✪ See Rephaim.
✪ Greek, equivalent to Herem in Hebrew. A person or thing devoted to the deity either for consecration or destruction.
✪ "Andrew, Was the brother of Peter. He preached the gospel to many Asiatic nations; but on his arrival at Edessa, he was taken and crucified on a cross, the two ends of which were fixed transversely in the ground. Hence the derivation of the term, St. Andrew's Cross." Ref-1306, loc. 284.
✪ In the quote of the OT passage, "messenger" is αγγελος. The beginning of the passage closely matches Ex. 23:20 in the LXX.
✪ Gen. 16:7-13
; Gen. 18:1-2; Gen. 22:11-18; Gen. 32:24-30; Gen. 48:16; Ex. 3:1-6; Ex. 4:24; Ex. 13:21; Ex. 14:19; Ex. 23:20-23; Ex. 24:9-11; Ex. 32:34; Ex. 33:14; Ex. 33:2; Ex. 33:14; Ex. 33:20; Num. 20:16; Num. 22:22; Deu. 4:37; Jos. 5:13-15; Jdg. 2:1-5; Jdg. 5:23; Jdg. 6:11-23; Jdg. 13:3-23; 2S. 24:15-17; 1K. 19:7; 2K. 1:3; 2K. 1:15; 2K. 19:35; 1Chr. 21:12-30; Ps. 34:7; Ps. 35:5-6; Isa. 37:36; Isa. 63:9; Eze. 1:26; Dan. 3:25; Hos. 12:4-5; Amos 7:7 (?); Zec. 1:11-12; Zec. 3:1-10; John 1:18; John 5:37; John 8:48; John 14:9; Acts 7:30-33; Acts 7:38; 1Ti. 3:16; 1Ti. 6:16✪ "The fourth [Byzantine] church at Mamre (Hebron) was dedicated to Christ’s Old Testament manifestation or Christophany there (Gen. 18:1)." Gary A. Byers and Scott Stripling, Those Indefatigable Byzantines! Ref-0066, Vol. 26 No. 4 Fall 2013, 108-112, p. 109. "James Borland's definition of “Christophany” runs as follows: “those unsought, intermittent and temporary, visible and audible manifestations of God the Son in human form, by which God communicated something to certain conscious human beings on earth prior to the birth of Jesus Christ.” . . . When the biblical account associates “the Angel of Yahweh” with a theophany, “Messenger” is a better translation than “Angel,” because this title denotes the function or office of the individual, not His nature. In addition, He is spoken of as actually being God, He bears the name Yahweh, He speaks as God, He displays divine attributes and authority. Most significantly, however, He receives worship." William D. Barrick, Inspiration and the Trinity, Ref-0164 24/2 (Fall 2013) [2013121101.pdf], 179-197, p. 183. "“Explained” in the Greek (ἐξηγήσατο, from ἐξηγέομαι) [John 1:18] is the word from which we drive the verb “exegete” and its noun, “exegesis.” Literally, the Son of God “exegeted” the Father to mankind. That “exegesis” also occurs in the Christophanies of the OT." William D. Barrick, Inspiration and the Trinity, Ref-0164 24/2 (Fall 2013) [2013121101.pdf], 179-197, p. 184. See chart, [http://www.spiritandtruth.org/reference/tony_garland/christophanies_in_the_old_testament-20191016124549.pdf] developed from source document 20191016124549.docx (also available as 20191016124549.pdf). Questionable: Amos 7:7 (?);
✪ Questionable: 1S. 29:9 (?);
✪ "Stephen's sermon refers at least three times to the Old Testament angel of the Lord, usually regarded as the preincarnate Christ (Acts 7:30,35,38). In Acts 7:30-31, Stephen ascribes to the angel at the burning bush ‘the voice of the Lord’ (cf. Acts 7:35,37-38) and applies the Old Testament ‘angel of the Lord’ to the New Testament Christ." Ref-0105, p. 187. "As the church fathers had already recognized [among later scholars we mention Calvin, Hengstenberg, Keil, Ebrard, Lange, and Stier], this is no less a person than the Son of God Himself, the Word. . . who appeared later in Christ." Ref-0197, p. 103.
✪ "A. C. Gaebelein, The Angels of God, 20, says, ‘It is noteworthy and of great interest that the ancient Jews in their traditions regarded the Angel of the Lord, in every instance, not as an ordinary angel, but as the only mediator between God and the world, the author of all revelations, to whom they gave the name Metatron.’ Richard Watson, Theological Institutes, I, 501, also affirms the support of ancient Jews to this interpretation." Ref-0104, p. 54, footnote.
✪ In 1K. 13:18, the old prophet lied -- he had not heard from an Angel. Yet, even if the old prophet had heard from an angel, the man of God from Judah should have rejected angelic counsel counter to God's Word which he had already heard.
✪ The Greek term αγγελλος is occasionally used of human messengers. Examples include John the Baptist (Mat. 11:10; Mark 1:2), the messengers sent to Jesus by John the Baptist (Luke 7:24), the spies hidden by Rahab (Jas. 2:25) and possibly the leaders of the seven churches, if these are to be understood as human leaders (Rev. 2:1, 8, 12, 18; 3:1, 7, 14).
✪ The study of angels, fallen and elect.
✪ In Dan. 9:21, "being caused to fly" - h3286 yaw-af - Strong: "to tire as in wearisome flight" - translated "weary" or "faint" in every other appearance in OT. In Rev. 14:6, πετόμενον, while flying.
✪ "Thus there are angels for children (Mat. 18:10), for adults (Acts 12:15), for whole lands and nations, as Persia (Dan. 10:13), Greece (Dan. 10:20), Israel (Dan. 10:21; 12:1)." Ref-0197, p. 32.
