Last Things
Commentary on Revelation 1:1
The key to unlock the meaning of Revelation
is found in its first verse.
Revelation 1:1 The Revelation of Jesus
Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must
shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his
servant John:
The word translated revelation means an
uncovering.[1] This
book was given to his servants (Christians) to show (or reveal,
not to hide) … things which must shortly come to pass.
The phrase
translated shortly literally means with quickness, swiftness, speed.[2] It
means these things will soon come to pass–not soon to us, but soon to
those to whom the book was addressed, the seven churches in Asia (Rev. 1:4 John
to the seven churches which are in Asia:
Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and
which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne;).
Thus, the heart of the book, chapters 4-19, is not a description of a
tribulation that is still in the future, but one that occurred in the first
century A.D. Since the tribulation is in the past, there can be no
pretribulation rapture in the future. See also (emphasis added):[3]
Rev. 1:3 Blessed is he that
readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things
which are written therein: for the
time is at hand.
Rev. 2:16 Repent; or else I
will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of
my mouth.
Rev. 3:11 Behold, I come
quickly: hold that fast which thou
hast, that no man take thy crown.
Rev. 11:14 The
second woe is past; and, behold, the third woe cometh quickly.
Rev. 22:6 And he said unto
me, These sayings are faithful and true:
and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to shew unto his
servants the things which must shortly be done. (7) Behold, I come
quickly: blessed is he that keepeth
the sayings of the prophecy of this book.
Rev. 22:10 And he saith unto
me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand.
Rev. 22:12 And, behold, I
come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his
work shall be.
Rev. 22:20 He which
testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so,
come, Lord Jesus.
A pillar upon which pretribulationism is based is the literal interpretation of prophesy. For
example, Tim LaHaye, coauthor of the Left Behind series, states:
Differences of opinion
probably arise because all Christians do not know the two keys to understanding
the prophetic Word of God. First, one must interpret the Bible literally unless
the context provides good reason to do otherwise. Second, we must understand
that Israel and the church are distinct![4]
In Things to
Come, Pentecost quotes Cooper's so-called
“Golden Rule of Biblical Interpretation”:
When the plain sense of Scripture makes common sense,
seek no other sense; therefore, take every word at its primary, ordinary,
literal meaning unless the facts of the immediate context, studied in the light
of related passages and axiomatic and fundamental truths, indicate clearly
otherwise.[5]
While this may
sound be appealing, it is not scriptural. Loraine Boettner states:
As an example of what he
means by literal interpretation Silver says:
“Every prophecy pointing to the first advent of Christ was literally
fulfilled to the letter in every detail” (p. 209). That statement has been made
in substance by various other Premillenialists. But it simply is not so. The
very first Messianic prophecy in Scripture is found in Genesis 3:15, where, in
pronouncing the curse upon the serpent God said, “He shall bruise thy head, and
thou shalt bruise his heel.” Now that prophecy certainly was not fulfilled
literally by a man crushing the head of a snake, or by a snake biting the heel
of a man. Rather it was fulfilled in a highly figurative sense when Christ
gained a complete victory and triumphed over the Devil and all his forces of
evil at the cross. The last prophesy in the Old Testament is found in Malachi
4:5, and reads as follows: “Behold, I
will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and terrible day of Jehovah
come.” That prophesy likewise was not fulfilled literally. Christ Himself said
that it was fulfilled in the person of John the Baptist (Matt. 11:14[6]), who
came in the spirit and power of Elijah.
Again, we have the prophesy
of Isaiah: “The voice of him that crieth
in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert
a highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and
hill shall be made low: and the crooked
shall be made straight, and the rough places plain: And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed,
and all flesh shall see it together: for
the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it” (Isaiah 40:3-5). This certainly was not
fulfilled by a highway building program in Palestine, but rather in the work of
John the Baptist who prepared the way for the public ministry of Jesus. John
himself said, “For this is he that was spoken of through Isaiah the prophet,
saying ...”, and then proceeded to quote these verses (Matt. 3:1-3; Luke
3:3-6).[7]
Also, note that
Jesus never corrected or criticized His disciples or the Jewish religious leaders
for interpreting a teaching symbolically rather than literally. However, He was
constantly correcting or chastising them for interpreting a passage literally
rather than symbolically. Thus, we cannot conclude that literal interpretation
is preferable to symbolic interpretation.
