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Early Church Fathers on the Timing of the Rise of Antichrist
https://www.biblelightinfo.com/fathers-on-antichrist.htm ^

Posted on 08/23/2024 5:08:56 AM PDT by Philsworld

"Paul distinctly tells us that he knew, and that the Thessalonians knew, what that hindrance was, and that it was then in existence. The early Church, through the writings of the Fathers, tells us what it knew upon the subject, and with remarkable unanimity affirms that this "let," or hindrance, was the Roman empire as governed by the Caesars; that while the Caesars held imperial power, it was impossible for the predicted antichrist to arise, and that on the fall of the Caesars he would arise. Here we have a point on which Paul affirms the existence of knowledge in the Christian Church. The early Church knew, he says, what this hindrance was. The early Church tells us what it did know upon the subject, and no one in these days can be in a position to contradict its testimony as to what Paul had, by word of mouth only, told the Thessalonians. It is a point on which ancient tradition alone can have any authority. Modern speculation is positively impertinent on such a subject".1

1 As to the "let" or hindrance to the manifestation of the "man of sin" referred to in 2 Thess. ii., Mr. Elliott says: "We have the consenting testimony of the early Fathers, from Ireneus, the disciple of the disciple of St. John, down to Chrysostom and Jerome, to the effect that it was understood to be the imperial power ruling and residing at Rome." — " Horae Apocalyptica;," vol. iii., p. 92.

Romanism and the reformation: from the standpoint of prophecy, by Henry Grattan Guinness, Hodder and Stoughton, 1887, pg. 194.

https://www.biblelightinfo.com/fathers-on-antichrist.htm

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1 posted on 08/23/2024 5:08:56 AM PDT by Philsworld
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To: Philsworld

Virtually all Protestant Reformers identified the Papacy as the great counterfeit religious system, the AntiChrist, the first beast of Revelation 13 the little horn of Daniel 7. And it is.

Seventh day Adventists continue to teach this. The more we read Seventh day Adventist Bible doctrines and beliefs and teachings, which are essentially Protestant positions held for centuries, the more Protestant a person becomes.

And the Protestant Reformation will continue to the return of Christ. Evangelicals had to invent dispensationalism to rid themselves of the Sabbath but they also realize Sunday holiness wasn’t in the Bible either. They were in a real pickle. So they did away with the “law” when in fact, it’s only the Sabbath they abandoned and now they don’t even keep Sunday.

This was not true a century ago......evangelicals and protestants kept Sunday. Wrong day....right way and I believe God honored that.

Even Rome knew Sunday keeping is in the Bible and about 100 years ago Rome issued a challenge to Sunday keeping Protestant......”Rome’s Challenge Why do Protestants keep Sunday?”

One of the most thorough defenses for the Bible Sabbath if you follow the Bible alone and it was written by the Catholic church!!! Amazing.......

They look at every text in the new testament that refers to the “first day” of the week and also at John’s reference to the “Lord’s day.” ie, there is no reference to the first day in Revelation 1:10 .....John just says the “Lord’s day”.....but when specfic reference is made to the “first day” in other new testament texts......never is the “Lord’s day “ used in connection with it.

What? Did John all of a sudden proclaim the Lord’s day the first day in Revelation 1:10? How come no other text uses the Lord’s day as the first day when the first day is specifically mentioned?

This is simply brilliant biting theology....and it’s by Rome!

https://www.romeschallenge.com/


2 posted on 08/23/2024 5:25:11 AM PDT by vespa300
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To: vespa300

Meant to say even Rome knew Sunday keeping was NOT in the Bible.


3 posted on 08/23/2024 5:26:09 AM PDT by vespa300
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To: vespa300

——>Virtually all Protestant Reformers identified the Papacy as the great counterfeit religious system, the AntiChrist, the first beast of Revelation 13 the little horn of Daniel 7. And it is.

Correct. The comments from the ECF’s on the timing of the rise of the Antichrist solidify that point. The Antichrist comes out of Pagan Rome. It’s not even biblically debatable. It’s in Daniel 7 clear as can be. According to prophecy, the Antichrist power can only be the Papacy.


4 posted on 08/23/2024 5:40:11 AM PDT by Philsworld
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To: Philsworld

Matthew 25:13

Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.


5 posted on 08/23/2024 5:53:36 AM PDT by JSM_Liberty
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To: JSM_Liberty

I know who the Antichrist power is, and their mark of authority. I know the end is near.


6 posted on 08/23/2024 6:24:38 AM PDT by Philsworld
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To: vespa300

Neither is Rome’s Friday,Saturday or Sunday in the bible.

But Passover, Unleavened Bread and First Fruits is..

That’s the first importance of the gospel, according to Paul.

