Second Coming of What Exactly?

When I first started to read the Second Coming, I intentionally thought, "Oh this is about the Second Coming of Christ".  I should have learned by now that poetry titles are very misleading. So here I was going through this haunting piece of poetry, with only vague clues to what it could mean.

"A shape with lion body and the head of a man,
    A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun,
    Is moving its slow thighs, while all about it
    Wind shadows of the indignant desert birds."


While reading this, I paused. My first thought was that Yeats had to be describing some type of beasts from Revelations or Daniel. Then I noticed though it was not describing, any one of those beasts. No this was a reference of description toward a Sphinx. (Lightbulb moment). The Sphinx in Egypt popped into my mind. Ok, so what does the Sphinx represent? Well, honestly I can't tell you exactly what it meant for ancient Egyptians...but I would like to take a crack at what it was. The Sphinx was a modern marvel and accomplishment for those ancient Egyptians.  It was also was a suspected place of cultic solar worship. 


With this I wondered  if the beast in the poem could this represent the modern technology and false religions of Yeats day? Then after reading a few blogs from my colleagues, I felt maybe this beast represents humanity in whole. If it represents us in our corrupt immoral state, and what we have seemed to accomplish through all our modernity. The destruction and slaughter of ourselves. That we are the merciless beast bringing on the plagues and tribulations of the Second Coming upon ourselves. That we are bringing upon the end of the world possibly?   


Maybe I'm off my rocker here (Which is highly possible lol). But this is what I took from the poem, or the most interesting parts.


So there it is, my first blog of the semester! Good luck everyone can't wait to see what this season brings!
P.S. commented on Kelsey Parrish's Post.