Good evening and welcome to EBible Fellowship’s Bible study in the Book of Revelation. Tonight is study #7 of Revelation, chapter 17, and we are going to be reading 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.
The “beast” is the name that God has assigned to Satan for his period of rule during the Great Tribulation period. As the Lord speaks to John, He says the beast “was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit,” and this means he “was” prior to the cross; at the time of the cross he was bound and it was as though he was dead when he was cast into the bottomless pit, so he “is not,” and he “yet is” because he “shall ascend out of the bottomless pit” at the time of the end at the time of the Great Tribulation.
We are very familiar with the time of Satan’s loosing and the character of his assault against the churches throughout the 23 years of the Great Tribulation period, so I do not think we need to go over that again.
The Apostle John is given this vision of the beast that “was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition.” The way God writes this statement is amazing because it literally covers thousands of years. The beast “was” for the 11,000 years of the Old Testament. Then as Revelation was being written at the close of the 1st century AD when Satan was bound at the cross, he “is not” because he would be bound for the entire church age of 1,955 years; and he “shall ascend out of the bottomless pit” at the end of the church age in 1988 and the period of his ascension of taking his seat in the temple and ruling over the churches. Following this 23 years, he will “go into perdition,” so God was looking ahead beyond the Great Tribulation to the Day of Judgment, the time we are presently in. The time of Satan’s judgment is when he will “go into perdition.”
We know that May 21, 2011 was the beginning of Judgment Day, which is a prolonged period of time that will very likely last 1,600 days. Satan was put down and deposed from all rule and authority at the beginning of Judgment Day even though he will continue to exist to the very end of this prolonged Day of Judgment. If we are correct about the 1,600 days, then on October 7, 2015 Satan will be destroyed and completely annihilated.
The word “perdition” is Strong’s #684. This Greek word “apoleia” is the word that is translated as “destruction” in Matthew 7:13:
Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:
The way that leadeth to destruction is the way that Satan has gone, according to Revelation 17, verse 8. He “goes into perdition” or to “destruction.”
It is the same word used in Romans 9:22:
What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction:
One day soon all the unsaved people of the earth will be destroyed. Destruction has already come, in a sense, as soon as Judgment Day began and the door of heaven was shut and the light of the Gospel went out. God does view that as if (unsaved) mankind has entered into a state of death and hell, but mankind still exists on this earth and it is God’s plan to completely destroy unsaved mankind, the earth, the universe and the spirit beings, like Satan, who rebelled against Him. So “destruction” ultimately points to annihilation when mankind will be cut off and perish and cease to exist.
It is the word we find in 2Peter 3:7:
But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.
By the way, this word “perdition” is part of the name that God actually gave to Satan in 2Thessalonians 2:3:
Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
He is the “son of perdition” or the “son of destruction.” This is speaking of Satan. He so identifies with destruction that God calls him “the son of perdition.” This is also taken from Isaiah, chapter 14, where Satan is called the “son of the morning,” and when we look up this particular word for “morning” it often identifies with Judgment Day or destruction of some sort. He is called “son of the morning,” but the word is really a synonym for destruction and that is why God picks up that meaning of the word and applies it here in 2Thessalonians 2, verse 3.
Let us continue on in Revelation 17:8:
… 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.
