This commentary presents a partial-preterist, amillennial understanding of the last things: most New Testament tribulation prophecies were fulfilled in the events surrounding Jerusalem’s destruction in A.D. 70; Christ now reigns during the symbolic millennium; and His bodily return, the general resurrection, final judgment, and eternal state remain future.

Commentary on Revelation 1:1

The key to unlock the meaning of Revelation is found in its first verse.

Revelation 1:1 WEB

1 This is the Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things which must happen soon, which he sent and made known by his angel to his servant, John,

The word translated revelation means an uncovering.1 This book was given to his servants (Christians) to show (or reveal, not to hide) … things which must shortly come to pass.

The phrase translated shortly literally means with quickness, swiftness, speed.2 It means these things will soon come to pass–not soon to us, but soon to those to whom the book was addressed, the seven churches in Asia (Rev. 1:4 John, to the seven assemblies that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from God, who is and who was and who is to come; and from the seven Spirits who are before his throne;). Thus, the heart of the book, chapters 4-19, is not a description of a tribulation that is still in the future, but one that occurred in the first century A.D. Since the tribulation is in the past, there can be no pretribulation rapture in the future. See also (emphasis added):3

Revelation 1:3 WEB

3 Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and keep the things that are written in it, for the time is near.

Revelation 2:16 WEB

16 Repent therefore, or else I am coming to you quickly and I will make war against them with the sword of my mouth.

Revelation 3:11 WEB

11 I am coming quickly! Hold firmly that which you have, so that no one takes your crown.

Revelation 11:14 WEB

14 The second woe is past. Behold, the third woe comes quickly.

Revelation 22:6–7 WEB

6 He said to me, “These words are faithful and true. The Lord God of the spirits of the prophets sent his angel to show to his bondservants the things which must happen soon.” 7 “Behold, I am coming soon! Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.”

Revelation 22:10 WEB

10 He said to me, “Don’t seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is at hand.

Revelation 22:12 WEB

12 “Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, to repay to each man according to his work.

Revelation 22:20 WEB

20 He who testifies these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.”

A pillar upon which pretribulationism is based is the literal interpretation of prophesy. For example, Tim LaHaye, coauthor of the Left Behind series, states:

Differences of opinion probably arise because all Christians do not know the two keys to understanding the prophetic Word of God. First, one must interpret the Bible literally unless the context provides good reason to do otherwise. Second, we must understand that Israel and the church are distinct!4

In Things to Come, Pentecost quotes Cooper's so-called “Golden Rule of Biblical Interpretation”:

When the plain sense of Scripture makes common sense, seek no other sense; therefore, take every word at its primary, ordinary, literal meaning unless the facts of the immediate context, studied in the light of related passages and axiomatic and fundamental truths, indicate clearly otherwise.5

While this may sound be appealing, it is not scriptural. Loraine Boettner states:

As an example of what he means by literal interpretation Silver says: “Every prophecy pointing to the first advent of Christ was literally fulfilled to the letter in every detail” (p. 209). That statement has been made in substance by various other Premillenialists. But it simply is not so. The very first Messianic prophecy in Scripture is found in Genesis 3:15, where, in pronouncing the curse upon the serpent God said, “He shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” Now that prophecy certainly was not fulfilled literally by a man crushing the head of a snake, or by a snake biting the heel of a man. Rather it was fulfilled in a highly figurative sense when Christ gained a complete victory and triumphed over the Devil and all his forces of evil at the cross. The last prophesy in the Old Testament is found in Malachi 4:5, and reads as follows: “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and terrible day of Jehovah come.” That prophesy likewise was not fulfilled literally. Christ Himself said that it was fulfilled in the person of John the Baptist (Matt. 11:146), who came in the spirit and power of Elijah.
Again, we have the prophesy of Isaiah: “The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain: And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it” (Isaiah 40:3-5). This certainly was not fulfilled by a highway building program in Palestine, but rather in the work of John the Baptist who prepared the way for the public ministry of Jesus. John himself said, “For this is he that was spoken of through Isaiah the prophet, saying ...”, and then proceeded to quote these verses (Matt. 3:1-3; Luke 3:3-6).7

Also, note that Jesus never corrected or criticized His disciples or the Jewish religious leaders for interpreting a teaching symbolically rather than literally. However, He was constantly correcting or chastising them for interpreting a passage literally rather than symbolically. Thus, we cannot conclude that literal interpretation is preferable to symbolic interpretation.

