Left Behind: The Movie!

Or, THE NOT-IMMINENT RAPTURE

In the last few days it has come to my attention that the book Left Behind is about to be made into a major motion picture with Nicholas Cage playing the lead character. This news is a concern to me on several levels. When it comes to spiritual themes, Hollywood has a way of getting it almost right some of the time. Yes, I know. Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins are reportedly going to be the screenplay writers having the "final say" on all matters of content, etc. But, therein lies the largest part of my problem.

As far as Left Behind:The Movie goes. I assume that this A-grade production will cause a big splash. It will have the accompanying tsunami of advertisement and a media blitz worthy of the subject matter. But, beneath all the excitement surrounding the production of the movie, I am alarmed by a mostly unnoticed element from the release of LB. And it is this: The movie, as did the LaHaye/Jenkins book, will leave the "low-information" viewer with the distinct impression that there is only one interpretation of end-time, Biblical events, when, in fact, there are several major viewpoints and multitudes of variations! The LB brand presents an interpretation that, in the opinion of many, has substantial problems! An interpretation that, in my mind, flies in the face of a simple, straightforward reading of the Bible passages involved. And what is the LB interpretation? The rapture of the church by Jesus Christ can happen at any time... that there is nothing keeping Him from coming back for His church at this very moment... and, that it occurs before a 7 year countdown called the Tribulation. For those of you who have read the book I am sure that this sounds familiar. At this point I imagine that a number of you are thinking, "Okay, so what's the big deal! It's just a movie!" True. But, I am going to attempt to show an unintended consequence from the LB product line. An outcome that contains significant spiritual peril to the church.

The rapture viewpoint displayed in the LB series has a name. It is referred to as the "pre-tribulation rapture" view. This "pre-tribulation rapture" persuasion of prophecy has been the most promoted viewpoint for many years among American Christians. The "pre-trib" notion was first brought forward in the 1700 and 1800s. Popularized by J.N.Darby it later made its way into the thinking and writings of men like C.I.Scholfield, John Walvoord and Dwight Pentecost. Hal Lindsey and his book The Late Great Planet Earth probably did more to bring this line of thinking into the mainstream than anyone in the last 40 years. That is until the Left Behind series appeared. Let me cut to the chase before I get bogged down in the historical crevices. I owe a lot to "Late Great"... It was that book, after all, that God used to pry me out of a life as a professional musician to follow Christ. But, what "Late Great" shares with LB is the same "pre-trib" prophetic conviction! May I say with all love and respect... This view of scripture may simply not be true! Historically, there are a number of other scriptural persuasions concerning the return of Christ held by great men and women of faith over the years. Some of these views are a LOT older than our current popular view.

So, what do we have... a block-buster book series, a coming movie, the high-dollar promotion of a "this is the way it is" interpretation of the last days. What is this "peril" about which I am so concerned?!

* * * * *

A THESSALONIAN NIGHTMARE

As a young believer I was part of a movement in the 70s that bore a resemblance to some of the churches in the New Testament. We were young and ready to learn. We were fresh in Christ and willing to do anything that the Lord showed us to do. And, God did some pretty amazing things. In those days you were never sure who might walk through the house-church doors. People looking for God or, just looking for friends. Others trying to score some good weed..."Sorry, wrong house!" Those who dropped by to "help" us "young people" see what we were doing wrong. And, those who came to inject outright false doctrine into our small group.

The Thessalonians had a great church, too! They were the total package. From day one they had taken everything that God had given to them (through Paul) and returned it in manifold ways. They were the example to follow... excited about the things of God and looking forward to the return of their Lord and Savior, Jesus. But they, like my young church, had to deal with the same kinds of problems and people in their day.

In his second epistle to the Christians at Thessalonica, Paul took much of the letter to confront a false teaching that had walked through the front door of their church.

"Now we request you, brethren, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, that you not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit or a message or a letter as if from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come."II THESS.2:1,2 nasv

It was a serious business. Someone had come in and told the believers that Christ had already come... that the day of the Lord had taken place! And here were the poor, confused Thessalonians... still in the flesh and living on earth, not in Heaven with their Lord.

[[[ Let me take a moment and address this term, "the day of the Lord" in I Thessalonians 2:2. Keep in mind that I am not a scholar, nor seminary trained nor an ordained pastor.

