Art of the Apocalypse v 1.1

Intent. Generated for a class at a 2019 gathering dedicated to exploring the narrative construction of the Revelation, not the specific meaning of the symbols. These drawings represent my own suggestions of some of the core figures in Revelation 12, 13 and 17.

1. The Great Red Dragon. Or, “Great, Fiery Serpent.” Revelation 20 refers to this dragon as “that old Serpent” (20:2), which is fitting since many Eastern dragons are typically depicted in folklore as serpentine, borne out long after John’s Apocalypse in sculptures like the 7-headed Naga of Angkor Wat (12th century). I chose to make a large wingless serpent that emerges from the darkness of the stars and entangles itself within the midheaven of the earth.
2. Heads in sequence, like keyframes. I made the heads of the dragon follow a horizontal sequence rather than a tangled, random spray. When Revelation 17:10 speaks of the heads of the Scarlet Beast, it says “Five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come,” which seems to indicate that the heads flow in some sort of order. This reminded me of animation classes on “keyframing,” separating motion into its major components. Could the 7 positions of the heads demonstrate changes in the power of a single system over time?
3. Ten horns, seven heads. Given the number of heads, the horns could be arranged in the neat sequence 1,2,1,2,1,2,1. I chose to do this, but I’m not convinced that this is correct. If my assumption about the “keyframes” is correct, it is entirely possible that all of the horns only appear on the “active” head. The same may be true for the crowns.
4. Who is the Scarlet Beast? Was this beast (as I grew up believing) the Beast from the Sea? Or might it have been the only other similar beast revealed to be red in color, the Great Red Dragon? I made two different illustrations to represent these possibilities. They should be taken in that spirit, not as my endorsement of one view over another. I’ve always assumed the scarlet beast is quite large, though I can’t back that up!
5. The Woman Clothed with the Sun. It’s difficult to envision, and I doubt I have the answer! Does “clothed with the sun” mean bathed in sunlight, or the sun unfolding like a garment? Is she standing on the moon, or hovering over it? And when the dragon sweeps a third of the stars out of the sky (Revelation 12:4), is he sweeping away the stars of heaven, or (as the class asked) a third of the stars around the head of the woman?
6. The Beast of the Earth. I probably took the most liberties here, since there is little description. We only know that it has two horns like a lamb but speaks like a dragon, can impart life to the image of the beast, and can do wonders, calling fire down from heaven. I chose a silhouetted beast that resembled a lamb, but this is a huge assumption on my part.

“These illustrations should be taken with great skepticism, and not as my private endorsement of one view over another, and certainly not as a desire to create confusion!”

For kids, there’s a Dragon of Revelation coloring page. Compare the Four Beasts of Daniel 7 and the Terrible Fourth Beast, and the Revelation art series beginning with the Alpha & Omega. See the whole book in my map of Revelation.