The Revelation of Jesus Christ - The Herald

teaching characteristic. Papacy, already united, may in the near future, we believe, gain for
a brief space of time a powerful influence in the world, and become allied to the civil
powers and Federated Protestantism in a vain attempt to keep down the masses in their
efforts to seek relief from oppression, fancied and real. This, the Scriptures teach, will fail,
and a disruption of this "triple-alliance" will take place. The Armageddon destruction will
then immediately begin, and the first system to go down will be the great "Mother of
Harlots," which we understand to represent the Roman Catholic hierarchy located at
Rome. This, as we have endeavored to show, indeed, as portrayed in the order of the
visions themselves, will occur before the Marriage of the Lamb, which represents the
glorification and union of all the elect Kingdom class with their Lord. That solemn and
significant event, the downfall of the great mother system, leaves the kingdoms of the
earth in a state of threatened disintegration, yet still standing, but fearful that their
destruction is also near. These kingdoms in this distressing condition gradually merge into
the last or eighth form of the fourth beast--the last of the four great empires of Daniel's
visions. The Protestant Federation, called in the vision under consideration, the "false
prophet," is also left for a time after great Babylon, the mother system, falls. It is at this
stage of the Armageddon battle that the vision of verses 17-21, chapter 19, seems to meet
its fulfillment. It will be shortly after this time that the world will become aware that
Christ has assumed the reins of authority. This stupendous event, we believe, will be first
manifest in Israel's land, outside of Christendom.
"And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to
make war against Him that sat on the horse, and against His army. And the beast was
taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he
deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his
image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. And the
remnant were slain with the sword of Him that sat upon the horse, which sword
proceeded out of His mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh."--Ver. 19-21.
Do we once more inquire, What is symbolized by the "beast," the "kings of the earth and
their armies," and the "false prophet"? Then let us briefly review:
Considering these in their order we will take up first the beast symbol. As we have traced
its long dark career down through the ages, we have found its complex history in brief, as
follows:
Primarily and in a general sense it represents the fourth universal power, Rome, that in the
vision of Daniel 7 is represented by the fourth nondescript beast, from its beginning in
prophecy about 31 BC, down through its various aspects or changes to its last form, in
which it is destroyed. This destruction is portrayed in the vision of Rev. 19:19-21. Daniel
describes it first when it rules from the city of Rome over all the civilized world, from its
beginning until about four centuries after Christ. He describes it next at a time when its
universal sway ceases, and its ruling authority is distributed among the ten kingdoms into
which the great empire became divided about the fourth century. He sees it again when
these governments into which its territory became divided are dominated over by Papacy-