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GLOSSARY OF CERTAIN KEY TERMS
Kingdom of God
This is a phrase used many times in the gospels. In Mark 1:15 Jesus said the kingdom of God was at hand at the beginning of his ministry. In Luke 9:27 he said that some standing in his midst would live to see the kingdom of God. Just days before his crucifixion he said the kingdom of God would be near after the fig tree brings forth its leaves and summer is past (Luke 21:29-31). I believe the kingdom of God began at the end of the 70th week of Daniel's prophecy (Daniel 9:27) which coincided with Jesus appearing to Mary and the disciples at the empty tomb as described in John 20 (i.e., the last day of the feast of tabernacles in AD 33). The reason the New Testament is so cryptic about when the kingdom of God arrived is likely because of the belief that Jesus was reincarnated after his crucifixion. Given the controversial nature of reincarnation, the scriptures did not clearly identify the time when the kingdom of God arrived.
The Beast
The beast described in Revelation 17 with the seven heads and ten horns is likely the Roman Empire. A two-horned beast represents two specific Roman Emperors and was once called a beast but is later called "the beast and the false prophet" (Revelation 13:11; 16:13). In Revelation 17:10-11 it states: "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 [two-horned] beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition." The statement that the king will go into perdition is a likely reference to the fact that he will "waste" his life by committing suicide. In John 17:12 Judas is called "the son of perdition" probably because he hung himself (Matthew 27:3-5). Of the first 16 Roman Emperors, only two committed suicide: Nero and Otho. The others died of natural causes or were assassinated. Nero was one of the first seven emperors, and Otho was the eighth (counting Julius Caesar). Nero and Otho were companions and supposed lovers. Both will be reincarnated and present when Christ returns since both "shall ascend out of the bottomless pit" (Revelation 17:8; 19:11-20).
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