But the chief agent of Satan in making war upon Christ and His people during the first centuries of the Christian era was the Roman Empire, in which paganism was the prevailing religion. Thus, while the dragon primarily represents Satan, it is in a secondary sense, a symbol of pagan Rome. His tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. Ibid., p 448. Both the appearance of this beast and the manner of it's rise indicate that the nation which it represents is unlike those presented under the preceding symbols.
Winds are a symbol of strife.
Instead of overthrowing other powers to establish itself, the nation thus represented must arise in territory previously unoccupied and grow up gradually and peacefully. The lamblike horns indicate youth, innocence, and gentleness, fitly representing the United States when presented to the prophet as 'coming up' in 1798. The Great Controversy, p 439-443. This will soon come to pass. Fearful is the issue to which the world is to be brought.