Almost two thousand years ago, Peter prophesied about the end times. He said just before Jesus returns, people will openly mock the Second Coming. They’ll say, What happened to Jesus? I thought He was coming back?

Yet everything remains the same as it has since the world first began (2 Peter 3:3-4). I’ll bet you’ve heard this argument many times. But is it true? Is the world of today, “The same as it’s always been?” Absolutely not. In fact, it’s absurd to say it is.

Why? Because the truth is the exact opposite. Our generation is unlike any before it. Not only can we point to clear signs of His Return, but almost every sign the Bible says to look for is present right now! Some signs are completely fulfilled (such as the re-establishment of Israel as a nation).

Others seem to be in an early stage of fulfillment (such as the emergence of a loose confederation of European nations as the dominant world power). But regardless of the stage of fulfillment, some form of almost every end times sign is converging in our time. Nevertheless, most people remain ignorant of these signs. And that’s a shame.

Remember, Jesus rebuked the religious leaders of His time for their failure to recognize His coming. He said they knew how to interpret the weather signs in the sky, but they didn’t know how to recognize the signs of the times (Matthew 16:2-3). Jesus expected the religious leaders of His day to recognize the signs of the coming Messiah. In the same way, Jesus expects us to recognize the signs of His Second Coming.

So let’s take the same approach. Just as you know a storm is coming when you see dark clouds on the horizon, these signs will alert you to His return:

1) Israel Back in the Land – In A.D. 70, Roman soldiers put down a rebellion, sacked Jerusalem, destroyed the Temple, and carried the Jewish people to the farthest corners of the Empire to serve as slaves. They tried to eliminate every trace of the nation of Israel, even renaming the land Palestine in honor of Israel’s historical enemies, the Philistines. Rome intended to erase the memory of Israel forever.

Fortunately, God had other plans. Thousands of years ago, He foretold the long exile of His people. He promised to call them from “among the nations” (Ezekiel 39:28), from “the farthest corners of the earth”(Isaiah 11:12), and from “north, south, east, and west” (Psalm 107:3). He promised to welcome the Jewish people home from the lands where they were scattered (Ezekiel 20:34), and He promised to restore them to the land of Israel from distant lands (Jeremiah 30:2, 10).

And this is exactly what He did. Every person on earth is an eyewitness to the modern miracle of Israel. Long ago, the prophets said this restoration will precede a monumental event – the coming of the Messiah to set up His everlasting Kingdom (Isaiah 35, Joel 3, Jeremiah 23, Micah 4). In other words, Israel’s existence in our day and time is a sign the Second Coming is near.

Think about that. Then think about this… For 1,878 years, Christians could not point to this sign. Israel didn’t exist, and the Jews were not in the land. But today? Jews from around the world return to Israel on a daily basis.

2) The Jews Back in Jerusalem – When the disciples asked Jesus to reveal the signs of His coming and the end of the age, He gave them one of the keys to understanding the timing of His return. He told the disciples this: Jerusalem “will be trampled by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles come to an end.” And then? After that, Jesus promised to return (Luke 21:24-28).

So when did this time period begin? The Gentile trampling of Jerusalem began with the destruction of the Temple in A.D. 70 by Titus and the Roman legions. For centuries thereafter, Gentile kings and kingdoms held complete control over the Temple Mount and the Old City of Jerusalem.

However, in June 1967, the Six Day War concluded with Israel in control of Jerusalem and the Temple Mount for the first time since A.D. 70. And according to Jesus, the Jewish repossession of Jerusalem will immediately precede His return.

For 1,897 years, Christians could not point to this sign. The Jewish people did not control Jerusalem. For those 1,897 years, numerous Gentile kingdoms ruled over Jerusalem. But today? Today, Israel controls Jerusalem.

3) Israel’s Neighbors Out to Destroy Her – More than three thousand years ago, the prophet Asaph claimed the surrounding nations would be unanimous in their contempt for Israel. He said they will say “Come, let us wipe away the nation of Israel. Let’s destroy the memory of its existence” (Psalm 83:4) and “Let us take for ourselves these pasturelands of God” (Psalm 83:12).

Do those statements sound familiar? They should. They’re almost word for word what we hear in the Middle East today. And we’ve heard these same declarations from the Muslim world over and over again since May 14, 1948.

Ezekiel predicted these same neighbors would say “God has given their land to us” (Ezekiel 11:14-17), and “Israel and Judah are ours. We will take possession of them. What do we care if their God is there?” (Ezekiel 35:10). Isn’t this what we read in the headlines each day? It is.

