The United States in the Light of Prophecy Part 4

Having given us data by which we determine the location, chronology, and rapid rise of this power, John now proceeds to describe the appearance of the two-horned beast, and speak of his acts in such a manner as to clearly indicate his character both apparent and real. Every specification thus far examined has held the application imperatively to the United States. We shall find this one no less strong in the same direction.

This symbol has "two horns like a lamb." To those who have studied the prophecies of Daniel and John, horns upon a beast are no unfamiliar features. The ram, Dan. 8:3, had two horns. The he goat that came against him had, at first, one notable horn between his eyes. This was broken and four came up in its place toward the four winds of heaven.

From one of these came forth another horn, which waxed exceeding great.

The fourth beast of Daniel 7 had ten horns. Among these, a little horn with eyes and mouth, far-seeing, crafty, and blasphemous, arose. The dragon and leopard beast of Rev. 12 and 13, denoting the same as the fourth beast of Dan. 7, in its two phases, have each the same number of horns signifying the same thing. And the symbol under consideration has two horns like a lamb. From the use of the horns on the other symbols, some facts are apparent which may guide us to an understanding of their use on this last one.

A horn is used in the Scriptures as a symbol of strength and power, as in Deut. 33:17, and glory and honor, as in Job 16:15.

A horn is sometimes used to denote a nation as a whole, as the four horns of the goat, the little horn of Dan. 8, and the ten horns of the fourth beast of Dan. 7; and sometimes some particular feature of the government, as the first horn of the goat, which denoted not the nation as a whole, but the civil power as centered in the first king, Alexander the Great.

Horns do not always denote division, as in the case of the four horns of the goat, &c.; for the two horns of the ram denote the _union_ of Media and Persia in one government.

A horn is not used exclusively to represent civil power; for the little horn of Daniel's fourth beast, the papacy, was a horn when it plucked up three other horns, and established itself in 538. But it was then purely an ecclesiastical power, and so remained for two hundred and seventeen years from that time, Pepin, in the year 755, making the Roman pontiff a grant of some rich provinces in Italy, which first const.i.tuted him a temporal monarch. (Goodrich's Hist. of the Church, p. 98. Bower's Hist.

of the Popes, Vol. 2, p. 108.)

With these facts before us, we are prepared to examine into the significance of the two horns which pertain to this beast. Why does John say that he has two horns like a lamb? Why not simply two horns? It must be because these horns possess peculiarities which indicate the character of the power to which they belong. The horns of a lamb indicate, first, youthfulness, and secondly, innocence and gentleness.

As a power which has but recently arisen, the United States answer to the symbol admirably in respect to age; while no other power, as has already abundantly been proved, can be found to do this. And considered as an index of power and character, it can be decided what const.i.tutes the two horns of the government, if it can be ascertained what is the secret of its strength and power, and what reveals its apparent character, or const.i.tutes its outward profession. The Hon. J.A. Bingham gives us the clue to the whole matter when he states that the object of those who first sought these sh.o.r.es was to found "what the world had not seen for ages; viz.,--a church without a pope, and a State without a king." Expressed in other words, this would be a government in which the church should be free from the civil power, and civil and religious liberty reign supreme.

And what is the profession of this government in these respects? That great instrument which our forefathers set forth as their bill of rights, the Declaration of Independence, contains these words: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of hapiness." And in Article IV, Sec. 4, of the Const.i.tution of the United States, we find these words: "The United States shall guaranty to every State in this Union a republican form of government." A republican form of government is one in which the power rests with the people, and the whole machinery of government is worked by representatives elected by them. And here, again, we see the fitness between the symbol and the government which is symbolized; for the horns of the two-horned beast have no crowns upon them as do the horns of the dragon and leopard beast, showing that the government which it represents cannot be monarchical, but is one in which the power is vested in the hands of the people.

This is a sufficient guarantee of civil liberty. What is said respecting religious freedom? In Art. VI of the Const.i.tution, we read: "No religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States." In Art. I of Amendments of the Const.i.tution, we read: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof."

In reply to questions as to the design of the Const.i.tution from the committee of a Baptist society in Virginia, Geo. Was.h.i.+ngton wrote, Aug.

4, 1789, as follows:--

"If I had the least idea of any difficulty resulting from the Const.i.tution adopted by the Convention, of which I had the honor to be President when it was formed, so as to endanger the rights of any religious denomination, then I never should have attached my name to that instrument. If I had any idea that the general government was so administered that the liberty of conscience was endangered, I pray you be a.s.sured that no man would be more willing than myself to revise and alter that part of it, so as to avoid all religious persecutions. You can, without doubt, remember that I have often expressed my opinion, that every man who conducts himself as a good citizen is accountable alone to G.o.d for his religious faith, and should be protected in wors.h.i.+ping G.o.d according to the dictates of his own conscience."

