[The original YTube vid. has been taken down, along with my comment below it. Hmm.........I hafta wonder why? But no matter. At least there is a record of my comment here, and I'm now very glad that I posted it on another site for what I hope will be to the benefit of posterity. But regardless, there are many other such vids on YT that run along similar lines. The substitute link that follows is one of many, but if you are remotely curious, a simple search on YT will call up many more examples of this kind of sensationalistic drivel. Unfortunately, I can't recall Mark's surname, so I was unable to search for vids produced specifically by him. In the meantime, the link that follows will have to serve as a worthy substitute - at least until its author decides that it too must be taken down for reasons better known to himself. Ultimately, all such baseless speculation has a sell-by date which ensures its eventual demise. At least, until the next candidate for the office appears on the scene. It was always thus, and so it will continue to be until the very end. And yes, the comment below is as germane to this vid. as it was to the original].
Hey guys, I've finally found the antichrist!!
Then again, maybe not:
Yet another antichrist ID, after how many previous failures by others following the same flawed hermeneutics? OK Mark, please tell me this. What is the last possible year by which his true nature must be plainly revealed for all to see? Presumably, you would want him to go all beelzebubby on us before arthritis sets into those youthful joints of his, right? And when that year comes and goes without so much as a horn or tail in sight, or even a whiff of sulphur, what excuses will you give then for yet another failed ID, and who will you latch onto next as your chosen candidate for the role? Harry's future (as yet unborn) son perhaps? After all, the law of succession assures you an endless supply of possible candidates, does it not?
I assume you're familiar with the work of Tim Cohen, who identifies Harry's brother (William) as the candidate for that role with equal certainty, after first choosing papa Charles for the 'honour' (The Antichrist and a Cup of Tea)? Or David Montaigne, who pins it on Barrack Obama? The list goes on, and YouTube is awash with such identifications, false 'revelations', predictions, date setters, 'prophecies', etc etc. When will you (and others like you) learn that such ventures in prophecy-mongering are always doomed to fail because they are all based on a fundamentally flawed system of prophetic interpretation? Authors like Philip Mauro, Arthur Carver, Charles Alexander, Jay Adams, William Cox, Anthony Hoekema, Wm Hendriksen, Dean Davis, Kim Riddlebarger and Jonathan Menn (among many others) have all shown in their writings that such speculation as you have engaged in here is unprofitable, baseless, borderline obsessional, and ultimately doomed to fail.
I know you will reject all this out of hand now, but when your Antichrist/Harry ID fails, as it inevitably must, I hope you will remember this post, and come back here to continue the dialogue. You might then be a little more willing to concede, despite the astronomical odds you now cite in your favour, that maybe, just maybe, you were barking up the wrong tree.
You can find Cohen's presentation of his version of Antichrist skulduggery here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XsmENG0FD8
So we're all gonna be bar-coded one way or another soon huh? I've been hearing that one for 50-odd years now, and still counting. Unadulterated drivel of course, but typical of the faulty hermeneutic that informs this kind of sensationalist cr*p. As for the Royal Family, I hold no brief for them - I'm a republican by instinct. But to identify any one of them as the Antichrist is pure fantasy, borne of an insatiable appetite for prophecy-mongering that borders on the pathological.
But if you are minded to believe such bs, nothing I say is ever gonna convince you that this kinda stuff belongs to the gothic fiction shelf of an imaginary library. Only time will finally dispel these myths. But if precedent is anything to go by, it's passing will simply make way for yet more false identifications. The sad fact of the matter is that some people simply never learn, and as long as that flawed hermeneutic holds sway, they never will.
@ refreshed - You make some good points, but please let me assure you that I have absolutely no problem with people believing as they wish. I simply point out, for those who have ears to hear and are willing to examine the evidence for themselves, that they are just plain wrong. You overlook the fact that many of these identifications with antichrist have been linked to actual dates that have either already past, or are about to pass.
