Revelation 17 · Verse 8

Revelation 17:8

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.

Revelation 17:8, King James Version

Revelation 17:8 in other translations

BSB	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.
WEB	The beast that you saw was, and is not; and is about to come up out of the abyss and to go into destruction. Those who dwell on the earth and whose names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world will marvel when they see that the beast was, and is not, and shall be present.
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.
YLT	‘The beast that thou didst see: it was, and it is not; and it is about to come up out of the abyss, and to go away to destruction, and wonder shall those dwelling upon the earth, whose names have not been written upon the scroll of the life from the foundation of the world, beholding the beast that was, and is not, although it is.
DARBY	The beast which thou sawest was, and is not, and is about to come up out of the abyss and go into destruction: and they who dwell on the earth, whose names are not written from the founding of the world in the book of life, shall wonder, seeing the beast, that it was, and is not, and shall be present.
BBE	The beast which you saw was, and is not; and is about to come up out of the great deep, and to go into destruction. And those who are on the earth, whose names have not been put in the book of life from the first, will be full of wonder when they see the beast, that he was, and is not, and still will be.
Webster	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.

What does Revelation 17:8 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown

8. beast ... was, and is not--(Compare Re 17:11). The time when the beast "is not" is the time during which it has "the deadly wound"; the time of the seventh head becoming Christian externally, when its beast-like character was put into suspension temporarily. The healing of its wound answers to its ascending out of the bottomless pit. The beast, or Antichristian world power, returns worse than ever, with satanic powers from hell (Re 11:7), not merely from the sea of convulsed nations (Re 13:1). Christian civilization gives the beast only a temporary wound, whence the deadly wound is always mentioned in connection with its being healed up the non-existence of the beast in connection with its reappearance; and Daniel does not even notice any change in the world power effected by Christianity. We are endangered on one side by the spurious Christianity of the harlot, on the other by the open Antichristianity of the beast; the third class is Christ's little flock." go--So B, Vulgate, and Andreas read the future tense. But A and Irenæus, "goeth." into perdition--The continuance of this revived seventh (that is, the eighth) head is short: it is therefore called "the son of perdition," who is essentially doomed to it almost immediately after his appearance. names were--so Vulgate and Andreas. 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"). The Hebrew, "tetragrammaton," or sacred four letters in Jehovah, "who is, who was, and who is to come," the believer's object of worship, has its contrasted counterpart in the beast "who was, and is not, and shall be present," the object of the earth's worship [Bengel]. They exult with wonder in seeing that the beast which had seemed to have received its death blow from Christianity, is on the eve of reviving with greater power than ever on the ruins of that religion which tormented them (Re 11:10).

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Barnes' Notes

Verse 8. 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, 13:1,3,11-16. 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. εκτηςαβυσσου. On the meaning of the word here used, 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. Stuart destruction, but nothing is indicated by the word of the nature of the destruction that would come upon it.

And they that dwell on the earth. The inhabitants of the earth generally; that is, the matter referred to will be so remarkable as to attract general attention.

Shall wonder. It will be so contrary to the regular course of events; so difficult of explanation; so remarkable in itself, as to excite attention and surprise.

Whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world. Rev 13:8. The idea seems to be, that those whose names are written in the book of life, or who are truly the friends of God, would not be drawn off in admiration of the beast, or in rendering homage to it.

When they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is. That is, the power that once was mighty; that had declined to such a state that it became, as it were, extinct; and that was revived again with so much of its original strength that it might be said that it still exists. The fact of its being revived in this manner, as well as the nature of the power itself, seemed fitted to excite this admiration.

(e) "ascend out" Rev 11:7 (f) "perdition" Rev 17:11 (g) "wonder" Rev 13:3,8

Albert Barnes, 1834 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Verse 8 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. But it is added: - And they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names there 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 - By the earth is here meant the Latin world; therefore the meaning is, that all who dwell in the Latin world shall adhere to the idolatrous and blasphemous religion of the Latin Church, which is supported by the Latin empire, except those who abide by the sacred Scriptures, receiving them as the only rule of faith and practice. These believe in the true Sacrifice, and keep themselves unspotted from the corruption that is in the world. But the inhabitants of the Latin world, under the dominion of the Romish religion, shall wonder when they behold the beast, or Latin empire; that is, as Lord Napier remarks, "shall have in great admiration, reverence, and estimation, this great monarchie." They shall wonder at it, by considering it the most sacred empire in the world, that in which God peculiarly delights; but those that so wonder have not their names written in the book of life, but are such as prefer councils to Divine revelation, and take their religion from missals, rituals, and legends, instead of the sacred oracles: hence they are corrupt and idolatrous, and no idolater hath inheritance in the kingdom of God. In the preceding part of the verse the beast is considered in three states, as that which was, and is not, and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit; here a fourth is introduced, and yet is. This is added to show that, though the Latins were subjugated by the Romans, nevertheless the Romans themselves were Latins; for Romulus the founder of their monarchy, was a Latin; consequently that denominated in St. John's days the Roman empire was, in reality, the Latin kingdom; for the very language of the empire was the Latin, and the Greek writers, who lived in the time of the Roman empire, expressly tell us that those formerly called Latins are now named Romans. The meaning of the whole verse is therefore as follows: The corrupt part of mankind shall have in great admiration the Latin empire yet in futurity, which has already been, but is now extinct, the Romans having conquered it; and yet is still in being; for, though the Latin nation has been subjugated, its conquerors are themselves Latins. But it may be objected against the interpretation here given, that these phrases are spoken of the beast upon which the apostle saw the woman, or Latin Church, sit; for the angel says, The beast that Thou Sawest was, and is not, etc.; what reference, therefore, can the Latin empire, which supports the Latin Church, have to the Latin kingdom which subsisted before St. John's time, or to the Roman empire which might properly be so denominated! This objection has very great weight at first sight, and cannot be answered satisfactorily till the angel's explanation of the heads and horns of the beast have been examined; therefore it is added: -

