To them that dwell on the earth.—Independent Christians.
That they should ALSO make an Image to the beast.—“From the year 1800 to 1846 was a time in which great numbers of new sects arose, whereas before that, they were few and prominent. This gave rise to uneasiness among the older denominations who wondered whereunto this thing would lead. As the Bible came to be read more and more by the masses, occasional individuals would feel free to preach what they thought it taught, regardless of denominational creeds and the views of the older sects. As a consequence, Protestants were fast splitting up into fragments. They began to say, By what means shall we check and stop this disposition to individual thought and opinion relative to the teachings of Scripture? They wanted to stop the very thing God desired; viz., that each individual [pg 207] should be free and independent of restraint, with his faith based, not on the views of others, not on the decisions of Councils or Presbyters, nor in the decision of the Pope, nor in things approved of the head of the English church, but in the Word of God. The question came: How can we restrain these preachers? This was a quandary to all except the Roman and Episcopal churches, since these both claimed the ‘Apostolic Succession,’ and that this, by ordination, conferred upon their ministers special power and authority to preach and to administer the ‘Sacraments’; hence that no others had a right to do so, but were clerical pretenders. Other denominations could not claim this continuation of apostolic power through their preachers, but simply set them apart by prayer, consequently those of one denomination could not object that the preachers of other denominations, as well as all laymen, were not as truly authorized of God to expound the Scriptures as their own clergy.
“But the example of the Church of England showed what a prestige she had by reason of the voice of authority with which she commanded a reverence for her clergy and her teachings. This teaching by example was not lost. The various denominations felt a necessity for some common Standard of Doctrine which would be supported and upheld by all of them, and thus give prestige to their teachings, and bring the combined influence of all against any further advance in knowledge or the development of any different phase of truth. Thus they would protect themselves by being able to say: The combined opinion of all Protestants is against you; therefore you are heretics, and therefore we will shun you, and not call you Brethren, but use all our influence against you. This was done by the formation of the ‘Evangelical Alliance.’ It was stated to be one of the objects of the Alliance (and we believe the principal one) to ‘Promote between the different Evangelical denominations, an effective co-operation in the efforts to repel common enemies and dangers.’
Evangelical Alliance—Church Federation The Image of The Beast
“Do not understand us as opposing the Christians represented in that Alliance; we are opposed merely to their attempt to muzzle truth, and to prevent the opening up of any other truths buried by Papacy than those which they had received. It is far from our purpose to say that they intentionally combined against the unfolding of truth, nor would we say this of Papists. But we do say, that by their action they were following Papacy's tactics, and that in that Alliance they did make the Image of the Beast. It has tended to make a separation clear and distinct between the Clergy and the Laity.
“How much the Image resembles the Papal Beast may be judged from the fact that Papacy acknowledged the Image—owned it as a creditable likeness—by the Pope sending ‘Greetings’ to the last meeting of the Evangelical Alliance. Strange to say, the delegates to the Alliance had so far lost sight of the principles and doctrines which led to the protests against the Papal church (that it was the Harlot church—Antichrist—Man of Sin—mentioned in the Scriptures) that they actually felt flattered by the Pontiff's notice, instead of becoming alarmed and examining how and why he who is ‘The Chief Antichrist’ should feel pleased to greet them as fellows. A prominent Presbyterian minister present at the above named meeting mentioned the ‘Pope's Greeting’ with evident pleasure and satisfaction to the writer.
“A prominent characteristic of the Beast copied by the Image is the honoring of a special class, the Clergy, with special honors and titles. They are known as Revs., Divines, etc., but Jesus the Divine said: ‘Ye call Me Lord and Master, and ye say well, for so I am.’ ‘Be not ye called Rabbi, neither be ye called Master, for one is your Master, even Christ, and all ye are brethren.’ (Matt. 23:8.) These titles are assumptions fashioned after those of Papacy. When the various denominations began their existence, more full of the spirit of Christ, they claimed no such high-sounding titles. The Reformers were not known as Rev., D. D., etc., but as John Knox, Martin Luther, etc. Unpretentious, like Jesus and the Apostles, they were intent upon serving God, and therefore became the servants (ministers) of the Church. But now the Clergy are far from being servants; they are Lords. They have itching ears, loving the approval of men. As pride and worldliness have come in, vital godliness and power have gradually departed. For the very same reason, they are losing all power to expound the Word of God—the gift of teaching—because ‘God abhorreth the proud, but giveth grace (favor) to the humble.’ We find ministers of all denominations ready to confess their ignorance of the Word. They appeal, for their information, back to the early reformers, and thus confess that they have less light than they. That their light should grow dim, and their spiritual life become dwarfed, is the natural result of their joining the Image, and subscribing to creeds made in the fifteenth century, which, like the shoe of China, will not admit of any growth. It is a shoe a little larger than Papacy put upon its followers, but of the same sort.
“Papacy established the clerical hierarchy, who lorded it over God's heritage instead of serving their brethren as [pg 209] Jesus explained—‘One is your Master; all ye are brethren,’ and as Paul said: ‘We are to speak the truth in love and grow up into Him in all things who is the Head, even Christ; from whom the whole Body fitly joined together [not by creeds of men, but by love begotten by the one Spirit of Truth] and compacted by that which every joint supplied [every joint is every member, not the clergy only] maketh increase of the Body unto the edifying of itself in love,’ thus coming ‘to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God.’ (Eph. 4:15, 16.) As Papacy established the priesthood over the church, so Protestantism has established the same, and there is no opportunity for the Body to edify itself, every joint taking part. True, there is a seeming show of liberty at prayer meetings, etc., but it is only upon the surface, for the ordained pastor is to watch zealously lest anything contrary to the teachings of his church should be expressed, and if so, to silence the audacious member at once, for the church creed is the rule, not the Word of God. If this is not sufficient, they must have a sort of church trial and excommunicate him (‘kill him’). The trial, by the way, gives evidence of another likeness to the Beast, namely, the exaltation of the teachings of the organization above the Word of God, for all such are tried according to ‘the authorities’ of their church.”—Z. '80-1-2.
“The Alliance endeavored to establish a standard of orthodoxy. They saw the power of the Papal argument, that it is the Church, and that all others are heretical. In this sense it was a copy, or image, of the Papal institution. It has been merely an Image without life or power for now more than sixty years.” (Z. '13-342.) “And he told the inhabitants of the earth to erect a statue (possibly a symbol of corrupt public opinion) to the Wild Beast who had received the sword-stroke and yet had recovered.”—Weym.