The Muslims claim the land of Israel belongs to them, that “the mountains of Israel have been given to us” (Ezekiel 35:12-13). Syria, which lost the strategically important Golan Heights in the Six-Day War joins a chorus of Israeli critics in claiming “the Golan Heights belong to us” (Ezekiel 36:2).

Again, for 1,878 years, this sign didn’t exist. Israel’s neighbors weren’t out to destroy her because Israel as a nation didn’t exist. But today it does, and the Bible tells us this hatred toward Israel will take place “when the time of Israel’s iniquity comes to an end” (Ezekiel 35:5). In other words, when God brings His people back into the land after a long exile.

4) Israel With An Exceedingly Great Army – In his Valley of the Dry Bones vision (where God breathes life back into the Jewish people), the prophet Ezekiel saw the Jewish people come to life and stand up as “an exceedingly great army” (Ezekiel 37:10).

Zechariah repeated this promise, speaking of a day when Israel is like a fire among sheaves of grain, burning up the neighboring nations (Zechariah 12:6). In fact, he claims even the weakest soldier among them will be like David (Zechariah 12:8). Do we see this today? We sure do.

What are the odds of Israel winning four conventional wars in a 25 year period? Israel barely cracks the Top 100 nations in terms of population, but its military consistently ranks among the most powerful in the world.

The whole country is less than 13,000 square miles (approximately the size of New Jersey). That’s less than one-tenth of one percent of the land mass of the surrounding nations that wish to destroy her. Does this sound like a recipe for “an exceedingly great army?”

Yet, that’s exactly what the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) is. Surrounded on all sides, a brand new nation that didn’t even have a formal military emerged victorious in a multi-front war in 1948. With Syria, Jordan, and Egypt preparing for war, the Israelis struck preemptively in 1967. The result? They achieved overwhelming victory in just six days.

Caught by surprise on Yom Kippur in 1973, her enemies almost cut Israel in half within 48 hours. But the IDF quickly won back all the territory it lost in the opening days of the war, and the world brokered a truce with the IDF at the gates of Cairo and Damascus. Against all odds, Israel always seems to come out on top.

And what does the Bible say about the timing of Israel’s emergence as a world military power? When does it say Israel will have an “exceedingly great army”? You guessed it. The Bible says, “when God’s people are re-gathered in the land just before the Messiah returns” (Ezekiel 12, 36, 37). When the Jewish people have been “brought back from the nations where they were scattered,and given the land of Israel by God Himself” (Ezekiel 11:17).

5) An Increase in Travel and Knowledge – Approximately 2,600 years ago, an angel told the prophet Daniel to keep his visions secret until a later date. What later date? The angel said, “Until the end times, when travel and knowledge will increase” (Daniel 12:4). In other words, a significant increase in travel and knowledge will mark the end times and the time just prior to the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.

Have we seen such an increase? I think the answer is obvious. For all of human history right up until the early 19th Century, the fastest mode of land-based transportation was a horse. Yet today, we can travel to the other side of the earth in a matter of hours. As for an increase in knowledge, think about how much information is on the Internet. In 1990, there was only one website. Six years later, the Internet featured more than one hundred thousand. And a decade later? One hundred million. Today, estimates place the number of websites at somewhere around six hundred million.

6) The Rise of a United Europe – The Bible repeatedly states a revived version of the Roman Empire will ascend to power in the end times (Daniel 2, Daniel 7, Revelation 17). This will be the final world empire before Jesus returns. According to Daniel, it will be a ten nation alliance made up of weak and strong nations. Some parts will be as strong as iron, while other parts will be as weak as clay. Do we see this empire today? No. Not yet. Do we see an alliance of strong and weak nations in the area of the old Roman Empire. Absolutely!

It’s called the European Union, and its entire purpose is to collectively strengthen the member nations through alliance – just as the statue’s iron and clay feet and toes would attempt to strengthen themselves through “intermarriage” (Daniel 2:43).

As of this writing, the European Union contains the world’s 4th, 5th, and 6th largest economies (Germany, the United Kingdom, and France) – but it also contains the world’s 103rd, 112th, and 136th largest economies (Estonia, Iceland, and Malta). Individually, no EU nation is a world power. Together, the combined nations of the EU are the world’s leading economic power. And this is precisely the type of arrangement the Bible says will exist in the time just prior to Christ’s return.

7) The Gospel Preached Throughout the World – In answering His disciples, Jesus described many signs to look for. Among them, He said this: “And the gospel will be preached throughout the entire world, so that every nation will hear it and then the end will come” (Matthew 24:14).

Think we’re getting close to that day now? I do. The Bible is available in hundreds of languages. Satellites broadcast Christian programming throughout the world. And every day, missionaries carry the Gospel to people who have never heard it before. We’re not there yet, but we’re getting close.