✪ The Book of Enoch names Uriel, Raguel, Sarakiel, Raphael, Michael, Gabriel, and Lucifer (Satan). "I am Raphael, one of the seven holy angels, which present the prayers of the saints, and which go in and out before the glory of the Holy One." The Apocrypha : King James Version., Tobit 12:15. Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1995. "It is in this book [Tobit] that we find an angel called Raphael." Ref-1126, p. 97. Questionable: Rev. 8:2 (?);
✪ "Enoch 10:15 says, “To Michael likewise the Lord said, Go and announce his crime to Samyaza, and the others who are with him, who have been associated with women, that they might be polluted with all their impurity. And when all their sons shall be slain, when they shall see the perdition of their beloved, bind them for seventy generations underneath the earth, even to the day of judgment, and of consummation, until the judgment, the effect of which will last forever, be completed.”" Lita Cosner, Genesis as ancient historical narrative, 20151124151336.pdf, 121-127, p. 125.
✪ "Did not the Prayer Book assert that the orders of Bishops and priests existed ‘from the Apostles’ time’, that Episcopal consecration or ordination was necessary for a lawful ministry, that the Bishop should say while laying hands on priests in ordination, ‘Receive the Holy Ghost’, that only a Bishop may administer confirmation, laying his hands on candidates and claiming as he does so the warrant of ‘the example of thy holy Apostles’? More than this, does not the Prayer Book teach that the person to whom baptism is administered is regenerate, ‘made a member of Christ, the child of God’, and consequently at death (provided he is not excommunicate or a suicide) the priest is required to state that his burial is in ‘true and certain hope of the resurrection to eternal life, through our Lord Jesus Christ’? [Murray]" Ref-1324, pp. 127-128.
✪ "At 2:55 p.m., Crean shot three of his puppies and Mrs. Chippy [McNish’s cat], who had come to be known as the ship’s mascot. It was left to Macklin to put down his dog Sirius, who had never been broken to harness. Sirus, ever friendly, jumped up to lick Macklin’s hand, which was shaking so much that he required two shots to finish the job. The sound of the shots ringing out over the ice cast a pall over an already gloomy day." Ref-1513, p. 95. "On January 14, the teams of Wild, Crean, McIlroy, and Marston were shot, twenty-seven dogs in all. No more use was envisioned for them, and the food they consumed had become too valuable; their 'dog pemmican' would become a staple of the men’s diet. 'This duty fell upon me and was the worst job I ever had in my life,' Wild reported. 'I have known many men I would rather shoot than the worst of the dogs.' This necessity upset all the men. 'One of the saddest events since we left Home,' as McNish recorded. The same evening, Hurley and Macklin were authorized to make a dangerous run with their teams to Ocean Camp. With some difficulty, they returned with 900 pounds of stores the following day. This was the last run for Hurley’s team. 'Wild shot my team during the afternoon,' Hurley wrote, then bade farewell to his favorite dog. 'Hail to thee old leader Shakespeare, I shall ever remember thee--fearless, faithful and diligent.'" Ref-1513, p. 115. "At the end of his life, McNish was filled with bitterness towards Shackleton--not for withholding the Polar Medal, nor for his general abandonment, but because Shackleton had killed his cat. People who knew him in his last years recall how he managed to work into every conversation the death of Mrs. Chippy. Alone, broken, with his heroism an abstract dream, Chippy McNish’s thoughts turned to his one true mate, who he had boasted to the fellow seaman 'had been such a special pet that she was known as Mrs. Chippy to the whole expedition.'" Ref-1513, pp. 196-197.
✪ ". . . evolutionary biogeographers are unable to provide an adequate mechanism by which these distribution patterns could have arisen by dispersal. In contrast, the data fit well within a creationist model where plants and animals were rafted to the places they now inhabit on log mats left over from the Genesis Flood." Dominic Statham, Phytogeography and zoogeography—rafting vs continental drift, Ref-0784, volume 29.1, 2015.80-87, p. 80. "The Genesis Flood would have uprooted billions of trees, many of which would have been left floating upon the oceans. These massive islands of vegetation could have easily dispersed both plants and animals around and across oceans, especially given the high levels of rainfall arising from the warm post-Flood oceans." Dominic Statham, Phytogeography and zoogeography—rafting vs continental drift, Ref-0784, volume 29.1, 2015.80-87, p. 81. "In discussing the plausibility of reptiles and mammals traversing significant stretches of water, it should be remembered that the safe arrival of just one pregnant female would be sufficient to establish a new colony. Moreover, there are numerous examples of sizeable islands of vegetation being seen adrift at sea. Charles Lyell reported that rafts had been seen floating on the Amazon carrying snakes, alligators, monkeys, and squirrels and that, on one occasion, four pumas had rafted down the Parana River to Montevideo where they were discovered prowling the streets! Alfred Wallace records that a large boa constrictor floated 320 km (200 miles) from the island of Trinidad to the island of St Vincent, wrapped around the trunk of a cedar tree. Another account involved a pirate who, having been marooned on a riverbank in hostile territory, swam to a floating nipa palm island and remained adrift for several days subsisting on the palm fruits. Following the Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004, a man survived being swept out to sea for eight days, clinging to a floating tree and drinking rainwater. He was picked by a passing ship 160 km (100 miles) offshore. One raft was spotted in the Atlantic, intact with trees 9 m (30 feet) high, despite having rafted along the coast of North America for over 1,600 km (1,000 miles). Schuchert records how one such raft was seen carrying live lizards, snakes, and small mammals as far as 1,600 km (1,000 miles) out to sea. . . . Moreover, rafts left over from the Genesis Flood would surely have dwarfed such as these. . . . Samples of flotsam have been found to be remarkably rich in insects and other small animals including snails, spiders, mites, millipedes, isopods, worms, and pseudoscorpions." Dominic Statham, Phytogeography and zoogeography—rafting vs continental drift, Ref-0784, volume 29.1, 2015.80-87, p. 81. "Reptiles are among the most raftable animals due to their tolerance of salt water and their ability to subsist for long periods without eating or drinking." Dominic Statham, Phytogeography and zoogeography—rafting vs continental drift, Ref-0784, volume 29.1, 2015.80-87, p. 82. "Rafting is just one of a number of means by which plants and animals could have dispersed following the Genesis Flood, other possibilities being land bridges that have subsequently fallen below sea level and transport by man." Dominic Statham, Phytogeography and zoogeography—rafting vs continental drift, Ref-0784, volume 29.1, 2015.80-87, p. 86.
✪ See animals - symbolize nations.
