by Steve Wohlberg
Hours before George W. Bush beat John Kerry on November 2, 2004, an Associated Press article declared:
World Sees Huge Stake in U.S. Election (2004)
"People outside the United States could only watch, wait and vent as Americans lined up to vote Tuesday in an election that provoked an extraordinary degree of emotional involvement beyond U.S. borders. Not just leaders and news media, but ordinary people were riveted by the contest between President Bush and John Kerry, convinced that a world roiled by the U.S. - led occupation of Iraq, the war on terrorism, and cultural and religious conflict had a huge stake in the outcome … At the heart of the matter is a belief that in an era of globalization, when American decisions affect hundreds of millions around the globe, the election is not a domestic U.S. issue…‘A day that will decide the fate of the world,’ read a banner headline in Britain's Independent…‘Why shouldn't the Italians vote for the elections, too?’ said screenwriter Michele Cogo in Rome. ‘The planet's destiny is decided in large part by America."
“A day that will decide the fate of the world” “The planet's destiny is decided in large part by America”–these aren’t minor sentences. What happens in Washington DC affects the globe. In this light we inquire: Is America mentioned in Bible prophecy, or has God’s Word overlooked the world’s only superpower?
Many prophecy writers emphatically state we’re not there. They see the US fading into oblivion under a supposedly future New World Order dominated by the United Nations. In this article I want to give you something different to think about. I want to suggest the possibility that America is the exact power specifically mentioned in this mysterious verse:
Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon ... (Revelation 13:11)
Allow me to build my case. First, what is a “beast”? Answer: A great nation. The proof’s in Daniel 7–a chapter that clearly parallels Revelation 13. Both chapters talk about beasts, ten horns, a mouth speaking great things, and war on the saints (see Daniel 7:3-8,21 and Revelation 13:1-7).
Daniel 7 describes four beasts: the lion, bear, leopard and dragon-like beast. An angelic interpreter confirmed:
The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom on earth (Daniel 7:23)
So we can nail this down: According to Scripture, a beast isn’t a computer or super-evil person, but a kingdom. That’s what the angel said. Historically, 98% of Christian scholars have interpreted Daniel’s four beasts to represent the ancient nations of Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome.
Back to Revelation 13:11:
I saw another beast coming out of the earth.
Thus John saw a great nation rising. From where? “Out of the earth.” Daniel’s beasts all rose from the sea (see Daniel 7:3-7). Water in prophecy represents multitudes of people. Another angel confirmed:
The waters which you saw, where the harlot sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations and tongues (Revelation 17:15)
Babylon, Persia, Greece and Rome all rose from the midst of a sea of peoples in Europe and the Middle East. Not so with the beast in Revelation 13:11–it comes from the earth. This points to a great nation rising out of a sparsely inhabited area.
... I saw another beast coming out of the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb ... (Revelation 13:11)
Each word is significant. The true Lamb is Jesus Christ. “Like a lamb,” indicates this nation would have lamb-like or Christian features. A lamb is a young animal, a baby sheep. Thus this nation would at one time be youthful and new. Significantly, its “two horns” have no crowns like the first beast in Revelation 13:2. Crowns represent kingly power. Thus we have a new nation, with Christian features, rising out of a sparsely inhabited area, with a government without kingly power. Are the pieces coming together yet?
Here’s the shocker: Revelation 13 also reveals that this exact nation will finally achieve superpower status during the last moments of time, make a major mistake, and lead out in the global enforcement of the mark of the beast. God’s Word reports:
And he [the lamb-like beast] causes [he resorts to force] all [his power becomes global], both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand or in their forehead, that no man might buy or sell [the world’s economy is involved] except the one who has the mark (Revelation 13:16,17).
These verses parallel the last part of Revelation 13:11 describing the final, tragic act of the lamb-like beast–“he spoke like a dragon.” Let’s put all the pieces together:
1. Revelation 13:11 predicts the rising of a great beast.
2. In prophecy, a beast represents a great nation.
3. This nation comes out of the earth, or wilderness area.
4. This nation starts out young, like a baby lamb.
5. This nation is lamb-like, with Christian characteristics.
6. This nation has horns with no crowns–it has no kings.
7. This nation achieves superpower status near the end of time.
8. This nation influences the world’s economy.
9. This nation finally speaks like a dragon.
10. This nation finally enforces the mark of the first beast in Revelation 13:2.
Be honest: How many nations on Planet Earth fit each of these clear, unquestionable, Heaven-inspired details? Only one. The United States of America.
God has blessed America. Yet prophecy predicts major changes will someday envelop our beloved country and our eyes should be wide open to even now discern the proverbial writing on the wall. May the Lord prepare us for future events. Above all, may we each have a strong relationship with the true Lamb, Jesus Christ, and reject the dragon’s voice.
The Observer
Update: In Some Nations, People Look to Obama as President of the World
Barack Obama's election on Tuesday set off international celebrations and ignited a fervor for the United States that has been unseen since the days immediately following the September 11, 2001, terror attacks.
To some observers, the international reaction has elevated America's president-elect to an unparalleled post: president of the world.
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