“the sea” also suggests a point of origin in “the abyss” and thus serves as further proof of the demonic affiliation of the beast (11:7; cf. 9:1–11). Much more will be said about “the beast,” but its essential character is announced from the start. It has slanderous names [onomata blasphēmias] written on its heads (13:1). The most appropriate reading for the “blasphemy” is slander, misrepresentation, and mudslinging. By this criterion, there is no change in the basic characteristics of evil’s enterprise,