Is it your position that those who don’t worship the beast nor take its mark only refers to the eighth that comes from the abyss?
That's probably the case in my case. One way I am determining that, is like such. Unfortunately, this turned out somewhat lengthy in order for me to try and explain how I'm arriving at some of these things.
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.
1) was
2) is not
3) shall ascend out of the bottomless pit
Obviously, all 3 can't be true at the same time. 1) appears to be meaning a time before the beast is ever in the pit. 2) appears to be meaning a time when the beast is in the pit. 3), well that's obvious what that means.
Then we need to factor this in.
Revelation 13:3 And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.
When should we assume this is meaning----and his deadly wound was healed? During the time of 1)? During the time of 2)? Or during the time of 3) once it has ascended out of the pit?
Revelation 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.
11 And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.
Which of the 7 kings mentioned in verse 10 should we assume Revelation 13:3---and his deadly wound was healed--is involving?
Revelation 13:11 And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.
12 And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.
13 And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,
14 And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.
15 And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.
16 And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:
17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
This passage makes it crystal clear that the time involving the 2nd beast, it coincides with the time pertaining to the first beast, where one of it's heads has a deadly wound, and that his deadly wound was healed. As can be seen in this passage, regardless what it actually looks like when the 2nd beast does all of these things, meaning maybe it's involving literal events or maybe it isn't, until verse 14 is fulfilled first, there is no image to worship or not worship, there is no mark to take or not take.
Which then brings us back to the martyrs recorded in Revelation 20:4---which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands. None of this martyrdom is even possible unless there is first a beast that rises out of the sea, having 7 heads, and that one of it's heads has a deadly wound and is healed, and that a 2nd beast rises out of the earth fulfilling everything recorded in Revelation 13:12-17 pertaining to him and what all he does once he rises out of the earth. It doesn't matter what that might look like, him rising out of the earth. The point is, until that is fulfilled first, none of the martyrdom recorded in Revelation 20:4---which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands---is even possible, and that this is meaning before satan ever has his little season.
And that this has to be meaning during 3), which means that the beast that is in the pit until it ascends out of it, it doesn't rise out of the pit when satan does, as some Amils insist, it rises out of the pit before the thousand years even begin, which then places the time of the 42 month reign of the beast prior to the beginning of the thousand years. This makes nonsense out of where the 42 months logically fit if Amil is correct that the beginning of the thousand years fit at around the time of the cross or soon thereafter. This would mean everything recorded in Revelation 13 fits prior to the cross.
Amils don't agree the 42 months fit before the time of the cross, yet that doesn't matter though since all of the facts point to that the 42 months precede the beginning of the thousand years, and that if Amil places the beginning of the thousand years 2000 years ago, that means logically the 42 months have to precede that.
Premil doesn't have this issue since Premil isn't trying to force the time of the beginning of the thousand years to be meaning 2000 years ago, thus making nonsense out of Revelation 13 in the process, the fact those events were still future to when John saw those visions, not something already in the past instead.
Those killed and/or persecuted by the beast under the 7 heads don’t partake in the first resurrection?
Unfortunately, I'm not understanding what you are meaning via this question. Maybe you can expand on it some more?
