@Brakelite, if you would like to just point out the one thing sure. If you use scripture (if it happens to be a lot) please use quotes around those parameters if you do not care, thank you.
Glad you are able to read it and understand it fully; it may not change my mind personally but you may present if you are desiring to do so.
Thank you. The first issue I have is your understanding of the term
beast.
KJV Revelation 13:1
1 And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a
beast rise up out of the sea
, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.
I believe as you do, that scripture interprets scripture. If there is a symbol in prophecy, we may turn elsewhere in scripture to find what that symbol represents right? Note that this beast, whatever it is, is described a certain way, which brings us directly back to the book of Daniel, where we see 4 beasts also depicted as rising up out of the sea. The angel speaking to Daniel tells him what these beasts are,
KJV Daniel 7:3, 17
3 And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another.
17 These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth.
Now the context, and history, informs us that these 4 kings developed into empires, and the great breasts themselves were to be understood as such. In fact, each of those empires had a succession of rulers, and in Daniel 7 and Daniel 8, some of those rulers were depicted as horns growing from the head of the beast, and if we go to history, we discover that those horns also developed into kingdoms with a succession of kings ruling. So we need to understand history, as well as context, and not confine ourselves to just one limited literalist understanding. The point being, nine of those great breasts that rose from the sea were literal individuals... They were great empires with several very important common factors which they shared. They had great impact on the nation of Israel. They were carnivores... They fed on other beasts through war and aggression, and assimilated the cultures of those they conquered to a great extent, particularly their spiritual religious culture, mainly in the form of pagan idolatry. History testifies to this when we consider Babylon, Persia, Greece and Rome, and how the Roman culture inherited so much from those empires that preceded her.
The second point is your propensity to localize everything. These beasts covered vast territories, but we're certainly literal local empires of theOT times. But when it speaks of rising up out of the sea, again we turn to scripture (no need for guesswork) to understand what the sea is...
The beast of Revelation 13 not only rose from the sea, but developed in character to form into a global tyranny and sat on those waters...
KJV Revelation 17:1, 15
1 And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters....
15 And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are
peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.
Many waters. Many nations, tongues and multitudes of people. This isn't just a localized Israel, not even a localized empire. No longer are we discussing a local king and a local empire. This beast is a spiritual entity, for literal Babylon is long past away from the earth. And the beast depicted in Revelation 13 had, like the empress of the OT, inherited and assimilated the cultures and religious heritage of those home before, as seen on is appearance. This is truly a global spiritual entity, as revealed in the fact that it is worshipped by the world, it blasphemes God, it persecutes the saints (note...not literal Israel, but the church)... Globally. This entity arises after pagan Rome has gone, although there is that assimilated iron in her makeup. But whoever this beast is, it cannot be pagan Rome or a member of it. It is aNT entity.