04. October 2017

Wednesday

SHOOTER- MEDIA-NEWS-

And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

The other day- Sunday afternoon- I did a few roll out videos- on them I discussed media manipulation- I even talked about how they have shaped the narrative on gun shootings in our country. Sure enough that night- we had one of the most horrific mass shootings in the nations history- as of now- 59 dead in the Vegas strip shooting. I did a few comments/videos since then- I decided to link them all to one post- here it is. I might add some controversial video links that have come up since the shooting- if you watch my videos you will see how I do not buy into all the various conspiracy theories going around- but these other links are making the rounds- and there is a general distrust of the media and official government reports- on many things. In my opinion they deserve this distrust- and that's what fuels the conspiracy theorists- I’ll also link whatever videos I make today- 10-4-17-

[Past posts- verses below]

Walk the dog- [notes below] https://youtu.be/zXTtFQXZgdE

http://ccoutreach87.com/10-4-17-walk-the-dog/

.Free Fallin’

https://youtu.be/QA_RtMKkeD8

.CNN- Top story- MORON- MORON- MORON-

.Great job guys!

.abc- nbc- cbs- 613 [3- 6- 10 are the local stations] I made a correction below- on the 613- the real number some scholars debate is 616- not 613- I posted the past teaching below-

.Did we just crack the code? Watch n see

.And yes- some teaching- Docetism and the Gnostics

Trump golden showers video- Breaking News- no more Sun!- https://youtu.be/RRWeF3IevLw

http://ccoutreach87.com/10-4-17-trump-golden-showers-video-no-more-sun/

.Digital disaster?

.Fox news not much better

.ISIS

.Trump and the hammer?

.FBI- Comey

.Russian blackmail?

.The infamous Russian hotel room

.CNN and porn?

.Trump tweet was right

.Acts 24 preview

.What happened in AD 79?

.Media establishment

.Fake News

Breaking news [NBC] Tillerson calls Trump Moron- Democrats thinks Guam might flip over [On the video I said Puerto Rico- it was Guam] https://youtu.be/BpVfg5WGDPU

http://wp.me/a4V5qQ-JR

.See for yourself? https://youtu.be/v7XXVLKWd3Q

.Why does the media believe Guam [or Puerto Rico] will flip over? [Dem said it- media covered for him]

https://youtu.be/_Q76bxxyKu0 Shooter update- I made this video on 10-2-17- and the day before the shooting I actually talked about issues like this- https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/10/02/sunday/ So I linked them here - I didn’t make a post for the Shooter videos and wanted them on a post.

https://youtu.be/G4CCQi62RBY Shooter 2- media disgrace

https://ccoutreach87.com/10-3-17-shooter-2-media-disgrace/

Last video [Walk the dog]- I did talk about Logos- Word- and did a little teaching- yes- on the antichrist! Did I crack the code? You’ll have to watch to find out.

Ok- obviously I simply did a day of discussing media- I talked about how NBC had breaking news- yes- they reported that Tillerson called Trump a MORON. This pressed Trump’s button- and they knew it!

CNN ran a story ‘Trump to have special meeting over tensions between him and Tillerson’. Then they had 3 stories- in a row- where the phrase MORON was in the title. Like college kids playing a game.

The short teaching on the video spoke about the importance of the Word- Logos [Jesus].

I guess it’s fitting- our nation- and the world- have some real problems-

The Vegas shooting- yes- the recovery from the hurricanes- and other very important things that REAL NEWS is not covering- the humanitarian crisis in Yemen- where many are dying- not because of a hurricane- or a deranged shooter-

But because of real shooters- in a proxy war- in which the U.S. is arming one of the sides [Saudi Arabia].

Yes- many more than 59 are killed- and many more than all the recent hurricanes combined.

Yet- we actually play a roll in these deaths- and if the media gave 1/ 100^th of the coverage they give to MORON stories- we might actually be able to save lives- yes- of women and kids.

So the word- whether print- or spoken- can have a positive impact on the world.

But sad to say- we are getting the wrong words-

As Christians- and yes- independent bloggers- we can play a role as well.

It’s sad that many in our society simply do not trust the mainstream media- or the official government reports.

Many have turned to others- to try and find REAL WORDS- words that are simply speaking truth.

Not manipulation- not personal attacks against the president- any president.

The public know the difference between true investigative journalism- and what we see today.

There was a time when journalism- on both sides of the aisle- could be trusted- but no more.

