The description of the beast is a coded description of the United States. The "seven heads" are the seven articles of the constitution, and the ten crowned horns are the crowning achievement of that document, the Bill of Rights, the first 10 amendments of the constitution. The constitution with the Bill of Rights is the essence of the United States of America. The hybrid nature of this beast "And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority" (Revelation 13:2) is an indication of the many cultures and ethnic groups that make up the population of the United States. The blasphemy that sits on its heads stems from its arrogance in presumption that it can accomplish God's ends without God's help, and from the disgusting fact that its rich can enjoy a paradise-like life as the fruit of its corruption and injustice. The slogan "In God We Trust" and other symbolic nods to religion do not suffice to make the United States a good country or an agent of God. There is no acknowledgment as to what god the USA trusts, and a case could easily be built that it worships the Devil or regards itself or science as a god.
The United States is further identified by references to the civil war and the preservation of the union, "the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live" (Revelation 13:14), and the resultant shot in the head suffered by President Lincoln (which is mystically echoed in the shot to the head suffered by President Kennedy), "And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed" (Revelation 13:2) and "the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed" (Revelation 13:12). While neither Lincoln nor Kennedy survived, the presidency continued and the union survived. We also see this in the famous painting by Archibald Willard, The Spirit of '76, which was painted for the Centennial. Arguably, it shows the next century looking up to keep pace with the likes of Jefferson (identified by his white hair and distincive mouth) and Lincoln (identified by his dark hair, mustacheless beard, and headwound):
An additional clue to the identity of this beast is this, "Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six" (Revelation 13:18). The number, commonly written 666, is better understood if written in Roman numerals, which reflect Latin, the language of the European Church. In Roman numerals, 666 is DCLXVI. Roman numerals proceed by addition and subtraction, thus VI (5 + 1) represents 6 and IV (5 - 1) represents 4. DCLXVI is, therefore, a string of numbers added together to form the sum 666 (in this case 500 + 100 + 50 + 10 + 5 + 1), but this is a coded number, and the proper addition sequence is 500 + 100 + 50 + 13 + 3 = 666. The portions of the number are explained thus:
Unbridled freedom of speech is indicated by "And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven" (Revelation 13:5, 6). This freedom of speech yields some positive results as indicated by "a mouth speaking great things" but these are outweighed by the hate speech and wickedness that it spews forth as well. The blasphemies result from the claims the US makes about the divine tenor of its accomplishments (think, for example, of the Civil War tune "Glory, Glory, Alleluiah" which casts the war as a victory of God. God does not fight such wars as the American Civil War).
The power, resources and abilities of the United States will be phenomenal, "all the world wondered after the beast" (Revelation 13:3). It will be a superpower, the only one left "and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?" (Revelation 13:4) and "power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations" (Revelation 13:7).
The fact that "it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them" does not mean that all the enemies of the United States (for example, Nazi Germany) are saints, but that some of them are (for example, certain Native American peoples). Despite its lofty rhetoric, the hands of the United States are soiled with the blood of many innocents, and perfumed with the scent from many handshakes with the wicked. The fact that the United States is an agent of the Devil does not prevent it from waging war against evil. It is in the nature of the Devil to be at odds with everyone, even himself. That the United States helped defeat Nazi Germany is indeed a strong point in its favor, but much of the wickedness of the Nazi's spread like a contagious disease to both the United States and the Soviet Union immediately following World War II, resulting in all the horrors of the Cold War, the Arms Race, and the twisted alliances that emerged from them. In short, the defeat of the Nazi's only proves that the USA was a stronger devil.
An indication of the connection between Nazi Germany and the United States is found in "And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name" (Revelation 13:16-17). Most obviously, this points to the tattoos on the arms of the Jews in the concentration camps, but it also points to the badges of identification (such as the Magen David that the Jews were required to wear) or allegiance (such as Nazi armbands). The placement "in their foreheads" refers to emblems placed on hats and helmets. It is important for us to notice that the word used for 'in' in the original Greek text is 'epi' which, in the grammatical construction given in the text, can mean 'on' or 'upon', so we do not have to think of something placed permanently in the skin, but only something worn or held (a hat, a ring, a pin, a bracelet, a watch, an armband, etc.). These emblems need not be pure symbols of evil (like the swastika), they can be any symbol indicating any cause (a nation, a sports team, a corporation) which the wearer values higher than God ("Hear O Israel,! The Lord our God is one God; and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole mind, and with thy whole strength" Deuteronomy 6:4-5). The Greek word for 'mark' used here is one used to refer to the inscriptions on coins, so this also serves as an allusion to currency as is seen by, "that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name". In this clause, the phrases "or the name of the beast, or the number of his name" point to alternatives to using currency: personal checks, credit and debit accounts, traveler's checks, social security benefits, food stamps, and the like. To a degree, this prophecy is also preventative (see my discussion on Prophecy) as its aim has been to discourage states from requiring tattoos such as the Nazi's used on the Jews, and to scare people off from accepting such tattoos.
We are told that the United States prefers to work through puppet regimes "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" (Revelation 13:11-12). There are two principle elements of these puppet regimes "he had two horns" which are disguised as round-table groups where, supposedly, no one has a greater voice, but in reality, the USA holds the power this is represented by the curved horns of a lamb "two horns like a lamb". These two horns are The United Nations and NATO, which are essentially the same groups. We have seen US policy enforced on Iraq through the UN and on Bosnia through NATO, "he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him". The method used primarily by NATO and the UN is long-range bombing from aircraft and ships "And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men" (Revelation 13:13).
NATO and the UN, however, are only the horns of the second beast, they are not its totality. There are other elements at work. One is mass media, both state run, like the Voice of America, and private companies (NBC, CBS, ABC, CNN, etc.) which the government manipulates. A radio or telephone or, most likely, a television is indicated by "an image to the beast...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" (Revelation 13:14, 15). The media has the power to represent the works of the US, or its puppets, in a positive light (for an example, consider the flowery, and false, reports of the success of the bombing raids and antimissile defenses in the Gulf War) which makes the US look all the more impressive and so all the harder to resist "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 " (Revelation 13:14).
Finally, we are told that "power was given unto him to continue forty and two months" (Revelation 13:5). We have seen that words like 'month' and 'day' often refer to periods that are not rigidly defined by units of time. What is meant here is that the United States will have power for 42 presidencies. William Jefferson Clinton was the 42nd President of the United States, George W. Bush is the 42nd man to hold the office (Grover Cleveland is counted twice as the 22nd and 24th president). Time is running out.
The end for the United States and its allies and puppets
is foretold, "If any man have an ear, let him hear.
He that leadeth into captivity
shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed
with the sword" (Revelation 13:9-10). Salvation lies in knowing
this, and so forbearing, "Here is the patience and
the faith of the saints" (Revelation 13:10).