Notes on Daniel -- Part 6 -- Are they one figure or many?
Little Horn, Beast, Whore of Babylon, Antichrist, Man
of Sin
By Jay Rogers
One of the inherent problems with taking a futurist, historicist or a preterist approach in naming the Beast of Revelation 13 is a confusion of terms in disparate biblical passages.
Most assume from the outset that the antichrist, the man of sin, the Beast, the Little Horn, and the whore of Babylon are the same figure.
So I wanted to state why I see it differently:
THE FOURTH KINGDOM OF DANIEL = Rome at the time of Jesus and the apostles. Whether or not it can be seen as extending in the Middle Ages is refuted by Daniel when he describes the great military might of the Roman Empire and the coming of the kingdom in Jesus day, "And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed" (Dan. 2:44).
THE LITTLE HORN OF DANIEL = This is specifically Nero. (Calvin thought it was Julius Caesar and his immediate successors up until the time of Nero.)
THE BEAST OF REVELATION = Rome at the time of Jesus and the apostles and specifically Nero.
THE WHORE OF BABYLON = The city of Jerusalem. "And in her was found the blood of prophets and saints, and of all who were slain on the earth" (Rev. 18:24).
(In my view of Revelation 17-19, specifically, the Beast is Nero; Babylon is the city of Jerusalem; the Harlot is the system of false temple worship; the false prophet is the High Priest.)
THE ANTICHRIST = A description of anyone people who doesn't believe in the teachings of Jesus. He is not described as one satanic entity -- as the beast of Revelation -- but as a person, any person, who deviates from Christian orthodoxy.
THE MAN OF SIN = The same figure as the antichrist. I deviate from most preterists here. I don't think that the man of sin can be Nero because of the context of the passage:
"Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him... Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed... and now ye know what witholdeth that he might be revealed in his time... only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. And then shall that Wicked be revealed" (2 Thess. 2:1-8).
While the "falling away" could be interpreted as an apostasy just before the fall of Jerusalem, and the "coming of our Lord" could be the Lord coming in judgment and destruction on Jerusalem -- I do not think that this is consistent with the context of the passage. Paul here is addressing questions about the Second Coming. He is saying that it will happen after a general apostasy described in Revelation 20:7-9 and elsewhere.
Back to document index
The Real Jesus: Who is the Real Jesus? Ever since the dawn of modern rationalism, skeptics have sought to use textual criticism, archaeology and historical reconstructions to uncover the "historical Jesus" -- a wise teacher who said many wonderful things, but fulfilled no prophecies, performed no miracles and certainly did not rise from the dead in triumph over sin. Over the past 100 years, however, startling discoveries in biblical archaeology and scholarship have all but vanquished the faulty assumptions of these doubting modernists. Regretably, these discoveries have often been ignored by the skeptics as well as by the popular media. As a result, the liberal view still holds sway in universities and impacts the culture and even much of the church.
|
This presentation explodes the myths of these critics and the movies, books and television programs that have popularized their views.
Presented in ten parts -- perfect for individual, family and classroom study -- viewers will be challenged to go deeper in their knowledge of Christ in order to be able to defend their faith and present the truth to a skeptical modern world – that the Jesus of the Gospels is the Jesus of history -- "the same yesterday, today and forever" (Hebrews 13:8). He is the real Jesus. Speakers include: George Grant, Ted Baehr, Stephen Mansfield, Raymond Ortlund, Phil Kayser, David Lutzweiler, Jay Grimstead, J.P. Holding, and Eric Holmberg. Ten parts, over two hours of instruction! Running Time: 130 minutes
|
| The Beast of Revelation: IDENTIFIED
Who is the dreaded beast of Revelation? Now at last, a plausible candidate for this personification of evil incarnate has been identified (or re-identified). Ken Gentry's insightful analysis of scripture and history is likely to revolutionize your understanding of the book of Revelation -- and even more importantly -- amplify and energize your entire Christian worldview! Historical footage and other graphics are used to illustrate the lecture Dr. Gentry presented at the 1999 Ligonier Conference in Orlando, Florida. It is followed by a one-hour question and answer session addressing the key concerns and objections typically raised in response to his position. This presentation also features an introduction that touches on not only the confusion and controversy surrounding this issue -- but just why it may well be one of the most significant issues facing the Church today. Ideal for group meetings, personal Bible study -- for anyone who wants to understand the historical context of John's famous letter "... to the seven churches which are in Asia." (Revelation 1:4) |
(Available in DVD only) $17.95 ORDER NOW!
|
INCLUDES A FREE Sixteen Christian leaders and scholars answer some of the most common questions and misperceptions related to this volatile issue: Download the free |
Perfect for group instruction as well as personal
Bible study. Speakers include: George Grant, Howard Phillips,
R.C. Sproul Jr., Ken Gentry, Gary DeMar, Jay Grimstead, R.J. Rushdoony,
Steven Schlissel, Andrew Sandlin, Eric Holmberg, and more!
Ten parts, over four hours of instruction! Watch over 60 streaming videos from God's Law and Society at:
Price reduced! |
| Amazing Grace: The History and Theology of Calvinism
Over four hours of instruction! Just what is “Calvinism?” Does this teaching make man a deterministic robot and God the author of sin? What about free will? If the church accepts Calvinism, won’t evangelism be stifled, perhaps even extinguished? How can we balance God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility? What are the differences between historic Calvinism and hyper-Calvinism? Why did men like Augustine, Luther, Calvin, Spurgeon, Whitefield, Edwards and a host of renowned Protestant evangelists embrace the teaching of predestination and election and deny free will theology? This is the first video documentary that answers these and other related questions. Hosted by Eric Holmberg, this fascinating three-part, four-hour presentation is detailed enough so as to not gloss over the controversy. At the same time, it is broken up into ten “Sunday-school-sized” sections to make the rich content manageable and accessible for the average viewer. |
$19.95 ORDER NOW!
|
|
The Forerunner Forum is the discussion group for this web site. The purpose of the group is to engage in discussion about the articles on-line. If you want to discuss any article or video on this web site, visit The Forerunner Forum. |
| VIDEOS | WORDS | BLOG | DISCUSSION | WHAT'S NEW | ABOUT US | FEEDBACK | SEARCH | DONATE | JAY'S BIO | HOME |
For more information, contact:
| The Forerunner jrogers@forerunner.com |
|
P.O. Box 362173 Melbourne, FL 32936-2173 |
