In the second vision, the scene shifts to heaven. We see a cosmic battle between the dragon and the archangel Michael and his angels. The dragon is defeated and cast down to earth. In the third vision, John takes us back to earth. We see the beast rise out of the sea and take control of the earth.
People worship the beast.
Its number, John tells us at the end of Chapter 13, is 666. Like Revelation as a whole, these three visions use symbolism and myth. To begin with the symbols, the meaning of several is fairly obvious. In the first vision, the child is Jesus. Though the second vision is set in heaven, the means by which the dragon is defeated is an event on earth.