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KINGDOM BIBLE STUDIES
"Teaching the things concerning the kingdom of
God..."
Part 196
MYSTERY
(continued)
“And
the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will
tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which
hath the seven heads and ten horns. 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” (Rev. 17:7-8).
The
vision was no mystery to the messenger showing John these things. The “angel” or “messenger” signifies the living word of God unto John! The messenger assured John that he would
explain and make known to him the meaning of the woman and the beast that was
carrying her. This was one mystery, not
two. It is designated as “the mystery”
of the woman and the beast — one mystery.
The beast and the woman are inseparably related. One cannot be understood apart from the
other. One does not even exist apart
from the other! The messenger also said
he would explain the meaning of the seven heads and ten horns. Special attention is drawn to them because of
their importance to the understanding of the sentence of judgment on the great
harlot.
The
implication of the Greek word used is of a wild
beast — untamed, unruly, and violent-natured. Now we know that we are not speaking of a literal animal — for what does a wild animal have
to do with the great mysteries of God?
Internally, this wild beast is the bestial nature of the natural man,
the carnal mind and the fleshly nature of the unregenerate self. Externally, this wild beast is the world —
the institutions, systems, and authorities created in human society by the
fleshly
Dear
Sir:
Regarding
your article “What’s wrong with the world?” — I AM.
Yours truly, G. K. Chesterton
As
we consider these things we come to a strange and astonishing statement
regarding this beast. The messenger
showing these things to John clearly says to him, “The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out
of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition.” How can we understand the beast that was, and is not; and yet shall ascend
out of the pit, and go into
perdition, that is, into destruction
— for destruction is the meaning of the word perdition.
To
those who can receive it the following word penned by John earlier in the
Revelation will give help and light as they contrast
the nature of our Lord Jesus Christ with the nature of the
“I
am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the
Almighty” (Rev. 1:8). That is
awesome! You see, every time Jesus is
mentioned in this book He is never mentioned in the past, or just the present,
or in the future. Every time we meet
Jesus in the book of Revelation it is the Jesus who is, and who was, and who is to come.
The reason is that the book of Revelation gives us a view of the
kingdom of God from the divine perspective — as God views it — and the past,
the present, and the future encompass the outworking of God’s purpose in the
earth through His wonderful plan of the
ages. That is what is so powerful —
in the spirit you can see the whole plan of God from beginning to end! The purposes of God in the earth embrace past history, present awareness, and future consummation. Everything in the universe, and
everything in your life, precious friend of mine, exists in the past, the
present, and the future. Jesus was doing
something before the foundation of the world, Jesus was doing something at the
dawn of creation, Jesus was doing something two thousand years ago, Jesus was
doing something five hundred years ago, Jesus was doing something fifty years
ago, Jesus was doing something yesterday, Jesus is doing something right now,
and He will be working His great work in all of our tomorrows!
Age
after age, generation after generation, through the rise and fall of empires,
and the shifting sands of history, God remains.
He works all His purposes in all things, but HE changes not! Yet — God in Christ became a man! God as man has tenses to His being, the
yesterday of the past, the today of the present, the tomorrow of the
future. This is not the eternal God, but the God who has
dispensed His eternity into time. “Jesus
Christ the same — yesterday, today, and
for the ages” (Heb. 13:8,
Literal). He is eternal, that is, unchangeable
or “the same,” but His eternity is manifested in time, “yesterday, today, and
for the ages.” “And the four beasts had
each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they
rest not day and night, saying, Holy,
holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was,
and is, and is to come” (Rev. 4:8). Day
and night do not exist in eternity nor in the heavenly realm of God’s
Spirit! Is it not clear that this scene
is not set in some far-off heaven somewhere.
In the heaven the preachers preach about there is no day and night! There
is no sun or moon or stars, and there is no
night there! This scene is set in time!