The "Day Of The Lord" is a term used in both Old and New Testaments. Its full meaning crosses many lines and includes a number of features of God's ultimate plan for the earth, His children, the last days, the millenium and the eternal kingdom. I believe that one of the guidelines when reading scripture is to look for the simplest, most easily understood meaning from any given verse or passage. Often the answer to questions found in a passage are found nearby; either in the same passage or in the context of whatever is being covered. I think that that is true in these two verses. The question would be: What is "the day of the Lord" in verse 2? It would be reasonable to say, upon a closer look, that the answer is found in verse 1. Paul points to the topic when he says, "...with regard to..." then, he presents the subject matter... "the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him,... I.e. the "day of the Lord" or, at least, this portion of the Day of the Lord.

For some reason "pre-trib" folks split verse 1 into two parts! Part One: "the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ", and Part Deux: "and our gathering together to Him,..." They say that the first part speaks of the coming of the Lord at the end of the tribulation and, the second refers to the Rapture seven years earlier!! (It seems odd that the Holy Spirit would chronologically transpose the two events in this way!) I totally disagree with that interpretation in any event. The two verses are simple and straightforward. The wording, "the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him" is no stranger than saying, "the coming of Grandma and our eating cookies with her." Certainly, there could be a gap between Grandma's arrival and the eating of her cookies. But, seven years?!?! No. It would be reasonable to conclude that Paul is speaking of one event. A coming and gathering event. ]]]

But, imagine! If you had been in Thessalonica! You have been taught and you have believed that Jesus is coming back for YOU and now you are informed that He has already been there and gone... without you! For a Christian this would be devastating!! The blessed hope... the dearest longing of the believer's heart shattered!... with no explanation or understanding of what happened! A nightmare! And yet, that is exactly the place the American church could find itself in the foreseeable future. We have been told and taught for decades that the church will be gone before the Tribulation begins. And now, with the release of LB, we will be encouraged to promote this interpretation by participating in an "evangelism opportunity" using a movie that will, at its heart, present an escape-from-tribulation brand of salvation. A false escape. This prompts a troubling question. "What happens on that future day when we are confronted with clear evidence that the Tribulation has already begun... and that we are still here!?" Compounding this ... What if we were quite sure (up to that point) that our spiritual "upbringing" has been from solid, Bible-believing pastors. That our congregation, our whole denomination is deeply conservative with historical foundations in Scripture. How?! How could they have been so wrong?! What else have I been taught that is wrong?!? What happens to Christian hope on the day we wake up to find that some recognizable tribulation event is the main news story on Good Morning America and that, apparently, the rapture has not taken place? What would American believers think? What would you think?

I do not need a seminary or psychology degree to point out that if the above events were to happen there would be massive confusion and discouragement in the church. Pastors, trying to deal with their own confusion, doubt and fear, would be inundated with the confusion, doubts and fears of their flock. The word would quickly spread into the media and the news mill would begin the weeks-long, national churning of "up close & personal" stories featuring those who had lost faith... faith in their church... trust in their pastors... faith in God. And as for Satan... he would be having a field day!! Some of you might say, "Well, that is the way the sheep and goats are recognized." That might be true. But, going through it would be spiritually crushing for everyone involved. A national, spiritual calamity!

My prayer and desire in writing these articles is to attempt to bring balance to the topic. The American church is so deeply invested in only one way of viewing the return of the Lord. And, let me say, "Hallelujah!" if the "pre-trib" viewpoint is the right one. I am ready to rest in the arms of Jesus TODAY!!!

So, what are the balancing views? Well, it might be a "mid-tribulation Rapture", or a "post-tribulation Rapture" way of thinking. But realize, both of these views claim that Jesus' coming is not imminent... that He comes sometime after the Tribulation begins. Perhaps somewhere in the middle or, at the end of the Tribulation the rapture of the church would take place. There are several other viewpoints. But, I am most interested in helping you see that there are other ways... other ways of interpreting these prophetic Bible passages given to us by God. I am looking to present an understandable interpretation that needs only a "simple, straightforward reading of the Bible passages involved." That is the line of thought that I will attempt to present to you.

Before Gog/Magog... BIG news!!

