by
Damien F. Mackey
“… even now many antichrists have appeared,
from which fact we know that it is the last hour”.
I John 2:18
Introduction
The
Book of Apocalypse records and foretells events - albeit apocalyptically - that
took place between the departure of the risen Christ (his Ascension) and his
Coming, to overthrow the old order that had gone wrong (had become a
prostitute) and to replace it with the new.
He
came as Bridegroom to marry the new Bride, the Marian Church.
For,
in the words of the Catechism of the
Catholic Church (# 773):
In
the Church this communion of men with
God, in the "love [that] never ends," is the purpose which governs
everything in her
that is a sacramental means, tied to this passing world. "[The Church's]
structure is totally ordered to the holiness of Christ's members. And holiness
is measured according to the 'great mystery' in which the Bride responds with
the gift of love to the gift of the Bridegroom." Mary goes before us all
in the holiness that is the Church's mystery as "the bride without spot or
wrinkle."
(Eph
5:27). This is why the "Marian"
dimension of the Church precedes the "Petrine."
This
is, as we have seen, the drama of the Apocalypse right up to its last chapters.
And
that means that all that has gone before, including the “Beast” and the “two
witnesses”, has belonged to this period of real time: approximately 33-70 AD.
The
extraordinary Beast of the Apocalypse is never referred to as the Antichrist,
though many like to make this association. As I have previously noted: The term
“Antichrist” does not occur anywhere in the Book of Apocalypse (Revelation).
St.
John alone refers to “antichrist” and “many antichrists” (I John 2:18, 19, 22):
Young children, it is the last hour, and just as you have
heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have appeared,
from which fact we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but
they were not of our sort . . . Who is the liar but the one who
denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the
Father and the Son.
There had already been “many antichrists” by the time of
St. John’s writing (“have appeared”). And it was due to this fact that John
recognised that “it is the last hour”.
Similarly, he wrote in the Apocalypse, warning that all
these things were to happen “very soon”. For the angel had declared (Revelation
14:7): ‘Fear God and give him
glory, because the hour of his judgment has come …’.
Roman-ising the Apocalypse
Previously I
had noted that:
What has exacerbated the whole exegetical
problem of properly interpreting Revelation on a literal level is, I believe,
the conventional opinion that St. John wrote this Apocalypse in hoary old age,
in c. 95 AD, about a quarter of a century after Jerusalem had been destroyed.
Hence many commentators are loath to see any relevance for Revelation in the
destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD. Protestant and Catholic writers alike accept
the late 95 AD date of authorship (Protestant Thomas Foster sharing this view in
common with Opus Dei and Fr. Kramer).
Hence many
like to equate the harlot “Babylon” with Rome, and not with Jerusalem.
Similarly,
the “two witnesses” no longer die where the Apocalypse clearly has them die, in
Jerusalem (11:8): “Their bodies will lie in the public square
of the great city—which is figuratively called Sodom and Egypt—where also their Lord was crucified”, but
elsewhere, including Rome again. (On
this, I was intrigued to read in an Opus Dei commentary on Revelation the view
put forward that the “two witnesses” may have been Sts. Peter and Paul).
And,
likewise again, the “Beast” is converted into a Gentile ruler – e.g. the
emperor Nero, his name being cleverly gematria-tised into 666.
But see my
recent article on who Nero appears to have been:
Nero
Caesar can be likened to king Antiochus ‘Epiphanes’, to the emperor Hadrian
(2) Nero Caesar
can be likened to king Antiochus 'Epiphanes', to the emperor Hadrian
I
have been of the very same mind-set in the past.
But
more recently I have written differently, in my article:
Stephen ‘Protomartyr’ is
key to understanding ‘Beast’ of Revelation 13
https://www.academia.edu/30919177/Stephen_Protomartyr_is_key_to_understanding_Beast_of_Revelation_13
- an article
heavily-based upon the views of others - about the enigmatic apocalyptical
Beast:
“Some have identified the Beast as being an
individual such as the Pope, Martin Luther, John Calvin, William of Orange or
Hitler.
