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The Septuagint’s Clue to the Identity of Gog of Magog

By Bible Researcher Eli Kittim

The Hebrew Bible

‎כֹּ֤ה הִרְאַ֙נִי֙ אֲדֹנָ֣י יְהוִ֔ה וְהִנֵּה֙ יוֹצֵ֣ר גֹּבַ֔י בִּתְחִלַּ֖ת עֲל֣וֹת הַלָּ֑קֶשׁ

‎וְהִ֨נֵּה־ לֶ֔קֶשׁ אַחַ֖ר גִּזֵּ֥י הַמֶּֽלֶךְ׃

In the Masoretic Text, the Book of Amos, chapter 7 and verse 1, mentions ham·me·leḵ (the King). It also employs the term gō·ḇay, which means “grasshoppers” or “locusts.”

But let’s not forget that the Masoretic text arrived late on the scene. It began to circulate between the 7th and 10th centuries CE. In fact, the oldest, complete copy is the Leningrad Codex, which dates from the 11th century CE. And we also know that there was not one version but several. This can clearly be shown in the Jewish theological writings of the Talmud and the Mishnah where different versions are being adduced (see the textual history of the Hebrew Bible explained by Drs. Emanuel Tov & Michael S. Heiser).

The Septuagint

By contrast, the Septuagint (the Greek Old Testament), an early Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, was translated between the 3rd and 2nd centuries BCE. So, it’s a much older text than the Masoretic. Not surprisingly, the Dead Sea Scrolls, which date back to roughly 200 BCE, corroborate the accuracy of the Septuagint’s translation!

When comparing the Masoretic text with that of the Septuagint (aka LXX), we know from Deuteronomy 32.8, for example, that the LXX has the correct reading (sons of God) as opposed to the Masoretic text which has (sons of Israel), a late theological redaction. We can demonstrate the correct reading by comparing these texts to the older Dead Sea Scrolls, which corroborate the LXX version. The point is that the LXX is a lot older than the Masoretic and we need to pay closer attention to this text!

The Prophetic Book of Amos in the LXX

Amos 7.1 (LXX English translation by L.C.L. Brenton) reads:

ΟΥΤΩΣ ἔδειξέ μοι Κύριος ὁ Θεός, καὶ ἰδοὺ ἐπιγονὴ ἀκρίδων ἐρχομένη ἑωθινή, καὶ ἰδοὺ βροῦχος εἷς Γὼγ ὁ βασιλεύς.

Translation:

Thus has the Lord God shewed me; and, behold, a swarm of locusts coming from the east; and, behold, one caterpillar, king Gog.

So, the LXX gives us an insight into Bible prophecy and eschatology. The name Γὼγ (Gog) is also referenced in Ezekiel 38.2 ff. (LXX):

υἱὲ ἀνθρώπου, στήρισον τὸ πρόσωπόν σου

ἐπὶ Γὼγ καὶ τὴν γῆν τοῦ Μαγώγ, ἄρχοντα

Ῥώς, Μοσὸχ καὶ Θοβέλ, καὶ προφήτευσον

ἐπ’ αὐτὸν.

Translation:

Son of man, set thy face against Gog, and

the land of Magog, Rhos, prince of Mesoch

and Thobel, and prophesy against him.

As I’ve mentioned in previous publications, the LXX translates the term “Rosh” (Ezek. 38:2) with the Greek word Ρως, which stands for Ρωσία (the Greek word for Russia). Furthermore, the LXX’s Μοσόχ seems to be a close approximation to the modern-day term Μόσχα (the Greek word for Moscow, the capital and largest city of Russia). The earlier Ezekiel quotation referred to “the land of Magog.” In ancient times, it comprised the lands where the Scythians once lived, and thus represents contemporary Russia. Wikipedia confirms that this view was held by some credible historians of antiquity:

Jewish historian Josephus knew them as

the nation descended from Magog the

Japhetite, as in Genesis, and explained

them to be the Scythians.

Today, most Bible Prophecy scholars identify Magog as a reference to modern day Russia! Moreover, Amos corroborates Gog’s location as “coming from the east” (7.1 LXX).

(For further evidence, see “The Magog Identity” by Bible-prophecy expert Chuck Missler: https://www.khouse.org/articles/2002/427/print/).

The Gog of Amos (LXX)

The prophet’s use of the name Γὼγ (Gog) in the LXX suggests that Amos 7 may be a dual fulfilment of prophecy, that is, it may have both a short-term (prophecy of the northern kingdom of Israel) and a long-term fulfilment (prophecy of the end-times invasion of Israel). Similarly, Ezekiel 38 names a confederacy of nations that will invade many countries, including Israel, in the last days. According to Ezekiel 38 (LXX), the leader of that powerful coalition will be Γὼγ (Gog), the leader of Ῥώς (Gk. Ρωσία = Russia) and Μοσὸχ (Gk. Μόσχα = Moscow). If that’s the case, then Amos’ Gog would suggest that certain Biblical references to “locusts” and “grasshoppers” might have some relevance to Ezekiel 38 and the battle of Gog and Magog (cf. e.g. 1 Kings 8.37; Psalm 105.34; Isaiah 33.4; Joel 1.4; 2.25; Nahum 3.15).

Gog: The King of the Locusts

If Gog (Γὼγ) is the king of the locusts, according to Amos 7.1 (LXX), then the 5th trumpet of Revelation 9, which talks extensively about an invasion of locusts, may be about Gog of the land of Magog. In other words, Amos 7.1 (LXX) would suggest that the king of the locusts in Revelation 9.11 may represent the Russian Gog (Γὼγ) of Ezekiel 38. Perhaps the famous saying in Proverbs 30.27 (ESV) means that the king of the locusts is not a mere mortal:

the locusts have no king, yet all of them

march in rank.

Similarly, in Revelation 9, the king of the locusts is likened to “a star that had fallen from heaven” and who holds “the key to the … bottomless pit.” Later on in the chapter, he’s identified as the king of the locusts, “the angel of the bottomless pit,” whose “name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek … Apollyon,” meaning “destroyer” (i.e. Antichrist)! Revelation 9.1-11 (NRSV) reads as follows:

And the fifth angel blew his trumpet, and I

saw a star that had fallen from heaven to

earth, and he was given the key to the shaft

of the bottomless pit; he opened the shaft

of the bottomless pit, and from the shaft

rose smoke like the smoke of a great

furnace, and the sun and the air were

darkened with the smoke from the shaft.

Then from the smoke came locusts on the

earth, and they were given authority like the

authority of scorpions of the earth. They

were told not to damage the grass of the

earth or any green growth or any tree, but

only those people who do not have the seal

of God on their foreheads. They were

allowed to torture them for five months, but

not to kill them, and their torture was like

the torture of a scorpion when it stings

someone. And in those days people will

seek death but will not find it; they will long

to die, but death will flee from them. In

appearance the locusts were like horses

equipped for battle. On their heads were

what looked like crowns of gold; their faces

were like human faces, their hair like

women's hair, and their teeth like lions'

teeth; they had scales like iron breastplates,

and the noise of their wings was like the

noise of many chariots with horses rushing

into battle. They have tails like scorpions,

with stingers, and in their tails is their power

to harm people for five months. They have

as king over them the angel of the

bottomless pit; his name in Hebrew is

Abaddon, and in Greek he is called

Apollyon.

Conclusion

Thus, if we read the Bible in canonical context and according to the principle of expositional constancy, we will come to realize that both the linguistic and symbolic elements of Scripture with regard to Gog, the king of the locusts, refer not only to the Russian Gog of Magog in Ezekiel 38 but also to the king of the locusts in Revelation 9.11, namely, “the angel of the bottomless pit,” whose “name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek … Apollyon,” meaning “destroyer” or *Antichrist*!

—

(P.S. I’d like to offer a supplementary observation of Revelation 9.9-10. The aforementioned images of “iron breastplates” with noisy “wings” and “tails like scorpions” would certainly suggest some type of modern aerial warfare)!

—

Has Anyone Ever Seen Jesus?

By Bible Researcher Eli Kittim 🎓

—

Jesus Christ, Whom No Human Being Has Ever Seen

Writing at the end of the first century AD, 1 Timothy 6.14-16 (SBLGNT) surprisingly says that Jesus Christ “WILL BE REVEALED” in due time:

τηρῆσαί σε τὴν ἐντολὴν ἄσπιλον

ἀνεπίλημπτον μέχρι τῆς ἐπιφανείας τοῦ

κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, ἣν καιροῖς

ἰδίοις δείξει ὁ μακάριος καὶ μόνος

δυνάστης, ὁ βασιλεὺς τῶν βασιλευόντων

καὶ κύριος τῶν κυριευόντων, ὁ μόνος ἔχων

ἀθανασίαν, φῶς οἰκῶν ἀπρόσιτον, ὃν εἶδεν

οὐδεὶς ἀνθρώπων.

Translation (NJB):

do all that you have been told, with no faults

or failures, until the appearing of our Lord

Jesus Christ, who at the due time will be

revealed by God, the blessed and only Ruler

of all, the King of kings and the Lord of

lords, who alone is immortal, whose home is

in inaccessible light, whom no human being

has seen.

According to Bible scholars, the First Epistle to Timothy was written by an unknown author in Macedonia, Greece at the end of the first century AD. But according to the gospels, the chronology of Jesus’ ministry (which is typically dated to around 27-36 AD) supposedly took place at least 64 years earlier. Yet these two accounts appear to contradict each other. If either one of them is true, the other must be false. However, in my view, both of them are true. We’re just comparing different genres (Theological versus Didactic literature).

About whom is the passage written? The aforementioned passage is clearly talking about the so-called “king of kings and lord of lords,” a title that is uniquely associated with Jesus Christ. In fact, it mentions him by name and says that he will be revealed in due time. That means that he was never previously revealed! It further exhorts believers to do good “until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ … whom no human being has seen.”

First Timothy 6.14-16 therefore confirms Heb. 9.26b, 1 Peter 1.20, and Rev. 12.5, among other verses, that Christ’s initial revelation takes place in the end-times!

—

The Son of Man Comes at Some Point in Human History

2 John 1.7 (SBLGNT) reads:

πολλοὶ πλάνοι ἐξῆλθον εἰς τὸν κόσμον,

οἱ μὴ ὁμολογοῦντες Ἰησοῦν Χριστὸν

ἐρχόμενον ἐν σαρκί · οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ πλάνος

καὶ ὁ ἀντίχριστος.

Translation (YLT):

many leading astray did enter into

the world, who are not confessing Jesus

Christ coming in flesh; this one is he who is

leading astray, and the antichrist.

Yet in deference to Biblical usage, I’m not denying John’s proclamation of “Jesus Christ coming in [the] flesh” (2 John 1.7) but rather qualifying it in terms of its chronological relevance. In other words, I deny the *timing* of this event, not the event itself! Put differently, I certainly don’t deny the notion of Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh at some point in human history. I’m simply asking, “WHEN,” according to Scripture.

—

Who Are the Two Witnesses of Revelation?

By Bible Researcher Eli Kittim 🎓

The Coming Elijah & the Two Witnesses: Symbols of Christ

Let’s start from the beginning so that you could understand how various Old Testament (OT) and New Testament (NT) passages pertain to this topic. Here’s an excerpt from my book “The Little Book of Revelation,” chapter 1, pp. 60-63:

“. . . there are strong scriptural indications

that ‘Elijah’ prophetically signifies the

forthcoming Messiah. In the last book of

the Jewish scriptures, virtually the last

words of the entire OT are as follows [Mal.

4.5]:

‘Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the

prophet before the coming of the great

and terrible day of the Lord.’ “

“This is probably the single most

perplexing oracle in the Bible because the

only figure who is expected to arrive on

earth during ‘the day of the Lord’ is Jesus

Christ himself [cf. Lk. 17.30; 1 Cor. 1.7; Phil.

