1) Prior to his rule for 42 months, the Antichrist engages in various military conflicts on behalf of his empire. Support for this first point is as follows:
a.He engages in military conflicts prior to even entering Israel. (Daniel 11:40-41)
b.Those who wonder after the beast exalt him because of his ability to make war. (Revelation 13) However, when the beast has rule for 42 months, all the people’s of the earth are worshipping the beast. So when the people exalt the beast for his military capability, it refers to a situation before his 42 month rule.
c.Christ lists world war before the Abomination of Desolation. (Matthew 24)
d.Revelation 6 lists world war before the time so severe that it kills a significant portion of the world population.
In light of this, I don’t think the Solana job problem can be resolved simply by stating he will have a future job that has a term for 42 months. I greatly respect this approach, I have considered it, and I think it is a good summary response. However, I don’t think it addresses all the issues in depth. This is simply the case because of the Antichrist’s military engagements prior to his 42 month rule. (He would need to have a position from which to wage war prior to that, as shown above.)
Nevertheless, I do believe the Bible does potentially support the idea that the Antichrist will have a unique situation immediately prior to his 42 month rule that is very temporary, and as such, is different than the role he had been fulfilling since the beginning of the 70th week.
Here is what I mean:
Revelation 17:12-14
12"The ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but they receive authority as kings with the beast for one hour. 13"These have one purpose, and they give their power and authority to the beast. 14"These will wage war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, because He is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those who are with Him are the called and chosen and faithful."
Here it says that the ten kings receive authority as kings with the beast for “one hour.” I do not believe this represents an actual 60 minute period of time, however it does denote a very relatively short period of time. This passage seems to indicate that for a short period of time, the ten kings simultaneously have authority along with the Antichrist, but then they give away their authority.
Back to Solana and politics.
Javier Solana has been among the ten kings for about 10 years (as WEU Secretary General). However, if he is the Antichrist, his main term of rule will eventually be 42 months. Revelation 17 says that the Antichrist and ten kings only have power alongside each other for “one hour.” I think 10 years it a lot longer than “one hour” since it is longer than the Antichrist’s primary term of office! So this “one hour” in Revelation, if referring to a situation Solana will face in the future, is probably not referring to his term as high rep/S/G as that was an entire 10 years. It seems to be referring to a very unique and temporary relationship the Antichrist has to his ten kings immediately prior to his rule for 42 months.
Even from the position of Daniel, I think a case for this can be made. The Antichrist makes a deal for 7 years. (Daniel 9:27). This is after he has at least partially risen up among 10 kings, because little horn is the one that makes the 7 year deal. Therefore, he starts working in politics at least 3.5 years prior to his main term of office. He also works alongside the ten kings, even from the start of the 7 year covenant, because his political presence is always alongside the ten kings. I do not think that the “one hour” refers to this either. What I mean is that if the Antichrist has a job alongside the 10 kings for 3 years, I don’t think that accurately reflects “one hour” (a short period of time) as his main term of office is 3.5 years.
Daniel 7:24-25
24'As for the ten horns, out of this kingdom ten kings will arise; and another will arise after them, and he will be different from the previous ones and will subdue three kings. 25'He will speak out against the Most High and wear down the saints of the Highest One, and he will intend to make alterations in times and in law; and they will be given into his hand for a time, times, and half a time.
So basically what I am conjecturing is this. If Solana is the Antichrist, then he will have a very unique position alongside the 10 kings for a very short period of time relative to the whole of his office (42 months). This position will not be the same one he has held since the beginning of the 70th week. This position will likely be able to make war, as the Antichrist oversees major military operations prior to his rule for 42 months.
This view is also verified by Revelation 6. If the ENPI is it, then we have not seen the world war Christ talked about (Matthew 24) which is the red horse of the apocalypse. He mentions both world war and famine prior to AOD. Now if we crossreference this to Revelation 6, we also see a rider who rides out as a conquerer before the red and black horses. If the ENPI is it, then the red and black horses have to happen in about 4 months. If they are this close together, then it follows that the white horse will also be close in succession to those. It would not make sense for the white horse to ride for 3 years, then the red and black and pale one’s within months of each other.
Many premillenial scholars view the white horse as the antichrist. If this is the Anichrist, from our perspective, this shows that the Antichrist gains a position/prominence just before the red horse. This may still be to come. This shows how if Solana is it, he will rise to a conquering position prior to the world exploding into war.
Also, one thing I noticed on my own website when categorizing the prophecies that the Antichrist fulfills. I categorize them as the following:
1) Antichrist's political dealings
2) Antichrist's military conflicts
3) Antichrist's reign of terror
4) Abomination of Desolation
It is interesting to note that he has fulfilled all the mainline political prophecies. (It is my contention, that Solana has also subdued the three kings as well, which I very methodically and with many sources supported this idea here: http://www.fulfilledprophecy.com/discussion/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=54435 I would love to see your opinions on this as well.)
However, he has not fulfilled ANY military prophecies. This time when he is not High Representative may simply be a transition time to his warmaking position.
Summary:
So basically, what I am trying to say is, prior to his rule for 42 months, the Antichrist has an extremely temporary arrangement where he has rule alongside the 10 kings. This cannot refer to the past 10 years of Solana's office, or to his political dealings from the start of the 70th week, because Revelation 17:12-14 seems to indicate that the ten kings have power alongside him for a very short period of time. 3 years is not a short period of time compared to his primary term of office (3.5 years).
Also, the white horse rides just before the red horse. We have not yet seen the red horse ride. Therefore, since they seem to happen in close succession, we have evidence for the Antichrist suddenly recieving a position from which he can conquer.
Thoughts????????