Further, note
that Rev. 1:1 tells us how the book should be interpreted: it says he sent and signified it,
that is, it was shown in signs or symbols. Therefore, this verse itself
essentially says we are to interpret the book of Revelation symbolically, not
literally.
The Olivet
Discourse
(from
the November 2004 Edition of CrossWalk)
And ye shall hear
of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye
be not troubled: for all these things
must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against
nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and
there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All
these are the beginning of sorrows. (Matthew 24:6-8)
From
Chapter 1, recall that the commentary on Revelation 1:1 showed that the
tribulation in Revelation 4-19 occurred in the first century A.D. However, it
is dangerous to base a doctrine on a single passage of scripture. What about
the great tribulation described in the Olivet Discourse, found in Matthew
24-25, Mark 13, and Luke 21?
First,
let’s look at what prompted the discourse.
And Jesus went
out, and departed from the temple: and
his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple. And
Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There
shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.
And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately,
saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy
coming, and of the end of the world? (Matthew 24:1-3)
The
discourse was prompted by Jesus’ prophesy that the temple would be destroyed. This
was fulfilled by the Romans in A.D. 70, about 40 years, or one generation[8],
after the prediction. This is a key point. All too often, we see the Olivet
Discourse interpreted as if its primary focus is the end of the world, and the
destruction of the temple is either relegated to secondary importance or
ignored altogether.
There
are several difficulties in interpreting the Olivet Discourse. First, there is
the question of which verses describe the destruction of Jerusalem and which
describe the end of the world. Second, Jesus said, “Immediately after the
tribulation of those days … they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds
of heaven with power and great glory.” (v. 29-30). This appears to be a
description of His Second Coming. But later, He said, “Verily I say unto you,
This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.” (v. 34).
How can we reconcile these verses with the fact that His Second Coming did not
occur immediately after the destruction of Jerusalem during that generation?
There
are several approaches to resolving these apparent inconsistencies. One is to
assume that the verses are simply out of order. This is the approach of Barclay[9]
and Hobbs[10].
However, this is unacceptable, as it denies the inerrancy of the Bible.
Another
approach is to assume that this passage will be fulfilled twice, initially in
the destruction of Jerusalem and again at the end of the world. However, this
doesn’t address how the Second Coming of Jesus could occur twice. Further,
Jesus said, “For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the
beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.” (v. 21). This
verse explicitly rules out the double fulfillment theory; there was only one
“great tribulation” and there will never be another.
A
third approach is to assume that the passage contains a transition, the first
portion addressing the destruction of Jerusalem and second portion addressing
the end of the world. However, there is no clear transition verse. Further,
this approach requires the word “generation” in v. 34 to be interpreted as
“race” (i.e., the Jews). This is the interpretation of Wesley, who believed the
transition occurred in v. 29.[11]
However, the Greek word translated “generation” means “the sum total of those
living at the same time”, and is never used elsewhere in the Bible to mean
“race.”[12]
The
key to understanding the Olivet Discourse is a proper understanding of Matthew
24:29-31:
Immediately after
the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not
give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the
heavens shall be shaken: And then shall
appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven:
and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the
Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he
shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather
together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
As
we have previously stated, this appears to be a description of His Second
Coming. However, note the similarities to Peter’s sermon at Pentecost:
But this is that
which was spoken by the prophet Joel; And it shall come to pass in the last
days, saith God, … And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the
earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke: The sun shall be turned into darkness, and
the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come: (Acts 2:16-17(a), 19-20).
Of
course, Peter intended this quote, from Joel 2:28-31, figuratively; he did not
mean that the sun would literally turn dark, or the moon would literally turn
into blood. Consider also the similarities to Isaiah’s prediction of the
destruction of Babylon:
The noise of a
multitude in the mountains, like as of a great people; a tumultuous noise of
the kingdoms of nations gathered together:
the Lord of hosts mustereth the host of the battle. … For the stars of
heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth,
and the moon shall not cause her light to shine. (Isaiah 13:4, 10)
Similar
imagery is used by Ezekiel in his prophesy against Egypt.
And when I shall
put thee out, I will cover the heaven, and make the stars thereof dark; I will
cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give her light. All the
bright lights of heaven will I make dark over thee, and set darkness upon thy
land, saith the Lord God. (Ezekiel 32:7-8)
In
neither the destruction of the Babylonians nor the destruction of the Egyptians
did the sun, moon, and stars literally become dark or cease to give their
light. Matthew 24:29-31 is not a description of Jesus’ Second Coming; rather,
it is a description of His coming in judgment upon Jerusalem, just as the Lord
came in judgment upon both the Babylonians and the Egyptians.
