In the final conflict between good and evil, Jesus and the armies of heaven are confronted by an alliance of three entities introduced in the 13th chapter of Revelation: The dragon, the leopard-like beast, and the false prophet (AKA the two-horned beast). The beast and the false prophet are captured and cast alive into the lake of fire (Revelation 19:20). The dragon is seized by an angel who casts him and locks him up in the Abyss (Revelation 20:1-3).

The Lake of Fire is not a literal lake. It is not a place of eternal punishment. Scripture calls it the second death (Revelation 20:14). Death is the end of life, therefore the lake of fire is a place from which there is no return, i.e. they (the beast and the false prophet) cease to exist. The Abyss is like a prison from which a return is possible (Revelation 11:7).

A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth. Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on its heads. Revelation 12:1-3

1. Here is introduced the first mention of the dragon in the book of Revelation in connection with the marvelous appearance of a woman. The description of the woman connects her with Jacob whom God renamed Israel (Genesis 32:28).
2. Joseph, one of Israel's twelve sons, angered his brothers with his dreams: I had another dream, and this time the sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me. Genesis 37:9
3. When he told the dream to his father, Israel replied, Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come and bow down to the ground before you? Genesis 37:10 The symbols, therefore, of the sun, moon, and stars are a direct reference to Joseph's mother, father, and brothers.
4. The dragon's connection with the woman is its desire to destroy the child as soon as it is born (Revelation 12:4).
5. What the woman gives birth to is not Jesus, son of Mary, but the promise of a savior in fulfillment of Scripture (Genesis 3:15).
6. This promise is delivered through the calling of Abraham from whose line would come the Messiah. The woman, therefore, is symbolic of spiritual Israel, not the literal nation of Israel.
7. The dragon's motive for this attack is because he knows the Messiah would bring about the end of his dominion on earth.
8. The dragon is called, that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. Revelation 12:9
9. Although thus identified, the dragon symbol represents all the human agencies that have been historical enemies of God's people.
10. The dragon has seven heads, ten horns and seven crowns on its heads. This description is nearly identical to that given for the first beast of Revelation 13 and the scarlet beast of Revelation 17.
11. Numbers in a Biblical context can have both a literal and symbolic meaning. The seven heads on the dragon is symbolic representing all the earthly powers opposed to God, to His law and those faithful to Him throughout history.
12. The ten horns, unlike the heads, are symbolic of powers that exist contemporaneously. They represent both divisions of power as with the breakup after the fall of the western Roman Empire, and the final union of said powers prior to Jesus' Second Coming (Daniel 7:24, Revelation 17:12).
13. The presence of crowns suggests entities that are empowered to rule, while the lack of crowns suggests those that are not yet empowered.

The dragon stood on the shore of the sea. And I saw a beast coming out of the sea. It had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on its horns, and on each head a blasphemous name. The beast I saw resembled a leopard, but had feet like those of a bear and a mouth like that of a lion. The dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority. Revelation 13:1-2

1. It is apparent the dragon, that ancient serpent called the devil, is instrumental in the appearance of the beast that arises from the sea.
2. A beast in biblical prophecy symbolizes nations that have been or will be enemies of Israel specifically and God's people generally.
3. The sea from which it arises can symbolize the earth as a whole or just the region about the Mediterranean from which arise the great civilizations of the ancient world. (Revelation 17:15)
4. The physical description of this beast makes a strong familial connection with the four beasts recorded in Daniel chapter 7.
   • Resembled a leopard: Greece.
   • Feet like those of a bear: Medo-Persia.
   • Mouth like that of a lion: Babylonia.
   • Ten horns on its head: Rome.
5. This connection suggests that the beast that arises from the sea has its roots in the past and further evidence will show it is the end-time antichrist.
6. The seven heads on the leopard-like beast symbolize seven successive powers (empires) which have been and will be the primary oppressors of God's people.
   • Egypt, Assyria, Babylonia, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome.
   • The seventh head foretells the end-time reappearance of the beast.

One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed. The whole world was filled with wonder and followed the beast. Revelation 13:3

7. Which of the seven heads received the fatal wound? The angel tells john, five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come. Revelation 17:10
8. Five of the seven had passed into history by John's day who lived during the Roman Empire. This clearly identifies Rome as the sixth head on the beast.

The beast, which you saw, once was, now is not, and yet will come up out of the Abyss and go to its destruction. Revelation 17:8

9. The scarlet beast revealed in chapter 17 is identical to the beast that arises from the sea. The former is shown as it existed in the past while the later as the beast that "yet will come."
10. What could have caused this death blow to imperial Rome which is symbolized by the beast that "once was" and "now is not", and how was it healed?
11. Imperial Rome persecuted both Jews and Christians when its religion was pagan. This ceased when the empire converted to Christianity in the fourth century AD. Rome's Conversion to Christianity
12. This is proof that it was the change in Rome's religious character that inflicted the fatal wound. It no longer qualified as a beast power. The Western Roman Empire came to an end in the fifth century AD.
13. The beast that "yet will come" will mirror the same character as imperial Rome. It is the work of the false prophet that brings about the healing of the fatal wound. (Revelation 13:12)
14. The ten horns are ten kings who will come from this kingdom. Daniel 7:24 The ten horns symbolically represent the divisions of Europe after the fall of the Western Roman Empire.

