Revelation 13
p 565 -- VERSE 11
And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns
like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon. 12 And he exerciseth all
the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which
dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.
13 And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from
heaven on the earth in the sight of men, 14 And deceiveth
them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power
to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that
they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by the sword, and
did live. 15 And he had power to give life unto the image
of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as
many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed. 16
And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond,
to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: 17
And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of
the beast, or the number of his name.
These verses bring
to view the third great symbol in the line of prophecy we are examining,
usually denominated the two-horned beast. We inquire for its application.
The dragon, pagan
Rome, and the leopard beast, papal Rome, present before us great organizations
standing as the representatives of two great systems of false religion.
Analogy would seem
to require that the remaining symbol, the two-horned beast, have a similar
application, and find its fulfilment in some nationality which is the
representative of still another great system of religion. But the only
remaining system which is exercising a controlling influence in the world
to-day is Protestantism.
Abstractly
considered, paganism embraces all heathen lands, containing more than half the
population of the globe. Catholicism, which may perhaps be considered as
embracing the religion of the Greek Church, so nearly identical with it,
belongs to nations which compose a great portion of Christendom. Mohammedanism
is an effete system, which has ceased to be any important factor in the world's
progress. Moreover, it seems to have received enough prophetic attention in
Daniel 11 and Revelation 9. But Protestantism is the religion of nations which
constitute the vanguard of the world in liberty, enlightenment, progress, and
power.
If, then,
Protestantism is the religion to which we are to look, to what nationality, as
the representative of that religion,
p 566 --
(picture
omitted)
p 567 -- does the
prophecy have application? There are notable Protestant nations in Europe; but
for reasons which will hereafter appear, the symbol cannot apply to any of
these. A careful investigation has led to the conclusion that it does apply to
Protestant America, or the government of the United States. We trust the reader
will now feel impatient for some of the reasons for such an application, and
will carefully consider the evidence by which it is supported.
1.
Probabilities Considered. - Are there any reasons why we should expect
that our own government would be mentioned in prophecy? On what conditions have
other nations found a place in the prophetic record? - First, if they have
acted any prominent part in the world's history; and secondly, and above
all, if they have had jurisdiction over, or maintained any relations with, the
people of God. In the records of the Bible and of secular history, we find data
from which to deduce this rule respecting the prophetic mention of earthly
governments; namely, whenever the relations of God's people to any nation are
such that a true history of the former, which is the object of all revelation,
could not be given without a notice of the latter, such nation is mentioned in
prophecy.
And all these
conditions are certainly fulfilled in our government.
No nation has ever
attracted more attention, excited more profound wonder, or given promise of
greater eminence or influence. And certainly here, if anywhere on the globe,
are to be found a strong array of Christians, such as are the salt of the earth
and the light of the world, whose history could not be written without mention
of that government under which they live and enjoy their liberty.
And the conviction
has fastened itself upon many minds that the hand of Providence has been
conspicuously manifest in the rise and progress of this nation.
Governor Pownal, an
English statesman, in 1780, while our Revolution was in progress, predicted
that this country would become independent, and that a civilizing activity,
beyond what Europe could ever know, would animate it; and that its commercial
and naval power would be found in every
p 568 -- quarter of
the globe. He then speaks of the probable establishment of this country as a
free and sovereign power as -
"A revolution
that has stronger marks of divine interposition superseding the ordinary course
of human affairs, than any other event which this world has experienced."
De Tocqueville, a
French writer, speaking of the separation of the United States from England,
says: -
"It might seem
their folly, but was really their fate; or rather, the providence of God, who
has doubtless a work for them to do in which the massive materiality of the
English character would have been too ponderous a dead-weight upon their
progress."
Geo. Alfred
Townsend, speaking of the misfortunes that have attended the other governments
on this continent (New World and Old, p. 635), says: -
"The history of
the United States was separated by a beneficent Providence far from the wild
and cruel history of the rest of the continent."
Such considerations
as these are calculated to arouse in every mind a strong expectation that this
government will be found to have some part to act in the carrying out of God's
providential purposes in this world, and that somewhere it will be spoken of in
the prophetic word.
*******
To be continued….
By the will of our
God, through the mercy and grace of His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ our
Lord, our Savior.
Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment