ESCHATOLOGY

THE DOCTRINE OF LAST THINGS

THE TRIBULATION

INTRODUCTION.

The word "tribulation" is a general term in the Bible to denote the sufferings of God's people. In the Old Testament, the Hebrew words sara and sar usually translated "straits" or "distress" refers variously to intense inner turmoil (Psa. 25:17; 120:1; Job 7:11), the pain of childbirth (Jer. 4:31; 49:24), anguish (Job 15:24; Jer. 6:25), and punishment (I Sam. 2:32; Jer. 30:7). In the Greek translation of the Old Testament called the Septuagint (LXX), the Greek word that usually translates the Hebrew word sara is the noun thlipsis, which comes from the Greek verb thlibo which means "to press" or "to hem in", often refers to the oppression and affliction of the people of Israel or of the righteous (Deut. 4:30; Psa. 37:39), while in the Greek New Testament thlipsis is usually translated "tribulation" or "affliction". In the King James Version (KJV), the Greek noun thlipsis is translated "tribulation" 21 times, "afflication" 17 times, "trouble" 3 times, "dead" 9 times, and "anguish", "persecution", "burdened", "die" once each.

In the New Testament, tribulation is the experience of all believers and includes persecution (I Thess. 1:6), imprisonment (Acts 20:23), derision (Heb. 10:33), poverty (II Cor. 8:13), sickness (Rev. 2:22), and inner distress and sorrow (Phil. 1:17; II Cor. 2:4). Often the term tribulation is connected with deliverance, which implies that tribulation is a necessary experience through which God glorifies Himself in the bringing His people to rest and salvation. Tribulation may be the means by which God discipline His people for their unfaithfulness (Deut. 4:30). More often, especially in the New Testament, tribulation occurs in the form of persecution of believers because of their faithfulness (John 16:33; Acts 14:22; Rev. 1:9). The sufferings of Christ provide the model for the believer's experience of sufferings (I Pet. 2:21-25), and in some sense it is a participation in the sufferings of Christ (Col. 1:24). Thus tribulation is viewed as entirely within the will of God, serving to promote moral purity and godly character (Rom. 5:3-4). As such, they must endure the tribulations with faith in the goodness and righteousness of God (See James 1:2-4, where "trials" or "temptations" labels what appears to be the same experience.), thus serving as a test of the believer's faith and leading to greater stability and maturity.

Jesus used the word to describe the way which leads to life, saying, "Strait is the gate and narrow (compressed or tribulatory) is the way (Matt. 7:14). He also said that tribulation and persecution may come because of obedience to the Gospel (Matt. 13:21). Jesus told the disciples that they would have tribulation; they would be afflicted (tribulated) and even be killed for His name's sake (Matt. 24:9). Thus Jesus promised tribulation as the inevitable consequences of His followers' presence in the evil world (kosmos) (John 6:33), something that they should expect as the way of life as a follower of Jesus. The Apostle Paul echoes this same viewpoint when he warns that godly believers will certainly suffer persecution (II Tim. 3:12-13). But Jesus encourages His followers through His overcoming of the world to seek their victory through the application of His victory. They should be of good cheer, be encouraged, because He had overcome the world (John 16:33).

The Apostle Paul told the Corinthians that when he was in affliction (tribulation), it was for their sakes (II Cor. 1:16). Paul also said that he and his associates suffered trouble (tribulation) on every side (II Cor. 4:8) by fightings without and fears within (II Cor. 7:5). He told the Thessalonians that they would suffer tribulation (I Thess. 3:4), but that they would receive rest from their tribulation when the Lord Jesus would be revealed from heaven. At that time, Christ would recompense tribulation on those who troubled the Thessalonians (II Thess. 1:6-7). Paul told the Romans that he gloried in tribulation, knowing that tribulation brought patience (Rom. 5:3). And that tribulation could not separate them from Christ's love (Rom. 8:35). Paul was comforted by God in the midst of his tribulation (II Cor. 1:4) and could thereby comfort others in their tribulation with the same comfort that he had received. Nor was his tribulation light, for he was "pressed out of measure, above strength," so much that he "despaired even of life" (II Cor. 1:8). Nevertheless, he was exceedingly joyful in all tribulation (II Cor. 7:4), counting it as a light thing which was but for a moment, but which, obtained for him a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory (II Cor. 4:17). He exhorted his converts to continue in the faith, telling them that they must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God (Acts 14:22).

The Apostle John said that he was a brother and companion in tribulation with the faithful of Asia Minor (Rev. 1:9). Other occurences of the word as used by John in the book of Revelation are in chapters 2:9-10, 22 and 7:14. The last reference refers to "the great tribulation".

These 35 occurences of the Greek word translated by "tribulation", etc. in the New Testament may be said to be representative of its 54 occurences of thlipsis in the Greek New Testament.

THE GREAT TRIBULATION

The following are a list of the items in the Biblical description of "the great tribulation".

1. The precise expression, "the great tribulation" (Matt. 24:21; Rev. 2:22; 7:14 -- Greek, thlipsis megale) is used to identify the eschatological form of tribulation, a future world-wide, unprecedented time of trouble.
2. The great tribulation is a definite period of time at the end of the age immediately before Christ's return to earth (Matt. 24:29-31; Mark 13).
3. It is known as "the great tribulation" out of which are saved a great multitude of all nations, kindreds, people, and tongues (Rev. 7:14).
4. It is of such severity that no period of history past or future will equal it (Matt. 24:21).
5. It shall be a shortened period for the elect's sake (Matt. 24:22) else no flesh could stand it.
6. It is the time referred to in the Scriptures as Jacob's trouble, a judgment upon the God-rejecting nation and upon Messiah-rejecting Israel (Jer. 30:7; Dan. 12:1-4; Matt. 24:21-22).
7. It is a time of judgment upon the nations for their sins and their rejection of Christ (Isa. 26:21; 27; 34:1-4; Rev. 6:15-17).
8. This period of time is initiated by the "abomination of desolation" (Matt. 24:15), predicted in Daniel 9:27, that is a desecration of the "holy place" by one whom Paul calls the "man of lawlessness" (II Thess. 2:3-4).
9. Its length is 1260 days, forty-two months, and time, times, and half a time (Rev. 13:5; 12:13-14; cf. Rev. 12:6).
10. It will end with the Second Coming of Christ (Matt. 24:29-30). At the battle of Armageddon, the beast and the armies of the kings of the earth of 200 million soldiers (Rev. 9:16), having been gathered to make war against Chirst, are destroyed (Rev. 19:11-21). The beast and the false prophet are seized and thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone (Rev. 19:20). The armies are killed with the sword which came out of the mouth of Christ (Rev. 19:21).

