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Lesson Six -- , the Great Liar
Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard
that the is coming, even now many have
come. This is how we know it is the last hour. (Holy , 1
John 2:18)
Isa answered: "Watch out that no one deceives you.
For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am ,' and
will deceive many." (Holy , Matthew 24:4,5)
In a previous chapter it was already seen that there are many
imposters in the world claiming to be Allah's chosen messenger.
This is what is meant by the word dajjal. It literally
means "liar" or "imposter". All who claim
to be the one who will lead mankind into a new world are just
a foretaste of a great imposter who will yet come, called Al-Masihu'd-Dajjal (Antichrist, literally the lying or false Messiah) or simply Dajjal. When he shall come, he will lead the entire world into
believing a lie. People will believe that is the greatest
leader the world has ever known, sent by Allah to lead men to
peace and prosperity. In actual fact however, he will be sent
by Satan to lead the whole world to war and misery, and finally
to the fire of hell.
The very first judgment associated with the seven-year time
of great trouble, is one which pictures a rider on a white horse:
...Then I heard one of the four living creatures say in a
voice like thunder, "Come!" I looked, and there before
me was a white horse! Its rider held a bow, and he was given
a crown, and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest. (Holy
, Revelation 6:1-2)
"As a conqueror bent on conquest". This phrase well
describes as he begins his rise to world domination. At
the beginning of this present age's final seven years,
will go forth to conquer other nations in his quest for absolute
power. Within 3 1/2 years the imposter can be said to be "world
dictator". If there is any question that anyone could rise
so quickly from insignificance to supremacy, consider Alexander
the Great. He was one of the greatest leaders the world has ever
known. At the age of 20, Alexander became king of the small kingdom
of Macedonia. Within ten years, he conquered most of the civilized
world of his day. In these days of modern travel and weapons
of mass destruction it is quite possible that Satan's
could rise to power much more quickly.
At the height of his power, will reveal his true character,
that of a great liar:
He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that
is called Allah or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in
Allah's temple, proclaiming himself to be Allah. The coming of
the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan
displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders,
and in every sort of evil that deceives those that are perishing.
They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be
saved. (Holy , 2 Thessalonians 2:4,9,10)
will claim to be Allah himself and will deceive many.
He will stand against every religion which does not recognize
him as Lord. With the power of Satan helping him, he will be
successful in causing most of the inhabitants of the earth to
follow him. He will ruthlessly persecute or kill those who refuse
to follow him. Just like a "wild beast", he will recognize
no authority but his own, as the following passage concerning
him says:
The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies
and to exercise his authority for forty-two months. He opened
his mouth to blaspheme Allah, and to slander his name and his
dwelling place and those who live in heaven. He was given power
to make war against the saints and to conquer them. And he was
given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation. (Holy , Revelation 13:5-7)
Masih or Liar?
As has already been mentioned, can be called Al-Masihu'd-Dajjal,
that is, the lying or false Masih. The heavenly books make a
contrast between and Prophet Isa, the true Masih of Allah.
In chapter three, "Is Qiyamat Near?", it was mentioned
that "Masih" is the special title of Prophet Isa only.
It signifies that he is the one whom Allah sent to accomplish
salvation so that men could be forgiven their sins. When
comes, people will hope that he is Masih. The world will look
to him to save them from all their troubles and bring peace and
prosperity. But the following chart shows some of the differences
between and Prophet Isa:
|
DAJJAL |
ISA MASIH |
| false Masih (Antichrist) |
true Masih (Christ) |
| speaks lies |
speaks truth |
| sent by Satan |
sent by Allah |
| works by Satan's power |
works by Allah's power |
| does counterfeit miracles |
does genuine miracles |
| hurts many people |
helps many people |
| puts many people to death |
raises people from death |
| brings war and destruction |
brings peace and prosperity |
Whom would you rather follow? The very existence of a lying Masih
in the future day of qiyamat teaches us what importance we should
give to the true Masih. Satan is so concerned about Prophet Isa
Masih and what he will do in qiyamat, that he will send a false
Masih first to try to fool people. And as we have seen, he will
succeed in causing many people to follow , but this success
will be shortlived. At the end of the seven-year time of great
trouble, Prophet Isa will himself come from heaven and destroy
, and his followers:
And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Isa will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the
splendor of his coming. He will punish those who do not know
Allah and do not obey the of our Lord Isa. They will
be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the
presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power. (Holy
, 2 Thessalonians 2:8; 1:8,9)
It is only fitting that the one to stop , the lying
Masih, from bringing further death and destruction, should be
none other than the true Masih, Prophet Isa. In qiyamat, he will
also punish all those who "do not obey the of our
Lord Isa", that is, those who are not his true disciples.
Prophet Isa is the "sign of qiyamat" and considered
to be notable in the world to come. If qiyamat were to come today,
what would happen to you? Would you like , be judged by
Prophet Isa as an enemy? Would you be judged with that group of
people who make little of his importance in Allah's plan for
the world? Do you recognize him as the Masih whom Allah has sent
to save men from their sins? Listen to the words of comfort that
he gives to his true followers:
Allah is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble
you and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well.
This will happen when the Lord Isa is revealed from heaven
in blazing fire with his powerful angels. (Holy , 2 Thessalonians
1:6,7)
You already know that Prophet Isa, the "Masih", is
coming back to earth. You also know that "Masih" means
that he is the one whom Allah chose to be "Saviour".
An important question is this-is he your Masih? Is he your Saviour?
He is not only the Masih of the Jews or the Christians. He is
the Masih of all people. He can be your Masih today, if you accept
him as Saviour from all your sins.
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QUESTIONS: -- Choose the most correct answers
1. "Dajjal" means
a. Christ
b. children
c. liar
2. When comes, he will
a. lead people into
the true worship of Allah
b. usher in a new era
of prosperity
c. lead
the world into believing a lie
3. Most people at that time will believe is
a. an evil man
b. the greatest leader
the world has ever known
c. a great
football player
4. 's rise to power will be so rapid that he can be
compared to
a. Napoleon Bonaparte
b. Julius Caesar
c. Alexander the Great
d. Genghis
Khan
5. 's power will come from
a. eating well and
getting enough sleep
b. his faith in Allah
c. his armies
d. Satan
6. When you compare and Prophet ,
a. you see how different
they are from each other
b. you understand how
important is in Allah's future program
c. you see why Isa is
the one who will destroy
d. all of
the above
7. When comes he will punish
a. only
b. and his followers
only
c. all who
do not know Allah and do not obey the
8. When Isa comes he will give relief and peace to
a. and his
followers
b. all mankind
c. those who call themselves
Jews or Christians
d. those
who accept him as the only one who can save them from their sins
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