their discipline and
accepting the government of their man-made institutions. Subscribing to
the rules of faith and practise that originated with the sect shows how
its members worship the image. They are also said to worship the first
beast, the original of the image. How is this fulfilled? In the same
manner that the worshipers of the first beast worshiped the dragon that
preceded it; namely, by accepting and believing false principles of
faith that originated in the system immediately preceding. Protestant
sects have transferred many of the false doctrines of Romanism to their
own creeds, hence they worship the first beast just as truly as the
Papists worshiped the dragon by accepting heathenish principles. The
greatest principle of false doctrine that originated with Catholicism,
and one that has been transferred to _every Protestant sect_, is, that a
human organization is necessary to complete the church of Christ on
earth. The church of Rome has an earthly head and a human government;
and Protestants, also, firmly believe the unscriptural doctrine that
they must bow to an organization of men and thus be under a visible
headship: they receive the mark of the beast. Many sects have also
copied other Popish doctrines, such as infant baptism, the destruction
of all outside of the pales of the church (?), infantile damnation,
sprinkling, and other things too numerous to mention. Thus, they worship
the first beast as well as his image.

They also receive the "name of the beast." Here again "beast" refers to
the Papacy. The Papal beast was represented as being full of the names
of blasphemy, which blasphemy was shown to signify the usurpation of
prerogatives and rights belonging to God alone. The greatest
ecclesiastical usurpation reached by the Romish hierarchy was that of
claiming to be the head of the church and the right to prescribe and
enforce their doctrines, naming their organization the _Holy Catholic
Church_. In making their sect organizations in imitation, Protestants,
as above stated, have transferred the same principle and make the same
blasphemous claim of a right to make disciplines to govern God's people,
and then name their sect machinery a _church_ of God. The name may be
Methodist, Baptist, Mennonite, Episcopalian, or what not, it is only a
_beast name_, yet a name that you must accept if you desire to become
one of them.

They not only receive the name of the beast, but also receive the
"number of h