1.6; Col. 3.4; 1 Thess. 1.10; 2 Thess. 1.7; 1

Tim. 6.14; 2 Tim. 4.1; Titus 2.13; 1 Pet. 1.13;

5.1; 1 Jn. 2.28; Rev. 1.1]. And he is not only

known as a prophet, he is also known as the

‘Lord’ . . . [Mt. 21.11]. . . . Could it be that

the earlier Elijah narratives, from the

‘books of Kings,’ were prophesying about

the time of the end? Since no ordinary

human is either qualified or prophesied to

accomplish such extraordinary feats, we

are left with only one conclusion: the last

days’ ‘Elijah’ can be none other than the

foretold God-Messiah! In that event, this

oracle regarding Elijah can be viewed as a

subtle allegorical sign of Christ’s

incarnation ‘before the coming of the

great and terrible day of the Lord.’ . . .”

“This type of symbolism is then carried

forward into the book of Revelation where

we find two ‘last days’ witnesses who

prophesy for 1,260 days (Rev. 11.2-13). In

the text, God declares, ‘I will grant

“authority” to my two witnesses’ (Rev.

11.3, emphasis added). But let us back up

for a moment. Was it not Jesus who once

said, ‘All authority has been given to Me in

heaven and on earth’? (Mt. 28.18; cf. Rev.

18.1 . . .). Thus, the biblical jargon is

suggesting an intimate relationship

between these figures and Christ.

Returning to our vignette, the two

witnesses are also capable of performing

astonishing miracles, and just like Moses

and Jesus, they even ‘have power over the

waters to turn them into blood, and to

smite the earth with every plague, as

often as they desire’ (Rev. 11.6; 14.19-20;

19.15; Exod. 7.20). At the end of their

ministry, they are killed in a ‘city which

mystically is called Sodom and Egypt,

where also their Lord was crucified’ (Rev.

11.8). So they prophesy in the same place

where Jesus lived, and they die in the

same city where he died. We think you can

guess the rest of the script: ‘And after . . .

three . . . days the breath of life from God

came into them, and they stood on their

feet [they were resurrected]’ (Rev. 11.11).”

What Exactly Is the Day of Christ?

As I will show later, the two witnesses are symbols of the messiah. But first, in chapter 3, p. 99, of my book I try to explain the pericope of 2 Thess. 2.1-3 (NKJV), where Paul says:

“Now, brethren, concerning the coming of

our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering

together to Him, we ask you, not to be

soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by

spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us,

as though the day of Christ had come. Let

no one deceive you by any means; for that

Day will not come unless the falling away

comes first, and the man of sin is

revealed, the son of perdition . . .”

“Before we begin our analysis, it is

imperative that we provide a definition for

what Paul refers to as ‘the day of Christ.’

As the preceding segment maintains, this

unique ‘day’ concerns ‘the coming of our

Lord and our gathering together to him.’

This kind of language is used consistently

throughout scripture (cf. Acts 2.1; Mt. 24.

39-42) to represent the concept of the

‘rapture’: the ascent of the living and the

dead into heaven (1 Cor. 15.51-52; 1

Thess. 4.16-17). Hence, Paul is not simply

indicating the human manifestation of

Jesus on the world scene; rather, he is

emphasizing Christ’s postresurrection

activities that begin to have a real and

substantial impact on life as we know it.

By implication, ‘the day of Christ’

primarily signifies the risen Messiah.”

In fact, 2 Thess. 2.1 uses the exact same word for the rapture that Mt. 24.31 uses, namely, episunagógé. That’s precisely why Christ warns us, in Mt. 24.23-28, not to be overly concerned about the earthly messiah, but rather to focus on the risen messiah who comes like lightning in the sky. Thus, Christ’s earthly manifestation can be deemed to be his “unofficial” appearance, so to speak, whereas his postresurrection parousia is the one that’s scripturally regarded as his official coming. It is the ultimate event to which everything in scripture is pointing!

The Two Witnesses: Symbols of the OT & NT Messiah

In order to understand the identity of the two witnesses (δύο μαρτύρων) in Rev. 11.3-12, we must first trace them back to the Hebrew Bible from which they emerge. According to Judaism, there are two Messiahs: one is a high priest, the other is an anointed king of the Davidic line. This is what Zech. 4.14 is referring to when it says (cf. Rev. 11.4):

“These are the two anointed ones who stand

by the Lord of the whole earth.”

In an academic article (The Doctrine of the Two Messiahs in Sectarian Literature in the Time of the Second Commonwealth, Harvard Theological Review, vol. 52, issue 3, 1959, pp. 149-185), author J. Liver writes:

“The problem of the two Messiahs in

Apocryphal literature, especially in the

Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs and in

the Damascus Covenant, occupied scholars

at the beginning of the present century and

has revealed new facets with the discovery

of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Especially

pertinent to this problem are some of the

texts from Qumran Cave 1, and some

fragments from Qumran Cave 4, recently

published. We shall here endeavor to make

clear the distinctive features of these

Messiahs, their status and their tasks at the

end of days, and to elucidate the historical

setting from which the doctrine of the two

Messiahs sprang.”

However, in the NT, these 2 Messiahs are morphed into one priestly/kingly figure: Jesus the Son of God (cf. Heb. 4.14 and Mt. 2.1–2). Notice the parallels between Christ and the Two Witnesses. They are killed immediately after their testimony is proclaimed; they are killed in the same place where Jesus died; and just like Christ, they arise from the dead approximately 3 days later!

There are further parallels between Christ (Rev. 12.4--5) and the 2 witnesses (Rev. 11.7--12; cf. Acts 1.9), which are stunningly similar. The mainstream view that the 2 witnesses represent Moses and Elijah (signifying the Law and the Prophets) appears to be inaccurate. According to Heb. 9:27, each person is destined to die once, which would disqualify Moses from a second human birth. As for the purported ascension of Elijah, it seems to be a theological narrative that foreshadows the ascension of Christ.

So when we trace the identity of the two witnesses back to the OT and the context in which they appear, we find that they represent the 2 Messiahs of Rabbinic Judaism. But these 2 figures later became coalesced, commingled into one, in the figure of Jesus Christ, who’s given the titles of king and high priest in the order of Melchizedek, who is also a king and priest (Heb. 7.13-17). Therefore, the 2 witnesses appear to represent the coming Messiah: Jesus Christ!

First Comes Christ; Then Comes the Antichrist

“Keep the commandment . . . until the

appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which

He [God] will bring about at the proper

time— . . . whom no man has seen” (1 Tim.

6.14-16).

On the authority of this fascinating passage, we come to realize that Jesus is not revealed according to the pseudohistorical period of the gospel narratives, but instead, he is manifested “at the proper time”: a forthcoming event frequently alluded to by the NT epistles. We know that Christ will initiate the end-time events by being the first major figure to appear on the world stage (i.e. the first horseman of Revelation). We also know that he’s born in the last days during the completion or “fullness of time” (τὸ πλήρωμα τοῦ χρόνου Gal.4.4; Eph. 1.9-10; see also Rev. 12.5; Heb. 1.2; 9.26b; 1 Pet. 1.20)! For further details, see my paper “WHO IS THE FIRST HORSEMAN OF THE APOCALYPSE?”: https://eli-kittim.tumblr.com/post/168159235542/who-is-the-first-horseman-of-the-apocalypse

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Who is the First Horseman of the Apocalypse?

By Author Eli of Kittim There are No Counterfeit Signs in the Bible There are no counterfeit signs found anywhere in the Bible. So why sho

According to 2 Thess. 2.1-3, the official coming of Christ & the rapture cannot occur until the revolt takes place and the Antichrist (AC) is revealed. This refers to the AC claiming to be God with signs & wonders (vv. 4, 9). Therefore, the basic sequence is that Christ will appear first, unobserved (Lk 17.20), followed by the apostasy and the AC. Then, and only then, can the “official” postresurrection coming of Christ & the rapture take place.

Revelation 11.4 associates the two witnesses with the 2 lamp stands or 2 messiahs of Hebrew scripture. Verse 2 discusses the abomination of desolation (aka the Great Tribulation or GT) when the nations will trample underfoot the holy city (Jerusalem) for 42 months. Verse 3 says that God will give testimony to his 2 witnesses and they’ll prophesy for 1,260 days dressed in sackcloth (mourning attire). Verse 5 says that they will perform great signs. And whoever tries to harm them, fire proceeds from their mouth and devours their enemies (cf. 2 Thess. 2.8: “the Lord will slay [him] with the breath of His mouth”). Verse 6 warns that these have great authority (exousian) to control the weather and to cause plagues. Verse 7 is the key. It says that when they complete their witness (testimony), the beast that arises out of the abyss* (AC) will make war with them, defeat them, and kill them (cf. 2 Thess. 2.7; Rev. 12.4b).

Verse 8 reveals that they’ll die in the great city which is spiritually called Sodom and Egypt, where also Christ was purportedly crucified. Verse 11 announces that after 3 and a half days the spirit of God will enter them and raise them from the dead. The 3 and a half days appear to symbolize 3 and a half years, according to the day-year principle (see Num. 14.34; Ezek. 4.5–6). So Christ seemingly rises at the end of 3 plus years. Moreover, verse 12 tells us that they hear a loud voice from heaven saying “come up here” (anabēte hōde). And they went up in the cloud. Compare Acts 1.9 where the exact same word nephelē is used for Christ’s ascension (see also Rev. 12.5). Nowhere does it say that they prophesied during the GT, as most prophecy experts teach. In fact, the text implies that they arrived first on the scene, because later on, the beast that arose out of the abyss killed them. Since the beast is not revealed until the outset of the GT, and since the 2 witnesses precede him, it means that they must prophesy prior to the GT, during the first 3 & a half years of the supposed 7-year tribulation period.

Conclusion

Christ comes first, 42 months or 1,260 days prior to the “abomination of desolation” (aka the starting point of the GT) because that’s the allotted time given to the 2 witnesses to prophesy (Rev. 11.3). Then, the beast (aka Abaddon & Apollyon, meaning “destroyer” Rev. 9.11) that comes up out of the abyss and initiates the GT will kill him. The beast is also given authority for 42 months (Rev. 13.5). However, the beast’s time slot is equivalent to the duration of the GT. By contrast, Christ’s 42 months cannot occur at the same time, otherwise the rest of the passages would contradict this chronological time frame. How so? Well, according to 2 Thess. 2.7, Christ the restrainer must first be removed before the AC can be revealed. So, Christ must come first. Furthermore, Revelation 6.2 begins with the peacemaker or the white horseman (Christ; cf. Rev. 19.11) before it gets to the second horseman who “was granted to take peace from the earth, and that men would slay one another” (Rev. 6.4). And since 42 months were also allotted to Christ, his timeline is necessarily not equivalent to that of the AC.

The phrase, “the beast that comes up from the bottomless pit” (Rev. 11.7) suggests either the AC’s resurrection from the dead (Rev. 13.3, 12, 14), or nuclear war (Rev 9.2-3), or both. More specifically, Rev 9.2 equates the opening of the abyss with smoke arising and darkening the sun & the air, suggestive of nuclear explosions (cf. Zech. 14.12). And given that the AC’s authority only lasts for 42 months, it seems feasible that the AC’s resurrection occurs at the beginning of the GT. After the completion of that time period he has no further authority. Which means that Christ will die sometime around the onset of the GT (or in the midst of the 7-year tribulation period as traditionally understood). It seems, then, that toward the end of the GT Christ will resurrect & initiate the rapture!