The ten horns you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but who for one hour will receive authority as kings along with the beast. Revelation 17:12

15. The crowns on the ten horns symbolize the time when they are empowered as kings and become united in purpose with the beast.

The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise its authority for forty-two months. Revelation 13:5

16. The beast exalts itself, making it equal with God. It speaks blasphemies against God, the heavenly realm and all those abiding there, and it oppresses God's people on earth.
17. Forty-two months is the same period of time given to the little horn power that arises later on the head of Daniel's fourth beast, which has been identified as the Roman Empire. Daniel 7:25
18. Some expositors believe this prophetic period equates to three and one half years of literal time or 1,260 years in prophetic time.
19. Whichever it is, the significance of this period points to a time of great distress and persecution for God's people.

Then I saw a second beast, coming out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb, but it spoke like a dragon. It exercised all the authority of the first beast on its behalf, and made the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose fatal wound had been healed. Revelation 13:11-12

1. Just as water and earth are two different states of matter, so the second two-horned beast presents as a power that differs from the leopard-like beast, possibly in several ways.
2. Having lamb-like horns but the voice of a dragon strongly suggests that this entity is a deceiver, which would corroborate its other identification as the false prophet who is allied with the first beast and the kings of earth at Jesus' second coming (Revelation 19:20).

It performed great signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to the earth in full view of the people. Because of the signs it was given power to perform on behalf of the first beast, it deceived the inhabitants of the earth. Revelation 13:13,14(1)

3. Causing fire to come down from heaven hearkens back to the prophet Elijah and the miracle on Mount Carmel (1 Kings 18:38). Here the second beast (AKA the false prophet) performs the same sign to deceive the people of earth.
4. It is the second beast, therefore, who by deception is instrumental in the healing of the fatal wound which causes the world to worship the first beast.

It [the second beast] ordered them to set up an image in honor of the beast who was wounded by the sword and yet lived. The second beast was given power to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that the image could speak and cause all who refused to worship the image to be killed. Revelation 13:14(2),15

5. Setting up an image of the beast strongly suggests the introduction of idolatry in the worship of the first beast.
6. Giving life and breath to the image of the beast suggests that it is not like other idols made of stone or wood. This image may symbolize a separate agency created to work in cooperation with the second beast.
7. The image of the beast commands the people of earth to bow down to it on pain of death. The worship of idols in ages past was how people would show devotion to their gods.

It [the two-horned beast or the image] also forced all people, great and small, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads, so that they could not buy or sell unless they had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of its name. This calls for wisdom. Let the person who has insight calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man [Or is humanity’s number]. That number is 666. Revelation 13:16-18

8. This mark signifies subservience (or loyalty) to the first beast by thought or deed. Those who refuse to receive the mark are denied basic necessities and privileges.
9. The mark of the beast is connected numerically with the name of the first beast (i.e. calculated from the name), and that number equates to 666. Unfortunately, we are not specifically given the name of the beast.
10. There is a difference in translation as to whether the identification of the beast refers to one individual person or to humanity in general.
11. The number 7 signifies completion, perfection, and holiness. The number 777 would refer to the holy trinity of God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Thus 666 might stand for the unholy trinity: The dragon, the beast, and the false prophet.

Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to wage war against the rider on the horse and his army. But the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who had performed the signs on its behalf... The two of them were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur. Revelation 19:19-20

12. Like I said at the beginning, The lake of fire is not a literal lake. It is not a place of eternal punishment. Scripture calls it the second death (Revelation 20:14).
13. The lake of fire is not the destiny of those who have died by faith in Christ. The one who is victorious will not be hurt at all by the second death. Revelation 2:11

1. The Dragon: This is "that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan." But it seems the devil can only achieve its purposes through human agencies. Its main purpose as revealed in the 12th chapter of Revelation is to prevent the coming of the promised Messiah. To this end it has influenced civil powers in an attempt to destroy Israel. This explains its symbolic description similar to that of the beast.
2. The Beast from the Sea: There is just one beast but it has seven heads. The number seven in this context signifies completion or fulfillment. Throughout biblical history, Israel was oppressed by neighboring countries, some of which I have listed. All of these comprise the beast. The beast from the sea is the seventh head. It is the end-time antichrist that appears prior to Jesus' Second Coming.
3. The Beast from the Earth: Although identified as a beast which means, like the fist beast, it stands in opposition to God and is a persecutor of God's people; there are significant differences that define it. This beast is a wonder worker by which it seeks to deceive the people of earth, not into drawing attention to itself but rather into worshiping the first leopard-like beast. This is why it is also called the false prophet which connotes a religious character. It also sets up an image of the first beast, suggesting the introduction of idolatry. Some prophetic expositors believe the false prophet is a professed religious leader. I think not but have no evidence to prove otherwise.

The prophetic books of Daniel and the Revelation use imagery and symbolism to convey their message, the understanding of which is open to interpretation and debate. I prefer rather to base my faith and understanding on other scripture, particularly the four Gospels which recount Jesus' acts and words, and the apostle's letters to the churches. Jesus, the Son of God, is the perfect revelation of God the Father and the Holy Spirit.