1 And I saw a beast rising out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads; and on its horns were ten diadems, and on its heads were blasphemous names. 2 And the beast that I saw was like a leopard, its feet were like a bear’s, and its mouth was like a lion’s mouth. And the dragon gave it his power and his throne and great authority.
These verses follow verse 18 of the prior chapter which declares the first beast, the devil, (represented as a dragon) to be standing on the shore. (In the King James Version this verse, 12:18, begins this chapter rather than ending the last one, and in the ESV it is added to the end of the last verse, becoming part of verse 17).
As with everything there is a lot of useful information at wikipedia about these verses and the characterization of the first and second beasts in general: link
The Benson commentary on these verses at Biblehub.com says the numbers seven and ten refer to the seven hills on which Rome was founded and the ten kingdoms of the Empire. Benson goes on to say, "St. John saw this beast rising out of the sea, but the Roman empire was risen and established long before St. John’s time; and therefore this must be the Roman empire, not in its then present, but in some future shape and form..."
In another commentary at Biblehub.com the authors take a different tack, disagreeing that the numbers seven and ten refer to Rome and say that these numbers symbolize more recent earthly kingdoms: "
The seven heads are the seven world monarchies, Egypt, Assyria, Babylon,
Persia, Greece, Rome, the Germanic empire, under the last of which we
live [Auberlen], and which devolved for a time on Napoleon, after
Francis, emperor of Germany and king of Rome, had resigned the title in
1806."
Most of the other authors I read pointed to the numbers seven and ten as being representative of Rome which points to the centuries long rivalry between Protestantism and Catholicism, but the important thing to remember seems to me to be the fact that whatever kingdoms these numbers represent they all get their power from the 'dragon' or the devil, Satan himself.
A Prayer for Salvation from Christ:
Lord Jesus, I confess my sins and ask for your forgiveness. Please come into my heart as my Lord and Savior. Take complete control of my life and help me to walk in Your footsteps daily by the power of the Holy Spirit. Thank you Lord for saving me and for answering my prayer.
A more detailed step by step process:
https://www.wikihow.com/Accept-Jesus-Into-Your-Life