In Rev 13.3-4, the beast dies and is subsequently resurrected, and the whole earth marvels and worships him. Christ, on the other hand, will be rejected (Lk 17.25; Jn 1.11). That’s an important clue as to who is who! Rev. 13.5 says that the AC was given authority for 42 months. So, it seems as if he’s resurrected first, and then he holds sway for 42 months. Moreover, Rev. 13.7 tells us that he wages war & defeats the saints, and that authority was given to him over every tribe and tongue and nation. In fact, Rev. 13.16 is reminiscent of the passport vaccines because it says that all, rich and poor will receive a mark (charagma) on their hand so that they may not buy or sell without this mark! Seems like we’re getting close to that time period.

If the AC already controlled all the inhabitants of the earth, he wouldn’t need to start a global war. So, if the GT is his attempt to conquer the world, then his total domination must come to an end at the completion of the 42 months. Incidentally, the verse where he defeats the saints is right next to the verse about his control over every tribe, tongue, and nation (Rev. 13.7). And everyone, except the saved, will worship him (Rev. 13.8). So it seems that all the hype starts with his resurrection. And yet we are told that his authority is limited to only 42 months. Rev 11 says that the AC will kill the witnesses (i.e. the messiah) when he comes out of the abyss (v. 7). By the way, this is the exact same time period that Christ is said to *die* as the atonement for our sins. Afterwards, he will *resurrect* and translate us to heaven (Heb. 9.26-28 NRSV):

“he has appeared once for all at the end of

the age to remove sin by the sacrifice of

himself. And just as it is appointed for

mortals to die once, and after that the

judgment, so Christ, having been offered

once to bear the sins of many, will appear

a second time, not to deal with sin, but to

save those who are eagerly waiting for him.”

ACCORDING TO DANIEL’S PROPHECY, THE ANTICHRIST IS THE 11TH HORN (THE 11TH KING)

By Eli Kittim 🎓

(Click on the link below to read the post):

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Breaking News‼️

The War of Gog & Magog Has Begun❗️

Follow this Twitter list for news & live updates from multiple sources. It’s a Twitter list called “Eli Kittim Prophecy News”:

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The world is in chaos, and everywhere we look today there is strife, uncertainty and the constant threat of war. People are looking for someone to step up and fix things, so a superhero seems like the perfect solution, and in our subconscious yearning, fantasy writers have given us this hope through characters like Superman, Batman and Ironman.

People flock to the idea of these superheroes because deep-down they want to see a mighty being that will save us from the world’s problems, and unfortunately, there IS a person coming that will do just that. He will proclaim that he is the savior of the world, and people — desperate for any superhero that can fit that role — will worship and adore him. That is a man is what the Bible calls the ”Anti-Christ.”

However there is only one true savior of mankind and it is not Superman, or Batman, or Ironman but THE SON OF MAN, JESUS CHRIST. When He returns to the earth, the Bible says that he will place all of His enemies under His feet and rule the earth in Peace.

If you are looking for a superhero, look no further. There is only one that is “THE ALMIGHTY” and that is Jesus Christ. Put your trust in Him. He is the only one that will SAVE THE WORLD...and He can and will save you too, if you ask Him too.

God Bless Your Day Jesus Loves You

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Does Katechó mean “Restrainer” in 2 Thess. 2:6-7? And Does the Phrase ἕως ἐκ μέσου γένηται mean “until he be taken out of the way”?

By Goodreads Author and Bible Researcher Eli Kittim 🎓

What Does Κατέχω (katechó) Mean?

This paper is a Biblical bombshell because it demonstrates that scholars have traditionally misunderstood and misinterpreted 2 Thess. 2:6-7. So let’s begin by analyzing the Greek text. The Greek term κατέχω (katechó)——which is the basis of the two variant terms used in 2 Thess. 2:6-7—-is derived from the word ἔχω (echó), which means “have,” “hold,” “possess,” or “keep”:

G2192 ἔχω (echó)

https://biblehub.com/greek/2192.htm

It would be advantageous to examine the uses and applications of the term katechó in both the New Testament (NT) and the Septuagint (LXX). Although the term κατέχω (katechó) is somewhat nuanced with certain subtle qualities, depending on the context, it essentially has the same meaning: hold, have, possess, keep, or retain. With the exception of one idiomatic instance——in which it could mean “make for,” or “go toward”——it’s usually rendered in the NT as per the aforementioned meanings:

Keep - (Luke 4:42).

Possessing - (2 Cor. 6:10).

Hold - (Luke 8:15; Rom. 7:6; 1 Cor. 11:2; 15:2;

1 Thess. 5:21; Hebrews 3:6; 3:14; 10:23).

Made for [go toward] - (Acts 27:40).

Κατέχω (katechó) in the LXX

In Gen. 24:56 of the LXX, κατέχετε (katechete) means “keep/hold.” It’s rendered as “don’t *keep* me/don’t *hold* me” (μὴ κατέχετέ με):

ὁ δὲ εἶπε πρὸς αὐτούς· μὴ κατέχετέ με, καὶ

Κύριος εὐώδωσε τὴν ὁδόν μου ἐν ἐμοί·

ἐκπέμψατέ με, ἵνα ἀπέλθω πρὸς τὸν

κύριόν μου.

Another variation of the word κατέχων (katechōn) is found in Isa. 40:22 LXX:

ὁ κατέχων τὸν γῦρον τῆς γῆς καὶ οἱ

ἐνοικοῦντες ἐν αὐτῇ ὡς ἀκρίδες ὁ στήσας

ὡς καμάραν τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ διατείνας ὡς

σκηνὴν κατοικεῗν.

Here, κατέχων (katechōn) means “has/possesses.” The sentence is roughly translated as “He who *has* or *possesses* [knowledge] of the circle of the earth.”

The same holds true in Song 3:8 (LXX) in which κατέχοντες (katechontes) is rendered as “hold”:

πάντες κατέχοντες ῥομφαίαν, δεδιδαγμένοι

πόλεμον, ἀνὴρ ρομφαία αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ μηρὸν

αὐτοῦ ἀπὸ θάμβους ἐν νυξί.

English translation by L.C.L. Brenton:

They all hold a sword, being expert in war:

every man [has] his sword upon his thigh

because of fear by night.

Thus, just as in the NT, the term κατέχω (katechó) has the exact same meanings in the LXX, namely, “have,” hold,” “keep,” and “possess.” Although this study is certainly not exhaustive, it furnishes pretty solid evidence nonetheless!

So how can the term “restraining” possibly be related to the idea of “having” or “holding” something? The only way we can use the term κατέχω (katechó) in the erstwhile meaning is through an expansion of meaning or augmentation in which additional words are used in the context to indicate that there’s a particular set of circumstances that keeps something from happening, as, for example, in 2 Thess. 2:6. However, κατέχω (katechó), in and of itself, does not mean “restrain.”

Bill Mounce’s translations are, therefore, not faithful to the original Greek text. According to Mounce, in Rom. 1:18, κατέχω means “to hinder, restrain.” In fact, most standard Bible versions translate κατεχόντων as “suppressing.” But this is an incorrect translation. In Rom. 1:18, the term katechontōn simply means they “have” the truth, and then Paul uses a few additional verses (1:18-20 NIV) to show how God has made known to them the very fact of his existence:

For since the creation of the world God’s

invisible qualities—his eternal power and

divine nature—have been clearly seen,

being understood from what has been

made, so that people are without excuse.

What is more, Mounce insists that κατέχειν, in Phlm. 13, means “to hinder, restrain.” But that’s also an erroneous translation. How could it possibly mean “restrain” or “hinder” when Paul is saying that he would have liked to “keep” Onesimus by his side for consolation?

I would have liked to keep him with me, so

that on your behalf he could minister to me

in my chains for the gospel.

— Berean Study Bible

What Does Γένηται (genētai) Mean?

In 2 Thess. 2:5, the author (presumably Paul) says to the Thessalonians, don’t you remember? I’ve already explained all these things to you. In vv. 6-7 (SBLGNT), he goes on to say:

καὶ νῦν τὸ κατέχον οἴδατε, εἰς τὸ

ἀποκαλυφθῆναι αὐτὸν ἐν τῷ ἑαυτοῦ καιρῷ

· τὸ γὰρ μυστήριον ἤδη ἐνεργεῖται τῆς

ἀνομίας · μόνον ὁ κατέχων ἄρτι ἕως ἐκ

μέσου γένηται.

Paul is essentially saying: you guys already know that which keeps him (Antichrist) from being revealed in his own time (because I already told you; v. 5). For the mystery of iniquity has already begun, except that there’s a keeper for the time being [who holds it back] until he’s born in the midst of them!

The key verb γένηται (genētai) is a third-person singular aorist middle subjunctive of γίγνομαι (gígnomai). And γίγνομαι primarily means to “be born,” to “come into being,” or to “become.” An alternative form is γίνομαι (gínomai) – Ionic, Koine (see γίγνομαι in Liddell & Scott [1940] A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press).

As you can see, the verb γένηται (genētai) has nothing to do with being taken out of the way. Rather, in this particular context, it means being “born”! So, 2 Thess. 2:7 means until someone is “born,” *not* until someone is taken out of the way. Incidentally, this verse is not talking about childbirth but about a *spiritual birth,* or “rebirth,” that initiates endtime events.

So, I concur that the person indicated in 2 Thess. 2:7 is not the Antichrist, and that he acts, to a certain extent, as a “restrainer.” The text is therefore indicating that he must be “born” first before the Antichrist can be revealed. Interestingly enough, we have the exact same scenario in Revelation chapter 6 in which the 2nd seal (the Antichrist) cannot be revealed until the appearance of the 1st seal (the White horseman). Thus, in 2 Thess. 2:7, the “restrainer” is equivalent to the first horseman of the Apocalypse!

The verse that introduces the idea of a “restrainer” is 2 Thess. 2:6 (GNT):

Yet there is something that keeps this from

happening now, and you know what it is. At

the proper time, then, the Wicked One will

appear.

In 2 Thess. 2:6, the neuter definite article τὸ is used to signify “that [which] keeps” (i.e. τὸ κατέχον) this event from happening. But in 2 Thess. 2:7, ὁ κατέχων (katechōn)——pres act ptcp nom sg masc (holding)——turns out to be a “person” who must be “born” before the Antichrist can appear on the world stage. Therefore, the traditional translation——“until he be taken out of the way” (KJV)——is incorrect. The closest translation of 2 Thess. 2:7 that I could find comes from a Bible called “A Faithful Version”:

For the mystery of lawlessness is already

working; only there is one Who is restraining

at the present time until it arises out of the

midst.

But even this translation contains errors. The definite article ὁ (sg masc) refers to a man (a person), whereas this translation has the neuter “it.” And the word “arises” is also slightly off since the word γένηται essentially means “born.”

Jesus is the Keeper (Restrainer)

In the Old Testament (OT), God is mentioned several times as being the “keeper” (the κατέχον/katechon) of his people and of his kingdom. For example, in Psalm 121:5, the Hebrew text says that Yahweh [is] שֹׁמְרֶ֑ךָ (šō·mə·re·ḵā), meaning your “keeper.” Psalm 121:5 (KJV) declares:

The LORD is thy keeper: the LORD is thy

shade upon thy right hand.

Similarly, Isaiah 27:3 uses the word that comes from נָצַר (natsar), meaning “keep.” Isaiah 27:3 (RSV) reads:

I, the LORD, am its keeper; every moment I

water it. Lest any one harm it, I guard it

night and day.

In the NT, Jesus claims to be the preeminent “keeper” of the flock. In John 10:14, Jesus says, “I am the good shepherd [ποιμὴν].” The Greek term ποιμὴν (poimén) means the “keeper” of the flock. In the OT, Abel is a good shepherd——aka “a keeper of sheep”——who is also slain, just like Jesus. Gen. 4:2 (KJV) says:

Abel was a keeper of sheep.

