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1 John 2:18 (AV)18 Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time. Like I said previously - the Greek word "Antichristos" can be both singular and plural - it is up to the translator to choose which.... 1 John 2:18 (NASB) 18 Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have appeared; from this we know that it is the last hour. The word Antichrists here should be plural in order to match the second half of the passage. It should read... Children, it is the last hour, and just as you heard that antichrists (plural) are coming, even now many (plural) antichrists have appeared - from this we know that is the last hour. He is saying to them that they are expecting the appearance of the Antichristos but they have already been here unawares. These were basically false Gnostic teachers who originated in the Church and were rejected by the Disciples and Apostles and so they went elsewhere. No publisher will ever use the plural for Antichrist because it would too offensive to the popular belief system in vogue today. Too many changes like this and he would have different evangelical groups boycotting his publication. This of course would be financial suicide. So I guess we will have to live with the bad translation. 4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.2 Thessalonians 2:9 (AV)9 Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, Here Paul is talking about the coming Judgment of God on the corrupt Jerusalem. First he says that the war between the Jews and the Romans would begin (Falling away - another bad translation - A number of other translations use the correct word "Rebellion" which fits the context much better.) When the war began Cestius Gallus and the 12th legion as well as other auxiliaries totaling about 30-45,000 men attacked Jerusalem and drove the rebels into the temple - which was in itself a fortress.. The zealot leader Eleazar ben Simon took over the temple and held it for about 1200 days. He was the Man of Sin that Paul spoke about. Paul wrote to the Thessalonians in 52AD. The conflict with Cestius occurred in Cheshvan of 66AD - just 14 years later. It took 14 years for Paul's prophesy to come to pass. This has absolutely nothing to do with any "Antichrist." John uses the term Antichristos in his epistles which were written probably in the 80's - long after the fall of Jerusalem. So you also have a problem with an anachronism. * pseudochristos (which as you pointed out can be interpreted to be one) Revelation 13:1–5 (AV)1 And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. 2 And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority. 3 And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast. 4 And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him? 5 And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months. Revelation 13 is all about the two persecutions of Rome on the Christians. The first is a reference to Nero Vs 1 through 9 who had so brutally murdered many Christians. It was he that had the deadly would – suicide by the blade. But the people did not believe that he was dead but had escaped into Parthia where he would one day return and retake his Kingdom. His persecution of the Christians 64-68 lasted about 3 ½ years. The rest of the chapter centers around the soon coming persecution of the Christians under Domitian. Daniel 9:27 - (NIV) 27 He [God the Father] will confirm a covenant [Abrahamic] with many [Israel] for one seven [years]. In the middle of the seven (3 1/2 years) He [God] will put an end to [animal] sacrifice and offering [by the sacrifice of Jesus - once and for all]. And on a wing of the temple [Chamber of Hewn stones - hall where the Sanhedrin met] He [God] will set up an Abomination [the unjust trial and condemnation of Jesus] that causes desolation, [Destruction of the Temple, Jerusalem, and Israel] until the end that is decreed [death by crucifixion - the wrath of God] is poured out on him [Jesus - his suffering and death for the sins of the world]. Comments: The “one seven” was the 70th week of Daniel. All of the other 69 weeks were a necessary historical prelude to set up the 70th week where God accomplished all that he intended to do. The main thing that I have done above is to simply define who “He” and “Him” are. “He” is not “The Antichrist” as so many believe today; "He" is God the Father and "Him" is Jesus the Son. And it is not a new covenant made by the Antichrist that is being made here, but rather a confirmation of an old covenant that God made long ago with the Fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It is indeed "The New Covenant," which came to pass on the very day of the crucifixion. Galatians 3:17 (KJV) And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect. Romans 11:27 (KJV) For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins. What greater abomination could there be in all history than for the Sanhedrin - sitting in their "wing" [chamber] of the Temple - to condemn the Lord of the universe to death just for the sake of ENVY. The chamber of hewn stone was built half outside of the Temple and half inside, which qualifies it to be called a “Wing.“ This was the ultimate abomination of the Jewish nation and it caused the complete desolation of the Temple of God, the city, and the nation itself - all that remained of Jerusalem in 73AD was the Fortress Antonia (according to eyewitnesses), which became the garrison of the 10th Roman legion for over 200 years. The Fortress Antonia is not the Temple Mount, which is a common error of our day. The real Temple mount was a tower with a 450 foot wall on its SE corner. It was totally destroyed just as Jesus said it would be. Remember that it was God himself that choreographed , engineered, and directed the crucifixion every single inch of the way - he planned everything to the smallest detail. He was the one who set up the unjust trial of Jesus in order to bring his great promises and plan to pass. Jesus’ trial was the last one held in the Chamber of Hewn stone. The earthquake on the day that Jesus was crucified wrecked it so badly that they had to move to other quarters. 12 Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days.

