The Revelation of Jesus Christ - The Herald

Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States has already patterned after Papacy. This
Church, in the United States, is an offshoot of the Church of England, only differing from
that Church in that its form of government was changed when the colonies separated from
England after the American Revolution. This was done in order to conform to the United
States Constitution. At this time the king of England ceased to be the head of the
Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States. It has, however, recently (doubtless a
step in the furtherance of a "united Protestantism") felt the necessity of appointing a head.
We quote in evidence of this from the Boston Herald of Dec. 9, 1919:
"The city of New York is to become to the Protestant Episcopal Church in America what
the city of Rome is to the Roman Catholic Church. Instead of a Pope it is to have a
presiding bishop, chairman of a council, which will correspond in many of its functions to
the College of Cardinals. The entire Episcopal Church under the American flag, with its
almost 2,000,000 communicants, is to be administered from the Episcopal 'Vatican' in the
Metropolis, just as is the entire Roman Communion with its almost 300,000,000
communicants from the chair of St. Peter in the Eternal City on the Tiber. . . . One striking
difference between the Episcopal 'presiding bishop' and Pope Benedict XV is that Bishop
Gailor is elected only for a term of six years, whereas the occupant of the Vatican throne is
elected for life."
As further showing the state of Christendom, we note that the only government today in
Western Christendom that possesses the characteristics of a "beast," in the sense in which
an ecclesiastical and civil government is a symbolic "beast"--the civil ruler being the head
of the church--is that of Great Britain. The influence of this great church government
extends into its colonies which are scattered all over the world. The English government
has for some centuries past been reckoned as Protestant. While the influences of true
Protestantism have for about two centuries caused this professed Christian government to
be very "lamb-like" in its claims and exercise of religious authority, there has nothing
occurred, legislatively, to deprive this ruler of his title as Supreme Head of the Church of
England. The religious church system of this government claims apostolic succession, and
therefore is the only one at the present time except Papacy that can fulfill the symbolism
and give "life" (so-called Divine authority) to the "image of the beast." This image of the
beast (organized united Protestantism) is rapidly developing out of present conditions,
preparatory to a fulfillment of all the requirements of this vision. We have in the previous
chapter identified this great ecclesiastical and civil government of England with that of the
two-horned lamb-like beast portrayed in verses 11-14.
The image of the beast now in evidence
In the foregoing we have given a brief synopsis of the condition of Christendom at the
present time, for the reason, as already stated, that out of these various elements and
conditions it seems quite evident to many prophetic students that this image of the beast
has begun and is being rapidly developed. We remark here that the word image, as used in
this expression, means likeness; that is, similar in its claims and use of power to that of
Papacy. In previous verses of this chapter we find that the beast of which this image is to