If you are now telling me that these have been delayed because of the power of prayer, then why was that not also foreseen, and date-adjusted accordingly? What exactly was the point of the date-setting in the first place if the fulfilment is a moving feast? I'm more than happy to 'wait and see', as you suggest, even though I believe I already know the outcome of such 'predictions'. But by the same token, I would also ask you to bear in mind the potential damage to the credibility of the Gospel in general, and Biblical prophecy in particular, that such predictions can inflict every time they fail. You cannot continue to cry wolf ad nauseum and ad infinitum without eventually paying a price.
So let me conclude by putting this direct question to you. How many more failed antichrist ID's/predictions are you prepared to give any credence before you finally admit that they are utterly futile, baseless, and little more than a distraction to good Christian stewardship & conduct? For example, any chance you might call time on this perennial fiasco if Harry fails to decalre war on God's people in the next, what.........10 years?...........20 years? After all, this guy Mark has confidently identified him with antichrist with a degree of mathematical certainty that puts all other ID's in the shade.
If this prediction also fails, can there ever again be another antichrist ID that carries a greater degree of certainty than this one?
Nobody is saying that the second advent is signless. I can, however, say confidently that any attempt to identify a personal antichrist and place him in a specific time-frame, along with a whole series of events including, inter alia, a rebuilt third temple with a restored Jewish cultus, a 7 year tribulation during which the faithful suffer unspeakable horrors, and all leading to the 'final' battle (ie Armageddon), is inimical to the concept of its imminence, ie that it can occur at any time - even tomorrow if the Almighty so wills it. The lesson to be drawn from this is that we should be living each day as if it could be our last.
The complete absence of these signs is absolutely no guarantee that the second advent is still far off, for:
'While people are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.'
I Thess. 5:3 (ESV)
So I beg to differ that my beliefs on the subject encourage complacency. On the contrary, I believe the urgency of our message is enhanced all the more by this understanding of the true nature of the second advent. There's no doubt this is a tricky subject, and I think it boils down to walking a very fine line between watchfulness and avoiding excessive star-gazing:
And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven."
Acts 1:10-11 (ESV)
In other words, get on with it! You have work to do.
BTW, I put 'final' above inside quotes because, of course, according to the futurist scheme of end-time events, the millennium ends with yet another 'final' battle between good and evil, but that's another subject.
Studying prophecy is highly commendable. Treating it like some kind of Old Moore's Almanac, however, is to miss the point entirely - namely, that 'the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy' (Rev19:10). As you read through your NT, make a note of all the references that point to Jesus as the focal point of all prophecy (like the one cited above).*
When you have gathered them all together, go back and read them all back to back. Whilst you're doing that, make a note of every NT quotation of the OT, and observe how it's applied or interpreted by the apostles. Again, read them all back to back, and compare that with what you believe to be the focal point of prophecy - the result might surprise, even shock you.
And no, my earlier JFK post is no substitute or competition for prophetic study. It was a one-off post to draw attention to the power of the 'deep state' that could threaten Trump's presidency, and the recent smears against him appear to confirm my concerns.
* Let me help you on your way with this small selection by way of example of what I mean, and what's in store for you:
And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.
Luke 24:25-27
Brothers, sons of the family of Abraham, and those among you who fear God, to us has been sent the message of this salvation. For those who live in Jerusalem and their rulers, because they did not recognize him nor understand the utterances of the prophets, which are read every Sabbath, fulfilled them by condemning him. And though they found in him no guilt worthy of death, they asked Pilate to have him executed. And when they had carried out all that was written of him, they took him down from the tree and laid him in a tomb. But God raised him from the dead, and for many days he appeared to those who had come up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are now his witnesses to the people. And we bring you the good news that what God promised to the fathers, this he has fulfilled to us their children by raising Jesus...
Acts 13:26-33a
And finally.....
Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look.
1 Peter 1:10-12
Happy hunting sis.
