p. 5 | The Two-Horned Beast of Revelation 13 by C. E. Holmes

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Oct 12, 1911

The Two-Horned Beast of Revelation 13

By C. E. Holmes

C. E. HOLMES

For many years Seventh-day Adventists have taught that the two-horned beast of Revelation 13 represents the United States. Elder J. N. Loughborough states that “since the year 1851 it has been the faith of the Seventh-day Adventist people, on the authority of the prophecy in the thirteenth chapter of Revelation, that the power there represented, which would finally become a persecuting power, is the United States of America. . . . In the ADVENT REVIEW AND SABBATH HERALD, Vol. I, No. 11, May 19, 1851, appeared an article by Elder J. N. Andrews, claiming that the prophetic symbol of Rev. 13:11, 12, represents the United States.”

As far as I am able to determine, Elder Andrews was the first among Seventh-day Adventists to teach this interpretation of Rev. 13:11, 12; and there are no statements quoted in our publications since 1851 that indicate that any outside of our faith made the application of this prophecy to the United States. Recently, however, in looking over some old books, I found one in which the writer states very definitely that our country finds its place in the thirteenth chapter of Revelation. The book was published in Baltimore, Md., in 1839, by John Hersey. This was twelve years before Elder Andrews published his exposition of the prophecy. Under the title of “The Signs of the Times,” page 93, Mr. Hersey says:—

“And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb.” This beast may be considered the unregenerate part, the secular or political power, of these United States. He rose up out of the earth, where there were few or no inhabitants. He had two horns like a lamb.

“Our character, when compared with that of Europe, has been lamblike—quiet and inoffensive. Whether the two horns refer to the royal form of government under Great Britain, and the present republican form, or not, is uncertain; if not, there will be a division of the Union, or a change in the form of government.”

While this writer did not interpret all the details of the prophecy exactly as we do, yet this quotation is interesting to us, showing, as it does, that we were not the first, nor were we alone, in teaching that this prophetic symbol represents the United States.

Commenting on the “mark of the beast,” he says further:—

“In a word, any violation of the law of God, however slight it may be, must be considered as a mark of the beast—it is sin. Let us carefully examine Christ’s law. Sin is the transgression of the law, and every departure from Christ’s commandments must constitute a mark of the beast.” (Italics his.)

As the United States has progressed, the predictions which we as a people have made, based upon this prophecy, are being rapidly fulfilled. It is becoming apparent to students of the Word that the conditions set forth in John’s prophecy of the two-horned beast find a striking parallel in the history of our nation. The following quotations show how some more recent expositors view this prophecy:—

“I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.” Those who have given this text study and thought maintain that this scripture refers to the United States, and I agree with them.”—T. De Witt Talmage, in a sermon upon this text in the Brooklyn Tabernacle.

“In the thirteenth chapter of the book of Revelation, the writer describes two beasts, the first of which he saw rise up out of the sea, and the second come up out of the earth, both of which were deadly enemies to God and to his church. The second beast had two horns like a lamb, but he spake as a dragon. Great power was exercised by this beast, and great wonders were wrought by him, so that the people that dwell on the earth were deceived by him. However lamb-like and innocent in appearance, this beast is imperious and intolerant in his actions. ‘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: 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.’ Without attempting any exegesis of this passage, or even saying that it has reference to present-day conditions, every thoughtful reader of the Word of God must have been impressed with the fact that we have come into a condition that is remarkably similar to that which is here described, in the multiplication of unions and orders of various kinds, both among those who sell and those who buy, those who employ labor and those who seek employment. . . .

“Whether this vision has any reference to present-day conditions or not, it surely is a striking description of conditions

that have arisen among us.”—Tract on Labor Unions, by Rev. John S. Thompson, pages 1, 2. Published by the Reformed Presbyterian Church.

With our knowledge of the prophecies, we should energetically seek to warn the people of this nation, that they may be saved from the impending doom which is clearly set forth in the Word of God.

Takoma Park, D. C.