So- that's it for today-

Unless there is some other breaking world news event-

Like maybe Trump’s wife called him a moron too- then sure enough-

That headline will take precedence over the kids who are dying in Yemen- or Africa- or in many other places of the world.

Because the shooting of 59 people in Vegas- as tragic as that is- that same loss of life happens every single day in worn torn areas of our world- yet never makes it to the radar screen of the so called REAL news.

For those who are interested in real news- here’s just one link

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yemeni_Crisis_(2011%E2%80%93present)

NEWS LINKS- [Just a few links to some of the stuff I mention on the videos]

https://www.infowars.com/breaking-sheriff-says-las-vegas-shooter-could-have-been-radicalized/

https://bigleaguepolitics.com/hillary-clinton-not-give-fbi-13-devices-containing-emails/

http://www.breitbart.com/news/the-latest-girlfriends-sisters-say-shooter-sent-her-abroad/

http://midnightinthedesert.com/hotel-guest-next-door-las-vegas-shooter-saw-multiple-gunmen-video/

http://yournewswire.com/las-vegas-video-multiple-shootes/

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/04/us/las-vegas-shooting.html

http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/news-life/twitter-is-drowning-in-a-goldenshower/news-story/17f297c7c86510cf986011201ab88d85

https://www.thecut.com/2017/01/the-sheer-perfection-of-donald-trumps-golden-shower.html

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/tillerson-s-fury-trump-required-intervention-pence-n806451

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/barack-obama-hillary-clinton-concede-election-night-donald-trump-presidential-latest-a7443606.html

PAST POSTS- I’ll try and add some stuff- on these roll out’s I make the videos and add comments thru out the day- they are not intended to do in depth teaching but I know I drained you guys with all the MORON stuff- I figured I’ll add something of value-

https://youtu.be/Da51D5bw4qc Remember the crumbs

https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2017/01/12-29-16-remember-the-crumbs-matt-16-rev-21-2nd-sam-5.zip

ON VIDEO-

.Christian rapper leaves the faith

.Apologetics

.Atheism

.Jewish Prophets preceded Greek philosophers

.Logos

.Historical Jesus

.Higher critics

.Marcion

.Gnostics

.Sophia

.Demiurge

.1^st canon

.Saul’s crippled grandson

.This Rock

.Natural ethnicity opposes the kingdom

.Tel Aviv - Jerusalem? Does it matter?

.Which John wrote it?

.Kingdom come

.How to maximize your potential in the kingdom

NEW-

Once again- I talked about a lot of stuff on today’s video.

I’ll try and hit the high points.

In the famous confession of Peter we see Jesus- and all who confess him- as the ‘stones’ that the church- the spiritual temple of God- is built upon-

Matthew 16:16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.

Matthew 16:17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.

Matthew 16:18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

Peter- in his own letter refers to us as ‘living stones’-

1 Peter 2:5

Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.

Now- John in his vision on the Island of Patmos saw the same thing-

Revelation 21:14 And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

That the foundation of the church- the city coming down from God out of heaven- also had the names of the apostles ‘built into it’.

The church is made up of all those who believe- and have received this revelation- that Jesus is indeed the Son of God.

In the city John saw- there were angels at the gates- the gates are described as ‘pearls’ as well-

Revelation 21:21 And the twelve gates were twelve pearls: every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass.

This is where we get the term ‘pearly gates’.

Paul teaches that the church is built ‘upon’ the foundation of the apostles and prophets- Jesus being the chief cornerstone-

²⁰And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;

²¹In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord:

Eph.

Most of us realize Paul is talking about the church- not an actual temple with cement and rocks.

But many view the same image that John sees- as an actual city/building ‘coming down from God’-

Revelation 21:2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

Now- we are indeed the actual dwelling place of God- but when John sees his vision- he is seeing what Paul himself wrote about.

Get it?

Jesus taught us that no man can really know who he is- unless God revealed it to him-

John 6:44

No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.

Paul teaches the same-

1 Corinthians 12:3

Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost.

So- we today- the temple that God dwells in- are the city coming down from God out of heaven-

The Bride-

Revelation 21:2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

Revelation 21:9

And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb's wife.

2 Corinthians 11:2

For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.

The spiritual stones that make up the city are ‘children of revelation’- meaning children who have received this understanding from God.

John sees a ‘light’ in this city- not the sun or moon mind you.

But a light that has shined for all who believe-

The Lamb himself-

Revelation 21:23 And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.

