Antichrist

"After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns. I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things."--Daniel 7:7,8

"Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces. And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings. And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and dividing of time. But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end."--Daniel 7:23-26

"And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up. And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power: and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practice, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people. And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hand."--Daniel 8:23-25

"And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate."--Daniel 9:27

"And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished; for that that is determined shall be done. Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women, * nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all. But in his estate shall he honour the God of forces: and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honour with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things. Thus shall he do in the most strong holds with a strange god, whom he shall acknowledge and increase with glory: and he shall cause them to rule over many, and shall divide the land for gain. And at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at him: and the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over. He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon. He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries: and the land of Egypt shall not escape. But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt: and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps. But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him: therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many. And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him."--Daniel 11:36-45

* "This vision has puzzled many people but it would seem to confirm that the Antichrist will be a Jew since it declares he won't have 'regard' for 'the God of his Fathers.' That expression is used in the Bible only in connection with Jews. If he was a pagan, God would not point out his rejection of the pagan faith of his fathers as a point of condemnation. Furthermore, this verse tells us he will not 'regard...the desire of women.' Some have suggested that this means he will be a eunuch or a homosexual. While that is possible, it is more probable in the context that Daniel is referring to the fact that he will have no 'regard' for the 'desire of [Jewish] women' to bear the Messiah as their son. Since the time of Moses, devout Jewish women have prayed for the privilege of bearing the promised redeemer, the Messiah-King. The whole context of this prophecy is religious and this appears to be the preferred interpretation." (Prince of Darkness: Antichrist and the New World Order, Grant R. Jeffrey)

"For, lo, I will raise up a shepherd in the land, which shall not visit those that be cut off, neither shall seek the young one, nor heal that that is broken, nor feed that that standeth still: but he shall eat the flesh of the fat, and tear their claws in pieces. Woe to the idol shepherd that leaveth the flock! the sword shall be upon his arm, and upon his right eye: his arm shall be clean dried up, and his right eye shall be utterly darkened."--Zechariah 11:16,17

"I am come in my Father's name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive."--John 5:43

"Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it."--John 8:44

"Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things? And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness."--2 Thessalonians 2:1-12

"Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son. Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: but he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also."--1 John 2:22

"Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God; And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world."--1 John 4:1-3

"And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority. And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast. And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him? And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months. And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given 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 of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. If any man have an ear, let him hear. He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints. And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon. And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men. And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live. And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed. And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six."--Revelation 13:1-18

"The very first prophecy of the Bible takes note of him, for in Gen. 3:15 direct reference is made to the Serpent's 'Seed.' In exodus a striking type of him is furnished in Pharaoh, the defier of God; the one who cruelly treated His people; the one who by ordering the destruction of all the male children, sought to cut off Israel from being a nation; the one who met with such a drastic end at the hands of the Lord. In the prophecy of Balaam, the Antichrist is referred to under the name of 'Asshur' (Num. 24:22)..

"In the book of Job he is referred to as 'the Crooked Serpent' (Job 26:13): with this should be compared Isa. 27:1 where, as 'the Crooked Serpent,' he is connected with the Dragon, though distinguished from him. In the Psalms we find quite a number of references to him; as 'the Bloody and Deceitful Man' (5:6); 'the Wicked (One)' (9:17); 'the Man of the Earth' (10:18); the 'Mighty Man' (52:1); 'the Adversary' (74:10); 'the Head over many countries' (110:6); 'the Evil Man' and 'the Violent Man' (140:1), etc., etc. Let the student give special attention to Psalms 10, 52, and 55.

"When we turn to the Prophets there the references to this Monster of Iniquity are so numerous that were we to cite all of them, even without comment, it would take us quite beyond the proper bounds of this introductory chapter. Only a few of the more prominent ones can, therefore, be noticed.