Unfortunately, while this sign is all around us, most people don’t see it as a sign. They don’t think the global reach of Christianity is a big deal. But think about it. The promise to see the Gospel preached throughout the world was made by a Jewish carpenter with some fishermen as followers nearly 2,000 years ago. That’s a bold proclamation, and its fulfillment is something the world takes for granted.

Even after 1,500 years of Christianity, the message of Jesus was largely confined to the European continent. But today, the Gospel is preached in every nation.

The Converging Signs

All the signs mentioned here – the re-establishment of Israel, the Jews back in Jerusalem, the dramatic increase in travel and knowledge, and many more point to the near return of Jesus. Not a single one of these signs existed for almost the entire history of Christianity—and now they all do! Think that matters? I do.

When the disciples approached Jesus and asked Him, “What are the signs of your coming and the end of the age?” (Matthew 24:3). Jesus replied by giving them a list of signs and events to look for signs such as false prophets, earthquakes, wars, and desecration of the Temple. But Jesus said one sign in particular is cause to “look up” because your redemption draws near. Our generation is witness to that sign. So what is it?

Convergence.

That’s right. The #1 sign is not a single sign, but the convergence of all the signs Jesus, Moses, and the Old Testament prophets said to look for. Jesus said, “When you see all these things occur, look up. For your salvation is near!” (Luke 21:28). Note that Jesus didn’t say, “When you see one or two of these signs.” He said, “When you see all these signs.” In other words, the convergence of all the signs He spoke of are what we should be looking for.

The convergence of so many specific and detailed events—Jesus told us to look for—should command the attention of even the most hardened skeptics. Why? Because for more than 1,800 years following the crucifixion, these signs were noticeably absent. But today? Today, we see them all around us. For the first time ever, each of these signs is present. And at the same time! Think that’s a coincidence? I don’t. It’s not a coincidence. And time will prove it’s not. Jesus is coming. Now is the season of His return.

This is one of the questions I’m asked most often – especially in recent years.

For centuries, the overwhelming majority of those who have studied bible prophecy have claimed the Antichrist will come from a revived Roman Empire headquartered in Western Europe. But recent events in the Middle East, such as the rise of ISIS, have led some people to question that claim. They say the Antichrist will be a Muslim headquartered in the Middle East. Could this be true? Let’s examine what the Bible says.

The Muslim Antichrist Belief

Those who believe the Muslim Antichrist vary in the reasons for their belief. But the two most common reasons I encounter are these:

1) Similarities between Islamic and Christian end time prophecies, and

2) A belief the Bible says the Antichrist will come from the eastern rather than the western wing of the ancient Roman Empire.

So let’s take a look at these.

Islamic End Time Prophecies – The Koran does not contain end time prophecies, but the Hadith does. The Hadith is a collection of Muhammad’s teachings. Muslims generally believe these are valuable teachings, but not direct revelations from Allah. According to the Hadith, a ruler known as the Madhi will emerge in the last days. Muslims believe this man will rule the world for seven years and rid the earth of all evil prior to the Day of Judgment. What’s more, they say Jesus will return to earth and support the Madhi’s rule during this time.

Does any of this sound familiar? It should. After all, the Bible’s end time prophecies predict the rise of an Antichrist who will rule the earth for seven years just prior to the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. And during the Tribulation, the Antichrist will be aided by a false prophet. When you study the texts side-by-side, it appears the Muslim Messiah and the Christian Antichrist are one and the same. At least, that’s the claim made by many believers in the Muslim Antichrist theory.

But there’s a big problem with this line of thinking. It gives the same divine authority to both the Bible and the Hadith, and that’s a big mistake. The Hadith is not divinely inspired. Its “prophecies” resemble the Bible’s because many of Muhammad’s ideas came from Judaism and Christianity – two of the major religions of his time.

Only the Bible has a flawless track record when it comes to fulfilled prophecy. The Hadith doesn’t. Therefore, I have no reason to believe the Hadith is divinely inspired. And if it’s not divinely inspired, why should I rely on it for insight into future fulfillment of bible prophecy?

The Eastern Wing of the Ancient Roman Empire – Much better arguments for a Muslim Antichrist are made by those who base their beliefs on the Bible—the Word of God. According to the Bible, the Antichrist will come from a revived version of the Roman Empire (Daniel 2, Revelation 17). Many supporters of the Muslim Antichrist theory believe the Bible says the Antichrist will come from a revived form of the eastern rather than thewestern wing of the ancient Roman Empire.

The eastern and western portions of the Roman Empire formed in A.D. 285. In that year, the Emperor Diocletian divided the empire into two parts – one governed in Rome (West) and the other governed in Constantinople (East). When Rome fell to invaders in A.D. 487, the power seat of the ancient Roman Empire shifted eastward to Constantinople (in modern day Turkey).

