Hello chevelledc788.
I assume you are referring to the beast in Revelation 13:1-10. I'll reference some of "Revelation" by Louis Brighton.
"The use of "beast" here in 13:1, the same term as in 11:7, suggests that these two beasts are related, though they are not the same. The beast "coming up out of the abyss" in 11:7 is to be identified with "the angel of the abyss" in 9:11, who in turn is to be identified with the "dragon" of Revelation 12: all three are Satan. Here in 13:1 the beast is not the dragon (the angel of the abyss), but it is under the control of the dragon (Satan himself).
The "sea" is similar to "the abyss" (hell) in 9:11 and 11:7. The sea is a place of chaos and evil on earth. As indicated in 12:18 the dragon (Satan) stands on the shore of the "sea" in anticipation as he awaits the beast to come forth at his bidding. If one faces out toward the Aegean Sea from Patmos one is looking in the general direction of Rome.
At the call of the dragon, the beast comes from such a tumultuous sea. This beast from the sea is the first monster which will plaque the people of God on earth. The first beast has ten horns and seven heads exactly like the dragon of 12:3. This identifies the beast and what it represents as the instrument and agent of Satan.
The description of the beast from the sea suggests that it resembles the fourth beast from the sea in Dan 7:7. John sees only one beast because by his time in history the first three had come and gone. Because the dragon could not destroy the woman, he summons the beast to carry on his warfare against the woman, the Christian church. And this warfare by the dragon, through the beast, began at or shortly after the ascension of Christ. The time period during which the beast would be active would be the whole period of church history, from Christ's ascension up to the end of this present world at Christ's return.
Many commentators today identify the beast of Rev 13:1-2 with the Roman Empire. In John's day, and long after, the beast did indeed represent Rome. After the fall of the Roman Empire in the fifth century, Rome continued to serve as the type and model of such tyrannical powers that would arise in the future. In light of this history, the interpretation included Rome but also must be broadened. The beast represents and symbolizes every human authority and everything of the human nature that the dragon can corrupt and control and use in his warfare against the woman (the church) and her seed (individual Christians) - political, governmental, social, economic, philosophical, and educational systems, as well as individuals.
Aside - the beast from the earth in 13:11-18 represents evil religious authority."
Pax
