16 THE UNITED STATES IN PROPHECY.
And all these conditions are certainly fulfilled in
our government. No nation has ever attracted
more attention, excited more profound wonder, or
given promise of greater eminence or influence.
And certainly here, if anywhere on the globe, are to
be found a strong array of Christians, such as are
the salt of the carth and the light of the world,
whose history could not be written without mention
of that’ government under which they live and en-
joy their liberty.
With these probabilities in our favor, let us now
take a brief survey of those symbols found in the
word of God which represent carthly governments.
These arc found chiefly, if not entirely, in the books
of Daniel and the Revelation. In Dan. 2, a symbol is
introduced in the form of a great image, consisting
of four parts,—gold, silver, brass, and iron,—which 13
finally dashed to atoms, and a great mountain, tak-
ing its place, fills the whole carth. In Dan. 7, we
find a lion, a bear, a leopard, and a great and terri-
ble nondescript beast, which, after passing through
a new and remarkable phase, goes into the lake of
fire. In Dan. 8, we have a ram, a he-goat, and a
horn, little at first, but waxing exceeding great. In
Rev. 9, we have locusts like unto horses. In
Rev. 12, we have a great red dragon. In Rev. 13,
we have a blasphemous leopard beast, and a beast
with two horns like a lamb. In Rev. 17, we have
a searlet-colored beast, upon which a woman sits
holding in her hand a golden cup, full of filthiness
and abomination.
What governments and what powers are repre-
sented by all these? Do any of them symbolize our
own? Some of them certainly represent carthly
kingdoms, for so the prophecies themselves ex-
pressly inform us; and in the application of nearly
all of them there is quite a uniform agreement
Lard
PROBABILITIES CONSIDERED. 17
among expositors. The four parts of the great im-
age of Dan. 2 represent four kingdoms,—Babylon, or
Chaldea, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome. The lion
of the seventh chapter also represents Babylon; the
bear, Medo-Persia; the leopard, Grecia; and the
great and terrible beast, Rome. The horn with
human eyes and mouth, which appears in the sec-
ond phase of this beast, represents the papacy, and
covers its history down to the time when 1t was
temporarily overthrown by the French in 1798.
In Dan. 8, likewise, the ram represents Medo-Per-
sia; the he-goat, Grecia; and the little horn, Rome.
All these have a very clear and definite application
to the governments named; none of them thus far
can have any reference to the United States.
The symbols brought to view in Rev. 9, all arc
agreed in applying to the Saracens and Turks.
The dragon of Rev. 12 is the acknowledged sym-
bol of Pagan Rome. The leopard beast of Rev. 13
can be shown to be identical with the eleventh horn
of the fourth beast of Dan. 7, and hence to symbol-
ize the papacy. The scarlet beast and woman of
Rev. 17 as evidently apply also to Rome under pa-
pal rule, the symbols having especial reference to
the distinction between the civil power and the ec-
clesiastical, the one being represented by the beast
the other by the woman seated thereon.
There is one symbol left, and that is the two-
horned beast of Rev. 13. On this there is more
difference of opinion; and before seeking for an
application, let ns look at the ground covered by
those already examined. Babylon and Medo-Persia
covered all the civilized portion of Asia. Greece
covered Kastern Europe, including Russia. Rome,
with the ten kingdoms into which it was divided,
as represented by the ten toes of the image, the ten
horns of the fourth Least of Dan. 7, the ten horns of