Church of God News

Many years ago, someone forwarded me the following that Joel Richardson wrote:

EU collapse: Doom for popular Bible prophesies?

WND – May 30, 2010

By Joel Richardson [author of “The Islamic Antichrist“.]

Nearly 20 years ago, I intently watched as a very popular Christian television prophecy teacher declared, “The present formation of the European Union is literally the fulfillment of Bible prophecy right before our eyes!”

According to this teacher, the creation of the European Union represented a biblically prophesied revived Roman Empire. Because the last-days empire of the Antichrist, as described in the books of Daniel and Revelation, is portrayed as a 10-nation alliance, this teacher confidently declared that when the number of EU member states reached 10, this would signal the imminent return of Jesus Christ.

Soon, the number of EU member states reached the magic number 10, just as this teacher had predicted. Then the number reached 11, and then 12. Soon there were 20. Today there are 27 member states. The teacher’s very confident predictions failed. http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=160393

There are many problems with the above. But the one to mention here is that the Bible does not say that the Beast power will only have ten nations. Notice what the Bible actually states:

12 The ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have received no kingdom as yet, but they receive authority for one hour as kings with the beast. 13 These are of one mind, and they will give their power and authority to the beast. (Revelation 17:12-13)

The above prophecy is clear that the Beast power will be composed of ten kings who did not previously have a specific kingdom. Or in other words, the prophecy in Revelation 17:12-13 is most certainly not teaching that the Beast power will be composed of ten nations in the form that they existed prior to some type of structural reorganization. The fact that some prophecy “experts” may have indicated otherwise does not in fact change the actual prophecy from the Bible (see also Must the Ten Kings of Revelation 17:12 Rule over Ten Currently Existing Nations?).

Joel Richardson also wrote:

Since 1993, with the official formation of the European Union, many prophecy teachers have set their prophetic imagination like flint on Europe, confident that someday soon, the EU would invade the Nation of Israel and actually dominate the whole earth.

Surely we are witnessing the emergence of the restored Roman Empire that will ultimately come to be controlled by the Antichrist himself, they would declare. But the present harsh realities in Europe may soon cause all of this Euro-centric, restored Roman Empire prognosticating to come crashing down…

As the world watches, the European Union seems to be teetering ever closer toward the brink of collapse with its massive debt crisis. Member nations are fighting to prop up the euro and maintain European unity through, you guessed it, a mega-billion dollar bailout. Meanwhile, Greece’s economic failure continues to metastasize across its borders. Numerous headlines across the globe are asking if the EU can survive.

However, it is precisely because there will be problems in Europe that it will need a powerful leader to rise up and lead it. The Bible is clear that the union in the Beast’s territories will be “fragile” (Daniel 2:42-43). It also is clear that the Beast leader will be successful from a military perspective (Revelation 13:1-4). While the Bible does tell of a power from currently Islamic nations in North Africa and the Middle East, it also shows that the forces that support the final Antichrist will defeat it (Daniel 11:40-43).

Here are some quotes from Joel Richardson’s actual book 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)

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 “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, notice some of what the book 2012 and the Rise of the Secret Sect teaches:

…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 are also seven near Constantinople/Istanbul. Notice the following:

Constantine … decided to make Byzantium on the Bosphorus to be the “New Rome.” Constantine even chose the “seven hills” of Byzantium to duplicate the “seven hills” of Rome on the Tiber. (Martin E. The Temples that Jerusalem Forgot. ASK Publications, 2000, pp. 344-345)

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).

Roman Catholic scholars, while differing on the timing, do admit that Rome is the city of seven hills in Revelation (for details, check out What Do Roman Catholic Scholars Actually Teach About Early Church History?).

Mecca is Not Mystery Babylon

Joel Richardson has also claimed that ‘mystery Babylon’ is Mecca:

February 5, 2017

Richardson says the Bible presents a clear image of “Mystery Babylon.”

“My position is that Mystery Babylon is an end-time reality, it’s an end-time entity, it’s an end-time city,” he explained. “And biblically speaking, Babylon represents, if you will, the spiritual stronghold of Satan in the Earth at any given time. So all the way back to Nebuchadnezzar’s Babylon – that is the prototype, that is the basis for the end times Babylon.

