Titus Vespasian-The Antichrist of the First Century

  Titus Vespasian-The Antichrist of the First Century


Who is the antichrist? There are many bizarre, unfalsifiable theories. For me, I like to look at the past before considering any future fulfillment. I believe it was fulfilled by Titus Vespasian in the 1st century. Daniel 7 covers both Revelation 12 and 13 in a general overview format. When reading these passages, we have to be careful not to be so strict with the sequence of events. Otherwise, we will miss out on very important details. In my chart, I have combined both elements of Daniel 7 and Revelation 17 to see how I came to this understanding. Below, I will discuss some of the most common objections (solutions as well) that a person would run into if they choose my perspective. Daniel 7:12 can be harmonized with the initial defeat of Rome in Revelation 13-when Cestius Gallus lost to the Jews. The restrainer, who I believe is King Agrippa 2 (1 Samuel 9:17 ESV) was removed from the city.  This resulted in Nero having a figurative wound on the head of the Beast of the Sea (Roman Empire), which was later "resurrected" when Titus and his father were both promoted as co-generals to take down the Great Apostasy in Jerusalem in 66AD. Here, both men received new authority. At the same time, the 10 Zealot governors received power and authority for a short period. Eventually, most of the Zealots were killed and the rest defected over to the Roman Empire’s side. Below are two views I propose in order to harmonize the Antichrist in Daniel with Revelation.







The Generic-Inverted View

Daniel 7 has the Little Horn attacking the saints. In contrast, Revelation 13 has the Beast of the Sea ONLY attacking the saints. This is crucial in order to understand what is going on. You have to read Daniel 7 like an Old Covenant Jew, not like a 21st century modern person. The Jewish reader saw this as a Gentile enemy (horn) attacking them. The Jewish saint or better translated as God’s Holy People is a generic term. It can refer to a wicked or righteous Jew. For example, in Deuteronomy 14:2 the Hebrews were called holy, yet most of them died in the wilderness as a wicked generation. See also Numbers 32:13. The same idea is found in Psalm 79:1-3 where the wicked Jews were killed by the Babylonians. See the KJV, NKJV, LSB, and LXX translations. Also, the Whore of Babylon is called a Holy City in Revelation 11:2. Daniel 12:7 is the Old Covenant Jews being destroyed in 70AD. Therefore, it is important to focus on the context. See also Acts 1:6-7; Romans 2:28-29, 9:6; Galatians 6:15-16. 


The Beast of the Sea has a dual nature that consisted of a Jewish/Gentile side. The Gentile side was the Roman Emperors (7 heads) and the Jewish side was the Zealots (10 horns). In the New Testament, the Jewish Zealots were attacking the two witnesses. The imagery of the Old Testament as been inverted. Daniel 7 has a Jewish saint being attacked by a Gentile enemy. However, in Revelation, the Zealots (the Apostate Jews)-Beast of the Sea attacks the New Covenant saints (who are Gentile primarily). This view also remedies the fact that Titus didn’t kill any Christians, but the Zealots do.




The Figurative War View

Another alternative view is that the image of the Beast does the killing in Revelation 13, which is the Temple. Revelation 11 is the only time we see the Beast do any killing. But notice that in Revelation 11 it refers to the Beast of the Abyss, not the sea or the land, it's generic. Therefore, we can apply it to any of the participants. So I propose that the image of the Beast killed the two witnesses. My view on the two witnesses is figurative, but I will not unpack that here at this time. Also the phrase "to make war" is used in a figurative manner throughout Revelation (9:7, 11:7,12:17,13:7, 16:14,17:14,19:19). The Jews used Roman authority to hurt the 7 Churches of Asia Minor. False teaching, social pressures, threats, murder, etc are examples. 


Jesus Killing the AntiChrist ???

Another problem passage is in 2 Thessalonians 2 when Jesus "kills"and brings the Antichrist to "nothing". This does not work with Nero because he dies before 70 AD. Also, Titus dies after 70AD. To remedy this situation, we need to look at the Greek. The Greek word to kill is analisko/anaiero (verb form), which can mean to take away/or do away with. It's not always used for a killing context- Acts 7:21 and Hebrews 10:9. See also Isaiah 27:8, 30:28 for a similar concept with the breath/wind of judgement. The other phrase (come to nothing) Katargeo- can refer to make idle, ineffective, and/or to be released. By looking at the Greek, 2 Thessalonians 2 now matches the context of Daniel 7:26. Titus' oppression over God's True people (New Covenant Jews/Christians) is now gone. The Apostate Jews are now considered Spiritual Gentiles. This is not talking about his reign as a Roman emperor. This is Titus' power of oppression over God's people.










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