Whenever violence erupts on the international scene (and even sometimes when it doesn’t) we hear claims that the portents of doom announced in the pages of the New Testament are coming to fruition. “Wars and rumors of wars” (Mark 13:7) draw the attention of many to what the earliest Christian texts had to say about the End of the Age. The writings refer to battles and bad guys, harbingers of the Last Days. Unfortunately, misinformed pundits surgically extract the pertinent passages and mash up the references so that their original contexts and meanings are lost. Let’s sort out the relevant verses and reexamine them with a historian’s eye.

Beginning with the gospels, which are not, incidentally, the earliest NT texts, we read how Jesus spoke in prophetic terms about the destruction of Jerusalem (not the end of the age; see Mark 13 and parallels). Many scholars have concluded that these passages combine some actual prophesying by Jesus with an appreciation for the historical destruction of Jerusalem by the gospel authors who lived after the event. While the destruction marked the end of the Jewish cultus, it did not bring about the end of the age.

Paul’s letters are the earliest documents in NT so what he has to say about the end should reflect the beliefs of many in the period just after Jesus’s death. His most expansive description occurs in his First Letter to the Thessalonians:

“Now we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters…The Lord himself will come down from heaven with a shout of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be suddenly caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air…For you know quite well that the day of the Lord will come in the same way as a thief in the night.” (1 Thessalonians 4:13–5:2 NET)

Paul clearly expected to be present when all this took place. His chronological window is brief. But note that the end will be accompanied by the arrival of Christ from heaven and the resurrection of the righteous. He goes on to say that no one will know when, exactly, it will happen. The event will be unannounced like a thief coming to one’s house in the night. This statement seems contrary to what the author of the Second Letter to the Thessalonians has to say.

“Now regarding the arrival of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to be with him, we ask you, brothers and sisters, not to be easily shaken…For that day will not arrive until the rebellion comes and the man of lawlessness [many mss: man of sin] is revealed, the son of destruction [or: the one destined for destruction]. He opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, and as a result he takes his seat in God’s temple, displaying himself as God…And so you know what holds him back, so that he will be revealed in his own time…The one who holds him back will do so until he is taken out of the way, and then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will destroy by the breath of his mouth and wipe out by the manifestation of his arrival. The arrival of the lawless one will be by Satan’s working with all kinds of miracles and signs and false wonders, and with every kind of evil deception directed against those who are perishing, because they found no place in their hearts for the truth so as to be saved.” (2 Thessalonians 2:1–12 NET)

This hardly sounds like a thief in the night. In fact, there are many portents of the end according to 2 Thessalonians: first a rebellion of some kind will occur, then someone known as the “man of lawlessness” or “son of destruction” will be sent by Satan. This evil one will work miracles and deceive many into thinking that he is God sitting in His temple. Scholars cite such discrepancies as evidence that Paul did not write Second Thessalonians. Nevertheless, it reflects beliefs by at least some ancient Christians, leaving us with the job of trying to figure out the nature of the rebellion and the identity of the man of lawlessness. We are probably justified in thinking this was an actual event and figure from the author’s time.

The rebellion was likely the Jewish revolt of 64-73. The reference to God’s temple implies the temple in Jerusalem. If Jerusalem was standing or had recently stood, the lawless man might be the Roman general Titus who violated and then destroyed God’s temple. The one initially holding him back was likely Titus’s father Vespasian who had to suspend the effort to suppress the Jewish rebellion during the year of the four emperors when leadership in Rome was in chaos. Vespasian returned to Rome to capture the imperial throne before instructing Titus to resume the war. The miracles mentioned are probably those reportedly performed by Vespasian, specifically healing miracles, recounted by the historians Tacitus, Suetonius, and Cassius Dio. Predictions or prophesies regarding these two emperors (Titus would go on to succeed Vespasian as emperor) were certainly “in the air.”

For example, according to Suetonius, “An ancient superstition was current in the east that out of Judea would come the rulers of the world. This prediction, as it later proved, referred to the Roman emperors, but the Jews, who read it as referring to themselves, rebelled” (Divus Vespasian, 4). Tacitus added that “This mysterious prophecy had in reality pointed to Vespasian and Titus, but the common people, as is the way of human ambition, interpreted these great destinies in their own favor, and could not be turned to the truth even by adversity” (The Histories, 5.13). The Jewish historian Josephus even remarked that “this oracle certainly denoted the government of Vespasian, who was appointed emperor in Judea” (Jewish War, 6.5.4).

Next up is the widely misunderstood figure referred to as the “antichrist.” The only NT texts to mention this figure are the letters attributed to John. This is what they have to say:

“Children, it is the last hour, and just as you heard that the antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have appeared…They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us, because if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us. But they went out from us to demonstrate that all of them do not belong to us.” (1 John 2:18-19)

“Who is the liar but the person who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This one is the antichrist: the person who denies the Father and the Son. Everyone who denies the Son does not have the Father either.” (1 John 2:20-23)

 “Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to determine if they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses Jesus as the Christ who has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that refuses to confess Jesus, that spirit is not from God, and this is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming, and now is already in the world.” (1 John 4:1-3)

“For many deceivers have gone out into the world, people who do not confess Jesus as Christ coming in the flesh. This person is the deceiver and the antichrist!” (2 John 1:7)

Except for the very first reference that seems to initially point to a single individual but then admits of many “antichrists,” the references are all to Christians who hold a different christological view than that of the author(s). Note that these individuals were once part of the author’s church but have since left, probably due to doctrinal disputes. “Antichrist” is used for anyone who disagrees with the author’s beliefs. These particular antichrists have either denied that Jesus is the messiah or have rejected the binatarian godhead of Father and Son. Some apparently accepted Jesus but denied that he came in the flesh. We know of Christians in the first and second centuries, we call them docetists, who held this view insisting that Jesus was never human. They considered it impossible that any perfect being could be contained in imperfect flesh. This annoyed the author to no end. The debate was settled for most of the church at Nicea in the fourth century when it was acknowledged that Christ “was made man.”