Further, note that Rev. 1:1 tells us how the book should be interpreted: it says he sent and signified it, that is, it was shown in signs or symbols. Therefore, this verse itself essentially says we are to interpret the book of Revelation symbolically, not literally.

The Olivet Discourse

Matthew 24:6–8 WEB

6 You will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you aren’t troubled, for all this must happen, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and there will be famines, plagues, and earthquakes in various places. 8 But all these things are the beginning of birth pains.

From Chapter 1, recall that the commentary on Revelation 1:1 showed that the tribulation in Revelation 4-19 occurred in the first century A.D. However, it is dangerous to base a doctrine on a single passage of scripture. What about the great tribulation described in the Olivet Discourse, found in Matthew 24-25, Mark 13, and Luke 21?

First, let’s look at what prompted the discourse.

Matthew 24:1–3 WEB

1 Jesus went out from the temple, and was going on his way. His disciples came to him to show him the buildings of the temple. 2 But he answered them, “You see all of these things, don’t you? Most certainly I tell you, there will not be left here one stone on another, that will not be thrown down.” 3 As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? What is the sign of your coming, and of the end of the age?”

The discourse was prompted by Jesus’ prophesy that the temple would be destroyed. This was fulfilled by the Romans in A.D. 70, about 40 years, or one generation8, after the prediction. This is a key point. All too often, we see the Olivet Discourse interpreted as if its primary focus is the end of the world, and the destruction of the temple is either relegated to secondary importance or ignored altogether.

There are several difficulties in interpreting the Olivet Discourse. First, there is the question of which verses describe the destruction of Jerusalem and which describe the end of the world. Second, Jesus said, “But immediately after the suffering of those days … they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory.” (v. 29-30). This appears to be a description of His Second Coming. But later, He said, “Most certainly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things are accomplished.” (v. 34). How can we reconcile these verses with the fact that His Second Coming did not occur immediately after the destruction of Jerusalem during that generation?

There are several approaches to resolving these apparent inconsistencies. One is to assume that the verses are simply out of order. This is the approach of Barclay9 and Hobbs10. However, this is unacceptable, as it denies the inerrancy of the Bible.

Another approach is to assume that this passage will be fulfilled twice, initially in the destruction of Jerusalem and again at the end of the world. However, this doesn’t address how the Second Coming of Jesus could occur twice. Further, Jesus said, “For then there will be great suffering, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, nor ever will be.” (v. 21). This verse explicitly rules out the double fulfillment theory; there was only one “great tribulation” and there will never be another.

A third approach is to assume that the passage contains a transition, the first portion addressing the destruction of Jerusalem and second portion addressing the end of the world. However, there is no clear transition verse. Further, this approach requires the word “generation” in v. 34 to be interpreted as “race” (i.e., the Jews). This is the interpretation of Wesley, who believed the transition occurred in v. 29.11 However, the Greek word translated “generation” means “the sum total of those living at the same time”, and is never used elsewhere in the Bible to mean “race.”12

The key to understanding the Olivet Discourse is a proper understanding of Matthew 24:29-31:

Matthew 24:29–31 WEB

29 “But immediately after the sufferingof those days, the sun will be darkened, the moon will not give its light, the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken; 30 and then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky. Then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. 31 He will send out his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together his chosen ones from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.

As we have previously stated, this appears to be a description of His Second Coming. However, note the similarities to Peter’s sermon at Pentecost:

Acts 2:16–17, 19–20 WEB

16 But this is what has been spoken through the prophet Joel: 17 ‘It will be in the last days, says God, … 19 I will show wonders in the sky above, 20 The sun will be turned into darkness,

Of course, Peter intended this quote, from Joel 2:28-31, figuratively; he did not mean that the sun would literally turn dark, or the moon would literally turn into blood. Consider also the similarities to Isaiah’s prediction of the destruction of Babylon:

Isaiah 13:4, 10 WEB

4 The noise of a multitude is in the mountains, as of a great people; the noise of an uproar of the kingdoms of the nations gathered together! Yahweh of Armies is mustering the army for the battle. … 10 For the stars of the sky and its constellations will not give their light. The sun will be darkened in its going out, and the moon will not cause its light to shine.

Similar imagery is used by Ezekiel in his prophesy against Egypt.

