HE STARTS WITH THE IDENTITY OF THE BEAST (ANTICHRIST) {8} "The beast that you saw ,was and is not, and will ascend out of the bottomless pit and go to perdition."

HEADQUARTERS FOR THE HARLOT

{9} "Here is the mind which has wisdom: The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits." THE SEVEN HEADS REFER TO THE BEAST. THE IDEA OF HER SITTING ON SEVEN MOUNTAINS APPEARS TO BE AN IDIOM REFERRING TO ROME (KNOWN AS THE "CITY OF SEVEN HILLS").

1- WHO IS THE BEAST?

Rev:17:8-12

{10} "There are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, and the other has not yet come. And when he comes, he must continue a short time. {11} And the beast that was, and is not, is himself also the eighth, and is of the seven, and is going to perdition."

. THIS APPEARS TO INDICATE THAT THE BEAST IS ONE OF THE FIRST 7 CAESARS OF ROME.

1. AUGUSTUS 31BC-AD14
2. TIBERIUS 14-37 (POISONED)
3. CALIGULA 37-41 (ASSASSINATED)
4. CLAUDIUS 41-54 (POISONED)
5. NERO 54-68 (SUICIDE)
6. (GALBA 68-69, OTHO 69, VITELLIUS 69), VESPASIAN 69-79
7. TITUS 79-81

2- THE BEAST IS A ROMAN.

(Dan 9:26) "And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself; And the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it shall be with a flood, And till the end of the war desolations are determined."

3- THE BEAST HAS A DEADLY HEAD WOUND THAT IS HEALED.

(Rev 13:3, 14) "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?14} And he (the false prophet) deceives those who dwell on the earth by those signs which he was granted to do in the sight of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who was wounded by the sword and lived."

4- THE NUMBER OF THE BEAST IS 666.

(Rev 13:18) "Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is 666."

5- THE BEAST COMES BACK

Rev:11:7

(SUPERNATURALLY MAINTAINED IN THE ABYSS, HE IS RESTORED TO THE EARTH) AS THE RULER OF THE REVIVED ROMAN EMPIRE.

6 - HE GOES TO PERDITION.

(Rev 19:20) "Then the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone."

I BELIEVE WE HAVE SUFFICIENT INFORMATION TO MAKE AN INTELLIGENT GUESS AS TO WHO THE ANTICHRIST IS (DISCLAIMER: THIS IS BASED ON PUTTING PUZZLE PIECES TOGETHER - WE CANNOT BE DOGMATIC WHEN IT COMES TO INTERPRETING PROPHETIC PASSAGES DUE TO THE NATURE OF SYMBOLISM): LET'S EXAMINE THE CREDENTIALS OF NERO CAESAR:

1. ONE OF THE FIRST SEVEN EMPERORS OF ROME.
2. HE IS A ROMAN.
3. HE SUPPOSEDLY COMMITTED SUICIDE BY A DAGGER THRUST UNDER HIS CHIN INTO HIS BRAIN (DEADLY HEAD WOUND).
4. HIS NAME IN HEBREW LETTERS, NERON KESAR, ADDS UP TO 666.
5. THE EARLY CHURCH IDENTIFIED HIM AS THE ANTICHRIST.

Nero Claudius Caesar Drusus Germanicus (37-68 C.E.) The last emperor of the Julio-Claudian line was born in 37 C.E. as Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus. His father died when he was very young, and his mother Agrippina, after a short-lived marriage to a man she is suspected of poisoning, married her uncle, Emperor Claudius. Agrippina convinced Claudius to accept her son as his heir, to the exclusion of Claudius's own son, Brittanicus. Agrippina poisoned Claudius so that Nero might become emperor. Nero took the throne in 54 C.E., and his first five years of rule were exemplary. He abolished capitol punishment, outlawed the shedding of blood in the arenas, reduced taxes, and even allowed slaves to take cruel masters to court. He took a great interest in the arts, sponsoring many poetry competitions. Nero's exemplary rule ended with the murder of his mother. After attempting on numerous occasions to poison and drown her, he finally managed to have her stabbed to death. Nero told the Senate that she was killed because of her plots against him, and they accepted it without question. A few years later, Nero had his wife Octavia killed so that he could marry his mistress, Poppaea. He later kicked Poppaea to death when she complained about him coming home late. Many people began criticizing the emperor, but he ignored most of it. After the death of his mother, Nero felt the need to express his hidden talents as an artist. He became a singer and a poet, and needed to be accepted as such so badly that he organized a band of people whose sole function was to clap after his performances. Publicly he was considered to be atrocious in both fields, but audiences turned out in great numbers for his stage appearances.

In 64 C.E., a fire swept through Rome, burning for a week and destroying a large portion of the city. Nero did try to rebuild the city, but in addition, he took fifty hectares of land for himself to build a new palace-the Domus Aurea Although he was not actually in Rome when the fire started, he is suspected of being behind it anyway. According to some sources, when he found that he did not have enough land to build his palace, he set fire to the city a second time. It is at this point that he is said to have "played his fiddle [lyre] while Rome burned." To avert suspicion, he blamed the fires on the Christians and proceeded to kill them in horrendous ways.