"Isaiah mentions him: first as the 'Assyrian,' 'the Rod' of God's anger (10:5); then as 'the Wicked' (11:4); then as 'the King of Babylon' (14:11-20 and cf 30:31-33); and also as the 'Spoiler' - Destroyer (16:4). Jeremiah calls him 'the Destroyer of the Gentiles' (4:7); the 'Enemy,' the 'Cruel One' and 'the Wicked' (30:14 and 23). Ezekiel refers to him as the 'Profane Wicked Prince of Israel' (21:25), and again under the figure of the 'Prince of Tyre' (28:2-10), and also as 'the chief Prince of Meshech and Tubal' (38:2). Daniel gives a full delineation of his character and furnished a complete outline of his career. Hosea speaks of him as 'the King of Princes' (8:10), and as the 'Merchant' in whose hand are 'the balances of deceit' and who 'loveth to oppress' (12:7). Joel describes him as the Head of the Northern Army, who shall be overthrown because he 'magnified himself to do great things' (2:20). Amos terms him the 'Adversary' who shall break Israel's strength and spoil her palaces (3:11). Micah makes mention of him in the fifth chapter of his prophecy (see v. 6). Nahum refers to him under the name of 'Belial' (Heb.) and tells of his destruction (1:15). Habakkuk speaks of him as 'the Proud Man' who 'enlarged his desires as hell, and is as death, and cannot be satisfied, but gathereth unto him all nations, and heapeth unto him all peoples' (2:5). Zechariah describes him as 'the Idol Shepherd' upon whom is pronounced God's 'woe,' and upon whom descends His judgment (11:17).

"Nor is it only in the Old Testament that we meet with this fearful character. Our Lord Himself spoke of him as the one who should 'come in his own name,' and who would be 'received' by Israel (John 5:43). The apostle Paul gives us a full length picture of him in 2 Thess. 2, where he is denominated 'that Man of Sin, the Son of Perdition,' who coming shall be 'after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders.' The apostle John mentions him by name, and declares that he will deny both the Father and the Son (1 John 2:22). While in the Apocalypse, the last book in the Bible, all these lines of prophecy are found to converge in 'the Beast' who shall ultimately be cast, together with the False Prophet, into the lake of fire, there to be joined a thousand years later by the Devil himself, to suffer for ever and ever in that fire specially 'prepared' by God.

(The Antichrist, Arthur W. Pink, 1923)

The Antichrist. Book by Arthur W. Pink, 1923 at Christian Classics Ethereal Library. (550k)

Includes: Forward, Intro, The Papacy Not the Antichrist, The Person of the Antichrist, Names and Titles of the Antichrist, The Genius and Character of the Antichrist, The Career of the Antichrist, The Doom of the Antichrist, Antichrist in the Psalms, The Antichrist in the Prophets, Antichrist in the Gospels and Epistles, Antichrist in the Apocalypse, The Antichrist in Revelation 13, Types of the Antichrist, Babylon and the Antichrist, Israel and the Antichrist.

All who deny the Messiahship and Sonship of Jesus are antichrists.

Antiochus Epiphanes is recognized as the chief prototype of the Antichrist.

The first opinion held in the Church was that the Antichrist was a real person who would appear in the world when the time of his appearance was come. The only point on which any question arose was whether he should be a man armed with satanic powers or Satan himself. That he would be a man with satanic powers is the opinion of Justin Martyr AD 103, Ireneus AD 140, Tertullian AD 150, Origen AD 184 and Jerome AD 330.

(Dr. William Smith's Dictionary of the Bible, 1872)

In Jewish commentaries, the legendary name given to the antichrist is Armilus.

This 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 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...and there will be a great deliverance for Israel and the kingdom of Heaven will spread over all the earth." (Encyclopedia Judaica)

"Other references further describe Armilus as arising from the Roman empire, having miraculous powers, and being born to a stone statue of a virgin (which is why he is called "the son of stone"). It is also interesting 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 her."

(In Search of Temple Treasures, Randall Price)

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See "The Two Babylons" regarding "Book Petroma" or "Book of Stone."
See also Olenos, the Sin-Bearer regarding the "swaddling stone."