Ezekiel 32:7–8 WEB

7 When I extinguish you, I will cover the heavens 8 I will make all the bright lights of the sky dark over you,

In neither the destruction of the Babylonians nor the destruction of the Egyptians did the sun, moon, and stars literally become dark or cease to give their light. Matthew 24:29-31 is not a description of Jesus’ Second Coming; rather, it is a description of His coming in judgment upon Jerusalem, just as the Lord came in judgment upon both the Babylonians and the Egyptians.

Note that the word translated “angels” in v. 31 literally means “messengers”; whether these are angelic beings or human messengers is determined from the context.13 In this case, the translators of the King James Version chose the word “angels”; however, they should have chosen “messengers”. This passage means that, after the fall of Jerusalem, Jesus sent forth His missionaries throughout the world to “gather together His elect.”

But, what of Matthew 24:14? “This Good News of the Kingdom will be preached in the whole world for a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.”

Surely this couldn’t have been fulfilled before the destruction of Jerusalem. But what saith the scriptures?14

Romans 1:8 WEB

8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, that your faith is proclaimed throughout the whole world.

Romans 10:18 WEB

18 But I say, didn’t they hear? Yes, most certainly,

Romans 16:26 WEB

25 but now is revealed, and by the Scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the eternal God, is made known for obedience of faith to all the nations;

Colossians 1:23 WEB

23 if it is so that you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the Good News which you heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven, of which I, Paul, was made a servant.

Of course, Paul also intended these passages to be interpreted figuratively, not literally; he didn’t mean that he had literally “preached to every creature which is under heaven”.

While pretribulationists would attack this commentary for its figurative rather than literal interpretation, we have seen that Jesus used the same figurative language as Isaiah, Ezekiel, Joel, Peter, and Paul, who all obviously intended their language to be interpreted figuratively. Is it not reasonable that Jesus intended His language figuratively, also? Therefore, we must conclude that the great tribulation described in the Olivet Discourse did indeed occur in the first century A.D. and will never be occur again, so there can be no future great tribulation and no pretribulation rapture.

The Millennium

One of the most controversial chapters in the Bible is Revelation 20, which describes the millennium. How do we deal with Revelation 20? We can't ignore it; it's certainly in the Bible. Nor can we “spiritualize” it away, as those who don't understand amillennialism would charge. Rather, we have to look at what Revelation 20 actually says, as opposed to what premillennialists assume that it says.

The amillennial interpretation of the millennium is that it began with Christ's first advent and ends at His Second Coming, and that the “thousand years” is not literally a period of 1,000 years, but a long period of unspecified duration. Let's look at the first three verses:

Revelation 20:1–3 WEB

1 I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. 2 He seized the dragon, the old serpent, who is the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole inhabited earth, and bound him for a thousand years, 3 and cast him into the abyss, and shut it and sealed it over him, that he should deceive the nations no more until the thousand years were finished. After this, he must be freed for a short time.

How could any Christian possibly believe that Satan was bound and cast into the bottomless pit at the first advent? We read,

Matthew 12:28–29 WEB

28 But if I by the Spirit of God cast out demons, then God’s Kingdom has come upon you. 29 Or how can one enter into the house of the strong man and plunder his goods, unless he first bind the strong man? Then he will plunder his house.

So we see that Jesus Himself taught that He had bound the “strong man” – Satan – during His first advent. Further,

Luke 10:17–18 WEB

17 The seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!” 18 He said to them, “I saw Satan having fallen like lightning from heaven.

Of course, Satan hasn't been rendered totally powerless by being bound and cast into the bottomless pit, but Revelation 20 never states that he has. We see, therefore, that the amillennial interpretation of Revelation 20:1-3 is in perfect agreement with the teachings of Jesus Himself.

Let's look at the next three verses:

Revelation 20:4–6 WEB

4 I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them. I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and such as didn’t worship the beast nor his image, and didn’t receive the mark on their forehead and on their hand. They lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. 5 The rest of the dead didn’t live until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over these, the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and will reign with him one thousand years.

First, let's note that even if there is a literal millennial kingdom after the Second Coming, this passage disproves the theory of a pretribulation rapture. John clearly says, “This is the first resurrection.” However, this would occur at the wrong time for a pretribulation rapture, as it is at the beginning of the millennium, after the tribulation.

