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God’s Unchangeable Law, Part 3
The Second Beast of Revelation 13
At this point another symbol is introduced.
Says the prophet: “I saw another beast coming up out of the earth, and he had
two horns like a lamb.” Verse 11.
Both the appearance of this beast and the manner of its rise indicate that the
nation which it represents is unlike those presented under the preceding
symbols. The great kingdoms that have ruled the world were presented to the
prophet Daniel as beasts of prey, rising when “the four winds of heaven were
stirring up the great sea.” Daniel
7:2. In Revelation 17 an angel explained that waters represent “peoples,
multitudes, nations, and tongues.” Revelation 17:15. Winds are a symbol of strife. The
four winds of heaven striving upon the great sea represent the terrible scenes
of conquest and revolution by which kingdoms have attained to power.
But the beast with lamblike horns was seen
“coming up out of the earth.” Instead of overthrowing other powers to establish
itself, the nation thus represented must arise in territory preciously
unoccupied and grow up gradually and peacefully. It could not, then, arise among
the crowded and struggling nationalities of the Old World—that turbulent sea of
“peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues.” It must be sought in the Western
Continent.
What nation of the New World was in 1798
rising into power, giving promise of strength and greatness, and attracting the
attention of the world? The application of the symbol admits of no question. One
nation, and only one, meets the specifications of this prophecy; it points
unmistakably to the United States of America. Again and again the thought,
almost the exact words, of the sacred writer has been unconsciously employed by
the orator and the historian in describing the rise and growth of this nation.
The beast was seen “coming up out of the earth;” and, according to the
translators, the word here rendered “coming up” literally signifies “to grow or
spring up as a plant.” And, as we have seen, the nation must arise in territory
previously unoccupied. A prominent writer, describing the rise of the United
States, speaks of “the mystery of her coming forth from
vacancy,” and says: “Like a silent seed we grew
into empire.”—G. A. Townsend, The New World Compared
With the Old, page 462. A European journal in 1850 spoke of the United
States as a wonderful empire, which was “emerging,” and “amid the silence of the earth daily adding to its power
and pride.”—The Dublin Nation. Edward Everett, in an
oration on the Pilgrim founders of this nation, said: “Did they look for a
retired spot, inoffensive for its obscurity, and safe in its remoteness, where
the little church of Leyden might enjoy the freedom of conscience? Behold the mighty regions over which, in peaceful conquest, . . . they have borne the banners of
the cross!”—Speech delivered at Plymouth, Massachusetts, Dec. 22, 1824, page 11.
“And he had two horns like a lamb.” The
lamblike horns indicate youth, innocence, and gentleness, fitly representing the
character of the United States when presented to the prophet as “coming up” in
1798. Among the Christian exiles who first fled to America and sought an asylum
from royal oppression and priestly intolerance were many who determined to
establish a government upon the broad foundation of civil and religious liberty.
Their views found place in the Declaration of Independence, which sets forth the
great truth that “all men are created equal” and endowed with the inalienable
right to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” And the Constitution
guarantees to the people the right of self-government, providing that
representatives elected by the popular vote shall enact and administer the laws.
Freedom of religious faith was also granted, every man being permitted to
worship God according to the dictates of his conscience. Republicanism and
Protestantism became the fundamental principles of the nation. These principles
are the secret of its power and prosperity. The oppressed and downtrodden
throughout Christendom have turned to this land with interest and hope. Millions
have sought its shores, and the United States has risen to a place among the
most powerful nations of the earth.
Speaking Like a Dragon
But the beast with lamblike horns “spoke
like a dragon. And he exercises all the authority of the first beast in his
presence, and causes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first
beast, whose deadly wound was healed. . . . telling those who dwell on
the earth to make an image to the beast who was wounded by the sword and lived.”
Revelation 13:11-14.
The lamblike horns and dragon voice of the
symbol point to a striking contradiction between the professions and the
practice of the nation thus represented. The “speaking” of the nation is the
action of its legislative and judicial authorities. By such action it will give
the lie to those liberal and peaceful principles which it has put forth as the
foundation of its policy. The prediction that it will speak “as a dragon” and
exercise “all the authority of the first beast” plainly foretells a development
of the spirit of intolerance and persecution that was manifested by the nations
represented by the dragon and the leopardlike beast. And the statement that the
beast with two horns “causes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the
first beast” indicates that the authority of this nation is to be exercised in
enforcing some observance which shall be an act of homage to the papacy.
Such action would be directly contrary to
the principles of this government, to the genius of its free institutions, to
the direct and solemn avowals of the Declaration of Independence, and to the
Constitution. The founders of the nation wisely sought to guard against the
employment of secular power on the part of the church, with its inevitable
result—intolerance and persecution. The Constitution provides that “Congress
shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the
free exercise thereof,” and that “no religious test shall ever be required as a
qualification to any office of public trust under the United States.” Only in
flagrant violation of these safeguards to the nation’s liberty, can any
religious observance be enforced by civil authority. But the inconsistency of
such action is no greater than is represented in the symbol. It is the beast
with lamblike horns—in profession pure, gentle, and harmless—that speaks as a
dragon.
“Saying to them that dwell on the earth,
that they should make an image to the beast.”
Revelation 13:14, KJV. Here is clearly presented a form of government in which
the legislative power rests with the people, a most striking evidence that the
United States is the nation denoted in the prophecy.
The Great
Controversy, pp. 439-443
Next part: God’s
Unchangeable Law, Part 4: The Image to the Beast
All Scriptures are quoted from the New
King James Version, including those originally quoted by Ellen White from the
King James Version.—Editors
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