Ch 13: Of the beast with seven heads and of a second beast.
This beast signifies the enemy of the people of God, to the end of the world. Of the seven heads, five were fallen: Egypt, Assyria, Chaldea, Persia and Greece (as a monarchy). The sixth was Rome and the seventh is to come, the Age of the Antichrist.
Showme response in red:
To be true, your interpretation of Revelation must be in line with that of Daniel 2 & 7, and in line with each other. Your interpretation does not match that given in Daniel, nor does it fit Revelation. You also did not explain the 8th head. Who was the beast that was, is not, and himself an eighth, and is one of the seven?
The dreams of Nebuchadnezzar involved a statue and "four great beast", which symbolized what will take place in the "latter days" (Dan 2:28). The head of gold of Dan 2:38, and the first beast of Dan 7, was not Egypt, but as explained in Daniel 2:38, was Nebuchadnezzar himself, representing the Babylonian empire. The breast of silver, the Persian empire, was represented by a beast like a bear, with three ribs in its' mouth, which would be Croesus of Lydia, Nabodidus of Babylon, and Tomyrius of Scythian, who were consumed by Cyrus, the founder of the Persian empire. The thighs of bronze, represents the Macedonian empire, and was also represented by a leopard with four wings, and four heads, which would represent the military phalanx by which Alexander defeated his enemies, plus his 4 leading generals, who inherited his kingdom. The legs of iron, being the Roman Empire, and the feet of iron and clay, being the final representation, a combination which included the Roman empire.
Daniel 2:38 clearly gives the head of gold as representing Nebuchadnezzar, which is a parallel parable to that of Revelation 17, but which breaks the Roman legs of iron and a mix of clay into the last 4 of the 7 heads. Number 4 being Pompey who conquered Jerusalem, number 5 being Julius Caesar who "had been slain, and his fatal wound was healed." (Rev 13:3), and who will return as the 8th beast, number 6 being Augustus Caesar, the healed Caesar who was to destroy the temple as Vespasian the emperor, and his son Titus, doing the actual destruction. The 7th head, being "the other has not yet comes" (Rev 17:10), is of course Constantine, who was the beast with two horns like a lamb, who was to deceive the world, of whom you gave the position as the anti-Christ, which is somewhat descriptive, if not entirely correct, although Constantine took the title of Pontifex Maximus, and “divi filius (son of God). Julius Caesar was the original emperor given the title “divi filius”, and his mythical heritage made him a son of god, being related to Venus, and Apollo. You seem to have forgotten about the eighth head.
The second beast signifies two counter-traditional tendencies, pseudo-religiosity and pseudo-spirituality "and he spoke as a dragon" (v12) signifies, in Hermeticism and many symbol-systems, the blood (although I'd have to check that in this instance). Phrases such as 'he caused ... them ... to adore the first beast" (13); "And he did great signs" (14), "And he seduced them" (15) speaks of deception.
The dragon is defined in Revelation 20:2 as the “Devil and Satan”. In this instance, it would be represented by Apollo, who was also the son of god, and it was at Apollo’s grotto, that Constantine had his vision, and it was Apollo who was the authority behind the beast. His image can be found in the forum of Constantine, and in the basement of the Vatican. But the image that Constantine saw at the Grotto of Apollo, the cross, can be found in most churches. Alexander visited Apollo’s Oracle at Delphi, and Caesar visited the Grotto of Apollo at Gaul, before crossing the Rubicon. And of course, Paul and Mohammed also saw an angel of light.
Chapter 17: "And on her forehead a name was written: A mystery; Babylon the great, the mother of the fornications, and the abominations of the earth"
As in mythopoeic texts, 'Babylon' becomes the symbol, the 'mother signifying the archetype of a tendency that will repeat itself down through time.
Actually Babylon was the mystery religion which sat upon the beast, in the sense that she manipulated the power of the kings she sat upon. The Roman church is just one of the daughters of that mystery religion. She is described as wearing fine linen, adorned with scarlet and gold, and precious stones. This would fit the description of the dress of the pope and his cardinals, the leaders of one of the daughters of Babylon. She is in her death throes as we speak, but she still persists. (Rev 17:16)
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By its very nature, the 'image template' can be applied in any number of permutations. As I didn't enjoy school, I can work the imagery to fit the school I went to, as I was in a cult for many years, the 'second beast' fits that to a tee.
That's the point. That's the author's intention. What he's pointing to is the metaphysical principle of the counter- and contra-traditional tendency. Empires will come and go, cultures will come and go, but history repeats itself ...
God bless,
Thomas