Note
that the word translated “angels” in v. 31 literally means “messengers”;
whether these are angelic beings or human messengers is determined from the
context.[13] In this
case, the translators of the King James Version chose the word “angels”;
however, they should have chosen “messengers”. This passage means that, after
the fall of Jerusalem, Jesus sent forth His missionaries throughout the world
to “gather together His elect.”
But,
what of Matthew 24:14? “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all
the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.”
Surely
this couldn’t have been fulfilled before the destruction of Jerusalem. But what
saith the scriptures?[14]
First, I thank my
God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole
world. (Romans 1:8)
But I say, Have
they not heard? Yes verily, their sound went into all the earth, and
their words unto the ends of the world. (Romans 10:18)
But now is made
manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment
of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the
obedience of faith: (Romans 16:26)
If ye continue in
the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the
gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which
is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister; (Colossians 1:23)
Of
course, Paul also intended these passages to be interpreted figuratively, not
literally; he didn’t mean that he had literally “preached to every creature
which is under heaven”.
While
pretribulationists would attack this commentary for its figurative rather than
literal interpretation, we have seen that Jesus used the same figurative
language as Isaiah, Ezekiel, Joel, Peter, and Paul, who all obviously intended
their language to be interpreted figuratively. Is it not reasonable that Jesus
intended His language figuratively, also? Therefore, we must conclude that the
great tribulation described in the Olivet Discourse did indeed occur in the
first century A.D. and will never be occur again, so there can be no future
great tribulation and no pretribulation rapture.
The Millennium
(from
the December 2004 Edition of CrossWalk)
One
of the most controversial chapters in the Bible is Revelation 20, which
describes the millennium. How do we deal with Revelation 20? We can't ignore
it; it's certainly in the Bible. Nor can we “spiritualize” it away, as those
who don't understand amillennialism would charge. Rather, we have to look at
what Revelation 20 actually says, as opposed to what premillennialists assume
that it says.
The
amillennial interpretation of the millennium is that it began with Christ's
first advent and ends at His Second Coming, and that the “thousand years” is
not literally a period of 1,000 years, but a long period of unspecified
duration. Let's look at the first three verses:
And I saw an angel
come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain
in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the
Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, And cast him into the
bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should
deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little
season. (Revelation 20:1-3)
How
could any Christian possibly believe that Satan was bound and cast into the bottomless
pit at the first advent? We read,
But if I cast out
devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you. Or else
how can one enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he
first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house. (Matthew 12:28-29)
So
we see that Jesus Himself taught that He had bound the “strong man” – Satan –
during His first advent. Further,
And the seventy
returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us
through thy name. And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from
heaven. (Luke 10:17-18)
Of
course, Satan hasn't been rendered totally powerless by being bound and cast
into the bottomless pit, but Revelation 20 never states that he has. We see, therefore,
that the amillennial interpretation of Revelation 20:1-3 is in perfect
agreement with the teachings of Jesus Himself.
Let's
look at the next three verses:
And I saw thrones,
and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: 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
worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon
their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand
years. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were
finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part
in the first resurrection: on such the
second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and
shall reign with him a thousand years. (Revelation 20:4-6)
First,
let's note that even if there is a literal millennial kingdom after the Second
Coming, this passage disproves the theory of a pretribulation rapture. John
clearly says, “This is the first resurrection.” However, this would occur at
the wrong time for a pretribulation rapture, as it is at the beginning of the
millennium, after the tribulation.
But
what of the amillennial interpretation of this passage? Note that John says, “I
saw the souls of them....” This passage never mentions a bodily resurrection.
As we know, the souls of the dead believers are now with Him and He will bring
them back with them to be reunited with their resurrection bodies (for example,
I Thessalonians 4:14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so
them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.) It is the souls
of the dead believers that have been raised to life and are now reigning in
Heaven with Him who represent the first resurrection.