✪ "Large, sharp teeth are not used solely for killing and ripping flesh from other animals. Fruit bats have sharp, pointed teeth, similar to those in cats, designed to quickly tear flesh from fruit. These teeth easily could remove flesh from an animal, but the fruit bat does not use them for this purpose. The same teeth in many kinds of predatory animals used to shred meat can also be used to shred plant material. . . . Bears of the American northwest provide the best example in the wild of how behavior determines diet. Grizzly bears and black bears are well-equipped to destroy the life of other animals. But they also use their physical tools to eat fruits and vegetables. As a biologist, I have personally witnessed bears clean apples out of an apple tree, consume large quantities of clover, and strip all the berries from wild raspberry, huckleberry, and choke cherry plants. These activities are also well documented in the scientific literature. Although classified as carnivores, bears are actually opportunistic omnivores and are quite capable of living off a vegetarian diet if the food source is available." Daniel Criswell, Predation Did Not Come from Evolution, Ref-0959, March 2009, p. 9. "When prophesying of these times, therefore, Esaias says: “The wolf also shall feed with the lamb, and the leopard shall take his rest with the kid; the calf also, and the bull, and the lion shall eat together; and a little boy shall lead them. The ox and the bear shall feed together, and their young ones shall agree together; and the lion shall eat straw as well as the ox. And the infant boy shall thrust his hand into the asp’s den, into the nest also of the adder’s brood; and they shall do no harm, nor have power to hurt anything in my holy mountain.” And again he says, in recapitulation, “Wolves and lambs shall then browse together, and the lion shall eat straw like the ox, and the serpent earth as if it were bread; and they shall neither hurt nor annoy anything in my holy mountain, saith the Lord.” I am quite aware that some persons endeavour to refer these words to the case of savage men, both of different nations and various habits, who come to believe, and when they have believed, act in harmony with the righteous. But although this is [true] now with regard to some men coming from various nations to the harmony of the faith, nevertheless in the resurrection of the just [the words shall also apply] to those animals mentioned. For God is rich in all things. And it is right that when the creation is restored, all the animals should obey and be in subjection to man, and revert to the food originally given by God (for they had been originally subjected in obedience to Adam), that is, the productions of the earth. But some other occasion, and not the present, is [to be sought] for showing that the lion shall [then] feed on straw. And this indicates the large size and rich quality of the fruits. For if that animal, the lion, feeds upon straw [at that period], of what a quality must the wheat itself be whose straw shall serve as suitable food for lions?" Irenaeus of Lyons Irenaeus against Heresies, Ref-0537, p. 1:563. "And the animals are named wild beasts [θηρˊα], from their being hunted [θηρεύεσθαι], not as if they had been made evil or venomous from the first—for nothing was made evil by God, but all things good, yea, very good,—but the sin in which man was concerned brought evil upon them. For when man transgressed, they also transgressed with him. For as, if the master of the house himself acts rightly, the domestics also of necessity conduct themselves well; but if the master sins, the servants also sin with him; so in like manner it came to pass, that in the case of man’s sin, he being master, all that was subject to him sinned with him. When, therefore, man again shall have made his way back to his natural condition, and no longer does evil, those also shall be restored to their original gentleness." Theophilus of Antioch, Theophilus to Autolycus, Ref-0538, p. 2:101.
✪ See animals - literal. Passages such as Isa. 30:6 and Daniel 7:3-7 are often used to justify a symbolic interpretation of Isa. 11:6-9 and Isa. 65:25, but the passages are different in notable ways. Questionable: Isa. 11:6-9 (?); Isa. 65:25 (?); Jer. 5:6 (?);
✪ See atonement - inanimate objects.
✪ Jesus’ words in John 12:7 were prophetic -- Mary performed what Joseph of Arimathea and the other women could not accomplish after his death in Luke 23:56.
✪ See David - anointed twice. (1) Feet anointed by a sinful woman at Simon the Pharisee's house (Luke 7:37-38). (2) At Simon the Leper's house in Bethany, Mary, sister of Lazarus, anoints both his head and his feet for burial (Mat. 26:7; Mark 14:3; John 11:2; 12:2-3). Two men named Simon: one a “holy” Pharisee who didn't receive Jesus, another an “unclean” leper healed by Jesus.
✪ "Tammerlane used to relate to his friends an anecdote of his early life. ‘I once,’ he said, ‘was forced to take shelter from my enemies in a ruined building, where I sat alone many hours. Desiring to divert my mind from my hopeless condition, I fixed my eyes on an ant that was carrying a grain of corn larger than itself up a high wall. I numbered the efforts it made to accomplish this object. The grain fell sixty-nine times to the ground; but the insect persevered, and the seventieth time it reached the top. This sight gave me courage at the moment,and I never forgot the lesson.’" From THE KINGS BUSINESS, Ref-0119, p. 30.
✪ "we are so predisposed to believe not only that social morality is something that naturally evolves over time toward higher and higher expressions but also that we today are vastly more enlightened than those poor, uncouth, benighted brutes who slouched through the swamps of medieval fanaticism, superstition, and hypocrisy." Ref-1290, p. 31. "For centuries now the story of humanity's emergence from what Gibbon called "the darkness and confusion of the middle ages" into a new and revolutionary age of enlightenment and reason has been the reigning historical narrative that most of us imbibe from school, the press, popular entertainment, even frequently our churches-in short, the entire fabric of our society. And along with this narrative, as an indispensable concomitant, comes an elaborate mythology of what it was that was overcome when modernity was born out of the turmoils of the waning centuries of the "age of faith."" Ref-1290, p. 32. "The idea that humanity relentlessly progresses toward ever more "rational" and "ethical" forms of life is a modern myth, which we use to flatter ourselves for being what we are and to justify every alteration we make in our moral preferences." Ref-1290, p. 237.
✪ The study of man.
✪ "Samaritan eschatology looks for a repeat of the ages of disfavor and grace at the end of history. The former will be initiated by the evil priest Eli; the latter by the Taheb (Restorer = Messiah), the Prophet like Moses. There is also evidence that a priest is expected to accompany the Restorer." Ref-1200, p. 200. "By the beast, then, coming up out of the earth, he means the kingdom of Antichrist; and by the two horns he means him and the false prophet after him." Ref-0541, Hippolytus Treatise on Christ and Antichrist, Ref-0541, p. 214.