Yes- the bible says the word is a light unto our path-

Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. Ps. 119

Jesus is that light-

John 8:12

Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

John 9:5

As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.

We walk in the light- as he is in the light-

But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. 1^st Jn. 1:7

Those who walk in sin- they can’t enter into the city-

¹⁴Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.

¹⁵For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.

Rev. 22

Repentance and faith are required to get in- to be a part of this city of God-

Revelation 21:24 And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it.

The Jerusalem which is below- earthly- is in bondage-

²⁵For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children. Gal. 4

meaning those who stayed in the law covenant- would not benefit from this new reality in God.

But the ‘Jerusalem which is above’ the church- coming down from God out of heaven is free-

²⁶But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all. Gal. 4

Yes- John saw some great things in his revelation on the Island of Patmos.

These are the same things we see in the teaching of Jesus- and Paul.

Jesus is the head of the church- he is the cornerstone- and he is the foundation-

Ephesians 5:23

For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.

Colossians 1:18

And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.

But we read that the church is built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets-

That means their gift- in preaching Christ- is declaring him as the foundation they were laying-

1 Corinthians 3:11 [Full Chapter]

For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

Yes- he is Lord of all-

¹⁰That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;

¹¹And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Phil. 2

PAST TEACHING-

[parts]

VERSES-

Isaiah 60:1 Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee.

Isaiah 60:2 For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the LORD shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee.

Isaiah 60:3 And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.

Isaiah 60:4 Lift up thine eyes round about, and see: all they gather themselves together, they come to thee: thy sons shall come from far, and thy daughters shall be nursed at thy side.

Isaiah 60:5 Then thou shalt see, and flow together, and thine heart shall fear, and be enlarged; because the abundance of the sea shall be converted unto thee, the forces of the Gentiles shall come unto thee.

Isaiah 60:6 The multitude of camels shall cover thee, the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; all they from Sheba shall come: they shall bring gold and incense; and they shall shew forth the praises of the LORD.

Isaiah 60:7 All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered together unto thee, the rams of Nebaioth shall minister unto thee: they shall come up with acceptance on mine altar, and I will glorify the house of my glory.

Isaiah 60:8 Who are these that fly as a cloud, and as the doves to their windows?

Isaiah 60:9 Surely the isles shall wait for me, and the ships of Tarshish first, to bring thy sons from far, their silver and their gold with them, unto the name of the LORD thy God, and to the Holy One of Israel, because he hath glorified thee.

Isaiah 60:10 And the sons of strangers shall build up thy walls, and their kings shall minister unto thee: for in my wrath I smote thee, but in my favour have I had mercy on thee.

Isaiah 60:11 Therefore thy gates shall be open continually; they shall not be shut day nor night; that men may bring unto thee the forces of the Gentiles, and that their kings may be brought.

Isaiah 60:12 For the nation and kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish; yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted.

Isaiah 60:13 The glory of Lebanon shall come unto thee, the fir tree, the pine tree, and the box together, to beautify the place of my sanctuary; and I will make the place of my feet glorious.

Isaiah 60:14 The sons also of them that afflicted thee shall come bending unto thee; and all they that despised thee shall bow themselves down at the soles of thy feet; and they shall call thee; The city of the LORD, The Zion of the Holy One of Israel.

Isaiah 60:15 Whereas thou has been forsaken and hated, so that no man went through thee, I will make thee an eternal excellency, a joy of many generations.

Isaiah 60:16 Thou shalt also suck the milk of the Gentiles, and shalt suck the breast of kings: and thou shalt know that I the LORD am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob.

Isaiah 60:17 For brass I will bring gold, and for iron I will bring silver, and for wood brass, and for stones iron: I will also make thy officers peace, and thine exactors righteousness.

Isaiah 60:18 Violence shall no more be heard in thy land, wasting nor destruction within thy borders; but thou shalt call thy walls Salvation, and thy gates Praise.

Isaiah 60:19 The sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: but the LORD shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory.

Isaiah 60:20 Thy sun shall no more go down; neither shall thy moon withdraw itself: for the LORD shall be thine everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended.

Isaiah 60:21 Thy people also shall be all righteous: they shall inherit the land for ever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I may be glorified.

Isaiah 60:22 A little one shall become a thousand, and a small one a strong nation: I the LORD will hasten it in his time.

Matthew 5:14 [Full Chapter]

Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.

