[Dr. Eckleburg]

If Nero was the antichrist, then when exactly did Jesus destroy him

At His coming and confirmed by His resurrection.

"And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, all power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.

Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world." -- Matthew 28:18-20

Here's a nice, succinct blog entry that answers your questions via the words of Scripture...

COVENANT THEOLOGY
DATING THE BOOK OF REVELATION

••Who is the beast of Rev. 19:19-20?

Rome. The Great Whore (Jerusalem) rode the beast, using the Imperial power of Rome to persecute the church, as we see several times in Acts. But Rome (the sea beast) eventually destroys Jerusalem (the great whore/land beast). I'll go more into detail here in a later blog.

••Has Rev. 20:2-3 (the chaining of Satan) already come to pass?

Yes. Luke 10:18-19. Christ has bound the strong man and is currently plundering his house (Luke 11:20-23)

••What does this mean with regard to occultism and demon-possession (which apparently still happens in missionary areas)?

Christ's plundering of Satan's former possessions continue.

••There are many Christians (even today) who have been protected by angels. Are demons hindering us in the same way?

Satan always hinders us and looks for weaknesses in our armor. However, he has been defeated by Christ, and the work of the church today is merely a mop up job. If only the church could understand that.

[Dr. Eckleburg]

Meant to ping you to 295, too.

[DreamsofPolycarp]

Thank you for your posting. There is a WIDE variety of views within the covenant community on these answers. My views tend to be more those of William Hendricksen, who is not a preterist. You can find his excellent little layman's commentary at amazon http://www.amazon.com/More-Than-Conquerors-Interpretation-Revelation/dp/0801057922/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-8283485-9801736?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1180033902&sr=8-1

[HarleyD]

That is a rather interesting site that you posted. I'm especially interested in the quotes from the early fathers. Normally you see this with the one quote from Iraeneus with everyone else quoting him. This is the first I've seen direct quotes about John and Nero.

Elsewhere in the Syriac tradition, we should note that both of the Syriac Versions of the Revelation give in the title the statement that John was banished by Nero. Their titles say. - "The Apocalypse of St. John, written in Patmos, whither John was sent by Nero Caesar." Since John was banished to Patmos by Nero, and Nero died in 68 AD, then Revelation was written prior to 68 AD.

II.) The Muratorian Canon states "…for the blessed apostle Paul himself, following the order of his predecessor John, he wrote to only seven churches by name, in the following order…”. Paul was killed in 68 AD by Nero. Since Paul copied John's example of writing to 7 churches, then John wrote Revelation prior to 68 AD.

III.) In his work Against Jovinianum (1:26), Jerome states, “But if thou art near to Italy, thou hast Rome, where we also have an authority close at hand. What an happy Church is that, on which the Apostles poured out all their doctrine, with their blood: where Peter had a like Passion with the Lord; where Paul bath for his crown the same death with John; where the Apostle John was plunged into boiling oil, and suffered nothing, and was afterwards banished to an island.”

Rather interesting.

[PetroniusMaximus]

“At His coming and confirmed by His resurrection.”

Whoa, whoa, whao... Dr. E!

Hold up there!!!

What do you mean “At His coming...”????

How could Jesus have destroyed Nero, “at his coming (parousia) if he hasn’t come yet????

???