1917_The_Finished_Mystery_Text

REVELATION 13THE PAPAL ANDPROTESTANT BEASTSRevelation 13:1.And [I] HE stood upon the sand of the sea.—The sea represents the masses not under religiousrestraint. It is this symbolic sea that is to overturnand swallow up all kingdoms of earth in thegreat Time of Trouble. The proper understandingof the vision is located down at the edge of thissea, near the Time of Trouble.And I saw a beast.— "This character is veryforcibly delineated even in the names applied toit by the inspired writers. Paul calls it ‘ThatWicked One,' ‘The Man of Sin,' ‘The Mystery ofIniquity,' ‘The Antichrist,' and ‘The Son ofPerdition;' the Prophet Daniel calls it ‘TheAbomination that maketh desolate' (Dan. 11:31;12:11); and our Lord refers to the same characteras ‘The Abomination of Desolation, spoken ofby Daniel the Prophet' (Matt. 24:15). This samecharacter was also prefigured by a little horn, orpower, out of a terrible beast that Daniel saw inhis prophetic vision, which had eyes, and amouth that spoke great things, and whichprospered and made war with the saints, andprevailed against them. (Dan. 7:8, 21.) John alsosaw and warned the Church against thischaracter, saying, ‘Ye have heard that Antichristshall come.' He then advises how to escapeAntichrist's influence. (1 John 2:18-27.) Thesevarious appellations and brief descriptionsindicate a base, subtle, hypocritical, deceptive,tyrannical and cruel character, developed in themidst of the Christian Church; claiming, to thelast, peculiar sanctity and authority and powerfrom God." (B271.)"We need not look long to find a character fittingall the requirements perfectly. But when we statethat the one and only system whose history fitsthese prophecies is Papacy, let no onemisunderstand us to mean that every RomanCatholic is a man of sin. Popes, bishops andothers are at most only parts or members of the