Study 4: The Wonder | tm91 ~ studies

(see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trinity_(nuclear_test)

Revelation 13:11

And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.

'the earth' - What nation of the New World was in 1798 rising into power, giving promise of strength and greatness, and attracting the attention of the world? The application of the symbol admits of no question. One nation, and only one, meets the specifications of this prophecy; it points unmistakably to the United States of America. Again and again the thought, almost the exact words, of the sacred writer has been unconsciously employed by the orator and the historian in describing the rise and growth of this nation. The beast was seen “coming up out of the earth;” and, according to the translators, the word here rendered “coming up” literally signifies “to grow or spring up as a plant.” And, as we have seen, the nation must arise in territory previously unoccupied. A prominent writer, describing the rise of the United States, speaks of “the mystery of her coming forth from vacancy,“ and says: “Like a silent seed we grew into empire.”—G. A. Townsend, The New World Compared With the Old, page 462. A European journal in 1850 spoke of the United States as a wonderful empire, which was “emerging,” and “amid the silence of the earth daily adding to its power and pride.”—The Dublin Nation. Edward Everett, in an oration on the Pilgrim founders of this nation, said: “Did they look for a retired spot, inoffensive for its obscurity, and safe in its remoteness, where the little church of Leyden might enjoy the freedom of conscience? Behold the mighty regions over which, in peaceful conquest, ... they have borne the banners of the cross!”—Speech delivered at Plymouth, Massachusetts, Dec. 22, 1824, page 11. {GC 440.2}
'And he had two horns like a lamb.' - The lamblike horns indicate youth, innocence, and gentleness, fitly representing the character of the United States when presented to the prophet as “coming up” in 1798. Among the Christian exiles who first fled to America and sought an asylum from royal oppression and priestly intolerance were many who determined to establish a government upon the broad foundation of civil and religious liberty. Their views found place in the Declaration of Independence, which sets forth the great truth that “all men are created equal” and endowed with the inalienable right to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” And the Constitution guarantees to the people the right of self-government, providing that representatives elected by the popular vote shall enact and administer the laws. Freedom of religious faith was also granted, every man being permitted to worship God according to the dictates of his conscience. Republicanism and Protestantism became the fundamental principles of the nation. These principles are the secret of its power and prosperity. The oppressed and downtrodden throughout Christendom have turned to this land with interest and hope. Millions have sought its shores, and the United States has risen to a place among the most powerful nations of the earth. {GC 441.1}
'he spake as a dragon' - Nations speak by their law, people speak by their testimony. It is written: "To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them." Isaiah 8:20.
- The “speaking” of the nation is the action of its legislative and judicial authorities.By such action it will give the lie to those liberal and peaceful principles which it has put forth as the foundation of its policy. The prediction that it will speak “as a dragon” and exercise “all the power of the first beast” plainly foretells a development of the spirit of intolerance and persecution that was manifested by the nations represented by the dragon and the leopardlike beast. And the statement that the beast with two horns “causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast” indicates that the authority of this nation is to be exercised in enforcing some observance which shall be an act of homage to the papacy. {GC 442.1} This is fulfilled on July 19, 1892. See study 4a.
- The Constitution provides that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,” and that “no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.” Only in flagrant violation of these safeguards to the nation's liberty, can any religious observance be enforced by civil authority. But the inconsistency of such action is no greater than is represented in the symbol. It is the beast with lamblike horns—in profession pure, gentle, and harmless—that speaks as a dragon. {GC 442.2}

Revelation 13:12-13

And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men.

'the first beast' - The image is made by the two-horned beast, and is an image to the first beast. It is also called an image of the beast. Then to learn what the image is like and how it is to be formed we must study the characteristics of the beast itself—the papacy. {GC 443.1}
'great wonders' - "If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder and the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them." Deuteronomy 13:1-2.
- The purpose of the great wonders is to make God's people go after other gods.
'he maketh' - The United States of American maketh
'fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men' - This is a man-made fire. Consider the following examples from the book of Revelation:
- Revelation 8:7 - The Sacking of Rome by Alaric the Goth
- Revelation 8:8 - The burning of the ships by Genseric the Vandal
- Revelation 9:17,18 - The guns and cannons of Ottoman Turks
- This fire coming down from heaven is the atomic bombs detonated by the United States of America under the Manhattan Project during WWII and the first bomb detonated was named "TRINITY". Thus the name of the Wonder is Trinity.
- These atomic bombs were the MAIN REASON that catapulted the position of the United States of America in the world to the top. Thus, the United States of America sent down fire from heaven in the sight of men in the year 1945.

Revelation 13:14-15

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.

'Saying to them that dwell on the earth' - The people that dwell in the U.S.
'they should make an image to the beast' - It was the people of the democratic United States that make the image by legislating the first National Sunday Law in 1892.
- "that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth." - Abraham Lincoln
- “Saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast.” Here is clearly presented a form of government in which the legislative power rests with the people, a most striking evidence that the United States is the nation denoted in the prophecy. {GC 442.3}
"the image of the beast should both speak" - this part of the verse brings us right back to the middle of Revelation 13:11. Specifically before "he spake as a dragon". This is because it is the image of the beast that speaks as a dragon and it speaks through a law that was passed by the Congress.
'cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed' - Yet to be fulfilled.