Pilgrim,

Please help me I'm sinking fast into eschatological quicksand. I am hoping that you might sympathize and throw me at least a line.

I reach for an Amillennial branch and it breaks the very second I read from Postmillennial authors and proponents. I then reach out of my sand for this Postmillennial branch and the very convincing sense of my Amillennial brothers causes this branch to also break. Pilgrim, I am a little dull but I don't believe I'm an idiot to say that these camps BOTH have good arguments!

I am now up to my nose and spitting sand. All of this is distressing, to say the least, as I know that our eschatological beliefs may profoundly affect our witness and view of the world and people around us.

I have rejected Chiliasm (Scofield and crowd) and full preterism years ago for what I believe you to know are good reasons.

But... my confusion has just been demonstrated again in your post, and you may reject my paraphrase of your words if you think necessary:

You said, if I heard you right, that the application of the title "THE antichrist" to the pope is erroneous because he does not meet the definition of "THE antichrist" as presented to us in Scripture. Ok, said and done, but in another thread (Who is the Antichrist?) you said that you have no problem considering the pope as being one of the antichrists. Forgive me for being so dull, and maybe I missed it but does this mean you have separated "The antichrist [singular, one person]" from "many antichrists" or "the spirit of the antichrist". In other words "THE antichrist" has a different nature and identity than "many antichrists". If the pope does not meet the criteria for "The antichrist" how can he even be considered an antichrist at all?

Can you see my personal confusion here?

Anyway, if it is true about this separation, what you say here has profound implications for additional thought on my part. And please don't forget the life-line to my quicksand.

Denny

Roms 3:22-24

Denny

Simon Peter answered Him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life." [John 6:68]