Dragonspeak: The Race Crisis in America

By Ivor Myers

years ago, the book of Revelation was penned. One of it its most significant prophecies is largely unknown or understood today. In 25 words, the prophecy lays out the rise, character, and actions of the most powerful nation in the world with stunning accuracy. It is so accurate that it is reasonable to understand the reader’s disbelief that these words could have been written millennia before the rise of America. What follows is not a condemnation of America as nation, but rather a revealing of principles and forces at work in the nation, some good, and some evil. It is my hope that the truth will be very plain to see, and that this truth will work a transformation in hearts across this nation, and perhaps around the world.

In one prophetic sentence, the 500-year history and legacy of America is summarized.

The prophet John penned these words on the Isle of Patmos roughly around 95 AD.

“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” Revelation 13:11.

John, in vision, sees a “beast” rising up out of the earth. This beast is a symbol of a kingdom or a nation. (Compare Daniel 7:23 “ . . . The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.”) John therefore sees a nation rising into power.

This nation was described as having the horns of a Lamb. In the Bible, the Lamb is symbolic of Jesus himself. John 1:29 reads “The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” And 1 Peter 1:19 speaks of “the precious blood of Christ,” and compares it to “a lamb without blemish and without spot.” So, this nation would be a professedly Christian one.

America, the Beautiful?

In the same chapter of Revelation, another beast is described as coming up earlier “out of the sea” (Revelation 13:1). The identity of this power is not our focus here. Simply note that “the sea” is a symbol for “peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues” (Revelation 17:15). So, the fact that the lamblike beast rises out of the earth would symbolize a nation rising in an area not highly populated. Only one nation can fit this description. It is the United States of America. Rising out of the sea fit the profile of America, which, in its infancy was not as highly populated as Europe was. Scholars also considered that “lamblike” (Christlike) principles could be found in several founding documents. Think of the Declaration of Independence, with its lofty principle that acknowledges all men to be equally created by God.

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.”

Think of the Constitution which declares in it preamble:

“We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”

The principles espoused in these documents are noble, setting aside America as a truly great nation in principle and morals. Be reminded that the nation was founded largely due to religious persecution in Europe. It was mostly Christians who came looking for refuge in America, looking for a place where they could worship, and be free of the tyranny of the state-run churches of Europe. There, people were oppressed, tortured and killed for failure to adhere to the teachings of the churches. Control of conscience was commonplace. For this reason, America was founded on the major premise of separation of church and state, to ensure that religious persecution and oppression would never come to our shores.

America, the Powerful

The beast having two horns symbolize this truth. Horns in the bible are symbolic of power, the word figuratively meaning “power.” (Compare Daniel 8:3 where another symbolic beast has two horns, and the Hebrew word geren figuratively means power.) So, this nation would have two separate powers, one being “civil” or “secular” power, and the other, “religious” power. The first amendment which states that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances” addresses both of these principles.

In one prophetic sentence, the 500-year history and legacy of America is summarized.

In a sense, we may say that this nation was founded on implicit Christian principles. In A History of the American People, Paul Johnson writes, “The American Revolution in its origins, was a religious event, whereas the French Revolution was an anti-religious event. That fact was to shape … the nature of the independent state it brought into being.” John Adams noted, “The general principles on which the founding fathers achieved independence were the general principles of Christianity.” ²

America’s Split Personality

But the prophecy takes a stunning turn. It says that this lamblike nation, with its lofty principles, and high ideals, “would speak as a dragon.” In the Bible, the dragon is a symbol of Satan himself. Revelation 12:9: “And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world.” Revelation 20:1 and 2 likewise point to Satan: “And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years…”

The Dragon is synonymous with oppression, and brutality, therefore, one would not expect a lamb to open its mouth and roar like a monster. Yet the Bible prophesied that this lamblike nation, a nation that nobly professed to follow the principles of the lamb, Jesus Christ, would instead speak like an oppressive dragon. Note, the prophecy does not state that the lamb-like beast would eventually speak as a dragon. It does not state the beast started out good and eventually spoke as a dragon, but rather that it speaks as dragon from its inception.

A nation “speaks” through its laws and policies. The prophecy reveals that this nation, professing Christian values and morals, would speak, or legislate oppressive laws antithetical to its profession.

The prophecy is not a wholesale condemnation of America, but rather reveals an epic struggle between those who defend lamblike principles, and those who while claiming lamblike principles, code talk, and act, in “Dragon Speak,” the language of oppression. In the upcoming articles we will see if this aspect of the prophecy fits the beginnings of the United States of America, the land of the free.

IVOR MYERS is a pastor, author and Bible teacher. You can learn more about his ministry at www.powerofthelamb.com

2 https://www.forbes.com/sites/billflax/2012/09/25/was-america-founded-as-a-christian-nation/#488ee0e04e7b

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