mindlight

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What does it mean to say the First Beast came out of the Sea (Leviathan) and the Second Beast came out of the earth (Behemoth)?

13 The dragon stood on the shore of the sea. And I saw a beast coming out of the sea. It had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on its horns, and on each head a blasphemous name. 2 The beast I saw resembled a leopard, but had feet like those of a bear and a mouth like that of a lion. The dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority. 3 One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed. The whole world was filled with wonder and followed the beast. 4 People worshiped the dragon because he had given authority to the beast, and they also worshiped the beast and asked, “Who is like the beast? Who can wage war against it?”

5 The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise its authority for forty-two months. 6 It opened its mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander his name and his dwelling place and those who live in heaven. 7 It was given power to wage war against God’s holy people and to conquer them. And it was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation. 8 All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the Lamb’s book of life, the Lamb who was slain from the creation of the world.

9 Whoever has ears, let them hear.

10 “If anyone is to go into captivity,
into captivity they will go.
If anyone is to be killed with the sword,
with the sword they will be killed.”

This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of God’s people.

The Beast out of the Earth
11 Then I saw a second beast, coming out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb, but it spoke like a dragon. 12 It exercised all the authority of the first beast on its behalf, and made the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose fatal wound had been healed. 13 And it performed great signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to the earth in full view of the people. 14 Because of the signs it was given power to perform on behalf of the first beast, it deceived the inhabitants of the earth. It ordered them to set up an image in honor of the beast who was wounded by the sword and yet lived. 15 The second beast was given power to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that the image could speak and cause all who refused to worship the image to be killed. 16 It also forced all people, great and small, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads, 17 so that they could not buy or sell unless they had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of its name.

18 This calls for wisdom. Let the person who has insight calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. That number is 666.
 

Douggg

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What does it mean to say the First Beast came out of the Sea (Leviathan) and the Second Beast came out of the earth (Behemoth)?
Out of the sea means out of the nations. The beast person will come out of the nations, not Israel. Specifically out of Europe. The beast's kingdom will be the EU, likely having allies of the United States and Canada.


upload_2021-7-5_5-16-6.jpeg


Out of the earth means out of Israel. The false prophet will appear in the end times, apparently posing as Elijah, and will anoint the little horn person as the King of Israel. Making the little horn person the Antichrist.

After three years go by, thereabouts, the Antichrist commits the transgression of desolation act claim to have achieved God hood.

God has him killed for it (the mortally wounded head). But in disdain for the person brings him back to life, but no longer the Antichrist phony King of Israel, but as the beast - who will be dictator of the EU for the 42 months in v5.

The false prophet, his cohort in the "awakening" of the Antichrist's human potential to become God, will have a statue image made of him. Which shortly after the 42 months begin, Satan will incarnate that statue image making it appear to come alive, breath, speak, and demand everyone's worship.

The beast, the false prophet, Satan, the statue image will meet their end when Jesus returns.

upload_2021-7-5_5-29-33.jpeg
 
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Douggg

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@mindlight I see where you are from Germany. Do you speak and read German?

Elias Rubenstein - Elias Rubenstein

If so, go to this person's website and paraphrase for us what the general overall message and thinking he is delivering. I have watched some of his videos in English.

The little horn person in Daniel 8:24-25, who eventually becomes the Antichrist, and later the beast, causes craft to prosper.

Since the person must be a Jew, the craft appears to be kabbalah and other such esoteric trains of thought.

I am not saying anyone in particular is the little horn/Antichrist/beast person. But the thinking at that website, to me, reflects the thinking the Antichrist, a Jew, will have. That will eventually lead him to think he can achieve God-hood.

The term "the awakening" the speaker summarizes as the overall theme of where man is heading.
 
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mindlight

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Out of the sea means out of the nations.

View attachment 301763

Maybe but not sure even Daniel 7 spells that out. Four different empires came out of the sea and then Revelation 13 repeats the imagery. But why the sea?

DANIEL 7:3-8
3 Four great beasts, each different from the others, came up out of the sea.

4 “The first was like a lion, and it had the wings of an eagle. I watched until its wings were torn off and it was lifted from the ground so that it stood on two feet like a human being, and the mind of a human was given to it.

5 “And there before me was a second beast, which looked like a bear. It was raised up on one of its sides, and it had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. It was told, ‘Get up and eat your fill of flesh!’

6 “After that, I looked, and there before me was another beast, one that looked like a leopard. And on its back it had four wings like those of a bird. This beast had four heads, and it was given authority to rule.

