The Beast That Was And Is Not

THE BEAST THAT WAS AND IS NOT

Revelation 17:8-12 KJV  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.  (9)  And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.  (10)  And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space.  (11)  And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.  (12)  And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.

Revelation 17:9 NET  (This requires a mind that has wisdom.) The seven heads are seven mountains the woman sits on. They are also seven kings:

Some of this article has been discussed in posts of the past, but I would like to examine some of it again with additional information.  Let’s first get on track with the identity of the beast.  This entity is first encountered in Revelation 13 where it is seen as coming up out of the sea having 10 horns, seven heads, and 10 crowns on its 10 horns.  It was viewed as the 2^nd appearance of the composite beast which was first introduced in Revelation 12 as the Satanically inspired dragon.

And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.  (Revelation 12:3 KJV)

The composite beast of Revelation 12 has 7 crowns on its 7 heads whereas the beast in chapter 12 has 10 crowns on its 10 horns.  This beast is Satan, but the image is symbolic of Satan’s 7 historical empires that has attempted to destroy and deny the blood line of the Messiah and later, the birth and then the life of Jesus, the Messiah.  These empires are generally agreed to be:  Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome with the seventh up for debate.

It is also important to note that the beast “shall ascend out of the bottomless pit (abyss)”.  We generally refer to the beast as the antichrist or a person inspired or perhaps possessed by Satan.  Therefore the beast is a kingdom and a person, actually only the heads are persons as we will discuss later.  This is important because empires/nations/kingdoms do not ascend out of the bottomless pit, only dead people can perhaps be given that opportunity.

Verse 9 states that the seven heads are seven mountains (the seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth), and verse 10 states the seven heads are also seven kings (They are also seven kings NET).  Again, it will be pointed out that only the KJV says, “There are seven kings” while the majority of versions state, “They are seven kings.”  The actually Greek text should translate as “they are” and not “There are” which has created somewhat of a problem in eschatological writings.

It is important to note these 7 heads are empires on the composite beast but are referred to an kings or persons by the angel giving the explanation.  The composite beast has 7 empires or kingdoms, but the beast is also the antichrist or person of the 7^th head and the other 6 heads are empires on the composite but are later referred to as kings or persons.  Idolatrous pagan religion existed in all of the historic empires, but the 8^th which is also the 7^th will be the worst

Of the seven kings, five are (have) fallen (the actual king in charge is debatable):  the kings of Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia, and Greece.  At the time of the apostle John, one of the kings “is”, which would be Rome (Nero or Domitian).  The seventh, which had not appeared at the time of John, can only continue has a short space or time when he does come (he must remain for only a brief time NET).  There is an 8^th king but he is one of the seven, specifically, he is the 7^th and 8^th kings but will be recognized as still the 7^th king.

And there (they) are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space. And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.   (Revelation 17:10-11 KJV)

IS THE ROMAN EMPIRE THE BEAST KINGDOM?

Many expositors, most old school and some new school, still consider a revived Roman Empire as the kingdom of the beast.  Their proof usually starts with the statue in Daniel chapter 2.  The legs and feet of the statue are generally identified as Rome.  The feet have ten toes, although the number 10 is never mentions much less being specific, and they consider this as prophetic evidence of a revived Roman Empire.  The next bit of proof is the four beasts of Daniel 7.  They identify these four beasts as the same beasts found in the statue of Daniel 2, although there is absolutely no scriptural proof for this assertion.  The fourth beast with the little horn is generally recognized as the beast kingdom but the composite beast of Revelation 13 has body components of these three empires which should eliminate a comparison to Daniel 2.

And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.   (Revelation 13:2 KJV)

The first was like a lion…..And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear…..After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard….. (Daniel 7:4-6 KJV)

These first three beasts are allowed to exist for a while and are therefore contemporary with the 4^th beast, the antichrist or the kingdom of the antichrist.

As concerning the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away: yet their lives were prolonged for a season and time.   (Daniel 7:12 KJV)

In their beast empire analysis these exegetes view the heads only as empires and not kings.  Although, in their writings, they view the beast as a person:  and the actions of the beast as those of a person.  In the case of the Roman Empire, it would need to be the sixth, seventh, and eighth heads at the same time.  It would be the 6^th in John’s time, the 7^th to come for a short, and the 8^th which is also the 7^th.  This seems to be an insurmountable problem, and in my opinion the Roman Empire is a non-entry candidate.

IS THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE THE BEAST KINGDOM?

