This story came from the BBC that IS fighters and their families were given safe passage out of Raqqa by local officials, to other points in Syria and Turkey. The last fighters in Raqqa were brought to the negotiating table around October 10. About a month later, they were shipped out in a convoy across Syria and southeast Turkey.
When I saw the BBC news on TV, and those trucks moving out on the road across the desert, the curious thought hit me – could the future Antichrist have been in that convoy? The last 250 battle-hardened ISIS fighters were transported with their families – 3,700 in all. Though only 250 fighters out of millions in Syria and eastern Turkey is a longshot probabilistically, the thought wouldn’t go away and seemed to beg further consideration. But what a crazy thought.
The people outside that bus in Raqqa are supposedly family members of IS fighters, preparing to leave.
Birth Years of Signpost Leaders
The ages and birth years of leaders of the Four Signposts will likely progress to be later and later as the Signposts progress.
First Signpost: Saddam Hussein, the leader of the First Signpost, was born in 1937. He was dictator of Iraq from age 42 until he was removed at age 65.
Second and Third Signpost: It is my belief the Second Signpost will last only a few years (not nearly as long as the First Signpost), and so the Third Signpost leader would be comparable in age to the Second Signpost leaders.
The leaders of the upcoming Second Signpost are the supreme leader and the commanders of the IRGC. Major General Soleimani of the Quds force is a likely candidate. He was born in 1957. He has been commander of the Quds Force since he was 50, and is now 60.
Khamenei is the current supreme leader. He is now 78. The candidate most likely to succeed him is Ebrahim Raisi who was born in 1960 and is currently 57.
The leading candidate of the Third Signpost is likely Turkish president Erdoğan who was born in 1954. He has been in power since he was 49, and will likely stay in power until 2029 when he is 75.
Fourth Signpost: This is the Signpost of the emerging Antichrist. The timing of the Signposts may dictate that the man to be Antichrist is not born until twenty years or so after the Second and Third Signpost leaders. If Saddam was born in the late 1930s, and Soleimani and Erdoğan were born in the mid- to late-1950s, it may follow the man to be Antichrist wasn’t born until the 1970s or even 1980s. Those fighters in the trucks in the BBC news story are likely in their 20’s, or 30’s. A 35-year-old would be born in 1982. (There’s a thought – the Antichrist could likely be a Millennial!)
What Might He Do During the Early Signposts?
Therefore it is certainly within the realm of possibility in terms of age that the man to be Antichrist might have been one of the fighters on those trucks and busses.
Consider the following as well. During the Fourth Signpost, the man to be Antichrist will take over as king of one of the four nations emerging from the Sunni Confederacy. What kind of person seizes power like that? It is someone who will have military and political experience leading men. Think of someone like Saddam Hussein.
There is a case for the Antichrist’s origination being in central Syria itself (see Post). What might he have done during the First Signpost? Being a jihadist or militant is certainly not an unreasonable guess. He could have been part of al-Qaida and might now be a retired ISIS fighter.
What, then, might he do during the Second Signpost? Perhaps he will lead Sunni militants against IRGC forces there in Syria or southeast Turkey.
During the Third Signpost, with Turkey leading its powerful confederacy, he might be a politician or higher ranking officer in their army. Perhaps he would have got that position by being recognized by the country as a hero fighting the IRGC (total speculation of course). When the Fourth Signpost begins, that could place him in a better position where he can step into the role as new leader of the new Turkish-Syrian nation.
Conclusion
This world has likely many years – a couple decades or more perhaps – to go until Christ returns. With each Signpost, the man to be Antichrist may very well go through stages in his own career as God prepares him for his final role.
The thought of him possibly riding on one of those trucks or busses leaving Raqqa might not seem so crazy. If he witnessed the brutality of ISIS as a perpetrator, and might witness the Second Signpost and its butchery, it isn’t surprising if he himself oversees mass brutality over much of the world in his final role.
Trucks parked outside Raqqa getting ready to transport IS fighters and their arsenal and supplies. Could one of them have transported the man to be Antichrist?
Some may say the man to be Antichrist might right now be a government official of some country. Here’s another idea: right now he is a lowly militant learning the ropes of how to brutally rule his future kingdom. And as the Second Signpost will create opportunities for Erdoğan and his future confederacy, it might create opportunities for the man who will be Antichrist.
Categories: In The News, Islamic Antichrist, Signpost #4: New Islamic Empire, Signpost Theology
THE FOUR SIGNPOSTS 
I’m glad you said that it will probably be a couple decades perhaps more before Christ returns. I’ve been sensing that for some time now.
