Revelation Decoder: The Dragon and the two Beasts

Sea and Earth:

Revelation 7:3; 9:4; 10:6; 12:12; 14:7; 21:1

Revelation 12:12 makes a contrast between the blessedness of the heavens and those who dwell in them, to the disaster about to come upon the earth and sea because of the devil’s wrath. This verse, along with the context of this chapter, infer that the wrath to come upon the earth and sea is in reference to the people who dwell on the earth and the wrath being specifically against people. Our planet will specifically incur disaster, but the intended target for that disaster to negatively affect are people. In this way, earth is in reference to the inhabitants thereof (Dan 4:35). When the book of Revelation uses the term “earth,” it may be referring to people, or it may be referring to the physical realm. The devil mostly hates people because they were made in God’s image, but the devil also hates everything that God has made, and that includes animals, sea creatures, and the earthly realm.

Nahum 1:5 says, “Mountains quake because of Him and the hills dissolve; indeed, the earth is upheaved by His presence, the world and all the inhabitants in it.” The earth is used metaphorically here and is clearly explained as being those who dwell on the earth.

Revelation 21:1 says, “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea.”

I don’t take this to mean that there will not be any large bodies of water, or that we won’t have any beaches in the future. I think the intent to say there will no longer be any sea is to say that all the violent and destructive forces of the ocean will be gone. I imagine that the new earth will no longer have salty, murky water. But it will be crystal clear and clean. Alternatively, no sea could mean that there will no longer be an abyss (a netherworld).

Why does the dragon stand on the seashore and the beast come out of the sea?

“the dragon” = “the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan” (12:9; 20:2)

Revelation 13:1. Here’s the imagery: Satan was cast out of heaven and thrown down to the earth. He fell into the ocean when he fell from heaven. The sea is his symbolic dwelling place because he is the Leviathan, the serpent dragon sea-monster (Isa 27:1). So, this is why he stands on the sand of the seashore in Revelation 13:1, he just came out of the sea. The sea is also used as imagery because the ocean is so vast and deep and ferocious. Anything could be lurking down there of just about any size. When Daniel had a vision of four beasts, they also all came out from the sea (Dan 7:3). This is also why the beast in Revelation 13 also comes up out of the sea. For the dragon and these beasts to come up out of the sea means that they are revealing themselves.

The sea is symbolic here, not literal.

Why does a beast come up out of the earth and who is he?

Revelation 13:11 says, “Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb and he spoke as a dragon.” Since in this chapter, the dragon, the beast, and a third character (beast) is mentioned, and in Revelation 16:13 & 20:10 the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet are mentioned together, I conclude that the Revelation 13 beast that comes up out of the earth is in reference to the false prophet. Whether this is an actual person, an extension of the beast empire, or both can be debated. Another correlation is that they both perform signs and are used to deceive people in relation to receiving the mark of the beast and worshipping his image (13:13-14; 19:20).

Who is this false prophet? Will it be the Pope? Muhammed? The antichrist? Some future prophet or religious person? What if the beast is a form of government and the false prophet is a religious system tied to that government like Islam? What if what everyone thinks to be the antichrist is actually just the false prophet as a person and there is no secondary person? What if the false prophet is actually the antichrist? Note that 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 speaks of a “man” of lawlessness.

Also, similar to this beast of two horns like a lamb is Daniel 8:20, which speaks of a ram with two horns, explained to be the kings of Media and Persia.

I think the reason for the beast coming up out of the earth (the false prophet) is to indicate that he rose up among the rest of the peoples, ascending into his power. Since, the earth is where the people dwell. The earth is a place that is known, familiar, and close. Whereas the sea is the opposite of that, it is foreign, unfamiliar, and obscure. This means that many people will feel a close connectedness to the false prophet. He is one of their own—and so they will trust him—and not see any of the red flags.

Is the dragon the beast? Technically, no. Revelation 20:10 mentions the beast as distinctly separate from the devil and the false prophet. Therefore, the dragon is not the beast. Additionally, Revelation 13:1 shows this same distinction. Notice that the dragon is standing on the seashore while a beast comes up out of the sea. They are two different things. Another distinction is that the dragon has seven heads, ten horns, and seven diadems (12:3), while the beast has seven heads, ten horns, and ten diadems (13:1).

The dragon is the spirit behind the beast, empowering the beast (13:1-3).

Why does the dragon have seven heads and ten horns? Both heads and horns represent kings (17:9-12). There are seven kings which are represented by the seven heads. These are seven kingdoms/empires which have now already reigned upon the earth through the devil giving them power. They existed one at a time right after one another. However, the ten horns represent ten kings or nations or kingdoms that will reign altogether at the same time in the last days. Satan exists in the spiritual realm as the dragon beast, and he is the power and authority behind the beast that comes from the sea (which is the eighth beast, and will be a physical kingdom on earth). For more on this subject, read the book of Daniel. Also, check out my previous article: https://hearttheology.org/babylon-the-woman-and-the-beast

What is the abyss? It is the netherworld, a place of existence which is neither heaven nor the physical realm on the surface of the earth. It is the place of the dead, the place of spiritual imprisonment (Lk 8:31; Rev 20:1-8), and it is often visualized as the depths of the sea, where it is deep, dark, and void; as many people have died from the violence of the sea and have sunk down into the depths into the abyss.

The beast which comes up out of the depths of the sea does so because symbolically, it comes to life after having been dead (a previously defeated kingdom). In the book of Daniel, beasts coming up from the sea simply means kings/kingdoms rising up (Dan 7:3, 17).

Revelation 20:2 says that the dragon, Satan, will be bound for a thousand years and thrown into the abyss. Luke 8:31 indicates that Jesus could command demons to go to the abyss.

Revelation 11:7 speaks of the beast which comes up out of the abyss and will make war against the two witnesses and kill them. Is this the beast which comes up out of the sea and the final beast empire? (13:1; 17:8). Or is it the dragon beast which after one-thousand years of being bound, he is released from the abyss for a short time? (20:1-10). Can it be both?

Revelation 20:1 says that an angel comes down from heaven, holding the key of the abyss. Who is this angel? Is it Jesus? (1:18). Is it a good angel or a fallen angel? Is the bottomless pit the same as the abyss? (9:1). Who is Abaddon, Apollyon? (9:11). Whoever he is, he is given the key to the abyss to release demons into the world who had been bound up in the abyss. He is called the king and angel of the abyss since he has the key to open it. He fell from heaven, which indicates either the devil or one of the fallen angels who were evicted from heaven.

In the context of the two witnesses being killed by the beast, it says, “the beast that comes out of the abyss will make war with them” (11:7). In the context of the harlot riding the beast and the destruction of Babylon the Great, it says, “The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is about to come up out of the abyss and go to destruction” (17:8). This is the last and final beast empire, the eighth. These two passages are describing the same beast. It correlates directly with the beast which comes up out of the sea, as in both instances it says that they died and came to life (13:1-3). The heads and horns are also connected in these passages. This means that there is a correlation between coming up out of the abyss and coming up out of the sea. They are viewed as the same thing. It is just different imagery.

For more insight into the beasts, read the book of Daniel.