Since Jesus made this prophecy recorded in Mattew 24, major wars, catastrophes and cosmic phenomena have stimulated belief in the presence of the great tribulation. Such a tendency is typified by Hesychius of Jerusalem in some correspondence with Augustine. Augustine disagreed, preferring to interpret such things instead as characteristics of history as a whole with no particular eschatological significance. In modern times, some pre-millennialists have speculated on the trend of current events as possible precursors of the great tribulation, some even attempting to identify the antichrist with such candidates as Kaiser Wilhelm II and Mussolini.

Adherents of the major millennial views place the great tribulation at different points in relation to the millennium. Both post-millennialists and amillennialists regard it as a brief, indefinite period of time at the end of the millennium, usually identifying it with the revolt of Gog and Magog of Rev. 20:8-9. The post-millennialists view history as moving toward the Christianization of the world by the church and a future millennium of undetermined length on earth culminating in the great tribulation and the final return of Christ. In contrast, amillennialists consider the millennium to be a purely spiritual reality from the first advent to the second, a period lasting already two thousand years and to culminate in the great tribulation, a somewhat less optimistic view of history and the progress of the gospel witness.

To pre-millennialists who see the millennium as a future, literal thousand years reign of Christ on earth, the great tribulation is a chaotic period toward which history is even now moving, that is, a decline, to be terminated by the return of Christ before the millennium. One group, which describes itself as "historic" pre-millennialists, understands the great tribulation to be a brief but undetermined period of trouble. Another group, the dispensational pre-millennialists, identify the tribulation with Daniel's seventieth week and with the week of Daniel 9:27, a period of a week of seven years whose latter half pertains strictly to the great tribulation.

Within the pre-millennial movement, another issue has arisen concerning the time of the rapture of the Church, and has given rise to three views:

1. Pre-tribulationists who believe that the rapture occurs prior to the tribulation,
2. Mid-tribulationists who believe that the rapture occurs in the middle of tribulation, and
3. Post-tribulationists who believe that the rapture occurs after the end of the tribulation.

Thus Bible teachers differ as to the nature and extent of "the great tribulation." Some identify the phrase "the great tribulation" with "the wrath of God". These would interpret the seals, the trumpets, and the bowls of the book of Revelation as an outpourings of God's wrath. On the basis of this interpretation, they affirm that the rapture of Church would occur before the opening of the first seal and the length of "the great tribulation" is seven years, Daniel's sevenieth week, and the tribulation is to be concerned only with the unbelieving nations, Gentiles and Jews alike. The teachers who hold this interpretation are known as pre-tribulationists.

Other teachers interpret the phrase, "the great tribulation", to refer to troublesome times that both the Church and believers shall experience at the end times. They differentiate between the seals and trumpets, on the one hand, and the bowls of God's undiluted wrath, on the other hand. The seals and trumpets, they affirm, refer to suffering caused by the wrath of man, which God uses to encourage men to repent. The bowls, however, are especially designated as the fulness of the wrath of God against those who do not repent. On the basis of this interpretation, they affirm that the rapture of Church takes place after the opening of the seals and the blowing of the trumpets, but immmediately before the outpouring of the seven bowls of wrath. Those who interpret the time of the beginning of the seven bowls as the middle of the seven years of the tribulation period and that the rapture of the Church occurs then are known as mid-tribulationists. Others who affirm that the bowls are poured out, one immediately after another in rapid succession at the end of the great tribulation just before the Church is raptured at the second coming of Christ to earth, are called post-tribulationists.

Recently, in this post-tribulation camp, a new view has been put forth by Jim McKeever in his book The Coming Climax of History (Medford, Oregon: Omega Publications, 1982) that sees the second coming of Christ and the rapture as not occurring at the end of the great tribulation but at a short interval after it. On the basis of Matt. 24:29 and Daniel 12:11-12, McKeever believes that Christ will come to earth 45 days after the end of the great tribulation. During this 45 days there will take place the catastrophic event that McKeever calls "the Great Shaking". Jesus said,

"²⁹ But immediately after the tribulation of those days
THE SUN WILL BE DARKENED, AND THE MOON WILL NOT GIVE LIGHT, AND THE STARS WILL FALL from the sky,
and the powers of the heavens will be shaken,
³⁰ and then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky,
and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn,
and they will see the SON OF MAN COMING ON CLOUDS OF THE SKY
with power and great glory."
(Matt. 24:29-30 NAS; see Luke 21:25-27).

The Great Shaking is the first part of what McKeever calls "the Awesome Event". This whole thing occurs after the great Tribulation and before the end of the age. This Awesome Event consists of four parts:

1. The Great Shaking,
2. The Return of Christ,
3. The Rapture of the Christians, and
4. The Battle of Armageddon.

The Great Shaking includes the following events:

1. THE HEAVENS ARE SHAKEN.
   1. The Sun Becomes Black (as Sackcloth)
   2. The Moon's Light is Diminished (like Blood)
   3. Stars Fall (to Earth)
   4. The Sky is Rolled Up like a Scroll
2. GREAT EARTH UPHEAVAL
   1. The Great Earthquake (the biggest of all time)
   2. Islands are move out of their places
   3. Mountains are moved out of their places
   4. Giant Hailstorm (100-pound hailstones)

McKeever's escatology seems to follow the Biblical teaching concerninng the events leadinng up to the second coming of Jesus Christ. But there is one point that raises a problem. Why does McKeever place the 30 days of the 1290 days of Daniel 12:11 before instead of after the Great Tribulation? (Remember that the 1290 days is 30 days more than the 1260 days which is length of the Great Tribulation.) McKeever does not give any explanation why he placed these 30 days before the Great Tribulation. Why didn't he just place them at the end of the 1260 days of Great Tribulation? McKeever does not give any explanation.

