The Marvel of Nations

06 LOCATION OF THE GOVERNMENT REPRESENTED BY THE SECOND SYMBOL OF Revelation 13

FOLLOWING the leopard, or papal beast of Revelation 13 in consecutive order, comes another symbol whose appearance the prophet delineates, and whose work he describes, in the following language:— MANA 105.1

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 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 a 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. MANA 105.2

These few verses, with an allusion to the same power under the name of “the false prophet” in Revelation 16:13 and 19:20, furnish all the testimony we have respecting the two-horned beast; but brief as it is, it gives sufficient data for a very certain application of the symbol in question. As an example of the world of meaning which prophecy can condense into a few words, a portion of the first verse of the foregoing quotation may be instanced. Here, within a compass of nineteen words, only three of which are words of more than one syllable, six grand points are made, which taken together, are sufficient to determine accurately the application of this symbol. The prophet says, first, that it is “another beast;” secondly, that when his attention was turned to it, it was, “coming up;” thirdly, that it came up “out of the earth;” fourthly, that it had “two horns;” fifthly, that these horns were like those of “a lamb;” and sixthly, this symbol is introduced after the preceding beast went into captivity. MANA 105.3

The two-horned beast, then, is “another beast,” in addition to, and different from, the papal beast which the prophet had just had under consideration; That is, it symbolizes a power separate and distinct from that which is denoted by the preceding beast. This which John calls “another beast” is certainly no part of the first beast; and the power symbolized by it is likewise no part of that which is intended by that beast. This is fatal to the claim if those, who to avoid the application of this symbol to our own government, say that it denotes some phase of the papacy; for in that case it would be a part of the preceding or leopard beast. MANA 106.1

To avoid this difficulty, it is claimed that the two-horned beast represents the religious or ecclesiastical, and the leopard beast the civil, power of Rome under papal rule, that these symbols correspond to the beast and woman in Revelation 17, the one representing the civil power, the other the ecclesiastical. But this claim also falls to the ground just as soon as it is shown that the leopard beast represents the religious as well as the civil element of that power. And nothing is easier than to show this. MANA 106.2

Take the first symbol, the dragon. What does it represent? — Rome. But this is not enough; for Rome has presented two great phases to the world, and the inquirer wants to know which one is intended by this symbol. The answer then is, Pagan Rome; but just as soon as we add “pagan,” we introduce a religious element; for paganism is one of the mightiest systems of false religion ever devised by the archenemy of truth. It was, then, the religious element in the empire that determined what symbol should be used to represent it; and the dragon represented Rome while under the control of a particular form of religion. MANA 107.1

But the time comes when another symbol is introduced upon the scene — the leopard beast arises out of the sea. What power is symbolized by this? The answer is still, Rome. But the dragon symbolized Rome, and why not let that symbol continue to represent it? Whosoever attempts to answer this question must say that it is because a change had taken place in the power. What change? Two kinds of changes are conspicuous in the history of Rome, — changes in the form of government, and a change in religion. But this cannot denote any change in the form of government; for the seven different forms of government that Rome consecutively assumed are represented by the seven heads of the dragon and the seven heads of the leopard beast. The religious change alone must therefore be denoted by this change of symbols. Paganism and Christianity coalesced, and the mongrel production was the papacy; and this new religion, and this alone, made a change in the symbol necessary. Every candid mind must assent to this; and this assent is an admission of the utter absurdity of trying to limit this symbol to the civil power alone. So far from its representing the civil power alone, it is to the ecclesiastical element that it owes its very existence. The ecclesiastical is therefore the essential element, and without it the symbol could not exist. MANA 107.2

That the leopard beast represents ecclesiastical as well as civil power is further shown in the arguments already presented to prove that this beast is identical with the little horn of the fourth beast of Daniel 7, which symbolizes the papacy in all its component parts and through all its history. It is the leopard beast alone that is identical with this little horn, not the leopard beast and the two-horned beast taken together. MANA 108.1

Again, Pagan Rome gave its seat to the papacy. The dragon gave his seat to the leopard beast. If it takes both the leopard beast and the two-horned beast to constitute the papacy, the prophet should have said that the dragon gave his seat and power to these two beasts combined. The fact that this transfer was to the leopard beast alone, is proof positive that that beast alone symbolizes the papacy in its entirety. MANA 108.2

When, therefore, John calls the two-horned “another beast,” it is certain that he does not mean any particular phase, or any part, of the papal power. MANA 108.3

It is claimed by others that the two-horned beast represents England; by still others, France; and by some, Russia, etc. The first among many other fatal objections to all these applications, is, that the territory occupied by all these powers is already appropriated by preceding symbols. The prophecy does not read that the lion, the bear, or the leopard re-appeared under a new phase; or that one of the ten horns of the leopard beast became another beast. If the two-horned beast symbolized any of these, it would be a part of other beasts instead of “another beast,” separate and distinct as it must be from all the rest. It is a law of symbols that each one occupies territory peculiarly its own, that is, the territory which constituted the original government was no part of that which had been occupied by the previous powers. Thus, Babylon had its territory; and Medo-Persia rose on the territory not occupied by Babylon; and Medo-Persia and Babylon together covered all that portion of Asia known to ancient civilization. The Grecian, or Macedonian, kingdom arose to the west of them, occupying all Eastern Europe, so far as it was then known to the ancients. Rome rose still to the west, in territory unoccupied by Grecia. Rome was divided into ten kingdoms; but though Rome conquered the world, we look for these ten kingdoms only in that territory which had never been included in other kingdoms. We look not to Eastern Europe, for that was included in the dominion of the third beast; nor to Asia, for that constituted the empires of the first and second beasts; but to Western Europe, which territory was unoccupied until taken by Rome and its divisions. MANA 108.4

