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Revelation 17:8

in Revelation 17

The beast that you saw—it was, and now is no more, but is about to come up out of the Abyss and go to its destruction. And those who dwell on the earth whose names were not written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world will marvel when they see the beast that was, and is not, and yet will be.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

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.

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.

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This verse in Revelation 17

Commentary

13 notes on this verse

A commentator

Oecumenius

Commentary on Revelation · Written before 550.

"The beast which you saw, was and is not, and is about to rise up out of the abyss," he says. For the Devil had indeed been, before the existence of the sensible world, made by God for good works, like the other glorious angels; …

This site's exposition

Why are you so amazed

on Revelation 17:7-8

The mystery is a hidden truth made known. The beast that was, and is not, and yet will be echoes God's name at 1:4 and the risen Christ at 1:18. The marvelers are those whose names were not written in the Book of Life, as at 20:15.

This site's exposition

come up out of the Abyss

The marvel of those who dwell on the earth repeats 13:3 and 8, where the world followed the beast after its wound was healed. The oldest manuscripts end the verse with a Greek word meaning will be present, pointing to a return.

The record, by era

The Church Fathers3 voices

A commentator

Caesarius of Arles

EXPOSITION ON THE APOCALYPSE 17:8, HOMILY 14 · Written before 542.

proposed

We understand this to mean that an evil people is born out of an evil people. And so we can say the beast comes out of the beast and the abyss out of the abyss. And what does it mean that the beast comes out …

A commentator

Primasius of Hadrumetum

COMMENTARY ON THE APOCALYPSE 17:8 · Written before 560.

proposed

The holy Scriptures teach that from the beginning of the world there has been the rise and the advance to the present time of two cities. Of these, one is of God and the other is of the devil, and in this passage [the city …

A commentator

Primasius of Hadrumetum

COMMENTARY ON THE APOCALYPSE 17:8 · Written before 560.

proposed

He is referring to those very same people from whose members the body destined to damnation is built up. And should the names make for some ambiguity, in his epistle [John] has spoken of the same thing in the singular: "As you have heard that …

The Medieval Church2 voices

A commentator

Andreas of Caesarea

COMMENTARY ON THE APOCALYPSE 17:8 · Written before 614.

proposed

The beast is the devil who is always seeking someone to devour. He was killed by the cross of Christ, but, it is said, he will live again at the end, effecting the denial of salvation through the deceit of the antichrist in signs and …

A commentator

Andreas of Caesarea

COMMENTARY ON THE APOCALYPSE 17:8 · Written before 614.

proposed

On account of the false miracles, those whose names are not written in the book of those who live forever and who have not been sufficiently taught in the prophecies of Christ concerning him will be astonished at his coming and wonder how he had …
5 more voices on this verse

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

A commentator

John Wesley

1703–1791

Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)

The first of these three is described in the thirteenth chapter. chap. xiii, 1-18 This was past when the angel spoke to St. John. The second was then in its course; the third woe to come. And is not - The fifth phial brought darkness upon his kingdom: the woman took this advantage to seat herself upon him.
The beast which thou sawest was, and is not,....

The Nineteenth Century3 voices

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

But A, B, Syriac, and Coptic read the singular, "name is." written in--Greek, "upon." which--rather, "when they behold the beast that it was," &c. So Vulgate. was, and is not, and yet is--A, B, and ANDREAS read, "and shall come" (literally, "be present," namely, again: Greek, "kai parestai").

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

proposed

The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition - The beast is the Latin kingdom; (Ἡ Λατινη βασιλεια); consequently the beast was, that is, was in existence previously to the time of St. John; (for Latinus was the first king of the Latins, and Numitor the last); is not now, because the Latin nation has ceased long ago to be an independent power, and is now under the dominion of the Romans; but shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, that is, the Latin kingdom, the antichristian power, or that which ascendeth out of the abyss or bottomless pit, is yet in futurity.
The beast that thou sawest was, and is not - In the close of the verse it is added, “and yet is” - “the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.” There are three things affirmed here: first, that there is a sense in which it might be said of the power here referred to, that it “was,” or that, before this, it had an existence; second, that there was a sense in which it might be said that it is “not,” that is, that it had become practically extinct; and third, that there is a sense in which that power would be so revived that it might be said that it “still is.” The “beast” here referred to is the same that is mentioned in Rev 17:3, and in Rev 13:1, Rev 13:3,Rev 13:11-16. That is, there was one great formidable power, having essentially the same origin, though manifested under somewhat different modifications, to one and all of which might, in their different manifestations, be given the same name, “the beast.” And shall ascend out of the bottomless pit - ἐκ τῆς ἀβύσσου ek tēs abussou. On the meaning of the word here used, see the notes on Rev 9:1. The meaning here is, that this power would seem to come up from the nether world. It would appear at one time to be extinct, but would revive again as if coming from the world over which Satan presides, and would, in its revived character, be such as might be expected from such an origin. And go into perdition - That is, its end will be destruction. It will not be permanent, but will be overthrown and destroyed. The word perdition here is properly rendered by Prof. […]