But what of the amillennial interpretation of this passage? Note that John says, “I saw the souls of them....” This passage never mentions a bodily resurrection. As we know, the souls of the dead believers are now with Him and He will bring them back with them to be reunited with their resurrection bodies (for example, 1 Thessalonians 4:14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus.) It is the souls of the dead believers that have been raised to life and are now reigning in Heaven with Him who represent the first resurrection.

Is this a new, liberal interpretation of this passage? Certainly not; it was the original Southern Baptist interpretation. According to Theologians of the Baptist Tradition, “John Leadley Dagg (1794-1884) was the first Southern Baptist systematic theologian to be read widely by Southern Baptists.”15 The Southern Baptist Convention was organized in 1845.16 Dagg was the president of Mercer University, Macon, Georgia, from 1844-54 and professor of theology there from 1844-55.17 In his Manual of Theology, published in 1857, he wrote:

Some suppose that the coming of Christ, and the resurrection of the righteous dead, will precede the millennium, and that the resurrection of the wicked will be at the end of the thousand years. This opinion, according to which the reign of Christ will be personal, is founded chiefly on Rev. xx. 4, 5: … In carefully examining this passage, we may observe that the first resurrection here mentioned does not include all the righteous dead, but only the martyrs; and that it is not a resurrection of their bodies, but of their souls …. [W]e may interpret the passage before us; which, so understood, teaches a spiritual, and not a personal reign of Christ. … [W]e may infer that one voice, one trumpet will call forth all the dead, and that one hour (John v. 25) will suffice for the resurrection of all. In one and the same day, (Acts xvii. 31) the great day of the Lord, he will be revealed in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God; and will come, to be glorified in his saints, and admired of all them that believe. (2 Thess. i. 8-10)18

What of the next passage?

Revelation 20:8–10 WEB

8 and he will come out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to the war, whose number is as the sand of the sea. 9 They went up over the width of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. Fire came down out of heaven from God and devoured them. 10 The devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet are also. They will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

At first glance, this appears to be a capsule summary of the tribulation, the Battle of Armageddon, and the intervention of Christ at His Second Coming; because of the similarities between this passage and Revelation 19:20:

Revelation 19:20 WEB

20 The beast was taken, and with him the false prophet who worked the signs in his sight, with which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur.

But note that, in chapter 19, at the end of the tribulation, the beast and the false prophet were cast into hell. In 20:10, at the end of the millennium, the devil is cast into hell where the beast and the false prophet already were. Thus, these are clearly two separate occasions, separated by the duration of the millennium.

The final passage is a clear description of The Judgment.

Revelation 20:11–15 WEB

11 I saw a great white throne and him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the sky fled away. There was found no place for them. 12 I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and they opened books. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged out of the things which were written in the books, according to their works. 13 The sea gave up the dead who were in it. Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them. They were judged, each one according to his works. 14 Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15 If anyone was not found written in the book of life, he was cast into the lake of fire.

Thus, we conclude that Revelation 20 does not actually teach a millennial kingdom on earth beginning with the Second Coming; rather, it describes the entire Church Age, beginning with the First Advent of Christ and ending with the Judgment, on the last day, the day of His Second Coming. This is incompatible with the doctrine of a pretribulation rapture, which requires a literal millennial kingdom after the Second Coming. Therefore, we conclude that the doctrine of a pretribulation rapture is false.

Daniel’s 70th Week

The doctrine of a pretribulation rapture states that Christians will be raptured immediately before a seven year tribulation, followed by Christ’s Second Coming (“Glorious Appearance” in pretribulationist lingo). Have you ever wondered where the Bible teaches seven years of tribulation? Not in the Olivet Discourse; Jesus discussed the Great Tribulation (which, as we have seen, was fulfilled in A.D. 70 during the siege and destruction of Jerusalem), but He did not mention the duration of the tribulation. Nor in the book of Revelation, which mentions periods of 3‑½ years five times, but never mentions a seven year period.19 Rather, the teaching of a seven year tribulation is based on the pretribulationist interpretation of Daniel 9:27, which describes what is commonly known as Daniel’s 70th week of years.

Let’s look at Daniel 9:24-27 to see what we can learn about Daniel’s 70th week.

Daniel 9:24–27 WEB

24 “Seventy weeks are decreed on your people and on your holy city, to finish disobedience, to make an end of sins, to make reconciliation for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most holy. 25 “Know therefore and discern that from the going out of the commandment to restore and build Jerusalem to the Anointed One, the prince, will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks. It will be built again, with street and moat, even in troubled times. 26 After the sixty-two weeks the Anointed One will be cut off, and will have nothing. The people of the prince who come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. Its end will be with a flood, and war will be even to the end. Desolations are determined. 27 He will make a firm covenant with many for one week. In the middle of the week he will cause the sacrifice and the offering to cease. On the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate; and even to the decreed full end, wrath will be poured out on the desolate.”