As I get older I am noticing how my thinking has changed and continues to change on Bible passages I have known for years. Things that were mysterious now seem more obvious. In some cases, I think that youthful enthusiasm was driving the interpretation of what I was reading and trying to understand. It resulted in overlooking the obvious. The Gog-Magog War of Ezekiel 38,39 is a good example. All the excitement of battle and God's rescue of Israel on the blood-soaked plains makes it easy to overlook a huge event in the days just before the war. More on that later...

The story actually begins in Ezekiel 37. God brings Ezekiel into a valley filled with bones. Human skeletons! "Very many" and "very old", dry bones! God asks, "Can these bones live?" Ezekiel wisely answers, "Lord, You know." It turns out that God is showing the prophet what is going to happen to the nation of Israel in the distant future (2,500+ years!). Having suffered great national loss and destruction, they will wander for many, many years... a skeleton of a nation... spirit and hope gone... dried up! Then, their fortunes change. God foretells,

"Behold, I will cause breath to enter you that you may come to life. I will put sinews on you, make flesh grow back on you, cover you with skin and put breath in you that you may come alive; and you will know that I am the Lord.”

He continues, making it crystal clear what He has in mind.

"Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel; behold, they say, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope has perished. We are completely cut off.’ Therefore prophesy and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I will open your graves and cause you to come up out of your graves, My people; and I will bring you into the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves and caused you to come up out of your graves, My people. I will put My Spirit within you and you will come to life, and I will place you on your own land. Then you will know that I, the Lord, have spoken and done it,” declares the Lord.’”

Are you paying attention? Long ago God, through the prophet Ezekiel, said that the nation of Israel was going to go through an extended period of time in which they would, for all practical purposes, be considered a historically extinct nation. They would be like walking skeletons with no homeland and non-existent hope. Then, after many years, God would resurrect the entire nation and return its people to their homeland... Israel! "I will open your graves and cause you to come up out of your graves, My people; and I will BRING YOU INTO THE LAND OF ISRAEL." Emphasis mine.

Students of Bible prophecy often say that "Israel is the key to prophecy." This passage in Ezekiel is at the heart of that belief. What other nation in history can point to that kind of national story? But, that is not the end, neither of the story nor of the woes to be faced by this miraculous risen-from-the-grave people.

In chapter 38 God reveals a scenario to Ezekiel... a war that will take place in Israel. The prophet is told the who, what, when, where and why of the coming conflict.

WHO?

Verses 3-6. Israel...the target nation. Then, the aggressors:

Rosh, Meshech, Tubal (nations from "the remote parts of the North". Some say Russian, others, Asia Minor. ) Persia (today's Iran/Iraq region) Ethiopia (today's northern Sudan region) Put (today's Libya) Togarmah and Gomer (parts of Asia Minor) Gog is the organizing demon of the entire enterprise. He is "the prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal.")

WHAT?

A massive, coordinated invasion. "You (Gog) will go up, you will come like a storm; you will be like a cloud covering the land, you and all your troops, and many peoples with you.” vr.9

WHEN?

Three important clues. "After many days" vr.8; "in the latter years" vr.8; in the days after Israel "(has) been gathered from many nations to the mountains of Israel which had been a continual waste; but its people were brought out from the nations," vr.8.
This prophecy was fulfilled in 1948 after 2,500 years!
WHERE?

The nation of Israel. "you (Gog) will come into the land that is restored from the sword, whose inhabitants have been gathered from many nations to the mountains of Israel."

WHY?

Gog is evil and creates an evil plan for Israel. Beyond the fact that he is demonically jealous he invades Israel "to capture spoil and to seize plunder, to turn (his) hand against the waste places which are now inhabited, and against the people who are gathered from the nations, who have acquired cattle and goods, who live at the center of the world." Note: Gog hates the LAND and he hates the PEOPLE.

