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| Chapter 4 |
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| Chapter 4 |
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| Satan's Man |
| From its
beginning the Christian Church has anticipated the eventual arrival of
Antichrist (1 Jn.2:18). The earlier prophecies of Daniel had shown believers
that the Antichrist would be the final ruler of the final form of their
Roman Empire; that is, the fourth empire from Babylon to rule the Holy
Land (Dan.7:23-28). The stature of this person described in the Bible is
awesome:
“he will be different from the previous (rulers), he will speak out against the Most High, … he will intend to make alterations in times and in law” (Dan.7:24). (see The Antichrist). |
| He is the
“man of lawlessness, the son of destruction,
who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship,…
the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with
all power and signs and lying wonders, with all the deception of wickedness
for those who perish” (2 Thes.2:3,4,9,10).
He is “Belial”, Satan’s counterpart of Messiah (2 Cor.6:15). He is the “Beast that comes up out of the Abyss” (Rev.11:7). The whole world will worship him (Rev.13:4). He will have “authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation” (Rev.13:7). |
| This is the
one who receives from Satan the authority which the true Christ refused
to accept (Mat.4:8,9; Rev.13:7,8). This Antichrist, with his ten subordinate
rulers, is also described as destroying Rome (Rev.17:16, a real problem
for Protestants who equate the Pope with Antichrist).
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| Antiochus IV Epiphanes |
| Daniel’s prophecy in chapter 8 uses Antiochus IV Epiphanes ('god-manifest'), symbolised as the “small horn”, as an type of the ultimate Antichrist (8:23-27). Under the Hellenistic Syrian (Seleucid) oppression of Antiochus IV Epiphanes, Israel’s rebuilt Temple was desecrated as Daniel prophesied (Dan.11:31). |
| In December 167 BC a sow was sacrificed
on the great altar of this Temple as the climax of sacrilege after an image
of Zeus had been erected in the holy place. This was, as Jesus later interpreted
(Mat.24:15), in foretaste of the final desecration of that same place.
In December 164 BC, after the rebellion of the Hasmoneans, the Temple
was rededicated, an event that is still celebrated annually in Judaism
today in the Festival of Lights or Chanukah.
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| Nero Caesar |
| It is fairly well known that the Bible also identifies Antichrist by the cryptic number 666 (Rev.13:18). Graffiti on the walls of ancient Pompei illustrate this use of a number as code for a person’s name. (One scribble reads, “I love her whose number is 545”; reported in Bouquet 1953:117). |
| Why would John use a code? For the same reason that he, in the same writing, refers to the city of Rome as a “mystery” harlot, “Babylon the Great”, seated on seven hills (Rev.17:9), and not the least that he was writing from the vulnerability of a Roman prison. (Interestingly, a coin of Emperor Vespasion showed Rome as a woman seated on seven hills; Bouquet 1953:132). |
| The earliest Christian understanding
of this code-number, which John said needed
sophia
or 'understanding'
to calculate, was emperor Nero Caesar (Beckwith 1967:401,402). Just as
Daniel used the “little horn” prophecy
(8:23-27) of Antiochus IV as a foretaste of Antichrist (8:23-26), so John
uses Christians’ common knowledge of Nero Caesar at that time as a type
of the coming “Beast”. The wide-spread rumour
at the time that the dead Nero would return with the Parthians to destroy
Rome made this illustration especially vivid.
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| From Angel to Demon |
| The early part of Nero’s reign was full of promise. His first speech to the Roman Senate (54 AD) heralded the dawn of a new Golden Age. His public image was one of generosity and kindness. He forbade contests involving bloodshed, ended capital punishment, reduced taxes, improved the legal position of slaves, and gave money to help the Jews. He even travelled Greece, honouring its ancient cities while dressed as an ascetic, barefoot and with flowing hair. But, in the theatres mimes and pantomimes were used to ridicule Christianity. And soon, Nero became the monster that history remembers! |
| He erected a colossal gilded image of himself in the awesome 200 acre Golden House palace which he constructed in the area cleared by the terrible fire of Rome which he blamed on the Christians. As his reign crumbled he committed suicide, but for years afterwards the stories continued to circulate that Nero would return. |
| In Scripture the actual term 'Antichrist'
is only used in the writings of John. His use indicates that the first
Christians expected Antichrist to arise in the “last
hour” from nominal Christianity (1Jn.2:18). This accords well
with the early positive aspects of his career in the Nero-analogy above
as a world leader, Daniel’s report of the “covenant
with the many” (Dan.9:27) in Israel, as also the association
of a great Christian “apostasy” at
the time of his revelation of himself (2Thes.2:3).
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| Instigator Of The Ultimate Terror |
| Jesus spoke many words which were
not written down, but those that are written were selected and recorded
by the wisdom of the Holy Spirit for our sakes. Concerning the sacrilege
of Antichrist, Jesus said:
has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever shall” (Matt.24:21 NAS) |
| This event in the holy place would
initiate the time that He described as the world’s worst of all times -
past, present, or future! - but this is the prelude to His return!
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| Prelude to Christ’s Return |
| This sacrilegious event in Jerusalem, that Jesus gave as the sign of the sudden start of this time, is described in more detail by the apostle Paul. He writes about it in order to calm the Thessalonian Christians from any alarmism about Christ’s imminent return. This had apparently been caused among them by a lying letter under Paul’s name (2 Thes.2:1-5;3:17). He adamantly asserts that even statements through spiritual gifts, or apparent apostolic authority, that the time for Christ’s return had already come, are not to be believed (2:2). The coming of Jesus for His people would not come until the Antichrist first appears, in the Temple, showing himself as “god” (2:4). |
| This ultimate act of blasphemy must first occur before Christ comes, and it is this event that is the beginning of the time of “great tribulation.” By the apostle Paul’s statement then, as by Jesus also, in His call for His disciples to urgently flee from the Jerusalem district at that time, Christians will certainly witness this event and the period it inaugurates. This understanding was also the view of the Church in its history as the Didache illustrates (Did.16). |
| It took Christianity until the 19th century teachings of John Darby of the Brethren before the idea gained ground that good Christians would be spared this time by an earlier gathering to Christ (rapture), dividing the return of Christ into two parts. |
| The book of Revelation gives us
a wider perspective on this event. This time of ultimate horror on earth
is described as:
because the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, knowing that he has only a short time.” (Rev.12:12 ). |
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