The Beast Of Revelation-Part III

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In two previous blog posts I gave the evidence from Revelation that the beast was Nero Caesar. I’ll conclude here with two more clues which point to Nero.

1.  His Death. Revelation 13:8 says those who aren’t Christians will worship the beast. As I mentioned in a previous post, Nero was one of the first Roman Emperors (along with Caligula) who claimed to have become a god while still alive. Then comes these two verses:

“If anyone has an ear, let him hear. If anyone is destined for captivity, to captivity he goes; if anyone kills with the sword, with the sword he must be killed. Here is the perseverance and the faith of the saints.”

Revelation 13:9-10. Sure enough, in 68 A.D., Nero died by the sword, his own; he committed suicide. Continue reading “The Beast Of Revelation-Part III”

The Beast Of Revelation-Part II (666)

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I said in the blog post yesterday that Revelation was intended to make clear to the reader the identity of the beast of Revelation. I suggested the beast was Nero Caesar.

Revelation 13:18 contains another clue as to the identity of the beast:

“Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for the number is that of a man; and his number is six hundred and sixty-six.”

In Hebrew, every letter has a corresponding number. The Hebrew spelling of Nero Caesar (represented here with English letters) was NRWN QSR.

Now if you take each Hebrew letter and add its corresponding number, here is what you get: N = 50  R = 200   W = 6  N =50  Q = 100  S = 60  R = 200 = Total: 666. Continue reading “The Beast Of Revelation-Part II (666)”

The Beast Of Revelation-Part I

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If I was going to engage in speculation about the meaning of Revelation, I would never have taken up the task of blogging on the subject. There has been too much speculation already.

Do you really want to hear more about how everyone from Osama Bin Laden to President Obama is the Antichrist? Do you want to continue freaking out about having the numbers “666” on a social security card, credit card or driver’s license?

No doubt you’ve heard similar speculation about the beast of Revelation. I would like to suggest to you that the identity of the beast of Revelation is quite clear. Revelation contains clues intended to make his identity easy to discover.

One of those clues is found in Revelation 17. There the angel says to John, “I will tell you the mystery of the woman and the beast that carries her, which has the seven heads and ten horns.” (Revelation 17:7). “The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits…” (Revelation 17:9). It is well-known Rome sits on seven hills. Continue reading “The Beast Of Revelation-Part I”

Coming With The Clouds

One of the fundamental principles of Biblical interpretation, is to let the Bible interpret the Bible, as opposed to attempting to  interpret the Bible, whether it be Revelation or Matthew 24, with the New York Times or Fox News.

In other words, you don’t look at current events and then try to find them in the symbolism in Revelation. It’s specious and chronologically arrogant, assuming as it must, that we are, as one pulp fiction writer called it, “the terminal generation.”

The symbols and figures of speech used in Revelation, and other parts of the New Testament, were known to the Jews and had often been used in the Old Testament. This is true of the image of God “coming with the clouds.” Continue reading “Coming With The Clouds”

Early Dating For Revelation?

After visiting Ephesus and the tomb of the Apostle John, I blogged on the one question I would ask John if he were still alive.

The one question: “When did you write the Book of Revelation?”

It is an important question because it is determinative of one’s eschatology. In a previous blog post, I explain why.

While reading in Revelation on December 31, 2010 (completing my read through the Bible in 2010), I came across this:

Then there was given me a measuring rod like a staff; and someone said, “Get up and measure the temple of God and the altar, and those who worship in it.”

Continue reading “Early Dating For Revelation?”