Is
this a new, liberal interpretation of this passage? Certainly not; it was the
original Southern Baptist interpretation. According to Theologians of the Baptist Tradition, “John Leadley Dagg
(1794-1884) was the first Southern Baptist systematic theologian to be read
widely by Southern Baptists.”[15]
The Southern Baptist Convention was organized in 1845.[16]
Dagg was the president of Mercer University, Macon, Georgia, from 1844-54 and
professor of theology there from 1844-55.[17]
In his Manual of Theology, published
in 1857, he wrote:
Some suppose that
the coming of Christ, and the resurrection of the righteous dead, will precede
the millennium, and that the resurrection of the wicked will be at the end of
the thousand years. This opinion, according to which the reign of Christ will
be personal, is founded chiefly on Rev. xx. 4, 5: … In carefully examining this passage, we may
observe that the first resurrection here mentioned does not include all the
righteous dead, but only the martyrs; and that it is not a resurrection of
their bodies, but of their souls …. [W]e may interpret the passage before us;
which, so understood, teaches a spiritual, and not a personal reign of Christ.
… [W]e may infer that one voice, one trumpet will call forth all the dead, and
that one hour (John v. 25) will suffice for the resurrection of all. In one and
the same day, (Acts xvii. 31) the great day of the Lord, he will be revealed in
flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God; and will come, to be
glorified in his saints, and admired of all them that believe. (2 Thess. i.
8-10)[18]
What
of the next passage?
And when the
thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, And shall
go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog,
and Magog, to gather them together to battle:
the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. And they went up on the
breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the
beloved city: and fire came down from
God out of heaven, and devoured them. And the devil that deceived them was cast
into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are,
and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever. (Revelation 20:8-10)
At
first glance, this appears to be a capsule summary of the tribulation, the
Battle of Armageddon, and the intervention of Christ at His Second Coming;
because of the similarities between this passage and Revelation 19:20:
And the beast was
taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with
which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that
worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning
with brimstone.
But
note that, in chapter 19, at the end of the tribulation, the beast and the
false prophet were cast into hell. In 20:10, at the end of the millennium, the
devil is cast into hell where the beast and the false prophet already were. Thus,
these are clearly two separate occasions, separated by the duration of the
millennium.
The
final passage is a clear description of The Judgment.
And I saw a great
white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven
fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and
great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the
book of life: and the dead were judged
out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up
the dead which were in them: and they
were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast
into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found
written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. (Revelation
20:11-15)
Thus,
we conclude that Revelation 20 does not actually teach a millennial kingdom on
earth beginning with the Second Coming; rather, it describes the entire Church
Age, beginning with the First Advent of Christ and ending with the Judgment, on
the last day, the day of His Second Coming. This is incompatible with the
doctrine of a pretribulation rapture, which requires a literal millennial
kingdom after the Second Coming. Therefore, we conclude that the doctrine of a
pretribulation rapture is false.
Daniel’s 70th
Week
(from
the January 2005 Edition of CrossWalk)
The
doctrine of a pretribulation rapture states that Christians will be raptured
immediately before a seven year tribulation, followed by Christ’s Second Coming
(“Glorious Appearance” in pretribulationist lingo). Have you ever wondered
where the Bible teaches seven years
of tribulation? Not in the Olivet Discourse; Jesus discussed the Great
Tribulation (which, as we have seen, was fulfilled in A.D. 70 during the siege
and destruction of Jerusalem), but He did not mention the duration of the
tribulation. Nor in the book of Revelation, which mentions periods of 3‑½ years
five times, but never mentions a seven year period.[19]
Rather, the teaching of a seven year tribulation is based on the
pretribulationist interpretation of Daniel 9:27, which describes what is
commonly known as Daniel’s 70th week of years.
Let’s
look at Daniel 9:24-27 to see what we can learn about Daniel’s 70th
week.
Seventy weeks are
determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression,
and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to
bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and
to anoint the most Holy. Know therefore and understand, that from the going
forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the
Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the
wall, even in troublous times. And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah
be cut off, but not for himself: and the
people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary;
and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war
desolations are determined. And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one
week: and in the midst of the week he
shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading
of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and
that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
There
are essentially two interpretations of this passage – the traditional
interpretation and the pretribulationist interpretation. Both agree on one
point: each day represents a year, so
the seventy weeks represent 490 years (7 x 70 = 490).[20]
This is based on Genesis 29:27-28; Leviticus 25:8; Numbers 14:34; and Ezekiel
4:6.[21]
The major difference is the interpretation of verse 27, Daniel’s 70th
week.
In
the traditional interpretation, Messiah is “he” who “shall confirm the covenant
with many for one week” and who “shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to
cease.”[22]
Gentile states:
Only Jesus Messiah
could “confirm a covenant” (Isaiah 42:6; Romans 15:8; Hebrews 13:20). This was
done when He “[brought] an end to sacrifice and offering” (verse 27) through
the shedding of His own precious blood.
