(Re: The Antichrist was not *Nero) / (Some points below also apply to the Antichrist not being *Hitler, or any other historical figure)
Nero did not fulfill the detailed references to the Antichrist (the individual-man aspect of Revelation's "beast") in Revelation 13:4-18, Revelation 16:2-16, Revelation 19:19-21, and Revelation 20:4. Also, Nero did not fulfill other prophecies regarding the Antichrist (e.g. 2 Thessalonians 2:3-9, Daniel 11:31,36; cf. Matthew 24:15). And the apostle John did not see the vision of Revelation until decades after the time of Nero. For Irenaeus (born c. 140 AD) said: "We will not, however, incur the risk of pronouncing positively as to the name of Antichrist; for if it were necessary that his name should be distinctly revealed in this present time, it would have been announced by him [John] who beheld the apocalyptic vision [Revelation]. For that was seen no very long time since, but almost in our day, towards the end of Domitian's reign" (Against Heresies 5:30:3c). The end of Domitian's reign was 96 AD. Nero's reign was 54-68 AD. The detailed prophecies regarding the Antichrist, just as the rest of the Tribulation prophecies of Revelation chapters 6 to 18 and Matthew 24, have never been fulfilled.
Any mistaken teaching which claims that the Antichrist has already come and gone could be employed in our future by the real Antichrist to fool some Christians into thinking that he is not the Antichrist.
(See also the "616" section of Revelation 13:18 below)
~
(Re: But does not "Neron Csar" = 666 in Hebrew gematria?)
Regarding the claim (made by some) that Nero's name in Hebrew gematria added up to 666 (Revelation 13:17c-18), is there an ancient historical source which shows how "Nero Caesar" was usually transliterated into Hebrew at the time that Revelation was written down, so we can confirm whether or not the usual Hebrew transliteration of "Nero Caesar" added up to 666 in Hebrew gematria, instead of an intentionally-altered Hebrew spelling? For example, why was an "n" added after "Nero" to make "Neron"; and why was the "ae" of "Caesar" skipped to make "Csar", when, for example, the "ae" in "Israel" gets at least an "aleph" in Hebrew? Could "Neron Csar" in fact be an intentionally-altered, never-actually-used spelling which adds up to 666, just as people today could intentionally mistransliterate into Hebrew the name of someone living today, so that the mistransliterated name adds up to 666 in Hebrew gematria? Also, just by chance there could be more than one person in the world whose name adds up to 666. So even if it could be proven that the usual Hebrew spelling of "Nero Caesar" added up to 666, or that the usual spelling of the name of someone living today adds up to 666, this does not require that that person is the Antichrist.
Also, should we even assume that the Antichrist's name has to be transliterated into Hebrew for it to add up to 666? For Revelation was originally written in Greek and addressed to Greek-speaking Gentile churches in the Roman province of "Asia" (Revelation 1:11) (what is today western Turkey), not to Hebrew-speaking Jewish churches in Israel. And the apostle John used three letters from the Greek alphabet to express the number 666 in Revelation 13:18 (in the original Greek Textus Receptus), not any letters from the Hebrew alphabet. But this does not require that the Antichrist's name has to be transliterated into Greek for it to add up to 666. For John used the Greek alphabet only because it was the most common one used by the Christians whom he was addressing at the time that Revelation was written down.
Also, even when "Nero Caesar" (instead of "Neron Csar") is transliterated into Hebrew, it does not have to add up to 666:
N - Nun = 50 (cf. the "Ne" in "Nebo" in the Hebrew of Num. 32:3: Nun for the "N" & nothing for the "e")
E /
R - Reysh = 200
O - Vav = 6 (cf. the "o" in "Nebo" in the Hebrew of Num. 32:3 being the letter Vav)
C - Qowph = 100 (cf. "Kareah" in the Hebrew of Jer. 40:8, & "Caesar" being "Kaisar" in the Greek of Mt. 22:17)
A - Aleph = 1 (cf. the "ae" in "Israel" in the Hebrew of Gen. 32:28: Aleph for the "a" & nothing for the "e")
E /
S - Samek = 60 (cf. the "sar" in "Ellasar" in the Hebrew of Gen. 14:1: Samek for the "s" & nothing for the "a")
A /
R - Reysh = 200
Total = 617
~
(Re: How could anyone come in the future who will be worse than Hitler?)
The future Antichrist (the individual-man aspect of Revelation's "beast") will be worse than Hitler. For he will be given power over every nation (Revelation 13:7b). And he will make war against, and overcome physically (by beheading), every Biblical Christian whom he can get his hands on throughout the earth (Revelation 13:7-10, Revelation 14:12-13, Revelation 20:4-6, Matthew 24:9-13).
--
*Revelation 13:6 / *Rev. 13:6 -
(Them that dwell in heaven)
See Revelation 12:12 above.
