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XXXIV - 7(01) Excerpt “Watchman, what of the night?” "The
hour has come, the hour is striking and striking at you, THE DIVINE VIEWPOINT IN MEANINGFUL SYMBOLS
(Excerpt from wwn7(01))
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6 Prophecy is given from the viewpoint of God. When God describes
a power as a "little horn" with "the eyes of man, and a mouth
speaking great things" (Dan. 7:8), i.e., "great words against the
most High" (v. 25); when He depicts the same power as a "beast"
with "a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies" (Rev. 13:5);
when He defines this power as "that Wicked (One)" [ 'o
anomoV - "he in whom all iniquity has fixed its abode" - Thayer]
(II Thess. 2:8), he is not speaking of a saintly character, regardless of how
Billy Graham, James Dobson, or the secular press report him to be. If indeed,
we would truly accept the significance of God's symbolization of earthly
powers; we could keep our thinking straight in regard to events taking place
before our very eyes and not be deceived. The same forthright divine viewpoint is stated concerning the
second beast of Revelation 13. It comes "up out of the earth" (ver.
11), while the first beast arose "out of the sea" (ver. 1). Its
center of activity then will be the area (nation) represented symbolically by
"the earth." It presents a conflicting contrast in its symbolism: it
"had two horns like a lamb," but "spake as a dragon" (ibid.).
In the symbolism of Revelation, the "dragon" is used as a symbol of
the "Devil" or "Satan" (12:9); while the "lamb"
is used to define Him as He "had been slain" (5:6) but Who is
"alive for evermore" (1:18). It is safe to conclude that within the
confines of, and period of existence of, this second beast there will be
enacted the final scenes of that great controversy which had been vividly symbolized
in Revelation 12:7-9, 11 (cmp. with 13:15). This second beast was to exercise "all the power of the
first beast before him" (13:12). The first beast's power has been
extensive, and was received from "the dragon" (13:2). There is noted
a reciprocity between the two. One of the heads of the first beast "was
slain to death" (13:3); but the second beast "causeth
the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast" after
an event occurs - "the deadly wound was healed" (13:12), in
other words, the wound to the particular head. It should also be observed that
the clause in the KJV which reads - "and all the world wondered after the
beast" (13:3) - in the Greek text reads - "and wondered all the earth
(symbolic?) after the beast." Verse 13 is a pivotal verse. It reads: And
he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come
down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men. Is this something that will be literally fulfilled, or is it
a reference directing the "one who reads" to a specific experience
delineated in history and the final prophecy of the Old Testament so that he
may determine its meaning? The incident is clear as to emphasis and purpose.
Elijah had summoned the nation of Into this final picture is projected another factor. The
final prophecy of the Old Testament reads: Behold,
I will send Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day
of the Lord: and he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and
the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth
with a curse. (Malachi 4:5-6) Nowhere can one find in the confrontation on Page 7 the private behavior of the citizenry." The article
continues: The
Bush administration is devising proposals to strengthen American families,
using grants to promote "responsible fatherhood," marriage counseling
to prevent divorce, character education for children and tax credits to promote
two parent homes and adoption. (p. A01) Wade Horn, who has been nominated as the assistant secretary
of health and human services for family support, "views the
administration's efforts as four-pronged: strengthening fatherhood,
strengthening marriage, strengthening community organizations that help
families, and seeking a role for religious organizations in building
communities." Prior to his appointment, Horn headed the National
Fatherhood Initiative, whose core objective "is to change the idea we have
of culture" (ibid.) Two things need to be kept in mind as we seek to evaluate
this from the Divine viewpoint: 1) Malachi's prophecy indicates that if the
voice of "Elijah" is not heeded, the earth will be smitten with
"a curse." Revelation reveals that this will happen. (Rev. 15:1).
Further, the "beast" which "maketh
fire come down" is, in reality, the "false prophet" who with the
beast seeks to make war with the "King of kings, and Lord of lords"
(19:19-20; see also 16:13-14). We need to understand the view of God on human
events, and knowing, accept by faith, that which may not so appear in our
evaluation as God reveals it to be. Another factor of prophecy is that this second beast will
cause "the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first
beast" (Rev. 13:12). Another staff writer for The Washington Post
wrote a day later that "since taking over the White House, President Bush
and top advisors have been insidiously cultivating Catholic voters in an
attempt to realign a once-Democratic constituency in much the same way that the
Republican Party in the 1970s and 1980s won over southern evangelical
Protestants" (p. A02). Citing Bush's actions in this attempt, the staff writer notes
that he has met with the Archbishop of St. Louis, the Bishop of Pittsburgh, and
Cardinal McCarrick of
Bush's attempt to woo conservative Catholic voters has
already led to the support of Paul Weyrich, head of the Free Congress
Foundation. "Weyrich wrote that he recently asked senior Bush advisor Karl
Rove to tell the president 'that he has mastered the art of Catholic
governance.' Rove, according to Weyrich, replied, 'That's pretty good for a
Methodist."' (ibid.) If we cannot see in the turn of events, the fulfilling of the
prophecy of Revelation 13, we have lost our spiritual perception. If we cannot
understand how heaven views these events, then we have lost our faith. Faith to
be genuine must be based in the Word of God (Rom. 10:17), accepting current
events as God sees them to really be. Note: |