✪ "Satan’s master lie will be a travesty of the incarnation: he will energize a man who will claim universal worship as being the manifestation of the Deity in human form." Ref-0762, p. 208. Possibly related to the idea of a virgin-born incarnation of Antichrist? : "In the large topmost temple [of the Tower of Babel] was a couch covered in beautiful rugs with a golden table. There was no image of the deity, and the Chaldean priests informed Herodotus that one unmarried native women spent the night there to be visited by the deity. Though Herodotus did not believe the story, it confirms to the known Babylonian view of the sacred marriage." D. J. Wiseman, Babylon, Ref-0008, p. 1:388.
✪ "And the king [Antiochus Epiphanes] sent letters by messengers unto Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, that they should follow the foreign customs of the land, and keep burnt offerings, and sacrifices, and drink offerings out of the sanctuary; and that they should profane sabbaths and festival days; and pollute sanctuary and priests; build altars, and groves, and idol temples, and sacrifice swine's flesh and unclean animals. . . to the end they might forget the law, and change all ordinances. And whosoever would not do according to the commandment of the king, he should die." 1 Maccabees 1:41-50 Questionable: Dan. 8:11 (?);
✪ Compare the results of Antichrist's covenant with Jehovah's covenant of peace (Eze. 34:25). Questionable: Ps. 55:20-21 (?);
✪ "When therefore the end of the world comes, that abominable, lying and murderous one is born from the tribe of Dan. He is conceived from the seed of a man and from a most vile virgin, mixed with an evil or worthless spirit." Ephraim the Syrian, A.D. 373 Ref-0031, p. 112. "The Antichrist will be a lineal descendant of Abraham, a Jew. We shall not stop to submit the proof for this, as that will be given in our next chapter; suffice it now to say that none but a full-blooded Jew could ever expect to palm himself off on the Jewish people as their long-expected Messiah." Ref-0215, "The Papacy Not the Antichrist" "It should, however, be pointed out that there is no express declaration of Scripture which says in so many words that this daring Rebel will be ‘Jew;’ nevertheless, the hints given are so plain, the conclusions which must be drawn from certain statements of Holy Writ are so obvious, and the requirements of the case are so inevitable, that we are forced to believe he must be a Jew." Ref-0215, "The Person of Antichrist" "The fact that Dan is not mentioned in verses 5-8 [Rev. 7:5-8] is not unusual. Dan, along with Zebulun, is not mentioned in 1 Chronicles 4-8, which was written after the Exile. Yet even with Dan's absence, the listing of the other tribes is normally taken in Chronicles in a literal way. Some speculate that Dan was omitted in Revelation 7 because of that tribe's idolatrous history, as narrated in Judges 18:30 and 1 Kings 12:29.18 Others credit its omission to the view that the Antichrist might come from the tribe of Dan.19 . . . [n19] - Irenaeus wrote the following regarding the Antichrist and the omission of Dan in Revelation 7. “And Jeremiah does not merely point out his sudden coming, but he even indicates the tribe from which he shall come, where he says, ‘We shall hear the voice of his swift horses from Dan; the whole earth shall be moved by the voice of the neighing of his galloping horses: he shall also come and devour the earth, and the fulness thereof, the city also, and they that dwell therein.’ [Jer. 8:16] This too, is the reason that this tribe is not reckoned in the Apocalypse along with those which are saved.” (Againste Heresies, 5.30.2)." Richard Shalom Yates, The Identity of the Tribulation Saints, Ref-0200, Vol. 163 No. 649 January-March 2006, 79:93, p. 83 "This, too, the apostle affirms: “When they shall say, Peace and safety, then sudden destruction shall come upon them.”? And Jeremiah does not merely point out his sudden coming, but he even indicates the tribe from which he shall come, where he says, “We shall hear the voice of his swift horses from Dan; the whole earth shall be moved by the voice of the neighing of his galloping horses: he shall also come and devour the earth, and the fulness thereof, the city also, and they that dwell therein.”? This, too, is the reason that this tribe is not reckoned in the Apocalypse along with those which are saved." Irenaeus, Against Heresies 5.30.2, Ref-0537, p. 559. "And in like manner also we find it written regarding Antichrist. For Moses speaks thus: “Dan is a lion’s whelp, and he shall leap from Bashan.”? But that no one may err by supposing that this is said of the Saviour, let him attend carefully to the matter. “Dan,” he says, “is a lion’s whelp; ”and in naming the tribe of Dan, he declared clearly the tribe from which Antichrist is destined to spring. For as Christ springs from the tribe of Judah, so Antichrist is to spring from the tribe of Dan.? And that the case stands thus, we see also from the words of Jacob: “Let Dan be a serpent, lying upon the ground, biting the horse’s heel.”? What, then, is meant by the serpent but Antichrist, that deceiver who is mentioned in Genesis,? who deceived Eve and supplanted Adam. . . . That it is in reality out of the tribe of Dan, then, that that tyrant and king, that dread judge, that son of the devil, is destined to spring and arise, the prophet testifies when he says, “Dan shall judge his people, as (he is) also one tribe in Israel.”? But some one may say that this refers to Samson, who sprang from the tribe of Dan, and judged the people twenty years. Well, the prophecy had its partial fulfilment in Samson, but its complete fulfilment is reserved for Antichrist. For Jeremiah also speaks to this effect: “From Dan we are to hear the sound of the swiftness of his horses: the whole land trembled at the sound of the neighing, of the driving of his horses.”" Hippolytus, Treatise on Christ and Antichrist, Ref-0541, p. 207.