In
the pretribulationist interpretation, Antichrist is “he” who “shall confirm the
covenant with many for one week” and who “shall cause the sacrifice and the
oblation to cease.”[23]
As Steve Wohlberg describes the pretribulationist interpretation:[24]
“He” is the
antichrist.
“The covenant” is
a peace treaty the antichrist makes with the Jews after the rapture.
…
“He shall cause
the sacrifice … to cease” means the antichrist will stop the sacrifices of the
rebuilt Jewish temple in Jerusalem during the tribulation.
According
to verse 25, Messiah will come after 69 weeks (7 weeks plus 62 weeks), or 483
years (7 x 69 = 483) after “the commandment to restore and rebuild Jerusalem.”
Verse 26 states that Messiah will be cut off “after” 69 weeks. Verse 27 says
that “in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to
cease.”
The
traditional interpretation of verse 25 is that Messiah will begin His ministry
with His baptism after 69 weeks and, according to verse 27, will be “cut off” –
crucified – in the midst of the [seventieth] week, that is, 3‑½ years after the
beginning of the seventieth week. The pretribulationist interpretation,
however, states that all of verse 27 refers to the Antichrist; therefore, verse
26 means that the Messiah will be crucified at the end of the 69th
week.
Which
interpretation is correct? Which interpretation was actually fulfilled? What
happened at the end of the 69th week: did Christ begin His ministry or was He
crucified?
There
are three potential dates for the beginning of the 70 weeks: 536 B.C.[25],
458 B.C.[26], or 445
B.C.[27]
Adding 483 to each (and recalling that there was no year 0), we find the end of
the 69th week to be 53 B.C., A.D. 26, or A.D. 39, respectively.
Obviously, 53 B.C. is too early for either the beginning or end of Christ’s
ministry, and A.D. 39 is too late.
When
was Jesus baptized? In John 2:20, we read, “Then said the Jews, Forty and six
years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days?”
According to A.T. Robertson, who cites Josephus, Herod began building the
temple in 20 B.C.; 46 years later would be A.D. 27.[28]
Robertson states, “It was at the first Passover in his ministry that this
expression is used. It has been probably six months since his baptism.”[29]
Six months prior to the Passover in the spring of A.D. 27 would be the fall of
A.D. 26 – as predicted by the traditional interpretation of Daniel’s 70 weeks.
Note
also that most commentators think that Jesus was crucified after a ministry of
3‑½ years[30] – half
of Daniel’s 70th week – again in accordance with the traditional
interpretation. This would place the crucifixion at Passover in the spring of
A.D. 30, not A.D. 26 as required by the pretribulationist interpretation.
Since
the traditional interpretation of Daniel’s 70 weeks accurately predicted the
years of Christ’s baptism and His crucifixion, while the pretribulationist
interpretation missed the date of the crucifixion by approximately four years,
we must accept the traditional interpretation and reject the pretribulationist
interpretation. Since pretribulationism is based on the pretribulationist
interpretation of Daniel’s 70th week, we must reject the doctrine of
a pretribulation rapture as false.
Antichrist
[Unless otherwise specified, all scripture
is from the World English Bible (WEB), since it is the only modern English
translation of the Bible that is in the public domain and, therefore, is free
for use without restriction regardless of how much I quote.]
Over the course of history, a number of
political leaders have been suggested, or accused, of being the Antichrist—Napoleon,
Mussolini, Hitler, and Reagan, to name a few. Mussolini was a particularly
strong candidate, because he fit the myth that the Antichrist had to be an
Italian, a descendant of the Romans.
I think that we can safely say that none
of these, nor any other recent or current world leader, is the Antichrist. And
I think that we can safely debunk the myth of an Antichrist who will rule the
world during some future Great Tribulation that will occur just prior to the
Second Coming of Christ, either before or after the Rapture. Rather than basing
our beliefs on popular books and sermons on the end times, I propose that we
focus on what the Bible says about the subject. And take the footnotes in your
“Study Bible” with a grain of salt—many have been written to promote a
particular point of view on the subject, and serve to distort what the Bible
says rather than clarify it.
The term “antichrist” appears only in two
books of the Bible, 1 and 2 John. John mentions "antichrist" five
times in three passages (emphasis added):
1 John 2:18 Little children, these are the end times, and as you
heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have arisen.
By this we know that it is the final hour. (19) They went out from us, but they
didn't belong to us; for if they had belonged to us, they would have continued
with us. But they left, that they might be revealed that none of them belong to
us. (20) You have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all have knowledge.