So, if Jesus is the “keeper” (the κατέχον/katechon), and if the Antichrist cannot be revealed until Christ is “born,” then the idea of 2 Thess. 2:6-7 is similar to that of Rev 6:2-4, to wit, first comes the Christ, then comes the Antichrist. That’s precisely what Paul is trying to tell us in the 2 Thess. 2:6-7 pericope, namely, that there’s a “keeper” who must be “born” before the Antichrist can be revealed!

To further explore the parallels between 2

Thess. 2:6-7 and Revelation 6:2-4, see my

article:

WHO IS THE FIRST HORSEMAN OF THE APOCALYPSE?

https://eli-kittim.tumblr.com/post/168159235542/who-is-the-first-horseman-of-the-apocalypse

——-

This is the 666th “Your Daily Note” and it is fitting that this message is dedicated to this well known, but still mysterious and ominous number.

Most people recognize 666 as something evil and sinister, but as this verse instructs, one is advised to search out and recognize what this means as it will have immense future ramifications one day (soon?) on all people in the world.

Biblical prophecy — and by Jesus himself — says that the world will enter a time of trouble greater than any in all of history. It will be marked by war, famine, pestilences, and great natural disasters, all of which will increase in frequency like pregnancy birth pangs in a seven year period called THE TRIBULATION. It will begin with a 'great reset' of the peoples of the earth to culminate into a one world government led by one man called THE ANTI-CHIRST who will control all activity.

Despite our best efforts, no one knows exactly what 666 precisely means, nor can we determine who this 'BEAST' and “Son Of Perdition” is today, but given the signs happening in the world it is clear the time of the Anti-Christ and the MARK OF THE BEAST OF MR. 666 is coming Soon.

The Bible says in Proverbs 21:31 that “The horse (i.e. money, power, provisions, 'prepping') is prepared (in vain) against the day of battle (i.e. trouble or tribulation) but SAFETY is of the LORD.“ The WRATH of the evil man of 666 will come upon the world, and the only REAL safety from him and the Great Reset, New World Order, and Mark of the Beast of 666 is in Jesus Christ.

Friend, the world is spinning faster and faster out of control. The warning signs of evil are growing daily. Turn your life to Christ and receive this promise:

“For God hath not appointed us to WRATH, But to obtain SALVATION By our Lord Jesus Christ” - 1 Thessalonians 5:9

God Bless Your Day Jesus Loves You

The Genesis 6 Oracle: The Birth of the Gods

By Independent Scholar and Goodreads Author Eli Kittim 🎓📚

The Sons of God Are Not Extraterrestrials: They Are Supernatural Spirits

Erich von Däniken is one of the first figures to popularize the idea that extraterrestrials visited Earth a long time ago and influenced human civilization. And, since then, many authors have picked up this idea and continued to expand on it, using mythologies from around the world, including the Bible. For example, Tim Alberino, Graham Hancock, and many other such writers——who also promote theories on alternative history and ancient civilizations——believe that there was an advanced alien civilization on earth, with very advanced technology, that was wiped out by a comet impact c. 12,900 to 11,700 years ago (aka “the younger dryas impact”).

However, it is important to note that mainstream science refutes the ancient alien-civilization theory. Books on these topics are generally in the realm of science-fiction, pseudoarchaeology, pseudohistory, and pseudoscience. These writings have not undergone rigorous scholarly peer review and have not been published in any credible academic or Biblical journals.

As regards the Scriptures, ancient astronaut theorists typically try to link alien civilizations and extraterrestrials to the Genesis 6 account, when “the sons of God” (called the “watchers” in the apocryphal book of Enoch) had supposed “sexual relations” with human women, whose offspring were said to be giants, the so-called “Nephilim” (cf. Jude 1.6). But this is reading too much into the Biblical story. The Bible is neither a sci‑fi novel, nor a historical treatise. It is a book about an invisible spiritual or metaphysical reality that interacts with our own.

What is more, the Bible has many different literary genres, such as prophecy, poetry, wisdom, parable, apocalyptic, narrative, and history. It is obviously inappropriate to interpret poetry or parable in the same way that we would interpret history because that would ultimately lead to logical absurdities. Alas, the history of Biblical interpretation is riddled with exegetes who have erroneously tried to force **metaphors** into a **literal interpretation,** which of course cannot be done without creating ridiculous effects that you only encounter in sci-fi films. This view creates logical absurdities, such as talking animals, trees of immortality that are guarded by aliens with lightsabers, fruits literally producing evil after consumption, people turning into pillars of salt, mythological beasts with multiple heads that are populating our planet, and the like. Not only does this eisegesis defy the actual interpretation that is given by scripture itself, but it also leads to complete and utter nonsense.

Bible Translations Versus The Hebrew Text

Now if we turn our attention to the original Hebrew text, nothing in the Genesis 6 narrative suggests an advanced alien civilization of extraterrestrials, nor can one adduce that the Genesis 6 narrative should be taken literally as a historical account. Unfortunately, some English Bible versions have mistranslated certain words by inserting their own *theological interpretations* that are not found in the original Hebrew text. For example, The New American Bible renders Genesis 6.4 as follows:

the sons of God had intercourse with the

daughters of human beings.

The NET Bible similarly says:

the sons of God were having sexual

relations with the daughters of humankind.

The New Living Translation also adds words and images that are not found in the original text:

the sons of God had intercourse with

women.

These are not only unfaithful translations of the original Hebrew text, but they are also bad interpretations that suggest interbreeding between spirits and mortals. Biologically, people can interbreed with one another, but people cannot interbreed with animals or spirits. This, then, shows a fundamental hermeneutical error in trying to understand Genesis 6 in purely physical, biological, or historical terms. According to Wikipedia:

Sons of God (Hebrew: בְנֵי־הָאֱלֹהִים,

romanized: Bənē hāʾĔlōhīm, literally: "sons

of the Elohim") is a phrase used in the

Tanakh or Old Testament and in Christian

Apocrypha. The phrase is also used in

Kabbalah where bene elohim are part of

different Jewish angelic hierarchies.

So, the sons of god (οἱ υἱοὶ τοῦ Θεοῦ LXX) are spirits (see Ps. 82), while the daughters of men are human beings. The Genesis 6.2 account of the sons of god——who supposedly marry the daughters of men——is an allusion to a “spiritual marriage,” not a physical one, as when a *spiritual rebirth* in God (Jn 3.5-7) is like being married to God. That’s why the believers in Christ are said to be the bride of Christ (see 2 Cor 11.2)! Similarly, Genesis 6.2 is alluding to “supernatural beings“ (the so-called “fallen ones”) who entered women and united themselves to them in spirit, thus giving them a sort of Faustian *spiritual rebirth.* In Genesis 6.4, Young’s Literal Translation reads thusly:

The fallen ones were in the earth in those

days, and even afterwards when sons of

God come in unto daughters of men, and

they have borne to them -- they are the

heroes, who, from of old, are the men of

name.

It is, essentially, a *theological* (not a historical) account that tries to explain the origins of evil and how wickedness multiplied on earth (Gen. 6.5):

The LORD saw that the wickedness of man

was great in the earth, and that every

intention of the thoughts of his heart was

only evil continually.

The Hebrew word וַיִּקְח֤וּ (way·yiq·ḥū) means “they took” (Gen. 6.2). That is to say, the sons of God took נָשִׁ֔ים (nā·šîm) “wives” or “women” (Gen 6.2) in the *spiritual* sense of inhabiting or possessing them. The language of Genesis 6 suggests that they entered them. In Gen. 6.4, the Hebrew term יָבֹ֜אוּ (yā·ḇō·’ū) means “to come in,” or “go in.” But it is not explicitly referring to sexual intercourse, as most people mistakenly assume. Moreover, the Hebrew text in Gen. 6.4 doesn’t actually say that the earthly women bore human children to the sons of God. The text uses the term וְיָלְד֖וּ (wə·yā·lə·ḏū), which means “bore” or “brought forth, but it doesn’t say “children” per se. Readers often assume that the “mighty men … of old” were the “human children” that the mortal women supposedly bore.

But we must be very careful, here, because that’s not exactly what the text is saying. Notice that the *union* between the sons of god and the mortal women is initially spiritual, not biological. This spiritual union ultimately brought forth הַגִּבֹּרִ֛ים (hag·gib·bō·rîm) “the mighty” אֲשֶׁ֥ר (’ă·šer) “who” [were] מֵעוֹלָ֖ם (mê·‘ō·w·lām) “from ancient times” or “from eternity.” These were אַנְשֵׁ֥י (’an·šê) “men” הַשֵּֽׁם׃ (haš·šêm) of “the NAME” of God (Gen. 6.4). So, this spiritual union between spirits and mortals eventually *brought forth* embodied ancient spirits. These are obviously wicked spirits that deliberately possess human women for the purpose of giving birth to hybrids, such as the “Nephilim” or the so-called “giants.”

But, as I will demonstrate, we should not view these types of accounts as referring to a race of multiple giants but rather to the arrival of the gods, the superpowerful “giants that were from of old, the Heroes of fame” (Gen. 6.4). Therefore, even though this spiritual union will eventually give birth to an evil offspring in human history, the text is nevertheless trying to show the backstory to this event, namely, that what gave rise to it is a spiritual union, not a physical one!

The Births of Two Giants: The Virgin Birth and the Birth of the Antichrist

In fact, Genesis 6 sounds like a *reversal* of the virgin birth theme in which the Spirit of God impregnates a daughter of men, who then gives birth to a *giant,* a spirit from everlasting, namely, to God himself! So, while the gospels *prophesy* about the union of God’s Spirit with a mortal woman, bringing forth an everlasting spirit of God into the world of time and space, Genesis 6 seems to be *prophesying* about the same type of union, but this time between a dark spirit and a woman, bringing forth another ancient spirit, a man of renown, known as the Antichrist, whom the New Testament calls “the son of perdition,” “who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship” (2 Thess. 2.4), and “whose coming is after the working of Satan” (2 Thess. 2.9)!

Here’s an excerpt from chapter 10 (p. 225) of my book, “The Little Book of Revelation”:

The Bible affirms that ‘there were giants on

the earth in those days’! (Gen. 6:4, ‘New

King James’). These figures, which are

beyond human description, represent the

gods that have come down upon the earth

in the form of ‘Christ’ and ‘antichrist,’ to

whom scripture devotes a brief but

noteworthy depiction: ‘the mighty men who

were of old, men of renown’ (Gen 6:4).

Interestingly enough, in the apocryphal ancient text known as the Gospel of Peter, Jesus is said to be resurrected as a *Giant*! This is also alluded to in Rev 1.7:

Behold, He [Christ] is coming with the

clouds, and every eye will see Him.

From an eschatological perspective, the *giant Jesus* coming out of the tomb, in the Gospel of Peter (vv. 38-40), seems to be a *prophecy* which indicates that he will take the form of a *giant* at the end of days! A 6-foot man in the sky obviously cannot be seen by anyone, whereas a *giant* Jesus can be observed from many miles away, thus lending credence to the apocalyptic description in Rev. 1.7. Of all the end-time depictions of Christ, this is probably the most accurate portrayal because it seems to parallel many Biblical passages. For instance, it seems to fit with the *giant* Pauline Christ who will ultimately destroy the Antichrist “with the breath of his mouth” (2 Thess. 2.8). It’s also congruent with another Old Testament verse in which the Lord appears as a *colossal figure* who flies “Like birds” in order to “protect and deliver” Jerusalem (Isa. 31.5). Elsewhere, only a great figure of *immense proportion* can annihilate a giant dragon called Leviathan (Isa. 27.1 cf. Job 41.1; Ps 74.14). That’s precisely why we are told that “There were giants in the earth in those days” (Gen. 6.4). Which days? All the *prophecies* seem to converge on the end of days.