7 “After that, in my vision at night I looked, and there before me was a fourth beast—terrifying and frightening and very powerful. It had large iron teeth; it crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left. It was different from all the former beasts, and it had ten horns.

8 “While I was thinking about the horns, there before me was another horn, a little one, which came up among them; and three of the first horns were uprooted before it. This horn had eyes like the eyes of a human being and a mouth that spoke boastfully.


Out of the earth means out of Israel.

Where does it actually say that the false prophet needs to come from Israel or be Jewish?

The false prophet will appear in the end times, apparently posing as Elijah

There are prophecies about Elijah coming, apparently fulfilled in the ministry of the John the Baptist. Some wonder if one of the two witnesses will be Elijah as he never died, was with Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration and was the greatest of the prophets. Why would the false prophet pose as Elijah though when he wants to overthrow the Jewish and Christian narrative in favor of his boss the AntiChrist? Elijah does not testify to a global tyrant as king Ahab can testify to from the grave.[/quote]

, and will anoint the little horn person as the King of Israel. Making the little horn person the Antichrist.

Sounds reasonable.

After three years go by, thereabouts, the Antichrist commits the transgression of desolation act claim to have achieved God hood.

Claiming to be God or His equal appears to be a major theme and the act of desecration in the temple just the ultimate expression of that.

God has him killed for it (the mortally wounded head).

But does the text actually say that. It says he appears to have one who was raised from the dead. Many early Christians took that to mean Nero Redivivus. If the AntiChrist claimed to be the resurrection of some long lost Roman Emperor like Nero that would also fulfil the meaning of this passage.

The text only says:

One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed. Revelation 13:3

This sounds like a lie which the peoples of the earth were inclined to accept rather than a literal event of a death and then resurrection.

But in disdain for the person brings him back to life, but no longer the Antichrist phony King of Israel, but as the beast - who will be dictator of the EU for the 42 months in v5.

Right this is where you really start reading your agenda into the text. There is nothing so deeply unholy about the EU to warrant this kind of assessment. Also why must the AC be the King of Israel or even claim to be?

The false prophet, his cohort in the "awakening" of the Antichrist's human potential to become God, will have a statue image made of him. Which shortly after the 42 months begin, Satan will incarnate that statue image making it appear to come alive, breath, speak, and demand everyone's worship.

The beast, the false prophet, Satan, the statue image will meet their end when Jesus returns.

View attachment 301764

They are both bound for the lake of fire. Maybe they will also do some magic tricks with the statue.
 
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Douggg

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But does the text actually say that. It says he appears to have one who was raised from the dead.
It does not say that God brings the person back to life - in Revelation.

That information is derived from Isaiah 14:15-20. And his being killed in Ezekiel 28:1-10 *.

*Although I don't base my eschatological view on what the early church fathers said... in making the list in the thread ECF's list - grand experiment
I came upon some information that Hippolytus, 170AD-235AD....Hippolytus......65 years....Rome, also in his writings connected the death of the Antichrist will Ezekiel 28:1-10.
 
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mindlight

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@mindlight I see where you are from Germany. Do you speak and read German?

Elias Rubenstein - Elias Rubenstein

If so, go to this person's website and paraphrase for us what the general overall message and thinking he is delivering. I have watched some of his videos in English.

The little horn person in Daniel 8:24-25, who eventually becomes the Antichrist, and later the beast, causes craft to prosper.

Since the person must be a Jew, the craft appears to be kabbalah and other such esoteric trains of thought.

I am not saying anyone in particular is the little horn/Antichrist/beast person. But the thinking at that website, to me, reflects the thinking the Antichrist, a Jew, will have. That will eventually lead him to think he can achieve God-hood.

The term "the awakening" the speaker summarizes as the overall theme of where man is heading.

The website has an English version. Hamid Mirzaie (Pakistani name?) or Elias Rubenstein is associated with the Antiquus Ordo Rosicrucianis or in other words a pretty recent Austrian version of the Rosicrucians. He talks alot about ritual on his site and in his lectures. The movement itself as mystical, occultic roots and appears to have been fabricated some time in the C17 in Europe.

Rosicrucianism - Wikipedia

Are you trying to say he some kind of harbinger of the AC?
 
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Douggg

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Are you trying to say he some kind of harbinger of the AC?
I am saying the thinking regarding craft, which will eventually lead the person to think he can achieve God-hood is being expressed there. His particular role remains to be seen.

Validation of who the little horn person is - will be be once he becomes leader over the ten other leaders in the fourth kingdom, which in the end times is the EU.
 