✪ "A general [intertestamental scenario] seems to have been commonly held among the [Jewish] populace, however. At some point after the beginning of the final age the heathen powers would assemble under an unidentified leader (the Antichrist), attack, but be defeated by the forces of the LORD.25 [25] The New Testament calls the unidentified leader Antichrist (1 John 2:18, 22; 4:3; 2 John 7; cf. 2Th. 2; Rev. 13); less specific is 2 Baruch 40:1-2; “The last ruler who is left alive at that time will be bound, whereas the entire host will be destroyed. And . . . my Anointed One . . . will kill him and protect the rest of my people.”" Ref-1200, p. 290. Questionable: Isa. 14:20 (?);
✪ "After perpetrating [crimes of inhumanity and lawlessness] for three years and six months only, he shall be destroyed by the glorious second advent from heaven of the only-begotten Son of God, our Lord and Saviour Jesus, the true Christ, who shall slay Antichrist with the breath of His mouth, and shall deliver him over to the fire of hell." Cyril of Jerusalem (ca A.D. 313-386), “The Nature of Antichrist”, Catechetical Lectures 15.12, Ref-0558, p. 108. "he [the Antichrist] shall speak words against the most high God, and wear out the saints of the most high God, and shall purpose to change times and laws; and [everything] shall be given into his hand until a time of times and a half time,” that is, for three years and six months, during which time, when he comes, he shall reign over the earth." Irenaeus of Lyons, “Irenæus Against Heresies”, Ref-0537, p. 554. "“And in the midst of the week,” he says, “the sacrifice and the libation shall be taken away, and the abomination of desolation [shall be brought] into the temple: even unto the consummation of the time shall the desolation be complete.” Now three years and six months constitute the half-week." Irenaeus of Lyons, “Irenæus Against Heresies”, Ref-0537, p. 554.
✪ "These three peoples will escape his fury. The reason for their escape seems to be a double one. In Ps. 83, which describes an event at a little earlier period, we are told, ‘they have taken crafty counsel against Thy people, and consulted against Thy hidden ones. They has said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance. For they have consulted together with one consent, they are confederate against Thee: the tabernacles of Edom and the Ishmaelites; of Moab, and the Hagarenes; Gebal, and Ammon, and Amalek; the Philistines with the inhabitants of Tyre; Assur (the Assyrian) also is joined with them’? (Ps. 83:3-8). Thus we see that these three peoples acted in concert with the Antichrist when a determined effort was made to utterly exterminate the Jewish people. The Antichrist, therefore, spares these submissive allies of his when he goes forth to overthrow the other countries." Ref-0215, "The Doom of the Antichrist"
✪ "For as the kingdoms before this were destroyed, for example, that of the Medes by the Babylonians, that of the Babylonians by the Persians, that of the Persians by the Macedonians, that of the Macedonians by the Romans: so will this also be by the Antichrist, and he by Christ, and it will no longer withhold. And these things Daniel delivered to us with great clearness. “And then,” he says, “shall be revealed the lawless one.” And what after this? The consolation is at hand. “Whom the Lord Jesus shall slay with the breath of His mouth, and bring to nought by the manifestation of His coming, even he whose coming is according to the working of Satan.”" John Chrysostom, "Homilies of St. John Chrysostom, Archbishop of Constantinople, on the Second Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to the Thessalonians", Ref-0563, p. 389.
✪ "After perpetrating [crimes of inhumanity and lawlessness] for three years and six months only, he shall be destroyed by the glorious second advent from heaven of the only-begotten Son of God, our Lord and Saviour Jesus, the true Christ, who shall slay Antichrist with the breath of His mouth, and shall deliver him over to the fire of hell." Cyril of Jerusalem (ca A.D. 313-386), “The Nature of Antichrist”, Catechetical Lectures 15.12, Ref-0558, p. 108.
✪ "At this point we are confronted with a question which very seriously affects the interpretation of the prophecy. Taking the words according to their apparent and obvious meaning (which should always be done except where there is a compelling reason to the contrary) it would seem quite clear that “the prince,” whose people were to destroy the city and the sanctuary, was Titus, the son of the then emperor Vespasian, he (Titus) being the “prince” or “leader” who was in actual command of those armies at the time. In fact we are bold to say that the words of the prophecy, which are the words of God sent directly from heaven to Daniel, do not reasonably admit of any other interpretation" Ref-0896, p. 26. "Is it sound and sober interpretation of Scripture, or is it playing pranks with prophecy? For, with all due and proper respect for those who hold this view, we are bound to say that it does the greatest possible violence to words which are not at all obscure or of uncertain meaning. There is no conceivable reason why any prince (i.e., commander) should be mentioned in this passage except the one whose armies were to accomplish the destruction of the city and temple, that being the subject of the passage. . . . we know nothing of any roman prince who is to “come” (come where?) in the future. . . . this prophecy has nothing whatever to do with any future roman prince; nor is there, so far as we are aware, any ground for saying that a roman prince will arise to play a part in the time of the end of this age." Ref-0896, p. 27.
