The Second Beast of Revelation 13

It is important that we do so, for these two beasts will unite in purpose at the end of this earth’s history, to enforce terrible persecutions upon those who are true to God and His Word.

Here we see that a universal death decree and an economic boycott will be enacted against those who will not endorse the worship of the first beast, the Papacy, through the efforts of these two powers. The great issue at the end of time is religious for it is a matter of worship. Notice the references to worship in this chapter.

God’s last message of love at this terrible time is also one of worship.

Thus the end time conflict is centered upon the worship of God and the worship of the beast.

Since the Vatican possesses no significant military or police powers to enforce such decrees worldwide, it will resort to a powerful ally to enforce its will. This is no novel strategy for the Vatican. For centuries she used the Holy Roman Empire and other nations in precisely this way. Thus there is a definite historical record of such collusion in the past.

But where, in these last days preceding Christ’s Second Coming, could the Papacy find such a powerful assistant? To discover the answer to this question we must turn to the clues of the identity of the second beast of Revelation 13. These clues are fewer than those of the principal party, the Papacy, but they are nevertheless quite specific.

Clue 1 —

This beast is symbolic of a political power for, as we have demonstrated, a beast in these prophecies represents a political entity.

Clue 2 —

We have seen that the Papacy arose from the "sea" (Revelation 13:1) and that the waters refer to multitudes (Revelation 17:15). Thus the significance of the emergence of the second beast out of the earth may be discerned, by contrast, to be a power which arose on a sparsely inhabited continent.

Clue 3 —

Here youthfulness and harmlessness are symbolized. It was to be a new nation, one not born in the ages of antiquity. It was to arise as a mild nation. The other six beasts were ferocious, but the seventh was to arise as a meek lamb.

Clue 4 —

Here is a dramatic alteration from the lamb to the dragon, a fierce beast. This denotes that this nation, innocent in its foundation, would undergo a metamorphosis. The Scripture is precise in its identification of the dragon.

Thus this initially upright nation was later to become the agent of Satan just prior to the end of the world, for it represents also the last (seventh) head of the first beast.

Clue 5 —

This text refers of course to the first beast, the Papacy, which was taken captive by the force of arms in 1798. But we notice that this infliction of the deadly wound is timed at the period of the rise of the seventh beast, for verse 11 immediately follows. Thus this second beast would commence its rise to power during the late eighteenth century. But it would not then immediately succeed the Papacy as the sixth head of the beast of Revelation 17 for its emergence was lamb-like, mild, inoffensive. Perhaps here is also indicated that it would initially follow the will of the true Lamb, the Lamb of God. Indeed, this meaning is strongly supported in that by contrast it later follows the dragon, Satan. There are only two leaders we can follow.

Now, which nation has fulfilled each of these criteria? There are only two contenders—the United States and Australia. Both arose in the late eighteenth century, the United States (1776), Australia (1788). Both were founded in regions of the world which were sparsely populated. At the time of the emergence of the United States there were estimated to be only about 1,000,000 American Indians occupying the vast territory of over 3,000,000 square miles. At Australia’s foundation only 300,000 to 500,000 Australian aborigines were scattered thinly through its territory of almost 3,000,000 square miles. Both were youthful nations. Both settlements developed into nations—political powers.

But here Australia’s claim falters. While the United States commenced as a haven for persecuted Christians from Europe—a sweet respite from difficult conditions—Australia could, by no stretch of the imagination, be deemed to have arisen as a mild nation. Rather than providing a respite from persecution, it was founded as a harsh penal colony. The pitiless treatment of convicts, many transported to Australia for trivial crimes which today would have been punished by the perpetrator entering into a good behavior bond, left a fearful scar upon the white settlement of Australia.

Further, the prophecy of the second beast, as it unfolds, speaks of a nation which would develop into a power of worldwide dominance. In meeting this criterion the United States is unchallenged.

In the nineteenth century the United States could not take its place as a world leader. It was decidedly inferior in power to the major nations of Europe, especially Britain, France, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Prussia and Russia. Even Spain and Portugal exerted more worldwide influence. In addition, fearing to become embroiled in constant European conflicts, President James Monroe in 1823 led the nation to adopt an isolationist stance which prevented any move toward the United States exerting a powerful influence in the world.

The Monroe Doctrine dominated United States policy until 1941 when the nation entered the Second World War following the Japanese bombardment of Pearl Harbor. It is true that adherence to the Monroe Doctrine had faltered in 1917 when for the last year of the First World War the United States became a combatant in Europe, but it immediately resumed its former stance after the signing of the Treaty of Versailles in 1919, declining even to join the League of Nations which it had helped to establish.

But with the entry of the United States into the conflict of the Second World War, a new era arose. Soon the country was embroiled in wars around the globe including Korea, Vietnam, Grenada, Panama, Kuwait, Bosnia, Kosovo in Serbia, and Somalia, to cite only a few and to ignore its clandestine interference in sovereign states such as Chile and Nicaragua.

In 1989, within a period of four months, Poland, East Germany, Romania, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria and Hungary threw off the yoke of Communism and two years later Communism in the Soviet Union collapsed. That mighty atheistic defier of the God of heaven disintegrated into fifteen independent nations: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan.

Although Communism still held sway in China, North Korea, Vietnam, Laos and Cuba, its force as the great opponent of the God of heaven had petered out. Truthfully President George Bush Sr. could report to the United States Congress, the nation and the world, that there was now only one (military) superpower in the world, the United States of America. The sixth head of Atheistic Communism had fallen and the United States, 225 years after its creation had stepped into its prophesied preeminence, for President Bush Sr.’s boast was indisputably correct. Over a century of isolationism and three-quarters of a century of conflict with Communism could not alter God’s prophetic word.

The United States is the seventh head. Ominously it will continue only "a short space" (Revelation 17:10). Christ’s return is nigh at hand. What a time to prepare our hearts in righteousness within a world which can justifiably be judged as wicked and vile. Only the power of the Holy Spirit can bestow purity of heart and life in these dark days of our earth.

But let it not be forgotten that the prophecy went on to declare,

The eighth head unites with the seventh in the great last affront against God’s truth and his people. This is a head which "is of the seven"—one of the previous heads, "which was and is not." In 1798 the Papacy received a deadly wound and could be then termed "is not." But verse 8 of chapter 17 of Revelation had stated not only that it "was, and is not" but that it "and yet is."

Only one of these seven heads has recovered from its deadly wound—the Papacy. Clearly the two great powers which unite in purpose to oppose God’s law and persecute His people as this sinful earth’s history closes, are the United States and the Vatican. The United States is unchallengeably the great military power of the planet and the Vatican the most powerful religious entity.

Thus will be fulfilled, speaking of the second beast, the United States,

Together these two quite diverse powers will act as the Papacy of the past, not now confined largely to Europe, but throughout the world. Their decrees will be universal.

No deception will be spared mankind in order to beguile the citizens of the world into accepting the dictates of this final unholy alliance against the truth of God and His people.

Further, for the few who are not deceived, no coercive effort will be spared.

We are rapidly approaching momentous times, for this head will continue "a short space" (Revelation 17:10). Recent fulfillment of moves to seal a union between the United States and the Vatican, are examined and documented later. (See chapter entitled "George Bush is Romeward Bound.")