By Pastor Hal Mayer
My message this month is entitled “America’s Power Unleashed.” Revelation 13 makes some amazing predictions about what America will become. This is vital for you to know because it is leading to the most devastating result – the oppressive Universal Sunday Law.
But before we begin, let us pray. Our loving heavenly Father, Thank you for giving us the scriptures to guide our path in these last days. Make them come alive! Wake us up! Help us to see the onrushing events in their true light as we near the end of time. May this vital message today help us to prepare for Jesus coming. In His name I pray, Amen.
Rev 13:11-13 says, “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. 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.”
This interesting passage brings to light some things many do not understand. Students of Bible prophecy know that America is this Lamb-like beast. However, she is not going to remain docile like a lamb, but going to rise higher and higher in power and dominance on the world stage. She will become more and more arrogant until at last she decrees the “no-buy, no sell” law of vs. 17 and enforces the Sunday law, not only on her own people, but on the whole world.
Notice that “he exerciseth all the power of the first beast.” What kind of power did the first beast actually wield? Bible students have known since the time of the Reformation, that the Roman Papacy is the first beast. Its medieval power to coerce conscience consisted of controlling the state and using it to accomplish its own purposes. The old world Papacy depended on a coalition of feudal kings willing to wield the sword of steel to support her religious laws. This pagan principle of combining religion and civil government greatly served the interests of the church by controlling the masses.
This passage reveals that America will exercise the same type and force of power on the whole world today as the Papacy did in the old world. America will be the instrument that causes “the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed” vs. 13. Imagine that! America will become much more powerful and forceful than she is at present! America will dictate to all nations of the earth, not just to Americans, that they must worship the Papacy by hallowing her Sabbath.
How is America going to become as strong in the new world, as the Papacy was in the old? There are many who think that such an idea has little credibility. Yet that is what the Bible teaches. Since September 11, 2001 it is becoming easier to see how this can happen. Those who are daily studying the prophecies in the Bible and Spirit of Prophecy with Jesus will be enlightened when events unfold around them, while others remain in darkness.
The Lamb becomes a Dragon
“He had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.” In scripture Christ is the Lamb. When America began, it was Christlike and did not force the conscience. It permitted each citizen to practice his own religion according to his conscience. Many nations modeled their constitutions similar to the U.S. But eventually, America will speak like Satan the dragon, removing the religious freedom that for more than two centuries has blessed its inhabitants. This is totally unexpected by those who do not understand or who are not paying attention to fulfilling prophecy.
America Rises
After World War II the world was divided into partitions that then engaged in a cold war. The superpowers tended to balance each other. This balance was disrupted. The cold war ended. And most people hoped that the new world would be peaceful without the threat of annihilation. But instead of peace, the world is now full of little dictators many of whom are bent on increasing their share of political influence.
When the cold war ended, America became the only remaining superpower. Many people have failed to see the uniqueness of this situation and its relation to prophecy. No other power in history has been in the position that America is in now. The Roman Empire was quite large, but the Persian Empire, and the still larger China beyond were significant in their own right. Even when Britain was at its height of world power there were the other next greatest powers such as Spain, contending for the preeminent spot in politics.
But America is way out and beyond all other nations in world power. America for example, outspends the next twenty countries combined on its military (a vital component to world dominance).1 Its Navy, Air Force and space power are unrivaled. But America’s dominance goes beyond these international interests and includes its economy, technology, and even its language.
America is now in the position of being the only super, superpower on every front of international influence. And this dominance is leading to the ultimate political power, enforcement of oppressive religious laws on God’s faithful people worldwide.
Recently, I read an amazing document written by a group of individuals that are now household names to many of you. This document was written about twelve years ago and it was the vision of what America would become in the future. They did not describe America as merely the preeminent power in the world, but described their America as dominating world politics. What is the difference between preeminence and dominance? Preeminence would describe an America that is the most powerful country, but a benevolent power, unconcerned with controlling other nations and willing to let them hew their own course without intervention from America unless they would threaten our sovereignty or our nation’s geographical interests. These men spoke of America as a dominant power. This means something entirely different than a preeminent power. It refers to America as a controlling political force in the world. It refers to America as interfering in other nations affairs even if there is no direct threat to America.
Would you like to know who these men are that wrote this document more than a decade ago? I will tell you. You will no doubt recognize most of them. They include Dick Cheney, vice president of the United States, Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of State, Paul Wolfowitz, Deputy Secretary of State, John Ashcroft, the leader of the Department of Justice. These men are now in the position of making the very things they envisioned for America come into existence. They did not write their document from their own imagination. They could see the future. All you really need to know is a bit of history and the agenda of the New World Order, and you can predict about as accurately as they did what is going to happen in the future.