--
*Revelation 13:7-10 / *Rev. 13:7 -
(Re: *Overcome-Antichrist)
Revelation 13:7-10 shows that the future Antichrist (the individual-man aspect of Revelation's "beast"), during his literal 3.5-year worldwide reign (Revelation 13:5-10), will be allowed to physically overcome Biblical Christians in every nation (Revelation 20:4-6, Revelation 14:12-13, Matthew 24:9-13), just as, for example, the Roman emperors and Satan were allowed to physically overcome some Biblical Christians in the first century AD (e.g. Revelation 2:10). There are no Biblical Christians outside of the Church (Ephesians 4:4-6).
But Revelation 13:7-10 does not mean that every person in the Church will be overcome by the future Antichrist. For some in the Church will be in God-protected wilderness places (Revelation 12:6,14-16). And so they will still be "alive and remain" on the earth at Jesus Christ's future, Second Coming to be raptured (1 Thessalonians 4:15-17), immediately after the Tribulation (Mark 13:24-27; 2 Thessalonians 2:1-8, Revelation 19:7 to 20:6).
--
*Revelation 13:8 / *Rev. 13:8 -
The "all" in the first part of Revelation 13:8 is qualified by the second part of Revelation 13:8. That is, the verse refers to nonelect individuals, those whose names are not written in the Book of Life. Revelation 13:8 means that all nonelect individuals who will be alive at the time of the future Antichrist's literal 3.5-year worldwide reign will worship him (Revelation 13:4-8). Other verses show that obedient Christians who will be alive at that time will not worship him, but will flee into God-protected wilderness places (Revelation 12:6,14-16), or will remain in the cities and get beheaded (Revelation 20:4-6, Revelation 14:12-13, Revelation 13:7-10, Matthew 24:9-13). And other verses show that there will be non-Christian elect Jews who will not worship him. And so they will be able to become saved from hell, that is, become Christians, at Jesus Christ's future, Second Coming (Romans 11:25-29, Zechariah 12:10-14), which will be after the time of the Antichrist (Matthew 24:29-30). Anyone who worships the Antichrist can never be saved (Revelation 14:9-12).
--
*Revelation 13:11-16 / *Rev. 13:11 -
(Re: The *False Prophet / *FP)
The beast who comes up out of the earth in Revelation 13:11-16 represents the individual man who will become the future Antichrist's False Prophet (Revelation 19:20, Revelation 16:13). He could be a secretly-apostate pope who at some point during his tenure will make a great push for peace and unity between Christianity and Islam. He could say something like: "Why do we fight each other? Are not we all the spiritual children of Abraham and of his God, the one God? Cannot we lay aside our foolish, man-made differences of theology, which have done us no good at all, but have only brought us hatred and violence, and unite into one religion of Abraham, one religion of peace, based on love for the one God and love for our fellow man? What is more important than this?"
He could be so skillful in elucidating what the moderate Muslims could call "the true, peaceful, loving nature of Islam", that he could be hailed by them worldwide as (in their words) "a Great Imam, come to rescue our beloved Islam from the bad reputation falsely given to it by the terrorists". In this way, a pope could come to hold high positions of power in two religions at the same time, which could be symbolized by the two horns of the False Prophet lamb (Revelation 13:11). This would be similar to how the seven horns of the true-Jesus lamb in Revelation 5:6 could represent the true Jesus holding seven positions of power at the same time (compare Jesus wearing many crowns at the same time in Revelation 19:12). The False Prophet could even say that he is Jesus returned (via "reincarnation"). But he will not that say he is Christ. For the False Prophet and the Antichrist will deny that Jesus is the Christ (1 John 2:22) and will deny that Christ is in the flesh (2 John 1:7).
(See paragraph 3 of Revelation 13:4 above. Also, see the "Fatima" section below)
~
(*Like a lamb)
The False Prophet appearing figuratively "like a lamb" (Revelation 13:11) can mean that he will present himself to the world as being a Christian. For Jesus refers to Christians as being figurative "lambs" (John 21:15b, Luke 10:3). Also, Jesus warns Christians to: "Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves" (Matthew 7:15), meaning falsely present themselves as being obedient Christians, for Christians are figurative "sheep" (Matthew 10:16).
The False Prophet appearing figuratively "like a lamb" (Revelation 13:11) could even mean that he will say that he is Jesus Himself returned (via "reincarnation"). For both before and after Revelation 13:11, "a lamb" in Revelation refers to Jesus Himself (Revelation 5:6, Revelation 14:1).
~
(Re: How can the False Prophet be a fake Jesus if he does things which Jesus would not do?) / (*Policeman analogy)
The False Prophet could pretend that he is Jesus, because a fake Jesus can do things which the real Jesus would not do. As an analogy, a real policeman would almost-never knock on someone's door to steal from their house under the pretence of recovering stolen property. But someone pretending to be a policeman could do that. And no one is going to say: "Oh, no, no robber can pretend to be a policeman, because a policeman does not commit robbery".