What they are calling "The Temple Mount" today is in reality the Ancient Fortress Antonia. The most hated place in Jerusalem in Jesus' day.The real temple mount was located south of the Fortress Antonia with a 600 foot courtyard in between. According to Josephus the two structures were connected by a double wide two story roadway (four lanes). The real temple Mount was a tower some 450 feet high on the South East corner which was called "the pinnacle." The Temple and tower it sat upon were so totally destroyed that there was no trace of where it was located after 70AD. This brought to pass the words of Jesus who said that there would not remain one stone upon another. There was nothing left after the Romans in pursuit of the hundreds of tons of gold that had melted during the fire and flowed between the cracks of the stones all the way to the bottom of the tower upon which it sat. If the Jews hadn't advanced and propagandized the Fortress Antonia as the "Temple Mount" for political reasons, they could start building the new Temple tomorrow as there is little in the way to prevent it when you measure 600-1200 feet to the south of the Antonia as it is today. This is just the forth time in history where God has frustrated the Jews efforts to rebuild the Temple. GOD IS NOT GOING TO LEAD THE JEWS BACK TO THE OBSOLETE OLD COVENANT but rather he is leading them to the foot of the cross.

First of all show us from scripture where John says that their will be a single entity called the "Antichristos." There is none. Antichristos is a word that is both singular and plural like deer and sheep in English. It's up to the translator how it is used. You cannot do it because it is simply not there. There is no 21st+ century boogeyman known as "Antichrist." Start at the beginning will you - and don't just parrot what others say. Second, the temple of Ezekiel is a symbolic picture of the New Covenant Church couched in symbols that could be understood by the people to whom it was directly written to - the first century Christians. It already has been built by the suffering of Jesus.

If the people were simple and illiterate then why did John write it? Just sayin' -Rev I doubt very much if the illiterate Gentile members of the Church understood the symbolically coded message of John. But the leadership did. You really had to have an understanding of the Old Testament, Jewish history, and temple practices to understand his book. But if you only had one person of this caliber in your assembly he could explain it to the others. John was in exile and the Christians were rejected and hated. They were considered disloyal to the empire and so John wrote his book which was negative toward Rome using symbols. Any person who knew what the symbols meant could decode the book. It was very important that the Romans not discover the real message of John because it would have been seen as subversive and would bring on the Christians even more grief. One of the main messages of Revelation was that the second persecution was about to take place under Domitian. The first of course was under Nero. John alludes to the persecution and time of Nero many times in the Revelation..

