When Jesus ascended "ascended up far above all heavens," he received "the promise of the Father, . . . the Holy Ghost." He then sent it unto us as "The Spirit of Truth" to guide us into all truth. We exercise ourselves always, with expectation, unto that goal. As Paul told us that it is God’s intention for the Church to know the "manifold wisdom of God," and that He gave the gifts of apostle and prophet to some of his ministry in order to accomplish that end. Solomon said, "The path of the just is as a shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day." Therefore we know that the prophecy in Daniel 12:4 is being fulfilled as knowledge of God and His kingdom is rapidly increasing among the wise followers of Christ.

One of the things which we are rapidly learning more about is the return of our Lord, and the establishing of His kingdom upon Earth. He shall sit as the King of kings and Lord of lords, and shall judge and subdue the whole earth. The time of His return is now very near, and it is important that we focus our attention toward that great event. If we have misunderstood some of the details about those final days and His coming, up until now, it didn’t really matter much. However, If there is any possibility that we will be eye witnesses to those momentous events, it is vital that we be well informed of them before they occur. Our very life may depend on it.

God has prophesied of various world events which are to be signs that the coming of our King is imminent. (There are also to be developments among the believers, which are given considerable attention in the prophetic word.) One of those significant events is the rise of a tyrannical, political world power, commonly known as "The Beast."

The preaching about "The Beast" has been a little troublesome to me since my teen years, in the early 1950's. I had read the Bible several times, by the time I was sixteen years of age, and had difficulty with the general presentation of the subject. My uncertainty arose partly from the fact that I never knew just which "Beast" in the Bible was being referred to, or just how the connection was made with such other things as "antichrist" and "The Son of Perdition." Then there was the problem which arose from the fact that the people who "knew all about it" thought, variously, that "The Beast" was Premier Stalin, Das Fuhrer Adolf Hitler, or Il Duce Mussolini. Well, so much for knowing all about it.

We are told to watch and be sober so the day of the Lord should not slip up on us. I believe that a good place to start watching is to observe the rise of "the Beast with ten horns."

There are various beasts mentioned in the Bible, some of which are symbolic and allegorical. A beast sometime simply means an animal as in Rom. 1:23, sometime it is an angel or a man as in Rev. 4:6, and Rev. 6:l, or sometime a beast represents a nation as the one in Rev. 13:11. In Rev. 13:1,2, the term is used to represent an empire. Then there is the fourth beast in Daniel chapter 7, which is an allegory of a coalition of nations.

In Daniel chapter seven we are told about a beast which "was dreadful and terrible and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth; and it devoured and broke in pieces, and stamped the residue with its feet, and it was different from all of the beasts which were before it; and it had ten horns."

In this passage (Dan. 7:7-27) God used a beast to describe the rise of the political power which will be dominant when The Throne of David is established and Jesus takes unto himself His great power and begins to reign. In Daniel chapter two we are told about the same event in a little different way. As Isaiah said, "Here a little and there a little." It just needs a little rightly-dividing.

In the beginning of the vision, there were three nations which seem to be England, Russia and the United States of America. Then a fourth one emerged which was different from those which were before it. At first it had ten horns, but later another little horn came up among them, "before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots."

Daniel was concerned about the fourth beast and the ten horns and the other little horn which came up later. So the angel explained to Daniel that the fourth beast represented a great power which would arise and devour the whole earth. He said that ten kings would rise to power on that beast, and then another "little" one would arise. That little horn "shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time."

During the reign of this beast, when "The Little Horn" comes into power, a great persecution will be mounted against the believers. That persecution will be so great that the strength of the saints of God will be exhausted. In Rev. 17:16-18, God reveals that after the failed effort to completely wipe out the faith of the saints, the wrath of the beast shall be turned toward popular Christianity. "The woman" which sat upon the beast shall be pursued and persecuted unto utter destruction. After that, the wrath of God shall be poured out upon the whole Gentile world.

The woman, in Rev. 17:1-6,16-18, mounted up onto the beast in 1965. How did she do that? The Pope of Rome flew to New York City, in his jet with its interior entirely decorated in red, and addressed the United Nations. At that time, I told my congregation in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania that we would soon see ten of the members of the United Nations rise to prominence as the horns of the "Beast." Then, in November 1971, the ten wealthiest, non-Communist nations (called the Big Ten) went to Rome to refine the World Monetary Fund to what we know it as today.

When they did that, they identified themselves as the ten horns, in Rev. 17. If they had gone to Brussels, Paris or Helsinki, we might not have made the connection. But they went to the seat of the "Woman," and we knew that God caused them to do so for reasons of identification. The United Nations actually had the Big Ten from very nearly, or perhaps at, its beginning. However, the prophecy in Rev. 17:12, shows that at some point they would rise to particular prominence. Therefore, sometime after November 1971, "shall the God of Heaven set up a kingdom," because we are now "in the days of those kings" of Dan. 2:44.

When God gets ready to pour out His wrath on the Gentiles He will apply the same formula. It is not merely something He does, but it is the way He is. That fact is attested to by Paul, in Rom. 2:6-11. He said, "Indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile." Jesus’ statement reveals to us that once a society goes so far as to persecute and kill the apostles and prophets which God sends to them, He is then justified in pouring out His wrath upon them. The wrath of God will be poured out. Therefore, some apostles and prophets will be here during the tenure of the "Little Horn." Some apostles and prophets, as well as other believers, will be persecuted.

