Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Revelation 17:8

"The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and is about to come up out of the abyss, and to go into perdition. And they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, [they] whose name hath not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast, how that he was, and is not, and shall come." — Revelation 17:8 (ASV)

Much difficulty in interpreting this section has resulted from incorrectly applying John’s words either to the Roman emperor succession (the seven heads), to the Nero redivivus myth , or to a succession of world empires. None of these views is satisfactory. John’s description is theological, not political. He describes a reality behind earth’s sovereigns, not the successive manifestations in history. The beast is the monster from the Abyss—i.e., the Satanic incarnation of idolatrous power that is mentioned in 11:7 and described in 13:1ff., and whose destruction is seen in 19:19–20. John is told that the beast “once was, now is not, and will come up out of the Abyss.” This seems clearly to be a paraphrase of the earlier idea of the sword-wounded beast who was healed (13:3, 14); the language is similar, the astonishment of the world’s inhabitants is identical, and the threefold emphasis on this spectacular feature is repeated (13:3, 12, 14; 17:8 bis, 11). The play here on the tenses “was... is not... will come” refers to a three- stage history of the beast that requires a mind with wisdom to understand. That John’s beast “is not” refers to his defeat by the Lamb on Calvary (cf. Jn 12:31-32). To those who worship only the Father and the Son, all other gods are nothing or nonexistent (1 Corinthians 8:4–6). Satan once had unchallenged power over the earth (“was,” cf. Lk 4:6; Hebrews 2:14–15). Yet he is given a “little time” to oppose God and his people (12:12c; 13:5; 20:3b) before his final sentencing to “destruction” (v.11; cf. Matthew 7:13; Romans 9:22; 2 Thessalonians 2:3). It is this apparent revival of Satan’s power and authority over the world after his mortal wound (Genesis 3:15) that causes the deceived of earth to follow him. There is a subtle change from the way the first reference to the beast is stated (v.8a) to that of the second (v.8b). Whereas the first instance reveals to believers his Satanic origin (“out of the Abyss”) and his final destruction, the second simply states an unbeliever’s view—how that “he once was, now is not, and yet will come.” This twofold viewpoint is paralleled in vv.9–11, where one of the kings “is” (v.10) and an eighth king “is” (v.11); yet the beast “is not” (v.11). There seems to be an intentional double-talk whereby the author identifies theologically the nature of the power that supports the profligate woman. John uses a present tense for the beast’s coming up out of the Abyss (cf. 11:7), suggesting a continuing aspect of his character, similar to the use of the present tense to describe the New Jerusalem descending from heaven (cf. 3:12; 21:2, 10). The beast’s going into perdition may likewise indicate one of his continuing characteristics. There is also a possible parallelism in the expression “once was, now is not, and yet will come” with the divine attributes described in the phrase “who is, and who was, and who is to come” (1:8). On the meaning of the “book of life,” see comment on 3:5 (cf. 13:8).