Here, God is speaking of the unsaved people of the world and He is making sure we understand that because He says, “whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world.” We should not think the book of life is an actual book. It is a figure of speech God uses to indicate that certain individuals had their names written down. What happens when you write something down? It is recorded and you have a record of it and, therefore, you will not forget it. So people want to write things down and we sometimes insist on doing so when we make a deal or arrangement – we want to see it in writing. It is assurance and confirmation to us and it is a record that proves that a transaction took place, like purchasing a house. For just about everything in this world where there is value, we put it in writing. When we buy a car we have to fill out the paperwork and put it in writing. The purchase of a house is in writing. When you get married, you get a marriage certificate and the State puts it in writing and many important things are put in writing. Even today when we are getting away from physical documents, we have “online” documents and we put things in writing there; it is a similar idea and there is a record of it and there is an accepted form of signature and that is assurance that you own something or that you are a member of an organization. Bills are also in writing. You write out a check and you send it with the writing of the bill. Everything is in writing, so God is condescending to us in letting us know that these “names” are not going to be forgotten: “I am not going to make a mistake with the names of these people. I have a ‘book of life’ and in that book are the names of all those I have saved and I have recorded their names.” In Ephesians, chapter 1, it does not mention the “book of life,” but it is the same idea in Ephesians 1:4-5:
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: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
Here, God is speaking of choosing certain individuals before the foundation of the world and predestinating them unto salvation and, therefore, putting their names in the “book of life.” We discussed this earlier in reference to the “beast,” but it said in Revelation 13:8:
And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
Now we know that the “book of life” is a figure of speech that was there at the point of the foundation of the world. We were predestinated unto salvation. Christ died as the Lamb at the point of the world’s foundation and He rose again, justifying everyone whom God had determined to save – all the “Jacobs.” The Bible says, “Jacob have I loved, but Esau I have hated.” Before either had done any good or evil and before they were born, God made the choice. People like to talk about “choice” and “free will” and making a “decision.” The Bible does not affirm anything about man’s choice insofar as salvation is concerned, but Jesus said, “Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you.” The Bible does tell us in John, chapter 1, as God very directly addresses the question of man’s free will and He says in John 1:13:
Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
Man is “born again” by the will, but it is not man’s will. It is God’s will and that is also what Ephesians 1:5 said. Let us read, again, Ephesians 1:5:
Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
It is His will. That is how someone becomes born again. The “will” is extremely important, but it is not my will or your will or any man’s will. In our will, we can say, “Lord, I accept you,” or “I have decided to follow you,” and so forth. People say a thousand different things to God to express their “will,” but none of it (not the will, the thought or the conviction of men) has ever saved a single soul. It is God’s will: “Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you.” It is according to the pleasure of His will and not “the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” It is God’s will that saves the sinner. It is God that determines who will have their sins forgiven and enjoy eternal life for evermore as a result, as we read in Romans 9:15:
For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. So, please tell me after reading these verses whose “will” determines salvation? After God just told us four times in this verse, “I will,” He goes on to say in Romans 9:16:
So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.
Come on, people. Can God be any clearer than this? Can God be any more direct than He is in John 1, verse 13? It is not “of the will of man, but of God.” I do not think you can find a more direct statement in the Bible. But why is it that churches today teach “free will”? Theologians teach “free will.” Pastors teach “free will” and crusades fill stadiums with “free will” gospels and it is all about man’s decision: “Will you not choose Christ? Will you will to follow Him? It is in your court.” They act like it is a tennis match and now it is your serve; it is up to you and God has left it in your hands.” What filthy, ugly dirty lies these are and what deceitfulness it is to tell people that they can “do something” when the Bible dogmatically insists that mankind is “dead in sin” and man cannot do anything to get himself saved. God says, “You cannot choose me, but I have chosen you, if you are one of my elect.” God says, “I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.” So it is “not of him that willeth.”
But, today it does not matter because we are too far into the end of the world. We are in Judgment Day and the churches are not going to change. For the most part, people that are involved in “free will gospels” remained in the churches. Perhaps there is an individual that was badly influenced by the churches, but was outside of the churches and, potentially, could have become saved before God shut the door to heaven on May 21, 2011. But, for the most part, it does not matter any more. The churches have no desire to follow the true Word of God. They have no inclination to repent and to turn from these “high places” of their false doctrines and teachings; they are set in their ways and they will not turn back. Of course, we always want to declare the truth, regardless, and God still demands that man repent and turn from their sins, whether the sin is that of adultery, murder, lying or following a false gospel like the “free will gospel.” God commands men to turn from these things and it does matter to God, so I should not say it does not matter because, of course, it matters to Him.