~
(Re: But how could Jesus' Second Coming in great power and glory be duplicated in order for the False Prophet to claim to be Jesus?)
The False Prophet does not have to duplicate the Bible's description of Jesus' Second Coming literally, but can explain it away as being only symbolic, just as full preterism already explains the Second Coming away today as something which happened back in 70 AD. Or, the False Prophet could claim that the Bible's description of the Second Coming is not the true Word of God, but is only from (in his words) "a Bible which was corrupted by power-hungry men when they copied and changed its early manuscripts".
The False Prophet could say that he is Jesus returned via "reincarnation". The world could accept this, because a lot of the world believes in reincarnation, even though the Bible refutes reincarnation. For the Bible says that is appointed unto men once to die, and after this the judgment (Hebrews 9:27).
(See also Acts 1:11 above)
~
(Re: *Land beast)
The False-Prophet beast figuratively coming from the land (Revelation 13:11) could mean that he will come from Christianity, while the Antichrist beast figuratively coming from the sea (Revelation 13:1) could mean that he will not come from Christianity.
(See the "Druze" section of Revelation 13:4 above)
~
(Re: Does the *sea represent heavily populated areas, and the land sparsely populated ones?)
The sea could be symbolic of the multitudes of people who are non-Christian and nonelect (Matthew 7:13b, Revelation 17:15), while the land (cf. the land of Israel, the elect: Romans 9:11-24) could represent the relatively few people, compared with all of humanity, who are true Christians and/or the elect, the chosen of God (Matthew 7:14, Revelation 22:14).
(See Romans 9:11 above)
~
(Re: How can the second "beast" even be a man?)
In the Bible, "beasts" can refer figuratively to men (Titus 1:12). In Revelation 13 the second beast, in verses 11-16, represents the individual man who will become the future Antichrist's (the individual-man aspect of the first beast's) False Prophet (Revelation 19:20, Revelation 16:13).
~
(Re: *Fatima)
If a secretly-apostate pope does become the future Antichrist's False Prophet (of Revelation 13:11-16, Revelation 19:20, and Revelation 16:13), then adherents of Catholicism will have to decide what their ultimate source of truth is: Is it the pope and the RCC, or God and the Bible? Many adherents of Catholicism who know God and the Bible well, and hold to them as their ultimate source of truth, will no doubt be utterly aghast at the false doctrines of a False Prophet pope. Such adherents of Catholicism could demand that he be removed for heresy, and apostasy, and that the cardinals elect a new pope. But other adherents of Catholicism, including many cardinals, bishops, and priests, could be deceived (along with most of the rest of the world) into believing the False Prophet pope's false doctrines, because of his ability to perform the most amazing miracles (Revelation 13:13-14, Revelation 19:20; cf. Matthew 24:24).
And so a great schism could arise within the RCC. Compare the Akita prophecy: "The work of the devil will infiltrate even into the Church in such a way that one will see cardinals opposing cardinals, bishops against bishops". Many adherents of Catholicism could follow the False Prophet pope, while other adherents of Catholicism could reject him, and elect their own, new pope (or reinstate a former pope who is still alive), whom they could declare to be the "True Pope". But this new (or reinstated) "True Pope" could then be murdered, along with many of his followers, by the False Prophet pope's soldiers. Compare the Third Secret of Fatima: "he [the pope] was killed by a group of soldiers who fired bullets and arrows at him, and in the same way there died one after another the other Bishops, Priests, men and women Religious, and various lay people of different ranks and positions". Could the soldiers firing "arrows" be the Vatican's Swiss Guards, whose weapons and colorful uniforms hark back to the Middle Ages?
After this slaughter, the False Prophet pope could manage to retain the papacy, and full control of the Vatican, and through his (deceived) cardinals, bishops, and priests, retain full control of all RCC cathedrals, parishes, churches, etc., throughout the world. And when the Antichrist (the individual-man aspect of Revelation's "beast") obtains power over all nations, he and the False Prophet will make war against true, Biblical Christians (whether they are adherents of Catholicism or not) throughout the world, and will physically overcome them and kill them (by beheading) in every nation (Revelation 13:7-10, Revelation 14:12-13, Revelation 20:4-6, Matthew 24:9-13).
It is only when the Antichrist has completely broken the physical power of the true Church (which consists of all true Christians, whether they are adherents of Catholicism or not: Ephesians 4:4-6) that the future Tribulation will end (Daniel 12:7b), and Jesus Christ's Second Coming will...