So, what happens?!? The Bible says that this confederation of nations WILL invade and seek to destroy Israel BUT will come up against an Israeli "weapon" they could never have imagined. Again in Ezekiel 38:

"It will come about on that day, when Gog comes against the land of Israel,” declares the Lord God, “that My fury will mount up in My anger. In My zeal and in My blazing wrath I declare that on that day there will surely be a great earthquake in the land of Israel. The fish of the sea, the birds of the heavens, the beasts of the field, all the creeping things that creep on the earth, and all the men who are on the face of the earth will shake at My presence; the mountains also will be thrown down, the steep pathways will collapse and every wall will fall to the ground. I will call for a sword against him (Gog) on all My mountains,” declares the Lord God. “Every man’s sword will be against his brother. With pestilence and with blood I will enter into judgment with him; and I will rain on him and on his troops, and on the many peoples who are with him, a torrential rain, with hailstones, fire and brimstone. I will magnify Myself, sanctify Myself, and make Myself known in the sight of many nations; and they will know that I am the Lord.”’

God knows how to protect those who are His! And that is just what He does. Gog is utterly defeated, along with his allies and Israel returns to peace and safety, cleaning up their war-stained land following the fighting. Did I say they return to "peace and safety"? This brings me to the point of this writing. The "Before Gog/Magog...BIG news!!". The often-overlooked stage that exists in the weeks, months, years(?) before Gog makes his fateful move.

Is there a way to find out what is happening in Israel just before the great invasion? Yes. All we have to do is move back a little on the timeline given in Ezekiel 38. Two verses make it clear what the tiny nation looks like leading up to Gog. Verses 11 and 12

"...and you (Gog) will say, ‘I will go up against the land of unwalled villages. I will go against those who are at rest, that live securely, all of them living without walls and having no bars or gates,...against the people who are gathered from the nations, who have acquired cattle and goods, who live at the center of the world.’"

The description of life in "pre-Gog" Israel is unmistakable. God says the same thing four different ways in verse 11!

At the time immediately before the attack:

Israel is made up of "unwalled villages"

Israel is "at rest"

Israel is "living securely"

Israel has "no walls,...no bars or gates."

Okay! Here we are. Do you see the point already? Today Israel is back in the land. Today the players are all in existence and already in agreement as to their opinions of Israel. But, one thing is lacking.

ISRAEL MUST BE DWELLING IN PEACE... SECURELY, WITH NO WALLS, BARS OR GATES"

Do we need to talk about the security condition of the nation of Israel since its coming into existence in 1948? Do we need to cover the facts of the Iron Dome, the constant dangers from rocket attacks and the security wall that has/is being constructed across the land? So, here is the "BIG news."

We are on the edge of days just before, not the Gog/Magog war, but rather, when it is announced that a great "peace" has been worked out. A peace that will be so comprehensive and verifiable that Israel will literally take down all of her walls.

Now, that is BIG news. Unbelievable news!! But, if the scriptures are true...(and they are!!) this is the way it must and will happen. Read it for yourself! (For those of you who have been waiting for Gog to show up at any moment... it is not for now. You must wait.)

My prediction? There may soon be an interim war that so traumatizes the Mid-East that all parties come to realize that peace MUST be made or else everyone's survival will be in question! But, no matter how it comes... Peace is coming to Israel. BIG peace!! But, a short-lived, deceitful peace.

Moving Away From Anti-Christ (Literally!)

It is my contention that the Bible, especially those points of great importance, is understandable by the average reader. (Even a child can understand?) The scriptures were not given by God to frustrate us with multiplied rabbit trails and dead ends. That is not to say that there are portions of scripture that do reveal themselves only when a person takes time to meditate upon, study and apply them to life. But, as a whole, the Bible is easy to read (especially in some of the new translations) and is reasonably clear to any modern day reader.

That being said... I would like to take some time talking about the Rapture. The Rapture is the taking up of believers, both dead and alive, to be with Christ. This is an actual future event that happens at some point near the "end of the age" of our present world. I can confidently say that there are millions of the faithful worldwide who believe that we are in those "last days" right now. The rapture is referred to as "the blessed hope" by Bible-believing Christians and is considered by many (most?) Evangelicals as the next event on the prophetic calendar. I.e. Nothing needs to happen or be fulfilled for Jesus Christ to return today!! "Imminent" is the word that is used. It means, "about to happen". The coming of Christ for His church is imminent!

Now, that is comforting news to hear. Especially if it is true! But,... is it true? Could the return of Christ happen today? A lot of American Christians are counting on it!!