Well, I have digressed, and gone beyond the "ten horn" era. Actually the Little Horn is a subject worthy of its own, in depth, study. I have made mention of it here, but I want to use this article to reveal the beast with ten horns. The beast with ten horns is already here. So I can say as the apostle Peter did on that memorable day of Pentecost, "This is that which was spoken by the prophet." When the "little horn" is revealed, it be possible to know recognize it, unless we understand and recognize the beast with the ten horns.

"Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was terrible.

"This image's head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay. Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth."

There are three things which are prominent in the king’s dream (Dan. 2:26-45). The "Image," a "Mountain," and a "Stone." The feet with their ten toes are The United Nations with its "Big Ten." The mountain is the "Mountain of the Lord’s House," which is The Church. The stone is a small group of saints who leave that church by the inspiration and guidance of the Holy Ghost. They are "The Tabernacle of David in Acts 15 and Isa. 16:5.

We are dealing particularly with the revelation of the feet and toes of the image here, but it is only fitting that we should mention the "Stone" which crushes them. That Stone foreshadows the involvement of the People of God in the scenario, and is of particular interest to those of us who will rule with Christ when He comes. To fail to understand the events involved in the destruction of The Beast is to fail to fully understand The Beast.

. The image in the king’s dream consisted of four dominate powers which would arise consecutively. Those four kingdoms are now easily seen as the kingdoms of 1) Babylon, 2) Media and Persia, 3) Greece and 4) Rome. The fourth one, the Roman kingdom, was prophesied to go through different phases, which were represented by iron (the legs), and iron mixed with clay (the feet with their ten toes). In the days of those kings which are represented by the toes, "The God of Heaven" shall raise up a kingdom, which will smite the "Image" in its feet, and the whole political structure of the world which we know shall crumble.

Rome, and Roman influence, has dominated the political scene of the western world from the rise of Julius Caesar until the present time. The Emperors ruled during the first few hundred years, then we entered the era of Popes and Kings. Now the United Nations rules and the Popes sit upon it. This is specifically pointed out as one of the "secrets" which will be revealed to God’s "servants, the prophets." See Dan. 2:28 and Amos 3:7. If our doctrinal stand on this subject was not taught to us by men with the gifts of apostle or prophet, we should carefully reexamine it. (See Eph. 3:2-5)

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"I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon. And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live. And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed. And he causeth all 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."

Another equally valid point is the fact that God used the days of the creation to represent the millennia during which the saga of mankind would unfold. On the fifth day, everything which was created came out of the sea. On the sixth day, everything which was created came out of the earth.

It is commonly accepted that the beast which rose up out of the sea is the so called Holy Roman Empire which arose near the middle of the fifth millennium (first millennium A.D.). from the creation of Adam. Sometime during the sixth millennium (second millennium A.D.). "The beast of the earth" must also arise, and it most certainly has done so. It is the United States of America, with its two political parties.

The United States of America came to the peak of its strength during the Second World War. At the end of that war, the United States should have been establishing its position as the world’s mentor and guide. Instead, the American government created a new world government under which it could operate without having to bear total responsibility for its actions. It also had another, more insidious, motive. The United States created and runs the U.N. Therefore, as the U.S. becomes more and more subjected to the U.N., the people who are in power at the top of our government are more able to circumvent the safeguards of our constitutional government. Therefore, God consoles us with the statement, "He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints." Rev 13:10.

The United Nations is the only existing entity in the world which bears the characteristics of the first beast in Rev. 13. Multitudes of Christians are still looking for the European Union to develop into that beast. If so, where is the one which turns it into that image. Besides that, There is no prophecy of a restoration of the Holy Roman Empire. It is an "image" of that beast which prophecy requires, and it is here now with its "G Seven" and its "Big Ten." If you see a large animal of the deer family, and want to know if it is an elk or a moose, look at its horns. Even so, the United Nations is revealed for what it is by its characteristic horns.

The U.S. government has created and given life to the United Nations, and will soon give it the voice wherewith to speak for the whole world. After a while, that voice shall cause that as many as will not submit to the image of the beast shall be killed. Already, in 1997, a situation arose in which a U.S. military man refused to serve under a U.N. commander and was harshly censured over the matter. The push is on for "The New World Order." Their intentions have been in the open now since 1992. But the people of America, together with the Christians of America, are busy having fun and don’t seem to care what their government is doing. What is worse, some are already deceived into thinking that it is a good thing, and will make for a better world.

The prophecy in Rev. 13:11-18, shows that a nation shall rise up at the end of the sixth millennium. It shall deceive the nations, and convince them to "make an image to that beast which rose up in the fifth millennium. It shall give the image life and a voice. It is that voice which shall "speak great words against the Most High and cause "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."

In Rev. 17, the Lord shows us that those ten horns are going to make war with the Lamb. If you have been watching, you have noticed that the true exercise of Christianity has come under a great attack and is all but outlawed in America today. There has never been much religious freedom for Christians in most of the world. It is only in America where the free exercise of our faith has been allowed, and has blossomed. Accordingly, It is here, where the attack will be primarily directed. Christians in America have long enjoyed "the land of peace," which was spoken of in Jeremiah 12:5. That is why the effect of these prophecies will be felt in the United States, more than anywhere else in the world.

The critical factor, which has not yet been manifested on the scene, is "The Little Horn" of Daniel chapter seven. It is his dominion under which the great attack against Christianity will be carried out. He is the Assyrian in Isaiah 10:5, who shall deliver God’s judgment upon modern Christianity for its idolatry, and numerous departures from His way. They shall be "beaten with many stripes or few."

In the end of it all, the fourth beast in Dan. 7, and that "Little Horn," shall be destroyed. However, God shall first use him to deceive the people of the world, including all the Christians, who "received not the love of the truth." He will "wear out the saints of the Most High. But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end. And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him. Hitherto is the end of the matter."