali was Allah, I can't hep but notice an implication that Allah called Muhammad to be a Prophet because he wanted to bang his daughter.

Ali died by being mortally wounded with a poisoned Sword.  So that can fit him being the Beast of Revelation 13.

But Ali is also associated with a Sacred Sword, the Zulfiqar.  So that could also fit associating him with the Red Horseman or the Terrible of the Nations who will wound the beast of Revelation 13.  (And also make him a Saber Class if Type Moon ever added him to the Fate/ franchise.)

I think the Beast of Revelation 17 will claim to be someone who lived in the past.  But who he really is and who he claims to be may not be the same.

Again, I overall have reasons to doubt the Antichrist will be Islamic in any way.  But it's interesting to observe how Satan has laid the seeds for many possible options.

Jonathan Cahn is comparing Trump to Jehu, while downplaying Jehu's negative aspects

Jonathan Cahn - The Jehu/Jezebel Template.  (I don't want to get into my political disagreements with Cahn here, that is for the SolaScirpturaChristianLiberty blog).

Clearly, another way for Christians to try to convince themselves that Trump is chosen by God and they should support him in-spite of his obvious moral problems.

Here is what boggles my mind about this.  To me, Jehu is clearly a Type of The Antichrist.  I've been arguing that since early in this Blog's history, back in 2014.  In my initial post about The Four Horsemen.

It comes up when suggesting The Antichrist may be a Messiah Ben-Joseph claimant.  I cite verses like Hosea saying Yahuah will avenge the Blood of Jezreel against the House of Jehu.  And how Jehu had enemies Decapitated like Revelation 20 says The Beast will do, I think the Beast may very well call Christians he dislikes worshipers of Baal, like the Hebrew Roots movement loves to do.

In this context The House of Ahab and Jezebel could be viewed as the Decoy Antichrist.  This overlaps with when I talk about Jeroboam as a type of the Antichrist.

This also comes up in posts like The Antichrist may not be as popular as we assume, and God has used Babylon and he may use it again.

I don't want to say I think Trump is the Antichrist.  But whether he is or not, this upholding the legacy of Jehu as mostly positive is certainly helping in setting stage for The Antichrist.

Update: BTW, who is Hazael King of Aram in Cahn's analogy?  Putin?

The Dajjal being from Britain

Is a theory among some Muslims I recently became aware of.  Starting with This YouTube Video.

I was already familiar with the Hadith that is the main basis for this theory.  A Story about some Arab sailors who wind up on an Island where they talk to a chained person claiming to be the Dajjal.  An Island estimated to be about a month from Arabia.  Of course the people promoting this theory are saying they aren't taking it entirely literally.

I imagine most mainstream theories about where this Island was meant to be located, (if it intended a real location at all), would look for it in the Arabian Sea or Indian Ocean, or further east.

Among some Judaeo-Christian Conspiracy theorists there has long been a tendency to see British Imperialism as the source of all modern evil.  Including some posts on my own Conspiracy Theory Blog.  And on this Blog in the England and Egypt post.

Before meeting Dajjal, these sailors were first greeted by a hairy man or creature.  The name he identified himself by is apparently related to the Arab word for Spying, so this is taken as a clue it's an island particularly associated with Espionage.  The British are credited with pretty much inventing modern Espionage under Queen Elizabeth I. 

Apparently this Hadith is also one of a few that seem to foretell the Sea of Galilee drying up.  Which apparently is happening now.  You've probably seen Zionists brag about how modern Israel has made the desserts Green again.  Well apparently some think their doing that is in the long term hurting the environment of Israel, and is why the Sea of Galilee is drying up.

What most bothers me here is how the use of this Hadith to basically identify the Ashkenazim with Gog and Magog can tie into the Khazzar theory, a deception I've already addressed.

But getting back to Britain.  The idea of the Dajjal being hidden on an Island at Muhammad's time, with some linking that Island to Britain, is interesting in light of some Christian theories about King Arthur having something to do with The Antichrist.  However from what I can tell none of these Muslims have made an Arthur connection themselves.

About a century before Muhammad's time was King Arthur's time.  And at the end of his Reign he is said to have not died but been taken Mortally Wounded to Avalon, from whence he will someday return when Britain needs him again.

