Beheading does seem to be the favored form of martyrdom in Revelations.
That is my conclusion as well. When younger I thought: "Beheadings? Must be from ancient times. Who would behead in this day and age?" Little did I know that the Muslims advocated such executions. Heck, when I was a kid Islam/Mohammed/sharia weren't even mentioned.
I believe the Anti-Christ will come from the revived Seleucid (Greek) Empire (Wiki it), and is modeled after Antiochus Epihanes (Wiki him). The seat of the Seleucid Empire was in Antioch, on the Mediterranean coast of Syria (in what is now Turkey.)
Daniel 9 says the AC will “reject the gods of his fathers”, which makes perfect sense if you’re going to tell the world that you’re God.
But if you do a search on the OIC (Organization of the Islamic Conference) and go to its website, you’ll see a Flash screen showing the current member nations of the OIC: 57. There are currently 195 nations on earth, 192 in the U.N. The OIC comprises 1/3 of the nations on earth, and - if you look at that map - they completely surround Israel, almost to the “ends of the earth.”
BTW, the headquarters for the OIC is currently located in Tehran, part of the former Seleucid Empire.
In Revelation, the first 4 or 5 Trumpet judgments fall on 1/3 of the earth and its inhabitants.
Coincidence?
Interesting discussion here:
http://forums.christianity.com/fb.aspx?m=4692659
and here (links to a number of good posts on Islam):
http://forums.christianity.com/fb.aspx?m=4693164
One more here:
http://forums.christianity.com/fb.aspx?m=4694823
Enjoy!