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History will look back upon Jeff Berwick & see a hero! Thanks for helping our little family be in position to prosper & help others as well.

I'm not disagreeing necessarily, but I have my own ideas on Revelation I'd like to share.

For instance, I think the "preterist" interpretation is a really lot more sensible when it comes to Revelation. However, I'd rather not prescribe myself to any movement. Personally, I don't consider revelation to be a holy book at all as it has been discovered to be most likely written by John "the exile" and not John "the evangelist." It's basically the fever dream of a madman.

Here's a tutorial on hebrew lettering and their relation to numbers:
http://www.i18nguy.com/unicode/hebrew-numbers.html

"Neron Caesar"(as we was called) in the Hebrew alphabet is נרון קסר‎ NRON QSR, which when interpreted numerically represents the numbers 50 200 6 50 100 60 200, which add up to 666. Additionally, dropping the N in the first name gives NRO QSR "Nero Caesar" which adds up to 616, the number which actually appears in the dead sea scrolls. Since we can get both of these numbers with Nero's name using the hebrew numbering system and since these are the only two numbers we find in different versions of the bible, I think it almost inconclusive that the "mark of the beast(animal)" refers to emperor Nero specifically. Further evidence for this interpretation is that the face of Nero is stamped on the coins during this time period. Nero is an "animal" or "beast" of a man. The translated word for "beast" is closest to "animal."

The devil does appear in the bible, for instance he tempts Jesus in the desert. But his form when he does appear is as an illusion or a mental projection; he is not anywhere depicted as physical in nature like a beast/animal or a horseman. His role is to tempt. He lives to prove to God that man is not worthy of being created. If he just destroyed things, he would defeat himself. He revels in our failures.

The monstrous destroyers of revelation are a metaphor for Rome and its society. And it's a metaphor for the Christian persecution that was happening which forced the church to stop keeping its history and this ended any new additions to the bible. The poetic value of Revelation is lost since its taken too seriously as a prophecy and included in the bible. You have to read Milton or Dante to enjoy the poetry.