Along with the information contained in "The Two Babylons" is this excerpt from "The Prophecies of Malacy" regarding the last pope:

PETRUS ROMANUS
"In the final persecution of the Holy Roman Church there will reign Peter the Roman, who will feed his flock among many tribulations; after which the seven-hilled city will be destroyed and the dreadful Judge will judge the people."

When Alexander the Great died his empire was divided into four regions with the Seleucids gaining control of Babylonia and Syria. One of these rulers was Antiochus IV (Epiphanes) who was a forerunner of The Antichrist. Antiochus IV came to rule when his older brother was assassinated. He returned from Athens where he had been studying philosophy, deposed the assassin and took the throne. He didn't like the pomp and circumstance that went along with the office and was quite unorthodox. "Antiochus IV was both the most interesting and the most erratic of his line, a rare mixture of intellect, insanity and charm." His capital was in Antioch (Syria). He is remembered in Christian circles for sacrificing a pig on the altar in the Temple which the Bible calls "the abomination of desolation."

Antiochus IV (labeled his coins Antiochus Theos Epiphanes - The God Made Manifest):

1. Ordered the Jews to pay in taxes 1/3 of their grain crops and half of the fruit of their trees.
2. Appointed as high priest Jason, who tried establishing Greek institutions in Judea.
3. When Jason didn't do things fast enough, Antiochus made Menelaus high priest (who gave him "larger promises and fatter bribes"). Under Menelaus:
   1. Yahweh was identified with Zeus.
   2. The Temple vessels were sold to raise money.
   3. In some Jewish communities sacrifices were offered to Greek gods.
   4. A gymnasium was opened in Jerusalem where Jewish youths, and even priests, took part in athletic games (naked).
4. While trying to conquer Egypt, reports drifted back to the Jews that he had died. The Jews rejoiced, got rid of his appointees, massacred the leaders and cleansed the Temple.
5. Antiochus, incensed at being turned back by the Romans, marched to Jerusalem and:
   1. Slaughtered Jews by the thousands.
   2. Desecrated and looted the Temple taking the golden altar, vessels and treasuries.
   3. Restored Menelaus (who somehow wasn't murdered).
   4. Gave orders that it was now compulsory for all Jews to be Hellenized.
   5. Rededicated the Temple as a shrine to Zeus, built a Greek altar over the old one and replaced the usual sacrifices with a sacrifice of swine. The Greek ritual was made compulstory on pain of death. Every Jew that refused to eat pork or was found with the Book of the Law was to be jailed or killed and the Book burned. "At times, it seems, Antiochus thought of establishing and requiring the worship of himself as a god" (this came later with the Caesars).
   6. Forbid anyone from keeping the Sabbath or other Jewish festivals. Those who refused to work on these days were outlawed as rebels.
   7. Made circumcision a capital offense.
   8. Jerusalem was put to flames, walls destroyed and Jewish population sold into slavery. He brought in foreign people to resettle the site.
   9. All synagogues and Jewish schools closed.

Some Jews did what they were told and thought to ride it out, but others fled into caves and mountain retreats.

(The Life of Greece, Will Durant)

The same scenario will play out in the end times, with the Jews being warned that when they see the abomination of desolation they are to flee and not even return to pack a few things.

Josephus claims that Antiochus' reign of terror starting with sacrificing a sow on the altar he had erected to Jupiter (Zeus) in the Temple, lasted for exactly three years (Kislev 25, Hanukkah, Festival of Lights). See "The Temple: Its Ministry and Services: The Feast of the Dedication of the Temple."

See King Hussein of Jordan for modern parallels to Antiochus Epiphanes. Both their families were appointed lands after the break-up of an empire, both given the same land area, assassinations in their families, etc.

