This passage divides into the description of a beast that comes up out of the sea (12:18–13:10) and the description of a beast that comes up out of the land (13:11–18). In both cases, the word for “beast” connotes a wild one. 12:18–13:1: And he [the dragon] stood on the sand of the sea [= on the seashore]. Thus the dragon, Satan, stands at the border of the sea, out of which the first beast will arise, and of the land, out of which the second beast will arise. For