James 2King James Version (KJV)

My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons.

²For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment;

³And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool:

⁴Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts?

James 3:17

But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.

In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations

[parts]

1886- DIVINE LOGOS

Okay- just read Isaiah 65- one chapter left.

These past few weeks I have been going thru the last 15 or so chapters of the book.

There are lots of great themes to do- maybe I’ll take a pic of the verses I wrote down and hung up here in my study.

I also wanted to engage in a conversation on the Divine Logos.

Huh?

Well yeah- maybe a little scholarly sounding- but my goal has been to ‘upgrade’ our level of teaching.

When I say ‘our’ I’m talking generally about the present day church in America- and the obsession with ‘the now’.

That is ‘what do I get out of this- monetarily?’

Yeah- that’s the rave of the day.

So- every so often I do my best to walk the other road- to give the other side of the coin.

So- a few weeks ago I was at my daughter’s house- we usually have the whole family over for the b-days and stuff.

And my kids like playing those word games.

So they bought some game- don’t remember the whole name- but part of the name had LOGOS in it.

I just quipped ‘you do know what that means’?

Now- I kid around so much- sometimes they have a hard time believing me- like ‘sure- you’re making it up’.

No- for real!

Logos means WORD.

It’s the Greek language- which the New Testament was written in- and it simply means WORD.

My 2^nd oldest said ‘I should have known that’.

My oldest daughter- Bethany- just turned 27- Becky is a couple of years younger.

They both have degrees from A&M University here in Texas- top notch school for sure.

So that’s why Becky ‘should have known it’.

Anyway- this word is a favorite in the writings of the apostle John.

In both the gospel and his 3 little letters [1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd John] he uses this term to describe Jesus.

‘In the beginning was THE WORD and the word was with God…’

That’s the Greek word- Logos.

It should be noted that the early Greek philosophers had a concept much like this.

All the way back to the time of Plato- Socrates and Aristotle [around 500 years before Christ] the Greeks were speaking about a universal principle- some type of ‘unifying theory’ that would be the basis of all knowledge.

They spoke about this principle as THE LOGOS.

So- some of the critics of Christianity did use this as a criticism of the church- they say ‘see- the disciples were just making stuff up- borrowing themes that were already there’.

Do they have a point?

A point- maybe- but that’s all.

In the letters of John we also read him refuting a cult of the day- called Gnosticism [Gnosis is the Greek word for knowledge. They believed that they had secret knowledge that the others did not have. A modern twist on this is sometimes referred to as Revelation Knowledge- it’s a form of this ‘special knowledge’ idea that existed in the early days of the church.]

An off shoot of this group were called the Docetists.

These guys were pseudo Christians- they held to some form of Christian belief- but denied the true faith of the church.

They taught that Jesus was ‘a phantom spirit’ that is- they denied what we refer to as the incarnation.

That God became man in the person of Christ.

John was one of the youngest disciples- and he also outlived the others.

His writings are probably the oldest in the N.T. [Revelation]

So- he was around long enough to refute the growing philosophical challenges to the church.

So- putting all this together- when John said Jesus was the Divine Logos- he was not ‘stealing’ that idea from the earlier Greek philosophers who were indeed looking for a Logos principle.

No- he was saying ‘look- we- the followers of Christ- have found the thing you were looking for all the time- he is the Wisdom- the Logos of God’.

See?

Okay- I haven’t read John in a long time- nor have I ever studied Greek.

But- I do have a Greek lexicon [a book that gives you the Greek word before it was translated into English].

And back ‘in the day’ when we were young believers- seeking to learn the faith- these were the basic tools of the trade.

But today- well- the tools are motivation- success stuff.

Learning how to invest- make a buck [or 2] - how to ‘create your world’.

Yeah- we really don’t have time for all that silly stuff like the Logos.

After all- it’s all Greek to me.

Yeah- I know.

www.corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com

Note- Do me a favor, those who read/like the posts- re-post them on other sites as well as the site you read them on. Thanks- John. Don’t forget to scroll down on the timeline [Facebook] - I have posted lots.