We're going to take three passages from the New Testament and see how they read. Are they understandable? Do they flow with a logical direction to a clear conclusion? Or, are they shrouded in mystery and need multiple other references to perceive the meaning of what is being communicated? We will look in the gospel of Matthew, in 2 Thessalonians and in Revelations.

I am NOT a Biblical scholar! But, I've been reading these passages for over 40 years. Thinking about them... rolling them over in my mind. And, as I said at the top of this piece, I do not believe that God reveals important information to us in ways that only a gifted, few people can get at their meaning,... then sell us their books. ( A LOT of this is our fault. We let others do the study after having been told to study it for ourselves!) So, it is my contention that the return of Christ can be clear and understandable by any reader who takes some moments to follow through with what Scripture is laying out in a logical way.

An aside: Beware the unending use of Christian manuals. A "manual" is a book of instruction according to my dictionary. And therein lies a problem. When I was younger, I had the understanding that the Bible was THE book of instruction. The book on "how to" live life. As time has passed and I have gotten older, I have noticed that we Christians expend more and more energy and money (a key idea $$) in books about the Book. I'll try not to go too far overboard with this... but, we desperately need to know the original. We need to know God's word in a far superior way than ANY other book or any other area of learning we have in this life. We should hunger for that kind of personal understanding that can only come through personal contact with God Himself in His word... Time with Him in His word... a desire to walk with Him in His word! Every "extra-Biblical" manual is at least one step away from that face-to-Face life that every Christian needs. (If this doesn't apply (to you), let it fly!)

That brings us back to our subject. The Rapture of the church.

There are three main schools of how and when the rapture takes place. I am not going to get deeply into the three because that, in itself, gets us off the point. Here are the three along with a couple of important features of each viewpoint.

1. The Rapture takes place before the Tribulation. I.e. a Pre-Trib rapture The Tribulation is a seven year period of time at the end of the age. It is a time of grave trouble, especially to the nation of Israel, and was foretold by prophets in the Old Testament. This is by far the most "popular" of the viewpoints. Many, many manuals have been written based upon this teaching.

2. The Rapture takes place at or near the middle of the Tribulation. I.e. a Mid-Trib rapture The Tribulation is a 7 seven year period of time at the end of the age and is divided into two parts of 3 1/2 years. The least known of the three viewpoints.

3. The Rapture takes place just after the Tribulation and initiates the Millennium. I.e. a Post-Trib rapture The Millennium is a 1,000 period of time on earth. (Nice to note... The earth doesn't "end"... just the age!) The Millennium is a time of fulfillment of promise by God to His people, Israel and His bride, the church. It is my understanding that the early church adhered to this view.

There is a LOT of force and feathers behind these 3 viewpoints! I will leave those ruminations for another manual. Suffice it to say, there is a more than enough argument over these teachings to last through the Millennium. I do have a concern, however, over the weight being given to the Pre-Trib scenario. When I was twenty (over 40 years ago) you would almost always hear a "balanced" presentation of these three views at Bible studies, on radio, etc.. All viewpoints would be covered and, often, the listener would be allowed to make his or her own judgement. As time has gone by it has become a much more dogmatic portrayal. A few years ago I heard a beloved radio/TV evangelist (I like him a lot!) lay down the law on all theories but his own... a pre-Tribulation rapture. To not believe it was to almost not be a Christian! It amazed me when I got to thinking about it. What happens to that pastor's church the day after they realize the Tribulation has begun and the Rapture did not happen??!! I think it would be rough going.

So, all that being said, let us begin.

Let's get our heads together!

Here's another "little" hint to a Islamic future.

When I was in my twenties our church did a lot of outreach. One of the things we enjoyed was showing films on Bible prophecy. In those days you could not go online (there was no "online") to find any of hundreds of titles, then download them. There were only a few available, usually done by some company like, "Gospel Films", or some such name. They all looked pretty much the same (unless you got lucky and Billy Graham had just made a new flick). Lots of atomic explosions, fiery red sunsets, people running down streets, and universally bad acting.

One scene that was always the same, no matter which film it was, was the depiction of the death of Christian martyrs in the tribulation period. This was derived from Revelation 20 verse 4.

"Then I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark on their forehead and on their hand; and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years."