My inclination, and though I could be wrong, might be to speculate on some a Turkish NATO mid-ranking commander that has been involved in the Syrian conflict where he eventually moves up in rank and designated to govern the area once the Assad regime has been deposed. It would be interesting to examine the life of Epiphanes and see how he was elevated in his leadership. Believing there will be a lot of similarities.
And the irony is that, if true, it would have been the United States that created ISIS, that gave the Anti-Christ his first job.
Karl,
Nice catch. Another way the USA’s fingerprints are all over the end times.
I forgot to mention in my first reply that it may have been the U.S. led by a Muslim President who may have given the AC his first job.
Just sharing an ironic observation: The disparaging word used by Mideast enemies of ISIS is “daesh.” One linguist has written that this appelation has an Arabic derivation of the verb “to crush.” When I read this, many decades ago, I couldn’t help but wonder if some of these barbaric ISIS fighters — these CRUSHERS, for so these murderous hordes were! — would still be around to join the antichrist’s minions when he arises. Hence, the speculation antichrist (whose origins will be lowly, says Scripture — a little horn), could well be on one of those busses! I’m joyful over God’s promise in Daniel that the wise will understand when the fulfillments of Daniel’s prophecies play out in our history. “Even so, come, LORD Jesus.”
IT’S OBVIOUS TO TRUE HOLY BIBLE CHRISTIANS WHERE THE ANTICHRIST IS TODAY; SINCE, HE HAS/WILL ARISE/ARISEN OUT OF THE “REVIVED +++ROMAN-EMPIRE+++: WHICH IS THE PRESENT-DAY EUROPEAN-UNION/E.U. ! – HAVE YOU NOT READ THAT THE SEAT #666 HAS ALREADY BEEN PREPARED, SINCE THE MID-1990s AD, IN THE NEW E.U. PARLIAMENT BUILDING HEADQUARTERS IN BRUSSELS, BELGIUM: AND; HAVE YOU NOT READ THAT THE NATION OF ++++++ROMANIA++++++ HAS BECOME A MEMBER OF THE E.U. SINCE 2007 AD: AS THE NATION OF ++++++ROMANIA++++++ WAS/IS PHYSICALLY/GEOGRAPHICALLY WITHIN THE OLD-BOUNDARIES OF THE OLD EMPIRICAL +++ROMAN-EMPIRE ! ! !
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“AND THE +++PEOPLE+++ OF THE PRINCE THAT SHALL COME” ! – PRAY-TELL, Q: WHO ARE THE +++PEOPLE+++ OF THE PRINCE THAT SHALL COME ? ? ? – THE OBVIOUS ANSWER IS . . . A: THE ++++++ROMAN[IAN]++++++ PEOPLE ! ! ! – AND IF +++HIS+++ PEOPLE ARE THE ROMAN[IAN] PEOPLE: THEREFORE IT IS ++++++++++OBVIOUS++++++++++ THAT HE–THE PRINCE THAT SHALL COME–IS NONE OTHER BUT A ++++++++++++++++++++ROMAN[IAN]++++++++++++++++++++ ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
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SO, THE ANTICHRIST–THE ROMAN[IAN] ANTICHRIST–IS SECRETLY WORKING/SCHEMING BEHIND THE SCENES AT THE EUROPEAN-UNION/E.U.–PATIENTLY WAITING TO FILL +++HIS+++ SEAT #666 IN BRUSSELS, BELGIUM AT THE NEW E.U. PARLIAMENT BUILDING: WHOSE ENTRANCE HAS A STATUE OF A “WOMAN RIDING A WILD BEAST” ! ! !
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YES, THE ANTICHRIST-++++++BEAST++++++ OF REVELATION 13 WILL ARISE OUT OF THE “REVIVED-ROMAN[IAN]-EMPIRE” aka THE EUROPEAN-UNION/E.U. & HIS NATION OR ORIGIN &-OR NATIONALITY WILL BE ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ROMAN[IAN]++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ! ! ! ! ! !
Tony,
Thanks for chiming in on this topic. Yes, I was, like you, fully convinced that the Antichrist would be coming from Rome or some place in Europe.
When I asked the Lord for wisdom as to what He was doing in the end times, He set me on a path of research. This path included confronting the idea that Antichrist was going to be an Arab Muslim. At first I was offended, as your use of caps hints that you’re offended too.
But a study of real, documented ancient and medieval history shows that the iron leg empire of Daniel 2:40 cannot be anything but Islam (seriously!). And Daniel 9:26 speaks of the people, the am (in Hebrew), the ethnicity of people who destroyed the Temple. Did you know most of the “Roman” troops were Syrians?
One of the keys to discovering the true unfolding of prophecy is to study this topic. I highly recommend you study chapters 1 and 2 of Daniel Revisited. You may be very surprised. I know I was.
God bless.