I see in many of your answers, that the beast of the book of revelation is the Roman Empire. Isn’t the bible a spiritual book more than a history book? Isn’t the devil in a war for our souls, more than our lands? So how come the beast is a Empire (literally Roman Empire) and not the Roman Catholic Church, wanting to confuse us through an elaborate system of worshipping that has NOTHING to do with GOD?
Besides, who said the Roman Empire Died? As far as I am concerned MANY (at least 13 use the same symbols as the Roman Empire, the eagle. Also remember the Nazis used the eagle) countries still use it (look on there flags). So could your ROMAN EMPIRE in fact be none other than the Catholic Church or the Jesuits, which also have a pope (called the black pope, called Hans Kolvenbach, German just like the current pope).
Answer
The point of the book of the Revelation is that the Devil lost the war for our souls when Jesus died on the cross. Some people still follow him, just as some people in Iraq are now still following the Sadammist regime, even though their head has literally lost his. Yes, the Revelation is about a spiritual warfare, because the Roman Empire launched the greatest persecution against Christians the world has ever known. The message of the book is that Christians have already won, so they don’t need to worry about persecution.
One reason I can know for sure that the Revelation has nothing to do with the Roman Catholic Church is that several times the writer is told these are things that were soon to happen. (This is the same reason I know the book is not about our future.) Since the things were to happen soon after it was written it could not be about a church that did not exist for several hundred years. While there are doctrines and practices of the Roman Catholic Church that date back to the early centuries, the Roman Catholic Church technically did not exist until around 1050 AD. That is hardly soon from a first century aspect.
Also, the symbols of the book of the Revelation make it clear he was talking about the Roman persecution that began with Domitian (the tenth emperor). They make it clear the beast was the city of Rome. The beast was to persecute the church; therefore, it could not be the church, even in a corrupted form.
Just because other nations or organizations use the same symbols as the Roman Empire does not mean they are a continuation of that empire. Just because the Nazi Party used the swastika does not mean they were a branch of the Navajo nation or the Hindu or Buddhist religions, all of which used swastikas as symbols long before Naziism. Historically, the Roman Empire has fallen. Even though the title Holy Roman Emperor lasted much longer than even the Empire, even that title no longer exists.
Even if we discount that the book was to be fulfilled soon after it was written, and even if we could discount that the persecution was coming from the Roman Government, the beast cannot possibly be the Catholic Church or any component thereof. I know that idea was popular about fifty years ago, but thought that it had died a merciful death, like the Roman Empire. But even fifty years ago, it was obvious that the beast of the Revelation had nothing to do with the Roman Catholic Church. The persecution of the Revelation was to come from outside, rather than within, the church.