Nothing new under the sun
King Solomon wrote; “What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.” (Ecclesiastes 1:9) History has a way of repeating itself. In 1939 when Adolph Hitler came to power in Germany the country had been experiencing an economic depression and the people needed a new direction and a revival of their nationalistic spirit that would take the focus off of the nations economic problems and give them a goal and purpose as a nation that would ultimately make Germany great again. It came in the start of WWII when Hitler was able to resurrect German nationalism and patriotism for a new era of power and prosperity for Germany. In 1933 when Adolph Hitler became Chancellor of Germany he introduced policies that would improve the economy and allow Germany to rearm itself. He experienced political opposition and even did some jail time but came back with a vengeance to stamp his own brand of despotic rule on Germany.
Germany’s glorious Reich?
The German people loved him and rallied to his cause and his mesmerising effect on the people especially the German youth is clearly seen in the film footage of that time when he was on his rise to power in Nazi Germany. By 1938 Germany prospered and unemployment was virtually extinct. Along the way Adolph Hitler had exterminated and deposed any political and military leaders who had opposed him and his Nazi henchmen, not to mention his constant tirade and hate mongering of the Jewsish people and the publicaton of Mein Kampf. With the outbreak of WW11 in 1939 German Nationalism was at its zenith and the people of Germany ready to follow their new leader whom they believed would lead Germany to greatness and glory like never before. We all know how things ended for Hitler and Germany.
Turkey rising
We have just seen Erdogan elected in Turkey and is now the supreme ruler and President of that nation having absorbed the role of Prime Minister. He has also now removed the democracy Kemal Atatürk had put in place. There is no doubt a dictator in the character of Adolph Hitler now rules supreme once again in Turkey. The media have seen this dictatorship immerge very clearly and also the propagation of Fundamental Islam and the re-introduction of Koranic law. President Erdogan’s rise to power mirrors the rise to power of Adolph Hitler. Like Hitler, Erdogan has managed to silence his opposition and establish his sovereignty over the nation as its supreme ruler even though he did jail time like Hitler did in his rise to power. Erdogan’s goal is clear and unmistakable, namely to have a revived Turkish Ottoman Empire greater than the one that Suleiman the Magnificent had in his day and to revive the Caliphate which had been abolished by Kemal Ataturk in his desire to see Turkey secularised.
A ‘two-fold’ ambition
Erdogan knows that something needs to happen to break the power of Turkey’s troubled economy so it would seem he is aiming to revive Turkish nationalism and the only way to achieve this in his thinking is to have the most dominant military power in the Middle-Eastern region. In December last year Erdogan met with the OIC (The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation), an international organization founded in 1969, consisting of 57 member states with a collective population of over 1.3 billion as of 2009 and 47 countries being Muslim Majority countries. Today the number of Muslims associated with this organization is almost innumerable to say the least. The two main ambitions of this man from Turkey is to establish a global caliphate with himself as the supreme caliph of the islamic world and secondly to take back Jerusalem for the Arabs. Can you imagine the euphoria in the whole of the Arab world if this man reclaimed the Temple Mount for them? What adulation he would receive from Muslims everywhere and I dare say many in the media, the UN and the EU already prejudiced against Israel would approve of his ‘enthronment’ as such.
The Caliphate
Back in November 2016 he called on Muslims to ‘protect’ Jerusalem and urged all Muslims to “defend the Palestinian cause.” In his meeting with the heads of the OIC in May this year he compared Israel’s actions against Palestinians to the Nazi persecution of Jews, an irony at best as he himself on more than one occasion has shown his distinct distain for Israel. In his meeting with the OIC leaders he called for an international force to protect Palestinians from so called ‘Jewish aggression.’ Behind all of the anti-Israel rhetoric and denigration of the Jewish people his ambition is to see himself established as the Supreme Caliph of a resurrected Turkish Ottoman Empire, to have at his beck and call a military force to be reckoned with in the world.
200 million? No problem!
This was the same kind of thing Adolph Hitler wanted to do with his 1,000 year Reich. One thing that was conspicuous with the Nazis was their banners and flags that clearly showed their nationalistic pride and Turkey also is flooded with its flags and banners at Erdogan rallies. His image is everywhere in Turkey. Adolph Hitler had militaristic ambitions and so does Erdogan. Adolph Hitler started WW11 and in the near future it may well be that the man from Turkey may well kick start WW111? The pattern of behaviour and it’s outcomes that was seen with Adolph Hitler before the outbreak of WW11 is clearly repeated with President Erdogan. Germany was supported by Italy and Japan and yet the population in these nations pale into significance when you consider the Muslim population of the Islamic world today. Fielding an army of 200 million warriors for Allah would not be a problem for this Man from Turkey if he becomes the Supreme Caliph of the Islamic world and is ultimately declared to be the promised Mahdi of Islam, a role I dare say he will not decline.
The wisdom of Daniel
The prophet Daniel wrote about the future Antichrist, his character and his exploits. The clearest description we have of this man of sin or the lawless one as he is also called in the New Testament is found in Daniel chapter 11:36-45. The things ascribed to this man “who pleases himself and exults and magnifies himself above every god and says unheard of things against the God of gods” are seen in this man from Turkey. The man who exults and magnifies himself also “pitches his royal tent (headquarters) between the seas at the beautiful holy mountain” (Jerusalem). Paul also confirms this when he writes concerning this son of perdition; “Let no one in any way deceive you, for it (the day of the LORD) will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God.” (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4)
This Man from Turkey
Why does Erdogan want to have a Turkish Embassy in East Jerusalem? Why did he recently call for Muslims “to flood the Temple mount?” Why is he now calling for an international force to ‘protect the Palestinians?’ Who does he have in mind for leading this so called ‘expedition’ against Israel? The man of sin also called Antichrist will sit in the Temple and proclaim himself to be God as foretold by the prophet Daniel and affirmed by the Lord Jesus and the apostles Paul and John. When the man of sin and lawlessness is worshipped on the temple mount he will also be worshipped within wider Christendom. The apostasy or falling away we see today within Christendom is the catalyst that is paving the way for the revealing of the man of sin. If this man from Turkey rallies the whole Muslim World in a Jihad against the western democracies and spearheads the invasion of Israel things will change overnight and the whole world plunged into a nightmare of unimaginable proportions, never before seen in history and never to be equalled again in this present age. If this occurs in our generation as believers in the Lord Jesus we can be sure our rescue is on its way.
The rescue is coming
As the Lord Jesus himself said; “For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will. Unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short… But immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. And He will send forth His angels with a great trumpet and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other” or as Mark says; “from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the heavens.” (Matthew 24: 21-22,29-31) (Mark 13:27)
The Life jacket of Salvation
The rescue is coming for sure so let’s keep the lifejacket of our salvation firmly buckled on so that when ‘the Titanic’ of this world hits ‘the iceberg’ of the wrath of God we will be rescued out of it and not ‘go down with the ship’ into the dark depths of an eternal perdition. This man from Turkey may well be the man of sin and lawlessness described in the Bible and time will tell as in all matters related to Biblical prophecy. Having said this we must not discount the words of our Lord Jesus who said to His servant John; “And to the angel of the church in Pergamum (Turkey) write: The One who has the sharp two-edged sword says this: ‘I know where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is; and you hold fast My name, and did not deny My faith even in the days of Antipas, My witness, My faithful one, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells.” (Revelation 2:12-13) We may well ask ourselves the question why did John write his seven letters to seven churches in modern day Turkey? Will the man of sin in fact turn out to be the Man from Turkey?