There are essentially two interpretations of this passage – the traditional interpretation and the pretribulationist interpretation. Both agree on one point: each day represents a year, so the seventy weeks represent 490 years (7 x 70 = 490).20 This is based on Genesis 29:27-28; Leviticus 25:8; Numbers 14:34; and Ezekiel 4:6.21 The major difference is the interpretation of verse 27, Daniel’s 70th week.

In the traditional interpretation, Messiah is “he” who “shall confirm the covenant with many for one week” and who “shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease.”22 Gentile states:

Only Jesus Messiah could “confirm a covenant” (Isaiah 42:6; Romans 15:8; Hebrews 13:20). This was done when He “[brought] an end to sacrifice and offering” (verse 27) through the shedding of His own precious blood.

In the pretribulationist interpretation, Antichrist is “he” who “shall confirm the covenant with many for one week” and who “shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease.”23 As Steve Wohlberg describes the pretribulationist interpretation:24

“He” is the antichrist.

“The covenant” is a peace treaty the antichrist makes with the Jews after the rapture.

…

“He shall cause the sacrifice … to cease” means the antichrist will stop the sacrifices of the rebuilt Jewish temple in Jerusalem during the tribulation.

According to verse 25, Messiah will come after 69 weeks (7 weeks plus 62 weeks), or 483 years (7 x 69 = 483) after “the commandment to restore and rebuild Jerusalem.” Verse 26 states that Messiah will be cut off “after” 69 weeks. Verse 27 says that “in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease.”

The traditional interpretation of verse 25 is that Messiah will begin His ministry with His baptism after 69 weeks and, according to verse 27, will be “cut off” – crucified – in the midst of the [seventieth] week, that is, 3‑½ years after the beginning of the seventieth week. The pretribulationist interpretation, however, states that all of verse 27 refers to the Antichrist; therefore, verse 26 means that the Messiah will be crucified at the end of the 69th week.

Which interpretation is correct? Which interpretation was actually fulfilled? What happened at the end of the 69th week: did Christ begin His ministry or was He crucified?

There are three potential dates for the beginning of the 70 weeks: 536 B.C.25, 458 B.C.26, or 445 B.C.27 Adding 483 to each (and recalling that there was no year 0), we find the end of the 69th week to be 53 B.C., A.D. 26, or A.D. 39, respectively. Obviously, 53 B.C. is too early for either the beginning or end of Christ’s ministry, and A.D. 39 is too late.

When was Jesus baptized? In John 2:20, we read, “The Jews therefore said, ‘It took forty-six years to build this temple! Will you raise it up in three days?’” According to A.T. Robertson, who cites Josephus, Herod began building the temple in 20 B.C.; 46 years later would be A.D. 27.28 Robertson states, “It was at the first Passover in his ministry that this expression is used. It has been probably six months since his baptism.”29 Six months prior to the Passover in the spring of A.D. 27 would be the fall of A.D. 26 – as predicted by the traditional interpretation of Daniel’s 70 weeks.

Note also that most commentators think that Jesus was crucified after a ministry of 3‑½ years30 – half of Daniel’s 70th week – again in accordance with the traditional interpretation. This would place the crucifixion at Passover in the spring of A.D. 30, not A.D. 26 as required by the pretribulationist interpretation.

Since the traditional interpretation of Daniel’s 70 weeks accurately predicted the years of Christ’s baptism and His crucifixion, while the pretribulationist interpretation missed the date of the crucifixion by approximately four years, we must accept the traditional interpretation and reject the pretribulationist interpretation. Since pretribulationism is based on the pretribulationist interpretation of Daniel’s 70th week, we must reject the doctrine of a pretribulation rapture as false.

Antichrist

Over the course of history, a number of political leaders have been suggested, or accused, of being the Antichrist—Napoleon, Mussolini, Hitler, and Reagan, to name a few. Mussolini was a particularly strong candidate, because he fit the myth that the Antichrist had to be an Italian, a descendant of the Romans.