Why has Rome been allowed to change the Preparation Day, Sabbath and First Day like that with no push back from Protesters of Rome?


7 posted on 08/23/2024 6:33:10 AM PDT by delchiante
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To: Philsworld
The antiChrist power

The mark of following a false prophetess like your founder Ellen G White who made numerous false prophecies.

And the mark of authority is this devilish bloke

Seventh Day Adventism is the "synagogue of Satan" we were warned about - a cult that believe that Jesus is the angel Michael.

8 posted on 08/23/2024 6:33:35 AM PDT by Cronos
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To: delchiante

Saturday and Sunday are terms in English.

In Latin those are “Sabbath day” and “the Lord’s day”.

yup, Sabbath remains on the last day. As Christians we have worshipped the Lord since Apostolic times on the FIRST day of the week


9 posted on 08/23/2024 6:36:18 AM PDT by Cronos
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To: delchiante
As Christians we since the days of the Apostles have CELEBRATED the resurrection of the Lord on the Lord's Day - Sunday

>Matthew 28:1: "Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb."

Mark 16:2: "Very early in the morning, on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen."

Acts 20:7: "Now on the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul, ready to depart the next day, spoke to them and continued his message until midnight."

I Corinthians 16:2: "On the first day of the week let each one of you lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper that there be no collections when I come."

Remember Mark 2:27 says, "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath." and

"One man regards one day above another, another regards every day alike. Let each man be fully convinced in his own mind. 6 He who observes the day, observes it for the Lord, and he who eats, does so for the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who eats not, for the Lord he does not eat, and gives thanks to God," (Rom. 14:5-6).
and
"Therefore let no one act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day— 17things which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ." (Col. 2:16-17).
A festival is yearly. A new moon is monthly. A Sabbath is weekly. No one is to act as your judge in regard to this. The Sabbath is defined as the mere shadow of what is to come (Jesus), the reality is Jesus. Jesus is our Sabbath. This is in reference to Isaiah 1:13 13 Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting.

.

Besides "And on the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul began talking to them, intending to depart the next day, and he prolonged his message until midnight," (Acts 20:7).
as imadrmd1 wrote The people of Christ met originally in the evening pf the Roman midnight-to-midnight day of which the time before sundown was still Sabbath. To the Jew, the evening was the beginning of the sundown-to-sundown first day of the week.

"And upon the first dayof the weekσαββατων (sabbaton), when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight" (Acts 20:7 AV).

For at least 30 years after the resurrection/ascension of Jesus (Pentecost was on the first day of the week, likewise) the disciples met in the evening of the day of which the daylight was still Jewish Sabbath, thereby not violating Jewish sensitivities.

"Upon the first day of the weekσαββατων let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come" (1 Cor. 16:2 AV).

The Corinthians were commanded by Paul to meet on the first of the week and have their tithes ready to be gathered each week.

The whole week is a heptad, a bundle of seven, a week of days, a "sabbath" of days, wherein the last day for Jews was set aside for rest from work. But the evenin of that last day is the first day of a new sabbath of days, hence it is also a (new) sabbath.

If you are a sabbatarian, avvording to the law you musy stay at home, go no place, and do no woek. But also if you wish to thus come inder the Law, you must obey the law, all of it, without fail. And doing so will send you to Hades/Hell in it in any way. You cannot be a Christian and be a sabbatarian.

10 posted on 08/23/2024 6:37:02 AM PDT by Cronos
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To: delchiante
Constantine did not choose Sunday as the Christian day of assembly. This decision was made much earlier by Christians in the 1st century.

That’s why Sunday is not a “Roman/Christian day of rest.” It is simply a day of assembly and celebration. Christians are not under the Law, so they never felt an urge to comply with Sabbath regulations.

Early in Apostolic days, believers of the Way were assembling on Sunday, the first day of the week. Acts 20:7 “On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul began talking to them.” Breaking bread does not just mean having lunch. This is communion, Eucharist, the Love-feast (Jude 1:12, 1 Cor 11:17-35) of the early church.

Also 1Cor 16:1-2 “Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I directed the churches of Galatia, so do you also. 2 On the first day of every week each one of you is to put aside and save, as he may prosper.” About AD51 Paul founded the church of Corinth while on the 2nd missionary journey. So it is very likely that the Apostle Paul himself commissioned the idea of Sunday worship.

So already in the first century the Lord's Day, Sunday was the day of worship and gathering for Christians. It never was 'sunday replacing saturday as sabbath' but 'the christians meet on sunday the 1st day, the day after sabbath, when the Lord arose;

By the time Constantine came to power, 200 years later, the Christian church was in every major Roman city. Some estimates think that about 10% of the empire had already converted, even under Diocletian's persecution.

