To further accomplish his goal, the 2nd Beast sets up an economic system of coercion. Any who desire "life as we know it" to continue must declare allegiance to the 1st Beast.

John sees a second Beast emerge out of the earth to help serve the first Beast.

Things go from bad to worse as John sees the Beast pursue God's people with destructive intent.

We're introduced more directly with a Beast that will be covered even more in Revelation 17. Serving as a co-conspirator with the Dragon, the Beast is worshiped as one who is capable of miracles...or, at least, what looks like miracles.

A style of literature you'll find throughout the Bible are chiasms, which build upwards from either end of a passage to a culminating point in the middle of the text. Revelation as a whole is a chiasm, with Chapter 12 being the culmination.

Shane Wood's video can be found here.

Douglas Van Dorn's chiasm layout for Revelation can be found here.

In light of his losing streak, the Dragon turns his sights on the Woman and her offspring (aka: the Christian Church).

Across the heavens comes a proclamation of victory in the war with the Dragon.

His plans foiled, the Dragon begins to fight against the armies of Heaven.

Daniel's dream continues with the appearance of the Son of Man defeating the beasts from the sea and setting up an eternal Kingdom.

Trust me - this interlude to Daniel 7 ties in very well with what John sees in Revelation 12.