[parts]

(1343) One of the other themes that spoke to me from Galatians was the idea that Israel and the world were under a ‘schoolmaster phase’ until the fullness of times arrived. This phase was the whole economy of Old Testament law and rule. I felt like the Lord was saying that many of us have been led, and actually have arrived, at places and purposes the hard way; i.e. - the ‘tutor’ phase. That is God allowed the process of trial and error and discipline to work in us until we arrived at the purpose and goal. Isaiah says that ‘I have chosen you in the furnace of affliction’ yes, this way of ‘arriving’ is much more painful, but it still gets you there. Now the entire discipline phase for the world was the time period before the Cross. The law and the Old Covenant were the only way to ‘get there’ so to speak. If people wanted to have a relationship with God, they were either born Jews, or converted to Judaism. Today of course we have access thru the Cross. One of the earliest ‘cults’ of Christianity was a sect call ‘Gnosticism’ these early adherents mixed Greek dualism [material world bad, spirit world good type of a thing] in with Christianity, they taught that the God of the Old Testament was the evil God who created the material world, and that thru Jesus we can come to know the true God of the New Testament, the God who gives us salvation by delivering us from the material world. Though it seems like there are verses in the New Testament that teach that the ‘world’ is evil and that God wants to ‘deliver us from this present evil world’ [Galatians] yet in these contexts ‘the world’ is simply speaking of the lost system of man and the ‘way of the world’. In Christian theology matter is not inherently evil. The Apostle John would deal with the Gnostics in his first epistle by saying ‘whoever denies that Jesus has come in the flesh is not of God- they are anti-Christ’. Because the Gnostics believed all matter to be evil they would reject the humanity of Jesus, John was targeting them in his letter. As I mentioned before the controversy over the Trinity was settled at the council of Nicaea [a.d.325] but the church still battled with the nature of Jesus. Nicaea said ‘God is one essence/substance and 3 persons’. But this did not fully deal with the nature of Jesus, various ideas rose up [Monarchianism, Dynamic Monarchianism] that challenged the nature of Christ. In 451 a.d. the church settled on the language that ‘Jesus is one person with 2 substances/essences [natures]’, though to some this looks like a contradiction to the earlier language of Nicaea, this council in 451 [Chalcedon] was simply saying Jesus was ‘fully God and fully man’ so anyway we were all under the discipline phase until the ‘fullness of times’. I am believing God to get us to the destination with less ‘tutoring’ if you will, less trial and error. Sure, we will never fully get to the point of not making a few mistakes and stumbling along the way, but as we get older hopefully we will ‘stumble less’.

Correction- I ‘joked’ about the media being the antichrist- the number some scholars think is actually 616- I said on the video- 613- so- for the media- I guess you got lucky today- see below-

[parts]

Gematria- a common use at the time John wrote- which gives each letter of the Hebrew alphabet a numerical value.

Nero Caesar[ 1^st century emperor] equals 666.

STUFF HE DID;

1-Made people worship him- as God [2Thessalonians 2:3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;

2Thessalonians 2:4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.]

2-Castrated a boy- named Sporus- then married him.

3-Put tar on Christians- set them on fire and used them as human torches.

Nero ruled as emperor and persecuted the early church- his rule led up to the destruction of the Jewish temple in a.d. 70.

The predictions Jesus gave to his apostles about the destruction of Jerusalem and a great time of wrath [or tribulation] can indeed be seen as having happened during the 1^st century.

Many people believed Nero to be the fulfillment of the anti-Christ that the New Testament speaks of.

John the apostle wrote that ‘anti-Christ’ were those who denied Jesus- at the time of his writing [1^st century].

John- who wrote Revelation- said ‘the mind that has wisdom’ will figure out who he is talking about.

John sent this letter to actual Christians living in the 1^st century.

You would expect that the readers of the letter would have some clue to who he was talking about.

As we go thru Revelation- my intent is not to cover [and debate] all the various views on all the verses in this book.

I simply show you this view [which I think is about the best one out there] Because we live in a day where many of the ‘end times’ teachings seemed to be consumed with a future leader [a famous preacher just prophesied ‘the anti-Christ is here’ the other day] who is still to come-

And that this will set off a cascade of events [most see these events as prophesied in Revelation- and sort of see it as a play book].

So- it is quite possible that the anti-Christ was Nero-

And yes- we live in a wicked world- and sure- we might/will continue to see men ‘rise’ and do wicked things.

But when Paul and John wrote- in the first century- warning the believers about a wicked ruler who would do bad things-

I think it would have been a disservice if he were speaking about a leader- who would not show up- until at least 2 thousand years later.

BELOW- I pasted some various views here- just to give you a flavor of the different ways Christians view some of these things.

At the end I also added some of the passages I talk about on the video.

