I ended my last post, by stating that I believe the Antichrist will come from the modern country of Turkey. I know that there are many arguments for believing that the Antichrist will arise out of a restored "Roman Empire", or that he will emerge from Syria, but today I will try to present my reasons for believing he will come from Turkey.
The prophet in the book of Ezekiel gives us a list of ten countries which will come against and attack Israel in the future. These ten countries shall comprise the Antichrist's Empire. We find in the 38th Chapter of Ezekiel, that the prophet addresses the Antichrist by the name of "Gog". In a land that then was known as "Magog", this name "Gog" referred to the ruler(s) of that land. Ezekiel, in Chapter 38, specifies the countries which will be led by "Gog" and attack Israel.
These are the nations that will comprise the forces of the Antichrist:
Magog
Meschech
Tubal
Persia
Cush
Put
Gomer
Beth Togormah
and "many nations with you".
I find it interesting, that out of the eight nations listed, that seven of them are found in the book of Genesis as being the descendants of Noah and his sons. We know that bible scholars have been able to trace Noah's sons to certain locations and to a certain people in our modern world. Nations which you will see are primarily Islamic countries.
Meshek and Tubal
It is generally believed that these people lived south, of what today are known as the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea. We know that today these nations would be Turkey, and parts of what are Southern Russia and Northern Iran.
Magog
The location of "Magog" has been, and is currently still debated by many people. Some believe that "Magog" is to be found in what is now Southern Russia, while others believe it is what is Syria or Turkey. There are ancient writings that tell us it is made up of Azerbajian, Afghanistan, Turkestan, Chechnya, Turkey, Iran and Dagestan. "Magog" in the book of Ezekiel is known as the "chief" of "Meshek and Tubal", and knowing that "Meshek and Tubal" were primarily in Turkey, it would follow that "Magog" most likely would be located in Turkey also. This would allow "Magog" to be able to rule over these two countries. We know from the scripture, that the Antichrist (Gog) shall come out of "Magog", which I believe to be Turkey.
Persia
It is no mystery that Persia has been identified as Iran. In fact, many Iranians, as well as a host of other people, still refer to Iran as Persia. We know that Iran is a nation of Muslims, and is a major player in the end time events.
Cush
"...and I will make the land of Egypt a ruin and a desolate waste from Migdol to Aswan , as far as the border of Cush."
Ezekiel 29:9-10
As the above scripture tells us, Cush was often related to the country of Egypt in the Bible. Many times scholars simply translated "Cush" as being Ethiopia, though I'm not sure that is a correct interpretation. We do know that this country was a country that bordered Egypt, and that the prophet Isaiah spoke of the rivers of Cush. So, we must look for a country that borders Egypt and is a country of many rivers. As we look at a map of the Middle East, we see only one country that fits this description, the country of Sudan. We find that out of Sudan, flow five rivers which feed the Nile River of Egypt. Sudan is also an Islamic country.
Put
We learn from the Bible, that Put is a area that is west of Egypt. The modern day country that is west of Egypt is Libya. This location has been generally accepted by most scholars, but some still include the nations of Algeria, Morocco and Tunis. Once more, we are able to see that these too are Islamic nations.
Gomer
It was known in the ancient times that Gomer was Gimarrai, located in the north of Asia Minor. This area was also known as Cappadocia, which today is "central Turkey". Again, we have a country which is Islamic.
We know that Togarmah was descended from Noah and within Assyrian records was know as "Tilgarimmu". In what was called Anatolia, Tilgarimmu was a city state. This area of Anatolia is the modern Turkey, at or near what is the Syrian border. This therefore, would be the southeastern part of Turkey. Once more, we find that of the eight countries listed to attack Israel, another one is found in the modern day country of Turkey. We are able to see that five out of the eight countries are to be found in modern day Turkey. The other countries listed, being Libya, Sudan and Iran, with Turkey, surround the nation of Israel. The Islamic forces of the Antichrist cover Israel on every side.
The world of Islam awaits the one they call the "Mahdi", their leader and messiah. I believe that this man of sin, will be the Antichrist and shall arise out of the country of Turkey. The bible tells us that "satan's throne" resided in what is now Turkey, once more I believe satan will rule from this throne through the one known as the Antichrist. A Muslim, and the leader of the nations that will attack Israel.
Very interesting stuff. It's hard for me to follow all the geography but what you say here makes sense and helps me understand a little better. Thanks for sharing!
please check out my blog at ryanpinto777.blogspot.com
And something else, any nation that is not christian "lets worship a pyramid and recycled egyptian beliefs" is anti-christ. In accordance with that, jews and turks and jews and muslims are on the same side and we are all anti-christs cuz we are not worshipping pyramids, linguistic symantics/art (mushrik) or recycled beliefs. It seems that christians like to call all non-christians satanic. That is not so. And for those trying to associate turks with satan or evil because of an interpreted upside down star on the banner, this idea is in fact incorrect. In Osman times the banner was flown vertically and not horizontally as is modern custom.