End Times Boggle Boogie

OK I'm having nother End Times interpretive boggle. Sigh. A well known teacher of the Pre_Trib point of view said that Daniel 8 is about the Antichrist of the Book of Revelation. I've been listening to the Bgook of Daniel lately, quite a few times as a matter of fact, and it's very very clear that the Antichrist of the end times will arise out of the Roman Empire and it's Daniel 7 not Daniel 8 that has the "little horn" arising from the fourth beast which is the Roman Empire. Daniel 8 has the little horn arising out of the third beast which is Alexander's Greece, so that has to be Antiochus Epiphanes wwas the Antichrust forefunner in the time of the Mqaccabees.

He is also the subject of Daniel 11 though I've heard that chapter also applied to the final Antichrist. Well, to be clear, the very last verses of that Chapter are apparently about the final Antichrist as there is a shift from historically known actions of Antioches Epiphanes to an unknown figure that must be future, and I'm not entirely sure where that shift occurs, but most of the chapter is about Antioches IV.

I might as well comment on another interpretation from the same school of thought, which is the idea that the Harlot of Revelation 17, who is identified as "Mystery: Babylon the Great, Mother of Harlots and the Abominations of the Earth: represents literal Babylon, the Babylon of Nimrod and Nebuchadnezzar. I don't know how many have this view of the harlot. I would have thought that most interpret her as Roman Catholicism because she sits on the city of seven hills. But apparently some see her as a literal revived Babylon in Iraq.

The way the Roman Church keeps flying under the radar for so many CHristians continues to amaze me. They succeeded only too well at deflecting the work of the Reformers who identified the Pope as as the Antichrist. Even strong teachers like John MacArthur who exposes the Roman Church in so many of his teachings doesn't think the Pope could be the final Antichrist. It's possible he's right I suppose but I still think the evidence is overwhelming that the Reformers were right and the contemporary Church has been deceived about the Pope's role in the end times.

The four-empire statue of Nebuchadnezzar's dream in Daniel 2 as well as the four beasts of Daniel's vision, and especially the beast from the sea in Revelation 13 which combines the features of the first three beasts in Daniel, all show the essential political and religious identity of the four empires, so that the Roman Empire IS Babylon, and the current version of the Roman Empire is the Roman Catholic Church. This too was recognized by various Protestant Reformers. The EU is cdertainly an expression of it too, but the Roman Empire in a sense never completely died as the Roman Church contginued it, the Pope being fraudulently elevated above the other bishops of the Christian Church, and acquiring a political power that is contrary to the spirit of Christ. This new version of pagan Rome ruled over the "Holy Roman Empire" through the Middle Ages, and only finally lost its power to the Protestant Reformation. The fancy vestments, the odd headgear, the jewelry, the superstitious practices like the rosary and lighting of candles and so much more are all pagan religious practices that come down from Babylon. The Roman Church is the Roman Empire is Babylon the Great.

I still generally accept the framework of the Pre Trib system. We have to have a seventieth week of Daneil, and the time times and half a time fit into that time frame. I guess my main problem is that I think it's all about the Roman Church and a revived INquisition, and not some unknown political figure.

argue this, just state it.