(See "immediately occur" under Daniel 12:7b above)
~
(Re: *Marian phenomena)
Could Marian phenomena of the past be "reinterpreted" by a secretly-apostate, False Prophet pope, to help bring some Catholics into his deception? And could Satan even create some future "Marian" phenomena for this purpose? Are most Catholic Christians who believe in the validity of all past Marian phenomena well-schooled enough in Biblical doctrine to be able to recognize any shifts in doctrine which might be parlayed through any future, false apparitions? Or could any such apparitions help instead to lead some Catholic Christians (not to mention other Christians) gently down the road toward the future apostasy (1 Timothy 4:1; 2 Timothy 4:3-4; 2 Thessalonians 2:3)?
(See also Revelation 13:4 above)
~
(Re: The False Prophet is *not Satan)
(Regarding the Antichrist not being Satan, see the first "not Satan" section of Revelation 13:5 above)
The beast who comes up out of the earth (Revelation 13:11-16) is not Satan, but represents the individual man who will become the future Antichrist's False Prophet (Revelation 19:20, Revelation 16:13). Satan (the dragon, Revelation 12:9) is not the False Prophet, for the False Prophet will have power to perform miracles only in the presence of the Antichrist (the individual-man aspect of the beast from the sea) (Revelation 13:14, Revelation 19:20), while Satan will be the one who will empower the Antichrist (Revelation 13:4; 2 Thessalonians 2:9), and so also the False Prophet. Also, whereas Satan and the Antichrist will be worshipped (Revelation 13:4,8), the False Prophet will not be worshipped. Also, the False Prophet and the Antichrist will be cast into the lake of fire over 1,000 years before Satan is cast into the lake of fire (Revelation 19:20 to 20:10). The False Prophet, the Antichrist, and Satan are also shown to be three separate persons in Revelation 16:13.
--
*Revelation 13:12 / *Rev. 13:12 -
The original Greek word (enopion: G1799) translated as "before" can mean "in the presence of" (Revelation 14:10).
(See the last section of Revelation 13:14 below)
--
*Revelation 13:13 / *Rev. 13:13 -
(Re: *Fire from heaven)
Just as the future Antichrist could make a worldwide, live-television and internet spectacle out of his fulfilling of 2 Thessalonians 2:4 and Daniel 11:36, so his False Prophet could make a worldwide, live-television and internet spectacle out of his fulfilling of Revelation 13:13, when he will miraculously call fire down from heaven in the sight of everyone. He could do this as a Satanic inversion of 1 Kings 18:19-40. For example, he could gather all of the most prominent leaders of the Christian community worldwide to the Champ de Mars (Mars being the same as Marduk the dragon, the chief god of ancient Babylon). The Champ de Mars is the large, open area in front of the Eiffel Tower in Paris. The False Prophet could then tell the gathered Christian leaders to pray to YHWH God to send fire down and destroy the Tower.
And when the Christian leaders pray, and YHWH does not do anything (by His own choice), the False Prophet could then pray to Lucifer (the dragon, Satan: Revelation 12:9, Revelation 13:4) to send fire down and destroy the Tower. And Lucifer/Satan could do so (allowed to do so by YHWH), so that 1 Kings 18:38-40 will be turned on its head, so that news reporters could write (in their words) "Then the fire of Lucifer fell, and consumed the Eiffel Tower. And when all of the people saw it, they fell on their faces. And they said, 'Lucifer is God, Lucifer is God'. And the True Prophet said to them: 'Take these men of YHWH! Let not one of them escape!' And they took them. And the True Prophet brought them down to the river Seine, and slew them there" (as a Satanic inversion of 1 Kings 18:38-40).
But would YHWH God really let something like this happen? Would he let Christians pray to Him to send fire down from heaven, but decline to do so, while allowing Satan to send fire down at the beck of the False Prophet? Yes, YHWH could let this happen, as a test to Christians, to see if they love signs and wonders more than YHWH (cf. Deuteronomy 13:1-3). Christians must always remember that not all signs and wonders are from the true God, that Satan can also give people the power to perform them (e.g. 2 Thessalonians 2:9), to deceive people (Matthew 24:24-25, Revelation 13:13-14, Revelation 19:20).
The way not to be deceived is to continue to believe everything that the Bible teaches is from God (John 8:31b, Matthew 4:4; 2 Timothy 3:15 to 4:4), no matter how amazing the miracles are of someone who teaches something which contradicts the Bible (Matthew 24:24; 1 Timothy 4:1). And the way to continue to believe everything that the Bible teaches is from God is not to continue in any unrepentant sin. For otherwise our conscience could become seared as with a hot iron (1 Timothy 4:2), to where we could no longer endure the sound doctrine of the Bible, but after our own lusts heap to ourselves teachers who teach us fables which help to support us in our lusts (2 Timothy 4:3-4), to where we could even become willing to depart from the Christian faith itself, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils (1 Timothy 4:1).
