The two-horned wild beast
But now another wild beast appears on the world stage. John reports: "And I saw another wild beast coming up out of the earth, and it had two horns like a lamb, but it began to speak like a dragon. And it exercised all the power of the first wild beast before his eyes. And he causes the earth and those who dwell on it to worship the first wild beast, which had been healed of its deathblow. And he performs great signs, so that he even causes fire to come down from heaven to earth in the sight of men" (Revelation 13:11-13). This wild beast has two horns, which indicates a partnership between two political powers. It is said to come from the earth, not from the sea. It therefore comes from Satan's already existing earthly system of things. It must be an already existing world power that will assume an important role on the Day of the Lord.
What can be meant by this? The Anglo-American world power - the same one that is represented by the seventh head of the first wild beast, but in a special role. The fact that this animal appears alone in the vision as a wild beast makes us recognize its independent action on the world stage all the more clearly. This symbolic two-horned wild beast consists of two simultaneously existing independent but cooperating political powers. Its two horns "like a lamb" give the impression that it is gentle and harmless and has a progressive government to which the whole world should turn. However, it speaks "like a dragon" in that it applies pressure, threats and even violence wherever its model of government is not accepted. It does not encourage submission to God's kingdom, the rule of the Lamb of God, but encourages support for the interests of Satan, the great dragon. It promotes nationalistic strife and hatred, which in reality is tantamount to worshiping the first wild beast.
The two-horned wild beast performs great signs, even sending down fire from heaven. (Compare Matthew 7:21-23.) Remember that last year large parts of the earth were set on fire with laser weapons. This last mentioned sign reminds us of Elijah, the prophet of God, who entered into a contest with the prophets of Baal. When he successfully called down fire from heaven in the name of Jehovah, it was clear beyond all doubt that he was a true prophet, unlike the prophets of Baal (1 Kings 18:21-4. The two-horned wild beast, like those prophets of Baal, believes it has the necessary characteristics of a prophet (Revelation 13:14, 15; 19:2. It claims to have defeated the forces of evil in two world wars and was victorious against so-called godless communism. Many actually see the modern-day counterpart of the two-horned wild beast as a guardian of freedom and a source of material prosperity.
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