Let us place these 30 days after the Great Tribulation. The angel in Daniel 12 tells Daniel that from the abolishing of the daily scarifice and the setting up of the abomination of desolation that there will be 1290 days (Dan. 12:11). This 1290 days is 30 days more than the length of time of the great tribulation which is 1260 days
(1260 + 30 = 1290).
Then the angel says to Daniel,
"How blessed is he who keeps waiting and attains to the 1,335 days!" (Dan. 12:12 NAS).
Now this 1335 days is 45 days more than 1290 days and 75 days more than the 1260 days of the great tribulation. This means that there is 75 days between the end of the great tribulation and the coming of Christ to earth
(1260 + 30 + 45 = 1260 + 75 = 1335).
This allows time for the events that Jesus said that would occur
"immediately after the tribulation of those days" (Matt. 24:29);
there would be 75 days during which the event that Jim McKeever called "the Great Shaking" would take place, and then at the end of 75 days the Son of Man would come in the clouds of heaven with great power and great glory (Matt. 24:30).
The Great Shaking would take place immediately after the Great Tribulation and at beginning of the 30 days. And then in the following 45 days after the 30 days, during the first 44 days of which the antichrist will prepare for the battle of Armageddon, the coming of Christ will occur on the 45th day, which is the 75th day after the Great Tribulation. The Awesome Event prophesied by Joel (Joel 2:30-31) is not the 45 days period but is the second coming of Christ.

ESCHATOLOGY

THE DOCTRINE OF LAST THINGS

THE ANTICHRIST

INTRODUCTION.

The word "antichrist" is used in the New Testament only by the Apostle John in his first and second epistles:

"^2:18 Children, it is the last hour;
and as you have heard that antichrist is coming,
so now many antichrists have come;
therefore we know that it is the last hour.
^2:19 They went out from us, but they were not of us;
for if they have been of us,
they would have continued with us;
but they went out, that it might be plain that they were not of us.
^2:20 But you have been anointed by the Holy One,
and you know everything.
^2:21 I write to you,
not because you do not know the truth,
but because you know it,
and know that no lie is of the truth.
^2:22 Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ?
This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son."
(I John 2:18-22)

"^4:2 By this you know the Spirit of God:
every spirit which confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God,
^4:3 and every spirit which does not confess Jesus is not of God.
This is the spirit of antichrist,
of which you heard that it was coming,
and now it is in the world already."
(I John 4:2-3)

"For many deceivers have gone out into the world,
men who will not acknowledge the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh;
such a one is the deceiver and the antichrist."
(II John 7)

1. The spirit which characterizes the future Antichrist was at work in the time of the Apostle John (I John 2:18; 4:3).
2. The Antichrist is expected in the last hour and times (I John 2:18).
3. The spirit of the Antichrist is the spirit of apostasy:
   "They went out from us, but they were not of us" (I John 2:19).
4. The spirit of the Antichrist is that of a liar who denies that Jesus is the Christ.
   "Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ?
   This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and Son" (I John 2:22).
5. The spirit of the Antichrist is a denial of the Incarnation of Christ:
   "... and every spirit which does not confess Jesus Christ has come in the flesh ...
   this is the spirit of the Antichrist,..." (I John 4:2-3 ERS; II John 7).

"^2:21 I write to you,
not because you do not know the truth,
but because you know it,
and know that no lie is of the truth.
^2:22 Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ?
This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son."
(I John 2:21-22)

While not containing the word "Antichrist", several other passages of the Scriptures are intrepreted by many Bible teachers as referring to this substitute for Christ who shall appear at the end of the age. In these passages, there are a number of different names and descriptions of the Antichrist:

1. The " little horn" (Dan. 7:7-8, 20-26);
2. The " prince that shall come" (Dan. 9:26);
3. The " king" (Dan. 11:36-45);
4. The " false Christ" (Matt.24:24; Mark 13:6, 21, 22; Luke 21:8);
5. The " man of lawlessness", "son of perdition", "that lawless one" (II Thess. 2:8);
6. The " beast out of the sea" (Rev. 11:7; 13:1-10; 17:8-17);
7. The " beast out of the earth" (Rev. 13:11-17).

1. The "little horn" (Dan. 7:7-8, 20-26).
   In a vision (Dan. 7:2-8), Daniel the prophet sees four successive beasts coming out of the sea: a lion, a bear, a leopard, and an unnamed beast. The unnamed beast has ten horns among which arises another little horn, the eleventh. The first three beasts represent the three world kingdoms that will arise: Bablyon, Medio-Persia, and Greece. The fourth and unnamed beast represents the kingdom that will be in existence when the Ancient of Days appears. The ten horns of this unnamed beast represent ten kings who will arise and rule in the fourth kingdom. An eleventh horn or king finnally will arise and overcome three of the ten kings. Four specific statements identify the eleventh little horn (Dan. 7:11-12, 24-26):
   1. He speaks great words against the Most High.
   2. He persecutes the saints.
   3. He changes times and laws for a period of three and one-half years.
   4. And finally, he will be slain by direct judgment of God;
      his body will be burned and his kingdom will be destroyed.
   Because the little horn continues until the coming of the Ancient of Days, and because his description is similar to the man of sin in II Thess. 2, who will be revealed just before the day of Christ, this eleventh little horn has been identified as the Antichrist of the end time.
   