But some theorize Avalon isn't a separate Island from Britan, but rather the area of Glastonbury, where there is a traditional site for King Arthur's Tomb.  This Hadith has the Dajjal Chained in an old place of worship, which in the context of seeing it as Britain makes it a Church or Monastery.

I have talked about Arthurian Legend quite a bit, once previously on this Blog in England and Edessa.  But I've talked about it a lot on my Nerdy Blog.  With the idea of connections between it and Arabia sort of coming up in my post about Wolfram's Parzival.

I still currently do not consider an Islamic Antichrist theory likely.  But it's interesting to keep an eye on what their theories are.

Update June 9th 2018: apparently it might be possible to draw a direct line from this Arabic lore about the Antichrist imprisoned on an Island to Cthulu.
http://www.jasoncolavito.com/blog/uncovering-the-real-necronomicon
The comments even possibly trace it back to Plutarch and other Hellenic mythology about Saturn/Kronos being chained on an Island linked to Britain.

I can't support Chad Schafer's theory about Egypt

I talked about his World in Bondage to Egypt book once already.

Now personally I like Chad Schafer, we're friends on Facebook, some of what I say here will come off harsher then I intend.   It's just his theory I intend to be harsh on.

I like that he's drawing attention to often overlooked Eschatological significance of Egypt.  And I think he's onto something talking about the Arch of Titus.  The problem is how he brings those things together.

[[Update July 2018: I still disagree the theory but I now feel I was way to harsh in this Post.]]

September 23 2017 is apporaching.

Awhile ago I talked about why I don't think the alignment involving Virgo, Leo and 4 of the Planets is significant.  But now the time for it is approaching I better remind people.

Also recently was this AnswerInGenesis Article on it.

That somewhat overlaps with my refuting the September 11th 3 BC Birth of Jesus theory.

Rob Skiba has kinda gone off the deep end, in a recent radio show saying Revelation 12 can only be about either something astronomical or some sort of cloned rebirth of Jesus who immediately dies.

I feel like I have firmly Biblically proven that The Woman is Israel, and The Man-Child is The Church, especially thanks to Isaiah 66.

For those who still think The Church can only be represented by a woman, I recommend this Song of Solomon post of mine.

The only thing Biblically significant about this September is that as it often does the Month of Tishri and thus the Fall Feasts will begin.

The Forgotten Dream of Nebuchadnezzar.

The second chapter of the Book of Daniel begins by telling us that Nebuchadnezzar had a dream that troubled him.  In verse 5 he says "The thing is gone from me" and then demands his court occultists to make the dream known to him or he'll kill them all.

Every single commentary or Bible Study on Daniel Chapter 2 I have read or watched or listened to has assumed that Nebuchadnezzar did not actually forget this dream, he's just doing this to test all his court magicians.

For a community that is generally all about not reading things into the text that aren't actually there, I find this really odd.  Nothing in the text of Daniel 2 says or implies this.

It makes me wonder, can these people simply not relate to this happening?  Because it happens to me all the time, I'll have a Dream, a Dream that was pretty bizarre and interesting, but within minutes or even seconds of waking up my memory of the dream has faded to nothingness.

Now I don't think any of my forgotten dreams were visions from God revealing his plans for the coming centuries.  And I also can't relate to wanting to kill other people for not telling me the contents of a dream they didn't have, but Absolute Monarchs do a lot of such things I can't relate too.

The idea that it's a test is stupid.  No one who does claim to know how to interpret dreams, claims they can interpret a dream they don't know the contents of.  Now again, what Nebuchadnezzar is doing in my face value interpretation isn't rational either.  But it's the people saying he's lying about this who think he's being some champion of logical thinking.

It reflects how Protestant Christians sometimes feel compelled to in certain areas think like Atheists.  By thinking anything that exposures those sharletons with their Psychic hotlines must be serving the greater good.  But the Hebrew Bible was never operating under an assumption that occultists have no real power.

Now when Daniel describes the Dream to Nebuchadnezzar and then interprets it, that probably jogged his memory and brought it back to him.

Bethlehem was Zion, Which is The City of David

[Update July 2025: The Better version of this is here. 

https://solascripturachristianliberty.blogspot.com/2023/12/zionthe-city-of-david-wasnt-jerusalem.html]