MARK OF.......?

[WilliamL]

On 9/4/2024 at 2:02 AM, Diaste said:

t is the same with the beast of Rev 13. The 7 heads are 7 kings corresponding to Rev 17:10. This 8th beast who arises from the 7 is called a king 'from the previous 7'. It would be burdening the text to the breaking point to assume the previous 7 were some beast akin to Rev 13:1-2. In your interpretation that would have to be the case as the 8th beast is supposed to be some hideous 7 headed, 10 horned nightmare than came from a previous 7, just like the 8th. 

Where is the justification for that? 

The same justification for saying that the angelic being Satan can  appear in the spiritual realm as: "a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads." Rev. 12:3

[Diaste]

On 9/5/2024 at 3:23 PM, WilliamL said:

The same justification for saying that the angelic being Satan can  appear in the spiritual realm as: "a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads." Rev. 12:3

I suppose there is some probability of that. However, that is a vision, and hence the creature is symbolic of events, character, nature and behavior of individuals and groups. 

Of course you would never conclude this "a woman clothed in the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head." is what Israel looks like. It is a sign, "And a great sign appeared in heaven:"

Same as, "Then another sign appeared in heaven: a huge red dragon with seven heads, ten horns, and seven royal crowns on his heads. 4His tail swept a third of the stars from the sky, tossing them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, ready to devour her child as soon as she gave birth."

And every time we see the dragon with 7 heads, 10 horns and 10 crowns it is a sign, symbol, analogous to the nature of the empire and organization of Satan; not an actual entity. 

Isaiah says,

Those who see you will stare; they will ponder your fate: “Is this the man who shook the earth and made the kingdoms tremble, 17who turned the world into a desert and destroyed its cities, who refused to let the captives return to their homes?”

 

[WilliamL]

On 9/7/2024 at 4:42 AM, Diaste said:

Isaiah says,

Those who see you will stare; they will ponder your fate: “Is this the man who shook the earth and made the kingdoms tremble, 17who turned the world into a desert and destroyed its cities, who refused to let the captives return to their homes?”

"The man/ha-ish" in Hebrew can refer to either a human or an angel. For example, Gabriel is called in Daniel "the man/ha-ish Gabriel."