HE is praised and extolled both DAY AND NIGHT, this God who WAS, and
IS, and IS TO COME! HE is worshipped and
adored both DAY AND NIGHT, this God of the ages, this Architect of history,
this Lord of time, this King of the universe, this Most High who “liveth for
the ages, whose dominion is an age-during dominion, and His kingdom is from
generation to generation: and all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as
nothing: and He doeth according to His will in the army of heaven, and among
the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay His hand, or say unto Him, What
doest Thou?” (Dan. 4:34-35, Literal & KJV).
Oh,
take me not back through the long ages to a Christ that walked the shores of
What
Christians for centuries have called “eternal life” is in the Greek “life aionios” — the life of the ages! How I thank God that my present state of
being is not eternal! There is more! The new man within me
is changing, growing, increasing,
The
Lord which was is also the Lord which
is!
The present tense of God’s manifestation in Christ is expressed by
the apostle Paul when he said, “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I
live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me”
(Gal. 2:20). Jesus Himself
prophesied of this manifestation of God in His people, saying, “If a man love
me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto
him, and make our abode with (in) him” (Jn.
14:23). “God is in you.” “God dwelleth in you.” When we think of God manifest in the flesh we
at once think of the Man walking by the shores of blue
Beloved,
if He that was is now He that is within you, what, under all
God’s heavens, could be added to you from
without? Let us bow in holy
reverence to worship and adore, and to live and walk in the blessed reality of
such an high and holy calling! Stop
seeking anything at all from or through the myriad substitutes pawned by the countless modern day antichrists of the
church systems of man. These external
religious observances will not suffice for those destined for the throne! CHRIST HIMSELF IS SUFFICIENT! In the name of Jesus Christ, divorce yourself
completely and forever from all the substitutes, the realm of the instead of.
You will find absolutely nothing in any of it that will satisfy the
deepest cravings of your heart after God.
CHRIST WITHIN IS
What,
then, does it mean when it says, “…and the Lord which is to come”? The expression
“which is to come” is from the Greek erchomai,
meaning “the coming one.” Now, how
is the Lord which was, and the Lord which is, also the coming One? What does it mean? It means that in our consciousness, in our
experience, He is yet coming to be all that He is! That’s what the processing is all about! “And to you who are troubled rest with us,
when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven…when He shall come to be glorified in His saints, and to be admired in
all them that believe in that Day” (II Thes. 1:7,10). There is no way that I could say it better!
God
will not allow us to refuse to see Christ in each other and then look upon Him
in some other form. Look not for the
Christ who was, and do not cling to
the Christ who is, yet know of a
surety that the Christ in us is HIM all the way! We will have to recognize Him in our
brethren. God will not satisfy our
carnal nature by allowing us to see Jesus descending from heaven in clouds of
glory, alone in that glory. We shall be glorified together, the scripture
affirms. Why would I look for Jesus in
clouds of glory in the sky while I pass by His body on earth and refuse to see Him glorified in them! It is this message that is coming to us
today! If I want to see Christ I look at
you, because that is where He is forming Himself, manifesting Himself, and
glorifying Himself! The body of Christ
is not something apart from Christ, not something that Christ has formed as a
separate entity to use. Oh, no!
The body of Christ IS CHRIST in the earth! “For as
the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body,
being many, are one body: SO
Now,
against this backdrop of how terms such as was,
is, is not, and is to come are
used in the Revelation, let us return to our
It
is very necessary that we be able to see this great truth that the beast bears
a title which is in contrast to the title of Christ. Christ was, and is, and is coming, whereas
the beast was, is not, is yet to be, and goes to destruction. The beast, on the other hand, was, is not,
yet is, ascends out of the abyss, and goes into destruction. In chapter eleven John uses the same
expression in connection with the beast, calling him “the beast that ascendeth
out of the bottomless pit” (Rev. 11:7).
“Ascendeth” denotes a continued action, giving the impression that
ascending or arising from the abyss is a permanent attribute of the beast’s
character rather than a single episode in its career. This impression John confirms here by
immediately employing the present tense, “…and it goes into perdition (destruction).”
