[§286] Rev 17:8: The Beast That Was, and Is Not, and Yet Is

This podcast explains the imagery and symbolism used by John in Revelation 17:8, which states: “The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend 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.” The beast that was, and is not, and yet is, refers to the First Beast identified by John in Revelation 13:1 as the ancient Roman empire. In 476 AD that beast‒then known as the Imperial Roman empire‒ceased to exist when the city of Rome fell to the Germanic tribes from the north. By the time Rome fell in 476, a pagan form of Christianity had become the state religion of Rome. Thus, even though Imperial Rome (Pagan Rome) fell, a paganized form of Christianity survived and became a powerful force in the Holy Roman Empire also known as Papal Rome. Thus, "the beast that was, and is not" survived with its false religion into the modern era. He thus became the beast that yet is. The beast that yet is shall ascend out of the bottomless pit. This alludes to the beast in Revelation 11:7 that rises from the bottomless pit to kill the Two Witnesses in Jerusalem at the end of the Second Woe. The evil spirits and people who kill the saints of God in the latter days‒including the two witnesses‒will go into perdition, which means destruction or ruin. Disembodied spirit sons of perdition will go into perdition at the time of the Second Coming as recorded in Revelation 19:20. Unembodied sons of perdition will go into perdition at the end of the millennium as recorded in Revelation 20:10.Revelation 17:8 also states that mortals who dwell on earth in the latter days shall wonder or worship the Second Beast, which is synonymous with the Great Whore of false religion, and Babylon the Great. These worshipers are they whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world. This means they were not valiant in premortality. They were not members of the premortal house of Israel. (Deut 32:8-9) They were not foreordained in premortality to receive exaltation and eternal life through the first covenant with God before their mortal birth. (More 10:7)