The Two Horned Beast of the Apocalypse

By Richard Govier

Apocalyptic literature is a form of prophecy about the future. But its main purpose is not to provide us with a "crystal ball" to look into the future. It is rather to warn the Church against encroaching influences that affect God's covenant community. Whatever may be the implications represented in these symbols, one thing is for certain: There is coming a day when the kingdoms of this world shall become the Kingdom of Christ and His saints.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Richard Govier
• Release date: May 1, 2020
• ISBN: 9780463488669

Richard Govier

Richard O. Govier (1928-2018) was a Protestant pastor and missionary and travelled the world in that capacity. He planted a number of churches as well as training pastors who served in Brazil, Chile, Argentina and across the United States.After his marriage to his lifetime sweetheart, Christine Ann Golfis, at the Bethesda Missionary College in Portland, Oregon, he attended extension classes at Pierce College and the Portland State college. Touched by the Latter Rain revival that began in the Northwest, the call of God rested continually on their hearts and they were forever seeking means of preaching the Gospel to their generation. They bought a small trailer and began an evangelistic trek across the United States, preaching in small churches that were open to the work and moving of the Holy Spirit. They criss-crossed the United States from Los Angeles to New York and finally settled down in Los Angeles where they both got jobs and attended a church in Long Beach, California. While serving in that church their son, Jeffrey Lee, was born on November 4, 1963.God had spoken through prophetic words that they would be going to a land whose language they would not understand. Going through a dry period in their lives, Richard loaded up a small tent and made a trip to Mount Palomar, to wait on God. After a week of prayer and fasting, the Holy Spirit spoke to his heart that it was time to fulfill the call to a foreign land. Richard, Christine, and Jeff, set out for Brazil. They had no financial support for this until the night they boarded the ship. God sent a local Christian businessman who committed himself to their support for two years, just enough time to attend language school.It was while attending the Brazilian language school that a missionary visited and introduced Richard to one of Brazil's most notable guitar players, who had recently converted to Christianity. Richard played with him on the banjo and the two began a ministry together that took them to Brazil, Argentina, and Chile. Richard taught pastors in afternoon meetings, while accompanying his Brazilian friend in large city-wide evangelistic campaigns in the evenings.After serving for ten years in South America, Richard and Christine returned to the United States, primarily to get Jeff into an English-speaking school. Richard pastored churches in York, Pennsylvania, and later in Brooksville, New Jersey. The family eventually moved to Florida where Richard went to work for Piper Aircraft and Page Avjet.Richard loved studying the word of God and, in his retirement years, wrote over thirty books about the unfolding revelations of God in human history. His son, Jeff, published these books one year after his father passed away.

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THE TWO-HORNED BEAST

OF THE APOCALYPSE

Richard O. Govier

Copyright © 2020 by Jeff Govier

Bible quotations unless otherwise identified are taken from

the King James Version with emendations by the author.

Scripture taken from the New American Standard Bible®,

Copyright © 1960,1962,1963,1968,1971,1972,1973,1975,1977,1995

by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

After reading this book and finding it of value to you, please consider sending a small donation for the the costs of advertising my father's work. Send all donations either by Paypal account name [e-mail] or by mail to:

Jeff Govier, 5511 Lorraine St., Lakeland, FL 33810.

CONTENTS

Introduction

I The Metallic Image

II The Four Beasts Of Daniel

III The Fourth Beast

IV A Week Of Times

V Napoleon And The French Revolution

VI The Age Of Transition

VII The Two Horned Beast - What Is It?

VIII The Rise Of The Two Horned Beast System

IX The False Prophet

X The Stone Cut Out Without Hands

XI The Final Battle

XII The Beast And The False Prophet - Their End

About the Author

And I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon. (Revelation 13:11)

INTRODUCTION

Irrespective of our view of apocalyptic literature, the prophetic symbols found in the Book of Daniel and in the Book of Revelation have affected the entire eschatological viewpoint of the Christian world. They have formed the basis upon which the Church has built its doctrine of future things. Apocalyptic literature is a form of prophecy about the future. But its main purpose is not to provide us with a crystal ball to look into the future. It is rather to warn the Church against encroaching influences that affect God's covenant community, whether in the Old Testament, or in the New.

The Book of Daniel establishes certain clues about understanding these apocalyptic symbols. First of all, these symbols of beasts arising out of the sea refer to literal kingdoms - not some spiritual experience, or a spiritual truth. Secondly, they arose in succession and in chronological order, even though the same events were often repeated under a different symbol (Daniel. 2:31-43; 7: 1-7). Thirdly, the symbols involved only those kingdoms that have been immediately involved with God's covenant community.

Many of the symbols that we find in the Book of Daniel were fulfilled in the days of Babylonian, Persian, and Grecian domination of Israel - God's covenant community of the Old Testament. The "little horn arising out of the division of Alexander's kingdom portended the rise of Antiochus Epiphanies and the influence of Hellenism over the lives of God's covenant people. The fourth beast of Daniel That was diverse from all that had gone before, referred to the Empire of Rome and its pagan influence over the early Christian community. The Book of Revelation takes up where Daniel's vision left off. That may be the meaning of the angels word to Daniel that ...thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days. St. John's revelation on the Isle of Patmos was really a continuation of Daniel's prophecy about the fourth beast. John dealt with the

fourth beast that Daniel saw but in much more detail, for he lived at the very time that this beast-symbol was running its course.

I shall be dealing with these four beast-symbols in more detail, for they play a vital part in the rising of the two horned beast out of the earth in Revelation chapter13. It is my belief that most of the Book of Revelation has been fulfilled in the Churches encounter with the Roman Empire all through its long history. We see the empire in its Pagan and Christian phases. We see the disintegration of the empire and the rise of the two horned beast - which will be the object of our studies. The Roman Empire is gone forever, but the two horned beast is given the power to revive its image. What is this image? And what is the two horned beast that causes the world to worship the image of the beast whose deadly wound was healed? It is my conviction that this two horned beast system represents the greatest threat yet to God's covenant community. It represents the final death throws in a succession of kingdoms that have ruled the civilized world since history began. It will be the last attempt by civilized man to shake his fist in the face of God before the Mountain of the Lord's House dominates this earth and the kingdoms of this world becomes the kingdom of our Christ. There will be no middle ground to take when this two horned system, armed with all the lying wonders that Satan can command, confronts the irresistible power of the Kingdom destined from the beginning to rule this world with a rod of iron.

I. THE METALLIC IMAGE

Only one place in scripture has a symbol that covers the entire panorama of history in a single glance down to the end of time. It is found in the second chapter of Daniel (verses 31-35). It is the metallic image that King Nebuchadnezzar saw in his dream.

You, O king, were looking and behold, there was a single great statue; that statue, which was large and of extraordinary splendor, was standing in front of you, and its appearance was awesome. The head of that statue was made of fine gold, its breast and its arms of silver, its belly and its thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. You continued looking until a stone was cut out without hands, and it struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay, and crushed them. Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were crushed all at the same time, and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away so that not a trace of them was found. But the stone that struck the statue became a great mountain and filled the whole earth. (NASB)

The Metallic Image Explained

Here, in one graphic symbol, is contained the entire history of civilized society. Daniel interprets the head of gold as being the Babylonian Empire (Daniel 2:38). It is followed by a lesser kingdom, that of Medo-Persia, represented in the image as the breast and arms of silver. The reason we know that it is referring to Medo-Persia