Posted on 06/05/2021 9:02:31 AM PDT by JAG 5000
Who Was The Beast Of the Book Of Revelation?
Short answer: Nero Caesar.
Read on , , ,
_________________
{The following was taken from He Shall Have Dominion. by Dr. Kenneth L. Gentry Jr. It is not a word for word quote but the substance of this below is Dr. Gentry's. I typed it in. It is not on the web. Footnote at the bottom}
_________________
Who Was The Beast Of Revelation? The Beast is a well known Christian Eschatological character. Premillennialists incorrectly believe that the Beast is to appear in the future. This is false. The Beast was a 1st Century character that appeared in the 1st Century and will never appear again in human history.
The Apostle John wrote the book of Revelation.
The Time Of The Beast. John clearly expects his prophesied events to take place in his day, the 1st Century.
John writes: "The revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place." Revelation 1:1
"Then he told me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this scroll, because the time is near" Revelation 22:10
"must soon take place" "the time is near"
In light of Revelation's significance to its first-century audience, the Beast must be someone relevant to that first-century audience.
"The revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who testifies to everything he saw—that is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near." Revelation 1:1-4
“Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea.” Rev. 1:11 {these were churches of the 1st century that received this letter of Revelation}
_____________________
Revelation 13 presents the Beast as a horrible and powerful foe attempting to destroy God's people.
Sometimes Revelation presents the Beast as a kingdom and sometimes as an individua leader of that kingdom.
In some places the Beast has seven heads which are seven kings collectively considered.
In Revelation 13:1 John notes that he saw a Beast coming up out of the sea having 10 horns and seven heads. Revelation 17:10 specifically says that the seven heads represent seven kings.
Thus the Beast is presented as a kingdom. But kingdoms have representatives. This is why John also speaks of the Beast as an individual.
John urges his readers to calculate the number of the Beast which is the number of a man Revelation 13:18
The Beast's General Identity is the first-century Roman Empire and NOT a "revived Roman Empire" as imagined by Dispensationalism.
According to Revelation 17:9 the Beast's seven heads represent "seven mountains." The seven mountains symbolize Rome. Rome is the one city in history distinguished and recognized by its seven mountains.
___________________
The Beast's Specific Identify. The Beast in his personal identity is Nero Caesar. He and he alone fits the bill as the personal and specific expression of the Beast. This vile character fulfills all the requirements of the text of Revelation.
First the number of the Beast. In Revelation 13:18 the number of the Beast is 666. The usefulness of this number lies in the fact that in the first-century alphabets serve as both phonetic symbols and as arithmetical values. Significantly a common spelling of Nero Caesar's name is Nrwn Qsr, which provides the numerical value of 666
Second the Textual Variant. See Dr. Gentry's book for this explanation. Page 381
Third the Beastly Image. Revelation 13 both calls and portrays the one behind the 666 riddle as a "beast.". The term "beast" can easily symbolize persons with a beastly nature. Almost all scholars agree that Nero Caesar possessed a beastly nature.. Nero Caesar is even hated and feared by his own countrymen, as ancient Roman historians agree. The pagan writer Apollinius of Tyana, a contemporary of Nero Caesar, calls him a "beast."
Fourth, the war with the saints. John's Beast will make war with the saints and overcome them.{Rev. 13:7} In fact Nero Caesar conducts a blasphemous war with the saints for a specific period of 42 months {Rev. 13:5} Nero begins his persecution of Christians in A.D. 64. The persecution finally ends when Nero Caesar dies on June 8, A.D.68 forty-two months later, but for a few days. {Point of interest: Nero's own end comes by the sword.}
Conclusion: The Beast of Revelation was the beastly Nero Caesar of the 1st Century.
Source He Shall Have Dominion by Dr. Kenneth L. Gentry Jr. pages 379 - 381
Best Regards,
JAG
Most of the televangelists that I hear are not about he left they pray on the people who are fundamentalist or Pentecosts. But, left wing “Liberation theologists” and social justice lefties are just another example of what is wrong with current Christianity and just another example of how easy it is to twist manipulate and distort things. The only way is to be able to sort out things by yourselves and do some real research. This is something that most people are adverse to. People gave up thier lives fighting ofr Nazis and Communists and all kinds of things so what does that matter. Look for the truth that is what is really important andthat is the only way to keep thingsfrom being twisted and distorted.
