"And I saw another wild beast ascending out of the earth, and it had two horns like a lamb, but it began speaking as a dragon. 12 And it exercises all the authority of the first wild beast in its sight. And it makes the earth and those who dwell in it worship the first wild beast, whose death-stroke got healed." - Revelation 13:11-12 (New World Translation)
"And it performs great signs, even making fire come down out of heaven to the earth in the sight of mankind" - Revelation 13:13
Why, it claims to have vanquished the forces of evil in two world wars and was victorious over so-called godless Communism! Many, indeed, view the modern counterpart of the two-horned wild beast as a guardian of liberty and a font of material good things.
The purpose is to promote the worship of the seven-headed wild beast of which it is an image and thus, in effect, to perpetuate the existence of the wild beast. re chap 28 p.194 par 29
springs from the seven (Revelation 17:11) owes its existence to the heads of the original “wild beast . . . out of the sea” of which it is an image.
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Q How can it not have its power til the end?
The sea beast itself represent governmental powers. Its heads represent powers that come into existence in successive eras ending with the last head which rises to prominence during the "end times". The scarlet beast (being an image or a replica of the sea beast) naturally has the same number of heads but this beast represents the United nations. It's ten horns represent the nations/political powers that support the U.N. It is these "ten horns" that "have have not yet received a kingdom" in that in the Apostle Johns day those powers did not exist or were completely different political entities (Rev 17:12).