But we have a “more sure word of prophecy” to go on. We don’t have to sit in darkness trying to figure out what is going to happen by guessing at it. We can see it because it is all spelled out in the Bible. Revelation 13 now reads like the morning news paper. If you understand prophecy, you can tell what these and other men will do. American leaders are determined to gain unlimited control over the affairs of this world. So what if there is opposition! They are worried about that! They don’t have prophecy like we do, but they know that they and their successors are destined to rule the world from Washington. Think about it. Where does the UN reside? The United States. That is no accident. Where is the World Bank located? The United States. That is no accident either. Where is the most powerful military located? The United States of America. Again, this is no accident. It has been prophesied and has come to pass just as God said it would. Isn’t it wonderful that God’s word is so reliable?
There are many, some even among SDAs that say that the traditional interpretation of Revelation by Seventh-day Adventists is outdated and irrelevant today, and that it will not come to pass. Do you think that? I don’t. I believe that God’s word and his prophets spoke of things that are certainties. They will come to pass. They didn’t speak things that they speculated about.
Today there are many that speculate by giving false interpretations of prophecy. Just look at the popularity of the “Left Behind” series. People are being deceived by the millions. Yet Seventh-day Adventists have been predicting the very things that are now coming to pass for 160 years. These seemingly impossible prophecies are now fulfilling. Aren’t you glad to be alive right now to watch as these things unfold?
Let’s move on. Since the cold war ended, America has been stealthily building its military resources in order that it could effectively control the new world order that is being imposed by the UN. In reality, there has been a quantum leap in military superiority during the decades following the end of the Soviet Union. Thanks to technology, the American military stands positioned to enforce its political objectives on the rest of the world if it desires to do so, not with more nuclear bombs, but with smart bombs and GPS ordinance and air power that can reach targets with pinpoint precision and a minimum of collateral damage. Other nations would not admit it, but they are running scared. One can tell by their rhetoric that they know the implications of American dominance. The trouble is that there is not even an alliance of nations that can rival America’s power.
September 11 Helps America Rise
Prior to September 11, 2001 America had not had opportunity to demonstrate all of its dormant powers. There have been hints of it during some peace keeping missions that America was involved in. But after September 11, there was a political realignment. Suddenly nations like Pakistan who stood on the sidelines, strategically joined America in the war on terrorism. Even Russia and China, who at one time flirted with the idea of an anti-American alliance, have joined the American camp and have not pressed political competition.2
But more importantly, September 11 gave America an opportunity to demonstrate its huge military advantage in Afghanistan. The hardened Taliban regime, favored by terrain and climate, was no match for the American military. With a sum total of only 426 men on the ground,3 America breathtakingly destroyed the fanatical Muslim government with a ferocity that even surprised its allies. And it was done with smart weaponry and other high tech tools of war.
There is now no question in international circles that America has risen to the height of world-wide military superiority and dominance. Now the only question that remains among other nations is how to manage themselves in light of this huge unrivaled power.
The Role of the UN in American Dominance
After World War II, the United Nations was theoretically established in an ongoing effort to prevent another world war. But the goal has always been world government. During the cold war which many of you remember, the UN was an intermediary between the huge competitive powers. While ever this political standoff existed the UN would not have been able to increase in power beyond mere arbitration. The big competition had to stop so that the UN could establish its universal governing power by managing smaller conflicts with lesser stakes and build its credibility. The cold war had to end. When it did the UN could insert itself, with American leadership, into local unrest and impose its own solutions. American leaders also recognize the UN as a useful means of assisting their own agenda to become more powerful in the world stage.
In the last 15 years America greatly aided the growth of UN power by building broad based coalitions with other nations in the name of the UN. But it has always had its own goals in mind. The UN is destined to become the government of the New World Order, but it is also going to be the front organization for the international objectives of the United States wherever possible.
Now that the UN has become recognized as a legitimate governing body, there is no underlying need for America to exercise the level of discretion in using broad-based coalitions as it has used in the past. True there are still political relationships that need to be cultivated, but deep down America is about to unleash its political muscle on the whole world. The conflict in Iraq was the first example, with more nations to follow. Just the example that has been made of Iraq is a strong deterrent to other nations hostile to the United States. Libya has reconciled recently with America. Iran, North Korea, Syria and other nations are under sever diplomatic pressure to yield to the demands of the United States.