Revelation Chapter 17 (NASB) 8 "The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is about to come up out of the abyss and go to destruction. And those who dwell on the earth, whose name has not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, will wonder when they see the beast, that he was and is not and will come. 9 "Here is the mind which has wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits, 10 and they are seven kings; five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; and when he comes, he must remain a little while. 11 "The beast which was and is not, is himself also an eighth and is one of the seven, and he goes to destruction. This is not as complicated as it seems in the light of history. It all begins with the King who now is. this would be number 6. This is our anchor point in the sequence of the eight Kings. This historically was Domitian. So now we can make our list of Kings. Note that there is no requirement to start with Augustus - the first "King." (Emperor) It just says “they are seven Kings.” King number one and two are not important and are only place markers in the list. Nero is important because he is one of the seven. 1. Caligula Fallen (dead) 2. Claudius Fallen 3. Nero Fallen 4. Vespasian Fallen 5.Titus Fallen 6. Domitian - the ONE IS "King" 7. Nero The one who is a member of the seven (#3). The one who was and is not and will come out of the abyss. When he comes he will remain a little while. This was the persecution under Domitian which lasted about three and a half years. 93 to 96AD. 8. Nero + Domitian The beast that was and is not is also an eighth . John here is playing on the popular myth of the day that Nero was not really dead but had fled to Parthia and would one day re-cross the Euphrates river and retake the Roman empire.(Redivivus Myth) This myth persisted for over 20 years after his death in 68AD. However there were die-hards who believed that he would be resurrected from the dead long after the 20 years to accomplish this. So what is Johns simple message in this riddle written to THE FIRST CENTURY CHRISTIANS? It was simple - he was telling them that there was a second persecution (The first was under Nero) coming on the church. He is saying that the evil cruel spirit that controlled Nero was going to come upon Domitian which would cause the second persecution of the Church.. Did this happen historically? Indeed it did. Here is what history tells us. Domitian was a mild ruler when he took office in 81AD after his brother Titus had died - some say with Domitian's help. In 89AD Saturninus made an attempt to take over Domitian's throne. This failed mainly because the two Legions of troops that Saturninus had enlisted in his cause were unable to assist him in his effort because the river Tiber had thawed unexpectedly that spring so the two legions could not cross to come to his aid. This event caused a radical change in Domitian's character in 89AD for the worst and it was after this that this evil spirit took him over and it wasn't very long before he started killing Christians - in 93AD - according to Will Durant who says that this point in time Domitian's whole personality changed for the worst. It was not just the Christians that he persecuted but there was a general bloodbath of any that he even suspected of being disloyal. Because of his new paranoia about disloyalty - he wrote laws requiring all subjects of the Empire to stand before a statue of himself and annually declare that "Caesar is Lord is God." The Christians would not do this "act of loyalty" and so they were martyred. This was a big problem in the Church. But this combined spirit of Nero operating in Domitian could only stay for a little while - 3 1/2 years before Domitian was assassinated. This was the eighth King – Domitian possessed by the evil spirit like that of Nero Those subjects of the Empire who did sacrifice before a statue of the “King” (read Emperor) were given a legal signed (by the city magistrates) document called a Sybillis that verified that the holder had completed his required oath of allegiance to the emperor and now was a subject of the empire in good standing – for a year. The Sybillis allowed that subject to buy and sell. The Christians did not have a Sybillis because they would not sacrifice before the statue so they could not buy or sell. A major problem for the persecuted Church at the end of the first century. The Christian Encyclopedia lists the number of Martyrs under Nero as 5,000. Under Domitian – 2,000. The greatest number of martyrs was under Diocletian who killed an estimated 450,000 Christians. But Domitian was the one who began this practice of forcing the Christians to perform this Roman Cultic rite generally called “The Imperial Cult.” How about Chapter 17 from where we left off? This is completely different story. 