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 verse stands within the prophecy of Revelation 17:1-18, which belongs to the prophecies of Revelation 12 to 18 that are being fulfilled now. Its chapter represents Babylon as a woman, and in biblical symbolism a woman represents a church while a vile woman represents an apostate church. The chapter's marriage imagery shows a church's unfaithfulness to Christ when it turns its confidence and affection toward worldly things. Its teaching about beasts is that they arise from the union of church and state, a union that becomes destructive to both and crushes those who oppose it.
The verse is part of God's warning of the perils before His people in the last days, showing a people working counter to God who have been deceived. It also shows a company who have been deceived and have rejected truth. Its warning is part of the last message of warning that all are to hear before the very last call to the churches in chapter 18 and the destruction of the beast, false prophet, and dragon pictured in chapter 19. That fulfillment stands just before the taking of the beast and the false prophet and casting them into a lake of fire, the binding of the dragon who instigated the great rebellion against heaven in the bottomless pit for a thousand years, the resurrection of the wicked, the final destruction of Satan and all the wicked, and the final triumph and reign of Christ in this earth.