The ten kingdoms which rose out of the old Roman empire are enumerated as follows by Machiavel, indorsed by Bishop Newton, Faber, and Dr. Hales: 1. The Huns; 2. The Ostrogoths; 3. The Visigoths; 4. The Franks; 5. The Vandals; 6. The Suevi; 7. The Burgundians; 8. The Heruli; 9. The Anglo-Saxons; and l0. The Lombards. These kingdoms have since been known, says Scott, as the “ten kingdoms of the Western empire,” and they are distinguishable at the present day, some of them even by their modern names; as Hungary from the Huns, Lombardy from the Lombards, France from the Franks, and England from the Anglo-Saxons. These ten kingdoms being denoted by the ten horns of the leopard beast, it is evident that all the territory included in these ten kingdoms is to be considered as covered by that symbol. England is one of these ten kingdoms; France is another. If, therefore, we say that either of these is the one represented by the two-horned beast, we make one of the horns of the leopard beast constitute the two-horned beast. But this the prophecy forbids; for while John sees the leopard beast fully developed, with his horns all complete and distinct, he beholds the two-horned beast coming up, and calls it “another beast.” We are therefore to look for the government which this beast symbolizes in some country outside the territory occupied by the four beasts and the ten horns already referred to. But these, as we have seen, cover all the available portions of the eastern hemisphere. MANA 109.1

Another consideration pointing to the locality of this power is drawn from the fact that John saw it arising from the earth. If the sea from which the leopard beast arose (Revelation 13:1) denotes peoples, nations, and multitudes, as John expressly affirms that it does in Revelation 17:15, his use of the word “earth” here would suggest, by contrast, a new and previously-unoccupied territory. MANA 110.1

Being thus excluded from eastern continents and impressed with the idea of looking to territory not previously known to civilization, we turn of necessity to the western hemisphere. And this is in full harmony with the ideas already quoted, and more which might be presented, that the progress of empire is with the sun around the earth from east to west. Commencing in Asia, the cradle of the race, it would end on this continent, which completes the circuit. Bishop Berkeley, in his celebrated poem on America, written more than one hundred years ago, in the following forcible lines, pointed out the then future position of America, and its connection with preceding empires:— MANA 111.1

“Westward the course of empire takes its way,
The first four acts already past,
A fifth shall close the drama with the day;
Time’s noblest offspring is the last.” MANA 111.2

By the “first four acts already past,” the bishop had undoubted reference to the four universal kingdoms of Daniel’s prophecy. A fifth great power, the noblest and the last, was, according to his poem, to arise this side the Atlantic, and here close the drama of time, as the day here ends it circuit. MANA 111.3

To what part of the American continent shall we look for the power in question? — To the most powerful and prominent nation, certainly. This is so self-evident that we need not stop to pass in review the frozen fragments of humanity on the north of us, nor the weak, superstitious, semi-barbarous, revolutionary, and uninfluential kingdoms to the south of us. No; we come to the United States, and here we are held. To this nation the question of the location of the two-horned beast undeviatingly leads us. MANA 111.4

As an objection to this view, it may occur to some minds that the two-horned beast exercises all the power of the first beast before him (Greek, enopion, literally, in his eyes, or before his face), and does wonders in his sight; and how can the United States, separated by an ocean from European kingdoms, hold such as intimate relation to them? We answer, Space and time are annihilated by the telegraph. Through the Atlantic cable (an enterprise which, by the way, owes its origin to the United States), the lightnings are continually picturing to European beholders the affairs of America. Any important event occurring here is described the next hour in the journals of Europe. So far as the transmission of an account of our proceedings to the people of the Old World is concerned, it is as if America lay at the mouth of the English Channel. MANA 112.1

And the eyes of all Europe are intently watching our movements. Says Mr. Townsend (New World and Old, p, 583):— MANA 112.2

“All the great peoples of Europe are curiously interested and amazed in the rise of America, and their rulers at present compete for our friendship. ‘Europe,’ said the prince Talleyrand long ago, ‘must have an eye on America, and take care not to offer any pretext for recrimination or retaliation. America is growing every day. She will become a colossal power, and the time will come when (discoveries enabling her to communicate more easily with Europe) she will want to say a word in our affairs, and have a hand in them.’ “ MANA 112.3

The time has come, and the discoveries have been made, to which Talleyrand referred. It is almost as easy now to communicate with Europe as with our nearest town. By these things the attention of the world is drawn still more strongly toward us; and thus whatever the United States does, it is done in the sight — yes, even before the eyes — of all Europe. MANA 112.4

One strong pillar in the argument is thus firmly set. The terms of the prophecy absolutely fix the location of the power symbolized by the two-horned beast; and that location is in this western hemisphere. It can be nowhere else. And the conclusion is just as unavoidable that our own nation is the power in question. MANA 113.1