Here’s a quote from St. Augustine- an early Christian leader- referring to the verse I pasted from 2^nd Thessalonians-

"Some think that the Apostle Paul referred to the Roman empire, and that he was unwilling to use language more explicit, lest he should incur the calumnious charge of wishing ill to the empire which it was hoped would be eternal; so that in saying, 'For the mystery of iniquity doth already work,' he alluded to Nero, whose deeds already seemed to be as the deeds of Antichrist. And hence some suppose that he shall rise again and be Antichrist. Others, again, suppose that he is not even dead, but that he was concealed that he might be supposed to have been killed, and that he now lives in concealment in the vigor of that same age which he had reached when he was believed to have perished, and will live until he is revealed in his own time and restored to his kingdom. But I wonder that men can be so audacious in their conjectures" (De Civitate Dei, XX.19.3).

I pasted this from another site-

In both ancient Greek and Hebrew, letters also represented numerals (as they do in Latin), their values assigned according to the order of the alphabet, alpha and aelph, for example, having the numerical value of 1. By adding these values, words could be represented as the sum of their numbers. This literation of numbers and numeration of letters was known as isopsephism by the Greeks and gematria by the Jews (which, in cabalistic practice, has been used to interpret Hebrew scripture). If the Greek spelling of Nero Caesar (Neron Kaisar) is transliterated into Hebrew (nrwn qsr), the numerical equivalent is 666.

What is curious, however, is not so much that 666 can be decoded to signify Nero but that the name of the emperor is encoded in this particular number, especially since it could have been represented more readily in other ways. If "Nero" is retained in Greek, for example, the numeration would be 955 or, if "Neron," 1005; in Hebrew, then 256 or 306, respectively. It only is when the words are transliterated into Hebrew that the numeration adds up to 666 (nrwn qsr, 50 + 200 + 6 + 50 + 100 + 60 + 200). Even so, this is an alternate spelling, a letter in "Neron" being transliterated (nrwn instead of nrw) but not in "Caesar" (qsr instead of qysr), although these forms do appear in both the Talmud and a contemporary Aramaic scroll from Qumran. It is intriguing, therefore, that 666 encodes the name of Nero in Hebrew when Revelation, itself, was written in Greek.

One should appreciate, too, that there were no numbers in Greek or Hebrew and that the "the number of the beast" was not presented as a figure but as letters of the alphabet or written in full. That is to say, it was not expressed as "666" (indeed, discrete Arabic numerals would not be invented for another five hundred years) but as the numerical values of the three letters representing 600, 60, and 6.

For Watt, the significance of 666 is that its expression in Latin is the sequential Roman numerals DCLXVI, which parallels but is the antithesis of the "Alpha and Omega" that John uses to characterize both Christ (22:13) and God (1:8, 21:6). As the Deity represents the beginning and end, so the Antichrist is a reversal of the first and last, D (500) preceding I (1). To phrase this another way, 666 (or rather DCLXVI) signifies the Antichrist because that number signifies Nero, and Nero—who was a matricide, proclaimed his divinity on Egyptian coins as the "Savior and Benefactor of the World," and the first emperor to persecute the Christians—signifies the Antichrist. Indeed, the procurator of Judea (c. AD 60) refers to Nero as "my lord" (kyrios), the same title applied to Jesus (Acts 25:26).

If the Latin (rather than the Greek) spelling "Nero Caesar" (above) is transliterated into Hebrew (nrw qsr), the final "n" in Neron being omitted (and its corresponding value of 50), the name computes as 616, which is the number indicated in the oldest surviving copy of the New Testament (the fragment illustrated below). If, instead, "Neron Caesar" is correct, it may be that the Latin was transcribed incorrectly, perhaps because the copyist realized that this transliteration did not equate to 666 and so omitted the letter, which changed the sum to 616.

Still, each digit of 666 is one less than seven, the perfect number, and such mathematical play may have tended to establish 666, rather than 616. Regardless of the number, Nero is the only name that can account for both 666 and 616, which is the most compelling argument that he, and not some other emperor, such as Caligula or Domitian, was intended. Too, for the number to have any significance for a reader of the first century AD, it would have to refer to a contemporary historical figure.