(See also Revelation 13:4 and Hebrews 6:4 above)
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Next entry / Prior / Table of Contents
Nov 5, 2018
Nero did not fulfill the detailed references to the Antichrist (the individual-man aspect of Revelation's "beast") in Revelation 13:4-18, Revelation 16:2-16, Revelation 19:19-21, and Revelation 20:4. Also, Nero did not fulfill other prophecies regarding the Antichrist (e.g. 2 Thessalonians 2:3-9, Daniel 11:31,36; cf. Matthew 24:15). And the apostle John did not see the vision of Revelation until decades after the time of Nero. For Irenaeus (born c. 140 AD) said: "We will not, however, incur the risk of pronouncing positively as to the name of Antichrist; for if it were necessary that his name should be distinctly revealed in this present time, it would have been announced by him [John] who beheld the apocalyptic vision [Revelation]. For that was seen no very long time since, but almost in our day, towards the end of Domitian's reign" (Against Heresies 5:30:3c). The end of Domitian's reign was 96 AD. Nero's reign was 54-68 AD. The detailed prophecies regarding the Antichrist, just as the rest of the Tribulation prophecies of Revelation chapters 6 to 18 and Matthew 24, have never been fulfilled.
Any mistaken teaching which claims that the Antichrist has already come and gone could be employed in our future by the real Antichrist to fool some Christians into thinking that he is not the Antichrist.
(See also the "616" section of Revelation 13:18 below)
~
(Re: But does not "Neron Csar" = 666 in Hebrew gematria?)
Regarding the claim (made by some) that Nero's name in Hebrew gematria added up to 666 (Revelation 13:17c-18), is there an ancient historical source which shows how "Nero Caesar" was usually transliterated into Hebrew at the time that Revelation was written down, so we can confirm whether or not the usual Hebrew transliteration of "Nero Caesar" added up to 666 in Hebrew gematria, instead of an intentionally-altered Hebrew spelling? For example, why was an "n" added after "Nero" to make "Neron"; and why was the "ae" of "Caesar" skipped to make "Csar", when, for example, the "ae" in "Israel" gets at least an "aleph" in Hebrew? Could "Neron Csar" in fact be an intentionally-altered, never-actually-used spelling which adds up to 666, just as people today could intentionally mistransliterate into Hebrew the name of someone living today, so that the mistransliterated name adds up to 666 in Hebrew gematria? Also, just by chance there could be more than one person in the world whose name adds up to 666. So even if it could be proven that the usual Hebrew spelling of "Nero Caesar" added up to 666, or that the usual spelling of the name of someone living today adds up to 666, this does not require that that person is the Antichrist.
Also, should we even assume that the Antichrist's name has to be transliterated into Hebrew for it to add up to 666? For Revelation was originally written in Greek and addressed to Greek-speaking Gentile churches in the Roman province of "Asia" (Revelation 1:11) (what is today western Turkey), not to Hebrew-speaking Jewish churches in Israel. And the apostle John used three letters from the Greek alphabet to express the number 666 in Revelation 13:18 (in the original Greek Textus Receptus), not any letters from the Hebrew alphabet. But this does not require that the Antichrist's name has to be transliterated into Greek for it to add up to 666. For John used the Greek alphabet only because it was the most common one used by the Christians whom he was addressing at the time that Revelation was written down.
Also, even when "Nero Caesar" (instead of "Neron Csar") is transliterated into Hebrew, it does not have to add up to 666:
N - Nun = 50 (cf. the "Ne" in "Nebo" in the Hebrew of Num. 32:3: Nun for the "N" & nothing for the "e")
E /
R - Reysh = 200
O - Vav = 6 (cf. the "o" in "Nebo" in the Hebrew of Num. 32:3 being the letter Vav)
C - Qowph = 100 (cf. "Kareah" in the Hebrew of Jer. 40:8, & "Caesar" being "Kaisar" in the Greek of Mt. 22:17)
A - Aleph = 1 (cf. the "ae" in "Israel" in the Hebrew of Gen. 32:28: Aleph for the "a" & nothing for the "e")
E /
S - Samek = 60 (cf. the "sar" in "Ellasar" in the Hebrew of Gen. 14:1: Samek for the "s" & nothing for the "a")
A /
R - Reysh = 200
Total = 617
~
(Re: How could anyone come in the future who will be worse than Hitler?)
The future Antichrist (the individual-man aspect of Revelation's "beast") will be worse than Hitler. For he will be given power over every nation (Revelation 13:7b). And he will make war against, and overcome physically (by beheading), every Biblical Christian whom he can get his hands on throughout the earth (Revelation 13:7-10, Revelation 14:12-13, Revelation 20:4-6, Matthew 24:9-13).
--
*Revelation 13:6 / *Rev. 13:6 -
(Them that dwell in heaven)
See Revelation 12:12 above.
