The Pope, as he is now, was at the close of the fourth century the only representative of Belshazzar, or Nimrod, on the earth; for the Pagans manifestly ACCEPTED him as such. He was equally, of course, the legitimate successor of the Roman "Dragon of fire." When, therefore, on being dignified with the title of Pontifex, he set himself to propagate the old Babylonian doctrine of baptismal regeneration, that was just a direct and formal fulfilment of the Divine words, that the great Fiery Dragon should "cast out of his mouth a flood of water to carry away the Woman with the flood." He, and those who co-operated with him in this cause, paved the way for the erecting of that tremendous civil and spiritual despotism which began to stand forth full in the face of Europe in AD 606, when, amid the convulsions and confusions of the nations tossed like a tempestuous sea, the Pope of Rome was made Universal Bishop; and when the ten chief kingdoms of Europe recognised him as Christ's Vicar upon earth, the only centre of unity, the only source of stability to their thrones. Then by his own act and deed, and by the consent of the UNIVERSAL PAGANISM of Rome, he was actually the representative of Dagon; and as he bears upon his head at this day the mitre of Dagon, so there is reason to believe he did then. *
* It is from this period only that the well-known 1260 days can begin to be counted; for not before did the Pope appear as Head of the ten-horned beast, and head of the Universal Church. The reader will observe that though the beast above referred to has passed through the sea, it still retains its primitive characteristic. The head of the apostacy at first was Kronos, "The Horned One." The head of the apostacy is Kronos still, for he is the beast "with seven head and ten horns."
Could there, then, be a more exact fulfilment of chapter 13:1 "And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the names of blasphemy...And I saw one of his heads as it had been wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed, and all the world wondered after the beast"?

Chapter VII
Section III
The Beast from the Earth
This beast is presented to our notice (Rev 13:11): "And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a serpent." Though this beast is mentioned after the beast from the sea, it does not follow that he came into existence after the sea-beast.