| The last few
weeks we have received several inquiries ranging
from, 'how do you really know that the
European Union (EU) is the revived Roman empire',
to 'is the term Antichrist symbolic or an
actual man'? Even without indirect support
such as the EU's imagery of the Woman Riding the
Beast, among others on our How Close It Is page, we have direct
evidence in the Bible to answer both questions. The EU being the 'revived
Roman Empire' is from this verse in the Bible:
And
after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be
cut off, but not for himself: and the people of
the prince that shall come shall destroy the city
and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be
with a flood, and unto the end of the war
desolations are determined. ( Daniel 9:26 KJV )
1. The "prince
that shall come" is the Antichrist. The original
Hebrew text uses the word "nawgheed"
which means "commander, leader or
ruler". Therefore, the term Antichrist
is not symbolically or allegorically referring to
a 'mind set of evil' or a coalition of
forces, but an actual human being.
2. The "people
of the prince that shall come shall destroy the
city and the sanctuary" is referring to the
nationality of those who destroyed Jerusalem and
the Temple in 70 A.D., which was the Romans under
the leadership of Titus. ( This was also
documented by secular Jewish historian and
eyewitness Josephus. )
Therefore, the "prince
that shall come" ( Antichrist ) will rise to power
from the "people of the prince" ( Roman empire revived ).
Europe has not been unified since the Roman
Empire almost 2000 years ago, but now exists
through the auspices of the European Union. EU
official Javier Solana said last year in speaking
of the EU's new constitution, 'not since the
Roman Empire has Europe been unified'.
Israel has been
targeting high ranking members of the terrorist
group Hamas recently in efforts to diminish
attacks by Hamas against the Israeli state. A few
days ago, Hamas 'spiritual' leader Sheik
Ahmed Yassin, himself culpable in the death of
innumerable Israeli innocents, was killed in an
Israeli attack. Following this incident, a story
on Fox News aired with the caption, "Road
Map Dead", referring to the so-called
Roadmap to Peace. I thought to myself, "No,
it's not dead...it was still born."
The death of
Yassin will do nothing, by the word of Hamas, but
escalate the attacks against Israel. Peace is not
to be found in the Middle East, and the more man
attempts initiate it, the more it flees from
them. But we know that a 'false peace'
will finally be attained by the Antichrist (
Daniel 9:27 ) as the End Times begin to draw to a
close.
So with the
escalation of violence comes the knowledge that
the rising of the Antichrist may be just around
the corner, and the tragic events of the
Tribulation just over the horizon. But as
Christians, we must not focus on the one who will
bring false peace to warring world. We must watch
for the One who is to come who will bring true
peace to a troubled planet:
Wherefore,
beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be
diligent that ye may be found of him in peace,
without spot, and blameless. ( 2 Peter 3:14 KJV )
And
what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch. ( Mark
13:37 KJV )
Keith
03-24-2004
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