The previous chapter had closed with a description of the rage of the defeated dragon. Because he had been thrown out of heaven and because his efforts to destroy the woman (the church) were frustrated, the dragon went off to “make war on the rest of her offspring” (the Christians of all generations). In his strategy to fight God’s children, the dragon placed himself on the shore of the sea (Revelation 12:17). In Revelation 13:1–10 we read about what arises from the sea as a tool for the dragon in his battle against God’s people.
1 And I saw a beast rising out of the sea, with ten horns and seven heads, with ten diadems on its horns and blasphemous names on its heads.