2. The "prince that shall come" (Dan. 9:26).
   Some interpret the prince that shall come of Dan. 9:26 to be the one will make a covenant with Daniel's people for one week (Dan. 9:27). In the middle of the week, then he will break the covenant and set up the abomination of desolation (possibly the image referred to in Rev. 13:14-15). Finally, a predetermined destruction will be poured upon the prince at the end.

   Christ said that Daniel's prophecy would be fulfilled just before His Second Coming (Matt. 24:15). Jesus added that the setting up of "abomination of desolation" would introduce a period of tribulation unequaled in history. Because Jesus referred the fulfillment of Daniel's prophecy to the future when He would return, the "prince" of Daniel 9:26 has been identified with the Antichrist of the end times.
   

3. The "king" (Dan. 11:36-45).
   The passage in which this title appears is clearly difficult. The problem lies in the selection of verses that may be applied to the end-time as over against the portion of the chapter 11 that reveals an earlier historical fulfillment in the time of Antiochus Epiphanes, 165 B.C. (the reign of Antiochus IV, 175-164 B.C.). Four views of this Daniel 11 passage are held by Bible teachers as follows:
   1. The entire chapter speaks of the successors of Alexander in Syria and Egypt, up to the end of the reign of Antiochus Epiphanes (Historical-Critical School).
   2. The first part of the chapter (Dan. 11:1-20) applies to the Ptolomies and the Seleucids; the second part (Dan. 11:21-45) gives the closing events of Israel's history in the time of the end when Antichrist reigns (Jerome).
   3. The first part of the chapter (Dan. 11:1-20) gives the history of Alexander the Great's successors; the middle section (Dan. 11:21-32) tells of the reign of the Seleucid king, Antiochus the Great. A break at verse 33 introduces a prophecy of the time of the end. Verse 36 prophesies specifically of Antichrist (B. W. Newton, the Scofield Bible).
   4. Verses 5-20 relate the condition of the kingdom of Syria and Egypt just prior to the rise of the Antichrist. Verses 21-46 give the history of one person at the time of the end. A long interval of time exists between verses 4 and 5 (S. P. Tregelles).
   As mentioned above in 3c, the Scofield Bible refers the description of "the king" in Dan. 11:36-45 to the "little horn" of Daniel 7, that is, to the Antichrist of the end time. Accordingly, the following facts applicable to the Antichrist may be ascertained from Dan. 11:36-45:
   1. The king will do according to his own will.
   2. He will exalt himself above every god, speaking against the God of gods. He will disregard the God of his fathers and the desire of women.
      (Some have interpreted this to mean that the Antichrist would be a Jew who apostatized from the faith of the partriarchs: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He does not regard the Messiah as the King whom the Jewish women desired to bring into the world. Others, however, have intrpreted his disregard of the desires of women as a moral offense against womanhood itself, interpreting the "desire of women" as the inherent desire for human love.)
   3. He will honor the god of forces or of military strength.
   4. He will be opposed by the king of the South and by the king of the North.
   5. He will enter Palestine, and he will overthrow many countries; however, Edom, Moab, and Ammon will escape. With Libya and Ethiopia as allies, he will overthrow Egypt.
   6. Rumors from the East and the North will trouble him. These rumors have been interpreted as tidings of revolt among the people. He will seek to quell the revolt.
   7. He will be destroyed and none will help him.
   Since this king has power at the time that Michael stands up for Daniel's people (Dan. 12:1; cf. Rev. 12:7), and at the time when there will be unparalleled trouble (Dan. 12:1), and also until the time of the resurrection (Dan. 12:1-2), this passage (Dan. 11:36-45) has been applied to the Antichrist of the end times.
   
4. The "false Christ".
   These passages in the gospels (Matt. 24:24; Mark 13:6, 21,22; Luke 21:8) containing the words "false Christ" do not refer directly to a particular Antichrist. They warn of pseudo-Christs and false prophets who will arise and deceive many (Matt. 24:11). These false leaders will do great signs and wonders which, if possible, would deceive even the elect.
   
5. The "man of lawlessness", "son of perdition", "that lawless one".
   This passage (II Thess. 2:3-8) presents the following facts concerning the revelation of the Antichrist:
   1. The Antichrist will not be revealed until after the "falling away" comes. According to II Thess. 2:3, two events will precede the Second Coming of Christ:
      (1) the falling away, or apostasy and
      (2) the revelation of "the man of lawlessness, the son of perdition."
      These two specific prophecies were given to the Thessalonian church to forestall undue speculation and anxiety, "that the day of the Lord has come." (II THess. 2:2).

      The definite article, used in the Greek text of verse 3, specifies the first happening as "the falling away". The Greek verb of the noun here translated "the falling away" is sometimes translated in the New Testament as "depart". Hence, the passage has been interpreted as:

      1. the "falling away" or "departure" from the faith, as used in I Tim. 4:1 to describe a condition of apostasy of the last times; or
      2. as a "departing" or rapture of the church before the day of Christ. This interpretation would then seem to be in accord with the statement in II Thess. 2:7 "until he be taken out of the way". But the rapture of the church is nowhere in the New Testament called a departure, an apostasy, and the phrase in II Thess. 2:7 translated "until he be taken out of the way" means "come out of the midst" and refers to the apparance of the antichrist, "the man of lawlessness, the son of perdition" ( see 5e below).
   2. He will be called the "son of perdition." The "son of perdition" means literally "son of destruction". Since Judas Iscariot is also referred to as the "son of perdition" (John 17:12), some have advance the view that Judas may be resurrected to become the Antichrist at the end of the age.
   3. He will oppose God and exalt himself as God.
   4. His spirit will be one of lawlessness and iniquity, which is already at work in the world even in the writer's day (about 51 A.D.).
   5. He will not come until the hinderer, or restrainer, is removed. The restrainer, or that which "withholdeth" (II Thess. 2:6 KJV), is neuter, that is, some definite thing, will be taken out of the way before the Antichrist is revealed. In verse 7, however, the restrainer, or "he that will be taken out of the way", is masculine and would refer literally to some person or individual who withholds or hinders the revelation of the Antichrist. The expression, "be taken out of the way", is literally "will be out of the midst", and the word "witholdeth" in verse 6 literally means "to hold fast". The most outstanding interpretations of the identity of the restrainer are as follows:
      1. The Holy Spirit.
         Since the work of the Holy Spirit is to convict men of sin, iniquity cannot come into full fruition until His removal. The restraining person, is the Holy Spirit Himself.
      2. The Church.
         Since the Holy Spirit abides in the believer, the Church or the body of believers in a sense exercises a restraining influence in checking lawlessness and iniquity.
      3. Human Government or Civil Power.
         Since civil government strives to maintain some measure of law, order, and righteousness; the lawless iniquity of the Antichrist could not come into existence until the restraining influence of orderly and righteous civil government be removed.

