Antarctica

[Map from the Perry Castenada Library,
Courtesy The General Libraries, The University of Texas at Austin]

Antarctica is the bottom of the world. It is a continent that is surrounded by water, which is just the opposite (anti) of the Arctic which is water surrounded by land. It's 98% covered in ice which accounts for 90% of the world's ice, and 70% of the world's fresh water. Antarctica's size almost doubles in winter, but in summer it is approximately 11.5 million square miles, a little smaller than Africa. Even with all of this water it is the driest place on earth because there is hardly any precipitation, so it is often called a polar desert. Antarctica is the stormiest place on earth, and it is the coldest place on earth - the lowest temperature recorded was -127 degrees Fahrenheit. It is also the windiest place on earth - the average wind speed is 55 mph, and the winds are usually referred to as katabatic winds. The land is almost entirely devoid of life, and yet the oceans around it teem with living things.

If we removed the ice shelves we'll get a better look at what Antarctica is shaped like:

It's shaped like the head of an elephant!

Near the tip of the elephant's trunk is an island called Elephant Island. "Elephant Island’s name can be attributed to both its elephant head-like appearance and the sighting of elephant seals by Captain George Powell in 1821, one of the earliest sightings of the island" (from Wikipedia).

Why is Antarctica shaped like an elephant's head? I believe it is to illustrate a global political system. Nations typically have an animal or bird as their national symbol (such as the American eagle), but no single country owns Antarctica, although about 40 nations have made claims. So let's think of these 40 nations as one nation, living in peace, and their symbolic animal is the elephant because it is the largest beast on earth. Here's a map illustrating the various claims:

[Map from the Perry Castenada Library,
Courtesy The General Libraries, The University of Texas at Austin]

A global government means all nations cooperating together for the benefit of mankind, and not for the benefit of God or the King of kings. And as the world's largest terrestrial animal it makes a perfect symbol of the world's largest government.

So the elephant gives us a visual clue as to what a global political system looks and acts like. It's very formidable, and can not be defeated except by God Himself. It's futile to fight against it, but we shouldn't want to because it's part of our heavenly Father's overall plan. He'll guide the elephant where He wants it to go, and He'll take care of the ivory towers, as it's written in Amos 3:

13 Hear ye, and testify in the house of Jacob, saith the Lord GOD, the God of hosts, 14 That in the day that I shall visit the transgressions of Israel upon him I will also visit the altars of Bethel: and the horns of the altar shall be cut off, and fall to the ground. 15 And I will smite the winter house with the summer house; and the houses of ivory shall perish, and the great houses shall have an end, saith the LORD.