Others have seen the Beast more as a group or
movement of people,
such as the apostate Roman Church, the Protestants,
the Roman Empire
(or the Common Market), the Roman persecuting power
of the first century,
or some other great world-power that will rise up
to persecute Christians”.
At
the beginning of the New Testament’s Acts 8, immediately following the account
of the testimony of Stephen, and his martyrdom, we read that “Saul [Paul]
approved of their killing him”, and that (8:1-3).
On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in
Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and
Samaria. Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him. But Saul began to
destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off both men and
women and put them in prison.
Booker, “The Beast in
Jerusalem” (http://planetpreterist.com/content/beast-jerusalem),
has juxtaposed this text with Rev 11:7-8:
When
they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up out of the abyss
will make war with them, and overcome them and kill them. And their dead bodies
will lie in the street of the great city which spiritually is called Sodom and
Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified.
And
he draws the conclusion that the two texts are talking about the same thing:
First
of all, let’s compare the above text to Luke’s Acts of the Apostles. In Acts,
Stephen gives testimony of Jesus Christ, for which reason the Jews stoned him.
It says ...
“Saul
was in hearty agreement with putting him to death. And on that day a great
persecution began against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered
throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. Some devout
men buried Stephen, and made loud proclamation over him. But Saul began
ravaging the church, entering house after house, and dragging off men and
women, he would put them in prison”.
Now
read Revelation again:
“When
they have finished their testimony [when Stephen and those who followed after
him finished their testimony], the beast that comes up out of the abyss will
make war with them, and overcome them and kill them [a great persecution will
afterward arise, they will ravage the church, enter house after house, and drag
off men and women].
And
their dead bodies will lie [unless some devout men come along to bury them] in
the street of the great city which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where
also their Lord was crucified [in Jerusalem]”.
Revelation
also says, “The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is about to come up out
of the abyss and go to destruction”.
Compare
this text’s promise of destruction to 1 Thessalonians:
“For
you, brethren, became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are
in Judea, for you also endured the same sufferings at the hands of your own
countrymen, even as they did from the Jews, who both killed the Lord Jesus and
the prophets, and drove us out. They are not pleasing to God, but hostile to
all men, hindering us from speaking to the Gentiles so that they may be saved;
with the result that they always fill up the measure of their sins. But wrath
has come upon them to the utmost”.
1
Thess also says, “Now as to the times and the epochs, brethren, you have no
need of anything to be written to you. For you yourselves know full well that
the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night. While they are
saying, “Peace and safety!” [the classic statement of the false prophets of
old--Jer 6:13-14] then destruction will come upon them suddenly like labor
pains upon a woman with child, and they will not escape”.
2
Thessalonians seems to speak of the beast and the false prophet:
The
man of lawlessness is called also the “son of destruction”.
It
is said that he “opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object
of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself
as being God” [compare this to the image of the beast that must be
worshipped--Rev 13:4,14]
It
then says, “Then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with
the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of his coming”
[compare to Rev 19:20, those who “were killed with the sword which came from
the mouth of Him who sat on the horse ...”]
It
goes on to describe the culprit as “the one whose coming is in accord with the
activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders”. [compare to Rev
13:2 where the beast receives its authority from the serpent. Also compare with
Rev 13:14; 16:14; 19:20 where the false prophet performs “signs”]
Who
was responsible for the great persecution?
Paul,
in his allegory, says “as at that time he who was born according to the flesh
persecuted him who was born according to the spirit, so it is now also”.
Yet
in his allegory he contrasts two covenants and the children of two covenants.
The children of the one, born for slavery from Mount Sinai and corresponding to
the “present Jerusalem” persecuted the free children born of the Jerusalem that
is free. There is, of course, no mention of Rome.
John’s
Gospel also seems to downplay Rome.
Jesus
omits any reference to it (as a persecuting body) when he says, “They will make
you outcasts from the synagogue, but an hour is coming for everyone who kills
you to think that he is offering service to God. These things they will do
because they have not known the Father or me. But these things I have spoken to
you, so that when their hour [of destruction] comes, you may remember that I
told you of them”.