(21) I have not written to you because you don't know the truth, but because
you know it, and because no lie is of the truth. (22) Who is the liar but he
who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the Antichrist, he who denies
the Father and the Son. (23) Whoever denies the Son, the same doesn't have the
Father. He who confesses the Son has the Father also.
1 John 4:1 Beloved, don't believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. (2) By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit who confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, (3) and every spirit who doesn't confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God, and this is the spirit of the Antichrist, of whom you have heard that it comes. Now it is in the world already.
2 John 7 For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who don't confess that Jesus Christ came in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the Antichrist.
Note four things:
1. John
considers that he is living in the end times and the final hour, as 1 John 2:18
states, "... these are the end times .... By this we know that it is the
final hour." If John meant that he was living in the end times and final
hour of the world, he was clearly mistaken, and the Bible is in error. Of
course, that cannot be the case; John meant that he was living in the end times
and the final hour of the Old Covenant, which was fulfilled in Christ, but
which continued for the first 40 years (one Biblical generation) of the New Covenant
until the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70.
2. These
passages do not describe one Antichrist; in 1 John 2:18, John writes,
"even now many antichrists have arisen"—not one antichrist, but many.
3. This
same passage shows that John does not describe an Antichrist who will be living
at the Second Coming of Christ, as "many antichrists have
arisen" at the time John wrote these letters, not some time thousands
of years in the future. This is also stated in 1 John 4:3, "... this is
the spirit of the Antichrist, of whom you have heard that it comes. Now it is in
the world already."
4. These
passages do not describe the Antichrist as someone who will rule the world, or
be a ruler at all. 1 John 2:22(b) states, "This is the Antichrist,
he who denies the Father and the Son." 1 John 4:2-3 state, "By this
you know the Spirit of God: every spirit
who confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, (3) and every
spirit who doesn't confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of
God, and this is the spirit of the Antichrist, of whom you have heard
that it comes. Now it is in the world already." 2 John 7 states, "For
many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who don't confess that Jesus
Christ came in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the Antichrist." In all
of these passages, John defines an antichrist as "... those who don't
confess that Jesus Christ came in the flesh" (2 John 7). These were the
Gnostics, the first Christian heretics, not an evil ruler or rulers.
Interlude: When Did John Write
the Book of Revelation?
In Revelation 11, we read:
11:1 A reed like a rod was given to me. Someone said, "Rise,
and measure God's temple, and the altar, and those who worship in it. (2) Leave
out the court which is outside of the temple, and don't measure it, for it has
been given to the nations. They will tread the holy city under foot for
forty-two months.
Obviously, from this passage itself, the
temple was still standing when John wrote this, and apparently the war between
the Romans and the Jews had not yet begun. Note that the war lasted
approximately 42 months in accordance with this prophesy, which was fulfilled
in the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. Also, this prophesy contains no
hint of any "double fulfillment," once at that time, a second at the
end of the world. This prophesy has been completely fulfilled and there is no
need for it to be fulfilled again.
Identity of the Beast of Revelation
The beast of Revelation is commonly
equated with the Antichrist. John identifies the beast in both chapters 13 and
17. In chapter 13, we read, "13:18 Here is wisdom. He who has
understanding, let him calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number
of a man. His number is six hundred sixty-six." Note that John thought that
someone with understanding who read this passage in his day could
"calculate the number of the beast" and, therefore, identify the
beast; this was not some mystery whose interpretation was to be sealed up for
thousands of years. "... Nero Caeser's name (NRWN QSR), written in Hebrew
characters, adds up to [666]."[31]
Thus, the beast was Nero.
In Revelation 17, John further identifies the beast:
17:7 The angel said to me, "Why do you wonder? I will tell
you the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carries her, which has the
seven heads and the ten horns. (8) The beast that you saw was, and is not; and
is about to come up out of the abyss and to go into destruction. Those who
dwell on the earth and whose names have not been written in the book of life
from the foundation of the world will marvel when they see that the beast was,
and is not, and shall be present. (9) Here is the mind that has wisdom. The
seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sits. (10) They are seven
kings. Five have fallen, the one is, the other has not yet come. When he comes,
he must continue a little while.
Clearly, the angel expected that John
would understand the identity of the beast, as he said, "Why do you
wonder?" (v. 7). Verse 10 makes the identity of the beast perfectly clear.
