Is Turkey’s Erdoğan the final Antichrist?

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan making the Rabia gesture to show solidarity with the Muslim Brotherhood (2013)

World News Daily is reporting that Joel Richardson believes that Turkey’s President Erdoğan is either the final Antichrist or essentially his close predecessor:

September 17, 2016

It’s one of the most controversial topics in Christianity. But biblical teacher Joel Richardson, the New York Times bestselling author of “The Islamic Antichrist” and the host of the new teaching series “The Battle for Jerusalem,” says he knows where the Antichrist is going to come from. And a familiar face in the headlines is, at the very least, a “foreshadow” of the Antichrist.

Turkey.

“The current president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, is consolidating his power, his absolute, autocratic power, his dictatorship over this nation,” says Richardson in a new episode of his online television show “The Underground.”

“What’s unfolding in Turkey right now is incredible.”

Richardson has been a longtime critic of the Turkish strongman, whose autocratic tendencies have only grown since Erdogan crushed an attempted coup. There are even some reports the failed coup was a false flag operation because of how Erdogan has benefited from the aftermath.

Richardson argues Erdogan is taking on a quasi-divine status in the eyes of his supporters. …

Richardson concedes Erdogan himself may not be the Antichrist or the Gog of the Bible, who is prophesied in Ezekiel 38 to lead a great war against Israel. But he takes a strong stand in specifically identifying Turkey as the region from which the Antichrist will arise. …

Richardson claimed there are “dozens and dozens of examples which point to Turkey as the head, as the leader of the coming Ezekiel invasion.”

“I’m not saying that Erdogan is Gog. But I’m saying we need to be paying attention to Turkey because it’s out of Turkey, this culture, this society, this geography, this region, that I believe we will see the emergence of the Antichrist. I’m not saying Erdogan is the Antichrist. But if he’s not, and anyone could, he is certainly emerging as a clear foreshadow of the Antichrist. Even if you don’t believe in Bible prophecy, we need to be paying attention to what is happening in Turkey because the geopolitical ramifications are dramatic.” http://www.wnd.com/2016/09/turkey-source-of-the-antichrist/#UUF9wgSApISHcTGy.99

Ezekiel 38 is NOT to be fulfilled until well AFTER Jesus returns (see Ezekiel 38: For Russia & Iran in Our Day?).

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is not the final Antichrist (see Some Doctrines of Antichrist). Nor is the final Antichrist apt to come out of Turkey.

While Turkey is mentioned in biblical prophecies (watch What Should You Know About Turkey in Prophecy), Joel Richardson completely misunderstands both about Turkey as well as the possible identity of the final Antichrist.

As far as the final Antichrist goes, he will be primarily a religious, not political leader. All the verses in the Bible that mention the term ‘antichrist’ or antichrists’ are referring to someone in a religious context (see 2 John 7, 1 John 2:18, 1 John 2:22, and 1 John 4:3). Furthermore, the final Antichrist will claim to be some type of Christian (in my view, he will claim to accept some changed version of Roman Catholicism).

While I believe that Bible prophecy shows that Turkey will turn against the USA (cf. Psalm 83:3-8), that does not mean that the final Antichrist has to be Turkish (that seems quite unlikely as nearly all Turks are Muslim).

Joel Richardson holds to a different, but non-biblical view. Here are some quotes from Joel Richardson’s book titled The Islamic Empire:

Now the seven heads are seven mountains. The Bible often uses mountains as a symbol representing a kingdom or empire…the sixth empire was the Roman Empire…German Third Reich, some Bible teachers have speculated that Germany was the seventh empire and thus Germany will come back as the eighth…

There are, however, some glaring problems with this theory: First, Rome was the sixth empire. If Rome was the sixth, and will also be the last, what happened to the seventh? There theory has a gaping hole (Richardson J. The Islamic Antichrist: The Shocking Truth about the Real Nature of the Beast. WND Books. 2009, pp. 93-94)

In that book, he then tries to explain why he does not feel that the final empire can be Roman. But there are several points that he did not seem to address well in that book. He seems to confuse the empires in Daniel with those in Revelation (which is apparently how he came up with his list), plus he adds two (Egyptian and Assyrian, which were pre-Daniel) in order to get to his list.

His book seems to forget about the “Holy Roman Empire” and its many revivals (his book does not use the term “Holy Roman Empire”)–they fit into the so-called “glaring hole” (for specific details on the how the Holy Roman Empire fits the related prophecies in Revelation, check out the article Europa, the Beast, and the Book of Revelation).

Joel Richardson teaches that essentially each of the empires had a different religion. This is really not consistent with what the Book of Revelation teaches.

It is the same woman who was “drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus.” There were no martyrs specifically of Jesus until after He came. Yet, in Joel Richardson’s list, five of his empires were gone prior to the birth of Christ. This is part of his own “gaping hole.”

Furthermore, consider that a female can symbolize a false church according to Revelation 17:1-6. Since the Babylon in the Book of Revelation is a city on seven hills (Revelation 17:5-9), this is referring to a city such as Rome according to Catholic scholars as ancient Babylon was on a flat plain.

The above is important for at least two reasons.

The first is to remember that the Bible clearly shows that the “woman” is based in a city:

18 And the woman whom you saw is that great city which reigns over the kings of the earth. (Revelation 17:18)

Several of the six empires that Joel Richardson listed did not have anything to do with a specific “great city.”