It is a second permanent attribute of the beast that no matter how many
times it arises from the abyss it is constantly heading for
destruction. It cannot escape
destruction! Its end is determined, its
doom is sealed! Wherever in our experience this beast of the carnal mind,
of the human nature, of the flesh-life has appeared, has risen up within us,
and sought to overcome us, it has also been headed straight to
destruction! The message is just this
—You will not defeat this beast in your life by one great effort or by one
wonderful victory. Oh, no! But every time he arises out of the abyss of
your fleshly heart, and you face him in the power of the spirit, he will grow
weaker and weaker with each encounter, and the determined counsel of the Lord
is that HE IS GOING INTO PERDITION! What
a word that is! Isn’t it wonderful!
I
cannot emphasize too strongly how the Holy Spirit draws this contrast between
Christ and the beast — the bestial nature of man and the bestial kingdoms of the world. The beast appears and disappears, it is and
then it isn’t, and then emerges once more.
It descends out of view, lurking
in the deepest recesses of being, and then returns. Speaking of the external form of this beast,
the worldly kingdoms of man, Ray Prinzing once put it this way: “If in some
manner it seems to no longer exist, yet,
in fact, it is still there under another name and form. The same old immorality under a new name.” But no matter how many forms the beast takes,
within or without, how many lives it seems to have, how terrible its
appearance, how intimidating its power, or how indestructible it appears to be
— its end is destruction! “The soul that
sinneth, it shall die.” “The world passeth away and the lust thereof; but he that doeth the will of
God abideth forever.” “And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for
the first heaven and the first earth were
passed away; and there was no more
sea.” “Therefore if any man be in
Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”
You
will understand a great mystery when you see that the world is always passing away. The great truth is that from the dawn of
history until now there have been many “worlds.” The apostle Peter speaks of three of these worlds when he writes,
“Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking
after their own lusts, and saying, Where is the promise of His coming (parousia, manifest presence)? for since
the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of
the creation. For this they willingly
are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in
the water: whereby the world that then
was, being overflowed with water, perished: 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 (destruction) of ungodly men…nevertheless we,
according to His promise, look for new
heavens and a new earth, wherein
dwelleth righteousness” (II Pet. 3:3-7,13).
There
are important time divisions in the plan of God which scripture refers to as
“worlds” or “ages.” The word “world”
does not generally refer to this physical planet with its mountains, oceans,
plains, rivers, vegetation, etc. The
word is often translated from the Greek word kosmos which means “an order, system, or arrangement of
things.” The present order, system, or
arrangement of things upon this earth involves all the people, institutions,
organizations, cultures, laws, traditions, etc. which have been developed to
either control or give motivation to the lives and actions of men and
nations. This includes all governmental
systems, educational institutions, religious organizations, economic orders,
the cultures and every other thing that gives form and substance to our present
societies. All of these, together with
the time period during which mankind
functions within their framework, constitute a biblical “world.”
In
the scripture passage quoted above the apostle Peter tells us of three such “worlds.” Let us take a closer look at a portion of the
passage. “For this they willingly are
ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing
out of the water and in the water: whereby THE WORLD THAT THEN WAS, being
overflowed with water, perished.” Now let us read this from the New English
Bible: “In taking this view they lose sight of the fact that there were heavens
and earth long ago, created by God’s word out of water and with water: and by water THAT FIRST WORLD WAS DESTROYED,
the water of the deluge. And THE PRESENT HEAVENS AND EARTH, again by
God’s word, have been kept in store for burning.” That first world, then, existed from the time
of the creation unto the great flood.
Thus, the entire period of time from
What
kind of world was that ancient world?
The Bible says of it: “And it came to pass, when men began to multiply
upon the face of the earth…God saw the wickedness
of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts
of his heart was only evil continually.
