Something i came across that some one posted. Believes the Anti Christ could possibly be a "clone"
Well first I need to rant about how people view Cloning to being with, most people thanks to fiction still think Cloning means growing an exact duplicate of someone in a test tube.
Cloning is artificial reproduction, it is replacing the role played by the Semen with an artificially created embryo made from a sample of genetic material of some individual, an Egg, and Womb and Mother is still necessary. Thou the Womb the clone is nurtured in may not be of the same woman that the Egg came from.
Now, I should state that I believe there hasbeen secret experimenting with cloning since long before Dolly, I believe clones more successful then Dolly where probably made in secret during the 50s at least.
Now, the first key to how I came to this Biblical interpretation lies in Revelation 17.
8 The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.........10 And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space. And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.
Now, most of my favorite Bible teachers are wrong in identifying these kings, they insist that they refer to 7 world Empires, 4 of which are the 4 Beasts of Daniel, problem is that doesn't work for many reasons, Rome did not truly end it continues today and is being reunited, that's the point of the 4th Beast prophecy.
But more important the whole context here is clearly implying to me 7 individual kings, Roman emperors one of which is contemporary with when John wrote Revelation.
Now there are 2 different views among Christian scholars as to under which Emperor John wrote Revelation, the most popular view is under Domitian, but some are convinced it was under Nero, I used to firmly hold to the Domitian, mostly cause the conditions of the 7 Churches described better matches the 90s AD then 60s. However I've been becoming slowly more open to the Nero view.
Now remember, John is writing in the reign of the 6th/2nd to last of the 7, and the 7th is clearly identified as having a very short reign. So far that can apply to both, Nero was succeeded by Galba (Less then a year) and Domitian by Nerva (About 2 years) both pretty short reigns.
What's really ironic is how if Domitian is the intended contemporary ruler then the 1st of that 7 is Galba's successor (Licinianus is often ignored in the history of the year of 4 Emperors, but he did reign very briefly). Now generally Nero is said to only have 5 predecessors, but technically the Julio Claudian dynasty starts with Julius Caesar.
The 1st 14 Roman Emperors where
Julius-Augustus-Tiberius-Caligula-Cladius-Nero-Galba
Otho-Licinianus-Vitellius-Vespasian-Titus-Domitian-Nerva
The view that Nero was the Antichrist was very popular in the early church(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nero#Christian_tradition), Preterists sue this to support their view, but what they forget is what went with that was the belief that Nero didn't actually die but would return, this view wasn't limited to people that didn't like Nero, fact is Nero was popular with most of the common people of Rome who where hoping he'd come back, Otho had a vague physical resemble to Nero and tried to present himself as a new Nero. But back tot he Christian viewpoint, Domitian was the 2nd Emperor to persecute Christians, and because of that many Christians at the time thought he was Nero resurrected somehow.
Another historical Detail of Nero often overlooked is what's compelling here, most Pre-Christian Roman Emperors where cremated, their bodies burned completely leaving only ashes behind. However Nero was an (Perhaps the only) exception. Acte had Nero buried in the Mausoleum of the Domitii Ahenobarbi, in what is now the Villa Borghese (Pincian Hill) area of Rome.
What that means is he and he alone of the 14 possibly candidates could possibly have remains still around today, that maybe (Thou it is an off chance) could be in good enough condition to extract genetic material from, now that I know of this Tomb hasn't be discovered by modern Archeology yet, but it might have been and kept secret, who knows.
However, material that old if could be obtained at all would no doubt be in a very deteriorated condition, remember the Frog plot point form Jurassic Park? That point of that way the DNA code needed to be completed, spliced slightly with something else's. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gene_splicing
Already that has been much experimentation with combining DNA of different kinds of animals, who natural could never reproduce together, even involving Human DNA, Lamb/Goat hybrids, glowing monkeys made by splicing them with starfish DNA, and of course growing Human ears on Mice. And that's just what we know of, not including what's been kept secret, if you study cryptology then you know lots of weird sightings of animal that appear to be different animals combined together have been popping up in the last 50 years, chubacabra being the most famous, but also Batsquatch.
Now, the beginning of Bible Prophecy in Genesis 3:15, where Yeshua's 1st Messianic title if The Seed of The Woman, but also implied int he verse is the possible 1st title of The Antichrist, The Seed of The Serpent. Further allusion to this is possibly in Isaiah 14:29
for out of the serpent's root shall come forth a cockatrice, and his fruit shall be a fiery flying serpent.
So could Nero or which ever Human DNA is used by spiced with that of a Serpent? (Biblical Serpents are more than just snakes, the word is interchangeable with Dragon, and could refer to any Lizard, Reptilian or Amphibious animals, Dinosaurs included, and there is some reason to believe the ancient would have also counted Scorpions as Serpents) I think so, and another important detail of The Beast's life my provide further evidence of it.
Revelation 13 says he will suffer a Mortal wound but that it'll be healed and this will amaze everyone. This allude obviously to a false resurrection, cements his status as a Pseudo-Christ, however the way The Bible describes tells me he won't truly die, it'll just appear that way. Many reptilian animals can regenerate amputated limbs, so maybe if reptilian DNA is sued in cloning The Antichrist perhaps he could also have some similar ability, to allow him to survive an injury that would certainly, thou perhaps not instantly kill any ordinary person.
However, since Regeneration is still not natural in humans I don't think his wounds will heal perfectly, there will still be an obvious impact left on his appearance by it, which leads me to another little known verse that I feel applies to The Antichrist.
Zechariah 11:17 Woe to the idol shepherd that leaveth the flock! the sword shall be upon his arm, and upon his right eye: his arm shall be clean dried up, and his right eye shall be utterly darkened.
Odd indeed, but what' interesting is to remember that the Mark goes on either the Right hand or Forehead? perhaps we now know why that is the intended location for it, The Beast wants people to Identity with his deformity, in other words this seemingly random verse may provide the key to tying together 2 details of Revelation 13, isn't' The Bible awesome?
What further intrigues me about that imagery however is how things similar to it are popular in fiction, particularly Anakin Skywalker in Episode III:Revenge of The Sith.
Well, I hope I've peeked the interest of many.