Well, the Antichrist is also called the Man of Sin, and the Son of Perdition. This man of sin literally sits in the future temple of God-- as God -- in Jerusalem, claiming that he is God (while blaspheming the true God and Christ).
Caesar and his image, to which Israel said, "We have no king but Caesar", "crucify him." Jn 19:15
In order to gain access to the temple, he must be a renegade Jew, who deceives all the unbelieving Jews into thinking that he is the true Messiah. This also ties in with the fact that there must be an Abomination of Desolation (an idol) set up in "the holy place", which means that there must be a temple in existence which has a designated holy place, which is then desecrated.
Roman, The iron legs are Rome, you are forgetting that. The beast is a city Rev 17:18. Caesar is the head of the Roman beast.
This all happened in 70 AD. Lk 21:20-24, Shows that this is positively the dest of 70 ad Jerusalem. The people are scattered, taken as slaves, or killed by the sword. They don't wage wars with swords anymore, this is past. Prophecy fulfilled about the 70 AD dest in Ezek 5:1-17.
So in view of all this the present Bishop of Rome cannot be the Antichrist. There are plans in Israel to rebuild a temple in Jerusalem, and reinstitute the Levitical priesthood and the animal sacrifices. All of this ties in with the prophecies regarding the Antichrist.
Oh yes, you have fallen for the great lie. The hiding of the Antichrist by pre-trib and others.
You are saying that Caesar/BoR cannot be the Antichrist because the temple must be rebuilt and the old Law will be practiced again. then we will have to go through again, everything that happened by 70 ad.
That would be, The rejection of the gospel kingdom by Israel. The persecution by the Roman/iron legs/toes dragon beast. The destruction of the temple again.
Can't you see, that the Roman iron legs toes dragon beast, has been here all this time? 2000 years, persecuting Israel?
The iron doesn't stop and then start again, it is all one solid piece to the toes, divided, but solid. Daniel 2.
That means that the Roman Empire is still with us today, not the Empire itself, the "image" of the Roman Empire, Caesar and all.
Caesar was revealed at the dest of Jeru as the head of the iron beast nation that rules Israel for the times of the gentiles.
And Israel had to wear the mark of Caesar for the last 2000 yrs.
It is not that Caesar (70 AD) who is destroyed by the brightness of His coming, it is the Roman beast dragon image nation that comes out of the abyss, that is, the sea beast dies (Roman Empire), but the image (RCC, BoR, Vatican), the 8th head, continues to perdition, and this is the Antichrist that is destroyed by the brightness of His coming (2nd, rapt/ress, 7th trumpet)