17:12 begins a new subject. From 17:12 to 18:20 is a historical review of the judgment of God on Rome – it is a review of the great fire of Rome in 64AD. John has a message embedded in his review of history and tells us of a number of things that we and even history does not know. Chapter 18:21 is a passage about the final Judgment of Rome which was fulfilled on 410AD with the invasion of Alaric the Visigoth. I can cover the fire of Rome if anyone is interested. Nerva succeeded Domitian and cancelled this annual oath of allegiance but it never completely went away. Here is the letter of Pliney to Trajan on the subject of Christians. The persecution under Domitian ended or subsided in 96AD when Domitian was assassinated. Pliny the Younger was governor of Pontus/Bithynia from 111-113 AD. We have a whole set of exchanges of his letters with the emperor Trajan on a variety of administrative political matters. These two letters are the most famous, in which Pliney encounters Christianity for the first time. Pliny, Letters 10.96-97Pliny to the Emperor TrajanIt is my practice, my lord, to refer to you all matters concerning which I am in doubt. For who can better give guidance to my hesitation or inform my ignorance? I have never participated in trials of Christians. I therefore do not know what offenses it is the practice to punish or investigate, and to what extent. And I have been not a little hesitant as to whether there should be any distinction on account of age or no difference between the very young and the more mature; whether pardon is to be granted for repentance, or, if a man has once been a Christian, it does him no good to have ceased to be one; whether the name itself, even without offenses, or only the offenses associated with the name are to be punished. Meanwhile, in the case of those who were denounced to me as Christians, I have observed the following procedure: I interrogated these as to whether they were Christians; those who confessed I interrogated a second and a third time, threatening them with punishment; those who persisted I ordered executed. For I had no doubt that, whatever the nature of their creed, stubbornness and inflexible obstinacy surely deserve to be punished. There were others possessed of the same folly; but because they were Roman citizens, I signed an order for them to be transferred to Rome. Soon accusations spread, as usually happens, because of the proceedings going on, and several incidents occurred. An anonymous document was published containing the names of many persons. Those who denied that they were or had been Christians, when they invoked the gods in words dictated by me, offered prayer with incense and wine to your image, which I had ordered to be brought for this purpose together with statues of the gods, and moreover cursed Christ--none of which those who are really Christians, it is said, can be forced to do--these I thought should be discharged. Others named by the informer declared that they were Christians, but then denied it, asserting that they had been but had ceased to be, some three years before, others many years, some as much as twenty-five years. They all worshipped your image and the statues of the gods, and cursed Christ. They asserted, however, that the sum and substance of their fault or error had been that they were accustomed to meet on a fixed day before dawn and sing responsively a hymn to Christ as to a god, and to bind themselves by oath, not to some crime, but not to commit fraud, theft, or adultery, not falsify their trust, nor to refuse to return a trust when called upon to do so. When this was over, it was their custom to depart and to assemble again to partake of food--but ordinary and innocent food. Even this, they affirmed, they had ceased to do after my edict by which, in accordance with your instructions, I had forbidden political associations. Accordingly, I judged it all the more necessary to find out what the truth was by torturing two female slaves who were called deaconesses. But I discovered nothing else but depraved, excessive superstition. I therefore postponed the investigation and hastened to consult you. For the matter seemed to me to warrant consulting you, especially because of the number involved. For many persons of every age, every rank, and also of both sexes are and will be endangered. For the contagion of this superstition has spread not only to the cities but also to the villages and farms. But it seems possible to check and cure it. It is certainly quite clear that the temples, which had been almost deserted, have begun to be frequented, that the established religious rites, long neglected, are being resumed, and that from everywhere sacrificial animals are coming, for which until now very few purchasers could be found. Hence it is easy to imagine what a multitude of people can be reformed if an opportunity for repentance is afforded. Trajan to PlinyYou observed proper procedure, my dear Pliny, in sifting the cases of those who had been denounced to you as Christians. For it is not possible to lay down any general rule to serve as a kind of fixed standard. They are not to be sought out; if they are denounced and proved guilty, they are to be punished, with this reservation, that whoever denies that he is a Christian and really proves it--that is, by worshiping our gods--even though he was under suspicion in the past, shall obtain pardon through repentance. But anonymously posted accusations ought to have no place in any prosecution. For this is both a dangerous kind of precedent and out of keeping with the spirit of our age.