To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Date sent: Sun, 7 Mar 1999
Subject: [BPR] - Bashar al-Asad

Hafez al-Asad seems to have taken a lesson from the recent events in Jordan [King Hussein deciding his son, who had very little experience, should succeed him even though his brother had been next in line for the past 40+ years] and has decided to intensify the grooming of his son Bashar. Although Jordan still has authority over holy places in Israel, Syria is still interesting for the following reasons:

*al-Asad is Arabic for "lion"

And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority. --Rev 13:1,2

*Damascus is the capital of Syria and there seems to be some unfulfilled element regarding it. Could it be destroyed causing the Syrians to relocate (to Babylon)?

For the head of Syria is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin (the king's name)...--Isa 7:8

...Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.--Isa 10:9

See Rev 13:1,2 above And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.--Rev 13:3??

*Bashar is an eye surgeon

The Laodicean church is told ...to anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.--Rev 3:18

Laodicea was founded by Antiochus II and named in honor of his wife.

*Syria was Antiochus Epiphanes' territory. He was in Athens (some say Rome) studying philosophy when he was called back to Antioch after his brother was assassinated. Bashar was called back from London where he was getting his doctor's degree after his brother was killed in a car accident.

*Antiochus didn't care much for the pomp of the office and was considered quite unorthodox. Bashar is already being hailed for his unorthodox approach to dealings with Lebanon.

*The mark of the beast is considered to have some sort of technological component. Bashar is no stranger to new technologies. The Syrian Computer Society (SCS) was founded in 1989 by his brother and he has taken over as chairman. From their web site: " The main objective of SCS is to promote, and to effectively contribute to the diffusion of Information Technology in Syria."

"And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, aNd for thE overspReading Of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate."--Daniel 9:27

At a distance of every 7 letters the name "Nero" is found.

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"The first five years of Nero's reign are notorious in Roman history as the period of the best government the Empire had ever known."

Birthday: December 15, 37 AD. Came into the world feet first. Formal name: Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus. This was changed when Claudius adopted him at 13 years of age: Nero Claudius Caesar Drusus Germanicus. Murdered his mother. Was considered an athlete and an artist; a man of culture, but lax in morals. He was married, but had his boy, Sporos, too. To the pagan masses he was the ideal of the joys of self-expression and earthly happiness.

"Nobody but a poet would have thought of turning the center of imperial Rome into a Garden of Eden." He blames the Christians for the burning of Rome, saying that they didn't stop the flames because they thought Jesus was returning and were joyful.

On the altar of Zeus in the chief temple of Corinth they inscribed the words "To Zeus, Our Liberator, namely Nero, for ever and ever." In the temple of Apollo they set up his statue and they called him "The new Sun, illuminating the Hellenes." (see above regarding the "Feast of the Dedication of the Temple" with its references to illumination.)

"The 'five who are fallen' are evidently the five first Emperors, Augustus, Tiberius [The Goat], Caligula, Claudius and Nero; the 'one who is' is Galba; the 'one who is yet to come' is Otho; and the 'eighth' is Nero again, who is about to return and is 'of the seven.'"

"Sometimes," says Suetonius, "they placed his image upon the rostrum in the Forum, dressed in robes of state; at other times they published proclamations in his name as if he were still alive and would shortly come back to Rome and take vengeance on all his enemies."

[At about the time of the writing of the Apocalypse Nero had supposedly stabbed himself in the neck and died at the house of some freedman, but everyone thought he was still alive and reported seeing him in different places.]

(Nero, Arthur Weigall)

"...there are those who definitely believe that Antichrist will be a Jew. In tracing the rise of this view one finds that Irenaeus of the second century seems to be the first to teach it. He based his view upon the following points: (1) The name Antichrist is Jewish. (2) Daniel wrote these words about Antichrist: 'Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers' (Dan 11:37). (3) He is from the tribe of Dan since this tribe is among the missing of those mentioned in Revelation 7:4-8. (4) To be parallel to Christ he must come from Israel...There is just not enough abundant Scripture for anyone to be dogmatic on whether Antichrist will be Jewish or not.