So
... with all of this background and history, why do people still identify the
beast as Roman?
[End of quotes]
Also
at: http://www.preterist.org/articles/the_beast.asp the same conclusion has been drawn, that the
“Beast” of Revelation 13 must have been Jewish, and not Roman:
We
are dealing with the character known as “the Beast” in the book of Revelation.
Let me suggest, if you are not familiar with this subject, that you read the
following passages before going on: Rev. 11, 13, 16, 17, 19, 20; 2 Thess. 2; 1
John 2, 3, 4, 5; and Matthew 24 (esp. vss. 23, 24).
The
identity of “The Beast” has always intrigued theologians.
Legions
of theories have been conjured up to excite the imagination. This article will
examine some of them. It is not our purpose here to identify specifically who
the Beast is, but rather to clarify his general nature (i.e. whether he is a
Jewish Beast or a Roman one). If we can determine that, maybe his specific
identity will be easier to pinpoint. We want to show why the Beast cannot be
Roman and why it must be Jewish in character.
The
whole question as to the nature of the Beast (Jewish or Roman) and his identity
is related closely to the date of the book of Revelation. This article assumes
that the book of Revelation was written before the destruction of Jerusalem (AD
70).
Past
Theories
Some
have identified the Beast as being an individual such as the Pope, Martin
Luther, John Calvin, William of Orange or Hitler. Others have seen the Beast
more as a group or movement of people, such as the apostate Roman Church, the
Protestants, the Roman Empire (or the Common Market), the Roman persecuting
power of the first century, or some other great world-power that will rise up
to persecute Christians. Some of the more serious attempts have been to
identify the Beast as Nero, based on the “666” number in Revelation 13. Another
person (Spitta) urged a first-century application to the Biblical character of
Simon Magus (Acts 8). Zullig interpreted the Beast as being the Herodian
dynasty of rulers. J. S. Russell (in his book, The Parousia) suggests the Roman
Procurators (from AD 44-66) and Nero. Once when walking in New York City, I was
handed a sheet which stated that Rockefeller was the Antichrist! I've heard
similar rumors about Henry Kissenger!
Every
famous person who was feared or hated was someone’s “Beast!” This really
illustrates how fear and hate (and other emotions) can affect one’s exegesis!
An
Alternative
Very
few have mustered the courage to suggest a Jewish fulfillment of these “beastly”
passages. Most modern interpreters (who are Amillennial) say the Beast is Rome.
So, the thesis of a Jewish Beast will probably not be easily accepted.
I
want to preface our study with some comments taken from Dr. Cornelius
Vanderwaal’s commentary on First John, where he deals with the antichrists:
(from his commentary set entitled, Search The Scriptures, vol. 10, pp. 60,61)
--
“John,
who may have been on the island of Patmos when he wrote this letter, now
declares that things have gone so far that many antichrists have already
appeared. This indicates that it is the 'last hour' (2:18). Many false prophets
have gone out in 'the world' (4:1), that is, the apostate Jewish world. ….
John’s
words make it clear that we must not think of the ‘antichrist’ in connection
with a misty future. When John reports the vision of the Beast in the book of
Revelation, he is not telling us about a future political antichrist with the
reins of world government in his hands; he is indicating that some beastly
devil will arise out of Israel to attack the church.
2
Thessalonians 2 follows the same line of thought. In 3:9, John distinguishes
sharply between the seed of God and the children of the devil (see John 8:44).
Who
Were The Serpents?
The
"Dragon" was the source of power and authority for the Beast. He is
called “the Serpent” and “the Devil” also. He is clearly identified as “Satan”
himself (Rev. 12:9, 20:2).
Were
the Romans ever called “children of the devil”? The Jews were: (John 8:44; Acts
13:10; 1 John 3:10)! The Jews were also called “serpents” and “offspring of
vipers” (Matt. 23:33)!
And
that same verse (Matt. 23:33) condemns them to a fiery end similar to the end
of the Beast and his followers (Rev. 19:19-21)!
Two
Beasts!
