REVELATION 11 – PART 2

The Bible & The French Revolution

Revelation 11:7, 8 “And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them. And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified

“According to the words of the prophet, then, a little before the year 1798 some power of Satanic origin and character would rise to make war upon the Bible. And in the land where the testimony of God's two witnesses should thus be silenced, there would be manifest the atheism of the Pharaoh, and the licentiousness of Sodom. This prophecy has received a most exact and striking fulfillment in the history of France…” (GC88, p. 269)

Revelation 11:7, 8 “And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them. And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified

“The motto and watch-word of the infidel crew was, "Crush the wretch," meaning Christ. Nor was it an empty cry. All who bore the name of Christ were either banished from France or seized and put to death. It might be also in reference to the murder of the 30,000 Christians, members of Christ's body, on St. Bartholomew's eve, that it is said to be the great city "where our Lord was crucified.” {1841 JoL, APEC 129.5}

Revelation 11:9“And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves.”

“…in 1793 a decree passed the French Assembly, forbidding the Bible, and under that decree, the Bibles were gathered and burned, and every possible mark of contempt heaped upon them, all the institutions of the Bible abolished; the Sabbath was blotted out, and every tenth day substituted for mirth and profanity. Baptism and communion were abolished. The being of God was denied; and death pronounced to be an eternal sleep.” (Storrs, 1943, p. 99)

Revelation 11:10“And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth”

“When France publicly prohibited the Bible, wicked men and spirits of darkness exulted in their attainment of the object so long desired,—a kingdom free from the restraints of the law of God…France was shaken as if by an earthquake. Religion, law, social order, the family, the State, and the Church,—all were smitten down by the impious hand that had been lifted against the law of God.” {GC88 285.5}

“France is the only nation in the world concerning which the authentic record survives, that as a nation she lifted her hand in open rebellion against the Author of the universe. Plenty of blasphemers, plenty of infidels, there have been, and still continue to be, in England, Germany, Spain, and elsewhere; but France stands apart in the world's history as the single State which, by the decree of her legislative assembly, pronounced that there was no God, and of which the entire population of the capital, and a vast majority elsewhere, women as well as men, danced and sang with joy in accepting the announcement.” {GC88 269.4}

“But the French Revolution is a revolution of another kind. It led rapidly to that which we often speak of, but scarcely ever see, namely, anarchy. All that had previously formed a title to respect, became an object of proscription; neither wealth, nor station, nor character, nor law, nor even the revolutionary governments themselves, had any permanent influence with the people.” (Russell,1832, p. 2)

Isaiah 8:20 “To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.”

Micah 4:2b “…He will teach us of His ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.”

Revelation 11:11

“And after three days and an half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them.”

“In 1793, a decree passed the French Assembly suppressing the Bible. Just three years after, a resolution was introduced into the Assembly superseding the decree, and giving toleration to the Scriptures. That resolution lay on the table six months, when it was taken up, and passed without a dissenting vote. Thus, in just three years and a half, the witnesses ‘stood upon their feet, and great fear fell upon them which saw them.’ Nothing but the appalling results of the rejection of the Bible could have induced France to take her hands off these witnesses.” {1897 UrS, DAR 535.6}

Revelation 11:12

“And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them.”

Daniel 4:22“It is thou, O king, that art grown and become strong: for thy greatness is grown, and reacheth unto heaven, and thy dominion to the end of the earth.”

“…Since that period, the Bible has been translated into nearly two hundred different languages that it was never in before; and the improvements in paper-making and printing within the last seventy-five years have given an impetus to the work of scattering Bible which is without a parallel. The Bible has been sent to the destitute, literally by shiploads…The Bible has risen to be respected by almost every one, whether saint or sinner. Within the last century, translations of the Scriptures have increased fivefold, and the circulation of the Scriptures thirtyfold. No other book approaches it in cheapness or number of copies sold. According to the Missionary Review of September, 1896, it has been translated into languages embracing nine tenths of the human race….What other book has the world ever seen which approaches the Bible in this respect?…{1897 UrS, DAR 536.3}

Psalm 138:2 “I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.”

Revelation 11:13“And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven.”

Isaiah 14:16“They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms” (See Also Acts 16:26)

Haggai 2:7“And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the LORD of hosts.”

Mark 13:8"For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows.“

“…France was shaken as if by an earthquake. Religion, law, social order, the family, the State, and the Church,—all were smitten down by the impious hand that had been lifted against the law of God.” {GC88 285.5}

War, and rumors of war,--sword, famine and pestilence, are first to shake the powers of earth, then the voice of God will shake the Sun, Moon and Stars, and this earth also. I saw that the shaking of the powers in Europe is not (as some teach) the shaking of the powers of heaven, but it is the shaking of the angry nations. {RH, August 1, 1849 ¶ 20

Revelation 11:13“And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven.”

Revelation 18:10“Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come.”

Daniel 7:7, 8“After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it [was] diverse from all the beasts that [were] before it; and it had ten horns. I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn [were] eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things.

Rome divided into 10 nations1. Alemani (Germans)2. Anglo-Saxons (English)3. Bergundians (Swiss)4. Lombards (Italians)5. Suevi (Portuguese)6. Francs (French)7. Visigoths (Spanish)8. Heruli (Extinct)9. Vandals (Extinct)10. Ostrogoths (Extinct)

Revelation 11:13“And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven.”

Revelation 11:13“And in the earthquake were slain of men [margin, names of men, or TITLES of men] seven thousand." France made war, in her revolution of 1789-98 and onward, on all titles of nobility.” {1897 UrS, DAR 537.2}

Mark 13Vs. 7 And when ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars, be ye not troubled: for [such things] must needs be; but the end [shall] not [be] yet. Vs. 8 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows. Vs. 9 But take heed to yourselves: for they shall deliver you up to councils; and in the synagogues ye shall be beaten: and ye shall be brought before rulers and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them. Vs. 10 And the gospel must first be published among all nations.

“The great kingdoms that have ruled the world were presented to the prophet Daniel as beasts of prey, rising when the ‘four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea.’ [Daniel 7:2.] …Winds are a symbol of strife. The four winds of heaven striving upon the great sea, represent the terrible scenes of conquest and revolution by which kingdoms have attained to power.” {GC88 439.3}

Revelation 7:1-3 “And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree. And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.

“Satan delights in war, for it excites the worst passions of the soul and then sweeps into eternity its victims steeped in vice and blood. It is his object to incite the nations to war against one another; for he can thus divert the minds of the people from the work of preparation to stand in the day of God.” {CH 460.1}

“Atheists, infidels, and apostates oppose and denounce God's law; but the results of their influence prove that the well-being of man is bound up with his obedience of the divine statutes. Those who will not read the lesson from the book of God, are bidden to read it in the history of nations. {GC88 285.3} When Satan wrought through the Romish Church to lead men away from obedience, his agency was concealed, and his work was so disguised that the degradation and misery which resulted were not seen to be the fruit of transgression. And his power was so far counteracted by the working of the Spirit of God, that his purposes were prevented from reaching their full fruition. The people did not trace the effect to its cause, and discover the source of their miseries. But in the Revolution, the law of God was openly set aside by the national council. And in the reign of terror which followed, the working of cause and effect could be seen by all.” {GC88 285.4}

Next Week We Will Talk About France’s Reign of

Terror