"But there are certain characteristics about Antichrist that we may be positive about. He shall be a vile person (Dan 11:21) with a fierce countenance (Dan 8:23). He shall appear 'with all power and signs and lying wonders' (2 Thess 2:9). He will be endowed with all deception (2 Thess 2:10). He shall be a man of blasphemy, opposing God and compelling men to worship him (2 Thess 2:4). He shall be the personification of all evil and sin for he will be completely controlled by Satan (2 Thess 2:3)."

(The Next Invasion From Outer Space, Reg Dunlap)

"Maimonides also thinks that a sudden coming of the Mashiach [Messiah] is possible, but he believes that the process will occur naturally and in two stages. In the first stage - a kingdom or a government (not necessarily from the house of David) organizes the nation of Israel in the form of a state which is sovereign in its borders. Its task is to develop the spiritual power of the Torah and the physical power of the nation and to build the Beit HaMikdash [The Temple]. In the second stage the government will pass to the house of David. At the beginning of this turnabout, it may still not be clear that a Mashiach is involved. It is possible that only at a later stage of the revolution it will become obvious that he is the 'real Mashiach'. This Mashiach will be a learned man, the greatest of his generation in the Written and Oral Law, 'like his father, David', and he will make all Israel act according to the Law and become strong immediately. He will fight the wars of the Lord. If the Beit HaMikdash has not already been built, he will be responsible for building it and ingathering all the exiles of Israel. By fulfilling these roles he will cause his influence to be made greater and he will cause all the world to worship the Lord together."

(Rebuilding the Beit Hamikdash and the Coming of the Mashiach, Rav Hayim Yisrael Shteiner,
MIKDASH-BUILD [email list: http://www.virtual.co.il], 21 Cheshvan 5758 (11/21/97), Volume II, Number 5)

"Was Abraham an Israelite? No, he actually was not. What about Isaac? Well, he was not either. What about Jacob? Technically, Jacob was not an Israelite. The crowd that went down to Egypt were Syrians. Abraham was no more an Israelite than he was an Ishmaelite--since both peoples descended from him. Abraham was a Syrian as to nationality."

(Deuteronomy, J. Vernon McGee)

"Syria (a form of the word Assyria), the country lying north and east of Palestine (Judg 10:6; 1 Kings 10:29; Acts 15:23). It stretched far inland from the Mediterranean and was bounded by the Taurus Mountains to the north.

"Assyria ("country of Asshur") a Semitic nation on the Tigris River, whose capital was Nineveh (Gen 2:14; 2 Kings 15:10,20).

"Nineveh (meaning unknown), the capital of the Kingdom of Assyria (Nahum 1:1; cf. 3:1; Zeph 2:13; Luke 11:32) It was located east of the Tigris River in the area north of the point the Tigris joins the Upper Zab. The ruins are now called Tell Kuyunjik and Tell Nebi Yunus.

"Asshur ("level plain") [1] A son of Shem (Gen 10:22; 1 Chron 1:17) Possibly the people of Assyria are intended. [2] Genesis 10:11, if denoting a person, refers to a son of Ham or to [1]. However, many scholars translate: 'From that land he (Nimrod) went into Assyria (Asshur).'"

(Nelson's Illustrated Encyclopedia of Bible Facts)

"Aram, Aramaeans (often in AV and RV 'Syrians'). A number of scattered but kindred tribes which made their appearance in the Euphrates Valley about BC 1300 and rapidly pushed westward...The Aramaeans are first mentioned by Shalmaneser I of Assyria about BC 1300. About the same time their name occurs in an inscription of Rameses II. Tilgath-pileser I (c. BC 1110) mentions Aramaeans as dwelling east of the Euphrates, and in the same region they were later (885-824) conquered by Ashurnazirpal and Shalmaneser II. Many of them continued to live in the Euphrates Valley, where their language spread to such an extent that, in the reign of Sennacherib, Aramaic glosses begin to make their appearance on Babylonian contracts. In Nippur many similar documents from the Persian period have been found. They indicate that the use of Aramaic was spreading among the common people of Babylonia. It probably came into general use here, as the Babylonian Talmud is written in it.