✪ ". . .the figure of Antichrist is implied in the Old Testament and appears under various names in the Jewish apocryphal and pseudepigraphal writings that date from before the birth of Christ. This last-days opponent of the Jewish people and the Messiah is especially prominent in some of the apocalyptic texts of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Michael Stone, a leading Israeli expert on this literature, has observed that ‘the background to this figure lies in Jewish eschatology.’ The same conclusion was drawn by Hebrew University professor David Flusser. As an expert on the origins of Christianity, he categorically states, ‘The idea of Antichrist is strictly Jewish and pre-Christian.’ . . .in later Jewish commentaries, the legendary name given to antimessiah is Armilus. A brief summary of his characteristics, as given in such works as Sefer Zerubbavel and those by Saadiah Gaon, reveals close similarities between the Jewish and Christian concepts of the Antichrist: "This Armilus will deceive the whole world into believing that he is God and will reign over the whole world. He will come with ten kings and together they will fight over Jerusalem. . . Armilus will banish Israel ‘to the wilderness’ and it will be a time of unprecedented distress for Israel; there will be increasing famine, and the Gentiles will expel the Jews from their lands, and they will hid in caves and towers. . . God will war against the host of Armilus. . . and there will be a great deliverance for Israel and the kingdom of Heaven will spread over all the earth."" Ref-0142, p. 244 citing Klatzkin, Jacob, Armilus, Ref-1315, 3:476-477. "In the Jerusalem Talmud, Targum pseudo-Jonathan and the later Jewish apocalyptic midrashim (commentaries), a Jewish equivalent of the Antichrist appears by the name of Armilus. Works such as Sefer Zerubbavel and those by Saadiah Gaon reveal his characteristics in striking detail. . . Armilus will deceive the whole world into believing he is God and will reign over the whole world. He will come with ten kings and together they will fight over Jerusalem. Armilus is expected to persecute and banish Israel to the wilderness and it will be a time of unprecedented distress for Israel. There will be famine conditions, and the Gentiles will expel the Jews from their lands, and these Jews will hide in caves and towers. Then at the end, God will war against the host of Armilus, there will be a great deliverance for Israel, and the kingdom of heaven will spread over all the earth. Other references have Armilus arising from the Roman empire, having miraculous powers, and being born to a stone statue of a virgin (because of which he was called ‘the son of a stone’). It is also interested that he makes this statue ‘the chief of all idolatry,’ with the result that ‘all the Gentiles will bow down to her; burn incense and pour out libations to here.’ This resembles Daniel's wicked ‘king’ and ‘coming prince’ and his ‘abomination of desolation (Dan. 11:1-31,36-37), and especially the book of Revelation's statue of the beast which is brought to life and made an object of worship (Rev. 13:4,15)." Ref-0146, p. 481. "Legendary name of the Messiah's antagonist or anti-Messiah. Armilus appears frequently in the later Apocalyptic Midrashim, such as Midrash Va-Yosha, Sefer Zerubbavel, and Nistarot shel R. Shimon b. Yohai. He is also mentioned in the Targum pseudo-Jonathan, Isa. 11:14 and in the Targum Yerushalmi A (Deut. 34:3). Armilus is first mentioned otherwise in Saadiah Gaon's Emunot ve-De'ot (Ma'amar 8), apparently under the influence of Sefer Zerubbavel. The legend of Armilus thus originated not earlier than the beginning of the geonic period. Its basis, however, is the talmudic legend of Messiah the son of Joseph, who would be slain in the war between the nations prior to the redemption that would come through Messiah the son of David (Suk. 52a). In Otot ha-Mashi'ah (Midreshei Ge'ullah, p. 320), there is reference to “the Satan Armilus whom the Gentiles call Antichrist” but this is no proof of Christian influence. . . . This Armilus will deceive the whole world into believing that he is God and will reign over the entire world. He will come with ten kings and together they will fight over Jerusalem, and Armilus will slay Nehemiah b. Hushi'el, who is Messiah the son of Joseph, as well as many righteous men with him, and "Israel will mourn for him as one that is in bitterness for his only son" (cf. Zech. 12:19–12). Armilus will banish Israel "to the wilderness" and it will be a time of unprecedented distress for Israel: there will be increasing famine, and the Gentiles will expel the Jews from their lands, and they will hide in caves and towers. . . . God will war against the host of Armilus . . . Then there will be a great deliverance for Israel and the kingdom of Heaven will spread over all the earth." Jacob Klatzkin, Armilus, Ref-1315.
✪ "Does the person who rebuilds the Temple have to be considered the Messiah? Note that neither the Jewish governor Zerubbabel nor the Judean king Herod -- both of whom rebuilt the Second Temple -- were thought by the Jewish people to be the Messiah. . . the Gentile Persian emperor Cyrus. . . made possible the rebuilding of the Second Temple through his edict. . . It is an outsider who has to sign a legal document [Dan. 9:27] with the Jewish people, not one of their own. . . since the object of Satan's attacks during the Tribulation are all ethnic Jews (Rev. 12:13), it would seem unlikely that the one Satan empowers would also be Jewish (Rev. 13:2). . . it would be contrary to the prophetic sequence of Daniel to have a Jewish kingdom (Dan. 2:32-45; Rom. 11:25). . . to say that the Antichrist is to be a Jew would contradict the very nature of the times of the Gentiles. . . two different beasts are described as arising from the ‘sea’ and the ‘earth.’ The ‘sea’ is a literary image that often indicates the ‘Gentile nations’ (Dan. 7:2-3). This would mean that its opposite term here, ‘earth,’ would refer to ‘the Jews’ There is support for this in that the Greek word can be used as a technical expression for ‘the land of Israel.’ If this is so, then the first beast, which is from the sea, the Antichrist, is Gentile. And the second beast, the false prophet, is Jewish. . . . While Zechariah 6:12 indicates that the Messiah (‘the Branch’) will build the Temple, Zechariah is referring to the Millennial Temple. This allows for the Third (Tribulation) Temple to be built by someone else. . . the text of Revelation 11:2 that identifies the Antichrist with the Temple in its desecration does so in terms of Gentile occupation of the site." Ref-0146, pp. 477-480. "The later developments of this legend [of Antichrist] are complex. One particular form, basing itself on Jewish traditions (see Test. Patr., Dan. 5:6), makes the Antichrist a Jewish pseudo-messiah of the tribe of Dan." Michael E. Stone, Antichrist, Ref-1315. "This period of Gentile world dominion, “the times of the Gentiles” (Luke 21:24), will end with the Antichrist as the final ruler in the succession of nations. It would be contrary to the prophetic sequence revealed in Daniel to have a Jew rise to the status of a world ruler at a time when only Gentiles can have the preeminence and before the appointed time for the Jewish kingdom (Daniel 2:32-45; Romans 11:25). . . . . Also relevant is that the little horn (Antichrist) emerged from "the ten horns," which are all Gentile kings/kingdoms (Dan. 7:8,24)." J. Randal Price, "Daniel", Ref-1378, 219-266, p. 261.
