What does Revelation 13:2 mean?

John further described the beast from the sea as resembling a leopard with feet like a bear's feet and a mouth like a lion's mouth. It's important to remember that these descriptions are meant to be symbolic—the reader is meant to understand them that way, not as a literal depiction of a mythical animal.

Daniel 7:3–7 mentions three beasts, representative of certain empires, as rising from the sea. Daniel also mentions a fourth beast, a more powerful empire, meaning the Revived Roman Empire. The three empires represented by the lion, the bear, and the leopard are in order: Babylon, Medo-Persia, and Greece. These three empires followed each other in history. The Medes and the Persians conquered the Babylonian Empire, and the Greeks conquered the Persian Empire.

The revived Roman empire will likely include the conquered territories once held by Babylon, Medo-Persia, and Greece. The beast from the sea, described in these verses, is therefore head of the Revived Roman Empire, and he receives his power from the dragon, the Devil. Also, the dragon gives him the authority to reign as a king from his throne. This political and social leader is the end-times figure most commonly called the Antichrist.