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Revelation 17:7-14

The beast on which the woman sat was, and is not, and yet is. It was a seat of idolatry and persecution, and is not; not in the ancient form, which was pagan: yet it is; it is truly the seat of idolatry and tyranny, though of another sort and form. It would deceive into stupid and blind submission all the inhabitants of the earth within its influence, except the remnant of the elect. This beast was seven heads…

Read the full comment on Revelation 17:7-14 →

Revelation 17:8 in the original Greek

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

ΤὸToTheG3588

θηρίονthērionbeastG2342

ὃhothatG3739

εἶδες,eidesyou sawG1492

ἦνēnwasG1510

καὶkaiandG2532

οὐκouknotG3756

ἔστινestinisG1510

καὶkaiandG2532

μέλλειmelleiis aboutG3195

ἀναβαίνεινanabaineinto come upG305

ἐκekout ofG1537

τῆςtēstheG3588

ἀβύσσουabussouabyssG12

καὶkaiandG2532

εἰςeisintoG1519

ἀπώλειανapōleiandestructionG684

ὑπάγει.hupageigo.G5217

καὶkaiandG2532

θαυμασθήσονταιthaumasthēsontaiwill be astonishedG2296

οἱhoithoseG3588

κατοικοῦντεςkatoikountesdwellingG2730

ἐπὶepionG1909

τῆςtēstheG3588

γῆς,gēsearth,G1093

ὧνhōnwhoseG3739

οὐounotG3756

γέγραπταιgegraptaihas been writtenG1125

τὸto<the>G3588

ὄνομαonomanameG3686

ἐπὶepiinG1909

τὸtotheG3588

βιβλίονbiblionbookG975

τῆςtēs<the>G3588

ζωῆςzōēsof lifeG2222

ἀπὸapofromG575

καταβολῆςkatabolēs[the] foundationG2602

κόσμου,kosmouof [the] world,G2889

βλεπόντωνblepontōnseeingG991

τὸtotheG3588

θηρίονthērionbeastG2342

ὅτιhotithatG3754

ἦνēnwasG1510

καὶkaiandG2532

οὐκouknotG3756

ἔστινestinisG1510

καὶkaiand yetG2532

παρέσται.parestaiit will exist.G3918

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Revelation 17:8

Revelation 11:7
And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them.
Revelation 17:11
And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.
Revelation 3:10
Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.
Revelation 9:1-2
And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit. And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit.
Revelation 19:15-21
And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS. And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God; That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great. …
Matthew 25:34
Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
Ephesians 1:4
According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
John 17:24
Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.
Revelation 3:5
He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.
Revelation 14:8-20
And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name. …
Revelation 13:1-12
And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. 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. And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast. And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him? …
Titus 1:2
In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

beast that thou.The Roman empire was the beast, or idolatrous persecuting power, when under the Pagan emperors; it ceased to be so when it became Christian; and became so again under the Roman pontiffs, and shall "go into perdition."
9:2; 11:7; 13:1-11
go.
11; 14:8-20; 16:1-18:24; 19:15-21; 20:10; Da 7:11,26; 11:45
2Th 2:3-8
shall wonder.
13:3,4
whose.
13:8; 20:12,15
from.
Mt 25:34; Joh 17:24; Ac 15:18; Eph 1:4; Tit 1:2; 1Pe 1:20
the beast that was.
13:1-4,11,12

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

Revelation 17:7
And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns.
Revelation 17:8
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.
Revelation 17:9
And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.

Read all of Revelation 17

Revelation 17:8 in other languages

Spanish Reina-Valera 1909	La bestia que has visto, fué, y no es; y ha de subir del abismo, y ha de ir á perdición: y los moradores de la tierra, cuyos nombres no están escritos en el libro de la vida desde la fundación del mundo, se maravillarán viendo la bestia que era y no es, aunque es.
French Bible J.N. Darby 1885	La bête que tu as vue était, et n’est pas, et va monter de l’abîme et aller à la perdition; et ceux qui habitent sur la terre, dont les noms ne sont pas écrits dès la fondation du monde au livre de vie, s’étonneront, en voyant la bête, – qu’elle était, et qu’elle n’est pas, et qu’elle sera présente.
German Elberfelder 1871	Das Tier, welches du sahest, war und ist nicht und wird aus dem Abgrund heraufsteigen und ins Verderben gehen; und die auf der Erde wohnen, deren Namen nicht in dem Buche des Lebens geschrieben sind von Grundlegung der Welt an, werden sich verwundern, wenn sie das Tier sehen, daß es war und nicht ist und da sein wird.
Latin Clementine Vulgate	Bestia, quam vidisti, fuit, et non est, et ascensura est de abysso, et in interitum ibit: et mirabuntur inhabitantes terram (quorum non sunt scripta nomina in libro vitæ a constitutione mundi) videntes bestiam, quæ erat, et non est.