The Two-Horned Wild Beast

But now another wild beast comes into the scene. John reports: " And I saw another wild beast ascending out of the earth, and it had two horns like a lamb, but it began speaking as a dragon. And it exercises all the authority of the first wild beast in its sight. And it makes the earth and those who dwell in it worship the first wild beast, whose death-stroke got healed. And it performs great signs, so that it should even make fire come down out of heaven to the earth in the sight of mankind." (Revelation 13:11-13) This wild beast has two horns, indicating a partnership of two political powers. And it is described as coming out of the earth, not out of the sea. Thus, it comes out of Satan's already established earthly system of things. It must be a world power, already existing, that takes a significant role during the Lord's day.

What can it be? The Anglo-American World Power-the same as the seventh head of the first wild beast but in a special role! Isolating it in the vision as a separate wild beast helps us to see more clearly how it acts independently on the world stage. This figurative two-horned wild beast is made up of two co-existing, independent, but cooperating political powers. Its two horns "like a lamb" suggest that it makes itself out to be mild and inoffensive, with an enlightened form of government to which all the the world should turn. But it speaks "as a dragon" in that it uses pressure and threats and even outright violence wherever its version of ruler ship is not accepted. It has not encouraged submission to God's Kingdom under the rule of the Lamb of God, but, rather, to the interests of Satan, the great dragon. It has promoted nationalistic divisions and hatreds that add up to worshiping the first wild beast.

This two-horned wild beast performs great signs, even making fire come down from heaven. (Compare Matthew 7:21-23) This latter sign reminds us of Elijah, the ancient prophet of God who engaged in a contest with the prophets of Baal. When he successfully called down fire from heaven in the name of Jehovah, it proved beyond doubt that he was a true prophet and that the Baal prophets were false. (1Kings 18:21-40) Like those Baal prophets, the two-horned wild beast feels that it has adequate credentials as a prophet. (Compare Revelation 13:14, 15; 19:20) Why, it claims to have vanquished the forces of evil in two world wars, and not it stands firm against so-called godless communism! Many, indeed, view the modern counterpart of the two-horned wild beast as a guardian of liberty and a font of material good things.

Next time: The Image Of The Wild Beast