         Some of the early Church Fathers held this view with respect to the Roman Empire. Later interpreters modified the "hinderer" to be the restraining power of human law, not by one government, but by the many governments of the civilized world.

      4. The Restraining Power of God.
         According to this view, the Antichrist will not appear until the time predetermined by God. The Antichrist will arise out of the midst (II Thess. 2:7), when God no longer restrains him. This view was first held by Theodore of Mopsuestia (350 A.D.).

         Since the Greek noun in verse 6 that is translated "what withholdeth" or "what restrains" is neuter, it refers to some definite thing that will be taken out of the way before the Antichrist is revealed. But in verse 7, the restrainer or "he who now restrains" is masculine and would refer literally to some person or individual who "withholdeth" or "restrains" the revelation of the Antichrist. The expression in verse 7 "be taken out of the way" is literally "will be out of the midst" and the word "withholdeth" literally means "to hold fast". Thus the expression in verse 7 translated "until he be taken out of the way" (literally "until he will be out of the midst") may not refer to the restraining power at all but to the Antichrist. In this case, the restraining power is the power of God Himself. Thus verse 7 may be paraphrased, "for the mystery of lawlessness already is working; only there is one who restrains just now, namely God, until he, the Antichrist, arises out of the midst." And this is precisely what verse 6 says, "And now you do know that which restrianeth, to the end that he (the Antichrist) may be revealed in his own time." Thus verses six and seven say the same thing and there is a similar balance in the two parts of verse six and of verse seven.
         6a "And you know what restrains him now" (the power of God)
         6b "so that in his time he may be revealed" (the Antichrist),
         "For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work;"
         7a "only there is one who restrains just now" (God)
         7b "until he arises out of the midst" (the Antichrist).

         It is readily admitted that this is a human interpretation and that it is not being asserted that it is authoritative as the Word of God. But it is at least as possible as the interpetation that the restraining one is the Holy Spirit, or the church, or human government; it seems to maintain the balance between the two verses 6 and 7 more naturally.

      In any case, any support for a pre-tribulation rapture from this passage is nothing more than an assumption. This passage of Scripture does not say who or what is the hinderer or restrainer. This Scripture says nothing explicitly about the removal of the Holy Spirit or a Rapture of the Church before the tribulation. These are assumptions and not assertions of the Word of God.
   It is interesting to note that the Early Church Fathers agreed that the prophecy of II Thess. 2 had not yet been fulfilled in their day. They concurred in the interpretation of the man of sin as a real person, as the very personification of sin -- the Antichrist, who would be judged by the personal return of the Lord Jesus Christ when He comes to set up His kingdom.

   Since this lawless one continues until the coming of the Lord, and is destroyed by the brightness of His coming, the lawless one has been identified as the Antichrist of the end time.
   

6. The "beast out of the sea".
   In these passages (Rev. 11:7; 13:1-10; 17:8-17), two beasts are to arise in the end times: one, out of the sea; the other, out of the earth. Concerning "the beast out of the sea", the following facts are revealed:
   1. He rose out of the sea. According to Rev. 17:15, the sea represents the nations of the world out of which this final ruler will arise.
      "The waters that you saw, where the harlot is seated,
      are people and multitudes and nations and tongues." (Rev. 17:15)
   2. He had seven heads and ten horns (Rev. 13:1). The seven heads are seven mountains or hills which symbolize seven kings dominated by the Harlot Babylon
      ("... the seven heads are seven hills on which the woman is seated;" Rev. 17:9).
      Five of the kings have fallen, the sixth is reigning, and the seventh has not yet come at the time in the tribulation that John is describing. When the seventh king comes, he will continue "a little while" (Rev. 17:10). The beast will follow the reign of these seven; he is the eighth in succession, but actually is one of the seven who comes to power again after a deadly wound has healed (Rev. 17:11).

      The ten horns (Rev. 17:12) are ten kings who will receive power and authority together with the beast out of the sea (cf. Rev. 13:1-10; and Rev. 17:8, 11). They will rule together for one hour just before they make war on the Lamb (Rev. 17:14) -- evidently the battle of Armageddon (Rev. 19:17-21). The beast along with the false prophet is finally captured and thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with brimstone. All this takes place at the end of the reign of the beast who rules for the final three and a half years of this present age.

      The Harlot Babylon (Rev. 17:5) is the great city which will have dominion over the seven kings (Rev. 17:18), as suggested figuratively by the woman sitting upon seven mountains (Rev. 17:3). The ten kings, together with the beast, will war against this great city which they will destroy and burn with fire (Rev. 17:16). this destruction of Babylon will occur at the close of the tribulation period when the seventh and last bowl of the wrath of God is poured out upon earth (Rev. 16:17-20).

