Luke 21:8

Christian, Be Not Deceived!

CHAPTER THIRTEEN 

DOES REV. 17:11 INDICATE THAT THE BEAST JOHN SAW IN VISION WAS EXCLUSIVELY THE EIGHTH AT THE TIME HE SAW IT? 

The answer to this question belongs to later chapters when we consider more fully the problem of the time when the angel could say that the beast "was" (i.e. in the past tense) but now (in the present tense) "is not"; and at what time John could look into the past and say "I saw the woman drunk with the blood of saints, and with the martyrs of the blood of Jesus"; and at that time when the angel could remind John of what he had seen, saying: "The beast that thou sawest was [past], and is not" (present tense). We deal with this question at this juncture because of its connection with the number eight (8) which we have considered in our previous chapter, and also because it is a question which, once answered, need not concern us any further. 

Verse 11 reads: "And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven. It has been suggested that, when compared with verse 8, verse 11 indicates that the beast John saw in vision was exclusively the eighth at the time he saw it. At first glance the expression "he is the eighth" might be misunderstood to convey the thought that John was then beholding (in the present tense) the 8th head of the beast. But such a view is at variance with the rest of the facts brought to view in Rev. 17. The question raised is probably best answered by studying a statement which is repeated three times with variations-the variation, it will be noted, occurs with the last part of the sentence; that part that has to do with the future activities of the beast. Omitting all irrelevant words we read: 

V. 8 (first part) 

"The beast was, and is not; and is about to come up out of the abyss" (R.V.). 

V. 8 (last part) 

"The beast was, and is not, and shall come" (R.V.). V. 11 

"The beast was, and is not, even he is the eighth" (R.V.). 

By comparing these three variations of the same statement it is readily seen that the last part of each sentence deals with the future of the beast, and, the "is not" is that part of the sentence which deals with the present. In other words, the angel gave this vision to John during the "is not" period of the beast, and especially toward the close of that "is not" period, for the angel 

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told John that the beast was "about to come up out of the abyss". Further aspects of the time John carried to in his vision will be presented later. Applying ourselves again to the three statements given with variation in the last part of each sentence, we observe that by placing them under each other they provide us with the meaning of the statement that "he is the eighth". "And is about to come up out of the abyss.”  

“And shall come." 

"Even he is the eighth." 

 That is when he shall have "come out of the abyss"; when he has "come" he is the eighth". The "is in the last statement does not belong to the time that John was shown the vision but to that period when the beast will have been resurrected and will then employ his restored persecuting powers. That the expression "he is the eight" has reference to the future activities of the beast from the time John was shown the vision, is further sustained by observing the immediate context of the verse. The angel talks with John concerning the 7 heads, how that 5 had fallen, and says: 

And one remains. While one is not yet come, [note he is talking about the coming of the 7th  head, which is future.] When he comes [note again what he is talking about], he must stay for a little while. So must the beast that was, and is not. He counts as an eighth king, although he is one of the seven, and is on his way to destruction (20th Cent. N.T.). Thus it will be observed that when the angel commences counting the heads and reaches the present tense with the 6th one which then existed–"one is"–he then commences to talk about the 7th head, and he says more about that 7th head than he does of all the others: "the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space ... even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition" (A.V.). 

Thus it is clearly seen that when pointing to the coming of the 7th head  which he does for the third time the angel says of that time when the 7th head has risen to life, "even he is the eighth", or "he counts as an eighth. 

It cannot be stressed too much with regard to the interpretation of Rev. 17, that there are only seven heads upon the beast depicted in Rev. 12, 13 and 17, and looking for an actual eighth head betrays a failure to grasp the essential fact of the prophecy, that the  7th head is numbered with the symbol number eight (8), specifically to point to the fact that it is the head that had received the "death-stroke" that is to be resurrected to life and activity again. 

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