Revelation 12-14 roughly follows the sequence of the first half of the week of creation.
The overall movement is from heaven to sea to earth. Genesis 1 begins with light, then the separation of waters above and below, the formation of sea and land.
We can be more specific. Land emerges from the sea, and so the first beast emerges from the sea. Once land is separated, the Lord calls up grain and fruit-bearing plants; once the sea beast has emerged, the land produces an infernal harvest – a land beast and his company, marked with the mark of the beast.
It’s an anti-creation: In heaven there is a dragon; in the sea there is a beast; the land produces only false prophets.
But the land has also produced another harvest, the 144,000, marked with the name of Jesus and the Father, firstfruits ready for harvest (14:1-5, 14-20). In the face of anti-creation, the Lord is forming a new creation that will bring good fruit.
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