8The beast, which you saw, once was, now is not, and will come up out of the Abyss and go to his destruction. The inhabitants of the earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the creation of the world will be astonished when they see the beast, because he once was, now is not, and yet will come.
9"This calls for a mind with wisdom. The seven heads are seven hills on which the woman sits. 10They are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; but when he does come, he must remain for a little while. 11The beast who once was, and now is not, is an eighth king. He belongs to the seven and is going to his destruction.
12"The ten horns you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but who for one hour will receive authority as kings along with the beast. 13They have one purpose and will give their power and authority to the beast. 14They will make war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will overcome them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings—and with him will be his called, chosen and faithful followers."
17:8 - The Beast that is described, is now a composite between the Sea Beast and the Dragon. Milton Terry, in Biblical Apocalyptics, says that the differing descriptions are due to the "different and successive manifestations of Satan himself. . . . Hence we understand by the beast that was and is not an enigmatical portraiture of the great red dragon of 12:3. He is the king of the Abyss in 9:11, and the beast that killed the witnesses in 11:7. He appears for a time in the person of some great persecutor, or in the form of some huge iniquity, but is after a while cast out. Then he again finds some other organ for his operations and enters it. . . . " The Dragon is constantly on the prowl looking for an open conduit to work though. The angel says that the Beast once was, now is not, and will come up out of the Abyss. This is a clear parody of "Him who is, who was, and who is to come" (Rev. 1:4). Christians looked to Christ’s resurrection as their hope, but those who follow the Beast will look to him rising up from the Abyss for their security.
It is likely that the specific human manifestation of the Beast at this point is Vespasian, who became Caesar after the chaos that followed the death of Nero. Vespasian ‘was’ in favor with Nero, and ‘is not’ (he fell from favor and power), and ‘will come up out of the Abyss’ (he was restored and came to be Caesar). In a sense Rome passed through the same stages, as it was with Nero, was not, as they suffered chaos and four emperors in one year, and came up out of the Abyss with Vespasian at the helm. Although the Christians needed to be awake because the Beast would be strong again for a time, they could be assured that he would ultimately go to his destruction. But before that happens, the Beast will be successful in carrying off Israel with him. They are the inhabitants of the earth whose names have not been written in the book of life. They have forfeited their status as the people of God and have been replaced by the New Covenant children of God.
17:9-10 - To fully understand the wiles and identity of the Beast calls for a mind with wisdom. The seven heads are seven hills on which the woman sits. This clearly identifies Rome as the Beast, famous for its "seven hills," but there is also a correspondence to the line of Caesars, because they are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come. The first five Caesars were Julius (who was not technically the first emperor but was for all practical and theological purposes), Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, and Claudius. One is: Nero was the sixth Caesar and was on the throne, presumably as John was writing this. Galba, the seventh Caesar, was in power for less than seven months.
17:11 - The chaos that will follow Nero should not be interpreted by Christians as the end of the Empire and the cessation of their troubles. The real enemy is the Beast who will rise in the Empire again through other willing conduits. He is also an eighth king. He belongs to the seven. This is significant because eight is the biblical number of resurrection. John is warning his readers that even Rome might seem to be crumbling after the rule of seven kings, it will be ‘resurrected’ again to continue its persecution of the Church. Despite this ‘resurrection’, though, even the eighth king, Vespasian will go to his destruction, as will all enemies of God.
17:12 - Now the angel says clearly that the ten horns you saw are ten kings. The number ten in the Bible is associated with numerical fullness, or the concept of many. These ten kings are associated with the Beast and will receive authority as kings along with the Beast. Although the thrust of the symbol is to represent the totality of those allied and subject to Rome in its wars on both Judaism and Christianity, it is also true that Rome actually had ten imperial provinces at the time. The primary point here is that these kings, with whom the prostitute has laid down, will be the cause of her eventual destruction.
17:13-14 - These ten kings have one purpose and will give their power and authority to the Beast. That one purpose will be to make war against the Lamb Making war with God is always the ultimate goal of rebellious mankind, that will manifest itself in many different ways (cf. Ps. 2:2; Acts 2:26). Just as the Pharisees and the Herodians joined together against Christ, and Pilate and Herod became friends in their work against Jesus, so the enemies of God will often come together to do war against Him. No matter, however, for their ultimate fate is sealed: The Lamb will overcome them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings--and with him will be his called, chosen and faithful followers.
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