There
are actually two “Beasts” mentioned in Revelation (ch. 13). The second of these
is later identified as the “False Prophet” (cf. Rev. 13:11-14; 16:13 and
19:20). Throughout the Old and New Testaments the words “false prophet” are
continually used to denote Jewish characters. It would be strange indeed to
speak of a Roman Beast with such terminology. This is another indication that
the Beast and those he associates with are Jewish in character.
The
Beast Revived
If
the Beast is a Roman Emperor (such as Nero or Domitian), we are going to have
to deal with the lack of historical evidence for his resurrection. Rev. 13:2,
12, 14 make it clear that the Beast was killed with the sword but came back to
life. Some who favor the idea that Nero is under consideration here recall the
rumor that was circulated after his death that he really hadn't died but that
he was over in Parthia gathering an army to come back to Rome and take over.
There
is, of course, historical evidence that such a rumor was circulated in the
first century, but there is not the slightest evidence that the rumor was true,
and Nero never reappeared. This theory (called the "Nero Redivivus"
theory) has pretty well been abandoned by most who consider John’s account in
Revelation to be inspired. How could an inspired Apostle entertain such
speculative notions which never did materialize?
Neither
Nero nor Domitian nor any other Roman emperor came back to life again. This
would certainly militate against the Beast being Roman.
See
also my (Damien Mackey’s) article:
Rome
surprisingly minimal in Bible
(9) Rome
surprisingly minimal in Bible
The
article continues:
And
it can’t be the Roman persecuting power that was revived, since the Roman
persecution dragged on for several more centuries, and whatever persecution
this is, was supposed to end shortly after the book was written (see Rev.
1:1-3; 22:6,10). This is interesting, because the Jewish persecution did come
to a screeching halt shortly after the book was written!
Before
its end, the Jewish cause got a couple of extra lives: one in AD 66 when
Cestius Gallus (the Roman general) withdrew his forces and suffered a
humiliating defeat at the pass of Beth Horon.
A
second chance for their religion came when Yochanan Ben Zakkai pretended dead
and escaped (in a coffin) out of Jerusalem to the Romans, where he was allowed
by Titus to go to Yavneh and continue his teaching of the Law (where it
continued until the destruction of Jerusalem in Hadrian's day (AD 135).
The
Song of Moses
To
anyone familiar with the Law of Moses and Jewish tradition, Rev. 15:2,3 will
have meaning. It says that those martyrs “who had come off victorious from the
Beast” were singing “the Song of Moses”.
Deuteronomy
32:1-43 is the song that John has reference to.
The
Jews were to sing this song to remind themselves of what would befall them “in
the latter days” (Deut. 31:29). the song talks about “the end” of the Jews
(Deut. 32:20), and details their destruction by a consuming fire (Deut. 32:22),
“famine” (32:24), “plague” (32:24) and “bitter destruction” (32:24). God calls
them a “perverse generation” (32:5,20), and says He will “render vengeance”
upon them and “vindicate His people” (32:41 and 32:36 respectively).
Why
would Christian martyrs of the first century be singing this song about the
Romans, when the song had reference to the Jews? It wouldn't make much sense.
But if it was Jews who were killing them (like the book of Acts shows), then
they had every reason to be singing the Song of Moses! It was the Jews who were
the real threat to the Christians! No one else knew better how to attack the
church than the Jews. Paul said that his intention as a former persecutor was
not just to debate the Christians and prove they were wrong. He was out to “destroy”
them (Gal. 1:13,23; 1 Tim. 1:13; Acts 8:3; 9:21)!
It
was a Jewish beast who was persecuting and killing these Christians, and these
martyrs were singing the Song of Moses to remind their Jewish persecutors of
what was coming upon them!
Aren’t
these the same martyrs who cried out earlier, “How long, Or Lord, wilt Thou
refrain from judging and avenging our blood” (Rev. 6:10)? Who was it who had
all the “blood of the righteous” martyrs imputed against them - Jews or Romans?
These Christians who had kept their faith in Jesus in spite of the intense
persecution by the Jews were the ones “who had come off victorious from the
Beast”.
