By Bill Salus“It sounds like Satan has created a counterfeit Antichrist so the Church would be misled into believing this European Antichrist myth.” Rodrigo Silva
This powerful quote was subtly inserted in a lengthy article entitled “Debunking the European Antichrist”. The article was written to rebut an article I had written entitled, “Does Daniel Debunk the Antichrist”. The Daniel article advises that the Antichrist arises out of the Roman Empire. The rebuttal to this article, which was issued by Rodrigo Silva, suggests that the Antichrist will be a Syrian, rather than Roman. The two respective articles are linked below in order of chronological issue.
Does Daniel Debunk the Antichrist by Bill Salus
http://prophecydepot.blogspot.com/2009/01/does-daniel-debunk-assyrian-antichrist.html
Debunking the European Antichrist by Rodrigo Silva
http://raptureready.com/soap/zz-silva.html
The Silva article suggests that the Syrians rather than Romans fulfilled the all - important Daniel 9:26 prophecy. This prophecy deposits the primary clue as to the ancestral origin of the Antichrist. It declares that he will come from the people who would ultimately destroy the city of Jerusalem, and the second Jewish Temple therein. Both Silva and I concur that event was fulfilled in 70 A.D.
The Silva rebuttal states in part that although the Legion X Fretensis, which was partially instrumental in the destruction of the Jewish temple and the city of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. were subject to Roman command, it was primarily comprised of a Syrian component. Therefore he suggests that the people Daniel referred to were not Romans, rather they were Syrians.
Below are several concluding statements made by Silva in his article evidencing his Syrian Antichrist view.
“Now, the fact that the Roman legions that destroyed the city and the Temple (mainly legion X Fretensis) comprised of Syrian soldiers lead us to identify the people of the Antichrist as Syrians, therefore the Antichrist must be a Syrian.”
“All these historical accounts point to the Syrians of Hellenistic (Greek) and Roman times as Assyrians. Since that is indeed the case, then the people of the prince that shall come, namely the Antichrist were Assyrians so the idea that the Antichrist will be a Roman or European is pure speculation based in assumption and not on Biblical and historical facts.”
“I have documented in other articles that the antichrist will be of Assyrian nationality. Bible prophecy leaves no doubt for those who take prophecy literally. Probably the reason this (Assyrian Antichrist) idea has been rejected by almost every prophecy teacher is that most teachers wait for the facts to begin to unfold before they dare to speak.”
“Despite all these Bibllical and hitorical facts pointing to the Assyrians in the Roman legions as the people who destroyed the Temple, people still try to find arguments that ''prove'' their point.”
Amidst the backdrop of the above opinionated statements, Silva suggests:
“It sounds like Satan has created a counterfeit Antichrist so the Church would be misled into believing this European Antichrist myth.”
My concerns about subjective statements like these above are that they have the inherent potential to cause new and non-believers to stumble. Bear in mind that the Roman Antichrist model has been widely espoused throughout the Christian Church for centuries. Furthermore it still remains the predominant view among many learned Christians. In my estimation Christian conclusions are better presented in a conciliatory objective fashion. This approach tends to promote further investigation into the subject matter by interested parties.
Since Silva draws some of his powerful conclusions from his belief that Legion X Fretensis, although operable under Roman command was comprised of Syrians, I provide the following research links below that positively identify their Roman connection. These links illustrate that Legion X Fretensis had Roman roots, coins, and more, and operated under Roman dominion in 70 A.D. Although Silva is correct in his assertion that Legion X Fetensis has had a minor Syrian connection, the questions one must ask themselves are, was Legion X Fretensis a legion under the command of the Roman Empire at the time of the fulfillment of Daniel 9:26, and were they the only legion involved in the fulfillment of Daniel’s prophecy?
In the end the goal of this article is not to belittle Rodrigo Silva, who I consider a friend and Christian brother in the LORD, rather it is intended to stimulate readers to open their minds and their Bibles and do their own biblical and extra-biblical research.
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Rebuttal links for further Legion X Fretensis investigation:
Some Thoughts on "Debunking the European Antichrist" by Rodrigo Silva
Sean Osborne the Associate Director of the Northeast Intelligence Network
http://eschatologytoday.blogspot.com/2009/02/some-thoughts-on-debunking-european.html
Legion Ten Fretensis Fulfills Bible Prophecy
Sean Osborne the Associate Director of the Northeast Intelligence Network
http://eschatologytoday.blogspot.com/2009/02/legion-ten-fretensis-fulfils-bible.html
STUDIES OF THE HISTORIC LEGIO X FRETENSIS
Terry Nix
http://www.legionten.org/Studies/LXFstudies/LXFstudies.htm
Legion X Fretensis
Jona Lendering
http://www.livius.org/le-lh/legio/x_fretensis.html
Marcus Ulpius Trajanus – Background of Emperor Trajan
http://www.roman-empire.net/highpoint/trajan-index.html