The first five "kings" of the Roman empire were Julius, Augustus,
Tiberius, Caligula, and Claudius; they "have fallen". Nero ("the
one is") was the sixth, and Galba, the seventh, "... has not yet
come. When he comes, he must continue a little while"; he only reigned
from June 8, 68 until his death on January 15, 69.[32]
Again, the beast is Nero.
Titus
Two other passages that are used by those
that believe in a future Antichrist actually refer to Titus, the Roman general
in charge during the destruction of Jerusalem. The following is from the May
2006 edition of my newsletter, CrossWalk.
Let's look at two passages of scripture
that futurists—that is, those who believe that the tribulation is still in the
future—believe describe a future Antichrist, and see how these passages
actually describe Titus. The first is Daniel 9:24-27, Daniel's 70 weeks of
years. We have previously examined this passage in the January 2005 edition of CrossWalk and Part IV of Don't Be "Left Behind"!; in
that article, we saw that the dates and years required by the futurist version
literally don't add up, while the dates and years of the traditional version,
which sees the passage fulfilled when Titus and the Romans destroyed Jerusalem
in A.D. 70, add up perfectly.
Daniel 9:24 Seventy weeks are decreed on your people and on your
holy city, to finish disobedience, and to make an end of sins, and to make
reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to
seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most holy. (25) Know therefore
and discern, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to
build Jerusalem to the Anointed One, the prince, shall be seven weeks, and
sixty-two weeks: it shall be built
again, with street and moat, even in troubled times. (26) After the sixty-two
weeks the Anointed One shall be cut off, and shall have nothing: and the people of the prince who shall come
shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and its end shall be with a flood,
and even to the end shall be war; desolations are determined. (27) He shall
make a firm covenant with many for one week:
and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the
offering to cease; and on the wing of abominations shall come one who makes desolate; and even to the full end, and
that determined, shall wrath be
poured out on the desolate.
Note particularly verse 26b, which says,
"and the people of the prince who shall come shall destroy the city and
the sanctuary; and its end shall be with a flood, and even to the end shall be
war; desolations are determined." "The people"—that is, the
Roman army—did indeed "come" and "destroy the city and the
sanctuary"—"the end" was as "with a flood"—a flood of
Roman soldiers pouring through the breaches in the wall—and "desolations
are determined"—that is, acts of destruction—occurred. These events are
all recorded by the Jewish historian Josephus in Wars of the Jews; Josephus was an eyewitness to the war. Note also
that this verse says, "the people of the prince who shall come...."
Futurists, such as pretribulationists, identify this prince with a future
Antichrist. However, as the son of the current emperor, Titus was, indeed, the
"prince" of the "people"—the Romans. This passage is no
prophesy about a future Antichrist and a destruction of Jerusalem still in the
future; this passage was fulfilled completely when Titus and the Romans
destroyed Jerusalem in A.D. 70, and there is no reason to expect it to be
fulfilled again.
The second passage is
2 Thessalonians 2:1-12, Paul's "man of sin" passage.
2 Thessalonians 2:1 Now, brothers, concerning the coming of our
Lord Jesus Christ, and our gathering together to him, we ask you (2) not to be
quickly shaken in your mind, nor yet be troubled, either by spirit, or by word,
or by letter as from us, saying that the day of Christ had come. (3) Let no one
deceive you in any way. For it will not be, unless the departure comes first,
and the man of sin is revealed, the son of destruction, (4) he who opposes and
exalts himself against all that is called God or that is worshiped; so that he
sits as God in the temple of God, setting himself up as God. (5) Don’t you
remember that, when I was still with you, I told you these things? (6) Now you
know what is restraining him, to the end that he may be revealed in his own season.
(7) For the mystery of lawlessness already works. Only there is one who
restrains now, until he is taken out of the way. (8) Then the lawless one will
be revealed, whom the Lord will kill with the breath of his mouth, and destroy
by the manifestation of his coming; (9) even he whose coming is according to
the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, (10) and with
all deception of wickedness for those who are being lost, because they didn’t
receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. (11) Because of this,
God sends them a working of error, that they should believe a lie; (12) that
they all might be judged who didn’t believe the truth, but had pleasure in
unrighteousness.
Look at verses 3 and 4:
((3) Let no one deceive you in any way. For it will not be,
unless the departure comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of
destruction, (4) he who opposes and exalts himself against all that is called
God or that is worshiped; so that he sits as God in the temple of God, setting
himself up as God.
This prophesy of the "man of
sin," or the "son of perdition," was also fulfilled by Titus.
