1Then I stood on the sand of the sea. I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads. On his horns were ten crowns, and on his heads, blasphemous names. 2The beast which I saw was like a leopard, and his feet were like those of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. The dragon gave him his power, his throne, and great authority. 3One of his heads looked like it had been wounded fatally. His fatal wound was healed, and the whole earth marveled at the beast. 4They worshiped the dragon because he gave his authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?”
5A mouth speaking great things and blasphemy was given to him. Authority to make war for forty-two months was given to him. 6He opened his mouth for blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, his dwelling, and those who dwell in heaven. 7It was given to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. Authority over every tribe, people, language, and nation was given to him. 8All who dwell on the earth will worship him, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been killed. 9If anyone has an ear, let him hear. 10If anyone is to go into captivity, he will go into captivity. If anyone is to be killed with the sword, he must be killed. Here is the endurance and the faith of the saints.
11I saw another beast coming up out of the earth. He had two horns like a lamb and it spoke like a dragon. 12He exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence. He makes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose fatal wound was healed. 13He performs great signs, even making fire come down out of the sky to the earth in the sight of people. 14He deceives my own people who dwell on the earth because of the signs he was granted to do in front of the beast, saying to those who dwell on the earth that they should make an image to the beast who had the sword wound and lived. 15It was given to him to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause as many as wouldn’t worship the image of the beast to be killed. 16He causes all, the small and the great, the rich and the poor, and the free and the slave, to be given marks on their right hands or on their foreheads; 17and that no one would be able to buy or to sell unless he has that mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of his name. 18Here is wisdom. He who has understanding, let him calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. His number is six hundred sixty-six.
The waters represent peoples, and the ten kings will destroy the harlot, the false religious system created by the Antichrist and his false prophet in Chapter 13. The “waters” symbolize all the people the religious system, the “woman,” controls. The political system created by the Antichrist, identified here as the ten kings, will destroy the world’s religious system. They are described as “hating” her. This is likely because of the control the world's religion will initially have over the political system. Eating her flesh and burning her with fire symbolizes their destruction of the system as well as stripping it of its wealth. It appears that the Antichrist will destroy the one world religion once it has used up its usefulness. He may also plunder it to help fund his government and armies. This is like the career of Antiochus Epiphanes around 135 b.c., who desecrated the temple, and had a career of plundering temples to use their wealth in raising armies to try to conquer Egypt (Ptolemies). He died of some disease soon after an attempt on one temple. Instead of worshipping the gods, he tried to be worshipped as a god. Here, it appears the antichrist will turn on the one-world religion and abolish it with the aid of his political system. This will happen as the end comes to his kingdom. It may be his attempt to keep his empire intact.
This section ends with a reminder that God sovereignly manipulates these world leaders to accomplish His purpose in destroying the Antichrist’s religious system. As this ends, our attention is drawn to the city itself and its coming destruction.