I think that we can safely say that none of these, nor any other recent or current world leader, is the Antichrist. And I think that we can safely debunk the myth of an Antichrist who will rule the world during some future Great Tribulation that will occur just prior to the Second Coming of Christ, either before or after the Rapture. Rather than basing our beliefs on popular books and sermons on the end times, I propose that we focus on what the Bible says about the subject. And take the footnotes in your “Study Bible” with a grain of salt—many have been written to promote a particular point of view on the subject, and serve to distort what the Bible says rather than clarify it.

The term “antichrist” appears only in two books of the Bible, 1 and 2 John. John mentions "antichrist" five times in three passages (emphasis added):

1 John 2:18–23 WEB

18 Little children, these are the end times, and as you heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have arisen. By this we know that it is the final hour. 19 They went out from us, but they didn’t belong to us; for if they had belonged to us, they would have continued with us. But they left, that they might be revealed that none of them belong to us. 20 You have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all have knowledge. 21 I have not written to you because you don’t know the truth, but because you know it, and because no lie is of the truth. 22 Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the Antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son. 23 Whoever denies the Son doesn’t have the Father. He who confesses the Son has the Father also.

1 John 4:1–3 WEB

1 Beloved, don’t believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit who confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, 3 and every spirit who doesn’t confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God; and this is the spirit of the Antichrist, of whom you have heard that it comes. Now it is in the world already.

2 John 7 WEB

7 For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who don’t confess that Jesus Christ came in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the Antichrist.


Note four things:

1. John considers that he is living in the end times and the final hour, as 1 John 2:18 states, "... these are the end times .... By this we know that it is the final hour." If John meant that he was living in the end times and final hour of the world, he was clearly mistaken, and the Bible is in error. Of course, that cannot be the case; John meant that he was living in the end times and the final hour of the Old Covenant, which was fulfilled in Christ, but which continued for the first 40 years (one Biblical generation) of the New Covenant until the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70.

2. These passages do not describe one Antichrist; in 1 John 2:18, John writes, "even now many antichrists have arisen"—not one antichrist, but many.

3. This same passage shows that John does not describe an Antichrist who will be living at the Second Coming of Christ, as "many antichrists have arisen" at the time John wrote these letters, not some time thousands of years in the future. This is also stated in 1 John 4:3, "... this is the spirit of the Antichrist, of whom you have heard that it comes. Now it is in the world already."

4. These passages do not describe the Antichrist as someone who will rule the world, or be a ruler at all. 1 John 2:22(b) states, "This is the Antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son." 1 John 4:2-3 state, "By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit who confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, (3) and every spirit who doesn't confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God, and this is the spirit of the Antichrist, of whom you have heard that it comes. Now it is in the world already." 2 John 7 states, "For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who don't confess that Jesus Christ came in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the Antichrist." In all of these passages, John defines an antichrist as "... those who don't confess that Jesus Christ came in the flesh" (2 John 7). These were the Gnostics, the first Christian heretics, not an evil ruler or rulers.

Interlude: When Did John Write the Book of Revelation?

In Revelation 11, we read:

Revelation 11:1–2 WEB

1 A reed like a rod was given to me. Someone said, “Rise and measure God’s temple, and the altar, and those who worship in it. 2 Leave out the court which is outside of the temple, and don’t measure it, for it has been given to the nations. They will tread the holy city under foot for forty-two months.

Obviously, from this passage itself, the temple was still standing when John wrote this, and apparently the war between the Romans and the Jews had not yet begun. Note that the war lasted approximately 42 months in accordance with this prophesy, which was fulfilled in the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. Also, this prophesy contains no hint of any "double fulfillment," once at that time, a second at the end of the world. This prophesy has been completely fulfilled and there is no need for it to be fulfilled again.

Identity of the Beast of Revelation

The beast of Revelation is commonly equated with the Antichrist. John identifies the beast in both chapters 13 and 17. In chapter 13, we read, "13:18 Here is wisdom. He who has understanding, let him calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. His number is six hundred sixty-six." Note that John thought that someone with understanding who read this passage in his day could "calculate the number of the beast" and, therefore, identify the beast; this was not some mystery whose interpretation was to be sealed up for thousands of years. "... Nero Caeser's name (NRWN QSR), written in Hebrew characters, adds up to [666]."31 Thus, the beast was Nero.