   3. Upon his head were names of blasphemy. The seven kingdoms are blasphemous against God. The final ruler, the beast who is one of the seven, for instance, openly blasphemes against God, against His dwelling, and against those who dwell in heaven (Rev. 13:5-6).
   4. He was like a leopard, a bear, and a lion (Rev. 13:2). These descriptions allude to those given by Daniel in reference to ancient world empires. Here the allusions suggest that the final world dominion of Antichrist will resemble in substance the former world empires (cf. Dan. 7:3-6, 17).
   5. His power, his throne, and his authority were given to him by "the dragon", which is identified later as Satan (Rev. 12:9), who bestows on the beast his own destructive power.
   6. One head was wounded and healed (Rev. 13:3; 17:11). The seven heads are seven kings, or kingdoms, one of which suffered a mortal wound, but is healed again. One king or kingdom, thus, ceases for a time, but rises again into reigning power.
   7. The beast continues for forty-two months (Rev. 13:5), the period of the time of the end, or of the great tribulation.
   8. He wars with the saints and overcomes them (Rev. 13:7a).
   9. He is given power over all nations (Rev. 13:7b).
   10. He ascends out of the bottomless pit (Rev.17:8). As a human person, the beast comes up out of the sea, that is, out of the nations of the world (Rev. 17:15). As energized by Satan, from whom also he receives his power, the beast comes from the bottomless pit.
   11. His number is 666 (Rev. 13:18), perhaps the symbol of man's greatest strength, but also symbolic that he is only a man.
   12. He kills the two witnesses in Jerusalem who, accompanied by supernatural power, evangelize in the end times (Rev. 11:7).
   13. He is destroyed by the Lamb, goes into perdition, and is finally cast into the lake of fire (Rev. 19:20).
   The first beast has also been identified with the little horn of Daniel 7:8, 20, 23-25.
   
7. The "beast out of the earth"
   The second beast out of the earth (Rev. 13:11-17) is described as follows:
   1. He causes the people of the earth to worship the first beast.
   2. He works miracles.
   3. He deceives the people.
   4. He causes the image of the first beast to be erected.
   5. He kills all who refuse to worship the image.
   6. He brands all who worship the first beast with the mark of the beast.
   7. He denies civil liberties to those who refuse to worship the first beast.

1. The first beast of Rev. 13 is considered to be the civil or political leader of the last world empire, while the second beast or false prophet is considered to be the last eccesiastical leader of the apostate church and the Antichrist (The Scofield Bible, Arno Gaebelein, H. A. Ironside, F. W. Grant, William Lincoln, and Walter Scott); and
2. The first beast of Rev. 13 is considered to be the civil or political leader known as the Antichrist of the end time, and the second beast or false prophet is his assistant (William R. Newell, William Pettingill, I. M. Haldeman, Joseph Seiss, William G. Moorhead, Ford C. Ottman, J. Dwight Pentecost, Donald Grey Barnhouse, and Hal Lindsey).

HISTORY.

The early church fathers generally believed in a personal antichrist. His identity hinged on whether the "mystery of lawlessness" was interpreted politically or religiously. Politically, the most likely candidate was Nero, who, legend held, would reappear in resurrected form (redivivus) to continue his terrible reign. This interpretation, propounded by Chrysostom and others, has gained prominence in this century through preteristic interpreters of Revelation like R. H. Charles and C. A. Scott. Irenaeus and others, who held that the Antichrist would emerge from a religious context, traced him to Dan on the basis of Gen. 49:17; Deut. 33:22; Jer. 8:16 (notice the ommission of Dan in Rev. 7:4-8.).

The Reformers equated the Antichrist with the Pope and papacy, as had some medieval theologians -- Gregory I (540-604), who taught that whoever assumed the title "universal priest" was Antichrist's forerunner; Joachim of Floris and John Wycliffe (c.1330-1384} also are said to have held to the same view of the Pope and the papacy. Luther and Calvin, the translators of KJV, and the authors of the Westminster Confession concurred in this identification. Roman Catholic scholars retaliated, branding Rome's opponents as Antichrist.

In the idealistic or symbolic view, the Antichrist is an ageless personification of evil, not identifiable with any one nation, institution, or individual. This idea gains support from the Johannine letters and has the value in emphasizing the constancy of the warfare between Satan's manifold forces and Christ's.

The Futurists (for example, Zahn, Seiss, Scofield) hold that the idealists fail to stress sufficiently the culmination of this hostility in a personal adversary. They believe that the Antichrist will usher in a period of great tribulation at history's close, in connection with a mighty empire like a revived Rome Empire, and will dominate politics. religion, and commerce until Christ's return.

John Hagee writes:

"According to Daniel 9:27, there will rise on the world's scene a man of supernatural power who Daniel says, "...shall destroy many in their prosperity" (Dan. 8:25). This man will come out of the European Union and will try to resolve the Islamic/Israel dispute now raging in Israel.

"This political orator and charismatic personality will make a covenant with Israel for seven years, guaranteeing them safety and protection as a nation. In Scripture he is called the Antichrist, "the Son of Perdition", meaning Satan's chief son (2 Thess. 2:3). When the events of Ezekiel 38 open, the nation of Israel has been given a covenant by this political leader, who is the head of the European Union.

"The Jewish people are confident that the European powers will protect them from any outside aggressor or invader. Israel is aware that Russia is its enemy. For years, Israel has known that Russia has been helping Iran develop nuclear weapons to be used against them. This seven-year peace accord between the head of the european Union and Israel is the near future."
John Hagee, Jerusalem Countdown
(Lake Mary, Florida, FrontLine: A Strang Company, 2007), p. 137.