Beheaded?!? Interestingly enough, the manner of death in these old prophetic films was always a guillotine! You know, one of those head choppers with a slanted blade used by the French in the old days. Why? Well, the guillotine was a product of advanced Western civilization. Perhaps it was the ultimate in efficient, cold-blooded dispatching of the unwanted masses. And since post-WW2 people were undoubtedly making these movies... a black-booted Nazi pulling a guillotine handle was the ultimate horror of execution. I always thought it was weird. A guillotine?! It was hard enough to imagine that beheading people was going to be fashionable in the last days. Surely, a more modern piece of equipment would be used!

But, how could I have known that this particular form of execution would return as a form of capital punishment! And that it would come from a culture that revels in using the old instruments of death!

Islamic Anti-Christ: Little things mean a lot!

Here's an interesting little passage which is normally attributed to Anti-Christ. Daniel 7: 23-25:

"Thus he ("one of those who were standing by") said: 'The fourth beast will be a fourth kingdom on the earth, which will be different from all the other kingdoms and will devour the whole earth and tread it down and crush it. As for the ten horns, out of this kingdom ten kings will arise; and another will arise after them, and he will be different from the previous ones and will subdue three kings. He will speak out against the Most High and wear down the saints of the Highest One, and he will intend to make alterations in times and in law; and they will be given into his hand for a time, times, and half a time."

For 40 years I have wondered what that phrase meant... "he will intend to make alterations in times and in law;" The words are pretty much the same in all translations. "Times and law." What "times"? How do you change time?! What "law"? Civil? International? Without getting too much into it... let me say that in the last few years the media has started reporting on two curious but very real aspects of the Islamic agenda.

How many reporters have you heard say something to the effect of, "Islamic fundamentalism basically wants to take us all back to the 7th century!" Evidently, the 7th century was a bang up time for serious Moslems and to reset the calendar to that period in history would be a thing of great pleasure! An Islamic Anti-Christ would be the guy to get it done if for no other reason than the fact that keeping a calendar based on Jesus Christ's birth has to gall them! (Question: Who other than an Islamic fundamentalist would have the desire or temerity to do such a thing!!) In any event, the scripture clearly indicates that Anti-Christ will attempt to change the times.

But, an even stronger argument lies with the second term. The attempt to change "law".

"Alterations... in law." What an interesting thought. This can't be talking about just making or adding or proposing new law(s). It speaks of something totally new... a whole approach... a massive realm-change in the way the whole world views law. In our lifetimes, actually in the last year or two, a whole new way of viewing law has been thrust upon us.

Sharia. Sharia is the sacred law of Islam.

Almost every day we hear of another attempted application of Sharia law in western culture. It is on the move! Is this a harbinger of the attempted alteration of "law" spoken of in Daniel 7? I don't know for sure. But, it fits perfectly into the profile of an Islamic Anti-Christ. An Islamist would/will attempt to alter the long-existing foundations of worldwide law and cultural life. If I am correct, the only positive thought here is that, apparently, it is only, as the scripture states, an "intention" or attempt to change the law. Maybe he can't quite get it done... too much opposition, or something else. But note, again from Daniel 7: "He (this beast) will speak out against the Most High and wear down the saints." This will not be a pleasant time. But, hasn't the time of "wearing down" already begun?
For an amazing insight into Sharia check this out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ib9rofXQl6w&feature=player_embedded

AntiChrist: a ladies man? NOT!!

This is a short, short continuation of Daniel 11:37

What is this "desire of women" thing? Why did the Holy Spirit indicate a mysterious attitude owned by AntiChrist for half of the human race. Why doesn't the Bible just come out and say, "He desires women!' We can understand that... especially in this day and age, Or, "He desires not a woman". Okay, he's gay. A gay AntiChrist. Boy, that would be current! But, no... the verse is strangely worded.

Let's look at the five translations again and add a couple:

KJV
37Neither shall he regard,,, the desire of women, ...
NASB
37"He will show no regard... for the desire of women,...
NIV
37 He will show no regard... for the one desired by women, ...
Darby
37And he will not regard...the desire of women; ...
ESV
37He shall pay no attention... to the one beloved by women.
CEV
37This king will reject... the god preferred by women.
Young's Literal
37And unto the God of his fathers he doth not attend, nor to the desire of women,

The translators are all over the board again. But, the phrasing "the desire of women" repeats in 4 of the 7.