In Revelation 17, John further identifies the beast:

Revelation 17:7–10 WEB

7 The angel said to me, “Why do you wonder? I will tell you the mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her, which has the seven heads and the ten horns. 8 The beast that you saw was, and is not; and is about to come up out of the abyss and to go into destruction. Those who dwell on the earth and whose names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world will marvel when they see that the beast was, and is not, and shall be present. 9 Here is the mind that has wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits. 10 They are seven kings. Five have fallen, the one is, and the other has not yet come. When he comes, he must continue a little while.

Clearly, the angel expected that John would understand the identity of the beast, as he said, "Why do you wonder?" (v. 7). Verse 10 makes the identity of the beast perfectly clear. The first five "kings" of the Roman empire were Julius, Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, and Claudius; they "have fallen". Nero ("the one is") was the sixth, and Galba, the seventh, "... has not yet come. When he comes, he must continue a little while"; he only reigned from June 8, 68 until his death on January 15, 69.32 Again, the beast is Nero.

Titus

Two other passages that are used by those that believe in a future Antichrist actually refer to Titus, the Roman general in charge during the destruction of Jerusalem.

Let's look at two passages of scripture that futurists—that is, those who believe that the tribulation is still in the future—believe describe a future Antichrist, and see how these passages actually describe Titus. The first is Daniel 9:24-27, Daniel's 70 weeks of years. We have seen that the dates and years required by the futurist version literally don't add up, while the dates and years of the traditional version, which sees the passage fulfilled when Titus and the Romans destroyed Jerusalem in A.D. 70, add up perfectly.

Daniel 9:24–27 WEB

24 “Seventy weeks are decreed on your people and on your holy city, to finish disobedience, to make an end of sins, to make reconciliation for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most holy. 25 “Know therefore and discern that from the going out of the commandment to restore and build Jerusalem to the Anointed One, the prince, will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks. It will be built again, with street and moat, even in troubled times. 26 After the sixty-two weeks the Anointed One will be cut off, and will have nothing. The people of the prince who come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. Its end will be with a flood, and war will be even to the end. Desolations are determined. 27 He will make a firm covenant with many for one week. In the middle of the week he will cause the sacrifice and the offering to cease. On the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate; and even to the decreed full end, wrath will be poured out on the desolate.”

Note particularly verse 26b, which says, "and the people of the prince who shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and its end shall be with a flood, and even to the end shall be war; desolations are determined." "The people"—that is, the Roman army—did indeed "come" and "destroy the city and the sanctuary"—"the end" was as "with a flood"—a flood of Roman soldiers pouring through the breaches in the wall—and "desolations are determined"—that is, acts of destruction—occurred. These events are all recorded by the Jewish historian Josephus in Wars of the Jews; Josephus was an eyewitness to the war. Note also that this verse says, "the people of the prince who shall come...." Futurists, such as pretribulationists, identify this prince with a future Antichrist. However, as the son of the current emperor, Titus was, indeed, the "prince" of the "people"—the Romans. This passage is no prophesy about a future Antichrist and a destruction of Jerusalem still in the future; this passage was fulfilled completely when Titus and the Romans destroyed Jerusalem in A.D. 70, and there is no reason to expect it to be fulfilled again.

The second passage is 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12, Paul's "man of sin" passage.

2 Thessalonians 2:1–12 WEB

1 Now, brothers, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to him, we ask you 2 not to be quickly shaken in your mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter as if from us, saying that the day of Christ has already come. 3 Let no one deceive you in any way. For it will not be unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of destruction. 4 He opposes and exalts himself against all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, setting himself up as God. 5 Don’t you remember that when I was still with you, I told you these things? 6 Now you know what is restraining him, to the end that he may be revealed in his own season. 7 For the mystery of lawlessness already works. Only there is one who restrains now, until he is taken out of the way. 8 Then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will kill with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the manifestation of his coming; 9 even he whose coming is according to the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, 10 and with all deception of wickedness for those who are being lost, because they didn’t receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11 Because of this, God sends them a powerful delusion, that they should believe a lie, 12 that they all might be judged who didn’t believe the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

Look at verses 3 and 4:

2 Thessalonians 2:3–4 WEB

3 Let no one deceive you in any way. For it will not be unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of destruction. 4 He opposes and exalts himself against all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, setting himself up as God.

