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Rome Means Rome not Europe

In the Bible, Daniel chapter 9 tells where us from where the anti-christ comes. Daniel 9:26 says, "And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined." Weeks in this passage refers to weeks of years or periods seven years long. The Messiah, Jesus, did come and was cut off when he died for our sins. Within forty years the Jerusalem and temple were destroyed. The people who did this were Romans.

Roman Refers to a People Not an Empire

Rome has often been interpreted by readers to mean Europe or the greater area of the Roman empire. The Bible makes a distinction between actual Romans and other subjects of the Roman Empire. The word translated "people" in Daniel 9:26 is the Hebrew word "`am" (Strong's Concordance word H5971) which in fact is people or a tribe. This contrasts with other Hebrew words such as "malkuwth" (Strong's H4438) which is given as "empire" in Esther 1:20 and "realm" in 2 Chronicles 20:30. Nation as found in Isaiah 18:2 comes from "gowy" (Strong's H1471). It refers to a foreign nation but not a group of nations or empire. "Kingdom" appears in Deuteronomy 17:20 coming from "mamlakah" (Strong's H4467) being defined as dominion, i.e. (abstractly) the estate (rule) or (concretely) the country (realm):--kingdom, king's, reign, royal. Genesis 25:6 uses "country" for "'erets" (Strong's H776) meaning earth or land. The word in Daniel means a single people and not an empire, realm, country or nation. The Anti-Christ comes from the Roman people so you should understand what it is talking about.

The Bible Mentions Many Other Countries Than Rome

Here are other countries mentioned in the Bible that were part of the Roman Empire but not called by the its name:

Chanaan (Canaan)
Charran (Haran)
Egypt
Ethiopia
Greece
Libya
Madian (Midian)
Mesopotamia
Phenicia
Spain
Syria

The Bible Mentions Many Regions That Were not Rome

Here are regions or districts that are mentioned in the Bible which may have been subject to Rome but not equivalent to it:

Abilene
Achaia
Asher
Asia
Bithynia
Cappadocia
Cilicia
Decapolis
Gadarenes
Galilaea
Italy
Ituraea
Judaea
Lycaonia
Lycia
Macedonia
Mysia
Nephthalim
Pamphylia
Phrygia
Pisidia
Pontus
Samaria
The fair havens
Trachonitis

The Bible Mentions Many Peoples That Were not Roman

Here is a list of people of a countries, cities or groups that were not Romans:

Chaldaeans
Alexandrians
Arabians
Areopagite
Barbarians
Corinthians
Cretians
Cyrenians
Egyptians
Elamites
Ephesians
Ethiopians
Galatians
Galilaeans
Gentiles
Greeks
Hebrews
Italians
Jews
Laodiceans
Macedonian
Medes
Nazarenes
Parthians
Philippians
Samaritans
Syrian
Thessalonians

The Bible Mentions Islands Separate From Rome

The Romans may have had control of the Mediterranean but the islands were not considered Rome. Here is a list of islands that had their own identity:

Coos
Crete
Cyprus
Melita
Patmos
Rhodes
Samos
Samothracia
Chios
Clauda

The Bible Speaks of Many Different Cities:

Acco
Adramyttium
Alexandria
Amphipolis
Antioch
Antipatris
Apollonia
Arimathaea
Assos
Athens
Azotus
Babylon
Berea
Bethany
Bethesda
Bethlehem
Bethpage
Bethsaida
Caesarea
Cana
Capernuam
Chorazin
Cnidus
Corinth
Damascus
Ephesus
Galatia
Gomorrha
Iconium
Joppa
Laodicea
Lasea
Lydda
Lystra
Miletus
Mitylene
Myra
Nazareth
Neapolis
Nineveh
Paphos
Patara
Perga
Pergamos
Phenice
Philadelphia
Philippi
Ptolemais
Puteoli
Rhegium
Salamis
Sardis
Seleucia
Sidon
Smyrna
Sodom
Sychem
Syracuse
Tarsus
Thessalonica
Thyatira
Troas
Trogyllium
Tyre
Derbe
Jerusalem

The Bible Mentions Several Places Separate From Rome

The Bible also mentions places such as mountains, valleys, seas, rivers or springs:

Akeldama
Antonia
Appii forum
Areopagus
Sina
Salmone
Armageddon
Zabulon
Jordan
Adria
Aenon

When it came to places and names it was not a two country world; Rome and Israel. It should not be hard to understand that Roman does not mean English. In the Roman Empire, the English were not called Roman. Neither were the French, Germans, Macedonians, Alexandrians or all the rest. The Jews were not called Romans, either. Just because the people of a country were conquered by Romans didn't make them Romans. You had to be born a Roman, be adopted as a Roman or pay a large sum of money. To have full rights, you had to be a Roman. Being from Gaul did not count. Romans spoke Latin, had citizenship as Romans, were recognized as Romans, and were, for the most part, born in Rome. Being ruled by Romans did not make you a Roman. The anti-christ will be of the people who destroyed Jerusalem in AD 70. The word "people" in Daniel 9:26 refers to the Roman people who destroyed Jerusalem. It would be useless to identify a people if the clue or indication of the "people" was not specific and could mean just about anything. God's hint at where the anti-christ comes from would be useless if Rome spanned from England to Babylon. God does not give us meaningless help. To be meaningful the anti-christ would have to be Roman and Roman proper, period. As far as the "people" are concerned, if "people" is taken to mean the whole Roman empire then the use in Daniel would make the whole empire responsible for destroying the temple. If I told you the Jews destroyed the temple would you disagree? If I said the Egyptians destroyed the temple would you disagree? What if I laid it off on the Greeks? No, you wouldn't buy that either. It was the Romans who destroyed the temple and the anti-christ will be Roman.

Mystery Babylon is Rome

Does it surprise you? It shouldn't. Revelation 17:9 says, "And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth." The chapter tells us who "MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH" is. Revelation 17:18 is undeniable. "And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth." Rome sat on seven hills and was the only country which ruled over the earth when Revelation was written. This is speaking of Rome. For "Mystery Babylon" to be a mystery it could not be the literal Babylon in what is now Iraq. It would have to be something with a spiritual meaning and not a literal one. Revelation 17:6 says, "I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration." Rome killed Christians in the early days and continued throughout the years with its persecutions and inquisitions. Some people think America or Iraq represent Mystery Babylon. Neither America nor Iraq subjected Christians to lions or other torture in the Colosseum. They did not murder Christians either during the Inquisition. It was Rome who did this. Also, the physical Babylon in Iraq was destroyed and is never comning back as a physical city. Jeremiah 51:61-62 describes it, "And Jeremiah said to Seraiah, When thou comest to Babylon, and shalt see, and shalt read all these words; Then shalt thou say, O LORD, thou hast spoken against this place, to cut it off, that none shall remain in it, neither man nor beast, but that it shall be desolate for ever.

So what is so important about this? Do not be misled. The anti-christ will not come from a place outside of Italy. He will be Italian or as the Bible says "Roman". The anti-christ will be Roman and the center of his false religion will be Rome.