(See
Matt. 23:35 and Luke 13:33)! This passage (Rev. 15:2,3) points very clearly to
a Jewish beast.
Gnawed
Tongues and Wild Beasts
In
Rev. 16:10,11, it says that the people in the Beast’s kingdom “gnawed their
tongues because of pain”. They had great sores on their bodies along with other
plagues that had been poured out on them. The question is, if this is Rome or a
Roman beast of some kind, when were they ever in such a miserable mess? John
makes it clear that these events were to happen soon after the book was written
(Rev. 1:1,3; 22:6,10). When was Nero or Domitian’s kingdom thrust into such
dire straights?
We
know from Josephus when the Jews literally gnawed their tongues for lack of
food during the siege of AD 70!
And,
it is interesting that Josephus even calls the Jewish Zealot forces a “wild
beast” in several places (Wars V.1.1; IV.7.4; IV.9.8; V.2.5)!
This
doesn’t fit the Romans at all, but it does fit the Jews very well! This point
is emphasized even more by the fact that the whole context of the Song of Moses
is full of references to “beasts”, “serpents”, and “dragons” (Lev. 26; Deut.
28-32; esp. Deut. 32:24,33).
The
Beast Was Seized
The
real clincher to the whole story is found in Revelation 19:11-21, where it says
the Beast was “seized and thrown alive into the lake of fire” (vs. 20). Keep in
mind that these events were to happen soon after Revelation was written (Rev.
1:1,3; 22:6,10).
Was
Nero or Domitian seized and thrown into the Lake of Fire shortly after
Revelation was written? Did Rome make war against Jesus and His angelic hosts
and get defeated shortly after the book was written (Rev. 19:19)? Did the Roman
armies get “killed with the sword” and become a feast for all the vultures,
shortly after Revelation was written (19:21)? The Roman persecution did not end
shortly after the writing of Revelation, but the Jewish one did.
Whoever
the Beast is, he is soundly defeated here, his persecution against the church
is crushed and his armies become plunder for the birds of prey to eat.
Rome
didn’t fall until the Fifth Century [Mackey: Not necessarily my
calculations], and that’s a long time after Revelation was written! This sounds
more like a Jewish Beast trying to persecute and destroy the church, but
finally getting itself destroyed! The Romans were the vultures of this text
(Rev. 19:21) who circled outside the Jewish walls watching the Jewish factions
kill each other, waiting until they wore themselves out enough to become easy
prey.
This
soon happened (in AD 70) and Jews glutted the world slave market. The Roman
armies weren’t seized and “killed with the sword” in AD 70, nor in AD 96
either. Therefore, the Beast here (Rev. 19:19-21 cannot be a Roman one. It had
to be Jewish!
Conclusion
We
hope someone will go from here and discover the specific identity of the Jewish
Beast. Whether he is an individual or a group within the Jewish nation is a
matter that will be left to future studies. John Bray has suggested the Jewish
Zealot leader, John of Gischala. Others have suggested Menachem, who was a
relative of Judas the Galilean who had stirred up troubles back in earlier
days. He gathered a zealot band and attacked Masada, captured the fortress,
seized the armaments and paraded through Jerusalem with them. Menachem put on
the purple robes, proclaimed himself Messiah, and went into the Temple, but he
was assassinated in the Temple and his army vaporized. There may have been
rumors about his coming back to life, but I haven't read of them so far. He
never reappeared as far as Josephus recorded.
[End of quote]
With the Beast, the persecutor of the two witnesses, thus
destroyed - along with all of his followers - and now the Devil chained up, the
millennium can peacefully commence.
But, unfortunately, it is not yet the final curtain call,
for Satan gets to make another stage appearance later on (Revelation 20:7-8): “When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his
prison and will go out to deceive the nations in the
four corners of the earth—Gog and Magog—and to gather them for battle”.
That release, I have believed,
coincided approximately with the vision of Pope Leo XIII (1884).
According
to what I have written in:
Church Undergoing Test of Prophet Job
(10)
Church undergoing test of the prophet Job
we
are still in that tumultuous period, now in a very late stage of it.