The words behind it

48 Greek words

Every Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

18 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Revelation 13:8And all who dwell on the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written from the foundation of the world in the Book of Life belonging to the Lamb who was slain.76 worksEphesians 1:4For He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless in His presence. In love19 worksRevelation 3:5Like them, he who overcomes will be dressed in white. And I will never blot out his name from the Book of Life, but I will confess his name before My Father and His angels.15 worksRevelation 11:7When the two witnesses have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up from the Abyss will wage war with them, and will overpower and kill them.11 worksRevelation 17:11The beast that was, and now is not, is an eighth king, who belongs to the other seven and is going into destruction.11 worksMatthew 25:34Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.10 works
The other 12 cross-references, with their words ▾
Revelation 13:3One of the heads of the beast appeared to be mortally wounded. But the mortal wound was healed, and the whole world marveled and followed the beast.9 worksRevelation 20:3And he threw him into the Abyss, shut it, and sealed it over him, so that he could not deceive the nations until the thousand years were complete. After that, he must be released for a brief period of time.8 worksExodus 32:32Yet now, if You would only forgive their sin.... But if not, please blot me out of the book that You have written.”8 worksTitus 1:2in the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began.7 works2 Thessalonians 2:3Let no one deceive you in any way, for it will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness—the son of destruction—is revealed.7 works2 Timothy 1:9He has saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works, but by His own purpose and by the grace He granted us in Christ Jesus before time began.7 works2 Timothy 2:19Nevertheless, God’s firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: “The Lord knows those who are His,” and, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord must turn away from iniquity.”7 worksRevelation 9:1Then the fifth angel sounded his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from heaven to earth, and it was given the key to the pit of the Abyss.7 worksRevelation 20:12And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne. And there were open books, and one of them was the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their deeds, as recorded in the books.6 worksMatthew 13:35So was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophet: “I will open My mouth in parables; I will utter things hidden since the foundation of the world.”6 worksPhilippians 4:3Yes, and I ask you, my true yokefellow, to help these women who have labored with me for the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the Book of Life.6 worksRevelation 3:10Because you have kept My command to persevere, I will also keep you from the hour of testing that is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.5 works

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    Revelation 3:10

    Because you have kept My command to persevere, I will also keep you from the hour of testing that is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the…

    it leads to

    • 2 Peter 2:9

      if all this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to hold the unrighteous for punishment on the day of judgment.

    • Revelation 14:12

      Here is a call for the perseverance of the saints who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.

    • Daniel 12:10

      Many will be purified, made spotless, and refined, but the wicked will continue to act wickedly. None of the wicked will understand, but the wise will understand.

    • Zechariah 13:9

      This third I will bring through the fire; I will refine them like silver and test them like gold. They will call on My name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘They…

    • 1 Corinthians 10:13

      No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will…

  • Through

    Revelation 11:7

    When the two witnesses have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up from the Abyss will wage war with them, and will overpower and kill them.

    it leads to

    • Revelation 13:7

      Then the beast was permitted to wage war against the saints and to conquer them, and it was given authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation.

    • Daniel 8:23–24

      In the latter part of their reign, when the rebellion has reached its full measure, an insolent king, skilled in intrigue, will come to the throne.

    • Daniel 7:25

      He will speak out against the Most High and oppress the saints of the Most High, intending to change the appointed times and laws; and the saints will be given into his hand for…

Where this verse is studied

About Revelation

The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb, Jan and Hubert van Eyck, about 1430 to 1432. Public domain.
The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb, Jan and Hubert van Eyck, about 1430 to 1432. Public domain.
Revelation: the study guide →Read Revelation 17 →
This page draws on 11 works. Open the list of works

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Book of Revelation; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Andreas of Caesarea, COMMENTARY ON THE APOCALYPSE 17:8; Caesarius of Arles, EXPOSITION ON THE APOCALYPSE 17:8, HOMILY 14; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament; Oecumenius, Commentary on Revelation and Primasius of Hadrumetum, COMMENTARY ON THE APOCALYPSE 17:8.

Read on in Revelation 17 →