"The Aramaeans pushed into the West in large numbers shortly after BC 1300. In course of time they occupied Damascus and a part of the country to the south as far as the Hauran, some of them mingling with tribes still farther to the south and becoming the Ammonites, Moabites, and Israelites...Damascus became the leading Aramaean State...

"Damascus--The chief city of Northern Syria...It derives its modern importance from local manufactures...from its situation and convenience as a market for the desert tribes, and from its religious significance as the starting-point of the annual Syrian pilgrim caravan to Mecca...Here took place his [Paul's] miraculous conversion..."

(Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible)

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"Our first reading of the Arab state of affairs shows that the masses of our Arab nation -- which are led by honest Arab leaderships and regimes, headed by the Syrian people who have a lion for a leader [pun on Hafiz al-Asad, where al-Asad is Arabic for lion] (see Revelation 13:1-18 above) -- have awakened the nation from its slumber, putting into motion all the Arab forces, potentials, and energies in rejecting occupation, containment, and exploitation. This is US policy in the Arab homeland; it is the progeny of a classic and consistent strategic stance while tactics evolve and change. How else can we explain this joint American-Israeli partnership and support, and this joint defense agreement in the fields of military cooperation and training? How else can we explain the tripartite alliance between America, Israel, and the militarists of Turkey? Why are the navies and armadas of air carriers, submarines, warships, and other military forces and material roaming the shores of the Arab region and extending to the Indian Ocean? Are all these to maintain peace and justice? Are they to keep away the specter of war from the region, or have they come to serve the interests of US designs and in support of the abhorrent Zionist occupation?"

(Damascus al-Thawrah in Arabic, March 22, 1998, p. 13, Article by Mazin al-Naqib: "Spotlight on US Policy in the Region")

"...the world's current massive population is doubling every thirty to forty years with each new generation. If this growth rate is sustained, as is likely, this population could be more than four times its already impressive number within the next one hundred (100) years. If that then happens, world food supply demands would be four times as great with substantially less land available to produce these supplies. In addition, meeting current demand requires the use of fossil fuels which are also expected to be exhausted within 100 years.

"Thus, within 100 years the task of providing needed supplies would be very much dependent on careful planning and order. Within the next two hundred (200) years, the world's population could be twenty (20) times its current number. Such a population level could very probably overburden any conceivable plan to provide these supplies. It would probably accomplish the same goal of introducing worldwide anarchy, famine, and death of most of the world's population. If Satan waits for this period to arrive, he will have missed his "window of opportunity" to accomplish his goal. He can therefore be expected to act sooner than this period."

(WUSTVOX The Antichrist, Kirche Enterprises, Inc., http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/Kirche_Enterprises)

The Jerusalem Targum* on Exodus 12:42 "notes that there were 4 remarkable nights: those of creation, of the covenant with Abraham, of the first Passover, and of the redemption of the world; and that as Moses came out of the desert, so would the Messiah come out of Rome."

(The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, Alfred Edersheim)

Christianity is awaiting the Antichrist from within the ranks of a revived Roman Empire and the Jews are looking for their Messiah to come out of Rome.

(*Targum--When the Jews came back from the captivity they spoke Aramean, "the common people were ignorant of pure Hebrew" which was "the language of students and of the Synagogue." Because of this, there was an interpreter that translated the Scriptures that were read in the publc services and what the Rabbis said from Hebrew to the common language. These translations/paraphrases are the origin of the Targum and it should be kept in mind, of course, that the views of the particular translators crept in, but overall they conveyed the general stance of the material according to Jewish thought around the 3rd-4th century.)

The Bunyan Archive
Of Antichrist, and His Ruin and of the Slaying the Witnesses by John Bunyan. (273k)

See also:
666
The History of Syria