✪ Rev. 16:10
✪ Irenaeus, writing about 185 AD, knows nothing of Nero as Antichrist, but expects an Antichrist yet future to his day: "But when this Antichrist shall have devastated all things in this world, he will reign for three years and six months, and sit in the temple at Jerusalem; and then the Lord will come from heaven in the clouds, in the glory of the Father, sending this man and those who follow him into the lake of fire; but bringing in for the righteous the times of the kingdom, that is, the rest, the hallowed seventh day; and restoring to Abraham the promised inheritance, in which kingdom the Lord declared, that “many coming from the east and from the west should sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob." Alexander Roberts, The Ante-Nicene Fathers Vol.I : Translations of the Writings of the Fathers Down to A.D. 325, The Apostolic Fathers With Justin Martyr and Irenaeus. (Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, 1997), 1.1.7.1.5.31, p. 559. "The greatest obstacle [to Nero being the seventh king of Rev. 17:10] is [Gentry's] need to begin counting ‘kings’ with Julius Caesar. . . the fact is that Rome was a Republic, ruled by the First Triumvirate, in the days of Julius Caesar and became a Principate under Augustus and the emperors which followed him. Neither does Gentry attempt to explain the thirteen-year gap between Julius Caesar's death and the beginning of Augustus’ reign." 2002021901.pdf, p. 193. "Schaff, who holds to an early date for the writing of Revelation, excludes Julius Caesar, begins with Augustus as the first emperor, and then leaves out Galba, Otho, and Vitellius, and thus arrives at Vespasian as the sixth head. Hort, also an early-ate advocate, says, “To begin counting the emperors from Augustus rather than Julius is the more correct reckoning of the two.” Robinson, who supports the early date, says, “But in Revelation it is clear that the first king must be Augustus.” If it is clear-cut that one should begin counting with Julius, as Gentry alleges, why do a majority of early-date advocates begin the count with Augusts and end up with Galba (or even Vespasian) as the sixth king? One would expect much greater agreement among the proponents of a theory on which so much rests." Mark L. Hitchock, "A Critique of the Preterist View of Revelation_17:9-11 and Nero", Ref-0200, Volume 164 Number 656, October-December 2007, 472:485, p. 477. "Speaking of the eighth and final form of the beast's rule, Rev. 17:11 says, “and he goes to destruction.” Gentry says this refers to Vespasian. However, to chapters later (in Rev. 19:20) the beast and the false prophet are cast into the lake of fire, which is the same destruction of the final head of the beast described in Rev. 17:11. Yet Gentry interprets Rev. 19:20 as a reference to Christ's providential destruction of Nero."
✪ "That the temple accordingly was built in seven weeks, is evident; for it is written in Esdras. And thus Christ became King of the Jews, reigning in Jerusalem in the fulfilment of the seven weeks. And in the sixty and two weeks the whole of Judaea was quiet, and without wars. And Christ our Lord, “the Holy of Holies,” having come and fulfilled the vision and the prophecy, was anointed in His flesh by the Holy Spirit of His Father. In those “sixty and two weeks,” as the prophet said, and “in the one week,” was He Lord. The half of the week Nero held sway, and in the holy city Jerusalem placed the abomination; and in the half of the week he was taken away, and Otho, and Galba, and Vitellius. And Vespasian rose to the supreme power, and destroyed Jerusalem, and desolated the holy place. And that such are the facts of the case, is clear to him that is able to understand, as the prophet said." Clement of Alexandria, The Stromata, or Miscellanies, 1.21, Ref-0538, p. 329. "Luis de Alcazar (1554-1613) advanced the preterist view of the Book of Revelation. He taught that Nero was the Antichrist and had already fulfilled the prophecies of Revelation 1-11 in the A.D. 70 destruction of Jerusalem." Ron J. Bigalke Jr., The Revival of Futurist Interpretation following the Reformation, Ref-0785, Volume 13 Number 38 April 2009, 43:58, pp. 52-53.
✪ "The second part of the passage deals with the antichrist’s war against the ten kings in the middle of the Tribulation [Dan. 11:40-45]. He is seen as moving out in all directions in conquest, and so he moves against the north (vv. 40, 44), the south (vv. 40, 42-43), and the east (v. 40). The three kings he will succeed in killing (Daniel 7:8-20,24), will be the king of the north (Syria), the king of the south (Egypt), and the king of the east (Mesopotamia)." Arnold Fruchtenbaum, Antichrist, Old Testament References to the, Ref-0114, 50-53, p. 52.
✪ "The sin of man will culminate in the Man of Sin." Ref-0215, "The Man of Sin, the Son of Perdition", p. 63.
✪ "Some propose that the revelation of the man of sin will occur in the middle of the 70th week, when he declares himself to be God (Dan. 9:27; 11:36-37; 2Th. 2:4). On the basis of this proposal and Paul's teaching that the Day of the Lord will not come until the man of sin is revealed, some conclude that the Day of the Lord will not start until sometime after the middle of the 70th week. There is a significant problem with this proposal,. . . other activities of the man of sin . . . will precede his declaration to be God and reveal who he is at least three and one-half years before that declaration. First, the man of sin will rise to power as the 11th ruler within the already formed ten-division confederation that will constitute the revived Roman Empire (Dan. 7:7-8, 20, 23-24). Second, as the man of sin rises to power, he will overthrow three of the original ten rulers of the revived Roman Empire (Dan. 7:8, 20, 24). Third, after overthrowing those three rulers, the man of sin will become the dominant ruler of the revived Roman Empire (Dan. 7:20, 24, 26; Rev. 17:12-13, 16-17). Fourth, as the dominant ruler of the revived Roman Empire, the man of sin will establish a seven-year covenant of peace with the nation of Israel, and the establishment of the covenant will be the historic starting point of the 70th week (Dan. 9:27)." Ref-0220, p. 65. "Paul therefore, in speaking of Antichrist, would not have passed over these things if they had been profitable. Let us not therefore enquire into these things. For he will not come so bending his knees, but “exalting himself against all that is called God, or that is worshiped; so that he sitteth in the temple of God, setting himself forth as God.” (2 Thess. 2:4.)" John Chrysostom, "Homilies of St. John Chrysostom, Archbishop of Constantinople, on the Second Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to the Thessalonians", Ref-0563, p. 378.
✪ "As already noticed, the Church of Rome displays the chief moral lineaments of the Man of Sin. Therefore it is an axiom of interpretation with this school that the ten-horned beast is the Papacy. But of the beast it is written that “power was given to him over all kindreds and tongues and nations, and all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life.” Are these commentators aware that one-half of Christendom is outside the pale of Rome, and in antagonism to the claims of the Papacy? Or do they suppose that all who belong to the Greek and Protestant Churches are enrolled in the book of life? By no means. But they would tell us the verse does not mean exactly what it says." Ref-0762, p. 134.