In 1830, certain memorials for prohibiting the transportation of mails and the opening of post-offices on Sunday were referred to the Congressional Committee on Post-offices and Post-roads. The committee reported unfavorably to the prayer of the memorialists. Their report was adopted and printed by order of the Senate of the United States, and the committee discharged from the further consideration of the subject. Of the Const.i.tution, they say:--

"We look in vain to that instrument for authority to say whether the first day, or seventh day, or whether any day, has been made holy by the Almighty."

"The Const.i.tution regards the conscience of the Jew as sacred as that of the Christian, and gives no more authority to adopt a measure affecting the conscience of a solitary individual than of a whole community. That representative who would violate this principle would lose his delegated character, and forfeit the confidence of his const.i.tuents. If Congress should declare the first day of the week holy, it would not convince the Jew nor the Sabbatarian. It would dissatisfy both, and consequently convert neither....If a solemn act of legislation shall in one point define the law of G.o.d, or point out to the citizen one religious duty, it may with equal propriety define every part of revelation, and enforce every religious obligation, even to the forms and ceremonies of wors.h.i.+p, the endowments of the church and support of the clergy."

"The framers of the Const.i.tution recognized the eternal principle that man's relation to his G.o.d is above human legislation, and his right of conscience inalienable. Reasoning was not necessary to establish this truth, we are conscious of it in our own bosom. It is this consciousness which, in defiance of human laws, has sustained so many martyrs in tortures and flames. They felt that their duty to G.o.d was superior to human enactments, and that man could exercise no authority over their consciences. It is an inborn principle which nothing can eradicate."

"It is also a fact that counter memorials, equally respectable, oppose the interference of Congress on the ground that it would be legislating upon a religious subject, and therefore unconst.i.tutional."

Hon. A.H. Cragin, of New Hamphs.h.i.+re, in a speech in the House of Representatives, said:--

"When our forefathers reared the magnificent structure of a free Republic in this western land, they laid its foundations broad and deep in the eternal principles of right. Its materials were all quarried from the mountain of truth; and as it rose majestically before an astonished world, it rejoiced the hearts and hopes of mankind. Tyrants only cursed the workmen and their workmans.h.i.+p. Its architecture was new. It had no model in Grecian or Roman history.

It seemed a paragon let down from Heaven to inspire the hopes of men, and to demonstrate G.o.d's favor to the people of the New World.

The builders recognized the rights of human nature as universal.

Liberty, the great first right of man, they claimed for 'all men,'

and claimed it from 'G.o.d himself.' Upon this foundation they erected the temple, and dedicated it to Liberty, Humanity, Justice, and Equality. Was.h.i.+ngton was crowned its patron saint. Liberty was then the national G.o.ddess, wors.h.i.+ped by all the people. They sang of liberty, they harangued for liberty, they prayed for liberty.

Slavery was then hateful. It was denounced by all. The British king was condemned for foisting it upon the colonies. Southern men were foremost in entering their protest against it. It was then everywhere regarded as an evil, and a crime against humanity."

Then the Bible and the Bible alone is the Protestant rule of faith; and liberty to wors.h.i.+p G.o.d according to the dictates of one's own conscience is the standard of religious freedom in this land. And from the quotations herewith presented, it is evident that while the government pledges to all its citizens the largest amount of civil freedom, outside of license, it has determined to lay upon the people no religious restrictions, but to guarantee to all liberty to wors.h.i.+p G.o.d according to the Protestant principle.

Here, then, are two great principles standing prominently before the people: _Republicanism_ and _Protestantism_. And what can be more just, and innocent, and lamb-like, than these? And here, also, is the secret of our strength and power. Had some Caligula or Nero ruled this land, we should look in vain for what we behold to-day. Immigration would not have flowed to our sh.o.r.es, and this country would never have presented to the world so unparalleled an example of national growth.

Townsend, Old World and New, p. 341, says:--

"And what attached these people to us? In part, undoubtedly, our zone, and the natural endowments of this portion of the globe. In part, and of late years, our vindicated national character, and the safety of our Inst.i.tutions. _But the magnet in America is, that we are a republic_. A republican people! Cursed with artificial government, however glittering, the people of Europe, like the sick, pine for nature with protection, for open vistas and blue sky, for independence without ceremony, for adventure in their own interest,--and here they find it!"

