A war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels were fighting against the dragon and its angels. But the dragon lost the battle. It and its angels were forced out of their place in heaven and were thrown down to the earth. Yes, that old snake and his angels were thrown out of heaven! That snake, who fools everyone on earth, is known as the devil and Satan. Then I heard a voice from heaven shout,
“Our God has shown
his saving power,
and his kingdom has come!
God’s own Chosen One
has shown his authority.
Satan accused our people
in the presence of God
day and night.
Now he has been thrown out!
Our people defeated Satan
because of the blood
of the Lamb
and the message of God.
They were willing
to give up their lives.
The heavens should rejoice,
together with everyone
who lives there.
But pity the earth
and the sea,
because the devil
was thrown down
to the earth.
He knows his time is short,
and he is very angry.”
After this I saw another angel coming down from heaven. He had great authority, and the earth was illuminated by his splendor. With a might voice he shouted:
“‘Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great!’
She has become a dwelling for demons
and a haunt for every impure spirit,
a haunt for every unclean bird,
a haunt for every unclean and detestable animal.
For all the nations have drunk
the maddening wine of her adulteries.
The kings of earth committed adultery with her,
and the merchants of the earth grew rich from her excessive luxuries.”
Warning to Escape Babylon’s Judgment
Then I heard another voice from heaven say:
“‘Come out of her, my people,’
so that you will not share in her sins,
so that you will not receive any of her plagues;
for her sins are piled up to heaven,
and God has remembered her crimes.
Give back to her as she has given;
pay her back double for what she has done.
Pour her a double portion from her own cup.
Give her as much torment and grief
as the glory and luxury she gave herself.
In her heart she boasts,
‘I sit enthroned as queen.
I am not a widow:
I will never mourn.’
Therefore in one day her plagues will overtake her:
death, mourning an famine.
She will be consumed by fire,
for might is the Lord God who judges her.”
“Then I [John of Patmos] saw a second beast, coming out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb, but it spoke like a dragon. It exercised all authority of the first beast on its behalf, and made the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose fatal wound had been healed. And it performed great signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to the earth in full view of the people. Because of the signs it was given power to perform on behalf of the first beast, it deceived the inhabitants of earth. … The second beast was given power to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that the image could speak and cause all who refused to worship the image to be killed. It also forced all people, great and small, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads, so that they could not buy or sell unless they had the mark… or the number of its name.
“This calls for wisdom. Let the person who has insight calculate the number of the beast… That number is 666.” (New International Version)
The Number of the Beast is 666 by William BlakeRichard Armitage as The Great Red Dragon
In both pictures above, the Dragon displays his glory for the Beast from the Sea. in the Blake painting, however, the Beast from the Earth joins them in the guise of a sheep-like creature – a lamb but not a lamb – the proverbial “wolf in sheep’s clothing.”
As frequently as Will is referred to as a lamb throughout the series, the appearance of the second Beast cannot be dismissed. There is a dichotomy to Will: He is kind and he is a killer. He is dedicated to justice and he’s willing to bend the rules. Hell, for the second half of Season 2, he’s so dichotomous that even he doesn’t know where his sympathies and loyalties lie. Will is at once the Christ-figure of the Lamb and the minion of evil, a lamb-beast.
When you boil it all down, you have a lamb with a temper and a beastie that looks nonthreatening. There really is no better description of the dual aspects of Will.
Anyway… things don’t end so well for this merry band of baddies: The Dragon gets bound in chains for a thousand years and the Beasts get thrown alive into a fiery lake of burning sulfur. But at least the beasts go together, I suppose. To keep one another company in hell.
Episodes:
3.8: The Great Red Dragon
3.9: … and the Woman Clothed with the Sun
3.10: … and the Woman Clothed in Sun
“A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. … Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on its heads. Its tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to earth. …
The Great Red Dragon and the Woman Clothed with the Sun by William BlakeRichard Armitage as The Great Red Dragon
“Then war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. The great dragon was hurled down – that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him. …
“When the dragon saw that he had been hurled to the earth, he pursued the woman… The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle, so that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the wilderness, where she would be taken care of for a time, times and half a time, out of the serpent’s reach.” (New International Version)
The Great Red Dragon and the Woman Clothed with the Sun by William BlakeRutina Wesley as Reba McClane
“And I [John of Patmos] stood on the shore of the sea. And I saw a beast coming out of the sea. It had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on its horns, and on each head a blasphemous name. The beast I saw resembled a leopard, but had feet like those of a bear and a mouth like that of a lion. The dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority. … People worshiped the dragon because he had given authority to the beast, and they also worshiped the beast.” (New International Version)
If Francis is the Dragon, Hannibal is the Beast from the Sea. How is it possible, though, for Francis to give power to Hannibal? Ostensibly, Hannibal is the more powerful of the two. However, three years have passed since Hannibal has been a menace, a danger, a powerful Beast. Francis doesn’t so much give his power to Hannibal as he provides Hannibal the opportunity to resurrect his own power. Through Francis the old gang reunites, will returns to Hannibal, Hannibal becomes involved in FBI investigations again, returns Hannibal to the tabloid spotlight, provides him with an opportunity for mischief, etc.
Further evidence of this power by proxy is that Francis is only truly able to become the dragon when he is influencee, supported and protected by Hannibal. it is in the shadow of Hannibal’s power that Francis is able to flourish.
Ballad of a Wayward Fannibal 