Revelation 17:8 No Grey Areas

Continuing our study of Revelation 17.

Revelation 17:8 ‘The beast which you saw, once was, now is not and will come up out of the Abyss and go to his destruction.’

To repeat then, there have been seven empires in world history that have opposed Israel. They have passed into time but the seventh and last empire will be revived in the end-times. This will be the beast empire.

From an end-time perspective, this last beast empire once was, in the form of the Ottoman Empire or Islamic Caliphate, it will not be for a period of time, and at the time of writing it does not exist, but it will emerge as an evil end-time empire.

This empire, led by the antichrist and empowered by Satan, will have a devastating effect upon this world but will be defeated by Christ Jesus when he returns in power and glory. The antichrist will go to his destruction.

Daniel 11:45 ‘He will pitch his royal tents between the seas at the beautiful holy mountain. Yet he will come to his end and no-one will help him.’

Revelation 17:8a ‘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.’

The Islamic Empire controlled so much of the world at one time and brought such an influence upon the realms of culture, architecture and science. This empire will be revived and grow at such an alarming rate that the gullible will be astonished and will rush to become part of this uprising.

The miraculous signs and political coercions of the antichrist will only serve to determine the minds of those wavering to follow the beast.

There will come a sharp and polarised difference between those who faithfully follow Jesus and those who reject him and follow the beast; between those whose names have been recorded in the book of life and those names have not.

There will be no grey areas any more.

There will be no place for luke-warm and half-committed Christians. We will be called to take our stand and commit ourselves to be faithful, even to the point of martyrdom.

Thank you..

and previously:

Revelation 22:20 Our cherished hope
There will be a unity of heart when everyone calls out for his glorious return. There will be a spirit of grace upon God’s people that will bring us all together in unity and brotherhood.
Revelation 22:16 God’s Word
No-one has a monopoly on the truths of this magnificent book, and we will all have our struggles and misunderstandings on our journey, but God is demanding that we treat Revelation with the utmost respect that it deserves. The truths that were sealed in Daniel’s time will be opened up according to God’s direction. This will need purified and refined souls to understand and teach, in the midst of immense confusion and mistruths. Please pray for those who are called to understand and teach.
Revelation 22:11 In or Out…
Even at this late stage, a reference to the polarity of mankind, between the righteous and the unrighteous. One thinks of Noah’s Ark, and the obedient who were safe inside and those who chose to ignore Noah’s call for righteousness and stayed outside.
Revelation 22:7 The time is near indeed
Having taken us to the very highest of heights, surveying the Holy City that is beautiful beyond words, John brings us back to our ordinary lives, waiting with a cherished expectation for our Lord to return and keeping the words of this prophecy, with all its encouragements, admonishments and warnings.
Revelation 22:3 No longer any curse
Peter praised his contemporaries for their faith in Christ Jesus although they had never met him in real life and had only heard of him through Peter. Imagine though, what it will feel like, approaching the throne and gazing into the eyes of the Divine, to reach out and touch the very hem of his garment. It will be beyond belief…