Mr. Wesley, in his notes on Rev. 14, says of the two-horned beast:—
"He has not yet come, though he cannot be far off; for he is to appear at the end of the forty-two months of the first beast."
We find three additional declarations in the book of Revelation which prove, in a general sense, that the two-horned beast performs his work with that generation of men who are to behold the closing up of all earthly scenes, and the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ; and these will complete the argument on this point.
The first is the message of the third angel, brought to view in the 14th of Revelation. It is not our purpose to enter into an exposition of the three messages of that chapter. We call the attention of the reader to only one fact, which must be apparent to all; and that is, that the third of these messages is the last warning of danger, and the last offer of mercy, before the close of human probation; for the event which immediately follows is the appearance of one like the Son of man on a white cloud, coming to reap the harvest of the earth, verse 14, which can represent nothing else but the second advent of the Lord from Heaven. Whatever views, therefore, a person may take of the first and second messages, and at whatever time he may apply them, it is very certain that the third and last one covers the closing hours of time, and reaches down to the second coming of Christ. And what is the burden of this message? It is a denunciation of the unmingled wrath of God against these who worship the beast and his image. But this worship of the beast and his image is the very work which the two-horned beast endeavors to enforce upon the people. The third message, then, is a warning against the work of the two-horned beast. And as there would be no propriety in supposing this warning to be given after that work was performed; as it could appropriately be given only when the two-horned beast was about to enforce, and while he was endeavoring to enforce, that worship; and as the second coming of Christ immediately succeeds the proclamation of this message, it follows that the duties enjoined by this message, and the decrees enforced by the two-horned beast, constitute the last test to be brought to bear upon the world; and hence the two-homed beast performs his work, not ages in the past, but among the last generation of men.
The second passage, which shows that the work of the two-horned beast is performed just before the close of time, is found in Rev. 15:2, which we have shown to refer to the same company spoken of in chapter 14:1-5. Here is a company who have gotten the victory over the beast and his image and the mark and the number of his name; in other words, they have been in direct conflict with the two-horned beast, which endeavors to enforce the worship of the beast and the reception of his mark. And these are "redeemed from among men" (14:4), or are translated from among the living at the second coming of Christ. 1 Cor. 15:51,52; 1 Thess. 4:16,17. This again shows conclusively that it is the last generation which witnesses the work of this power.
The third passage is Rev. 19:20, which speaks of the two-horned beast under the title of the false prophet, and mentions a point not given in Rev. 13, namely, the doom he is to meet. In the battle of the great day, which takes place in connection with the second coming of Christ, verses 11-19, the false prophet, or two-horned beast, is cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone; and the word "alive" signifies that this power will be at that time a living power performing its part in all its strength and vigor. This power is not to pass off the stage of action, and be succeeded by another; but is to be a ruling power till destroyed by the King of kings and Lord of lords, when he comes to dash the nations in pieces with a rod of iron.
The sum of the argument, then, on this matter of chronology, is this: That the two-horned beast does not come into the field of this vision previous to the year 1798; that it performs its work while the last generation of men is living on the earth; and that it comes up to the battle of the great day a living power in the full vigor of its strength.
As it was shown in the argument on the location of the two-horned beast that we were limited in our application to this western continent, so we are limited still further by its chronology; for it must not only be some power which arises this side of the Atlantic, but one which is seen coming up here at a particular time. Taking our stand, then, in the year 1798, the time indicated in the prophecy, we invite the careful attention of the reader to this question: What independent power in either North or South America was at that time "coming up" in a manner to answer to the conditions of the prophecy? All that part of North America lying to the north of us was under the dominion of Russia and Great Britain. Mexico, to the south-west, was a Spanish colony. Passing to South America, Brazil belonged to Portugal, and most of the other South American States were under Spanish control. In short, there was not then a single civilized, independent government in the New World, except our own United States. No other nation, therefore, can be the one represented in the prophecy; but this one so far answers to it most accurately. It has always taken the lead of all European settlements in this hemisphere. It was "coming up" at the exact time indicated in the prophecy. Like a lofty monument in a field all its own, stand the United States on this continent, grand, unique, unexplainable. So far as God's providence works among the nations for the accomplishment of his purposes, it is visible in the development of this country as an agent to fulfill his word. On these two vital points of location and chronology the arguments which show that our country is the one represented by the symbol of the two-horned beast are absolutely conclusive.