The second is that there is one very famous city that is located on seven hills/mountains. It is known as “the city of seven hills.” It is universally recognized that Rome is the city of seven mountains. This fact is also noted by various Protestant and even Catholic theologians. One such Catholic writer would be Yves Dupont who wrote in his book Catholic Prophecies,

The seven headed city is probably Rome (septicolis– seven hills) (Dupont Yves. Catholic Prophecy. TAN Books, 1973, p.24).

Other than Ammon Jordan, Rome is apparently one of few great cities in the world to have precisely seven hills/mountains (though there may be some less important cities with seven mountains, and there may be seven near Constantinople/Istanbul–which yes, is in Turkey). While Rome itself was the ruling city of the Western world for several centuries, the Roman Catholic Church, whose headquarters cathedra is completely within the boundaries of Rome, has maintained tremendous influence over kings and governments of the earth for even more centuries (and in the end, an Antipope is expected to rise up according to various prophecies).

But Joel Richardson has apparently overlooked the idea of the city being on seven hills/mountains as he claims that the seven mountains are only symbolic. This is part of his “gaping hole.”

Joel Richardson has various misunderstandings of biblical prophecy that I have addressed in both the article Can the Final Antichrist be Islamic? as well as in the sermon Is the Final Antichrist Islamic or European? for those who want more information about what the Bible says lies ahead.

But do not believe that Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan can possibly be the final Antichrist of biblical prophecy.

Some items of possibly related interest may include:

What Should You Know About Turkey in Prophecy Do you know the Turkish people descended from? Did the Ottoman Empire possibly fulfill a promise in Genesis? Will Turkey support the European King of the North or Arabic King of the South? Will it betray one of them? Will Turkey be involved in the encouraging the destruction of Israel? Is Turkey going to become Catholic? Is Turkey mentioned in Psalm 83, Daniel 11, and elsewhere in the Bible? This video provides answers.
Can the Final Antichrist be Islamic? Is Joel Richardson correct that the final Antichrist will be Islamic and not European? Find out. A related sermon is titled: Is the Final Antichrist Islamic or European?
The Muslim Brotherhood and the Rise of the King of the South The Bible tells of the formation of a power of nations that are in the Middle East and North Africa that are part of the final “King of the South” (Daniel 11:40-43) The Muslim Brotherhood wishes to have an Islamic empire with basically the same nations. This YouTube video explains what to expect from such a confederation.
Is the Future King of the South Rising Up? Some no longer believe there needs to be a future King of the South. Might Egypt, Islam, Iran, Arabs, or Ethiopia be involved? Might this King be called the Mahdi or Caliph? What does the Bible say? A YouTube video of related interest may be: The Future King of the South is Rising.
The Arab and Islamic World In the Bible, History, and Prophecy The Bible discusses the origins of the Arab world and discusses the Middle East in prophecy. What is ahead for the Middle East and those who follow Islam? What about the Imam Mahdi? What lies ahead for Turkey, Iran, and the other non-Arabic Muslims? An item of possibly related interest in the Spanish language would be: Líderes iraníes condenan la hipocresía de Occidente y declaran que ahora es tiempo para prepararse para el Armagedón, la guerra, y el Imán Mahdi.
When Will the Great Tribulation Begin? 2016, 2017, or 2018? Can the Great Tribulation begin today? What happens before the Great Tribulation in the “beginning of sorrows”? What happens in the Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord? Is this the time of the Gentiles? When is the earliest that the Great Tribulation can begin? What is the Day of the Lord? Who are the 144,000? Here is a version of the article in the Spanish language: ¿Puede comenzar la Gran Tribulación en 2016 o 2017? ¿Es el Tiempo de los Gentiles? You can also see the English language sermon videos: The Great Tribulation from the Mount of Olives and Can the Great Tribulation begin before 2020? A shorter video is: Can the Great Tribulation Start in 2016?
Who is the King of the North? Is there one? Do biblical and Roman Catholic prophecies for the Great Monarch point to the same leader? Should he be followed? Who will be the King of the North discussed in Daniel 11? Is a nuclear attack prophesied to happen to the English-speaking peoples of the United States, Great Britain, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand? When do the 1335 days, 1290 days, and 1260 days (the time, times, and half a time) of Daniel 12 begin? When does the Bible show that economic collapse will affect the United States? In the Spanish language check out ¿Quién es el Rey del Norte? Here is a link to a video titled: The Future King of the North.
Anglo – America in Prophecy & the Lost Tribes of Israel Are the Americans, Canadians, English, Scottish, Welsh, Australians, Anglo-Saxon (non-Dutch) Southern Africans, and New Zealanders descendants of Joseph? Where are the lost ten-tribes of Israel? Who are the lost tribes of Israel? What will happen to Jerusalem and the Jews in Israel? Will God punish the U.S.A., Canada, United Kingdom, and other Anglo-Saxon nations? Why might God allow them to be punished first? Here is a link to the Spanish version of this article: Anglo-América & las Tribus Perdidas de Israel. Information is also in the YouTube sermons titled Where are the Ten Lost Tribes? Why does it matter? and British are the Covenant People. A short YouTube of prophetic interest may be Barack Obama and the State of the Apocalypse.
Will the Anglo-Saxon Nations be Divided and Have People Taken as Slaves? Will the lands of the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand be divided? What about Jerusalem? What does Bible prophecy teach? Are there non-biblical prophecies that support this idea? Who will divide those lands? Who will end up with the lands and the people? Here is a link to a video titled Will the USA and other Anglo-nations be Divided and Their People Made Slaves? Here is a related item in the Spanish language ¿Serán divididas las naciones anglosajonas?