Recall that the Romans considered the emperor, or Caesar, to be a god. Since
Titus was the son of the current emperor, he was considered to be the son of a
god, in a Satanic mockery of Jesus Christ. In Wars of the Jews, Josephus records,
And now, since Caesar [Titus] was in no way able to restrain the
enthusiastic fury of the soldiers, and the fire proceeded on more and more, he
went into the holy place of the temple, and with his commanders, and saw it,
with what was in it, which he found to be far superior to what the relations of
foreigners contained, and not inferior to what we ourselves [Jews] boasted of
and believed about it....[33]
So Titus, whom the Romans considered to be
the son of a god, literally entered the holy of holies. Suetonius records that
when Titus knew that he was about to die of a fever, he "complained
bitterly that life was being undeservedly taken from him—since only a single
sin lay on his conscience."[34]
Although he never clarified what the sin was, Jews and Christians both have
always identified it with his entering the holy of holies. So again, we see
that a passage that futurists identify with a future Antichrist has already
been fulfilled by Titus, and there is no reason to expect it to be fulfilled
again.
[1] Herschel H. Hobbs. The
Cosmic Drama. Waco: Word Books,
1971, p. 19.
[2] Ibid., p. 21.
[3] Gary DeMar. End
Times Fiction. Nashville: Thomas
Nelson, Inc., 2001, p. 57.
[4] Tim LaHaye. Rapture
Under Attack. Sisters, Oregon: Multnomah,
1998, p. 228.
[5] David L. Cooper, The God of Israel, p. iii,
quoted by J. Dwight Pentecost in Things to Come. Grand Rapids MI: Zondervan, 1958, p. 42.
[6] Matt. 11:14 And if ye will receive it, this is Elias,
which was for to come.
[7] Loraine Boettner. The Millennium. Phillipsburg
NJ: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing
Company, 1957, revised 1984, p. 83.
[8] And the LORD’S
anger was kindled against Israel, and he made them wander in the wilderness forty
years, until all the generation, that had done evil in
the sight of the LORD, was consumed. (Numbers 32:13)
[9] William Barclay. The Gospel of Matthew, Volume 2.
Philadelphia: The Westminster Press,
1975, p. 300-316.
[10] Herschel H.
Hobbs. Fundamentals of Our Faith.
Nashville: Broadman Press, 1960, p. 152.
[11] John Wesley’s Notes on the Bible. The Sword Project, CrossWire Bible Society,
available for free download at http://www.crosswire.org.
[12] David Chilton. The Great Tribulation., p. 3, quoted by
John Bray in Matthew 24 Fulfilled: John Bray, Lakeland FL, 1996, p. 205.
[13] Bray, op. cit., p. 185.
[14] Ibid., p. 23.
[15] Timothy George
and David S. Dockery, Editors. Theologians
of the Baptist Tradition. Nashville:
Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2001, p. 52.
[16] Ibid., p. 77.
[17] Ibid., p. 54.
[18] John L. Dagg,
D.D. Manual of Theology.
Harrisonburg, Virginia: Gano Books,
1990, p. 354.
[19] Gentile, Ernest
B. The Final Triumph. Grand Rapids: Chosen Books, a division of Baker Book House
Company, 2001, pp. 236-237. Please note that, although I primarily reference The Final Triumph in this article, I
could have referenced a large number of commentaries and books on eschatology,
as there are many works that state essentially these same points.
[20] Ibid., p. 230.
[21] Ibid.
[22] Ibid., p. 235.
[23] Wohlberg, Steve. End Time Delusions. Shippensburg, PA: Treasure House, Destiny Image, Publishers,
Inc., 2004, p. 215. Wohlberg is not a pretribulationist!
[24] Ibid.
[25] Gentile, op. cit., p. 233.
[26] The NIV Study Bible. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1985, p. 684.
[27] Ibid.
[28] Robertson, A.T. A Harmony of the Gospels. New York: Harper & Row, Publishers, 1922, p. 265.
[29] Ibid.
[30] Gentile, op. cit., p. 234.
[31] C. Marvin Pate,
Kenneth L. Gentry Jr., Sam Hamstra, and Robert L. Thomas. Four Views on the
Book of Revelation. Grand Rapids: Zondervan,
1998, p. 68.
[33] Josephus, Wars of the Jews, VI.V.7.
[34] Suetonius, The Twelve Caesars, translated by Robert
Graves. New York: Penguin Books, 1978,
p. 292.
