4. HOW IT ALL ADDS UP Central to Christianity is the doctrine of salvation through the atonement of Christ Jesus for our sins. Certainly the Lamb's sacrifice does not relieve any one of us from our own responsibilities. Nor does it take away from Paul's admonition for us to "work out our own salvation with fear and trembling" (Philippians 2:12). What Christ Jesus did was reconcile us to the Father that we might receive forgiveness (a restoration to fellowship with Him and His own) and grace (His unmerited favor). By resisting temptation all the way to Calvary, Christ Jesus was victorious over the Tempter. Through the self-sacrificing life that was in him, our King brought gifts for all who would believe on him. He paved the way for us back to our God. To say that Jesus was just a mortal is far from the Truth. To say that he was not the Son of God is a lie. To say that he did not die for our sins is heretical: "Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son. Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father; [but] he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also." 1 John 2:22-23 "Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world." 1 John 4:2-3 "He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made Him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of His Son." 1 John 5:10 "For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist." 2 John 7 It should be obvious to the discerning reader that Mohammed has tried to make Christ Jesus' life of null effect for sinners. True, Mohammed, has been just one of many who have tried to discredit the Savior. However, he is not just one antichrist of many antichrists: Bible prophecy reveals his testimony as testimony of the Antichrist. In the thirteenth chapter of Revelation, it is written: "Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six." Revelation 13:18 The beast referred to here is the confederacy of Islamic states which is to take shape during these last days. The man is Mohammed --- the identification coming from Gematria, the ancient Hebrew science which assigns numerical values to words. In Gematria, the value of a word is determined by adding the numerical equivalents of the individual letters that form it. Here, then, are the steps necessary for identifying Mohammed as the "name" and "number" of the beast: The simplest phonetic transcription of the word 'Mohammed' is: (1)      M      O     H       A       M       E      D In ancient Hebrew, the closest counterparts of those sounds are: (2)    Mem   Waw   Hey   Aleph   Mem    Yod   Dalet The proper character representation for the word Mohammed in John's Vision is: (3)     Note: John thought, understood, and "saw" in Hebrew (written from right to left). However, he transcribed his vision into Greek (written from left to right). Hence the reason for the so-called "final Mem" (the representation of Mem when it ends a word) being used in the beginning place here. In Gematria, the numerical equivalents of the above characters are, respectively: (4)     600       6      5        1      40      10      4 (5)   The sum of the above numbers is 666, or "Six hundred threescore and six." (Please read Section 8, entitled Answers to Possible Questions, for additional comments concerning this transliteration and its numerical values as well as interpretation.) When you stop to think about it, everything fits. 1) That "the fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces" (Daniel 7:23): The nation of Islam, with all of its oil-rich countries, will wield more power than any earthly kingdom heretofore known. 2) That an end-time ruler shall "think to change times" (Daniel 7:25): The Moslem era dates form the Hegira, the forced journey of Mohammed from Mecca to Medina in 622 A.D. 3) That the final end-time ruler shall not regard "the desire of women" (Daniel 11:37): Mohammedans view women as being little better than chattel. And, 4) That men shall have "the name of the beast" (Revelation 13:17): Today, the word 'Mohammed' is the most popularly used name in the world. People have incorporated it into their names more than any other single word. GO TO ... | Table of Contents | Next Section | Copying Guidelines |