The exodus account is no different. If we compare the series of judgments that Moses inflicted upon “Egypt” to the final judgments in the Book of Revelation, we’ll notice that both descriptions appear to exhibit identical events taking place (see e.g. Ex. 10.1–20 [cf. Rev. 9.3]; Ex. 9.13–35 [cf. Rev. 16.21]; Ex. 9.1-7 [cf. Rev 6.8]; Ex. 7.14–24 [cf. Rev. 8.8; 16.3-4]; Ex. 7.25–8.15 [cf. Rev. 16.13]; Ex. 9.8–12 [cf. Rev. 16.2]; Ex. 10.21–29 [cf. Rev. 16.10])!

Why does Lk 17.30 compare Noah’s flood to the coming of Christ during the day of the Lord? Probably because these earlier Biblical narratives were trying to convey the same apocalyptic messages that we find in the New Testament. Moreover, the *giant* resurrected Jesus in the Gospel of Peter is the only version that seems to accurately portray the image of a towering figure on a white horse who “judges and makes war” (Rev. 19.11), and who can actually be seen from the earth (Rev. 1.7). By comparison, an average human being cannot possibly be seen “coming with the clouds of heaven” (cf. Dan. 7.13-14).

Similarly, the Antichrist also seems to be depicted as a *giant* who is incarnated on earth at the end of days! Case in point. In Revelation 9, the king of the locusts is likened to “a star that had fallen from heaven” to earth in the last days and who turns out to be a powerful figure that holds “the key to the … bottomless pit.” Later on in the chapter, he’s identified as the king of the locusts, “the angel of the bottomless pit” whose “name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek … Apollyon,” meaning “destroyer” (i.e. Antichrist)!

Similar to Genesis 6, there are many prophecies in the New Testament that allude to the future incarnation of Antichrist on earth. For example, the author of Luke 10.18 writes:

I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.

This same event——when the sons of god will come down to earth——is *prophesied* to take place at *the end of days* in Revelation 12.9:

And the great dragon was thrown down, the

serpent of old who is called the devil and

Satan, who deceives the whole world; he

was thrown down to the earth, and his

angels were thrown down with him.

Revelation 12.9 is a remarkably similar account of *the sons of god* that we find in Genesis 6! What is more, the future Antichrist will eventually be resurrected from the dead (see Rev 13.3, 14). And it appears that he, too, will be resurrected as a *giant,* causing people to marvel. Rev. 13.3-4 says:

I saw one of his heads as if it had been

fatally wounded, and his fatal wound was

healed. And the whole earth was amazed

and followed after the beast; they

worshiped the dragon because he gave his

authority to the beast; and they worshiped

the beast, saying, ‘Who is like the beast,

and who is able to wage war with him?’

Thus, Genesis 6, which talks about the giants, doesn’t appear to be historical, but rather prophetic! On the whole, the Bible is pointing to the messianic age——and specifically to the births of Christ and Antichrist——at the time of the end, just prior to the great and terrible day of the lord. Accordingly, Matthew 24.37 tells us that the days of Noah were *types* of the coming apocalypse:

For the coming of the Son of Man will be

just like the days of Noah.

It is also worth noting that Daniel 9.26 referred to the coming destruction as an eschatological flood:

And its end will come with a flood.

In stark contrast to what the authors on ancient civilizations are saying, the pivotal episode in human history concerning the final battle between the forces of light and the forces of darkness is in the future, not in the past. That’s precisely why the Great War between Christ and Antichrist will take place at the end of time! In the context of the end-times, Revelation 12.7 reads:

And there was war in heaven, Michael and

his angels waging war with the dragon. The

dragon and his angels waged war.

Conclusion

Authors on ancient civilizations typically talk about faraway planets, spaceships, and extraterrestrials. They usually don’t provide any credible references, aside from their literary fantasies and wild imaginations, and hence their claims appear to be unfounded. In addition, without any training whatsoever on biblical languages, textual criticism, or exegesis, they nevertheless offer outrageous interpretations based on a superficial reading of the Bible. Unbeknownst to them, many of the Old Testament stories are actually *types* that point to the *anti-types* (or fulfillments) in prophetic literature. Contrary to fundamentalists who read scripture literally, as if Noah’s flood literally happened, a close interpretation of the Bible reveals that the so-called “antediluvian” narrative of Genesis 6 is actually an apocalyptic oracle about the coming destruction during the day of the Lord in the end-times (2 Pet. 3.10)! We also know this because mainstream interdisciplinary science categorically rejects the notion of a global flood in earth’s history. According to Wikipedia:

Proponents of flood geology hold to a literal

reading of Genesis 6–9 and view its

passages as historically accurate; they use

the Bible’s internal chronology to place the

Genesis flood and the story of Noah’s Ark

within the last five thousand years.

Scientific analysis has refuted the key

tenets of flood geology. Flood geology

contradicts the scientific consensus in

geology, stratigraphy, geophysics, physics,

paleontology, biology, anthropology, and

archaeology. Modern geology, its sub-

disciplines and other scientific disciplines

utilize the scientific method. In contrast,

flood geology does not adhere to the

scientific method, making it a

pseudoscience.

——-

Satan Loves Religion, is all FOR it, and wants even MORE of it! Does that sound crazy? Actually it isn’t…it’s been his plan from the very beginning.

One of the most effective techniques Satan uses to turn people away from God is getting people to think they have to DO SOMETHING in order to enter eternity, nirvana, become ‘enlightened’ or acceptable to a god or gods. Religion in a nutshell is EXACTLY THAT - Man’s attempt to please god.

Religion requires that there are RULES to follow, and that you must do something in order to be worthy or accepted, either by a divine being or by a group that demands that you adhere to an established creed. In the end, it is an endless treadmill of actions, mantras, and rituals with the ultimate goal of distracting the practitioner of seeing the truth of who God is and what He really wants.

The plain truth is God Does Not Want Your DEEDS, He Wants Your DEVOTION. The ‘Faith’ referred to in today’s scripture verse at heart is about having a Relationship with God, and not repetitive ritual. Just as a child has a loving relationship with it’s father, so our Heavenly Father wants to have that self-same intimate relationship with us. This is what Christianity is all about – Relationship NOT Religion.

If you are living a life based on doing something to gain God’s favor, God instead is waiting for you to simply say, “I LOVE YOU GOD. THANK YOU FOR BEING MY HEAVENLY FATHER.” Have you said that yet? If not, do it today.

God Bless Your Day Jesus Loves You NotesOnLife.org

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The Antichrist is Russian: Not Assyrian, Muslim, Or Jewish

By Independent Researcher 🎓 Eli Kittim

The Connection Between Daniel’s 4 empires & Russia

Daniel chapters 2 & 7 show 4 super empires, the last of which will last until the end of the world. According to history, we know that the first was Babylon (gold), the second was Medo-Persia (silver), the third was Greece (bronze), and the fourth was Rome (iron), which had 2 legs (representing East & West). Then, Daniel says that the 10 toes represent the final phase of that same empire (i.e. a revived Roman Empire), which the endtimes Christ will smash to pieces. We also know that the 2 legs of the Roman Empire were Rome and Constantinople. Rome (West) was sacked and conquered in the 5th century AD and ceased to be an empire. There was no western Roman Empire in the 6th, 7th, and 8th centuries. According to Voltaire, “The Holy Roman Empire [of the 9th century] was neither Holy nor Roman, nor an Empire.” In fact, according to Wiki, “The exact term ‘Holy Roman Empire’ was not used until the 13th century.” So, the only remaining and legitimate Roman empire was the one at Constantinople, namely, the Eastern Roman Empire, aka Byzantium (East). So far, we are still talking about the 2 iron legs of Daniel’s composite statue. Then, in 1453, the Turks sacked Constantinople, and most of the Byzantine elites fled north to Moscow, where Moscow became the third Rome.

en.m.wikipedia.org

Moscow, third Rome - Wikipedia

Moscow, third Rome - Wikipedia

Chuck Missler pointed out that most commentators think that the Antichrist will come from the west (Rome), that is Europe, but they neglect the Eastern leg of the Roman Empire, namely Constantinople. And he was right. The Antichrist comes from the eastern part of the Roman Empire that moved to Moscow! In addition, Ivan the Great adopted the official emblem of the Byzantine Monarchy: the double-headed eagle. He then went on to marry Sophia Paleologue, the niece of the final Byzantine ruler Constantine XI. In the aftermath of the Ottoman Turks’ conquest of the Eastern Roman Empire and in an effort to salvage the last vestiges of Christianity, Ivan designated Moscow as the Third Rome in 1497 A.D. In effect, Moscow became the offspring of the Roman Empire; heirs to the legacy. Russia, then, becomes the link of the little horn (Antichrist) to the Roman Empire (cf. Daniel 7:7-8 f.). Ivan even called himself Tsar, which means “Caesar.” And he inherited all the symbols of Byzantium, including the Greek Orthodox Church. Russia is therefore the continuation of Daniel’s empires, or the revived Roman Empire after the 2 proverbial iron legs collapsed.

Mind you, Daniel only mentions a revived Roman Empire out of which the little horn will come. He doesn’t mention any Muslim or Assyrian nations. He doesn’t mention anything about a Jewish antichrist. For proper exegesis, we have to stick to the text of Daniel, not to what people are currently adding to it. And Daniel only alludes to a revived Roman Empire. So the notion of an Assyrian, Muslim, or Jewish antichrist is foreign to the text and completely bogus and misinformed.

Moreover, we know that the book of Daniel is referring to the endtimes——and that this revived Roman Empire will appear in the last days——because Daniel 12.4 talks explicitly about the endtimes, while Daniel 12.1 mentions the great tribulation which will be the worst event that has ever occurred on planet earth, and one that has not yet happened. We also know that the 10 final leaders will fight Jesus Christ (Rev. 17.14) and that the Antichrist will be annihilated by Christ himself at his coming (see 2 Thess. 2.8). So the little horn of Daniel is definitely a future antichrist!

The 7 empires of Revelation 17

Just to recap, Revelation 17.9-13 says that there will be 7 empires until the end of time. There will also be an 8th, but because it’s part of the seven, it’s not counted as an 8th. So let’s enumerate them. It’s not Assyria or Egypt, as some unskilled interpreters suggest. Daniel doesn’t mention them at all. Historically, the 7 empires are as follows: 1) Babylon, 2) Medo-Persia, 3) Greece, 4) Rome, 5) Constantinople, 6) Moscow, 7) Soviet Union (USSR), 8) Russian Federation, which is part of the 7, and is therefore still part of the 7th empire. And all this takes place in the endtimes because Rev. 17.14 says:

“These will wage war against the Lamb, and

the Lamb will overcome them.”

Remember that John “was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day” (Rev. 1.10), not physically in the body. And he heard and saw visions pertaining to the day of the Lord. So when he says——there “are seven kings; five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; and when he comes, he must remain a little while,” (Rev. 17.10)——the one that exists (or the “one [that] is”) during this prophetic time period that John sees is not Rome (which was the 4th empire), but rather the 6th (Moscow)! Why Russia? Because John is “in the Spirit on the Lord’s day” (Rev. 1.10). He is showing us where the Antichrist comes from. He is giving us a prophetic clue. That’s exactly why the 7th empire “has not yet come; and when he comes, he must remain a little while.” That would be the USSR, which remained a little while, approximately only 70 years. Here’s the passage in Rev. 17: 9-14:

“Here is the mind which has wisdom. The

seven heads are seven mountains upon

which the woman sits, and they are seven

kings; five have fallen, one is, the other has

not yet come; and when he comes, he must

remain a little while. The beast which was,

and is not, is himself also an eighth and is

one of the seven, and he goes to

destruction. The ten horns which you saw

are ten kings who have not yet received a

kingdom, but they receive authority as kings

with the beast for one hour. These have one

purpose, and they give their power and

authority to the beast. These will wage war

against the Lamb, and the Lamb will

overcome them because He is Lord of lords

and King of kings.”