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Douggg

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. Hamid Mirzaie (Pakistani name?) or Elias Rubenstein
I did a google search on Hamid Mirzaie. I couldn't find anything that connected that name to Elias Rubenstein.
 
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mindlight

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I did a google search on Hamid Mirzaie. I couldn't find anything that connected that name to Elias Rubenstein.

It is in the German version of the Wikipedia article:

Rosenkreuzer – Wikipedia

Die Leitung hat der freie Hochzeits- und Bestattungsredner Hamid Mirzaie inne, der sich seit 2011 „Elias Rubenstein“ nennt

(EN: The management is held by freelance wedding and funeral speaker Hamid Mirzaie, who has been calling himself "Elias Rubenstein" since 2011)


Freie Zeremonie | alternative Hochzeiten | Trauungen
 
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Douggg

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HTacianas

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What does it mean to say the First Beast came out of the Sea (Leviathan) and the Second Beast came out of the earth (Behemoth)?

13 The dragon stood on the shore of the sea. And I saw a beast coming out of the sea. It had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on its horns, and on each head a blasphemous name. 2 The beast I saw resembled a leopard, but had feet like those of a bear and a mouth like that of a lion. The dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority. 3 One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed. The whole world was filled with wonder and followed the beast. 4 People worshiped the dragon because he had given authority to the beast, and they also worshiped the beast and asked, “Who is like the beast? Who can wage war against it?”

5 The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise its authority for forty-two months. 6 It opened its mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander his name and his dwelling place and those who live in heaven. 7 It was given power to wage war against God’s holy people and to conquer them. And it was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation. 8 All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the Lamb’s book of life, the Lamb who was slain from the creation of the world.

9 Whoever has ears, let them hear.

10 “If anyone is to go into captivity,
into captivity they will go.
If anyone is to be killed with the sword,
with the sword they will be killed.”

This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of God’s people.

The Beast out of the Earth
11 Then I saw a second beast, coming out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb, but it spoke like a dragon. 12 It exercised all the authority of the first beast on its behalf, and made the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose fatal wound had been healed. 13 And it performed great signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to the earth in full view of the people. 14 Because of the signs it was given power to perform on behalf of the first beast, it deceived the inhabitants of the earth. It ordered them to set up an image in honor of the beast who was wounded by the sword and yet lived. 15 The second beast was given power to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that the image could speak and cause all who refused to worship the image to be killed. 16 It also forced all people, great and small, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads, 17 so that they could not buy or sell unless they had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of its name.

18 This calls for wisdom. Let the person who has insight calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. That number is 666.

The first beast from the sea was the Roman Empire. Look at a map of Italy and you'll see that it rises from the sea in that it is a peninsula in the Mediterranean Sea. The personification of "the beast" that was the Roman Empire was its emperor at the time. Who precisely the writer means is not certain, but is likely Nero.

I am not sure who the second beast was, but was likely one of these men:

List of Roman governors of Asia - Wikipedia

The Roman Governor of Asia Minor (the location of the seven churches of Revelation) exercised all the authority of the Emperor (the first beast) and acted on his behalf in Asia. Requiring a person to worship the image of the Emperor was quite common at the time. It continued until long after the writer's time. Pliny was governor of Bithynia, a part of Asia Minor, around 112 AD or so. In a letter to Trajan he described the trial of accused Christians of his time:

"Those who denied that they were or had been Christians, when they invoked the gods in words dictated by me, offered prayer with incense and wine to your image, which I had ordered to be brought for this purpose together with statues of the gods..."
 
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DavidPT

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Maybe but not sure even Daniel 7 spells that out. Four different empires came out of the sea and then Revelation 13 repeats the imagery. But why the sea?


IMO, in that context, in Revelation 13, the sea is maybe meaning the bottomless pit.


Revelation 13:1 And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up(anabaino) out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.


Revelation 17:3 So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.


having seven heads and ten horns---and upon his heads the name of blasphemy(Revelation 13:1)---full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns(Revelation 17:3)

Revelation 17:8 The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend(anabaino) 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.


was = initially was not in the bottomless pit

and is not = eventually got cast into the pit sometime prior to John seeing these visions, thus currently in the pit when John saw these visions


and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit = meaning a time future to John seeing these visions, the beast will be released from the pit, where it seems that that could be meaning Revelation 13:1 showing it's release from the pit.


This raises even more questions, assuming I'm correct about any of this. One question being, what is the bottomless pit?
 
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d taylor

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What does it mean to say the First Beast came out of the Sea (Leviathan) and the Second Beast came out of the earth (Behemoth)?

