Still, there are certain rules one must adhere to, not only in biblical exegesis, but apocalyptic exegesis as well. Numbers, beasts, prophecy all mean certain things and one can't just take a translation and delve into the text without knowing the rules. And this is what the JWs do all the time. (And it's a reason they've yet to be right about anything.) You also can't tell them anything, either. They could take analytical courses that would help them understand beasts, numbers and rules that can't be abrogated or ignored, but one would have to go take college grade courses and above, and higher education, as we all know, is a distraction.
I've read the red Revelation book one of them gave me several times, and the interpretation they apply is so precise that it could only be interpreted by someone who knows the rules and has the Spirit of God; for what is given by revelation can only be interpreted by revelation. The problem is, the Slave has never claimed to have either the understanding or the inspiration. In fact they have repeatedly told the world that they do not receive revelation or inspiration in the same fashion as the apostles. One wonders, well, in what fashion do the members of that august body receive inspiration and guidance which is revelation but is not revelation, and is inspiration but is not inspiration?
How are people to know whether they are numbered with the anointed class if it is not revelation? And how can the Slave know that the two prophets of Revelation 11 are really a bunch of 1919 Bible Students released that year so they could begin preaching again (thus being resurrected on the streets of Jerusalem, which is another term for the church. That leap makes the one Eval Knieval took across the Grand Canyon look like a kid's hop, skip and jump exercise! It violates everything we know about eschatological exegesis, and giving it in a paper with real scholars would be a supreme embarrassment. Now if the Slave claimed revelation, it would simply be their word against everyone else's; however, since they have said they don't receive revelation, then how could they possibly know?
The entire GB=FDS equation is based on one verse in Matthew 24. But ask any JW to show you another scripture that has a similar interpretation. Or, when two prophets in an apocalyptic book are murdered and then resurrected on the streets of Jerusalem "where our Lord was crucified" -- ask them to find a similar verse that had a metaphorical interpretation. When apostles and prophets took the time to be so precise, it's highly unlikely they refer to something completely different.
Cobweb > The book of Revelation does not apply to our time. It was describing an
imminent end just as Paul also expected an end in their lifetime. It
has references to the Roman Empire. The mark of the Beast 666 or 616 as
they think it is now, is a code number that identifies a specific Roman
emperor.
There are numerous reasons this can't be true. The Beast to which this person refers never fulfilled any of the prophecies applied to him and they were made after the destruction of Jerusalem. There was no mark on the hand or forehead employed by which people could buy or sell. And the Beast was very carefully associated with a ruler described by Daniel, which the emperors of Rome never fulfilled or bore the slightest resemblance to.
You say the King of the North and the King of the South were "the Ptolemies of Egypt and the
Seleucid's of Syria, literally to the North and South of Israel in the
second century when Daniel was written." But how would you know that since you yourself said "these biblical apocalypses are
failed prophecy and they have [no] relevance for us." You're doing the same thing the JWs are doing, but in reverse. The fact that you say these were "failed prophecy" could just as easily mean they don't refer to the Greek sub-kingdoms you say they do.