Writing a century later, Irenaeus is the first church father to comment on the number of the beast, although he apparently was ignorant of what the number actually encoded. Nor is he correct in assuming that John's vision occurred "almost in our day, towards the end of Domitian's reign" (Adversus Haereses, V.30.3; a tradition repeated by Eusebius in his Ecclesiastical History, III.18.3, and by the church fathers), which is to say sometime before AD 96, when the emperor was assassinated and just a few years before John himself died of old age. Rather, his presumed banishment to Patmos (where Revelation was written) seems to have occurred almost thirty years earlier, toward the end of Nero's reign and before the fall of Jerusalem in AD 70, which John otherwise would have mentioned.

For Irenaeus, 666 was correct. The Antichrist "sums up in his own person all the commixture of wickedness which took place previous to the deluge....and also sums up every error of devised idols since the flood" (V.29.2). The flood came in the six hundredth year of Noah and the golden image set up by Nebuchadnezzar (who Shadrach, Meshach, and Bednego refused to worship) was sixty cubits high and six cubits wide (Daniel 3:1ff). This being the case and "this number being found in all the most approved and ancient copies....I do not know how it is that some have erred following the ordinary mode of speech, and have vitiated the middle number [L] in the name, deducting the amount of fifty from it, so that instead of six decads they will have it that there is but one" (V.30.1).

Nero, too, was the sixth emperor, counting from Julius Caesar (as did Suetonius, for example, and Josephus, cf. Antiquities of the Jews, XVIII.2.2, where Tiberius is identified as the third). "And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth. And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come" (Revelation 17:9-10). Of these emperors, it is Nero who had been "wounded to death" but "his deadly wound was healed" and he still lived (13:3)—Nero redivivus.

St. Jerome-"As for the Antichrist, there is no question but what he is going to fight against the holy covenant, and that when he first makes war against the king of Egypt, he shall straightway be frightened off by the assistance of the Romans. But these events were typically prefigured under Antiochus Epiphanes, so that this abominable king who persecuted God's people foreshadows the Antichrist, who is to persecute the people of Christ. And so there are many of our viewpoint who think that Domitius Nero was the Antichrist because of his outstanding savagery and depravity." (St. Jerome - Commentary on Daniel; notes on Daniel 11:27-30, -- BAKER BOOK HOUSE Grand Rapids 6, Michigan 1958)

Some will suggest that the book of Revelation was written only for those living at the time, and that 666 most probably applies to Cæsar Nero, who ruled Rome from 54 to 68 A.D., rather than someone from latter centuries. This point of view, which suggests Revelation had an immediate application to the first century, is known as preterism. So, just how is Nero linked to 666?

Preterists take Nero's name, Nero Cæsar and transliterates the Latin into Hebrew. An "n" is added to conform with the Hebrew spelling and usage of Nero's name, in a manner similar to the Greek adding an "s" (i.e., Jeremias, Jonas, etc.). Other names in scripture where the adding of an "n" may be seen are Abaddon, Apollyon, and Armageddon. Once Hebraicized, the Latin Nero Caesar becomes "nrwn qsr," which when using the numeric equivalent of the letters, then adds up to 666 as follows:

Nun	=	50
Resh	=	200
Waw	=	6
Nun	=	50

Qoph	=	100
Samech	=	60
Resh	=	200

An example of this spelling has been recently discovered in one of the Dead Sea scrolls. If you use the same process, but without the added "n" the result is 616. Interestingly, some early manuscripts have 616 rather than 666, but even scholars such as Irenæus [A.D. 120-202] attribute the 616 to only a copyist error (Against Heresies: V, xxx) "this number [666] being found in all the most approved and ancient copies" [of the Apocalypse] and asserts that "men who saw John face to face bearing their testimony" [to it - 666].

VERSES-

1 John 2:16

For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of theFather, but is of the world.

In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations

Revelation 13:1-18 - And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.   (Read More...)

2 John 1:7 - For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.

2 Thessalonians 2:3-12 - Let no man deceive you by any means: for [that day shall not come], except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;   (Read More...)

1 John 2:22 - Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son.

Mark 13:22 - For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall shew signs and wonders, to seduce, if [it were] possible, even the elect.

1 John 4:3 - And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that [spirit] of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.

1 John 2:18 - Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.

Matthew 24:24 - For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if [it were] possible, they shall deceive the very elect.

Mark 13:6 - For many shall come in my name, saying, I am [Christ]; and shall deceive many.

1 John 4:1-3 - Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.   (Read More...)

Revelation 19:20 - And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.

Revelation 13:16-17 - And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:   (Read More...)

Matthew 24:5 - For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.

2 Thessalonians 2:4 - Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.

Revelation 13:1 - And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.