In yesterday’s edition of Israel Today Online a header read; “Islam’s Renewed Assault on the Christian World.” The article went on to say; “The saga of the Hagia Sophia goes like this in a nutshell: Centuries ago, Turkish Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror forcibly converted one of Christendom’s grandest churches into a mosque. But when secularism later triumphed during the era of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, this forced conversion was partially reversed, and Hagia Sophia became a museum. But now Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan has evoked the legacy of Mehmed by again converting one of Christianity’s most recognizable shrines into a mosque.
This is the same Erdogan who sought to pressure the West by sending thousands upon thousands of refugees from Muslim countries into Europe. He sees the pitiful Muslim masses as a powerful weapon in his quest to ultimately bring the Christian West under the dominion of Islam. Erdogan’s controversial decision to again convert the Hagia Sophia into a mosque must be seen in light of his larger agenda of restoring the glory of the Ottoman Empire. And part of that is seeking revenge against “Christian” Europe for resisting Ottoman expansion for so long and ultimately bringing the empire to an end in World War I.
Not allowing any of the Syrian refugees to stay in Turkey, but rather sending them all on to Europe was one step in this scheme of revenge. Another is the Islamization of the Hagia Sophia. In so doing, Erdogan is telling the Christian West that Turkey will do what it sees fit in service to its own agenda, and that it will tolerate no external interference. He needs to take such a hard-line position to convince a new generation of supporters that Turkey truly can restore its past glory and play a central role on the world stage…
… Erdogan is clearly an unstable person with megalomaniacal tendencies. He is fully dedicated to restoring the great Ottoman state and conquering the world. But this should come as no surprise considering his ties to known Islamists, most especially his mentor, Necmettin Erbakan, a former Turkish prime minister who was forced by the military to step down after he tried to transform Turkey into an Islamic republic.
Erdogan has also expressed great interest in the teachings of Said Al-Nursi, a 20th century Muslim theologian who sought to strengthen the influence of Islam in modern Turkey and to confront the “Christian” West. Legend has it that Al-Nursi once met with the imam of the famous Al-Azhar Mosque in Cairo, Sheikh Bakhit, who asked what he thought of Europe. Al-Nursi replied: “Europe is pregnant with Islam and will give birth to it one day.” The sheikh then asked Al-Nursi what he thought of the Ottoman Empire (this was before its fall in World War I), and he answered: “The Ottoman Empire is pregnant with Europe and will give birth to it one day.” This is Erdogan’s model.
To help Europe move toward the “birth” of Islam that Al-Nursi foresaw by feeding it more Muslim refugees until countries like Germany and France boast a Muslim majority. The end goal is to form an Islamic union with these countries, which will all share an Islamic currency, and thereby form a united front against the Christian West and the “global” threat of Zionism. The coming years are sure to see intense competition in Turkey between the Islamists lead by Erdogan and the secularists who continue to cling to Ataturk’s vision. But following what we have seen in recent years, and days, it is entirely possible that Turkey will completely change in the near future and come into direct confrontation with the European Union, Russia and others.” (End of extraction)
It may well be we are seeing the rise of “the little horn” spoken of by the prophet Daniel in the rise of Recep Tayyip Erdogan. This little horn has the eyes of a man but a mouth that speaks boastfully, all marks of the man of sin to come. (Daniel 7:8) (Daniel 11:36) (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4) He starts small but grows in power as did Antiochus Epiphanies. (Daniel 8:9) The man of sin comes out of obscurity as it were onto the world’s stage. He will be one among many leaders but will come to prominence and gain power supernaturally.
This was the same with Adolph Hitler. He was an ordinary man, a failed artist actually and not an impressive man, but when he was possessed by a demonic principality he swayed the German masses to follow him and the rest is history. Adolph Hitler was a despot and a man who preached violence and hate towards the Jews and got rid of any who opposed him.
This year in Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been building thousands of mosques and ‘upping the ante’ on Christian persecution and so called ‘dissidents’ who oppose the ideology of Turkish Ottoman power being his clear agenda. The man from Turkey is on the rise! At present he has to compete with the man from China. However, if the man from Turkey is the man of sin, then at some stage Satan will personally enter him and then the whole world will know that “Satan has been cast down to earth knowing his time is now short.” (Revelation 12:9)
The man from Turkey has retaken Islamic dominance over the Hagia Sofia Basilica, which to Eastern Orthodox Christendom is the equivalent to the Vatican in Rome in western Christendom. If Recep Tayyip Erdogan can get Rome then he will have in effect, according to the Islamic mindset, shown the conquest of Islam over Western Christendom. After that he wants to have Jerusalem under his power. Once he has this, the whole Muslim world will undoubtedly follow him as their supreme Caliph and the last and greatest Mahdi of Islam.
Ultimately Turkey will lead an Islamic invasion of Israel over the Golan Heights, the invasion having come out of Syria. The Assad Regime has to be removed first. Possibly Recep Tayyip Erdogan will see to this? It seems he is immerging with the same type of character that Antiochus Epiphanies had who also came out of Syria to conquer Egypt and then to ultimately invade Israel. Antiochus is a major type of the man of sin in the Bible. For three and a half years chaos will reign on earth but God will still have everything under control. For the sake of His elect saints and for the very survival of the world, God will cut those days short and send the Lord Jesus back to sort things out big time! (Matthew 24:21-22)
We also need to keep in mind that with the Lord a thousand years of our time is as a day to Him. God measures time differently in eternity than we do down here. (2 Peter 3:8) God has already fixed a date on His calendar when the Lord Jesus will return. As we read; “He (God) now commands all people everywhere to repent. For He has set a day when He will judge the world with justice by the Man He has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising Him from the dead.” (Acts 17:31) The time left for the unsaved and spiritually backslidden to repent is getting shorter by the hour!
As believers in our Lord Jesus whatever happens to us in the future, we have already been spiritually resurrected, the harbinger of our physical resurrection to come when the Lord Jesus returns in great power and glory. (John 11:25-26) (Matthew 24:29-31) (1 Thessalonians 4:16-18) (1 Corinthians 15:51-52) His resurrection was our resurrection. (Colossians 3:1) The same Spirit that raised Him from the dead is living down on the inside of us and will raise us to life again at the resurrection. As Paul writes; “And if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit, who dwells in you.” (Romans 8:11)
The prophet Daniel tells us that the man of sin with his beast empire is coming and will persecute the saints before the Lord Jesus returns. (Daniel 7:21, 25) This is the reality western Christendom must come to terms with. However, Daniel tells us that after this time of persecution the saints will inherit the Kingdom on earth with their Lord and Messiah after He has returned. (Daniel 7:22; 26-27) Those who overcome Satan and his works by the power of the Holy Spirit will be a kingdom of priests co-reigning on the earth with the Lord Jesus our Messiah! (Revelation 5:10)
As we see the rise of Islam and the man from Turkey with his Turkish Ottoman agenda we are possibly seeing “the little horn” starting to grow in power. Ultimately He will face His demise at Jerusalem and his armies destroyed on the plains of Megiddo. (Daniel 11:45) (Revelation 16:12-16) (Revelation 19:11-21) The Messiah himself will put an end to the Ottoman Agenda!
