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As we have seen a close correspondence between al-Mahdi and the Antichrist described in the Bible (see this article for a detailed comparison), there is a character that the Bible is said that a close parallel of Isa? The answer is a definitive yes (and a surprise to some)! This character is the second beast mentioned in the Bible, and is described in Revelation 13:11-18. In this passage, the Apostle John had a vision of two beasts, in which the first beast is the symbol of what we commonly call the Antichrist. The second beast is our concern in this section, and is commonly known as the “False Prophet”, due to the nature of its activities. Again, this is not an in-depth study of this character. We only deal with the characteristics that are relevant to our discussion (positive or negative).
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Unfortunately, the link to the article for a detailed comparison does not exist. So I have to check the internet for alternatives. This article "Comparing the Mahdi and the Antichrist" looked pretty good.
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| Characteristic | Al-Mahdi in Islam | Antichrist in Christianity | Bible Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Where he comes from | Either he starts appearing in Khorasan with the army of al-Harith, or this Khorasan army will come and join him. | His power base will arise in the remnants of Seleucid Empire (which includes Assyria and Khorasan). * | Dan 8:9 |
| His looks | Will look like "Bani Israel". Wears two cloaks. | Some say he will be a Jew, others say he will be a gentile. | |
| His ascension to power | Starts humble, forced to accept leadership. Muslims voluntarily pledge allegiance to him. | Starts humble, given authority to rule. | Dan 8:24-25, 11:21, Rev 6:2, 13:2, 17:17 |
| Amassing of power | Muslims voluntarily pledge allegiance to him. | People voluntarily give power to him. | Rev 17:17 |
| His change | He will be changed by Allah to take up the responsibilities. | He is given power, throne and authority by the dragon. | Rev 13:2 |
| His change | He will be changed by Allah overnight | He changes his religion. | Dan 11:37 |
| His initial jurisdiction | The Muslim states. Some states (eg. Saudi Arabia) will be attacked for their failure to support al-Mahdi. | Most Muslim states of the Middle East, except possibly Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. The Bible states 10 nations, and three of them will be subdued. | Dan 8:9, Ezek 38-39 |
| His final jurisdiction | The world (after successful jihad). | The world (after he won over the world) | Rev 12:19, 13:3, 16:14 |
| His persuasive ability | Will win over people, including Jews and Christians. He will preach peace, justice and equity | By his words, will win over many people, including Jews and Christians. "By peace he will destroy many". | Dan 8:24-25 |
| World's attitude towards him | Greatly loved by the world (after persuading the world and winning in jihad). | Greatly loved by the world (after he conquers the world). | Rev 13:3-4, 13:7-8 |
| The rider | Comes on a white horse (?), conquering. | Comes on a white horse, conquering (one interpretation). | Rev 6:2 |
| His army | Will either lead a large army of Muslims (from Khorasan) or this army will join him. Easily in the hundreds of millions. | A large army of at least 200 million will assemble in Iraq region. | Rev 9:16 |
| His campaigns | Will wage war and win over the world and be successful. | Will wage war and no one can stand against him. | Dan 11:24, 11:39, Rev 13:4 |
| His length of rule | Will rule for seven, eight or nine years. Seven years seem to be the concensus. | Will rule for seven years (most common interpretation). | |
| Treaty with the Jews | Truce treaty of seven years with a Jew of priestly lineage. Though not explicitly stated, truce (hudna) treaties may be broken in the case of a minor infraction and when the Muslims are strong enough, as was in the case of the Treaty of Hudaibiyya. | Peace treaty of seven years with the people of God. This treaty will be broken in the middle of seven years. | Dan 9:27 |
| His relationship with Jews and Christians | Will kill many Jews and Christians. | Will kill many Jews and Christians. | Dan 7:21, 8:12, Rev 13:7. 13:10, 16:16, 17:6, 18:24 |
| Method of execution | Not explicitly stated, but if he is expected to follow the Sunnah of Muhammad, then beheading is a possibility. Islam is the only religion that continues to use beheading. Qur'an said to cut off heads of unbelievers (Surah 47:4, 8:12) | Beheading is one of the methods of execution. It is a distingushing mark of Antichrist. | Rev 20:4 |
| His type of government | Will implement Shari'a Law. | Will change the law. | Dan 7:25 |
| His type of calendar | Not explicitly stated, but as he is expected to follow the Sunnah of Muhammad, then he will use Islamic Calender. | Will likely change the calendar. ("change the set times") | Dan 7:25 |
| Lying | Lying allowed under certain circumstances, according to the Sunnah of Muhammad. Taqqiya is an established doctrine and practice in Islam. | Will cause deceit to prosper. | Dan 8:24-25, 11:23, 2 John 1:7, Rev 13:14, 2 Thess 2:9 |
| His religion | Direct people to worship Allah. Establish Islam as the only religion. | Direct people to worship the dragon. Establish one religion in the world. | Rev 13:4 |
| Worship | Not explicitly stated, but implicitly stated. | People forced to worship Antichrist | Rev 13:4-15, 14:9,14:11, 16:2, 19:20 |
| Prosperity | Great prosperity and wealth. Distributes wealth and booty. | Great prosperity and wealth. Distributes booty and land. | Dan 11:24, 11:39, 11:43 |
| An assistant to al-Mahdi | Al-Mahdi has Isa to assist him. | Antichrist has Second Beast (False Prophet) to assist him. | Rev 13:11-18 |
| His adversaries | His assistant, Isa, will kill ad-Dajjal who exercises miracles that will torment the world. | The Beast will kill the Two Witnesses who exercise miracles that will torment those who try to kill them. | Rev 11:1-14 |
| Miracles during his reign | Allah will enable good rain and crops. The hadiths does not ascribe miracles to him. | The Bible does not explicitly ascribe miracles to Antichrist. His assistant will perform miracles for him. | Rev 13:13-14, 16:14, 19:20 |
From here we can see that the anti-Christ corresponds to the Mahdi, the second beast to Isa (Muslim Jesus) and the two witnesses to the dajjal. Someone had aptly sum up as "one book's mahdi is another book's dajjal".
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