One of these horns may therefore represent the civil republican power of this government, and the other, the Protestant ecclesiastical. This application is warranted by the facts already set forth respecting the horns of the other powers. For (1) the two horns may belong to one beast, and denote union instead of division, as in the case of the ram, Daniel 8; and (2) a horn may denote a purely ecclesiastical element, as the little horn of Daniel's fourth beast; and (3) a horn may denote the civil power alone, as in the case of the first horn of the Grecian goat.

On the basis of these facts, we have these two elements, Republicanism and Protestantism here united in one government, and represented by two horns like the horns of a lamb. And these are nowhere else to be found.

Nor have they appeared since the time when we could consistently look for the rise of the two-horned beast, in any nation upon the face of the earth except our own.

And with these horns there is no objection to be found. They are like those of a lamb, the Bible symbol of purity and innocence. The principles are all right. The outward appearance is unqualifiedly good.

But, alas for our country! its acts are to give the lie to its profession. The lamb-like features are first developed; but the dragon voice is to be heard hereafter.

Chapter Seven.

The Dragon Voice.

From the facts thus far elicited in this argument, we have seen that the government symbolized by the two-horned beast must be some government distinct from the powers of the Old World, whether civil or ecclesiastical; that it must arise this side the Atlantic; that it must be seen coming into influence and notoriety about the year 1798; that it must rise in a peaceful manner; that its progress must be so rapid as to strike the beholder with as much wonder as the perceptible growth of an animal before his eyes; that it must be a republic; that it must exhibit before the world, as an index of its character, and the motives by which it is governed, two great principles in themselves perfectly just, and innocent, and lamb-like; and that it must perform its work in the present century.

And we have seen that of these eight specifications, just two things can be said: first, that they are all perfectly met in the history of the United States, thus far; and secondly, that they are not met in the history of any other government on the face of the earth. Behind these eight lines of defense, therefore, the argument lies impregnably intrenched.

And the American patriot, he who loves his country, and takes a just pride in her thus-far glorious record and n.o.ble achievements, needs an argument no less ponderous and immovable, and an array of evidence no less clear, to enable him to accept the painful conclusion that the remainder of the prophecy also applies to this government, hitherto the best the world has ever seen; for the prophet immediately turns to a part of the picture which is dark with injustice, and marred by oppression, deception, intolerance, and wrong.

After describing the lamb-like appearance of this symbol, John immediately adds, "And he spake as a dragon." The dragon, the first link in this chain of prophecy, was a relentless persecutor of the church of G.o.d. The leopard beast which follows, was likewise a persecuting power, grinding out for 1260 years the lives of millions of the followers of Christ. The third actor in the scene, the two-horned beast, speaks like the first, and thus shows himself to be a dragon at heart; "for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh," and actions are framed.

This, then, like the rest, is a persecuting power; and it is for this reason alone that any of them are mentioned in prophecy. G.o.d's care for the church, his little flock, is what has led him to give a revelation of his will, and point out the foes with whom they would have to contend. To his church, all the actions recorded of the dragon and leopard beast relate; and in reference to the church, therefore, we conclude that the dragon voice of this power is uttered.

The "speaking" of any government must be the public promulgation of its will on the part of its law-making and executive powers. Is this nation, then, to issue unjust and oppressive enactments against the people of G.o.d? Are the fires of persecution, which in other ages have devastated other lands, to be lighted here also? We would fain believe otherwise; but notwithstanding the pure intentions of the n.o.ble founders of this government, notwithstanding the worthy motives and objects of thousands of Christian patriots to-day, we can but take the prophecy as it reads, and expect nothing less than what it predicts. John heard this power speak; and the voice was that of a dragon.

Nor is this so improbable an issue as might at first appear. The people of the United States are not all saints. The ma.s.ses, notwithstanding all our gospel light and gospel principles, are still in a position for Satan to suddenly fire their hearts with the basest of impulses. This nation, as we have seen, is to exist to the coming of Christ; and the Bible very fully sets forth the moral condition of the people in the days that immediately precede that event. Iniquity is to abound, and the love of many to wax cold. Evil men and seducers are to wax worse and worse. Scoffers are to arise, saying, Where is the promise of his coming? The whole land is to be full of violence as it was in the days of Noah, and full of licentiousness as in the city of Sodom in the days of Lot. And when the Lord appears, faith will scarcely be found upon the earth, and those who are ready for his coming will be but a "little flock." Can the people of G.o.d expect to go through this period, and not suffer persecution? No. This would be contrary to the lessons taught by all past experience, and just the reverse of what we are warranted by the word of G.o.d to expect. "All that will live G.o.dly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution." If ever this was true in the history of the church, we may expect it to be emphatically so when, in the last days, the world is in its aphelion as related to G.o.d, and the wicked touch their lowest depths of iniquity and sin.