And it repented the Lord that He had made man upon the earth, and it
grieved Him at His heart. And the Lord
said, I will destroy man whom I have
created from the face of the earth. And the earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with
violence. And God looked upon the earth, and behold it was corrupt, for
“…the
world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished.” Does the fact
that the world of that day “perished” and was “destroyed” mean that we are not
living on the same earth that saw the flood in Noah’s day? Does it mean that this planet was abolished so that it no longer
existed? Does it mean that Noah was “raptured” off to some other planet or to
some far-off heaven somewhere while God “created” a “new heaven and a new earth” for him to live upon?
Of course not! Then what “world”
or “earth” was destroyed by the flood?
The scripture shows plainly that it was a world of people and a way
of life — a kosmos, an order,
a system and arrangement of things! So
we see that the world that was destroyed in Noah’s day was not this physical
earth of mountains, oceans, plains, rivers, and vegetation, for of that earth
the scripture states, “One generation passeth away, and another generation
cometh: but the earth abideth forever” (Eccle. 1:4). And again, “For thus saith the Lord that
created the heavens; God Himself that formed the earth and made it; He hath established
it, He created it not in vain, He FORMED IT TO BE
INHABITED” (Isa. 45:18). It is clear
that while God did not destroy this planet, He did bring an era of wickedness
and depravity to an utter and total end, thus destroying, not only the fleshly
mankind, but a
Yet
— who can deny that the “world” that perished soon reinvented itself right out of the carnal nature of man? It was not so long before the wickedness
of the antediluvians had become repeated in all its grotesque corruption in
Likewise,
when
God
conducted a legal case against ancient
Because
of their repeated sins of idolatry and self-righteousness, another and more
severe day of judgment upon
Peter
identifies the second world and the second heaven for us. “But the heavens and the earth, which
are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire…” Peter here refers to “the heavens and the
earth which are now.” And what kind of
world is this second world — the one in which mankind has been living from
the day of Peter until now — the one in which we live?
It
is difficult for many of the Lord’s people to understand the truth that “THE WHOLE WORLD LIETH IN WICKEDNESS” (I Jn.
5:19). The Amplified Bible correctly
translates the latter part of this verse: “The whole world around us is under
the power of THE WICKED ONE.” This whole
world system not only lies in wickedness, but it lies in, it is under the power
and control of, THE WICKED ONE — a personality, a spirit, a mind. How few truly comprehend this! Many entertain the notion that there is at least
something
of God in the politics of this world, or in the educational programs of
this world, or in the religions of this world, or in the fashions,
philosophies, or economics of this present world system. Do not its leaders acknowledge God? Do they not have prayer in the congress? Does it not say “in God we trust” on our
currency? Are not our laws and culture rooted in so-called “Judeo-Christian
ethics”? Are not our state funerals
conducted in the cathedral? Do not our
leaders take their oath of office with their hand on the Bible? Was not our nation founded by godly men who
sought justice and religious freedom?
Somehow
it does not sink in that the whole world system is, in its totality, A PRODUCT
OF THE CARNAL MINDS OF MEN. Our culture,
our politics, our economy, our military, our educational system, our
entertainment, our social programs are one and all under the power and control
of carnal-minded men, sold under sin, dominated by the spirit that controls
this age, influenced and governed by the god of this world. We have tried to believe that our
present constitutional and political systems are somehow an expression of the
Now
we can understand in fuller measure the import of the message
The
apostle James likewise warns against walking after the spirit of this world and
being entangled therein: “Ye adulterers
and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship
of the world is enmity with God? Whosoever
therefore will be a friend of the world
IS THE ENEMY OF GOD!” (James 4:4).
