Basic HTML Version
God’s Law Immutable
245
which paganism was the prevailing religion. Thus the dragon is, in
a secondary sense, a symbol of pagan Rome.
In
Revelation 13
is another beast, “like unto a leopard,” to which
the dragon gave “his power, and his seat, and great authority.” This
symbol, as most Protestants have believed, represents the papacy,
which succeeded to the power and seat and authority once held by the
Roman empire. Of the leopardlike beast it is declared: “There was
given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies. ...
And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme
his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. And it
was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome
them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and
[272]
nations.”
Revelation 13:2:5-7
. This prophecy, nearly identical with
the description of the little horn of
Daniel 7
, unquestionably points
to the papacy.
“Power was given unto him to continue forty and two months”—
the three years and a half, or 1260 days, of
Daniel 7
—during which
the papal power was to oppress God’s people. This period, as stated
in preceding chapters, began with the supremacy of the papacy, A.D.
538, and terminated in 1798. At that time the papal power received
its “deadly wound,” and the prediction was fulfilled, “He that leadeth
into captivity shall go into captivity.”
The Rise of a New Power
At this point another symbol is introduced: “I beheld another
beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb.”
Revelation 13:11
. This nation 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 strove upon the great sea.”
Daniel 7:2
.
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 previously unoccupied
and grow up peacefully. 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 attracting the attention of the world?
One nation, and only one, meets this prophecy—the United States