And what if you are wrong?
Then of course you haven’t heard of any of these guys Ireneaus, Polycarp, Justin Martyr, and Papias.
Personally I’ll stick with this
Rev 22:18
18 I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this scroll: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to that person the plagues described in this scroll. 19 And if anyone takes words away from this scroll of prophecy, God will take away from that person any share in the tree of life and in the Holy City, which are described in this scroll.
Quote
Well, grapes were harvested during the summer. According to biblical accounts wine was drank during Pentecost. So how did they keep the wine from spoiling between than and spring?
There is a scriptural answer to your question about Pentecost, amnesty.
The short answer, according to scripture, is that Pentecost and Feast of Weeks isn’t a spring feast.
It’s a summer feast.
It occurs in the Father’s 4th month, at the end of that 4th month.
Which is a summer month. On a weekly Sabbath day.
And grapes and new wine is possible in summer
That answer is found in the scriptures. But Judaism and Christianity would beg to differ.
Thankfully the Lamb teaches about that Feast in a Parable of His.
One doesn’t need to study ancient religions to get answers to those type of questions.
His Word has all the answers.
Just need to know where to look while asking, seeking and knocking
What you describe with regards to religion and theology is also discussed in the scriptures.
But there is also a Beast running around today. And lots of Antichrists.
Those are real.
And represented by real powers and principalities in the world today
A real Babylon exists today. A spiritual Babylon.
But still real.
First the natural, then the spiritual
The secret things belong to Him, but the things revealed belong to us, and to our children forever, so that we may follow all the words of this law.
The last about 2,000 years is equated to about 2,000 demon possessed swine in His scriptures. Unclean doctrines of demons that shouldn’t be consumed.
You are describing a time of darkness/breach in the Kingdom.
That, too, was predicted in the scriptures.
Hidden.
Not in ancient religions.
But in His Word. Genesis to Revealtion.
For His purposes and His Glory
Revelation 22:18 refers specifically to the book of Revelation, not to the collection of books that is the Bible.
That is why 22:18 warns specifically against the additions of the pre tribulation rapture.
And Ireneaus, Polycarp, Justin Martyr, and Papias did not write about any rapture.
Ireneaus predicted that the world would end six thousand years after it had begun. He based his calculations on the Bible verse that says that a thousand years is as a day with God (2 Pet. 3:8). “For in as many days as this world was made, in so many thousand years shall it be concluded.… In six days created things were completed: it is evident, therefore, that they will come to an end at the sixth thousand year” (AH, V:28:3). This means the end of the world would have been around 1000 A.D., although some now claim he meant 2000 A.D. Either way, he was wrong.
Polycarp wrote, “Christ comes as the Judge of the living and the dead” (EPP, II). Although rapturists teach that Christians will not be judged at the Great White Throne, the Bible clearly teaches that they will. We examined this in the final vision of The Apocalypse, but first saw it in the Olivet Discourse. In Jesus’ parable, the Master rewards the works of His servants: “Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a little, I will set you over much; enter into the joy of your master” (Matt. 25:21). These are servants of the Master, not enemies.
Justin Martyr, too, is supposed by some rapturists to have been an early example of premillennialism. But listen to his words: “The Spirit of prophecy speaks … in this way: ‘For out of Zion shall go forth the law.… And He shall judge among the nations … and they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.’ And it did so come to pass, we can convince you. For out of Jerusalem there went out into the world, men, twelve in number, and these illiterate, of no ability in speaking: but by the power of God they proclaimed to every race of men that they were sent by Christ to teach to all the word of God” (ACR, XXXIX). Justin Martyr makes it clear that he believed the peace promises of the Old Testament were a present reality.
Thanks for the link.
It confirms that grapes and new wine is possible in Acts 2.
If one counts like the Father taught.
Which is not how the world counts today.
If they did,they would know Moses is still up in the mount today, if people wanted to track the wilderness journey after being delivered from bondage, by the Passover Lamb. And will be for about another month.
That’s why the 30,60,100 in His parable
And not 30,50
Or 30,50,90
You said that Pre Millennialism was not “Historic” and then you go and quote Pre Millennialists from ancient history.
Go figure.
Anyways why waste your time on this. We are called to preach salvation.
Mark 16
15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. 17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; 18 they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.
Boiler Plate (you) in post #90: You said that Pre Millennialism was not “Historic”
BP -- I said clearly that the pre-tribulation rapture is non-biblical and non-historical. I did not comment on pre-millenialism per se in this thread
As to why spend time refuting the falsehoods of the pre-tribulation rapture, it is three fold
1. It gives people the false idea that they will be magically taken away and not have to suffer for Christ. This weakens them when tribulations DO occur. Christ told us that we would suffer for him.
2. It minimizes the suffering faced and facing Christians outside the USA and at different periods of history. Some p-t rapture folks dismiss them as not good enough to have been magically taken away
3. It is a stick for the non-Christians to wag at us - ever since Miller
That's false. The 7 churches in Asia are given clear locations.
The book of the Apocalypse was written in Koine Greek and not in Hebrew for it to be Assiah.
that does not mean that words that are hebraic cannot sometimes come into the vocabulary of another country. Just look at how many words from other languages are incororated in English.You say it is plain the meaning of this. Well what else in this material is plan? Nothing else! In mystery they often used blinds. You have to work to understand things in that tradition. Nothing is given easily this is the way you build insight and understanding. If things were plain then why all of the symbolism? Why not just come out and say what was going to happen? There was an inner sense in things written by the ancients involving spiritual things. This is a book about the end of the world inside of a person. And that is how they sometimes used blinds and taught in mystery traditions.
Oh you are a Seventh Day Adventist.
No sir, the SDA cult is, well a cult formed out of the Millerite movement just as its sister cult, the Jehovah’s Witnesses.
The SDAs have too many glaring errors - besides the belief that “Jesus returned in 1844” - but if I stick to their historical errors rather than the numerour Biblical ones, it is that - that they claim the date of 1844 when there isn’t anything discernible that happened then.
Both the pre-tribulation rapture and the Seventh Day Adventist / Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Mormons all arose in the 1800s - all three biblically false doctrines that are also historically inaccurate
No, it does not. However, in the book of the Apocalypse it is made clear when there are words or symbolisms taken from Hebrew/Aramaic
"Asia" is not one of those
The 7 churches of Asia - Anatolia to be precise -- are of 7 concrete churches in places that are now western Turkey. No "Assiah"
The symbolism tells them how the whore city - Jerusalem of 67 AD - the city where the Lord was crucified - the city that rode the gentile beast (the Roman empire) -- how Jerusalem would be destroyed in 70 AD
It tells of how the leaders would see Christ coming on the clouds of glory and would judge them and the city of Jerusalem would be destroyed.
The book of the Apocalypse was written in 64 AD.
the Apocalypse was written in the 60s, during the reign of Nero, also have ancient evidence to support their hypothesis. The Syriac version of the Book of Revelation begins by stating that it was “written in Patmos, to which John was sent by Nero Caesar.” Also, another Syriac work, The History of John, the Son of Zebedee, asserts that Nero exiled John.
It was written in a time of persecution (see Rev. 1:9; 2:10; 12:11; 13:15). This is supported in the writings of the Church Fathers. For example, Clement of Alexandria says that John wrote the Apocalypse while on the island of Patmos, where he had been banished by a “tyrant.”
”12 Although the political situation for Christians was difficult in the 90s under Domitian but there was no widespread imperial persecution under him.
In Chapter 10, St. John is told, “You must again prophesy about many peoples and nations and tongues and kings.” It is possible that this is a reference to the rest of The Apocalypse, but it seems to refer to something beyond the scope of that book. In 68 A.D., John had another thirty years of life and ministry left, and he certainly could fulfill this directive. But by 96 A.D., John was an invalid who, according to St. Jerome, “was with difficulty carried into the Church, and could speak only a few words to the people.”
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.