(continued from my last post)
In fact, we have another clear-cut example in scripture where a “beast” with “two horns” represented a “kingdom” comprised of “two kings”.
In relation to the same, we read:
Daniel chapter 8
[1] In the third year of the reign of king Belshazzar a vision appeared unto me, even unto me Daniel, after that which appeared unto me at the first.
[2] And I saw in a vision; and it came to pass, when I saw, that I was at Shushan in the palace, which is in the province of Elam; and I saw in a vision, and I was by the river of Ulai.
[3] Then I lifted up my eyes, and saw, and, behold, there stood before the river a ram which had two horns: and the two horns were high; but one was higher than the other, and the higher came up last.
[4] I saw the ram pushing westward, and northward, and southward; so that no beasts might stand before him, neither was there any that could deliver out of his hand; but he did according to his will, and became great.
[5] And as I was considering, behold, a he-goat came from the west on the face of the whole earth, and touched not the ground: and the goat had a notable horn between his eyes.
[6] And he came to the ram that had two horns, which I had there seen standing before the river, and ran unto him in the fury of his power.
[7] And I saw him come close unto the ram, and he was moved with choler against him, and smote the ram, and broke his two horns: and there was no power in the ram to stand before him, but he cast him down to the ground, and stamped upon him: and there was none that could deliver the ram out of his hand.
[8] Therefore the he-goat waxed very great: and when he was strong, the great horn was broken; and for it came up four notable ones toward the four winds of heaven.
In verse 3, we see a “beast” or “a ram which had two horns: and the two horns were high; but one was higher than the other, and the higher came up last” or we see a kingdom comprised of two kings.
This is not merely my own interpretation.
Instead, when Daniel was given the interpretation of his vision by the angel Gabriel, this is what he was told:
Daniel chapter 8
[19] And he said, Behold, I will make you know what shall be in the last end of the indignation: for at the time appointed the end shall be.
[20] The ram which you saw having two horns are the kings of Media and Persia.
[21] And the rough goat is the king of Greece: and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king.
[22] Now that being broken, whereas four stood up for it, four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not in his power.
The “ram” or “beast” that Daniel saw “having two horns” was “the kings of Media and Persia” (vs. 20) or what we would call the Medo-Persian kingdom.
As we previously read in relation to these “two horns” or two kings, “the two horns were high; but one was higher than the other, and the higher came up last” (Dan. 8:3).
Daniel was in Babylon when he had this vision, and it was fulfilled precisely how God had foretold.
If you know history, then you know that Babylon initially fell to the Medes, the first “horn” of this “ram having two horns” (Dan. 8:20), only to later be ruled by the Persians, the second “horn”, or “the higher” king, or the stronger king, which “came up last” (Dan. 8:3).
You can read about the same here:
https://ajourneythroughworldhistory.weebly.com/medo-persian.html
Furthermore, exactly as God had foretold, this “ram having two horns”, or the Medo-Persian empire, was ultimately defeated by “the king of Greece” (Dan. 8:21), Alexander the Great.
Further still, when “the great horn was broken” (Dan. 8:8), or when Alexander the Great died, “for it came up four notable ones” (Dan. 8:8), or Alexander the Great’s kingdom was divided between his four generals, Cassander, Ptolemy, Antigonus, and Seleucus.
If you’d like to, then you can read about that here:
https://www.ancient.eu/Alexander_the_Great/
God has been accurately foretelling the future FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS, so we really ought to pay attention to what is being shared now.
In light of what we’ve just covered, we know that this “another beast” having “two horns” (Rev. 13:11) is representative of a “kingdom” that is comprised of “two kings”.
This is
CLUE #3 towards assessing its proper identity.
In relation to this “another beast”, again, we read:
“And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spoke as a dragon.” (Revelation 13:11)
This “another beast” or another kingdom not only “had two horns”, but, more specifically, “had two horns like a lamb”.
Is this significant information?
Yes, it is.
For one thing, unlike “the first beast before him” or “the first beast” (Rev. 13:12) who was depicted as a compilation of ADULT ANIMALS (“a leopard”, “a bear”, and “a lion” – Rev. 13:2), this “beast” or this kingdom is depicted as “a lamb” or as A YOUNG SHEEP:
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lamb
lamb noun
1a: a young sheep
especially : one that is less than one year old or without permanent teeth
In other words, this “beast” or kingdom is a new kingdom in its infancy.
This is
CLUE #4 towards assessing its proper identity.
Furthermore, the word “lamb” appears twenty-seven times in the book of Revelation, with this being but one of those twenty-seven times, and in each and every instance it is clearly a reference to Jesus Christ.
I won’t type out every verse for you because this post is already almost a book, but here are the scriptural references:
Rev. 5:6, 8, 12, 13, 6:1, 16, 7:9, 10, 14, 17, 12:11, 13:8, 11, 14:1, 4 (2X), 10, 15:3, 17:14 (2X), 19:7, 9, 21:14, 22, 23, 22:1, 3.
Seeing how a “lamb” is always representative of Christ in the book of Revelation, we can safely conclude that this “another beast” or another kingdom, which appears on the world scene in its infancy after the Papacy appears, is not only a composite of two kingdoms or made up of “two horns”, but it also is a composite of two kingdoms which profess to be CHRISTIAN KINGDOMS.
This is
CLUE #5 towards assessing its proper identity.
Wait a minute…
Why did I say that this “beast” or kingdom which is comprised of “two horns” or two kings only PROFESSES to be Christian in nature?
Well, the answer to that question is right before us.
Once more, we read:
“And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spoke as a dragon.” (Rev. 13:11)
Although this “another beast” or another kingdom “had two horns like a lamb” or appeared to be a composite of two professing Christian kings or kingdoms, in reality, “he spoke as a dragon” or was SATANIC in nature.
The word “dragon” appears twelve times in the book of Revelation in the following portions of scripture:
Rev. 12:3-4, 7, 9, 13, 16-17, 13:2, 4, 11, 16:13, and 20:2.
In all 12 instances, the word “dragon” is a direct reference to none other than Satan himself, and you can easily verify the same by simply checking the references for yourselves.
This is
CLUE #6 towards assessing its proper identity.
(continued in my next post)