Instead of a UN authorized coalition of powers working together for global peace and justice, America is willing to dictate international policy. Even if other nations don’t like it, what can they do to stop it? Who can stand up against America? Some nations can veto UN resolutions. But can UN sanctions against America have any force if no nation or even a coalition of nations is able to effectively oppose the American military? American allies have already recognized that America is going to use UN authority as cover for her own purposes, and if the UN doesn’t cooperate they can see that America will act on its own, or with a “coalition of the willing.”
In other words, now that the UN has its governmental systems in place, and now that it is recognized as having authority in international politics, America doesn’t need to work with all the nations like before. Now it will simply control the UN when ever it can, but will act on its own when it cannot.
Realignment of the Americas
There are other ways by which America is rising to dominance. The dollarization of South and Central America is underway. Ecuador is the guinea pig. Its official currency is now the US dollar. Dollarization is not about economic development of the host country. It is about control. It aligns the economy of the country with the U.S. It does bring certain conveniences, but there is a loss of control. When America controls the economics of a number of S. American countries by a dollar system, those countries are at the mercy of American political control as well. Argentina is next perhaps, and then Venezuela or Bolivia or others. There is talk also of a Federal Reserve Banks in these countries. The Federal Reserve controls the economy of America by manipulating the availability of cash. It will have the same purpose in S. A. as well.
Free trade zones are being developed throughout N. and S. America. This is not about freedom, it is about control. It is about the whole hemisphere being aligned with the US and about the US controlling the economies and expanding ITS ability to manipulate the whole region.
Another process is taking place. Thousands and thousands of manufacturing and service jobs have been lost in the last decade in America. These jobs have gone off shore to countries like Mexico, China, Taiwan and S. E. Asia. This is essentially gutting America’s middle class and will leave only the rich and the poor. When you have the environment, the economy stagnates. The rich have no motivation to improve the economy, and the poor are so busy making ends meet that they have no extra to invest. Coupled with the cost of the military to maintain its global dominance, this will drain America’s resources and lead to collapse of its economy. I believe that the timing of this will be related to the coming of the Sunday law. “National apostasy brings national ruin.”
No matter how you look at it, the obvious and undeniable fact remains, America is rising to much more power than ever before. And this power will corrupt it and make it drunk with blood, first the blood of those who stand in its political path, then with the blood of those who stand in its religious path.
Islam and the New America
Religious implications play no small role. How will Islam and other nations that are not Christian come into line with America’s power? How will huge portions of the world that hate America, or despise its global ambitions going to submit to its authority concerning the worship of the “first beast?” Will there not be more conflict and terrorist attacks as America pushes against Islam? Certainly, but these token victories for America’s enemies, will only strengthen America’s resolve and justify its actions, while deflecting attention from its political ambitions.
America Deceives Hostile Nations
Notice how Revelation 13 continues. “And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, 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…” Rev 13:13-14.
Some are tempted to think that this reference to fire is about bombs. But this wonder-working power is not referring to the military superiority of the United States. Though damaging, bombs aren’t miraculous and don’t deceive nations. Even nuclear bombs and sophisticated smart weaponry are the result of human ingenuity, and technological advancement. America will have access to a supernatural, miraculous power above and beyond its military, and will use it deceptively. This miraculous power makes it appear that God sides with America.
The Pope understands these hostile forces. “Malachi Martin made an enlightening statement. “There will come a day, John Paul believes, when the heart of Islam—already attuned to the figures of Christ and of Christ’s Mother, Mary—will receive the illumination it needs.“4 The Pope, in other words, believes that Islam will eventually be “illuminated” and will join the religious coalition that will rule the world (and ultimately persecute God’s true people).
Prophetic Significance
Imagine the earth on the brink of a great crisis. Terrorists have done much damage. Suppose that in conjunction with the decisions of American leaders there are miraculous and obviously supernatural interventions on behalf of American interests. Suppose there are also apparitions telling Islam to back off, and that Islam must listen to the Pope and seek peace with America. Suppose a kind of supernatural weaponry comes into play on America’s behalf that strikes fear into the hearts of Islamic fanatics, such as fire from heaven that no human hand could have devised. What then? It is very significant that American presidents have been very friendly with the Pope and bishops. Both sides see a very connected future, and so should we.
Will Islam, Hinduism and other religions yield to American global dominance? America will insist that the whole world should worship the image of the beast. All nations will be pressured to worship the Papacy by honoring Sunday. Amazing as it may sound, these non-Christian nations will one day align with the Pope and the United States to enforce the global Sunday law, create a universal “no buy, no sell” decree to freeze the assets of God’s people, and eventually order them executed. They will be left to the mercy and sustaining hand of God.