Again, making Jesus the focal point of the OT messianic, covenant & 'kingdom' promises and prophecies is not to deny their eschatological content or implication. This is not a case of either/or, but an example of fulfillment and consummation. The overwhelming bulk of the OT covenant promises have been fulfilled in Jesus' first advent and in the people He has called out from every nation - His body, the Church, comprised of the redeemed of all ages from Adam until the last person who enters His kingdom before the last trumpet sounds. There is no salvation outside His name, and no 'second chance' after He returns. When He comes again in glory, that is the end of time and redemptive history, and to teach anything else is a direct and flat contradiction of this fundamental truth. The idea that there is yet to come an extended period of salvation after the second advent lasting anything from 1,000 to 1,007 years, depending on your preferred version of end-time events, is just plain heresy. It is called 'the last day' for a reason. Again, I urge you to examine closely the consequences of Jesus' return wherever and whenever it is mentioned in the NT, then come back here and tell me who is left to inhabit this mythical millennium which is the cornerstone of futurism.
I tell you with every ounce of Christian love that I have at my disposal, this is another gospel that you preach. If Scripture teaches us anything at all, it is that 'now is the day of salvation' (IICor. 6:2). Now is the time, and the sole reason Scripture gives us for any delay in the coming judgment is God 'not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance..' (2 Peter 3:9). Why then do you believe that it is possible to escape such a fate if one chooses to harden their heart when they hear His voice (Heb. 3:15)? Does not Scripture explicitly warn us that '..if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven' (Heb.12:25)? Have you ever actually thought through the logical consequences of what you believe about the end times? This is not merely an academic question. It is literally a matter of life or death, and eternal at that, coz anyone paying heed to your beliefs could legitimately say 'thanks all the same, but I think I'll wait until after he comes, then decide if I want to accept him as my saviour during his 1,000 year reign. That's more than enough time for me to make up my mind about all this'. So by all means tell me sis., what would be your hypothetical response in this situation?
While you're pondering your reply, let me put another question to you. What was Abraham, the father of Israel, looking for? Was he really looking only for a piece of real estate somewhere in the Levant? Do you really and seriously imagine that's all he cared for? Sight set so low, or appetite so easily sated? Think carefully on this, then read Gal. chs 3-4 and Heb. chs 11-12. Come to them afresh, as if you have never seen or read them before. Read them over and over until their message permeates every fibre of your being, preferably without your futurist prejudices or blinkers if at all possible, coz they will only prevent you from seeing what is otherwise in plain sight. Then come back here again and tell me that the great covenant promises of the OT have not already been fulfilled in the finished work of Jesus Messiah and the community of the redeemed - His Church.
So, see ya in about a month then sis. And happy reading.
Really? A futurist who doesn't believe in a millennial reign following the second advent? Well knock me down with a feather. I've never met such a creature, & didn't even know such existed. No, I don't rely on my 'christian books writers' to tell me these things. My primary source is the Bible itself, especially as interpreted by Jesus and the apostles. My secondary sources are dozens of books on the subject, several magazine subscriptions, and countless pamphlets, booklets, etc representing every shade and school of eschatological beilef you have ever heard of, and quite possibly even a few that you haven't.
So yes, guilty as charged your honour. I have indeed made certain assumptions - perfectly reasonable ones I thought bearing in mind your advocacy of futurism in earlier posts. Those assumptions are also based on books written by futurists, not preterists or 'amillennialists'. And no, I won't be ditching them anytime soon, much as I would love to. They are too useful as reference tools to consign them to the garbage can just yet.
But instead of taking offence so easily, why not enlighten me and tell me what you believe happens following the second advent? If I then see that I have unfairly represented your views, I'll be more than happy to offer you my apologies and beg your forgiveness.
I can also take a hint. There are few subjects more calculated to generate heat among Christians than the end-time debate. If you'd rather call time on this exchange, I'll be more than happy to oblige you there as well. The choice is yours - time, or time-line?
Either way, hope you still manage to enjoy the rest of your w/end sis.
Just in case you missed it further down below, where it appears out of place for some reason.
Leaving aside the fact that Scripture consistently places the resurrection, judgment, and the dissolution of creation, etc., at the time of Jesus' second coming (not 1,000 years later), who then is left to inhabit this blessed millennium?