--
*Revelation 13:7-10 / *Rev. 13:7 -
(Re: *Overcome-Antichrist)
Revelation 13:7-10 shows that the future Antichrist (the individual-man aspect of Revelation's "beast"), during his literal 3.5-year worldwide reign (Revelation 13:5-10), will be allowed to physically overcome Biblical Christians in every nation (Revelation 20:4-6, Revelation 14:12-13, Matthew 24:9-13), just as, for example, the Roman emperors and Satan were allowed to physically overcome some Biblical Christians in the first century AD (e.g. Revelation 2:10). There are no Biblical Christians outside of the Church (Ephesians 4:4-6).
But Revelation 13:7-10 does not mean that every person in the Church will be overcome by the future Antichrist. For some in the Church will be in God-protected wilderness places (Revelation 12:6,14-16). And so they will still be "alive and remain" on the earth at Jesus Christ's future, Second Coming to be raptured (1 Thessalonians 4:15-17), immediately after the Tribulation (Mark 13:24-27; 2 Thessalonians 2:1-8, Revelation 19:7 to 20:6).
--
*Revelation 13:8 / *Rev. 13:8 -
The "all" in the first part of Revelation 13:8 is qualified by the second part of Revelation 13:8. That is, the verse refers to nonelect individuals, those whose names are not written in the Book of Life. Revelation 13:8 means that all nonelect individuals who will be alive at the time of the future Antichrist's literal 3.5-year worldwide reign will worship him (Revelation 13:4-8). Other verses show that obedient Christians who will be alive at that time will not worship him, but will flee into God-protected wilderness places (Revelation 12:6,14-16), or will remain in the cities and get beheaded (Revelation 20:4-6, Revelation 14:12-13, Revelation 13:7-10, Matthew 24:9-13). And other verses show that there will be non-Christian elect Jews who will not worship him. And so they will be able to become saved from hell, that is, become Christians, at Jesus Christ's future, Second Coming (Romans 11:25-29, Zechariah 12:10-14), which will be after the time of the Antichrist (Matthew 24:29-30). Anyone who worships the Antichrist can never be saved (Revelation 14:9-12).
--
*Revelation 13:11-16 / *Rev. 13:11 -
(Re: The *False Prophet / *FP)
The beast who comes up out of the earth in Revelation 13:11-16 represents the individual man who will become the future Antichrist's False Prophet (Revelation 19:20, Revelation 16:13). He could be a secretly-apostate pope who at some point during his tenure will make a great push for peace and unity between Christianity and Islam. He could say something like: "Why do we fight each other? Are not we all the spiritual children of Abraham and of his God, the one God? Cannot we lay aside our foolish, man-made differences of theology, which have done us no good at all, but have only brought us hatred and violence, and unite into one religion of Abraham, one religion of peace, based on love for the one God and love for our fellow man? What is more important than this?"
He could be so skillful in elucidating what the moderate Muslims could call "the true, peaceful, loving nature of Islam", that he could be hailed by them worldwide as (in their words) "a Great Imam, come to rescue our beloved Islam from the bad reputation falsely given to it by the terrorists". In this way, a pope could come to hold high positions of power in two religions at the same time, which could be symbolized by the two horns of the False Prophet lamb (Revelation 13:11). This would be similar to how the seven horns of the true-Jesus lamb in Revelation 5:6 could represent the true Jesus holding seven positions of power at the same time (compare Jesus wearing many crowns at the same time in Revelation 19:12). The False Prophet could even say that he is Jesus returned (via "reincarnation"). But he will not that say he is Christ. For the False Prophet and the Antichrist will deny that Jesus is the Christ (1 John 2:22) and will deny that Christ is in the flesh (2 John 1:7).
(See paragraph 3 of Revelation 13:4 above. Also, see the "Fatima" section below)
~
(*Like a lamb)
The False Prophet appearing figuratively "like a lamb" (Revelation 13:11) can mean that he will present himself to the world as being a Christian. For Jesus refers to Christians as being figurative "lambs" (John 21:15b, Luke 10:3). Also, Jesus warns Christians to: "Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves" (Matthew 7:15), meaning falsely present themselves as being obedient Christians, for Christians are figurative "sheep" (Matthew 10:16).
The False Prophet appearing figuratively "like a lamb" (Revelation 13:11) could even mean that he will say that he is Jesus Himself returned (via "reincarnation"). For both before and after Revelation 13:11, "a lamb" in Revelation refers to Jesus Himself (Revelation 5:6, Revelation 14:1).
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(Re: How can the False Prophet be a fake Jesus if he does things which Jesus would not do?) / (*Policeman analogy)
The False Prophet could pretend that he is Jesus, because a fake Jesus can do things which the real Jesus would not do. As an analogy, a real policeman would almost-never knock on someone's door to steal from their house under the pretence of recovering stolen property. But someone pretending to be a policeman could do that. And no one is going to say: "Oh, no, no robber can pretend to be a policeman, because a policeman does not commit robbery".
