Where does this fit into the supposed 7 years of reign (or 3.5 years of reign) of the beast?
Revelation 17:8 - "The beast, which you saw, once was, now is not, and yet will come up out of the Abyss and go to its 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 it once was, now is not, and yet will come."
Rev 12:3 And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.
The crowns are on the heads, Satan in the spiritual realm deceiving people by the last 7 kingdoms before the beast.
Rev 13:1 And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.
Rev 13:2 And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.
The crowns are on the horns, Satan in the physical realm deceiving people by the man of sin, and the 10 horns is the world split in to 10 sections with a leader in each section.
The 10 horns are the physical dominion of the beast kingdom, which all nations came together but the plan is of the Roman Empire which is more extended than in the first century, and the power base of the beast as arms will stand on his part which America, Europe, and Russia, have very great military power.
Which it is the new age movement plan that they are trying to establish that interprets the Bible according to the occult, and evolution, and people are still evolving to be greater and spiritual provided by the New Age Christ, the beast, and no personal God above them, atheist, but spiritual, the God of forces, or the power of nature, the evolutionary process.
The Roman Empire has the physical dominion which they shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces, and the New Age Christ comes from the 10 horns.
With the ways of a lion, Babylon, the occult, human religion, the kingdom of man which the beast kingdom is Babylon in spirit, for Babylon, Medo-Persia, and Greece will never have physical dominion again, but their ways are still on earth.
With the ways of a bear, Medo-Persia, physical cruelty to take away everyone that opposes the beast kingdom.
With the ways of a leopard, Greece, human wisdom.
The kingdom of man in it's entirety with no input from God.
All 4 kingdoms have not fallen yet until Jesus hits the feet of the statue of a man in Daniel 2 then all 4 kingdoms are put down, for as long as their ways are still on earth they have not fallen yet.
Rev 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.
Rev 17:9 And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.
Rev 17:10 And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space.
Rev 17:11 And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.
The 7 heads, kings are, 1.Egypt, 2.Assyria, 3.Babylon, 4.Medo-Persia, 5.Greece, the first 5 are fallen, 6.Roman Empire, one is, which the Roman Empire was the kingdom when John wrote Revelation, and one is to come, the 10 horn kingdom, which shall continue a short space, three and one half years.
The 8th king is the New Age Christ, the beast, which shall rule for three and one half years.
The 8th king is of the 7 kings for the devil influenced those kingdoms.
So the beast that was, and is not, and yet is, would be a reference to the devil who was before the beast, the man of sin appeared, and is not, for the devil will be punished, and yet is, that he is using the New Age Christ to deceive the world.
2Th 2:1 Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him,
2Th 2:2 That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.
2Th 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;
2Th 2:4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
2Th 2:6 And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time.
2Th 2:7 For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.
2Th 2:8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming.
Dan 8:23 And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up.
Rev 17:8 The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition.
Rev 20:2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,
Rev 20:3 And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.
The devil is on a leash right now, and can only influence the world so much, and what withholds the man of sin from appearing claiming to be God is the condition of the world in response to the truth.
Which the nations will come together and work for peace on earth according to the ways of people, and stop the preaching of the Gospel world wide for three and one half years, which is the time the world will not want to hear the truth of the Bible but want to hear it according to the new age movement, evolution is religion.
Controlled conflict brings about controlled change.
The 10 horn kingdom failed at providing peace on earth, but it was planned out so they will accept the New Age Christ, and at the end of the three and one half years it is the falling away first, when the transgressors are come to the full, and then the world accepts the New Age Christ as the solution to have peace on earth.
Which the beast ascends from the bottomless pit, which the devil is off his leash concerning the wicked, and the man of sin deceives all people who do not love God to follow him, and when they do then salvation is no longer available to them, and God will end sin on earth.
Then the devil is back in the bottomless pit, back on a leash during the millennial reign of Christ, but the devil does not influence the world at all, and then at the end of the millennial reign the devil is released out of his prison, and deceives the heathen that Jesus and the saints rule over, and they go against them and God devours them with fire, and the millennial reign is over, and Satan goes to the lake of fire.
For God spared some people when He went against the world so Jesus and the saints could rule over them, but they still had punishment coming for taking the mark of the beast, and following the man of sin, but God postponed their judgment until the end of the millennial reign.