I'm having problems with this site. It will not post the quotes and I can't copy and paste. So I will have to do this on another computer. But meanwhile I have to go and finish canning two bushels of string beans. Later.

The book of Revelation was written to the seven Churches of Asia and NOT TO US. So in order to understand this book we have to look at it through their eyes. The only way you can do this is by knowing history. These mostly Gentile believers were mostly illiterate, uneducated simple working people many of them were slaves. So the real message of John had to be very simple and relevant to their time. The only consideration is that the SECOND COMING has been delayed and has slid into our time - Nothing else has. This book ends historically with the final judgment of Rome the literal city and its foul, corrupt, and evil ruler ship. The city split into three parts in 395AD when part of the government moved to Milan (and then Ravenna) and the third part moved to Constantinople. The final judgment came in 410Ad when Alaric the Visigoth sacked the city. It never recovered after that. That is the end (The final 7th bowl of wrath) of the historical book of Revelation. All that remains is the last couple chapters concerning the Second coming and the events surrounding it..

Did you ever consider studying the Bible for yourself instead of cutting and pasting these errant doctrines of others. That is why the Church is so doctrinally screwed up today because of the teachings of just a few that is accepted by the masses.

Who does John say the book was written to?

No I am not a Preterist in fact I don't belong to any popular school of thought. I'm a person that sees the 6,000 year old Bible a book that is full of Prophesy. Do you think that any of these Prophesies have come to pass up to our day? How do you know? The only way to know is to read history. History is the only way to know what has been fulfilled and what has not been fulfilled. Except for the last couple chapters of Revelation it has ALL been fulfilled. If you read Josephus's account of WARS of the JEWS you call see within all of the prophesies of Jesus, Paul, and Daniel have come to pass - all of them. I would be glad to share if their is anyone interested.

Isn't it too bad that God did not write any prophesy to the people of the New Testament in Jesus' day. It was all written to us in the 21st century and beyond. I guess these people were unloved and uncared for by God for some reason. Maybe it was because they were mostly illiterate, uneducated, poor, and generally worthless. That would explain why God loves us so much and why he wrote most of all prophesy to us today. You foolish people - Josephus tells us who the restrainer was - it is recorded in history. Near Passover of 66AD (Nissan 8th) the Shekinah Glory of God was seen departing the Temple. It moved to the top of the mount of Olives where it was reported to have stayed unto the end of the great tribulation of Jerusalem. Shortly after this event - the war broke out against the Romans which led to the Judgment of Israel. The war could not begin until this restrainer was visibly removed - and this was God's sign that it had happened.The very same identical thing happened just before the destruction of the Temple of Solomon according to Ezekiel. Get rid of these 21st century useless speculations - Paul, Jesus, and Daniel all wrote to the day of the first century Christians. It's all past.

No speculation needed. The 24 elders were well known in Jesus' day. If you recall the Temple and all of its elements were just a miniature of what is in heaven. This includes the 24 elders. In the temple there were priests that conducted the daily sacrifices. There were 24 groups of 24 or a minimum total of 576 plus any extras. Each group of 24 served 8 days twice a year. The oncoming course started on Saturday morning and conducted the evening sacrifice. The morning sacrifice was conducted by the outgoing group. Each one of these 24 groups has a leader or elder. Of ten they were all of one clan. And so the 24 elders were the leaders of the Priesthood. Likewise in heaven there is a protocol. God the Father, the Four Living beings, and then the 24 elders. Not known is who they are - men - angels or what. The body of believers on earth has been likened to Priests and Kings. Under the Old Covenant there were only two requirements for someone (30 or over) to become a priest. He had to be able to prove that he was a descendant of Aaron and he had to show that he had no physical deformities. This parallels the New Covenant because in order to be a Priest you have to have a relationship with our High Priest Jesus and have to have no defects of character (sin). So the 24 elders represent the Priesthood of the believer both in the Old Testament and in the New Testament.

Oh..... there is a one world government? Where is it? . Are you math challenged? I said within the last 60 years.. 2015 - 1948 = 67 years. I stated this in order to avoid the arguments about the false prophetic relevance of todays Israel. Sorry no cigar.

Trust me..... I've been in the Church for about 60 years now and I have yet to see JUST ONE of the endless speculations of the Futurists ever come to pass. NOT ONE. This blood moon thing is just their latest exciting and sensational fad that means nothing. A year from now it will be all forgotten as if it never happened. And that will not be the only thing that will be forgotten - they won't remember that they were wrong.....AGAIN. They absolutely refuse to accept any responsibility and accountability for their inaccurate and failed speculations. I wish people would hold them responsible for their false doctrines and outrageous speculations.

As I recall the King James is the only translation that says 2,300 days. All of the rest say 2,300 evenings and mornings. The prophet is counting the Daily sacrifices which were two Tamid lambs per day. So in order to get the actual number of days one has to divide by two. This of course is 2,300/2 = 1,150 days. This was the period of time that the Temple was occupied by Antiochus from about 168 to 165 BC. It was fulfilled in those days. Dragging this into the 21st century is insane.