Unleashing the Beast

C LUES FROM THE B IBLICAL P ROPHETS / 121

that the Antichrist will become a hero in the Islamic world when he invades Jerusalem and annexes the entire area of East Jerusalem for his new capital. To see the bodies of his enemies lie in the street will bring such joy that people will send presents to one another (see Revelation 11:10). A proud Islamic militant would allow the bodies of these men to rot in the street while his followers rejoice over a "liberated Jerusalem." P EOPLE W ILL B E B EHEADED D URING THE T RIBULATION . As previously mentioned, the Scriptures indicate that the method used to kill anyone who will not worship or follow the future beast will be execution by beheading: And I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the Word of God, and which had not worshiped the beast, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years (Revelation 20:4). The Greek word used here for "beheaded" comes from a root word pelekus , meaning "an ax." It alludes to a person whose head is removed by another using an ax. This small passage may give us another clue to the Islamic thread and the Antichrist. It is common in strict Islamic nations for a person who has committed a high crime to be beheaded. Certain crimes, such as stealing, are punishable by cutting off the right hand. This punishment was used recently by the