The 10 toes at the bottom of Daniel’s statue represent the 10 leaders that will emerge out of this revived Roman Empire. And the 7th great superpower that emerged out of Russia was the Soviet Union. After the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, 3 more figures emerged, totalling 10 leaders, plus an 11th (Putin), exactly as foretold in Daniel’s prophecy (Dan 7.19-22). The “three of the previous horns [that] were plucked out” (Dan. 7.8) represent the 3 leaders of the Russian Federation which came out of Soviet Russia.

The 10 Kings of Daniel 7.20 & Revelation 17.12

From its inception in 1917 until 1991, the Soviet Union had 8 leaders:

1) Vladimir Lenin

2) Joseph Stalin

3) Georgy Malenkov

4) Nikita Khrushchev

5) Leonid Brezhnev

6) Yuri Andropov

7) Konstantin Chernenko

8) Mikhail Gorbachev

The succeeding Russian Federation has only had 3 leaders since its formation on December 25, 1991 (cf. Daniel 7.8):

9) Boris Yeltsin

10) Dmitry Medvedev

11) Vladimir Putin

There you have it. Putin is the 11th horn (the 11th king) of Daniel 7.20, “to make room for which three [kings] . . . fell out” (emphasizing the last 3 leaders of the new federal republic that arose out of the former USSR)!

Ezekiel 38: The War of Gog & Magog

We have much more evidence that Ezekiel 38 is referring to Russia not only because of historical studies but also because of the language that is used in the Septuagint, not to mention the evidence from Josephus and other historians linking the inhabitants of Magog to the Scythians. The evidence pointing to Russia is overwhelming. For further evidence, see the following article:

What’s more, Ezekiel 38 talks about Russia invading countries in the last days, the so-called Gog/Magog war. That’s why the Septuagint (LXX) of Ezekiel 38.2 has the words Ρώς and Μοσόχ that stand for Ρωσία and Μόσχα in Greek, which are translated as Russia and Moscow respectively! Thus, it’s the Eastern rather than the Western leg of the Roman Empire that is considered to be Daniel’s Revived Roman Empire of Bible Prophecy, which was supplanted by Russia after the fall of Byzantium in 1453. And, as I have shown, Russia is also the final empire of Revelation 17, the one with the aforementioned ten kings!

This is the most accurate exegetical explanation of the 10 horns (which also includes the 11th horn, the Antichrist) and the only one that fits with all the details in the prophecies of Daniel 2 & 7, Ezekiel 38, Luke 21, and Revelation 12 & 17. That’s why the final empire is depicted as a red 7-headed dragon with 10 horns in Revelation 12. It’s the exact same Red Empire of the USSR that has morphed and continues to the present day. See the second seal of revelation, the red horse, which represents the Russian empire that will take peace away from the earth by starting world war 3!

Besides the fact that this position solves the biblical puzzle completely, one can also see that the current events fit perfectly as well. Russia is allied with Turkey, Iran, and many Muslim nations, just as prophesied in Ezekiel 38, and Putin has begun his military invasion of the west and is repeatedly threatening **nuclear war.** in fact, in New York City, ads about what to do in case of a nuclear explosion have begun to be seen on television. You have to be literally asleep not to notice that Putin is the person who has begun to invade countries and threaten **nuclear war,** and that a Russian Antichrist has already been foretold in the Bible! Daniel 8.23 calls the Antichrist “a master of intrigue,” while Daniel 8.25 refers to him as “a master of deception,” obviously implying that he’s trained in secret plans, underhand plots and schemes. In short, a spy! So, you can, in effect, hold the Bible in one hand and a newspaper in the other, and they match!

Not to notice either the Bible prophecies or the current geopolitical situation of the world, and the constant threat of nuclear war, is equal to being completely ignorant and misinformed! Now let’s look at some faulty and erroneous interpretations that are not based on Daniel or Revelation, or on the canonical context. I will not even bother refuting the Seventh-Day Adventist position——that the Antichrist is the Pope and that the Mark of the Beast is Sunday-observance of the Sabbath——since it is too ridiculous for any one to take seriously, and also because it falls of its own accord.

The Assyrian vs. the Russian Antichrist

The Bible never links the Antichrist to a Muslim country. All lines of evidence link him to a revived Roman Empire. In Isaiah 10.5, for example, the text uses the term Asshur (Assyria)——which once invaded the northern kingdom of Israel——as a type, or symbol, of the final Antichrist who will invade Israel in the latter years (see Ezek. 38). The Bible uses a typology to indicate that an Assyrian-like figure will invade the land. Not that he is literally Assyrian. This is demonstrated in the Book of Isaiah, which shows that the title Assyrian does not refer to a person from the land of Assyria. In this particular verse, the so-called Assyrian is actually an Egyptian Pharaoh who is said to have oppressed the Hebrews while they were in Egypt. Isaiah 52.4 reads: “My people went down aforetime into Egypt to sojourn there; and the Assyrian oppressed them without cause.” You can’t just take a literal historical figure in the Bible and claim they are the Antichrist. That is not a credible exegesis. If that were so, then we can equally say that Cyrus was the messiah, and not Jesus Christ. Cyrus is called God’s anointed in Isaiah 45.1. Besides, the name Asshur or Assyrian may be a cryptic *anagram* for Russia, or for the word Russian. The word Asshur can also be used as a semordnilap, a word that has a different meaning when read in reverse (or backwards). For example, Asshur in reverse is Ruhssa (i.e. Russia)! Today, the idea that Syria, Iraq, Iran, or Turkey will become superpowers and take over the world is not taken seriously. They don’t fit the bill. They’re neither Roman, nor do they have the necessary qualifications (11 kings). Yet Revelation 13 says that the Antichrist will conquer, subjugate, and control the entire world. Only a superpower like Russia, allied with many powers, such as China, can achieve these aims. Moreover, the Biblical evidence always points to Russia, as I have already demonstrated! There are many hermeneutical mistakes in the Assyrian interpretation. For example, Daniel never mentions any other kingdom in connection to the little horn besides the Roman Empire (see Daniel 7.23-25). Still others argue that the antichrist comes from the 3rd kingdom (the Hellenistic empire). But the Hellenistic connection in Daniel 8 simply points back to Byzantium because *tiny Thrace* (the symbol of the little horn with its ruler General Lysimachus) later became the seat of the Byzantine Romans, namely, Constantinople. So we’re back to Daniel 7 again. These interpreters confuse the details with the big picture, as well as Daniel’s chronological sequence of succeeding empires. Daniel chapter 8 is simply *zooming in* to give us some specific details. But Daniel chapters 2 & 7 give us *the big picture* and cannot be ignored because they clearly indicate a 4th kingdom that will arise AFTER Greece, out of which the little horn will come (Dan. 7.24)!

And modern day Iran is not Assyria. Both names (Assyria & Persia) are clearly distinguished in the Old Testament as 2 separate and distinct nations. Assyria (not Persia) is the nation that attacked the northern kingdom of Israel in 722 BC (2 Kings 17:3–6), while Iran is called Persia, not Assyria, in Ezek. 38.5! Today, both Syria and Iraq (which were once part of ancient Assyria) are in ruins. Neither one of them is a superpower that can take over the world (Rev 13). Many interpreters are deliberately ignoring the Book of Daniel, which speaks of the little horn coming out of one of the 2 legs of the Roman Empire. Daniel doesn’t imply anything other than the Roman empire. To add extra-Biblical material about “Muslims” (which are not in the text) is not a proper methodology. And these misleading interpreters don’t know history either, how, for instance, after the fall of Constantinople in 1453 AD, Moscow became the Third Rome. Moscow adopted the Byzantine customs, rituals & religion, as well as the doubleheaded eagle as their insignia, & the Russian leaders called themselves czars, which means “Caesar.” In fact, the double-headed eagle, which has Byzantine antecedents, is still in the coat of arms of Russia!

That’s why the Septuagint (LXX) of Ezekiel 38.2 has the words Ρώς and Μοσόχ in Greek that stand for Ρωσία and Μόσχα, which are translated as Russia and Moscow respectively! This is the nation that will invade Israel and conquer it “in the last days” (Ezek. 38.16). So, the interpreters who advance the theory of an Assyrian Antichrist are obviously ignorant of the historical studies that link this great end-times Ezekiel 38 invasion to Russia!

There are many other prophecies that support Ezek. 38, and link Russia to the 7-headed dragon with 10 horns (cf. Rev. 12), just as the sequence of Daniel’s empires leads to a seventh and final empire in Rev. 17. Starting from Babylon in Daniel 2, the USSR was the 7th empire, and there have been 10 leaders since Lenin, with Putin being the 11th, the so-called little horn. Hence why these “ten kings receive authority as kings with the beast for one hour [one century]” (Rev. 17.12)! That’s the last days seven-headed empire with 10 horns. Which other nation can fit the bill? None! Once you have the pieces of the exegetical puzzle together, you can zero in on the Antichrist!

The 10 Horns Are 10 Human Kings (not 10 Spirits)

Then there are some who have proposed that the 10 kings are not Humans but Spirits. However, both Dan. 7.9 & 7.11 do not refer to a spirit but rather to a human being that is represented by a “horn” (in this case, the little horn). In fact, in Daniel 7.24, in the Old Testament, Daniel asks the angel what the 10 horns are. Here’s the angel’s reply:

“As for the ten horns, out of this kingdom ten

kings shall arise, and another shall arise

after them.”

Notice that they don’t come out of different kingdoms but out of the same kingdom. Moreover, the 10 horns represent 10 actual kings, not 10 spirits. This is multiply attested in the New Testament as well. In Rev 17.12-14, the angel provides an interpretation in which the 10 kings are not only human but they will also go to war against Christ:

“And the ten horns that you saw are ten

kings who have not yet received a kingdom,

but they are to receive authority as kings for

one hour, together with the beast. These

are united in yielding their power and

authority to the beast; they will make war

on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer

them, for he is Lord of lords and King of

kings.”

Moreover, in referring to the figure that we call the Antichrist, Daniel 7.20 describes an actual human being, not a spirit, who will control the earth for 3 and a half years (cf. Rev. 11.2; 13.5). What is more, Daniel 7.25 is rather explicit that it’s a male figure (not a spirit) who will blaspheme God and who will persecute the faithful:

“He shall speak words against the Most

High, shall wear out the holy ones of the

Most High, and shall attempt to change the

sacred seasons and the law; and they shall

be given into his power for a time, two

times, and half a time.”

Further evidence can be found in Revelation 13.18, which tells us that 666 is the number of a human being. It says that 666 is the number of ἀνθρώπου (a human being/ not a spirit, which would have been “pneuma” in Koine Greek if that were the case). And it also refers to him as a male figure (αὐτοῦ), which is a personal/possessive pronoun, genitive masculine 3rd person singular (him/his).

So we’re talking about a man, not a spirit. Second Thessalonians 2.3 calls him the “lawless one” who will be revealed on the world stage, and verse 2.4 goes on to say “that he takes his seat in the temple of God, declaring himself to be God.” These are actual events that will take place by a real ipso facto human being (the so-called “Antichrist”; 1 Jn 2.18).

Conclusion

The 7 heads are seven empires, the last of which is Russia, which, according to Ezekiel 38, will invade Israel with a large coalition. Watch this short video:

This invasion is also prophesied in Zechariah 14 and Luke 21 as well. Astonishingly, the incumbent president of Russia, Vladimir Putin, came to power at the turn of the century, in 1999 [666], which also marks the end of a thousand-year period. This important timeframe coincides with a Biblical prophecy in which the Antichrist will not appear “until the thousand years . . . [have] ended” (Rev. 20.3, 7-8)!

