The images of beasts in prophetic dreams and visions symbolize the enemies of God's people. _{Jeremiah 4:7}

1. John sees the dragon standing by the sea shore and then a beast coming out of it.
2. The beast had seven heads and ten horns, each horn bearing a crown and each head a blasphemous name.
3. The beast looks like a leapard but with feet like a bear and a mouth like a lion.
4. The dragon gave the beast his power, throne and great authority.
5. One of the heads on the beast bore the scar of a fatal wound that had been healed.
6. This caused the whole world to be in awe and follow the beast.
7. They worshiped the dragon for empowering the beast.
8. They also worshiped the beast, all those whose names are not written in the Lamb's book of life.
9. The beast exalted itself, spoke blasphemies against God, the heavenly realm and all those abiding there.
10. It exercised its authority over the earth for a period of 42 months, during which time it waged war on the saints and defeated them.

1. The sea symbolizes the nations of the Middle East and the Mediterranian. _{Revelation 17:15}
2. The beast bears striking physical attributes with the four beasts in Daniels dream. _{Daniel 7:1-7}
3. These four have been identified as the Babylonia, Medo-Persia, Greece and Rome.
4. The seven heads symbolize seven chronological (historical) occurrences of the beast. _{Revelation 17: 10-11}
5. Prior to Daniel's time there were two ancient empires that were enemies of Israel: Egypt and Assyria.
6. The seventh head on the beast foretells a future appearance of this beast power at the time of Jesus' second coming. _{Revelation 17:8-11}
7. The reappearance of the beast with the healing of the fatal wound causes the whole world to be in awe of the beast and worship it. _{Revelation 13:3}
8. The beast's attitude toward God and its persecution of God's people is a sure sign that this is the antichrist.
9. The ten horns on this beast wear crowns signifying they exercise authority as kings, a direct reference to the ten horns on the scarlet beast. _{Revelation 17:12}

1. John then sees another beast ascending out of the earth. It has two lamb-like horns but speaks like a dragon.
2. This beast works on behalf of the first beast, causing the people of earth to worship the first beast whose fatal wound had been healed.
3. It performs miraculous signs for everyone to see, even making fire to fall from heaven to earth.
4. The people of earth are deceived by these signs and wonders it was able to perform.
5. The second beast commanded the people of earth to construct an image in honor of the first beast whose fatal wound had been healed.
6. It gave breath to the image so that it could speak. Anyone who refused to worship the image were threatened with death.
7. The image also forced everyone to receive a mark of loyalty to the first beast, either on their right hands or their foreheads. Anyone who refused the mark was denied basic necessities.
8. The mark is the name of the first beast or the number of its name. The number is 666, which is the number of a man.

1. The earth reference signifies a different geographical origin from the beast from the sea, possibly the new world which was unknown in John's time.
2. The second beast bears no crowns suggesting it is not a political power. _{2 Kings 11:12, Revelation 6:2}
3. Horns like a lamb but speaks like a dragon is central to the second beast's deception.
4. The second beast therefore stands in opposition to the true Lamb of God. _{John 1:29}
5. Causing fire to come down from heaven hearkens back to the prophet Elijah. _{1 Kings 18:30-38, Revelation 13:13}
6. The second beast is in fact identified as the false prophet. _{Revelation 19:20}
7. The image it orders set up in honor of the first beast reveals the inclusion of idolatry in the worship of the first beast.
8. The mark of the beast signifies subservience to the first beast by thought or deed. _{Revelation 13:16, Revelation 14:9-11}
9. The number 666 stands for the name and number of the beast for it is humanity's number thus making it the unholy trinity in contrast to God the father, Son and Holy Spirit.
   _{Revelation 13:17 & 18}