Rev 17:7.8. But the angel said to me, “Why did you marvel? I will tell you the mystery of the woman and the beast that carries her, which has the seven heads and the ten horns. The beast that you saw was, and is not, and will ascend out of the bottomless pit and go to perdition.
Who is the beast in this text when we have a few beast in the book of Revelation?
We shall do a short word study of the scarlet beast from the book of Revelation:
Rev 17:7. But the angel said to me, “Why did you marvel? I will tell you the mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her, which has seven heads and the ten horns.
Rev 17:8. The beast that you saw was, and is not, and will ascend out of the bottomless pit and go to perdition. And those who dwell on the earth will marvel, whose names are not written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world, when they see the beast that was and is not, and yet is.”
Rev 9:1. Then the fifth angel sounded: And I saw a star fallen from heaven to the earth. To him was given the key to the bottomless pit. Luk 10:18. And he said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightening from heaven.”
Rev 9:2. And he opened the bottomless pit and smoke arose out of the pit like the smoke of a great furnace. So the sun and the air were darkened because of the smoke of the pit.
Rev 9:11. And they had as king over them the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, but in Greek he has the name Apollyon. (In the Hebrew Abaddon means ruin or destruction. In the Greek Apollyon means destroyer).
Rev 11:7. When they finish their testimony the beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit will make war against them, overcome them and kill them. (The context is during the French Revolution AD 1798. The Bible, the Old Testament and the New Testament were destroyed along with Christian martyrs. The beast is Satan working through the revolutionaries in France).
Rev 17:8. The beast that you saw, was and is not, and will ascend out of the bottomless pit and go to perdition – – -.
Rev 20:1. Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. Verse 2. He laid hold of the dragon that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. Verse 3. And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But after these things he must be released for a little while. (Was: Satan before the 1,000 years. Is not: Satan during the 1,000 years. And is: Satan after the 1,000 years).
Rev 17:8. The beast (Satan) you saw was (before the 1,000 years) and is not (during the 1,000 years on desolate earth) and will ascend out of the bottomless pit (Satan after the 1,000 years).
The beast in Rev 13:1 and the beast in Rev 17:3.8. are related with one another because both have seven heads, ten horns and names of blasphemy.
Rev 17:11. The beast (Satan) that was and is not is himself also the eighth, and is of the seventh, and is going to perdition.
Rev 17:3. I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast which was full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads. (Satan is this beast because a solution is proposed in verses 7 and 8, about, “this was,” and “is not” and “will ascend out of the bottomless pit”).
Rev 13:1.2. This beast is related to the beast in Rev 17:3 because it has seven heads, ten horns, and on his heads blasphemous names. The dragon gave this beast power, his thrown and great authority.
Conclusion
The dragon in prophetic writings is without a doubt the Devil or Satan working through political and religious institutions. The scarlet beast is Satan. Satan comes out of the bottomless pit. Satan has worked through the papacy and the leaders of the French revolution to destroy the Bible and all true Christians in France. Satan is bound for 1,000 years on this earth after Christ´s second coming. The beast in Rev 13:3.8. and the Dragon in Rev 12:3, are both related to one another through the seven heads and the ten horns. Satan himself is the beast in Rev 17:3. Satan is related to the beast in Rev 13:1. and the beast in Rev 13:11. Satan himself is the beast in Rev 17:3.8. Satan is the Dragon in Rev 12:3.9.
The main reason why the apostle John marveled was, because he saw Satan represented by the Scarlet beast, carrying the harlot who represents the worldwide Christian church community, supported by the political kingdoms on earth. The book of Revelation is revealing Satan´s master plan and that is to overtake all the Christian churches on earth and use them to make war against the remnant of Gods people on earth and annihilate them.
