Why? Did Jesus having 7 horns and 7 eyes mean he was one of 7 emperors? No. Of course not. But there was a reference to the 7fold spirit! What's that about? The Holy Spirit isn't the 3rd person in the Godhead any more? No. The number is being used in its Jewish sense of God's perfection.
Try to be consistent with Jewish number symbolism please! When Revelation uses 7 of Jesus eyes and horns, it is referring to God's perfect authority and knowledge.
Chapter 12-14 recounts the gospel story so far, with Mary giving birth to Jesus and Satan opposing the baby from birth. Satan (the dragon) has 7 heads and 10 horns. He is imitating Jesus perfect power and authority.
The 7 horned 10 headed beast is trying to imitate Jesus; but in the end it mimics Satan. The number patterns are repeated for a reason. The terrifying beast is Rome which persecuted God's people and, from an Ancient Middle Eastern world-view and cosmology, basically controlled the whole world. It might sound silly to modern ears, but to them Rome really did rule the world.
And in describing Rome, and how Christians were to act towards their persecution, he describes how Christians should act in all situations of 'beastly' government sponsored persecution.
Remember, ONLY this reading is consistent with the way John describes the purpose of the whole book in the first verse!
1 The revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, 2 who testifies to everything he sawthat is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. 3 Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.
The time really was near, as the Roman persecution was just about to burst forth. And, even though we in the western world are not under persecution now (praise the Lord!), the time remains near. Because while we might not be persecuted, we can face prejudice, and we must resist the temptation to trust in worldly security and authorities rather than God. So while it is primarily about Rome, just as the books of Corinthians were about and to the church in Corinth, the wisdom in the book can be applied to today. Well, to every age of Christians actually, including the last 2000 years.
Otherwise, reading it as you do, the book is mostly irrelevant most of the time.
I appreciate some of the things you are saying, they are relevant. However the Bible lays out a big picture concerning Bible prophecy. It interprets that big picture for us. All the details of that big picture that are not interpreted are within the context of that big picture. These are the scriptures I am using as opposed to Biblical numerology.
Daniel chapter 7:7 After this I looked in the night visions, and saw a fourth animal, dreadful and terrible, and exceedingly strong; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and crushed, and trampled what was left with its feet: and it was different from all the animals that were before it; and it had ten horns. 8. I considered the horns, and look, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns uprooted; and look, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things. 9. I looked until the thrones were set up, and the ancient of days sat, whose robe was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the flames of fire, and its wheels were burning fire. 10. A river of fire ran and issued from his presence: thousand thousands served him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood in his presence: the court was seated, and the books were opened. 11. I was looking then because of the sound of the great words which the horn spoke: I looked until the animal was killed, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame.
The interpretation: 7:19. Then I would know the truth of the fourth animal, which was different from all the others, exceeding dreadful, whose teeth were of iron, and his nails of brass; which devoured and crushed, and trampled what was left with his feet; 20. And of the ten horns that were in his head, and of the other which came up, before whom three fell; even of that horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spoke very great things, whose look was more greater than his fellows. 21. I was looking, and the same horn made war with the saints, and overpowered them; 22. Until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom. 23. So he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be different from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and crush it. 24. And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings. 25. And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time. 26. But the court will sit, and they shall take away his empire, to consume and to destroy it until the end. 27. And the kingdom and empire, and the greatness of the dominion under the whole heaven, will be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all empires shall serve and obey him.
The period of time allotted the little horn as recorded in Daniels prophecy is: a time and times and the dividing of time. (Or a year, two years and a half a year.) This Hebrew word is technically understood to be years. The same word where seven times (years) passed over king Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel chapter 4. This time period is repeated no less than five times in different visions of the same things in Revelation 11-13 using these words: Chapter 11- Forty-two months; 1260 days. Chapter 12- 1260 days; a time, and times and half a time (the same way Daniel puts it, verifying it once more.) Chapter 13- Forty-two months.
Here is how the scripture itself interprets this time period. Revelation 17: 7 And the angel said to me, Why did you marvel? I will tell you the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carries her, which has the seven heads and ten horns. 8 The beast that you saw was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is. 9 And here is the mind which has wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sits. 10 And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he coms, he must continue a short space. 11 And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goes into perdition. 12 And the ten horns which you saw are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast. 13 These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.