Many supporters of the Muslim Antichrist theory believe it’s this eastern portion of the Roman Empire that will re-emerge in the end times. They point to chapters 8 and 11 in the Book of Daniel, which foretell the rise of both the Antichrist and the tyrannical rule of the Assyrian king, Antiochus Epiphanes. Citing these passages, they make a case for an Antichrist of Assyrian descent.

What the Bible Says About the Antichrist

Despite these claims, here’s what the Bible says about the Antichrist:

1) He will sign a peace treaty with Israel – The Tribulation will begin when the Antichrist signs a peace treaty with Israel (Daniel 9:27). This will be a treaty placing the national security of Israel in the Antichrist’s hands. Is it realistic to think Israel will make such a pact with a Muslim leader?

2) He will proclaim himself to be God – The Bible says the Antichrist will enter the Temple in Jerusalem at the mid-point of the Tribulation and declare himself to be God (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4). He will demand worship. Such a claim would go against the teachings of the Koran, which says “there is no god but Allah” (Sura 9:129). While it’s possible the Antichrist will only identify with the Muslim faith and not be a strict adherent, it’s unlikely a true Muslim would claim to be God.

3) He will worship a god of fortresses – The Bible says the Antichrist “will worship a god of fortresses, a god unknown to his forefathers” (Daniel 11:38) This suggests the Antichrist will be an idolater who worships a newidol. Not Allah. Not Baal. But a god unknown to previous generations.

4) He will come from the Italian peninsula – The book of Daniel says the Antichrist will come from among the people who destroy the Temple. History clearly reveals who that was. In A.D. 70, Titus and the Roman legions marched into Jerusalem to put down a Jewish insurrection. In doing so, they destroyed the Temple and enslaved the Jewish people, taking them away in chains to the farthest corners of the empire.

This means the Antichrist will come from Rome. Supporters of the Muslim Antichrist theory reject this idea. They claim the Roman legions were composed of Syrians and local people who identify today as Muslims (Daniel 9:26). However, this just isn’t true. Titus and the legions he commanded were composed of Italians and Roman citizens acting under the full authority of Rome. Regardless, the seat of power that conquered Jerusalem was located in Rome, not Assyria. So the Bible is crystal clear in regard to where the Antichrist will come from. He will come from Rome.

Now, could he be a Roman citizen of Assyrian heritage? Possibly. But remember, the rule of the Assyrian king Antiochus Epiphanes (a forerunner of the Antichrist) is one of the reasons some believe the Antichrist will be of Assyrian descent. Yet Antiochus Epiphanes was Greek, not Assyrian. So if the idea of a Muslim Antichrist is built on the Daniel 11 description of Antiochus Epiphanes as an Assyrian, that claim is built on faulty ground.

What’s the Truth?

So with all these conflicting viewpoints, what’s the truth? The answer should be clear. The Bible is the truth. You can count on the Word of God and the fulfillment of all bible prophecy. What you can’t count on is any particular human interpretation of bible prophecy prior to its fulfillment.

To illustrate, let’s examine some past fulfilled prophecies. This will show just how difficult it can be to understand specific prophetic details ahead of time.

Before the first coming of Jesus, some scriptural teachers claimed the Messiah would come from Bethlehem (John 7:42) while others said “no prophet comes from Galilee” (John 7:52). Of course, we know from hindsight, the Messiah came from Bethlehem (Micah 5:2), came out of Egypt (Hosea 11:1), and Galilee was filled with glory (Isaiah 9:1). Prior to Jesus of Nazareth, it was difficult to see how one man could fulfill all of these prophecies. Yet it happened – just as the Bible foretold.

Oftentimes, we show a tendency to read news headlines into the Bible rather than taking the Bible for what it says. The rise of Islam in recent years only increases the speculation of an Islamic Antichrist. But until he arrives on the world scene, no one can know for sure every characteristic of the Antichrist. Perhaps he will be an Italian Muslim from Syria. But perhaps not. We just don’t have enough information to know.

Nevertheless, we can be absolutely sure bible prophecy will be fulfilled to the last letter. In the meantime, a literal interpretation of scripture indicates the Antichrist will come from the Italian peninsula, not the Middle East. And the Bible’s statements that the Antichrist will establish a peace treaty with Israel (Daniel 9:27), proclaim himself to be God in the Temple (2Thessalonians 2:3-4), and worship a god of fortresses unknown to his forefathers (Daniel 11:38) strongly indicates the Antichrist will NOT be a Muslim. Any claim that he must be, rather than he might be, is not from the Bible, but from men.