“Well in the last days, the question is, what is the reigning beast empire? We’ve got seven historical, Satanic empires? What is the empire of our day, where Satan’s stronghold is over the Earth?… The answer is that it’s the Islamic empire. Islam is the last beast empire. The system of the Antichrist, the religion of the Antichrist is Islam. And so if we look to the spiritual and financial capital of the Islamic world, it’s the city of Mecca and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.” http://www.wnd.com/2017/02/author-believes-hes-identified-city-of-antichrist/#oPp9GSEegq7E505U.99

Joel Richardson has various comments about the USA, Mecca, and ‘Mystery Babylon’:

March 11, 2017

Filth on television. The federal government promoting homosexuality around the world. Materialism, wealth and consumerism beyond measure.

Sometimes, it seems like America is less a “city on a hill” than a septic tank for sin. And some Christians have even gone so far as to claim it is America itself which represents the “Babylon” of the end times.

Joel Richardson, New York Times bestselling author of “The Islamic Antichrist,” believes he has identified the city of the Antichrist in his newest book, “Mystery Babylon.” And though he concedes America has serious problems, the prophecy simply doesn’t fit the United States.

“I understand the United States has profound influence around the world,” he said. “On the other hand, the United States does not represent the greatest system of false religion that mankind has ever known. The United States is not the great false religion. It is not the great false system of idolatry.”

America is sometimes accused of being the exemplar of a new “false religion” of selfishness or materialism, but as Richardson observes, it is not particularly unique in that regard.

“We can look to different things like consumerism, materialism or narcissism… but there are other nations around the world that are incredibly perverse,” Richardson observed. “And they are not that way because of the influence of the United States.”

Similarly, Richardson rejects the idea New York City, seat of Wall Street, the United Nations and the world financial elite, could be Babylon. But, he admits, he understands why some people could believe this.

“For clarity, there are some elements to New York City where I can look and say, I can see how people get this,” Richardson acknowledged. “It says that Babylon is this city that sits on many waters. You say, well, New York City sits on many waters, just look at it, Manhattan, Long Island, etc, etc. It’s surrounded by waters. Of course, the angel goes on to explain the waters that you saw are metaphors for peoples, tongues, tribes, that the woman exerts control over, that she has influence over… Wall Street has tremendous influence and sway over the Earth, of course it’s not the only economic powerhouse in the world, but it’s significant.” …

Richardson argues there are specific scriptural criteria “Mystery Babylon” must meet, which New York City and America simply doesn’t. The city of the Antichrist must serve as the seat of a great system of idolatry. It must persecute the body of Christ. And Richardson believes there are also references to it being located in a desert, as he argues at length in “Mystery Babylon.”

Richardson believes the city which best meets these and other criteria is Mecca, center of the Islamic faith and what he calls the locus of “Satanic power” in the world today. http://www.wnd.com/2017/03/is-america-city-on-a-hill-or-septic-tank-for-sin/#2gdTZSXdS0jyCGU7.99

First, let me state that I agree that there is much evil in the USA (see, for example, Is the USA now an Evil Empire?). Secondly, I agree with Joel Richardson that the USA is not the final end time Mystery Babylon the Great of Revelation 17 and 18.

But, Joel Richardson and others who believe that it is Mecca are totally wrong for many reasons.

What about the supposed prophecies that Mystery Babylon is in the desert?

Well, this is basically an erroneous interpretation of scriptures. The most commonly misinterpreted one for this is in Isaiah 21:

1 The burden against the Wilderness of the Sea.

As whirlwinds in the South pass through,
So it comes from the desert, from a terrible land.
2 A distressing vision is declared to me;
The treacherous dealer deals treacherously,
And the plunderer plunders.
Go up, O Elam!
Besiege, O Media!
All its sighing I have made to cease.

3 Therefore my loins are filled with pain;
Pangs have taken hold of me, like the pangs of a woman in labor.
I was distressed when I heard it;
I was dismayed when I saw it.
4 My heart wavered, fearfulness frightened me;
The night for which I longed He turned into fear for me.
5 Prepare the table,
Set a watchman in the tower,
Eat and drink.
Arise, you princes,
Anoint the shield!

6 For thus has the Lord said to me:
“Go, set a watchman,
Let him declare what he sees.”
7 And he saw a chariot with a pair of horsemen,
A chariot of donkeys, and a chariot of camels,
And he listened earnestly with great care.
8 Then he cried, “A lion, my Lord!
I stand continually on the watchtower in the daytime;
I have sat at my post every night.
9 And look, here comes a chariot of men with a pair of horsemen!”
Then he answered and said,
“Babylon is fallen, is fallen!
And all the carved images of her gods
He has broken to the ground.”