This prophesy of the "man of sin," or the "son of perdition," was also fulfilled by Titus. Recall that the Romans considered the emperor, or Caesar, to be a god. Since Titus was the son of the current emperor, he was considered to be the son of a god, in a Satanic mockery of Jesus Christ. In Wars of the Jews, Josephus records,

And now, since Caesar [Titus] was in no way able to restrain the enthusiastic fury of the soldiers, and the fire proceeded on more and more, he went into the holy place of the temple, and with his commanders, and saw it, with what was in it, which he found to be far superior to what the relations of foreigners contained, and not inferior to what we ourselves [Jews] boasted of and believed about it....33

So Titus, whom the Romans considered to be the son of a god, literally entered the holy of holies. Suetonius records that when Titus knew that he was about to die of a fever, he "complained bitterly that life was being undeservedly taken from him—since only a single sin lay on his conscience."34 Although he never clarified what the sin was, Jews and Christians both have always identified it with his entering the holy of holies. So again, we see that a passage that futurists identify with a future Antichrist has already been fulfilled by Titus, and there is no reason to expect it to be fulfilled again.

Notes

  1. Herschel H. Hobbs. The Cosmic Drama. Waco: Word Books, 1971, p. 19. ↩
  2. Ibid., p. 21. ↩
  3. Gary DeMar. End Times Fiction. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, Inc., 2001, p. 57. ↩
  4. Tim LaHaye. Rapture Under Attack. Sisters, Oregon: Multnomah, 1998, p. 228. ↩
  5. David L. Cooper, The God of Israel, p. iii, quoted by J. Dwight Pentecost in Things to Come. Grand Rapids MI: Zondervan, 1958, p. 42. ↩
  6. Matthew 11:14 If you are willing to receive it, this is Elijah, who is to come. ↩
  7. Loraine Boettner. The Millennium. Phillipsburg NJ: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company, 1957, revised 1984, p. 83. ↩
  8. Numbers 32:13 Yahweh’s anger burned against Israel, and he made them wander back and forth in the wilderness forty years, until all the generation who had done evil in Yahweh’s sight was consumed. ↩
  9. William Barclay. The Gospel of Matthew, Volume 2. Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1975, p. 300-316. ↩
  10. Herschel H. Hobbs. Fundamentals of Our Faith. Nashville: Broadman Press, 1960, p. 152. ↩
  11. John Wesley’s Notes on the Bible. The Sword Project, CrossWire Bible Society, available for free download at http://www.crosswire.org. ↩
  12. David Chilton. The Great Tribulation., p. 3, quoted by John Bray in Matthew 24 Fulfilled: John Bray, Lakeland FL, 1996, p. 205. ↩
  13. Bray, op. cit., p. 185. ↩
  14. Ibid., p. 23. ↩
  15. Timothy George and David S. Dockery, Editors. Theologians of the Baptist Tradition. Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2001, p. 52. ↩
  16. Ibid., p. 77. ↩
  17. Ibid., p. 54. ↩
  18. John L. Dagg, D.D. Manual of Theology. Harrisonburg, Virginia: Gano Books, 1990, p. 354. ↩
  19. Gentile, Ernest B. The Final Triumph. Grand Rapids: Chosen Books, a division of Baker Book House Company, 2001, pp. 236-237. Please note that, although I primarily reference The Final Triumph in this article, I could have referenced a large number of commentaries and books on eschatology, as there are many works that state essentially these same points. ↩
  20. Ibid., p. 230. ↩
  21. Ibid. ↩
  22. Ibid., p. 235. ↩
  23. Wohlberg, Steve. End Time Delusions. Shippensburg, PA: Treasure House, Destiny Image, Publishers, Inc., 2004, p. 215. Wohlberg is not a pretribulationist! ↩
  24. Ibid. ↩
  25. Gentile, op. cit., p. 233. ↩
  26. The NIV Study Bible. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1985, p. 684. ↩
  27. Ibid. ↩
  28. Robertson, A.T. A Harmony of the Gospels. New York: Harper & Row, Publishers, 1922, p. 265. ↩
  29. Ibid. ↩
  30. Gentile, op. cit., p. 234. ↩
  31. C. Marvin Pate, Kenneth L. Gentry Jr., Sam Hamstra, and Robert L. Thomas. Four Views on the Book of Revelation. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1998, p. 68. ↩
  32. Wikipedia article on Galba, retrieved Oct 12, 2008. ↩
  33. Josephus, Wars of the Jews, VI.V.7. ↩
  34. Suetonius, The Twelve Caesars, translated by Robert Graves. New York: Penguin Books, 1978, p. 292. ↩