As a follow-up to a previous post, I wanted to briefly give some thoughts and comments on the identification of the “Beast of the Earth” in St John’s Apocalypse, which many throughout Church history have commonly associated with the “Man of Sin” in St Paul’s 2 Epistle to the Thessalonians (2:3).
Others will even associate these two figures with that of the Antichrist, although it is my personal opinion that “Antichrist” is an apostasy or “falling away from the faith,” as St John indicates it is a “spirit” of many Antichrists, not a singular figure in history; Many had come, and many were yet to come (and these are those who apostatized back to Judaism or refused to acknowledge that Jesus was the Christ/Messiah of Israel).
Regardless, I believe this figure known as the “Man of Sin” and “Beast of the Earth” was fulfilled in the singular person of Caesar Nero (reigned AD 54-68) of the Roman empire. Again, this presumes an early date (for which there is ample evidence) for the writing of the book of Revelation/Apocalypse (pre-AD 70, before the destruction of Jerusalem/the Temple).
Among those who adhere to a radical “end times” philosophy (especially in our day), there is much attention paid to the Apocalypse to St John, or the book of Revelation.
Chapter Four – Dying Wishes
Tobit is filled with “sorrow” and “pain” and turns to the Lord in penitential prayer (Tobit 3:1). His great prayer can be divided into three overall parts:
The scriptures of the Hebrews (commonly referred to by Christians as the “old testament” or “covenant”) are a collection of writings that were done over the course of thousands of years, written in a variety of languages (predominately Hebrew, but also Aramaic and Greek) and adapted from a wide range of cultures, ethnicities, nations and peoples. The character of these writings is not uniform, in the sense that not all are of the same style nor do they all carry the same purpose (from an historical or strictly textual perspective).
Well, it is that time of year again: the time of year when a great number of people in the world – for seemingly no particular reason at all – “give up something” for Lent. Buddhist, Methodist, Roman Catholic, Agnostic, Baptist … they’re all in, it seems.
I think we Orthodox Christians in the United States underestimate just how much our culture influences, shapes and controls us, and that in a profoundly negative way. Orthodox Christianity “across the pond” has been through some interesting times, to say the least.
So … what in the world is the Book of Tobit?
As I continue to examine Second Temple apocalyptic literature, it seems more and more likely that St Paul was drawing on his vast knowledge of this work at times in order to help make illustrations or “give wings” to many of the themes and ideas he was espousing throughout his epistles in the early years of the Church.