The great whore is a fornicator, an adulteress. Haughtily she rides astraddle this beast of
the world! But thank God! this world
shall pass away! Not the planet earth
that we live on, but the world — this whole present, carnal, corrupt,
abominable system of things. And with
it, all the chaos, sin, warfare, crime, uncleanness, poverty, pain, pride,
haughtiness, deceit, sickness, death, yea, all the sorrows and ways of man shall
be brought to an end. By the word of our
omniscient Father and by the quickening eye of faith and hope we look for a NEW
HEAVEN and a NEW EARTH wherein dwelleth righteousness! And the time for this change is at
hand! Blessed be the name of the Lord, we
have arrived at the hour, at a consummation of the ages, for the NEW WORLD to
begin! Even now, as God’s overcoming
company learns to rise up in the spirit,
to hear God’s voice, to learn God’s ways, to be led by His Spirit, to be
partakers of His divine nature, to be conformed to His image, the substance and
glory and authority and power of that NEW WORLD is taking on form within
us! Oh, yes! In this new world the carnal mind of man will
not rule. In this new world the satanic
powers of darkness will have no authority or dominion. In this new world the politics, the economic
system, and the religious orders of this present dark age will hold no
sway. Every enemy shall be put under
foot, and the last enemy that shall be destroyed is death! Aren’t you glad!
The
next point I
One
important fact which we want to take note of here is that in Noah’s day not
only was the world destroyed by
water, but Noah was saved by
water. The very SAME WATER! The water of the flood brought destruction to
the world and salvation to Noah. And it
is significant to note that the scripture reveals the very same process at the
end of this present evil world! For the fire that shall bring total ruin to this
present system of things shall bring perfection
and glory to the Lord’s anointed people!
The VERY SAME FIRE! Ah, without
doubt this is the HOLY GHOST FIRE, for “HE shall baptize you with the Holy
Ghost and with fire: whose fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly purge
His floor, and will
“Now
if any man build upon this foundation, gold, silver, precious stones, wood,
hay, stubble; every man’s work shall be
made manifest: for the day shall
declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the (same) fire shall try every
man’s work of what sort it is.
If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon,
he shall receive a reward. If any man’s
work shall
be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; YET SO AS BY
FIRE” (I Cor. 3:12-15). Surely
even the most questioning person will concede that the fire which tries a
spiritual work is not literal fire; fire is an appropriate symbol to represent
the utter destruction of conditions represented here by hay, wood, and
stubble. This fire will consume and
sweep away all carnal works of flesh but will be powerless to destroy the
faith-and-character structure built with gold, silver, and precious stones of
divine nature and truth and spirit!
Literally scores of scripture passages speak of this mighty work of
God’s SPIRITUAL FIRE.
When
righteous Noah stepped out of the ark that bright morning he stepped onto the
soil of the very same earth that existed before the flood, and at night he
gazed into the star-spangled splendor of the same heavens above. Yet — it
was changed! The old order of things was gone, and a new order, or a new heavens and earth, would now be manifested. Was it not a new heaven and a new earth by
being purged through the overflowing
waters of the flood from the wicked and corrupt order that previously polluted
the earth? With what joy and
satisfaction do we now entertain the precious promise: “For behold I create new
heavens and a new earth, and the former
shall not be remembered, nor come into mind” (Isa. 65:17).
God
shall not end this present evil world and call forth the new by destroying
either His creatures or His creation.
When the scriptures speak of our God as a consuming fire burning up the wicked, it bespeaks the
great truth that what God is destroying in this day is the old man, the old humanity,
the
You
see, my beloved, there have been many “worlds” and each and every one of them
has been destroyed. There was the exceeding wicked
Antediluvian world. Then there was the
Patriarchal world. There was the
And
yet, what the apostle John calls “the world” still exists! One world passes, another world emerges. That’s the way it is with the world! Our society today, in whatever land you
dwell, is “the world.” With utmost
solemnity the beloved John exhorts, “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world;
if any man love the world, the love of
the Father is not in him. For all
that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the
pride of life, is not of the Father, but
is of the world. And the world passeth
away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth
forever” (I Jn. 2:15-17).