So when you see references to the red 7-headed dragon with 10 horns, for example, in Revelation 12, it is a reference to Russia as the final superpower that will dominate the world and create a New World Order (Rev 13)!

The Seven Seals of Revelation

Eli Kittim

In ancient times, papyrus scrolls with classified information contained several wax seals (Gk. σφραγίς) which ensured that only the appropriate recipient could read the document. Likewise, the Bible uses the term metaphorically to convey apocalyptic information about upcoming events. The seven-sealed scroll reveals seven chronological disclosures that will come in rapid succession. Each seal represents a coming event that will have a major impact on the world. The breaking of the seven seals occurs in Rev. 5–8. The first four seals are known as the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

The first seal represents the first coming of Christ, who commences the sequence of end time events (Rev. 6:1-2). He rides a white horse, which is also mentioned in Rev. 19:11 using nearly identical language. In Rev. 6:2 (NJB), the white rider goes “from victory to victory” (Gk. νικῶν καὶ ἵνα νικήσῃ). The biblical term "victory" is intimately associated with Christ's resurrection from the dead, which ultimately results in the conquering of death itself (see 1 Cor. 15:54, 57). The terms νικῶν and νικήσῃ are based on the Greek word νικάω (nikao), which means to “overcome” or to be “victorious.” The word nikao can only refer to an overcomer in Christ and cannot possibly be attributed to an Antichrist figure (see e.g. Rev. 2:7, 11, 17, 26; Rev. 3:5, 12, 21). Also, the white horseman wears a stephanos crown, which is worn by believers and victors in Christ (see e.g. Mt. 27:29; Jas. 1:12; 2 Tim. 4:8; 1 Pet. 5:4; Rev. 2:10; 4:4; 14:14). The Stephanos “crown” is therefore a symbol of victory for the believers in Christ. Accordingly, the Antichrist would not wear a stephanos crown. We are also told that the rider of the white horse “was holding a bow” (Gk. toxon), which represents God's covenant with the human race (see Gen. 9:13). The Septuagint (LXX), an early Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, translates the Hebrew word ‎קַשְׁתִּ֕י (qaš·tî), which means “rainbow,” with the Greek word “toxon” (bow) in Gen. 9:13! In Rev. 6:2, the Greek word “toxon” is the same word that is translated in the English Bible versions by the word bow. Therefore, the Antichrist would not be “holding a bow,” representing God's covenant. And there are no counterfeit signs in the Bible. That’s why all references to God, Christ, and to the saints are always couched in white imagery (see e.g. Isa. 1:18; Dan. 7:9; Mt. 28:3; John 20:12; Rev. 1:14; 2:17; Rev. 3:4-5, 18; 4:4; 6:11; Rev. 7:9, 13-14; 14:14; 19:14).

The second seal represents the coming of the Antichrist (Revelation 6:3–4), the red horse. The red horseman represents the last king who comes out of the final world empire, which is represented by the red seven-headed dragon with ten horns. World War 3 commences with the red rider, who was given a huge and mighty sword and granted permission to slaughter mankind.

The third seal represents economic collapse (Revelation 6:5–6). The rider of the Black horse holds “a pair of scales,” which merchants used in order to barter for their goods. In those days, meals will be so expensive that it will cost a whole day's wages just to have one.

The fourth seal (Revelation 6:7–8) introduces the “deathly pale” horse whose “rider was called Death, and Hades followed at its heels.” The fourth horse mainly represents a global food crisis, famines, and pandemics that kill off “a quarter of the earth[‘s]” population, coupled with wars and other devastations.

The fifth seal represents the martyrs of the faith throughout the centuries, but especially those who will be killed during the great tribulation (Revelation 6:9–11). The clue is given in verse 11 where “they were told to be patient a little longer, until the roll was completed of their fellow-servants and brothers who were still to be killed as they had been” (cf. Mt. 24:9). These martyrs include the 144,000 who are mentioned in Revelation chapter seven. Rev. 7:13-14 explains that the 144 thousand are the elect “who have been through the great trial.” However, Rev. 7:4-8 is obviously describing not just the tribulation saints but the entire church as a whole. In fact, Revelation 7:9 gives us the identity of the 144 thousand by stating that they’re “a huge number, impossible for anyone to count,” and that they come from every nation on earth.

The sixth seal represents nuclear war, the resurrection, and the rapture (Revelation 6:12–17). The first part of the sixth seal represents nuclear war, which is described as “a violent earthquake” that causes the sun to turn black and the moon red. This event precedes the day of the Lord, according to Joel 2:31 (italics mine):

“The sun shall be turned to darkness, and

the moon to blood, BEFORE the great and

awesome day of the LORD comes.”

There are other devastations as well, such as massive upheavals of the earth's crust and space debris hurtling back to earth, islands and mountains are moved out of their place, as everything will be shaken to its foundations (cf. Hebrews 12:27). It is right after this event that Christ will appear to rapture the elect. See Matthew 24:29-31 (italics mine):

“Immediately AFTER the distress of those

days the sun will be darkened, the moon will

not give its light, the stars will fall from the

sky and the powers of the heavens will be

shaken. And then the sign of the Son of

man will appear in heaven; … And he will

send his angels with a loud trumpet to

gather his elect from the four winds.”

Similarly, Daniel 12:1-2 indicates that the general resurrection of the dead will occur after the great tribulation, which will be an event “unlike any other from the nation’s beginning up to that time.” In line with these passages, the sixth seal indicates that after the great tribulation “all the kings of the earth, the governors and … the whole population, … hid in caverns and among the rocks of the mountains,” and “they said to the mountains and the rocks, 'Fall on us and hide us away from the One who sits on the throne and from the retribution of the Lamb. For the Great Day of his retribution has come, and who can face it?' “ (Rev. 6:15-17). This pericope is taken from Isaiah 2:19, which describes Yahweh rising from the dead to shake the earth:

“they will go into the caverns of the rocks

and into the fissures of the earth in terror of

Yahweh, at the brilliance of his majesty,

when he arises to make the earth quake.”

We know from 1 Thess. 4:16-17 that the resurrection and the rapture happen simultaneously. Thus, the aforementioned passages coalesce to give us the big picture, namely, that the sixth seal represents the resurrection and the rapture, which will occur right after the Great Tribulation!

The seventh seal represents the Day of the Lord (Rev. 8:1-5). The prelude to the day of the Lord begins with a short respite, as “there was silence in heaven for about half an hour” (verse 1). It represents the lull before the storm. This is the close of the tribulation period (Satan’s wrath) and the beginning of the Day of the Lord (God’s wrath), as the severity of the judgments begin to increase with the coming of the seven trumpets. But before the sounding of the seven trumpets, an “angel took the censer and filled it from the fire of the altar, which he then hurled down onto the earth,” causing massive earthquakes and devastations (verse 5). Thus, the seventh seal represents the commencement of the Day of the Lord!

The first horseman of the apocalypse is not the antichrist

By Eli Kittim 🎓

The Gospel of Kittim

Eli Kittim’s Prophetic Gospel

1. The Gospels are nonhistorical theological documents. Only the Epistles——which are the more explicit and didactic portions of the New Testament——give us the “Real” Jesus! It appears, then, that the theological purpose of the Gospels is to provide a fitting introduction to the messianic story beforehand so that it can be passed down from generation to generation until the time of its fulfillment. It’s as though New Testament history is written in advance (Isaiah 46.10)!

2. The New Testament Epistles comprise revelations and “prophetic writings” (Romans 16.25-26; 2 Peter 1.19-21; Revelation 22.18-19). They give us the actual timeline of Christ’s only visitation at the end of the age (Hebrews 1.2; 9.26b; 1 Peter 1.20; Revelation 12.5)!

3. Second Peter 1.16-19 demonstrates that the so-called “eyewitness accounts” of the gospels were actually based on visions & prophecies that were then written down as if they had already happened proleptically. Similarly, Acts 10.40—41 says that Jesus’ resurrection was a vision because it was only visible “to witnesses who were chosen beforehand by God.” Revelation 19.10 also declares that “the testimony to Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”

4. There is only one coming of Jesus in the end-times (1 Peter 1.10-11; emphasized especially in 1 Peter 1.20)!

5. The birth of Jesus occurs at the consummation of the ages (Galatians 4.4; Ephesians 1.10; Revelation 12:5). Acts 3.19-21 implies that the Messiah will not be sent to earth “until the time of universal restoration.”

6. Jesus’ death and resurrection occur “once in the end of the world” (Hebrews 9.26-28; see Zephaniah 1.7-18 in which the sacrifice or death of the Lord takes place during the day of the Lord)!

7. The resurrection of Jesus occurs during the consummation of the ages (Daniel 12.1; Isaiah 2.19, 21; 1 Corinthians 15.22-23; & he conquers death at the end of the world in 1 Corinthians 15.54, 57).

8. Jesus is the first horseman of the apocalypse (he’s the restrainer of 2 Thessalonians 2.7; cf. Revelation 6.2; 19.11).

9. Jesus represents the two witnesses of Revelation 11 (Jesus is the Witness in Revelation 1.5; 3.14; see also 1 John 5.7-9, & verse 11 where the anointed witnesses declare the testimony to Jesus). The 2 witnesses represent the 2 messiahs of Judaism (king/priest) which in the NT are conflated into one person: the Son of God (Hebrews 7.1-3).

10. The day of Christ (1 Corinthians 1.8; 3.13; Philippians 1.6; 2.16; 2 Thessalonians 2.2) or the Revelation of Christ (Luke 17.30; 1 Corinthians 1.7; Colossians 3.4; 1 Thessalonians 1.10; 2 Thessalonians 1.7; 1 Timothy 6.14; 2 Timothy 4.1; Titus 2.13; 1 Peter 1.13; 5.1; 1 John 2.28) occurs once in the end of the world!

11. Jesus is Greek (Isaiah 46.11; 61.9; Amos 9.12; Revelation 1.8-9; John 7.41-44, 52; 8.48-49; 4Q120; that’s why all the messianic types of the OT are depicted as Gentiles: e.g. Joseph/Moses/Cyrus).

12. Jesus is born in 1960. The key to solving this puzzle is found in Matthew 1.17. Notice that there is a constant repetition of 14 generations throughout the foregoing lineage. We also know from Scripture that a generation is equal to 70 years (Psalm 90.10). One final clue: the calculation does not begin from the time of Abraham but from the time of David who alone represents the Messiah! So, let’s work out the calculation. Matthew tells us that there were 14 generations from David to Babylon. Each generation is equal to 70 years. Thus, 14 x 70 = 980 years from David to Babylon. And there were 14 generations from the exile to the Messiah. Therefore, 14 x 70 = 980 years. So, from David to the exile are 980 years, and from the exile to the Messiah are another 980 years. Hence 980 (+) 980 = 1960, the year of the Messiah’s birth! The 70 weeks of Daniel are based on the birth of the Messiah, which is another way of saying the rebuilding of the heavenly Jerusalem (Daniel 9.25). That’s probably why Sister Lúcia Santos did not reveal the third secret of Fátima but sealed it in an envelope not to be opened until 1960, when “it will appear clearer."

13. Jesus is born in August. Luke 1.26-27 tells us the month of Jesus’ birth. In Luke 1.26, the angel was sent “in the sixth month.” That’s the clue! That’s the key. Simple and to the point. The sixth month (in the Jewish religious calendar) is called Elul. In the Gregorian calendar it falls on the month of August. Thus, that’s the month that the Messiah is born!