13 The dragon stood on the shore of the sea. And I saw a beast coming out of the sea. It had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on its horns, and on each head a blasphemous name. 2 The beast I saw resembled a leopard, but had feet like those of a bear and a mouth like that of a lion. The dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority. 3 One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed. The whole world was filled with wonder and followed the beast. 4 People worshiped the dragon because he had given authority to the beast, and they also worshiped the beast and asked, “Who is like the beast? Who can wage war against it?”

5 The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise its authority for forty-two months. 6 It opened its mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander his name and his dwelling place and those who live in heaven. 7 It was given power to wage war against God’s holy people and to conquer them. And it was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation. 8 All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the Lamb’s book of life, the Lamb who was slain from the creation of the world.

9 Whoever has ears, let them hear.

10 “If anyone is to go into captivity,
into captivity they will go.
If anyone is to be killed with the sword,
with the sword they will be killed.”

This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of God’s people.

The Beast out of the Earth
11 Then I saw a second beast, coming out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb, but it spoke like a dragon. 12 It exercised all the authority of the first beast on its behalf, and made the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose fatal wound had been healed. 13 And it performed great signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to the earth in full view of the people. 14 Because of the signs it was given power to perform on behalf of the first beast, it deceived the inhabitants of the earth. It ordered them to set up an image in honor of the beast who was wounded by the sword and yet lived. 15 The second beast was given power to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that the image could speak and cause all who refused to worship the image to be killed. 16 It also forced all people, great and small, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads, 17 so that they could not buy or sell unless they had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of its name.

18 This calls for wisdom. Let the person who has insight calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. That number is 666.
-​

The beast out of the sea will be a gentile ruler (man of sin, king of the north, The assyrian) , the beast out of the earth will be a Jewish person (antichrist)
 
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Matt5

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What does it mean to say the First Beast came out of the Sea (Leviathan) and the Second Beast came out of the earth (Behemoth)?

13 The dragon stood on the shore of the sea. And I saw a beast coming out of the sea. It had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on its horns, and on each head a blasphemous name. 2 The beast I saw resembled a leopard, but had feet like those of a bear and a mouth like that of a lion. The dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority. 3 One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed. The whole world was filled with wonder and followed the beast. 4 People worshiped the dragon because he had given authority to the beast, and they also worshiped the beast and asked, “Who is like the beast? Who can wage war against it?”

5 The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise its authority for forty-two months. 6 It opened its mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander his name and his dwelling place and those who live in heaven. 7 It was given power to wage war against God’s holy people and to conquer them. And it was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation. 8 All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the Lamb’s book of life, the Lamb who was slain from the creation of the world.

9 Whoever has ears, let them hear.

10 “If anyone is to go into captivity,
into captivity they will go.
If anyone is to be killed with the sword,
with the sword they will be killed.”

This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of God’s people.

The Beast out of the Earth
11 Then I saw a second beast, coming out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb, but it spoke like a dragon. 12 It exercised all the authority of the first beast on its behalf, and made the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose fatal wound had been healed. 13 And it performed great signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to the earth in full view of the people. 14 Because of the signs it was given power to perform on behalf of the first beast, it deceived the inhabitants of the earth. It ordered them to set up an image in honor of the beast who was wounded by the sword and yet lived. 15 The second beast was given power to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that the image could speak and cause all who refused to worship the image to be killed. 16 It also forced all people, great and small, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads, 17 so that they could not buy or sell unless they had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of its name.

18 This calls for wisdom. Let the person who has insight calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. That number is 666.

Here is speculation on my part:

The second beast is Jesus - the Islamic (fake) version. He'll have to come out of the sky with an army of angels (demons). Both beasts are demons in human form. One Islamic prophecy expert says demons will play premier role in spreading Islam around the world. I think that means getting governments to force the people to convert to Islam, or death.

This is what trips up the foolish virgins in the parable. They think the Islamic Jesus is the real deal. Under penalty of death they join Islam. Everybody else (not in hiding) gets to die.

Greek 666 = Allah in Arabic with two crossed swords underneath.
 
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Kenneth Heck

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Most nations do not come out of the sea to the extent they seek the best interests of their citizens and are restrained by the law of the land, which ultimately originates from divine revelation. The sea, unlike the earth, has no intrinsic morality or restaint imposed on it by God, other than its boundaries. It can be good, or evil, but doesn't have any basis for recognizing human concerns. Empires or administrations of empires described as coming out of the sea are not of divine origin and don't adhere to natural or Mosaic laws. They may arise from revolution or foreign invasion and are the ones most likely to persecute the people of God without cause, either frequently, or occasionally. We can spot them by looking at the history of Jewish persecution.