10 Oh, my threshing and the grain of my floor!
That which I have heard from the Lord of hosts,
The God of Israel,
I have declared to you. (Isaiah 21:1-10)

What the misinterpreters tend to do here is to try to try this in with passages that follow, which are warnings to other locations.

If you actually look at Isaiah 21, you will notice that it is a prophesy to the Wilderness of the Sea.

The Bible describes the Beast as being the Beast of the Sea:

1 Then I stood on the sand of the sea. And I saw a beast rising up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his horns ten crowns, and on his heads a blasphemous name. 2 Now the beast which I saw was like a leopard, his feet were like the feet of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. The dragon gave him his power, his throne, and great authority. 3 And I saw one of his heads as if it had been mortally wounded, and his deadly wound was healed. And all the world marveled and followed the beast. 4 So they worshiped the dragon who gave authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?” (Revelation 13:1-4)

What sea? The Great Sea:

2 Daniel spoke, saying, “I saw in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the Great Sea. 3 And four great beasts came up from the sea, each different from the other. 4 The first was like a lion, and had eagle’s wings. I watched till its wings were plucked off; and it was lifted up from the earth and made to stand on two feet like a man, and a man’s heart was given to it.   5 “And suddenly another beast, a second, like a bear. It was raised up on one side, and had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. And they said thus to it: ‘Arise, devour much flesh!’   6 “After this I looked, and there was another, like a leopard, which had on its back four wings of a bird. The beast also had four heads, and dominion was given to it.  7 “After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, exceedingly strong. It had huge iron teeth; it was devouring, breaking in pieces, and trampling the residue with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns.  (Daniel 7:2-8)

The “Great Sea” that bordered the ancient lands of Israel (Numbers 34:6-7; Joshua 1:4; 9:1; 23:4; Ezekiel 47:13-16) is the Mediterranean Sea–and that is the sea that Daniel was referring to.  Despite some false claims by some, the Beast power is not a nation like Russia, which does not border the Mediterranean Sea, but Europe which does (Russia, however, will be a factor in eliminating the European beast power, see also The Eurasian Union, the Kings of the East, and Bible Prophecy).  A comparison of the beasts in Revelation 13 and Daniel 7 shows that they share many of the same characteristics (for some details, you may wish to watch the YouTube video Can You Prove that the Beast to Come is European?).

Europe is the power that will control the “Great Sea.” And while the southern border of the Mediterranean Sea is currently under Arab control, the Bible shows that the King of the North will take over the Arab powers (Daniel 11:40-43; Ezekiel 30:1-9). The Bible shows that the Kings of the Medes (essentially associated with certain nations once part of the old Soviet Union) will destroy end time Babylon (Jeremiah 51:11).

The city of Mecca is in a small valley:

Five hills used to form a rim around central Mecca … In early 2002, a few hundred feet from the Abdul Aziz gate, King Fahd demolished an ochre-colored Ottoman fortress that had been built in 1781 on Mt. Bulbul, one of the five hills that overlooked the Kaaba, to guard Mecca from tribal raids. …

T. R. Hamzah & Yeang, the Kuala Lumpur-based architectural firm … had calculated that the average height of the five hills that once circled the Grand Mosque area was almost fifteen hundred feet; the architects fixed that height as the limit for their high-rises.(Peer B. Modern Mecca. The New Yorker, April 16, 2012)

Joel Richardson has apparently overlooked the idea of the city of Mystery Babylon being on seven hills/mountains as he has falsely claimed that the seven mountains are only symbolic.

This is part of his “gaping hole.”

He later wrote more things about an Islamic Antichrist that were wrong (watch Mystery Babylon USA, Mecca, or Rome?).

Harbinger Daily posted the following about an Islamic Antichrist:

Even With Islam’s Alarming Rise, Claims Of A Muslim Antichrist Are Not Grounded In Biblical Truth

November 26, 2025

Many prophecy teachers think the Antichrist will be a Muslim. They point to Islam’s global rise and aggression toward Israel. But this popular theory misses critical biblical truths.