Not all Futurists agree with Hagee, and there are others (Finis Jennings Dake) that disagree with his interpretation of chapters 2, 7, 8, and 11 of Daniel. According to Dake, the Antichrist is not the head of European Union and there will not be a Unitied States of Europe. But rather there will be 10 united kingdoms from the continents of Europe, Asia, and Africa that made up the whole of the old Roman Empire territory. Consider the following:

1. The 10 future kingdoms of the revised Rome Empire are to be a political union, not just a commerical or economic union (Dan. 7:7-8, 23-24; Rev. 13:1-5; 17:8-17). The "feet and toes" of iron and clay on the image of Nebuchadaezzar's vision (Dan. 2:33-35, 41-44) and "the ten horns" on the non-descript beast of Daniel's vision (Dan. 7:8-24) symbolize 10 kings who will head 10 separate governments from 10 separate capitals inside the old Roman Empire territory in the days of the coming of Christ to earth (Dan. 2:31-44; 7:23-25; Rev. 12:3; 13:1-18; 17:8-17). Bible teachers have called these 10 kingdoms "the Revived Roman Empire", but more accurately there will be no such thing as "revived" Roman Empire. This would require the Roman territory to be formed into only one empire again and be ruled by one man from Rome instead of 10 kingdoms being formed. But the Bible does not teach this. It shows that there will be 10 kingdoms formed inside the old Roman territory ruled by 10 kings (Dan. 2:44; 7:7-8; 23-24; Rev. 17:8-17). These will be formed between Daniel's day and the Millennium. It is better to call these 10 kingdoms the "Revised Roman Empire", for the old Roman Empire will be definitely revised from the one vast empire into 10 kingdoms.
2. There is presently about 25 governments inside the Roman Empire territory that must be brought down to 10 kingdoms and these will take in all of that territory, not just a part of it (Dan. 7:23-24).
3. The 10 kingdoms, when they are formed, will take in parts of three continents: Europe, Asia, and Africa; these will not be 10 nations of just Europe only.
4. This revised Roman Empire is predicted in Daniel 8; four of the 10 kingdoms inside this Roman Empire would be located inside the old Grecian Empire territory. Not one of the present Common Market nations is from the old Grecian Empire of Alexander the Great.

According to Dake, after the 10 kingdoms are formed inside the Roman Empire territory and have existed a "short space" independent of the Antichrist (Dan. 7:7-8, 23-24; Rev. 12:12; 17:10), the Antichrist will then come out of Syria and in the first three and one-half years of Daniel's seventieth week will conquer Greece, Turkey, and Egypt, thus reviving the old Grecian Empire territory into one empire. By this time the other kingdoms of the 10 will submit to him without any further war (Rev. 17:8-17). This will give him all the 10 kingdoms of the old Roman Empire area and they will become the 8th kingdom of Rev. 17:8-11. Dake writes:

"In Dan 8:7-9, 23-24 it is revealed that Antichrist will come from one of the four divisions of the old Grecian Empire, these being four of the 10 kingdoms of Dan 7. In Dan 11 it is revealed that he is coming from the Syrian division of the old Grecian Empire. The purpose of Dan 7 over Dan 2 is to show additional events in the 10 kingdoms of 10 toes and 10 horns in the latter days, and to make clear that Antichrist will definitely come from one of the 10 kingdoms. The purpose of Dan 8 over Dan 7 is to narrow down the coming of the Antichrist geographically from 10 kingdoms to 4 kingdoms so that we can better identify the exact country that the he will come from. If we did not have Dan 8 we could teach that he will come from any one of the 10 kingdoms of the Revised Roman Empire, but we would not know which one. Now with Dan 8 we can be assured that the he will come from one of the four divisions of the old Grecian Empire -- Greece, Turkey, Egypt, or Syria. If we did not have Dan 11 to narrow down the coming of Antichrist georgraphically from 4 kingdoms to only one of the four, we would be uncertain about which one of the four he will come from. As it is now, we have no grounds of uncertainty.

"Dan 11 reveals war between Medo-Persia and Greece, and then the division of Greece into 4 kingdoms (Dan 11:1-4). Dan 11 also reveals that the only two of these 4 kingdoms, the king of the south (Egypt), and the the king of the north (Syria) were to war with each other, off and on, over a period of years. They did war with each other for about 150 years, ending with Antiochus Epiphanes who reigned about 165 B.C. After these predictions of Dan 11:5-34, the prophet skips over to "the time of the end", showing the last day war between the king of the south (Egypt) and the king of the north (Syria), with the result that the king of the north will be the final victor over the king of the south (Dan 11:35-45).

"This definitely identifies the king of the north to be the future Antichrist. He is the same man as the "little horn" of Dan 7 and 8, the "prince that shall come" of Dan 9:26-27, the "son of perdition" and the "man of sin" of 2 Thess. 2:1-12, and "the beast" of Rev. 13:1-17; 17; 19:11-21.

"We can definitely and scripturally declared on the full authority of God's word that the Antichrist will come from Syria, not Greece, Turkey, Egypt, the Vatican, Italy, France, Spain, Germany, Russia, Poland, England, Scandinavia, China, Japan, India, the United States, or any other part of world outside of Syria."
Dake, Finis Jennings, The Rapture and the Scond Coming of Christ
(Lawrenceville, Georgia: Dake Bible Sales, Inc., 1977), pp. 20-21.

CONCLUSION AND SUMMARY.

On the basis of the verses above that refer to the Antichrist, the following statements can be made about the Antichrist.

1. The Origin and Person of the Antichrist.
   1. He will be the eleventh king who will arise in addition to the ten last contemporary world kingdoms, which will exist in the period immediately preceding our Lord's return to earth.
   2. He will come up from the bottomless pit, that is, he will be energized by Satan himself; he will be called the "son of perdition".
   3. He will be a proud and arrogant individual who is characterized by a spirit of lawlessness.
   4. He, disregarding the god of his fathers, will speak blasphemous things against God and against all that is called God's, setting himself forth as god to receive worship.
2. The Work of the Antichrist.
   1. He will set up the abomination of desolation in the temple.
   2. He will change times and laws.
   3. He will honor the god of forces and exercise world authority.
   4. He will oppose the Lamb of God.
   5. He will make a covenant with Israel for one week of years and break it in the middle of the week.
   6. He will kill the two witnesses in Jerusalem and persecute the saints.
   7. He will overthrow three of the last ten world kingdoms.
   8. He will overthrow Egypt, the king of the South, along with Libya and Ethiopia as allies.
   9. He will enter the glorious land, Palestine.
   10. He, with the help of the ten kings, will destroy at the end of great tribulation the great city, Mystery Babylon, that rules over the kings of earth.
   11. He will gather together at Armageddon the kings of the earth and their armies immediately preceding the second coming of Christ to war against Christ Himself.
3. The Time of Antichrist.
   1. He will be revealed when that which "withholdeth" is removed.
   2. He will be given power and authority for a period of three and one half years at the end of tribulation period.
4. The Judgment of the Antichrist.
   The Antichrist will be destroyed by the appearing of Christ at His Second Coming, and along with the false prophet, will be cast into the lake of fire.

