What is the meaning of Revelation 17:11? The beast that was • In prophetic symbolism, a beast represents a literal world power hostile to God (Daniel 7:4-8; Revelation 13:1). • John has already listed “five that have fallen” and “one that is” (Revelation 17:10). Looking backward those kings or empires line up with Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and the sixth—Rome—still standing in John’s day. • “That was” signals a recognizable, historical empire that once dominated the world stage. Rome fits this description, matching Daniel 2:40-43 and Daniel 7:23-24. and now is not • After Rome’s collapse the beastly system receded. For centuries it has not held global dominance, fulfilling the phrase “now is not.” • John’s wording parallels Revelation 13:3, where one of the heads seems mortally wounded, yet the world marvels when it revives. • 2 Thessalonians 2:7 notes a restraining influence that keeps the lawless one from appearing until God’s chosen moment—explaining the current “is not.” is an eighth king • When the end-time leader (Antichrist) rises, the dormant empire returns in a fresh, climactic form—becoming “an eighth.” • Revelation 13:5-7 pictures this final ruler wielding authority for forty-two months, matching Daniel 7:25’s “time, times, and half a time.” • Daniel 7:24 foresees ten kings coexisting just before the beast seizes full control; after subduing three, he steps forward as the unprecedented eighth. who belongs to the other seven • Though new in appearance, the final empire springs from the same lineage of God-defying powers. The phrasing links it organically to the previous seven heads (Revelation 17:9). • Daniel 9:26-27 points to a future ruler emerging from the people of the former Roman realm, confirming the continuity. • Revelation 13:2 blends traits of the lion, bear, and leopard from Daniel 7, stressing that every prior beastly characteristic converges in this last king. and is going into destruction • The beast’s doom is certain. Revelation 19:20 foretells his capture and immediate casting into the lake of fire. • Daniel 7:11 affirms that the fourth beast is slain and its body destroyed when the Son of Man receives the kingdom. • 2 Thessalonians 2:8 promises the Lord Jesus will “slay him with the breath of His mouth and annihilate him by the majesty of His arrival.” The beast’s end is fixed, swift, and irreversible. summary Revelation 17:11 traces the beast’s timeline: a world empire that once ruled (“was”), then lay dormant (“now is not”), only to re-emerge as the final Antichrist kingdom (“an eighth king”). Though fresh in appearance, it is cut from the same cloth as the seven earlier God-opposing empires, and Scripture assures its certain destruction when Christ returns. |
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