"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 wisdom and soulical power of natural-minded men. Thus, this woman, the false church, is carried — underwritten, supported, maintained, and sustained internally by the flesh, and externally by the world!"
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"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 ALSO IS CHRIST” (I Cor. 12:12). Until I see, recognize, love, and honor Christ in you, my brother, my sister, I would not see, recognize, love, or honor One I would see riding upon a cloud! When this precious knowledge becomes sweet to our soul, we begin to look at one another and BEHOLD HIM! I now see Him who is and I shall look, and look, and look until in His temple which we are I see Him who is to come!"
"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 text. “And the beast which thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition (destruction)…and they shall wonder…when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is” (Rev. 17:8). Once we clear away all the speculations, imaginations, and absurdities that men add to this scene the meaning becomes very simple and wonderfully clear. Christ is the One who was, and is, and is to come! The beast is the one who was, is not, yet is, and shall go into destruction! What an amazing contrast! Christ and the beast are opposites — the one is eternal, the other is passing away no matter how diligently he seeks to survive! Christ is our spirit, the beast is our flesh! Christ was, is, and is ever coming — always shall be! The flesh was, is not, yet is, and shall finally be destroyed! What a message that is!"