I
shall now endeavor to show you a mystery even more dreadful than those of which
we have spoken. Our Lord Jesus Christ
came into this world in an hour of incredible spiritual darkness, moral
corruption, political oppression, and human violence. The iron rule of the mighty pagan
But
there was one religion of which
What
mighty power, light, and glory flooded the world through the ministry of Jesus
and His apostles! It was more than a
teaching — there were mighty signs and wonders, all manner of sick healed, lame
men walked, deaf ears were unstopped, blind men received sight, demons were
cast out, and the power of sin and pagan religion was broken in men’s lives and
they stood as new creation men transformed by the living presence of Jesus
Christ the Lord. The word of HIS
LORDSHIP, in the power of the Holy Spirit, swept the world like a prairie fire. It climbed the mountains and crossed the
seas. It made kings to tremble and
tyrants to fear. Within the lifetime of
those early apostles it was said that they had turned the world upside down —
so transforming was their word in the power and demonstration of the Holy
Ghost. In spite of imprisonment,
torture, and martyrdom it grew and multiplied, for God dwelt mightily in the
midst of His people. The knowledge of
the glory of the Lord covered the earth as the waters cover the sea. The day came when that word of the Lord and
that power of the risen, ascended, and glorified Christ conquered the mighty
empire of
It
appeared for a season that the bestial empire of
As
the blind led the blind the visions of the people were in error and darkness,
and the pure vision and experience of CHRIST LIVING AND REIGNING IN HIS PEOPLE
was lost to them. Instead of conquering
by the power of the Spirit and by Truth — as in the early days — the religion
that had once suffered under the sword of Rome began itself to propagate itself
and maintain its control purely by the power
of the sword! An apostasy of a dark
and dreadful nature arose, and in the progress of the centuries assumed
enormous proportions, and a character so diabolical as to challenge all the
idolatries of paganism! The greater
light granted was abused and perverted, until it became a darkness exceeding
any previous darkness — and the central period of its duration and reign is, by
common consent, called “THE DARK AGES.”
Thus the very gospel of Christ gradually became the religion of
antichrist! As the
It
seems to me that if those holy apostles who set in motion the invincible power
that toppled the pagan world could be brought back from the unseen realm and
placed in the midst of our so-called Christian “world” today, they would
immediately recognize the ancient beast which was, and is not, and yet is! I have no doubt that they would be greatly
surprised to behold the gaudy harlot sitting upon her beast! They would realize that the Roman world they
knew was gone, but the
I
think this understanding will give greater meaning to the words the messenger
spoke into the anointed ears of the Seer of Patmos on that long ago day. He spoke concerning the beast. And he imparted into the spiritual mind of
the apostle a divine understanding of certain characteristics of the
beast. The beast is not just one thing. The beast takes various forms. It was, and is not. It vanishes, but then reemerges. It sinks to the lowest depths of the unseen,
the very abyss, the bottomless pit, only to clamber out once more. And it does this again and again! Whether it
appears as a sinner or a saint, as a pagan beast or a Christian beast, as the
flesh nature within an
The
beast appears to be forever gone — into the bottomless pit, which in the Greek
text is the abyss. We have seen that nearly everything in the
book of Revelation takes place in one of three realms: sea, earth, and
heaven. The abyss, however, is a realm
deeper than the earth, deeper even than the sea! It is the lowest
realm, unseen and unknown by the mind of man. Therefore the great mystery and the great
truth that the Holy Spirit is seeking to reveal to those who can receive and
understand it is that there is a dimension of man’s being which is not a result
or manifestation of anything else, but lies so deep within us that it is indeed
the secret and hidden root and cause of all that pertains to the natural
man.
The
principle is given us again in chapter seventeen of the Revelation, verse
eleven. “And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven,
and goeth into perdition (destruction).”
The beast is truly “going into perdition” as God deals with this bestial
nature within us again and again. Our
To be continued… J. PRESTON EBY
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