The four beasts of Daniel apply specifically to Judaism. The ten-horned beast of Revelation applies to both Judaism and Christianity. This beast is composed of the most evil aspects of the four beasts of Daniel, plus the seven heads, giving it a more universal applicability.

The second beast coming out of the earth comes out of the dark spiritual regions of the grave, or even Hell itself, where evil spirits have been chained for millennia. These end times have witnessed a prodigious increase in the number of demons of all sorts on the earth, and it will be continuing. It might also be connected to the underground bases of aliens which are known to exist even today. Both the false prophet and the single person called the beast in Revelation are not nomal human beings, and could actually be human-alien hybrids. The UFO-alien question will not be going away, in fact, just the opposite.
 
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mindlight

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The first beast from the sea was the Roman Empire. Look at a map of Italy and you'll see that it rises from the sea in that it is a peninsula in the Mediterranean Sea. The personification of "the beast" that was the Roman Empire was its emperor at the time. Who precisely the writer means is not certain, but is likely Nero.

I am not sure who the second beast was, but was likely one of these men:

List of Roman governors of Asia - Wikipedia

The Roman Governor of Asia Minor (the location of the seven churches of Revelation) exercised all the authority of the Emperor (the first beast) and acted on his behalf in Asia. Requiring a person to worship the image of the Emperor was quite common at the time. It continued until long after the writer's time. Pliny was governor of Bithynia, a part of Asia Minor, around 112 AD or so. In a letter to Trajan he described the trial of accused Christians of his time:

"Those who denied that they were or had been Christians, when they invoked the gods in words dictated by me, offered prayer with incense and wine to your image, which I had ordered to be brought for this purpose together with statues of the gods..."

That sounds like an accurate reading of the historical context. So from the sea means from the greatest empire of the gentile world - the Roman empire. I guess many Roman armies landed in the Jewish and Middle Eastern worlds from the Mare Nostram from Roman galleys also.

I am not a Praetorist but Futuristic readings of how these prophecies apply to the end of days need to be aware of how they were originally understood in their context.
 
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mindlight

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The beast out of the sea will be a gentile ruler (man of sin, king of the north, The assyrian) , the beast out of the earth will be a Jewish person (antichrist)

The Beast out of the Sea is the AntiChrist, since the first beast is the AntiChrist. The Second Beast is the False Prophet and there is nothing in scripture that compels the view that he was Jewish.
 
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mindlight

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IMO, in that context, in Revelation 13, the sea is maybe meaning the bottomless pit.


Revelation 13:1 And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up(anabaino) out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.


Revelation 17:3 So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.


having seven heads and ten horns---and upon his heads the name of blasphemy(Revelation 13:1)---full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns(Revelation 17:3)

Revelation 17:8 The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend(anabaino) 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.


was = initially was not in the bottomless pit

and is not = eventually got cast into the pit sometime prior to John seeing these visions, thus currently in the pit when John saw these visions


and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit = meaning a time future to John seeing these visions, the beast will be released from the pit, where it seems that that could be meaning Revelation 13:1 showing it's release from the pit.


This raises even more questions, assuming I'm correct about any of this. One question being, what is the bottomless pit?

Must admit I am not sure what to make of that. The terms bottomless pit (abyss) or Sea seem interchangeable in this context. But if they imply chaos, lawlessness and the deep emptiness of the abyss then that fits the character of the AC as a man of lawlessness, a son of sin.
 
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mindlight

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Here is speculation on my part:

The second beast is Jesus - the Islamic (fake) version. He'll have to come out of the sky with an army of angels (demons). Both beasts are demons in human form. One Islamic prophecy expert says demons will play premier role in spreading Islam around the world. I think that means getting governments to force the people to convert to Islam, or death.

This is what trips up the foolish virgins in the parable. They think the Islamic Jesus is the real deal. Under penalty of death they join Islam. Everybody else (not in hiding) gets to die.

Greek 666 = Allah in Arabic with two crossed swords underneath.

Islam did not exist when John wrote about 666 in Revelation. Nero is the best fit there. But the resonance between Islamic eschatology and the picture given in Revelation is profound as discussed in the other thread.

However despite this resonance I am inclined to believe the AntiChrist will be less partisan in his message. That he will come up with a philosophy/theology that allows for people from every back ground. He will preach an all paths lead to the Dragon type theology which results in his own exaltation. The Mahdi and Isa of Muslim theology are also more self effacing than the characters of Beast and False Prophet so it is not a good fit.
 
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