Nero performed the worst atrocities upon his victims; he did not just kill Christians, he wanted to make them suffer first. Nero enjoyed dipping the Christians in wax, and impaling them on poles around his palace, he would then light them on fire, and yell: "Now you truly are the light of the world." Nero also performed many other kinds of torture, often killing them in the Circus Maximus in front of large crowds of spectators where he did some of his most gruesome murders. Here he would wrap Christians up in animal skins and throw them to lions, or dogs who would then tear these men and women apart in front of thousands of entertained spectators. At other times he would crucify them, and after the crowd would get bored, he would set the Christians on fire.

Meanwhile, Nero's enemies grew in number. The Senate resented his confiscation of their property. The people were being taxed to death to fund the rebuilding of the city and the construction of the emperor's palace. The army felt neglected when Nero went on a tour of Greece to display his artistic talents instead of visiting the soldiers in the field. Several conspiracies against Nero were instigated. Eventually, his Praetorian guard turned on him and the Senate sentenced him to death. Nero fled Rome and eventually committed suicide. (University of Texas and Boise State webpages).

SO WHAT?

ACCORDING TO THE BOOK OF DANIEL, THE TIME OF CHRIST'S RETURN WILL BE DURING A REVIVAL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE.

(Dan 2:42-44) "And as the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly fragile. {43} As you saw iron mixed with ceramic clay, they will mingle with the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another, just as iron does not mix with clay. {44} And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever."

- IT IS DURING THIS KINGDOM THAT GOD WILL ESTABLISH HIS KINGDOM ON THE EARTH

THE LEADER OF THIS REVIVED ROMAN EMPIRE WILL BE THE PERSON WE CALL THE ANTICHRIST.

(2 Th 2:3-4) "Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day (THE RETURN OF CHRIST) will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, {4} who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God."

THE ANTICHRIST AND HIS KINGDOM WILL BE DESTROYED AT THE RETURN OF JESUS.

(2 Th 2:8) "And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming." ARE YOU READY?

B: What will he do?

In the book of Daniel

Daniel 11:26-12:13 refers in part to Antiochus IV Epiphines (175-164 B.C.) and in part to the antichrist in a dual fulfillment. Both kings do the same things in their reigns up to Verse 11:36. From this verse on, we are speaking only of the antichrist.

1. He seizes power through intrigue. Da11:21 ( Rises from the dead and does miracles)
2. His heart is set against the holy covenant Da 11:28,30
3. Abolishes the daily( sacrifice) Da 11:31 (may be referring to the Lord's supper or worship, since Jews no longer practice animal sacrifice and the word sacrifice is not in the original Hebrew text).
4. Sets up the abomination of desolation in the holy place Da 12:11 (Mt 24:15 signaling the beginning of the great tribulation v. 21)
5. Claims to be God. Da 11:36 7:8,24-25 2Thessalonians 2:4 Rev13:14-15
6. Empowered by a foreign God. Da 11:39 (The Dragon i.e. Satin Rev 13:2 12:9)
7. Reigns 3.5 years. =42 months Rev13:5=1260 days Rev12:6=time,times and a half of time Dan 7:25,12:7 Rev 12:14
8. Makes war against the saints and prevails against them, wears them out, kills them, breaks their power, and scatters them. Dan 7:21,25 12:7 Rev 13:7,15
9. Is a king of the revived Roman empire with 10 other kings. Then he kills three of them to obtain total control. Dan 7:7-8,19-24 Rev 13:1-3, 17:7-13
10. .Burns Rome again Rev:17:16-18

The Great Tribulation

1. Begins when the antichrist declares himself to be God and sets up an idol that must be worshiped. All who have not believed in The Gospel will believe him and take his mark. Mt.24:15-22, 2Thess.2:1-12, Rev.13:14-16
2. Lasts for 3.5 years (see previous references from Daniel)
3. The saints are killed and imprisoned
4. 21 Plagues from God released on the earth (7 seals,7 trumpets, 7 bowls) Rev.6:1-16:21
5. The 2 Prophets of God prophecy for the 3.5 years, then are killed, resurrected, and then raptured up to heaven. Rev.11: 1-12
6. To survive we must flee to the wilderness.If we wait until the abomination of desolation is set up, we may have to flee with nothing. But God will provide food for us in the wilderness like he did for Elijah for 3 years. 1Kings 17:4 Rev. 18: 4, 12: 6 Mt.24:16

The Rapture

1. Jesus appears, coming on the clouds, so that every eye can see him. (see Ezekial ch 1) , Rev. 1:7, 10: 1-3 Luke 17:24 Mt. 24:27, 30-31
2. The elect gathered Mt.24:31, Zech.9:14, 1Thess. 4: 16-18, Rev.11: 12, 15

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Last updated Dec1, 2003