One of his heads was wounded to death; for Truth rose up in its majesty and broke the tyrant’s head. The seed of the woman put His heel upon the serpent’s head, and would have crushed out all the life, had the plan of salvation been fully complete. The world emerged from the darkness gradually. The light of the Reformation shone forth in the sixteenth century; the last public execution for conscience sake was in Seville, Spain, in 1776; and in 1798, the closing year of the forty and two months, Pope Pius VI, the representative of that power which had crowned and uncrowned kings, which had spoken, and Europe, almost en masse, had arisen to defend the holy sepulcher, which had extracted money from all nations, was captured by the French army, and died, shortly after, a prisoner, in fulfillment of the words “He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity.” But the deadly wound was healed. The seventh head had not yet done its full work in the earth. According to the prophecy of Daniel, it lives until the close of time.SSP 232.1

Although it seemed that a deathblow had been dealt in the early days of the Reformation; although for a time it was believed that the nations of Europe would accept Protestantism instead of the papacy; notwithstanding bloody battles were fought for the cause of Protestantism, yet life came back into the beast and into the wounded head; and before the end, all nations, kindreds, and people that dwell upon the earth, will be called to decide whether they will enroll under the banner of Prince Emmanuel, or whether they will acknowledge the leadership of a power that speaketh blasphemous ^{MarginHosea 6:3.

So let all thine enemies perish, O Lord: but let them that love him be as the sun when he goeth forth in his might. Judges 5:31.

Isaiah 14:15-19.

Daniel 7:12.

When I shall say to the righteous, that he shall surely live; if he trust to his own righteousness, and commit iniquity, all his righteousnesses shall not be remembered; but for his iniquity that he hath committed, he shall die for it. Ezekiel 33:13.

If it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. Joshua 24:15.

Revelation 17:8.} words against the Most High. Those who choose the standard of Christ will have their names entered in the Lamb’s Book of Life; they are the ones who accept the message of the tenth chapter of Revelation, and who are sealed as described in the seventh chapter. They will eventually join in the song of redemption which is sung before the throne of heaven. Those who voluntarily choose to follow the other power will receive the mark of the beast, and in the time of the final judgment, will go with their leader into everlasting death.SSP 232.2

He who has long led men into captivity, who has claimed the right to rule the hearts of men, and who has attempted to overthrow the eternal God of heaven, will finally be destroyed. The Lion of the tribe of Judah will reign as king; not by force, but by the power of love.SSP 233.1

Death follows the footprints of the beast. Some may wonder why a God of power does not, at once, blot out a rival who brings only distress and destruction; but mercy lingers that man may be saved. Here is needed, and here will be seen, in these closing days of the great controversy, the “patience of the saints.” These things must be met by men now living, therefore, “if any man have an ear, let him hear.”SSP 233.2

The student of the book of Revelation has by the time he reaches the thirteenth chapter, met, a number of times, the power which would bear sway for twelve hundred and sixty years. In giving earth’s history, that terrible period plays an important part; in the great controversy between good and evil, it was a marked era. It has been viewed from the standpoint of the church of God, from that of the false ^{MarginPsalm 40:7.

The Lord said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof. Ezekiel 9:4.

Revelation 7:1-3.

Revelation 14:9-12.

I beheld then because of the voice of the great words which the horn spake: I beheld even till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame. Daniel 7:11.

I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth. Revelation 6:8.

Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth. Revelation 3:10.} or apostate church, and from the civil side as well. In all its aspects, it was a terrible time;-a time when angels trembled for the few faithful souls, and the heart of God longed for the time of their deliverance. “The noontide of the papacy was the world’s moral midnight.” The sad thing to contemplate is that the oppression, which, during the twelve hundred and sixty years was so galling, will be repeated just before the second coming of Christ. The last half of the thirteenth chapter deals with the history from the sixteenth century to the end of time.SSP 233.3

The Reformation, in which Luther played such an important part, was more far reaching in its results than its most sanguine advocates could imagine, in the days when the light began to shine. It was the proclamation of a great truth, twofold in its mission. As the papacy must be considered, and had to be met, both as a civil and as an ecclesiastical power, so the Reformation gave birth to, or revived, the principles which were both civil and ecclesiastical in nature. The fact is stated in the words of the twelfth chapter, “The earth helped the woman.” The church was in the hands of a persecuting power; and when the dragon sent forth a great flood, hoping to drown the truth, the earth came to the rescue of the church. The protest of the princes of Germany at the Diet of Spires, was like a pebble thrown into a lake; a wave was started, and the circles widened until man could not compass them.SSP 234.1

John had another and more definite view of the help given by the earth. Turning from the sea, from which he had seen the great and ^{MarginThe woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days. Revelation 12:6.