Let, then, a general spirit of persecution arise in this country, and what is more probable than that it should a.s.sume an organized form? Here the will of the people is law. And let there be a general desire on the part of the people for certain oppressive enactments against believers in unpopular doctrines, and what would be more easy and natural than that such desire should immediately crystallize into systematic action, and their oppressive measures take the form of law? Then we have just what the prophecy indicates. Then is heard the voice of the dragon.

And there are elements already in existence which furnish a luxuriant soil for a baleful crop of future evil. But a few years ago three and a half millions of human beings were held in our country in a state of abject bondage, deprived of every vestige of freedom and every trace of manhood. But why refer to slavery, it may be asked, since it has already become a thing of the past? Slavery, to be sure, on the ground of political expediency, has been abolished. For the time being, the ballots and bayonets of its opponents have outnumbered those of its partisans. But has this changed the disposition by which it has heretofore been fostered? Has it converted the South? Have they been brought to look upon it as an evil which should be given up on account of its own intrinsic wrong? We would that we could answer these questions in the affirmative. But there are acts too patent to be denied, which show that the virus of this great iniquity still rankles in the body politic; that the system of slavery has been given up by the people of the South simply as a matter of necessity; that if they had the power they would re-instate it again though they should rend and ruin the Republic in their attempt; and hundreds of thousands in the North would sympathize with them in the movement, and second them in their efforts. The disease is driven from the surface, but it is not cured. It may be a source of serious trouble hereafter.

Political corruption is preparing the way for deeper sin. It pervades all parties. Look at the dishonest means resorted to to obtain office, the bribery, the deceptions, the ballot-stuffing. Look at the stupendous revelations of munic.i.p.al corruption just disclosed in New York city: millions upon millions stolen directly and barefacedly rom the city treasury by its corrupt officials. Look at the civil service of this government. Speaking on this point, _The Nation_ of Nov. 17, 1870, said:--

"The newspapers are generally believed to exaggerate most of the abuses they denounce; but we say deliberately, that no denunciation of the civil service of the United States which has ever appeared in print has come up as a picture, of selfishness, greed, fraud, corruption, falsehood, and cruelty, to the accounts which are given privately by those who have seen the real workings of the machine."

Enumeration is here unnecessary. Enough crops out in every day's history to show that moral principle, the only guarantee in a government like ours for justice and honesty, is sadly wanting.

And evil is also threatening from another quarter. Creeping up from the darkness of the dark ages, a hideous monster is intently watching to seize the throat of liberty in our land. It thrusts itself up into the noonday of the ninteenth century, not that it may be benefited by its light and freedom, but that it may suppress and obscure them. The name of this monster is Popery; and it has fixed its rapacious and bloodthirsty eyes on this land, determined to make it its helpless prey.

It already decides the election in some of our largest cities. It controls the revenues of the most populous State in the Union, and appropriates annually hundreds of thousands of dollars raised from Protestant taxes to the support of its own ecclesiastical organizations, and to the furtherance of its own religious and political ends. It has reached that measure of influence that it is only by a mighty effort of Protestant patriotism that measures can now be carried, against which the Romish element combines its strength. And corrupt and unscrupulous politicians stand ready to concede to its demands to secure its support, for the purpose of advancing their own ambitious aims. Rome is in the field with the basest and most fatal intentions, and with the most watchful and tireless energy. It is destined to play an important part in our future troubles; for this is the very beast which the two-horned beast is to cause the earth and them that dwell therein to wors.h.i.+p, and before whose eyes it is to perform its wonders.

And in our own better Protestant churches there is that which threatens to lead to most serious evils. On this point one of their own popular ministers, who is well qualified to speak, may testify. A sermon by Charles Beecher contains the following statements:--

"Our best, most humble, most devoted servants of Christ are fostering in their midst what will one day, not long hence, show itself to be the sp.a.w.n of the dragon. They shrink from any rude word against creeds with the same sensitiveness with which those holy fathers would have shrunk from a rude word against the rising veneration of saints and martyrs which they were fostering.... The Protestant evangelical denominations have so tied up one another's hands, and their own, that, between them all, a man cannot become a preacher at all, anywhere, without accepting some book besides the Bible.... And is not the Protestant church apostate? Oh! remember, the final form of apostasy shall rise, not by crosses, processions, baubles. We understand all that. Apostasy never comes on the outside. It develops. It is an apostasy that shall spring into life within us; an apostasy that shall martyr a man who believes his Bible ever so holily; yea, who may even believe what the creed contains, but who may happen to agree with the Westminster a.s.sembly that, proposed as a test, it is an unwarrantable imposition. That is the apostasy we have to fear, and is it not already formed?...