ESCHATOLOGY

THE DOCTRINE OF LAST THINGS

ARMAGEDDON

INTRODUCTION.

The word "Armegeddon" (Greek, harmagedon) occurs once in the Bible at Rev. 16:16, where the prophet John describes the sixth bowl. In this place, the "kings of the whole world" will be assembled together under the inspiration of "demonic spirits" (Rev. 16:14) in order to engage in battle. While the prophet's explanation that this name is Hebrew and is meant to aid interpreters, scholars have a problem as to what is meant by the word and where is the place. The chief problem is that the name (h)armageddon does not appear in any extant Hebrew writing. The most popular solution is that it refers to the mountain (har) of Megiddo (magedon). In the Old Testament, Megiddo was a plain in northern Israel which was a military stronghold (Josh. 12:21; 17:11; Judges 1:27) at which many famous battles have been fought in the area: Israel and Sisera (Judges 5:19) as well as Josiah and the Pharaoh Neco (II Kings 23:29). This area in Palestine is located in north central Palestine on the southern edge of the plains of Esdraelon, west of the Jordan, about fifteen miles from the Mediterranean coast. Armageddon guards the pass from Egypt through the Carmel ridge into the valleys of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers.

Other scholars think that the word is a corruption in the Hebrew language ('ar hemda, a city of desire, or har migdo, his fruitful mountain) and points at Jerusalem, the mountain of Israel. Prophetic expectations seems to point to a climactic battle in the neighborhood of Zion (Joel 3:2; Zech. 14:2; I Enoch 56:7). And if the apocalyptic imagery of Rev. 16-20 is derives from Ezek. 38-39, here again we have a picture of the final battle in the "mountain of Israel" (Ezek. 38:7ff.; 39:2).

Still other scholars suggest that no geographic locality is meant, but rather, this name stands for an event. It is that event that is the culmination of history which is the final clash between the forces of God and of Satan, when at the very end of the tribulation, the kings of earth, under the Antichrist, will gather together to invade Israel to destroy Israel. The armies from the East will cross over the dried up River Euphrates (Rev. 16:12-16). They will be gathered by unclean spirits at the command of the beast, the dragon, and the false prophet. These are the armies of of the last ten kings that will rule on the earth (Rev. 17:3, 14). They have joined the Antichrist (the beast), who rules a confederacy of power for a very brief time at the end of the age, immediately before Christ's second coming. They have turn against Mystery Babylon, the great city of the end times, and burn it. Then they turn to fight against the Lord Himself (Rev. 17:14; cf. Rev. 19:11-21). Some Bible teachers identify the invasion of Gog and Magog with the Armageddon battle.

This symbolic meaning of "Armageddon" is often adopted in contemporary theology. The day of the Lord which climaxes history in biblical thought is taken to come in a multinational war (Joel 3:9-15; Zech. 14:1-5; Zeph. 3:8; cf. Mark 13:7, 14ff., 24ff.). Since in Rev. 19:11-21 the armies of heaven engage the kings of the earth in the battle for millennial kingdom, then the rebellion against God and His Messiah will hallmark the end of the age. This thought that a devastating war will typify the end of the world has entered secular thinking. The First World War has been termed "Armageddon" and in a recent film by Francis Coppola, Appocapypse Now, contained apocalyptic imagery. Many conservatives have speculated about the threat of nuclear war in modern politics and have argued for the imminent fulfillment of the biblical Armageddon. Hal Lindsey's well known book, The Late Great Planet Earth, suggests that Armageddon will come when armies of the West are arrayed against 200 million soldiers from China in a feirce battle "with the vortex centered in the Valley of Megiddo".

Bible References to the Future Battle of Armageddon

The Bible references concerning the future battle of Armageddon are found in Rev. 16:12-16; 19:19-21; Zech. 14:1-3; 12:1-6, 9-14; Joel 3:1-2, 9-17. These verses state the following facts about the future struggle between the nations (lead by the Antichrist) and the Lord.

1. The Reason for Armageddon.
   The reason for the battle of Armageddon may be said to be a judgment upon the nations:
   1. Because they have scattered Israel and appropriated Israel's land (Joel 3:2);
   2. Because of their wickedness (Rev. 16:14; 19:15);
   3. Because of their failure to glorify God (Rev. 16:9).
2. The Time of Armageddon.
   The battle of Armageddon will take place at the very end of the tribulation period. The time is further specified as:
   1. The pouring out of the sixth bowl of God's wrath (Rev. 16:12);
   2. The second coming of Christ (Rev. 11:16; Zech. 14:4; Joel 3:15-16);
   3. The time of Israel's regathering (Joel 3:1; Zeph. 3:20).
3. The Results of Armageddon.
   The battle of Armageddon will result in an ultimate victory for Christ (Rev. 19:11-21). The armies of the earth will be defeated by the Lord at His second coming. The beast and the false prophet will be cast into a lake of fire. Satan will be bound and the armies of the earth slain and eaten by birds and vultures. The instrumental means used by Christ to destroy the Antichrist and his armies of the earth at Christ's return are described as:
   1. A plague, causing tumult and mutiny (Zeph. 14:2-3);
   2. Superhuman strength given to the believing remnant (Zech. 12:6);
   3. The brightness of His coming (II Thess. 2:8-9).