Daniel 12:6.

Daniel 11, 2, 3.

Daniel 7:25.

Daniel 11:33-35.

Daniel 12:5-7.

Except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened. Matthew 24:22.

Micah 3:6.

Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord:

And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, and shall not find it. Amos 8:11, 12.

Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun. Psalm 19:4.

Behold ye among the heathen, and regard, and wonder marvellously for I will work a work, in your days, which ye will not believe, though it be told you. Habakkuk 1:5.

Isaiah 29:13-15.

Let mine outcasts dwell with thee, Moab; be thou a covert to them from the face of the spoiler for the extortioner is at an end, the spoiler ceaseth, the oppressors are consumed out of the land.

And in mercy shall the throne be established: and he shall sit upon it in truth in the tabernacle of David, judging, and seeking judgment, and hasting righteousness. Isaiah 16:4, 5.

He will lift up an ensign to the nations from far, and will hiss unto them from the end of the earth: and, behold, they shall come with speed swiftly. Isaiah 5:26.} terrible beast arise, with its seven heads and ten horns and the names of blasphemy, he saw “another beast coming up out of the earth.” It was at the time the papal power was being led into captivity, that the prophet saw this new power “coming up.” Rome sprang into existence in the midst of many peoples; the beast arose from the sea, but away from all the strife, outside the bounds of European darkness, arose another nation. It was brought into existence by the Lord Himself; at the very time it was most needed for the development of the principles of the Gospel, and of the final struggle for truth.SSP 234.2

From 1492 and onward, Europe heard reports of a new land beyond the seas. Navigators, usually in search of gold or glory, explored the shores and established colonies. But neither wealth nor honor was to have a hand in the final settlement; God reserved the territory, afterwards known as the United States of America, for the planting of downtrodden truth. When Germany refused full liberty, and clung to some forms of papal tyranny, Protestantism passed on to England. England and Holland for a time gave freer scope for the development of these principles; but space was limited in the Low Countries; and the British returned at last to their kings, and those seeking liberty of conscience, passed to the eastern shores of North America. In America the oppressed had freedom of worship, the right to educate their children ^{MarginAnd I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon. Revelation 13:11.

The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.

Thou hast multiplied the nation, and not increased the joy: they joy before thee according to the joy in harvest, and as men rejoice when they divide the spoil. Isaiah 9:2, 3.

They have turned unto me the back, and not the face: though I taught them, rising up early and teaching them, yet they have not hearkened to receive instruction. Jeremiah 32:33.} according to their ideas of God, and the privileges of a free government. These were the things sought by the Pilgrim Fathers.SSP 235.1

On the bleak New England shores, principles of Protestantism and republicanism struggled for existence. These two went hand in hand Historians recount the hardships of braving the sea and making new homes; but these were light trials, compared with the soul-strivings against bondage and oppression. So strongly ingrained were the principles of monarchy and the spirit to dictate in religious matters-the two foundation stones of the papacy-that only by dint of perseverance and strong determination on the part of a few souls who were open to heaven-born convictions, there gradually grew up in New England a representative form of government. The towns about Boston refused to be taxed unless they had a voice in the legislative body. Thomas Hooker, with his whole congregation, emigrated to the wilds of Connecticut for greater liberty; and as a result, the first written constitution ever known to exist in America, was framed in 1633. Rhode Island had an existence solely, because of the attempt of man to oppress the conscience of his fellow man; and it stands in the Union to-day as a monument of the struggle for religious liberty.SSP 236.1

In the more Southern Colonies the same battles were fought. Finally, in 1776, the Declaration of Independence published to the world the purpose of the new and growing states to cut loose from the tie which bound them to the mediæval forms of government. The step appeared rash; but this was the thing ^{MarginAfterwards they turned, and caused the servants and the handmaids, whom they had let go free, to return, and brought them into subjection for servants and for handmaids. Jeremiah 34:11.

I will bring you out from the people, and will gather you out of the countries wherein ye are scattered, with a mighty hand, and with a stretched out arm, and with fury poured out.

And I will bring you into the wilderness of the people, and there will I plead with you face to face. Ezekiel 20:34, 35.

Exodus 3:7.

Exodus 6:9.

Where the word of a king is, there is power: and who may say unto him, What doest thou? Ecclesiastes 8:4.

So shall they fear the name of the Lord from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him. Isaiah 59:19.

