a tenet of their creed, that what their faith ever has
been, such it was from the beginning, _such it is now, and such it
ever will be_."

In a copy of the eleventh edition of "The Faith of Our Fathers," by
Cardinal Gibbons, page 95, I read: "It is a marvelous fact, worthy of
record, that in the whole history of the church, from the nineteenth
century to the first, no solitary example can be adduced to show that
any pope or general council ever revoked a decree of faith or morals
enacted by any preceding pontiff or council. Her record in the past
ought to be a sufficient warrant that she will _tolerate no doctrinal
variations in the future_." So the doctrine of her inherent right to
persecute and slay every one who disagrees with her, which has been
enacted by popes and general councils and carried out in the past, is
still in vogue.

"And I saw the woman drunk with the blood of the saints, and with the
blood of the martyrs of Jesus."

In our study of Revelation 12 and 13 we have observed that Rome in its
twofold form--pagan and papal--is represented by the dragon and the
beast respectively. This has been established so clearly as to
remove well nigh all doubt concerning the identification. It will be
profitable, however, to give brief consideration to certain parallel
prophecies in Daniel; for in addition to covering the same ground and
describing under other symbols the same general facts of history, they
furnish us an infallible starting-stake, thus establishing definitely
the truth of the interpretation concerning the Roman power, and giving
us a solid basis from which we can proceed with logical certainty to
the interpretation of other symbols in the Revelation.

[Sidenote: The image of Nebuchadnezzar's dream]

In the second chapter of Daniel we have the narrative of a dream which
Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, had during the time of the Jewish
captivity in that city. After the king awoke, he was so confused that
notwithstanding the deep impression made by his nocturnal experience,
he could not recall to mind the dream itself. He therefore had
recourse to the Chaldeans and wise men of his realm. They failed to
make known his dream, whereupon he became furious and decreed their
death. At this juncture Daniel came forward and announced that if
given time he would fulfil the king's desire, and shortly afterward he
appeared before the king and addressed him as follows:

"Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a grea