I agree with the Darby, Youngs and KJV, "the desire OF women". The interpretation being not that he (AntiChrist) doesn't desire women or, even, that he is a homosexual but, rather, this man cares not for what women want and need. A woman's desire to be wanted, honored and lovingly cared for are not part of his makeup. In other words: Women are pawns, second-class and subservient.

Does that sound like anything familiar?

I propose that this snippet of verse declares that a clear, deeply-rooted disdain of women will run an evil course through the veins of AntiChrist. AND, that this devastating, demeaning attitude will not be new to or with him. It will have come from his total life experience. It will be an intrinsic part of his history, his world and his worldview. Why? Because he is THE true Moslem! The long-awaited Islamic Messiah! The Mahdi!

And you thought AntiChrist was a Jew!

Today: A short look at one verse - Daniel 11:37.
Why?
This one verse had led many to believe that Anti-Christ is of Jewish descent. In the King James Version it reads...

37"Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all."

Seems easy enough. A good friend of mine indicated that the term "God of His fathers" is almost always used when speaking of the God of the Hebrew nation. So, at first glance, it appears that this man (Anti-Christ?) will be a Jew. That is pretty much what I had always believed in the past. So, he could not be the Islamic Mahdi! He will be a Jew. Case closed. Blog over!!

Well, hold,,,, hold on now...ju, jus... just a minute, there. (Spoken like Jimmy Stewart will be most effective.)
Let's dig into it a little.

What do we find with a quick verse search at good old BibleGateway.com. I grabbed 5 translations and immediately found a translation issue. Here they are:

KJV
37Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all.

NASB
37"He will show no regard for the gods of his fathers or for the desire of women, nor will he show regard for any other god; for he will magnify himself above them all.

NIV
37 He will show no regard for the gods of his fathers or for the one desired by women, nor will he regard any god, but will exalt himself above them all.

Darby
37And he will not regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women; nor regard any +god: for he will magnify himself above all.

ESV
37He shall pay no attention to the gods of his fathers, or to the one beloved by women. He shall not pay attention to any other god, for he shall magnify himself above all.

Why do two translations say, "God of his fathers," and three say, "Gods of his fathers"?

The next step was to look at the online Hebrew interlinear:
http://www.scripture4all.org/OnlineInterlinear/Hebrew_Index.htm
I invite you to do the same.

It turns out, the first word for God in Daniel 11:37 is Elohim; the second word is Eloah. As many of you know, Elohim is the plural of the root for God, El. Although plural, Elohim is almost always translated with the singular, God. BUT, there are exceptions. Psalm 82:1 being a good one.

NASB
1God(Elohim) takes His stand in His own congregation;
He judges in the midst of the rulers(Elohim)

KJV
1God (Elohim) standeth in the congregation of the mighty; he judgeth among the gods(Elohim)..

NIV
1 God (Elohim) presides in the great assembly;
he gives judgment among the "gods"(Elohim) :

Darby
1 God (Elohim)standeth in the assembly of God, he judgeth among the gods(Elohim).

Young's Literal Translation
1-- A Psalm of Asaph. God (Elohim)hath stood in the company of God, In the midst God doth judge(Elohim)

The word for word from the Hebrew interlinear is:
psalm to·Asaph Elohim one-being-stationed in·congregation-of El in·within-of Elohim he-is-judging

Conclusion (from one with no formal Hebrew background): Even the major AND minor translators don't know quite how to handle this verse. I like NIV's attempt, putting gods in " ". It seems to me to be an attempt to say, "We're not sure how to translate this."

So,... here is the NDMV translation.

NDMV (New Dave Multinational Version)
"1 The three-in-One God (Elohim) presides forever over the assembly of the mighty ones. He is the supreme judge over all that are called gods(Elohim)."
Okay, okay! I added in a little... but it was good stuff!!

Getting back to Daniel 11:37...
I think it is fair to say that the translation in Daniel could/should? be "gods (Elohim) of his fathers". If that were the case we no longer require a Jewish man to be Anti-Christ. Instead, we are looking for one whose "fathers" have a long line of "gods" (plural) in their history. His roots and lineage are rich with false gods and idolatry.

The theory still holds. AntiChrist is a Moslem!
Your comments are welcome!!