Go through, go through the gates: prepare ye the way of the people; cast up, cast up.the highway; gather out the stones; lift up a standard for the people. Isaiah 62:10.} necessary, to bring unity and united effort among the people of America. With one common enemy, all internal strife was forgotten; but when the new nation was acknowledged free and independent, the problem of ages was just before it. Having thrown off the fetters of monarchy, and with no definite ideas as to the actual workings of an administration by the people, the ship of state was in the greatest danger of foundering on the rocks of anarchy; or, tired of the open sea, of again seeking shelter in the harbor from which it had sailed. There were men who advocated return; but God had His angels in the meetings of statesmen, and His Spirit guided the minds of those who sought to follow the light of the Reformation.SSP 236.2

The Federal Convention, which convened in Philadelphia in the year 1787, was no common meeting; for from the work done by the men who sat there, a wave was set in motion which has influenced every nation of the earth. It was by the fifty-five representatives from the states which formed the nucleus of the nation to-day recognized as one of the leading powers of the world, that the American Constitution was framed. Of this document Gladstone says: “The American Constitution is the most wonderful work ever struck off at a given time by the brain of man.” The words of the Declaration of Independence state the principles upon ^{MarginStand fast, and prepare thee; for the sword shall devour round about thee. Jeremiah 46:14.

We have heard with our ears, O God, our fathers have told us, what work thou didst in their days, in the times of old.

How thou didst drive out the heathen with thy hand, and plantedst them; how thou didst afflict the people, and cast them out.

For they got not the land in possession by their own sword, neither did their own arm save them: but thy right hand, and thine arm, and the light of thy countenance, because thou hadst a favour unto them. Psalm 44:1-3.

He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God? Micah 6:8.

The Lord shall help them, and deliver them: he shall deliver them from the wicked, and save them, because they trust in him. Psalm 37:40.

God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right early. Psalm 46:5.} which the new government was founded. “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights.... That, to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.” This was a deathblow to the papal hierarchy; it was the outgrowth of the principles advocated in the sixteenth century,-the result of restoring to their proper place the Two Witnesses, that for twelve hundred and sixty years prophesied, clothed in. sackcloth. Thus the earth helped the woman, by giving to her a home where the sunlight might shine unobstructed by the darkness which covered Europe during the twelve hundred and sixty years. The beast which came up out of the earth in the sight of the prophet, symbolizes the United States; and the two horns represent the two foundation principles of the government, Protestantism and republicanism. The seed of the Reformation, having been planted in congenial soil, soon grew into a mighty tree, sheltering the oppressed of all nations. Glorious as the sun rising was the establishment of the new government. It was a wonder to all the world; but when its freedom and stability once became known, America became the center of progress. All nations have been molded, more or less by the example of this country. Her constitution has been the model for the reorganization of nations, especially since 1840. The monarchs of Europe were forced to relax their hold upon their subjects, ^{MarginPsalm 97:11.

The nations shall see and be confounded at all their might: they shall lay their hand upon their mouth, their ears shall be deaf. Micah 7:16.

The Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.

Lift up thine eyes round about, and see: all they gather themselves together, they come to thee: thy sons shall come from far, and thy daughters shall be nursed at thy side. Isaiah 60:3, 4.} and America is the place toward which all eyes have been directed in these crises. Even the Orient has relaxed to the warming influence of the United States.SSP 237.1

But the world is not yet free from the influence of him who was “cast unto the earth,” and the dragon, who had worked through each preceding nation, works in this. When unable to check the onward march of freedom, as it was started in America, the more wary plans, which had been combined in Rome, were introduced into America. A government by the people, for successful management requires a constituency educated in the principles of both Protestantism and republicanism. The schools played a most important part in the growth of the constitution, and the educational system of the United States has been the real support of the nation.SSP 239.1

Gradually, however, the philosophy of Greece has, in the education of children and youth, almost wholly supplanted the truths of God. Graduates to-day are better able to interpret the mythology of Greece than they are to read the handwriting of the Creator in nature about them. They are prepared to believe the false theories of scientists in preference to direct statements of inspiration. The whole trend of their education is evolutionary in character, and develops doubt, not faith,-higher criticism instead of simple faith in the Word of God. The organization of society into guilds, trusts, rings, corporations, and unions, is a reflection of the spirit of the educational system. Monarchy is rapidly replacing democratic principles, and the dragon’s voice sounds through the earth in the ^{MarginKeep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.

And what nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day? Deuteronomy 4:6, 8.

Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought:

But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory:

Which none of the princes of this world knew. 1 Corinthians 2:6-8.

(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)

Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. 2 Corinthians 10:4, 5.

For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom. 1 Corinthians 1:22.