The seven kings are the first seven emperors of Rome. Five are fallen and the sixth is the current emperor which would be Vespasian. This gives us the date that John received his vision. During the reign of Vespasian. Ending all the speculation of "scholars." There was civil war for a year after the death of Nero with a number of people laying claim to the throne. Vespasian won. Perhaps half of the lists of Roman emperors will list all who claimed the throne during that year as being emperors. However the scripture does not look at it that way, nor do the other half of the lists of Roman emperors. He who ends up as emperor is the one the scripture sights. Which was Vespasian. The seventh emperor is Titus, Vespasian's son, the one who destroyed Jerusalem in 70A.D. He did this while Vespasian was still emperor. The eighth emperor is Domitian. He is also Vespasian's son. This is one of the reasons why he is "of the seven." The reason Domitian is referred to as the "Beast" is because he is the first of the ten emperors (horns) of the ten horned beast in Daniel chapter seven. So starting with Domitian the next ten emperors of Rome are the ten horns. Once their reign ends there will have been a total of three dynasties of Roman Emperors.
Commodus is the last emperor (number ten of the ten.) He died in 192 A.D. Once more for a year there is civil war with five people claiming the throne. In 193 A.D. it is Septimius Severus who ends up as emperor. The civil war that propelled him to the throne went like this. Pertinax who may have had a hand in the assassination of Commodus was proclaimed emperor by the Praetorian Guard. Apparently he paid them to do this. Not being satisfied with their payment the guard murdered Pertinax and installed Didius Julianus who paid them more. Septimius Severus secured Rome, beheaded Didius Julianus and disbanded the Praetorian Guard. His legions then defeated the legions of the his rival claimant's to the throne, Pescennius Niger and Clodius Albinus. A web page that lists these emperors.
This is how Daniel's vision predicts and interprets this situation. Verse 7..... it was different from all the animals that were before it; and it had ten horns. 8. I considered the horns, and look, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns uprooted;
Notice here that it does not say three horns or emperors were conquered. Instead it uses the term to "uproot." Then we go to the angels interpretation of this.24. And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.
The words "diverse from the first"
in verse 24 are the actually interpretation of "three of the first horns uprooted"
in verse 8. One may also take the words "he shall subdue three kings"
this way but it seems to better fit the scenario in the previous sentence. This is why: There were three distinct dynasties of Italian emperors that were "uprooted" by Septimius Severus. His father was African, his mother Italian. From this point on being Italian as a prerequisite of being the Emperor of Rome or the Romans will fade into obscurity. His son Emperor Caracalla even granted almost all the free inhabitants of the empire full Roman citizenship. The old order of the empire as exemplified by the first three dynasties of Italian Roman emperors was completely uprooted at this time. The last part of verse 24, "and he shall subdue"
three kings were in fact fulfilled by his conquering of Didius Julianus, Pescennius Niger and Clodius Albinus to become emperor.
From 193 A.D. to 1453 A.D there never ceased to be an emperor on the throne of the Roman Empire which is exactly 1260 years. This is the symbolic time period named over and over in Bible prophecy. This is the "hard" date or time period. Emperor (284-305) Diocletian the author of the greatest persecutions of believers thus far divided the empire into two sections, eastern and western with two emperors. He remained emperor of the eastern half while installing Maximian as the emperor of western portion in Rome in 285. Constantine started ruling a portion of the western empire in 306 and gradually ascending to the point of the defeat of the eastern emperor Licinius in 324 in a civil war. He did away with the two emperor model assuming ruler ship of the entire empire. He then built and in 330 A.D. consecrated Constantinople as the capitol of the Roman Empire modeling it after the city of Rome. Before Constantine died in 337 he once more divided the empire into an eastern and western branch setting his sons as emperors over them. Constantinople remained the capitol of the Roman Empire until it was conquered by the Turks 1453 A.D. From: Wordservice.org, End Time Prophecy article.
In my opinion this date is in the top ten of amazing, radical, secular humanist pwning, world changing fulfillment of Bible prophecy in the Word of God.