America is taking the next step in power building. In spite of international political objections, the world is ready for it. Some nations will protest because they don’t like the idea of another nation telling them what to do. But they will yield. America could never fulfill its prophetic role unless it has much more power in the coming years than in the past.
My dear friends, there are many who do not have the benefit of understand prophecy that you and I have. They are concerned about what they see. They see ominous developments on the horizon. They see that things in this world are changing forever, and not for the better. They are worried. So worried in fact that the Bible tells us in Luke 21:26 that men’s hearts will fail them for fear because of what is coming upon the earth.
Do you remember when Jesus healed the blind man in Mark 8? He spit on his eyes and touched him. What did the man see? He saw “men as trees walking.” Vs. 24. Then Jesus healed him by touching him a gain and he “saw every man clearly.” Vs 25. Many people are like this today. They see the developments in the world and they recognize that something is happening that is very serious. But they don’t know how to understand it. They see “men as trees walking.” They can only see vaguely. They cannot see clearly. They are burdened by what they see. Their minds have many questions.
Recently I was sitting next to a pilot on an airplane. She was on her way home from work as a pilot so she was sitting with the regular passengers. Providentially, I was assigned a seat next to her. As we talked about the events taking place in our world. I began to explain some things to here about the future. With every point I made, she was quick to agree and could see that what I said was true. She did not have the benefit of prophecy, so she could only see “men as trees walking.” But as I unfolded some things to her, she could quickly grasp the truth of the situation. She was ready for more. What was it that made her ready for more? It was the Holy Spirit that had been drawing her attention to these events and the things coming upon the world and He raised the questions in her mind. All I needed to do was be God’s instrument to share with her the larger picture.
You see, it is prophecy that gives us the big picture. It is prophecy that helps us see the Great Controversy being played out in the universe. It is prophecy that gives us a certainty of the future. When you have the big picture, you can then see what happens in the news and tell what is really important from what is not. You know, the news commentators usually magnify those things that are not important and minimize the things that are important. We have the privilege to sort it all out and make sense of that which confused most people.
On another occasion I was sitting next to a man who was a history teacher at the University of California, Riverside. His specialty was South American history. Since we both teach history we hit it off together quickly. As we talked I began to pray that God would open a way into his mind. As we talked about current events, he was very quick to point out certain things that helped me to see that he might be open to more definite spiritual concepts though he was of no religion at all. He was agreeing with me on almost every point I made concerning the things we are talking about today. He even said that laws are expanding and that some will be drawn into the legal net and prosecuted for things never originally intended in the first place.
I continued to pray that God would lead me. Then he asked me what I see coming in the future. In my heart, I said “thank you lord.” I took him back in history and showed him that those who were persecuted the most were Sabbath keepers. This took him by surprise, but I backed it up with historical facts, including Hitler’s persecution of the Jews during WWII. Then I reminded him of what he told me about the expanding laws and their unintended victims. I pointed out that if there is a major crises, that the religious right will try to get everyone in church on Sunday. Then I asked him where does that leave us Sabbath keepers? He got the point. I promised to send him a copy of Great Controversy, which I did. He is now in possession of the richest mine of truth available today other than the Bible. I am praying that he will find his way to the truth of God.
Brothers and sisters, we are very near the end of time. The things that are happening are fulfilling the very prophecies that we have long believed. Now is the time for us to share with others the clearest and plainest testimony concerning the nearness of Jesus coming. Many in this world are ready for it. They are hungering to hear the truth and have their vague impressions given substance. They are looking to you and me. God has appointed us to be His messengers to this darkened world. He will put you together with those who are searching for something more solid than what their ministers have to offer. Go to them. Don’t be afraid to tell them what you believe. You know far more about history and prophecy than they do. God has given you the tools in your hands. Keep it simple, but share it.
Now watch carefully. We are very near the final rapid movements. Thanks to Bible prophecy we can see many things shaping up before they happen. Watch and pray. Leave nothing concerning your soul to chance.
Let us pray. Father, it is with grateful hearts that we hear this message. We realize that the end is near. We realize that the world is marshalling her forces for the last great conflict. We thank you for prophecy that makes this all so clear to us. Let us not miss our opportunity to cooperate with the holy angels in sharing the final warning message, and bring people out of Babylon into the true faith that was once delivered to the saints. May we be faithful overcomers today and everyday. In Jesus’ name, Amen
1. Krauthammer, Charles, Imprimis , January 2003, Hillsdale College, Speech given December 4, 2002 Mayflower Hotel, Washington DC.
2. Ibid.
3. Ibid.
4. Martin, Malachi, The Keys of This Blood, (Simon & Schuster) pp. 285.
