What does the sea symbolize in Revelation 13?
In Revelation 13, the sea symbolizes the sea of humanity—the vast masses of people around the globe. From this global mass of humanity will arise the empire that had been dead, headed by the one man of sin and empowered by Satan, as shown in the vision.
Les explains that in symbolic language here, the sea means the sea of humanity—the masses of people around the globe. He notes the world is becoming global, smaller and smaller, and out of this mass of humanity will come the empire that has been dead, headed up by the one man of sin. The beast vision then describes a leopard-like beast with bear’s feet and lion’s mouth, and the dragon, Satan, gives him his power, throne, and authority, showing the culmination of satanic power. Les also ties this to Daniel 7, where Daniel uses practically the same language in his vision of coming historical events.