So even if Constantine had wanted to change the holy day, it wouldn't have been that easy. Christianity had already gotten out of the bag, it had spread far and wide from Britannia to Parthia and beyond.

There would have been enormous upheaval and debate. Christians love to debate.

Patristic fathers uniformly write about Sunday as the Lord's Day.

And if a decree had come from the co-emperor of the Roman empire that we must change what we had already been doing, then you can bet your bottom sestarius there would have been some treatises written. But there weren't

a Roman emperor may have be able to forcibly coerce some imposed rules on Roman territory -- he didn't - but the Sunday worship model extends into non-Roman territory from the very earliest date.

So to conclude, Sabbath remains Saturday, it was never "replaced" with Sunday. Sunday, the Lord's day ever was the day Christians gathered and worshiped - well before Constantine came along

11 posted on 08/23/2024 6:37:30 AM PDT by Cronos
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To: Cronos

His First Day of the Week is the 16th Day of His 1st month, the 3rd day from His 14th Day, the Day The Passover Lamb finished His work..

That’s what the scriptures teach.
I admit it isn’t what Daniel’s 4th Beast teaches.

But that’s sort of the point..


12 posted on 08/23/2024 6:40:05 AM PDT by delchiante
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To: Cronos

13 posted on 08/23/2024 7:15:50 AM PDT by Philsworld
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To: Philsworld

‘Ol Frankie, who’s obviously never cracked the cover of the Bible, is at the top of the list of contenders.


14 posted on 08/23/2024 7:18:10 AM PDT by bgill
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To: Cronos; vespa300

Absolutely crystal clear that the Little Horn ANTICHRIST power comes directly out of Pagan Rome. Not even debatable that it can only be the Papacy...thinks to changes times and laws, etc...


15 posted on 08/23/2024 7:18:48 AM PDT by Philsworld
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To: delchiante

That’s new age nonsense you are spouting. Take your modernist non Christian philosophy elsewhere bub


16 posted on 08/23/2024 7:19:11 AM PDT by Cronos
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To: delchiante

The Passover lamb is Jesus who is/was Hod always.

At no point was Jesus the angel Michael


17 posted on 08/23/2024 7:20:08 AM PDT by Cronos
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To: Philsworld

Before Christ there must also have been the restrainer...lest AntiChrist had come to power before Jesus at which point God might have had to just destroy everything!


18 posted on 08/23/2024 7:27:54 AM PDT by mdmathis6 (A horrible historic indictment: Biden Democrats plunging the world into war to hide their crimes!)
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To: Cronos

Exodus 12
5Your [i]lamb shall be an unblemished male a year old; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats. 6[j]You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month, then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel is to slaughter it [k]at twilight.
.......

The Lamb was slain on the 14th Day, according to scripture.

Christ our Passover Lamb has been slain for us..

That’s not New Age.
That’s Old AND New Covenant,though..

You may be very accurate in declaring it non Roman Christian ..

It isn’t Roman.
It’s biblical..


19 posted on 08/23/2024 7:28:42 AM PDT by delchiante
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To: Philsworld

The False Prophet likely comes out of Rome....the Beast arises from somewhere else. Revelation speaks of a Troika between the work of the False Prophet, the works of the Beast to whom the false Prophet gives power to do false wonders, and the Image of the beast who is given power to speak blasphemous things against God. Revelation speaks of the same three entities being thrown directly into the Lake of Fire when Christ comes to take possession of the Earth. They are thrown into the lake of Fire fully 1000 years before the White Thrown judgment when death and Hades both are also thrown into the lake of Fire along with those whose names weren’t written into the lamb’s book of Life.

Your gobbledygook just doesn’t fly when actually compared to what Revelation says.

When Paul wrote of the “restrainer”, he spoke of it being presently in operation even before that monstrosity of the Tiber and the seven hills ever came into existence. He spoke of the Mystery of Iniquity that was constantly at work and at war against the Spirit of God. I believe that the Restrainer was at work even before Christ came bodily to Earth via the Virgin Mary lest the Son of Perdition should have arisen even before Christ had a chance to die and then be raised up so that man could be redeemed to God.

Thus the restrainer was not the Church of the truly Redeemed(since the Church was not in operation before the resurrection and then the Outpouring of the Spirit upon believers)...but must have been the Holy Spirit or at least some entity or Angel empowered by the Spirit that operated in the history before Christ’s coming, quite possibly from the time of Tower of Babel! (when the peoples were divided by speech and dialect then scattered)


20 posted on 08/23/2024 8:31:20 AM PDT by mdmathis6 (A horrible historic indictment: Biden Democrats plunging the world into war to hide their crimes!)
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