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(Re: But how could Jesus' Second Coming in great power and glory be duplicated in order for the False Prophet to claim to be Jesus?)
The False Prophet does not have to duplicate the Bible's description of Jesus' Second Coming literally, but can explain it away as being only symbolic, just as full preterism already explains the Second Coming away today as something which happened back in 70 AD. Or, the False Prophet could claim that the Bible's description of the Second Coming is not the true Word of God, but is only from (in his words) "a Bible which was corrupted by power-hungry men when they copied and changed its early manuscripts".
The False Prophet could say that he is Jesus returned via "reincarnation". The world could accept this, because a lot of the world believes in reincarnation, even though the Bible refutes reincarnation. For the Bible says that is appointed unto men once to die, and after this the judgment (Hebrews 9:27).
(See also Acts 1:11 above)
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(Re: *Land beast)
The False-Prophet beast figuratively coming from the land (Revelation 13:11) could mean that he will come from Christianity, while the Antichrist beast figuratively coming from the sea (Revelation 13:1) could mean that he will not come from Christianity.
(See the "Druze" section of Revelation 13:4 above)
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(Re: Does the *sea represent heavily populated areas, and the land sparsely populated ones?)
The sea could be symbolic of the multitudes of people who are non-Christian and nonelect (Matthew 7:13b, Revelation 17:15), while the land (cf. the land of Israel, the elect: Romans 9:11-24) could represent the relatively few people, compared with all of humanity, who are true Christians and/or the elect, the chosen of God (Matthew 7:14, Revelation 22:14).
(See Romans 9:11 above)
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(Re: How can the second "beast" even be a man?)
In the Bible, "beasts" can refer figuratively to men (Titus 1:12). In Revelation 13 the second beast, in verses 11-16, represents the individual man who will become the future Antichrist's (the individual-man aspect of the first beast's) False Prophet (Revelation 19:20, Revelation 16:13).
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(Re: *Fatima)
If a secretly-apostate pope does become the future Antichrist's False Prophet (of Revelation 13:11-16, Revelation 19:20, and Revelation 16:13), then adherents of Catholicism will have to decide what their ultimate source of truth is: Is it the pope and the RCC, or God and the Bible? Many adherents of Catholicism who know God and the Bible well, and hold to them as their ultimate source of truth, will no doubt be utterly aghast at the false doctrines of a False Prophet pope. Such adherents of Catholicism could demand that he be removed for heresy, and apostasy, and that the cardinals elect a new pope. But other adherents of Catholicism, including many cardinals, bishops, and priests, could be deceived (along with most of the rest of the world) into believing the False Prophet pope's false doctrines, because of his ability to perform the most amazing miracles (Revelation 13:13-14, Revelation 19:20; cf. Matthew 24:24).
And so a great schism could arise within the RCC. Compare the Akita prophecy: "The work of the devil will infiltrate even into the Church in such a way that one will see cardinals opposing cardinals, bishops against bishops". Many adherents of Catholicism could follow the False Prophet pope, while other adherents of Catholicism could reject him, and elect their own, new pope (or reinstate a former pope who is still alive), whom they could declare to be the "True Pope". But this new (or reinstated) "True Pope" could then be murdered, along with many of his followers, by the False Prophet pope's soldiers. Compare the Third Secret of Fatima: "he [the pope] was killed by a group of soldiers who fired bullets and arrows at him, and in the same way there died one after another the other Bishops, Priests, men and women Religious, and various lay people of different ranks and positions". Could the soldiers firing "arrows" be the Vatican's Swiss Guards, whose weapons and colorful uniforms hark back to the Middle Ages?
After this slaughter, the False Prophet pope could manage to retain the papacy, and full control of the Vatican, and through his (deceived) cardinals, bishops, and priests, retain full control of all RCC cathedrals, parishes, churches, etc., throughout the world. And when the Antichrist (the individual-man aspect of Revelation's "beast") obtains power over all nations, he and the False Prophet will make war against true, Biblical Christians (whether they are adherents of Catholicism or not) throughout the world, and will physically overcome them and kill them (by beheading) in every nation (Revelation 13:7-10, Revelation 14:12-13, Revelation 20:4-6, Matthew 24:9-13).
It is only when the Antichrist has completely broken the physical power of the true Church (which consists of all true Christians, whether they are adherents of Catholicism or not: Ephesians 4:4-6) that the future Tribulation will end (Daniel 12:7b), and Jesus Christ's Second Coming will...