14. Jesus, who is the first horseman of the apocalypse, is revealed in 2025 or thereabouts (see Genesis 5.21; Dr. Chuck Missler agrees that something happened to Enoch, who is a type of Christ, when he was 65 years old). After that, Christ will be slain (Hebrews 9.26). Since the 70 weeks of Daniel are based on the birth of the Messiah——which is depicted in scripture as the building of the heavenly Jerusalem (Daniel 9.25)——then it follows that AFTER 62 years, “the Messiah will be cut off” (Daniel 9.26)! Don’t forget Irenaeus’ argument that Christ was a much older man, and that the promise to Abraham, a messianic type, was fulfilled in his old age! Theosophist Alice Bailey also predicted Christ’s appearance in 2025 (The Externalisation of the Hierarchy).

15. World War 3 begins in the latter half of the 2020 decade! Notice that there are 21 judgments in the Book of Revelation, and that the Messenger of God (in Daniel 10.13-14) was withstood for 21 days from coming to earth, with regard to the vision of the latter days. This would suggest that the Messiah——who is elsewhere depicted as Eli (which means “God”; Matthew 27.46)——will come to earth in the 21st century, just prior to “the great and terrible day of the Lord” (Malachi 4.5).

16. The general resurrection of the dead begins in the latter half of the 2020 decade, right after Jesus’ resurrection (Daniel 12.1-2; 1 Corinthians 15.22-23).

17. The Antichrist is here as well. He is Russian (Ezekiel 38). Daniel 8.25 calls him a “master of deception,” which is another way of saying “a spy.” Daniel’s 4th kingdom with 2 legs was Rome. The western Roman Empire was sacked in the 5th century AD. Then, in 1453, the Turks sacked Constantinople (the eastern part of the Roman Empire) and most of the Byzantine elites fled north to Moscow, where Moscow became the third Rome. Astonishingly, Putin came to power on the last day of the year 1999 (666), which marks the end of a thousand-year period. This important timeframe coincides with a Biblical prophecy in which the Antichrist will not appear “until the thousand years . . . [have] ended” (Revelation 20.3, 7-8)! The seer Nostradamus also predicted the coming of Antichrist in 1999 (Century 10, Quatrain 72).

18. The 10 Kings of Daniel 7.20 & Revelation 17.12 are the 8 leaders of the USSR plus the 3 leaders of the succeeding Russian Federation since its formation on December 25, 1991, with Putin being the 11th horn (the 11th king) of Daniel 7.20, “to make room for which three [kings] . . . fell out” (emphasizing the last 3 leaders of the new federal republic that arose out of the former USSR)!

19. The Great Tribulation (Nuclear War/WW3) will begin in the latter half of the 2020 decade.

20. We are living in the prophesied end-times! Revelation 22.20: “He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.”

Who is the False Prophet of Revelation?

Eli Kittim

Binary Patterns

The Bible often uses binary patterns by introducing two important figures who turn out to be one single individual. For example, a binary pattern can be seen in the Old Testament’s (OT) presentation of the two Messiahs in Judaism: one is a high priest, the other is an anointed king of the Davidic line (cf. Zech. 4:14). The two Messiahs can also be found in the Apocryphal literature, such as in the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs and the Damascus Covenant. However, in the New Testament (NT), these two Messiahs are morphed into one priestly/kingly figure: Jesus, the Son of God (cf. Heb. 4:14 and Mt. 2:1–2).

The same is true of the two witnesses in the NT. In order to understand the identity of the two witnesses in Rev. 11:3-12, we must first trace them back to the Hebrew Bible from which they emerge (Zech. 4:14). So when we trace the identity of the two witnesses back to the OT and the context in which they appear, we find that they represent the two Messiahs of Rabbinic Judaism. But these two figures later became coalesced, commingled into one, in the figure of Jesus Christ, who’s given the titles of king and high priest in the order of Melchizedek, who is also a king and priest (Heb. 7:13-17). Therefore, the two witnesses appear to represent the coming Messiah: Jesus Christ (cf. Mal. 4:5; Rev. 6:2)!

The Earth & the Sea

First Jn 5:6 uses the symbols of “water and blood” to represent the divinity and humanity of Jesus, thus indicating that he’s both God and man. The “water” symbolizes the divinity of Jesus, while the blood symbolizes his humanity. Thus, water symbolizes the spirit, while blood symbolizes the flesh.

Now let’s look at the serpent of Gen. 3, which is later identified as the devil or Satan, who is also known as “the great dragon.” Revelation 12:9 says that he will be incarnated on earth:

“And the great dragon was thrown down,

that ancient serpent, who is called the devil

and Satan, the deceiver of the whole

world—he was thrown down to the earth,

and his angels were thrown down with him.”

Isaiah 27:1 alludes to the “the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Eph. 6:12) by portraying their ruler (i.e. the serpent/dragon) as residing “in the sea”:

“In that day the LORD with his hard and

great and strong sword will punish

Leviathan the fleeing serpent, Leviathan the

twisting serpent, and he will slay the dragon

that is in the sea.”

Just as 1 Jn 5:6 uses the symbols of “water and blood” to represent the spiritual and human domains, so the description of the two Beasts in Rev. 13—-one “rising out of the sea,” the other “out of the earth”——may be used in a similar fashion to describe the spiritual and earthly realms, respectively. In other words, the reference may be to a single individual who possesses two natures: a human & a spiritual one. Let’s not forget that in heaven, within the Throne Room of God, a sea is explicitly mentioned in Rev. 4:6 (cf. Gen. 1:7).

The Unholy Trinity

According to Rev. 13:4, the whole world “worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast” (i.e. the Antichrist). Yet notice that the second Beast (i.e. the False Prophet), who came out of the earth mimicked Christ because he “had two horns like a lamb … [but] spoke like a dragon” (Rev. 13:11). The point is that just as the two messiahs and the two witnesses represent one person, so the False prophet and the Antichrist may be one and the same person as well. The Book of Daniel doesn’t mention two Antichrists but rather one, namely, the “little horn” (Dan. 7:8; 8:9-12).

First Jn 4:1 associates false prophets with unclean spirits which have been unleashed in the world. Rev. 16:13 reads:

“And I saw, coming out of the mouth of the

dragon and out of the mouth of the beast

and out of the mouth of the false prophet,

three unclean spirits like frogs.”

The Dragon, the Beast, and the False prophet seemingly represent an unholy Trinity in which these three persons are one being, just like the Holy Trinity represents one being, not a plurality of beings. The Devil, the Beast, and the False prophet appear to be three manifestations or three modes that represent Satan, his spirit, and his incarnation.

False prophets in the OT

Surprisingly, we don’t find the phrase “false prophet” in the OT, but there are nevertheless references to many false prophets. The Septuagint (LXX) talks about the priests and the false prophets (ἱερεῖς καὶ ψευδοπροφῆται), and often links them together. The term ἱερεύς in this context refers to a priest, one who offers sacrifices to a god, an idol, or an evil spirit. So the LXX suggests that the false prophets are priestly insofar as they encourage the worship of idols (cf. Zech 13:2). Jeremiah 34:9-10 (LXX) associates false prophets with divination, enchantments, clairvoyance, dreams, sorceries, and with lies. Similarly, in the NT, false prophets are magicians, sorcerers, & illusionists (cf. Acts 13:6). This is reminiscent of 2 Thess. 2:9-11 in which the Antichrist “will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie.” Likewise, in the Hebrew Bible, the false prophets are prophesying lying wonders and working miracles (see Exod. 7:8-13; Jer. 6:13). In the NT, they even rise from the dead (Rev. 13:3) and perform “great signs, even making fire come down from heaven to earth” (Rev. 13:13) in order to deceive if possible even the elect (Mt. 24:24).

False Prophets in the NT

Both Mt. 7:15 & Mt. 24:11 warn that there will be many false prophets (ψευδοπροφῆται) who will deceive the world. Matthew 24:24 speaks of false Christs (ψευδόχριστοι) and false prophets who perform “great signs and wonders.” Second Pet. 2:1 associates false prophets with false teachers who secretly introduce destructive heresies, even those that deny Jesus’ lordship. Similarly, 1 Jn warns of deception and commands Christians to “test the spirits to see whether they are of God; for many false prophets have gone out into the world. … This is the spirit of antichrist” (1 Jn 4:1–3). Thus, false prophets have the spirit of Antichrist. The apostle Paul calls them “false apostles” (2 Cor. 11:13) and “false brothers” (Gal. 2:4).

The most notorious false prophet in the Bible is the one referenced in the Book of Revelation. In Rev. 19:20, the signs that the False prophet performs in the presence of the Antichrist may be analogous to the signs that Jesus performs in the presence of the Holy Spirit who anoints him with power (see Lk 4:18; Acts 10:38). In fact, the relationship between the False prophet and the Antichrist seems to be analogous to the relationship between the first and second person of the Trinity in which the Word is not only with God but the Word is God, meaning that the Word & God are one and the same (see Jn 1:1). Thus, the reference to the Devil, his son (the Antichrist), and the unclean spirit (personified in the figure of the False prophet) may signify an unholy trinity of three persons who nevertheless share one being (Rev. 16:13). Let’s not forget that the great dragon——“that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan”——is thrown down to the earth and takes the form of a man, as mentioned in Rev. 12:9. And just as Jesus, who is God incarnate, is called a prophet in Mt. 21:11, so the dragon, or Satan incarnate, may be dubbed the False prophet in Rev. 16:13. Matthew 7:15 warns of false prophets who come in “sheep’s clothing,” but who are “ferocious wolves.” This is echoed in Rev. 13:11 where the second Beast (False prophet) looks like a lamb but speaks like a dragon.

Conclusion

Curiously enough, it’s the False prophet who works miracles, not the Antichrist. But if the Antichrist is far more important, and if the False prophet is subordinate to the Antichrist, surely the Antichrist must have more power than him. Yet, in the Bible, the opposite seems true, which doesn’t make any sense. That’s why it seems far more plausible that they are one and the same person, just like the two witnesses and the two OT messiahs are one and the same person. So, the reference to the two beasts from the earth and the sea may be an allusion to a single individual who possesses two natures: a human & a spiritual one. Notice also that the second beast is not mentioned until after the resurrection of the first beast, “whose mortal wound was healed” (Rev 13:12), “and has come to life” (Rev 13:14). In other words, the second beast may simply represent the first beast after his resurrection. Therefore, it seems far more plausible to assume that the False Prophet is the Antichrist, who is also known by many other titles, such as “the man of lawlessness,” “the son of destruction” (2 Thess. 2:3), and the "Little horn" (Daniel 7:8, 20; 8:9-12, 23-26)!

📕 Link in bio 📕

🎓 biography 🎓

Eli Kittim is a Bible scholar and an award-winning author of the Nonfiction Book, The Little Book of Revelation: The First Coming of Jesus at the End of Days. He has published articles in numerous prestigious journals and websites, including Rapture Ready, the Journal of Higher Criticism, The American Journal of Psychoanalysis, the Aegean Review (which has published work by Jorge Luis Borges, Lawrence Durrell, Truman Capote, and Alice Bloom) , and the International Poetry Review (a literary translation journal that has published work by Philip Sherrard), among others. Eli Kittim has studied Biblical Studies at Koinonia Institute and Liberty University's John W. Rawlings School of Divinity. He was born in Athens, Greece, but now lives in New York.

Christ, Antichrist, and the Coming Apocalypse

Merry Antichristmas :)

oh hey it’s august 20 happy birthday to adam young, warlock dowling, and greasy johnson!

SO BASICALLY FOX NEWS IS WHERE...

What Does The Fox Say?

Usually a lot of racist, sexist, homophobic, inaccurate drivel. Someone needs to shut that fox up

Baby sitting the boss' kid becomes infinitely more difficult when he's the literal Antichrist.