Notice that there is nothing here about the antichrist(s) bringing about the end of the age. Nor is the term antichrist equated with Satan though they possess spirits that are not from God implying that they are subject to some other (negative) spiritual power. In no other NT text is this term used.

Finally we come to a document that really does try to describe the end of the age: the Book of Revelation also called the Apocalypse of John. This is the only “Johannine” writing (Gospel of John, 1, 2, 3 John, Revelation) that actually claims to be written by someone named John (Rev. 1:1, 4, 9, 22:8). Most scholars are in agreement that this John is not the apostle who walked with Jesus. The content of Revelation, except for the late addition of Christian letters at the beginning, is very Jewish and would fit in well among all of other Jewish apocalypses from around this time period.

Revelation introduces us to three eschatological, or end-time, figures: Satan the dragon, the first beast, and the second beast or false prophet. This is the only NT text that treats the origin of Satan by describing his fall from among the angels in heaven after launching a theomachy, or divine war, against the archangel Michael.

“Then war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But the dragon was not strong enough to prevail, so there was no longer any place left in heaven for him and his angels. So that huge dragon—the ancient serpent, the one called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world—was thrown down to the earth, and his angels along with him.” (Rev. 12:7-9)

The text combines narrative and symbolic elements found in other Jewish writings including Daniel and 1 Enoch. Note that Satan was thrown down to earth not to hell. Later, the visionary John sees the first beast. The beast is indebted to Satan for his power and is given a throne to rule “over every tribe, people, language, and nation” (Rev. 13:7). If this is a figure from history, Nero is the likely candidate due to the comment that “one of the beast’s heads appeared to have been killed, but the lethal wound had been healed” (Rev. 13:3).  There was a tradition in the eastern part of the empire that Nero would rise from his suicide committed in 68 (Sib. Or. 5.137-54, 214-27; 8.68-72; Dio Chrys., Or. 3.68-74). An emperor identification is also likely due to the belief of Mediterranean people that Rome “ruled the world.”

The false prophet, or second beast, exercised the same ruling authority as the first beast. He performed miracles including one that made fire come down from heaven. He apparently carried out the policies of the first beast (“empowered to give life to the first beast”; Rev. 13:12). The key passage describing the dominion of this beast is known to most people:

“He also caused everyone…to obtain a mark on their right hand or on their forehead. Thus no one was allowed to buy or sell except the one who had the mark of the beast—that is, his name or the number of his name. Here is wisdom: Let the one who has insight calculate the beast’s number, for it is [a] man’s number, and his number is 666 [or: 616].” (Rev 13:16-18)

The mark here is likely a parody of the “seal” that was to be placed on the foreheads of the righteous of Israel with the name of God and the Lamb (Rev. 7:3-4; 14:1; 22:4). This idea in turn comes from Book of Ezekiel which describes God calling upon the angels to put a tau (X-mark) on the foreheads of everyone in Jerusalem who rejected the desecration of the Temple. The number 666 is an example of Jewish numerology known as gematria in which letters had numerical value. The value of the Greek Kaiser Neron (Caesar Nero) spelled in Hebrew equals 666. If you remove the last nu or nun (“n”), the value is 616. Supposedly, the mark will be necessary to engage in commerce within the empire.

We discern that the second beast is also the false prophet within a few chapters.

“Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies assembled to do battle with the one who rode the horse [Christ] and with his army. Now the beast was seized, and along with him the false prophet who had performed the signs on his behalf —signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image.” (Rev. 19:19-20)

Another popular eschatological trope is introduced in Revelation.

“Then I saw three unclean spirits that looked like frogs coming out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are the spirits of the demons performing signs who go out to the kings of the earth to bring them together for the battle that will take place on the great day of God, the All-Powerful…Now the spirits gathered the kings and their armies to the place that is called Armageddon in Hebrew.” (Rev. 16:13-16)

Armageddon means Mount of Megiddo. Biblical Megiddo was an ancient city mentioned in the Book of Judges (1:27; 5:19). We find references to an unnamed mountain as the site of an eschatological war in Ezekiel (38:8; 39:2, 4) and in 4 Ezra (13:34-35). Megiddo was not actually a mountain but an archaeological tell, that is, a hill created by successive building activity, one upon another, over generations.

So what does Revelation say about the results of the final battle? The beast and the false prophet “were thrown alive into the lake of fire burning with sulfur” (Rev. 19:20). An angel then comes down from heaven to seize “the dragon-the ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan-and tied him up for a thousand years” (Rev. 20:2). After the thousand-year period (“millennium”), Satan was to get another chance to create mayhem in order “to deceive the nations at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to bring them together for the final battle” (Rev. 20:8). Unfortunately for them, “fire came down from heaven and devoured them completely.” Satan was “thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur, where the beast and false prophet are too, and they will be tormented there day and night forever” (Rev. 20: 9-10).

References to a war against Gog and Magog can be found in the Book of Ezekiel 38-39. Gog was a Lydian king in the land of Magog. Magog was also the name of one of the sons of Japheth (Gen. 10:2; 1 Chr. 1:5).

If we try to understand the conditions both political and social, and the biblical precedents, that colored the world of these writers, we can better understand what they and their audiences understood. As you can see, these authors did not write for a 21^st century audience. They wrote for people living in their time and place. They may have truly believed that the end was near, like some people today and in every period of history. But their stories were for their times. Our story has yet to be written.