(See "immediately occur" under Daniel 12:7b above)
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(Re: *Marian phenomena)
Could Marian phenomena of the past be "reinterpreted" by a secretly-apostate, False Prophet pope, to help bring some Catholics into his deception? And could Satan even create some future "Marian" phenomena for this purpose? Are most Catholic Christians who believe in the validity of all past Marian phenomena well-schooled enough in Biblical doctrine to be able to recognize any shifts in doctrine which might be parlayed through any future, false apparitions? Or could any such apparitions help instead to lead some Catholic Christians (not to mention other Christians) gently down the road toward the future apostasy (1 Timothy 4:1; 2 Timothy 4:3-4; 2 Thessalonians 2:3)?
(See also Revelation 13:4 above)
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(Re: The False Prophet is *not Satan)
(Regarding the Antichrist not being Satan, see the first "not Satan" section of Revelation 13:5 above)
The beast who comes up out of the earth (Revelation 13:11-16) is not Satan, but represents the individual man who will become the future Antichrist's False Prophet (Revelation 19:20, Revelation 16:13). Satan (the dragon, Revelation 12:9) is not the False Prophet, for the False Prophet will have power to perform miracles only in the presence of the Antichrist (the individual-man aspect of the beast from the sea) (Revelation 13:14, Revelation 19:20), while Satan will be the one who will empower the Antichrist (Revelation 13:4; 2 Thessalonians 2:9), and so also the False Prophet. Also, whereas Satan and the Antichrist will be worshipped (Revelation 13:4,8), the False Prophet will not be worshipped. Also, the False Prophet and the Antichrist will be cast into the lake of fire over 1,000 years before Satan is cast into the lake of fire (Revelation 19:20 to 20:10). The False Prophet, the Antichrist, and Satan are also shown to be three separate persons in Revelation 16:13.
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*Revelation 13:12 / *Rev. 13:12 -
The original Greek word (enopion: G1799) translated as "before" can mean "in the presence of" (Revelation 14:10).
(See the last section of Revelation 13:14 below)
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*Revelation 13:13 / *Rev. 13:13 -
(Re: *Fire from heaven)
Just as the future Antichrist could make a worldwide, live-television and internet spectacle out of his fulfilling of 2 Thessalonians 2:4 and Daniel 11:36, so his False Prophet could make a worldwide, live-television and internet spectacle out of his fulfilling of Revelation 13:13, when he will miraculously call fire down from heaven in the sight of everyone. He could do this as a Satanic inversion of 1 Kings 18:19-40. For example, he could gather all of the most prominent leaders of the Christian community worldwide to the Champ de Mars (Mars being the same as Marduk the dragon, the chief god of ancient Babylon). The Champ de Mars is the large, open area in front of the Eiffel Tower in Paris. The False Prophet could then tell the gathered Christian leaders to pray to YHWH God to send fire down and destroy the Tower.
And when the Christian leaders pray, and YHWH does not do anything (by His own choice), the False Prophet could then pray to Lucifer (the dragon, Satan: Revelation 12:9, Revelation 13:4) to send fire down and destroy the Tower. And Lucifer/Satan could do so (allowed to do so by YHWH), so that 1 Kings 18:38-40 will be turned on its head, so that news reporters could write (in their words) "Then the fire of Lucifer fell, and consumed the Eiffel Tower. And when all of the people saw it, they fell on their faces. And they said, 'Lucifer is God, Lucifer is God'. And the True Prophet said to them: 'Take these men of YHWH! Let not one of them escape!' And they took them. And the True Prophet brought them down to the river Seine, and slew them there" (as a Satanic inversion of 1 Kings 18:38-40).
But would YHWH God really let something like this happen? Would he let Christians pray to Him to send fire down from heaven, but decline to do so, while allowing Satan to send fire down at the beck of the False Prophet? Yes, YHWH could let this happen, as a test to Christians, to see if they love signs and wonders more than YHWH (cf. Deuteronomy 13:1-3). Christians must always remember that not all signs and wonders are from the true God, that Satan can also give people the power to perform them (e.g. 2 Thessalonians 2:9), to deceive people (Matthew 24:24-25, Revelation 13:13-14, Revelation 19:20).
The way not to be deceived is to continue to believe everything that the Bible teaches is from God (John 8:31b, Matthew 4:4; 2 Timothy 3:15 to 4:4), no matter how amazing the miracles are of someone who teaches something which contradicts the Bible (Matthew 24:24; 1 Timothy 4:1). And the way to continue to believe everything that the Bible teaches is from God is not to continue in any unrepentant sin. For otherwise our conscience could become seared as with a hot iron (1 Timothy 4:2), to where we could no longer endure the sound doctrine of the Bible, but after our own lusts heap to ourselves teachers who teach us fables which help to support us in our lusts (2 Timothy 4:3-4), to where we could even become willing to depart from the Christian faith itself, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils (1 Timothy 4:1).
(See also Revelation 13:4 and Hebrews 6:4 above)
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