From the information gathered, it seems that Joel Richardson is the primary component of the Islamic beast empire.  He maintains that the Ottoman empire is the 7^th head of the composite beast and is the 8^th head which is the 7^th head.  Again, he equates the heads as empires or kingdoms and not as kings in his initial analysis.  It must be admitted that his theory appears much more likely than the Roman Empire exposition.  He writes that the Ottoman empire conquered the Roman empire, although it must be addressed that Rome was in an extremely weakened position and had been overturned by the Byzantines prior to the Islamic entry.

The primary consideration is:  should we consider the Ottoman empire?  Do we consider the British empire?  No, we don’t, although the book, “The Antichrist and a Cup of Tea” makes the claim that a prince of England, such as Phillip or Harry (or maybe little Harry), may be the antichrist.  Although not a dispensationalist, that view claims all prophecy fulfillment ceased with the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD and that it will restart with the building of the temple in Jerusalem at the beginning of the 70^th week of Daniel. 

The dispensational view may have some merit.  Most of us generally consider the 69^th week of Daniel to have put the 70^th week on pause at the resurrection of Jesus Christ and that the 70^th week will commence at the building of the temple.  It should be noted that Old Testament scripture is a historical analysis of the Hebrew or Israelite people within the country of Israel that ended at approximately 70AD.  It is recognized that Israel again became a nation in 1948 but without the sacrificial system in place.  Therefore, today, Israel is mostly a nation of various people mostly those considering themselves as Jews without the religious system of the original Israelites.  Old Testament prophecies always dealt with Israel and the people of Israel:  either their coming invasions or their religious apostasy, never with the USA, Russia, China, or South America.  Jesus is/was an Israelite of the tribe of Judah.  The kingdom of the beast will be in Jerusalem, Israel.

Since we do not consider the British Empire as a contestant, neither should we consider the Ottoman Empire.  This Ottoman empire lasted around 600 years:  not exactly a short span or a brief time.  It also occurred during the prophetic silent era between the 69th and 70th weeks of Daniel.

WHAT IS THE BEAST

A man will appear and conquer the first three beasts of Daniel 7.  He may be the ruler of another country and of one of the ten regions the world is to be divided into by the new world powers.  He will take over the countries listed in Daniel 11:  Egypt; Libya; Ethiopia; areas of the north (?); areas of the south (?); the east (?); and pockets around the current land of Israel.  He appears to conquer and destroy many Arab countries and areas, unlike that which would be expected of an Ottoman Islam person.  He will be assassinated at some point around the middle of the 70^th week and then will “ascend from the bottomless pit,” as some type of resurrection.  Some believe he will only pretend to be dead and others that he will die and ascend from the abyss.  If the beast is resurrected, who will do it?  I agree with most that Satan cannot resurrect the dead, but only God can perform that act.  If God does resurrect the beast, why would He perform such an unlikely event?  Chris White, author and film maker, suggested the following scriptural idea:  to enact the delusion of the nonbelievers.  The phrase “a lie” in the KJV should actually read “the lie” which is found in the majority of versions.

And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.  (2 Thessalonians 2:11-12 KJV)

BIBLICAL ILLUSTRATOR:  The Greek term translated “delusion” is literally “the in-working of error.” The expression is a very important one, and shows the source and mode of operation of the error. The whole thing is internal, and is opposed to the in-working of the Holy Spirit. Men pursue an evil course until they come to believe it to be right.

The beast, as a person (not an empire), will be the 7^th head of the composite beast.  He will be killed then ascend from the abyss, and become the 8^th head and continue to be the 7^th.  The beast will not be an empire although he will control a large empire.  His headquarters and palace will be located in Israel around Jerusalem.  He will come to his end (be assassinated) but will be resurrected and continue as a self-appointed “god”. 

And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him.

(Daniel 11:45 KJV)

Upon his (beast) ascension from the abyss, he will begin the time of “Jacob’s trouble.”

……and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.  (Daniel 12:1 KJV)

Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble; but he shall be saved out of it.  (Jeremiah 30:7 KJV)

CONCLUSION

It is my opinion that when the temple is rebuilt, the beast becomes world dictator, and the “covenant with many” is confirmed allowing the temple sacrifices to start, the 70^th week of Daniel will be in full operation with its central location in Israel.  The battle of Armageddon will occur in Israel and Jesus will rule the millennium, with a rod of iron, in Jerusalem.

For those of you with a concern about my writing, let it be known that I am not a dispensational, Zionist, evangelical performing hind-kissing pretenses such as John Hagee.  I am only summarizing and analyzing the scripture of the Bible.  Take it for your possible benefit or click elsewhere.

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