We see Muslim countries turning against Israel like never before. …

ook at the Muslim Brotherhood’s logo with two crossed swords and the Arabic word “wa’eedoo,” meaning “prepare.” This isn’t just a symbol. It’s a mission statement. You see, this word comes directly from Quran 8:60: “Prepare whatever you are able of power to terrify the enemy of Allah.”

They’re not hiding their intentions, friends. They’re telling us exactly what they plan to do.

Don’t think this is just some fringe group. The Muslim Brotherhood is the ideological foundation behind Hamas in Gaza, the governing policies of Qatar, and Turkey’s increasing radicalization under Erdogan. Their reach extends much further than most Westerners understand.  …

Many assume the Antichrist will be Muslim because Islam has a strong political component, unlike other religions. It divides the world into:

• “Dar al-Islam” — lands under Islamic control
• “Dar al-Harb” — territories to be conquered

This certainly does resemble the Antichrist’s global ambitions. …

Despite these similarities with the Antichrist’s agenda, let’s examine what scripture actually says. …

Here are three clear biblical reasons why the Antichrist cannot be Muslim:

First, a Muslim leader cannot be accepted globally. Islamic leadership requires converting or subjugating non-Muslims. By definition, they must make you Muslim or kill you. Yet, Revelation 13:7-8 shows the Antichrist receiving worship from all who dwell on the earth—every tribe, tongue, and nation. This simply couldn’t happen with an openly Muslim leader.

Second, no Muslim could be accepted as the Messiah by Jews. Daniel 9:27 shows the Antichrist making a covenant with Israel and allowing temple worship on the Temple Mount—something no Muslim would ever permit. The very notion of rebuilding a Jewish temple where the Dome of the Rock stands would be blasphemous to any Muslim. Yet the Bible clearly teaches there will be a third temple.

Third, Islam will be discredited after God destroys the Ezekiel 38 coalition. https://harbingersdaily.com/despite-the-alarming-rise-of-islam-claims-of-a-muslim-antichrist-are-not-grounded-in-biblical-truth/

While Harbinger Daily is correct that the final Antichrist will NOT be Islamic, the fact is that Ezekiel 38 is irrelevant (see
Ezekiel 38: For Russia & Iran in Our Day?).

For more details about why Joel Richardson is wrong about THE Antichrist, etc., check out the article Can the Final Antichrist be Islamic? (there is also a related sermon online titled: Is the Final Antichrist Islamic or European?)

So why bother to post about any of this?

Because there are many false and heretical leaders that lead people astray on biblical prophecy (see also Why Be Concerned About False and Heretical Leaders?). And it is not just Protestant-type rapturists or those who misunderstand about Islam and Bible prophecy.

The Sardis and Laodicean Church of God groups do not understand prophecy, the work, enough of the truth, etc., and that is part of why they will have to go through the Great Tribulation. CG7, a group believed to represent Sardis, takes a preterist view that basically most end time prophecies were fulfilled long ago and are for the past. The Laodiceans have so many prophetic misunderstandings, that unless they repent and change (Revelation 3), they will not possibly know when the Great Tribulation will start until it is too late (a listing of 30 prophetic errors that are held by Laodicean groups are included in the article The Laodicean Church Era).

Those who wish to know more about the truth about end time prophecies may wish to study the following:

Ezekiel 38: For Russia & Iran in Our Day? Is Ezekiel 38 about to be fulfilled? Are we close to the battle with Gog and Magog? Four related videos are available: Ezekiel 38 Gog and Magog War: Is it Soon?, Ezekiel 38: For Russia, Ukraine, & Iran Now?, Russia, Iran, Syria, & the Bible (Code), and Gog, Magog, Vladimir Putin, and Ezekiel 38?
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? Another video is Mystery Babylon USA, Mecca, or Rome?
Islamic and Biblical Prophecies for the 21st Century This is a free online book which helps show where biblical and Islamic prophecies converge and diverge. Here are links to related sermons: Seeing Christianity Through Islamic Eyes, Imam Mahdi, women, and prophecy, and Terrorism, Iran, and Fatima, Dajjal, Antichrist, Gold, & Mark of the Beast?, and Jesus and God’s Plan for Muslims. Here is a link to a sermon in the Spanish language: El Imám Mahdi las mujeres y la profecía bíblica. Here is a link to the book in Spanish: Profecías islámicas y bíblicas para el Siglo 21°.