✪ "One example is the Roman origin of the Antimessiah (based apparently on the interpretation in Daniel’s prophecy of a Roman connection, Dan. 9:26-27) in the Sibylline Oracles (4:119-39)." Ref-0114, J. Randall Price, Antichrist, Jewish Views of the, 47-50, p. 49. "Rashi has no difficulty identifying the people of the prince that shall come as the Romans (i.e., the legions of Vespasian and Titus). Both Rashi and Rambam are examples of those who ascribe the breaking of the covenant (with the Jewish rulers [“great ones” rather than “many”]) to a broken promise of the Romans. However, none of the sages who hold this opinion provide any historical sources in support." J. Randall Price, Daniel's Seventy Weeks, Rabbinic Interpretation, Ref-0114, 78-80, p. 80. "In [the] pseudepigraphical work Zerubbabel, the last ruler of Judea from the House of David, tells his visions concerning the happenings at the end of days and the time of the Messiah. According to this work, the appearance of the Messiah will be preceded by the appearance of a satanic king of Rome, who will be the son of Satan and a stone sculpture of a woman; his name will be Armilus . . . Armilus will conquer the whole world, vanquish all the traditional enemies of Rome, especially Persia, and will unify the whole world under his religion. He will be a spiritual Satan as well as an emperor." Joseph Dan, Messiah, Ref-1315.
✪ "In v. 36 things are predicted concerning this person under consideration that are not historically true with reference to [Antiochus]. He was not the sort of person there described." -- H.C. Leupold (Amillennialist) "In no sense can Antiochus be called an Atheist; nor does the language of the writer of 2 Macc. 9:12, ‘think of himself as if he were God,’ corresponding to the words of this verse. The character. . . finds a parallel in Paul's description of Antichrist (2Th. 2:4)." -- John Ellicott (Amillennialist) "‘Saying things against every god.’ This does not agree with Antiochus. He was not an atheist. He even wished universal worship to Zeus. On the contrary, these words before us are expressly referring to Antichrist, 2Th. 2:4." -- Keil & Delitzsch
✪ "It is an age of mobs. Democracy, not despotism, is the goal towards which civilization is tending. But democracy in its full development is one of the surest roads to despotism. First, the revolution; then, the plebiscite; then, the despot. The Caesar often owes his sceptre to the mob. A man of transcendent greatness, moreover, never fails to leave his mark upon his times. And the true King of Men must have an extraordinary combination of great qualities. He must be “a scholar, a statesman, a man of unflinching courage and irrepressible enterprise, full of resources, and ready to look in the face a rival or a foe.” The opportunity too must synchronize with his advent. But the voice of prophecy is clear, that the Hour is coming, and the Man." Ref-0762, p. 190.
✪ "The popular Islamic picture of the Antichrist, or Dajjal, graphically portrays him as blind in one eye, with the word kafir -- unbeliever -- written on his forehead; his primary function is to mislead the unbelieving masses by claiming divinehood and the power to perform miracles." Ref-0161, p. 113. "[The] view [that the beast is literally resurrected from the dead] has many more advocates down through history than some might realize. . . . It is interesting to realize that even Augustine believed like [Tim] LaHaye on this matter (The City of God, Book XX, Chapter 19). Another ancient one who held views similar . . . is Lactantius (early 300s) (Divine Institutes, Book VII, Chapter 17; Commentary on the Apocalypes, Chapter 13). More recent individuals include: Lewis Sperry Chafer, J. A. Seiss, Charles C. Ryrie, Leon Morris, Walter K. Price, Robert Govett and Robert Thomas." Thomas Ice, "The Death and Resurrection of the Beast, Part 2", Ref-0181, Vol. 8 No. 23, May 2005, p. 5. Questionable: Zec. 11:17 (?);
✪ antilego= "to speak against." Those books whose right to a place in the canon, which they enjoyed, was challenged by certain rabbis in the second century A.D. They are Canticles (Song of Solomon), Ecclesiastes, Esther, Ezekiel, and Proverbs. After the Councils of Jamnia in 90 and 118 A.D., no further questions of any consequence were raised concerning any of the books of the Hebrew canon.
✪ "While visiting his half brother Herod Philip (not the tetrarch), Antipas became infatuated with Herod Philip’s wife Herodias, daughter of another half brother, Aristobulus, and mother of Herod Philip’s daughter Salome (Mark 6:22-28). Although marriage to the wife of a living brother was contrary to levirate law (Lev. 18:16; 20:21), Antipas married her. In order to do so he divorced the daughter of Aretas IV, the Nabatean king (who later, in retaliation, inflicted a military defeat upon Antipas). It was the denunciation of this union (Mat. 14:4; Mark 6:18; Luke 3:19) that brought about the imprisonment of John the Baptist in the Herodian fortress Machaerus and eventually his death." Ref-1200, p. 97.
✪ "In 1096, however, citizen "soldiers" who had gathered for the First Crusade, putatively on their way to deliver Christians in the East from their Seljuk Turk oppressors, began robbing and murdering Rhineland Jews by the thousands, and even attacking local bishops who attempted to protect the Jews within their diocesan boundaries. The Benedictine monk and historian Hugh of Flavigny (c. 1065-1140) marveled that such atrocities could be committed, despite popular revulsion, ecclesiastical condemnation, excommunications, and threats of severe legal punishments. And surely the direst time for Europe's Jews during the whole of the High Middle Ages was the period when the demand for scapegoats was greatest: the plague years of 1348 and 1349, when Jews were accused in many areas of poisoning the wells from which Christians drank. Pope Clement VI (c. 1291-1352) was even obliged to issue a decree in 1348 in defense of the Jews, pointing out that they too were victims of the plague (he also, to his everlasting credit, continued to offer Jews the hospitality of his court in Avignon, despite the suspicion with which they were viewed)." Ref-1290, p. 77.
✪ "In the hadith, Muhammad himself said, ‘The last hour will not come before the Muslims fight the Jews, and the Muslims kill them’" Mishkat al Massabih Sh. M. Ashraf, 1990, pp. 147, 721, 810:11, 1130, cited by Ref-0017, February 2000.