Associate yourselves, O ye people, and ye shall be broken in pieces; and give ear, all ye of far countries: gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces; gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces.

Take counsel together, and it shall come to nought; speak the word, and it shall not stand: for God is with us.

For the Lord spake thus to me with a strong hand, and instructed me that I should not walk in the way of this people, saying,

Say ye not, A confederacy, to all them to whom this people shall say, A confederacy; neither fear ye their fear, nor be afraid. Isaiah 8:9-12.

Amos 8:4-6.} dictation of the labor unions to their members; in the controllers of the oil and the grain; in the strikes and the exchanges. Wall Street dictates to thousands; and the masses pay their Peter’s pence to the moneyed classes as surely as it was ever exacted in Rome. As the cry of the oppressed during the Dark Ages reached heaven, so in this day of apparent light and progress, and of boasted freedom, the voice of oppression is heard. “Behold, the hire of the laborers who have reaped down your fields, which of you is kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth.”SSP 239.2

America, according to prophecy, would repudiate the fundamental principles of the nation, and from the lamblike beast, the voice of the dragon is heard. “And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.” America has already repudiated her first principles of liberty. In form, the government remains the same as when established, but the spirit and life of the beast speak through the form. The life of Protestantism is gone; the life of democracy is lost. The professed Protestant nation is imitating the papal power of Rome, thus forming the image to the beast. As time progresses, it will be seen that the image will receive, more and more, the life of the beast. The return to papal principles in Europe, is the partial healing of the wounded head; but the fuller development of all the powers of that beast, which combined the characteristics ^{MarginGo to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.

Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten.

Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days. James 5:1-3.

Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter.

Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you. James 5:5, 6.

James 5:4.

And he exereiseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. Revelation 13:12.

Isaiah 19:11-15.

They did cry there, Pharaoh king of Egypt is but a noise; he hath passed the time appointed. Jeremiah 46:17.

And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men.

And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live. Revelation 13:13, 14.

For he saith, By the strength of my hand I have done it, and by my wisdom; for I am prudent: and I have removed the bounds of the people, and have robbed their treasures, and I have put down the inhabitants like a valiant man. Isaiah 10:13.} of Babylon, Persia and Greece, in the once free and liberty loving America, will be the complete healing of the deadly wound.SSP 240.1

America is the home of Protestantism, but her churches to-day are Protestant only in name. The exaltation of man above God, the enthroning of human intellect, the hope of righteousness by works, the trampling underfoot of the law of God,-these are some of the things which mark the Protestant churches as daughters of the Babylon, which swayed the world from her seat at Rome.SSP 241.1

Two things characterize the Remnant people during the formation of the image to the beast. According to Revelation 12:17, they keep the commandments of God and have the spirit of prophecy. These two characteristics belong to all true Protestants, and are presented to Protestant denominations for their acceptance or rejection.SSP 241.2

As the beast trampled upon the law of God, and sought to change times and laws, the image to the beast repeats these acts, and passes laws enforcing the observance of its mark,-the false Sabbath.SSP 241.3

The spirit of prophecy is given to guide the church through the darkness; but this is counterfeited by the working of miracles, and by manifestations of a false spirit. Through human agents, the devil seeks to imitate the workings of the Spirit of God; and finally, at the very end of time, he appears in person claiming to be the Christ. “Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore, it is no strange thing if his ministers also, be transformed as the ministers of righteousness.” ^{MarginFor ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:

But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;

And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are. 1 Corinthians 1:26-28.

This is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the Lord:

Which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits:

Get you out of the way, turn aside out of the path, cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us. Isaiah 30:9-11.

2 Timothy 3:5.

Revelation 12:17.

Revelation 19:10.

Lamentations 2:9.

1 Thessalonians 5:20.

We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts. 2 Peter 1:19.

2 Corinthians 11:14.

For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts,

Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith. 2 Timothy 3:6-8.} Through his human instruments, he will have power to make fire come down from heaven in the sight of men. “There shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.” These are the Saviour’s own words, spoken as He looked forward to the time of His second appearing.SSP 241.4

At the birth of the Son of God, the dragon stood ready to devour the Child. When the Child was caught up into heaven, the dragon drove the woman (the church) into the wilderness. His last and most daring act, will be, coming to the earth in person, clothed in garments of light, and claiming to be the Saviour. For this final scene, the work of Spiritualism, which, in its modern forms, arose in the United States, is now preparing the world. When Satan thus appears, he demands the life of all who have not the mark of the beast, and who refuse to worship his image. The tyranny of government will be complete. It will be as the laws of the Medes and Persians, from which there was no appeal. The decree of Xerxes, which demanded the slaying of all the Jews, on one day, throughout all the realm, in the days of Queen Esther, will be repeated by the powers that be, and the lives of the followers of God, those who have received His mark,-the seal of His law,-will be demanded.SSP 242.1

Not only in the forehead, as a sign of acceptance, but also in the hand, as typical of actual service for the “beast,” the mark will be required. There will be no spot too secluded for that power to reach. The present perfection of ^{MarginMatthew 24:24.

Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently enquired of the wise men.

Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying,

In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not. Matthew 2:16-18.

Hebrews 12:2.

Hebrews 8:1.

I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.

For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. Revelation 16:13, 14.

Revelation 13:13, 14.

Revelation 19:20.

And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed. Revelation 13:15.

Daniel 6:8.

The letters were sent by posts into all the king’s provinces, to destroy, to kill, and to cause to perish, all Jews, both young and old, little children and women, in one day, even upon the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month Adar, and to take the spoil of them for a prey. Esther 3:13.

If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand. Revelation 14:9.} organization, the census taking, the enrollment for voting, etc., bring every individual under the eye of the government as truly as the enrollment of Augustus Cæsar, the taxgatherer of Rome, brought the parents of Jesus to the attention of the nation.SSP 242.2

Once it would have seemed impossible to so boycott a class of individuals that they could neither buy nor sell, but the history of recent years shows that this has been done by the labor unions of our large cities. This perplexing situation grows steadily worse, and the end is given only by the divine recorder.SSP 243.1

The history of the beast is given again and again, that God’s people may know what to expect of the image to the beast. As the beast bore sway over the known world in its day, so the image will set the example to the world in the end of time. America once took the lead in propagating the principles of religious and civil freedom; to-day that nation leads the world in its strife for power and recognition, and the very principles of its own Declaration of Independence are overridden in dealing with subject provinces. Rome has been portrayed from all sides, and so definitely described that it cannot be mistaken. When the image is compared with the real, in the thirteenth ^{MarginLuke 2:1.

And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:

And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Revelation 13:16, 17.

Ecclesiastes 1:9, 10.

Isaiah 24:2.

The time is come, the day draweth near: let not the buyer rejoice, nor the seller mourn: for wrath is upon all the multitude thereof. Ezekiel 7:12.

For that the dream was doubled unto Pharaoh twice; it is because the thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass. Genesis 41:32.

He exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. Revelation 13:12.} chapter of Revelation, the very number, six hundred and sixty-six, which is worn on the insignia of the head of the papal hierarchy, is given, that men may be left without excuse. He who is acknowledged as the vicegerent of the Son of God (Vicarius Filii Dei), in his name carries the number six hundred and sixty-six, for the sum of the numerical value of the Roman letters in his title, equals that number. That power which again exalts man above the God of heaven, forms the image to the beast, and bears the number of his name.SSP 243.2

The time of trouble, spoken of by Daniel, is right upon the world. “The devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.”SSP 244.1

Nations have risen, and fallen, in the controversy between Christ and Satan; but the last leading nation to arise is now in existence; it will be the battlefield for the final struggle. From its borders, will be heralded the last great message, and from its people will be gathered a remnant church. The members of this church will join with those of other countries, who, in the very presence of the beast, stand true to the God of heaven and earth when the Saviour comes to receive His subjects.SSP 244.2

The time of the fall of all nations approaches. They will be succeeded by the kingdom of God. Christ and the Father will reign forever, and the subjects will be those who have developed a character in harmony with Jehovah; and they will have done this when surrounded on all sides by the concentrated iniquity of Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome. Lucifer claimed that it was impossible to serve God in heaven. The ^{MarginHere is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six. Revelation 13:18.

Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servant ye are to whom ye obey. Romans 6:16.

Daniel 12:1.

Revelation 12:12, 13.

Yea, all kings shall fall down before him. Psalm 72:11.

At the noise of the tumult the people fled; at the lifting up of thyself the nations were scattered. Isaiah 33:3.

I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God. Revelation 15:2.

The judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end. Daniel 7:26, 27.} controversy closes when it has been demonstrated, before the universe, that it is possible to serve God, and obey His law on the enemy’s ground, and in the midst of all the evil which it is possible for him to invent. Such is the power of our God. May “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven.” ^{MarginWho is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy. Micah 7:18.

Who is God save the Lord? or who is a rock save our God? Psalm 18:31.}SSP 244.3

CHAPTER XIV. THE BEAST FROM THE SEA AND THE BEAST FROM THE EARTH

CHAPTER XV. THE THREE ANGELS’ MESSAGES