Eschatology routinely identifies ‘the man of lawlessness’ (2 Thess 2:3-9), ‘the antichrist’ (1 John 2:18) and ‘the beast’ (Rev 13) with each other. Is it time to see these as 1st century figures, (eg ‘the man of lawlessness’ to do with the Jewish rebellion against Rome; the ‘antichrist’ someone, if not in the world in John’s time, who would appear shortly, and ‘the beast’ a reference to Nero)?
Do the conventional views encourage the idea that the world is heading for catastrophe, with our priority being to save people out of it? Shouldn’t we rather be expressing the kingdom of God as a spiritual and material salvation which is being brought into the world?
Needful Hindsight
Not so very long ago (as recent as lastweek!) I would have strongly denied that the Antichrist was ultimately a 1st century figure. Now, after being troublingly half-convinced of the preterist interpretation, I am forced to reconsider my prophetic preconceptions. The infamous ‘666’ gematria can be calculated as ‘Nero Caesar’ as I think almost everyone is aware of,and yes, this certainly makes good sense in the light of John’s potential readership. I would be even more interested to learn of any more potential contenders.
Current Hal Lindsey-esque thinking can create a feverish fatalism which sees mankind as escaping an ultimately sinking ship. This can create the sense that the Gospel is more a passport from this world than its remedy.