Chapter 15:
The Bible and the French Revolution
The Storming of the Bastille by Jean-Pierre Houel
The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good. Psalm 14:1
Introduction
A prophetic period is proclaimed wherein God’s true witnesses, His Word would come under attack. The Bible speaks of a beast rising up out of the earth to do just that. The culmination of that attack came in the form of revolutionary France. They suppressed God's word and persecuted His children until, devoid of truth, terror gripped the once royal country. The kings and priests of France were despised and denounced and a new form of rebellion emerged that deeply impacted the people of the world for all time.
What are the elements of this chapter?
The Word of God Suppressed
The Bible was obscured and censured by the papacy for 1260 years (42 months). The 1260 years of papal supremacy lasted from 538-1798 AD.
God Warns His People Not To:
Change God's Revelations (Revelation 22:18-19)
Regard the law lightly
Exalt ones own opinion above divine revelation
Use God’s revelation to suit ones own convenience or to conform to the world’s standard.
Concept: GOD'S WORD
The Two Witnesses = The Old and New Testament. (Zechariah 4:2-6; Psalm 119:105; Revelation 11: 3-11)
Olive Trees/Candlesticks = Word of the Lord/Witnesses
Oil = The Holy Spirit
Clothed in sackcloth = Mourning or Suppression
Concept: THE BEAST FROM THE BOTTOMLESS PIT
Symbolic of an earthly Satanic kingdom.
Beast = Nation/Kingdom
Bottomless Pit = The Earth
Event: THE FRENCH REVOLUTION AND REIGN OF TERROR
(1789 - 1799)
A rebellion against church and state collusion erupts in France which is defined by massacres and public executions by guillotine.
The monarchy and religion were overthrown.
The National Assembly denied Bible truth and God's existence pronouncing "There is no God" and denouncing Christ as an imposter.
The revolution’s battle cry was, “Crush the Wretch!”
The Witnesses Attacked
Made war, overcome and killed the two witnesses =
Worship of God was abolished.
Bibles outlawed and burned.
Law of God Trampled.
Biblical institutions abolished.
Marriage, Baptism, and Communion prohibited.
The bodies of the witnesses “lie in the street of the great city” = God’s word troddened down. (Revelation 11:8)
Question: How was France spiritually Sodom and Egypt?
Egypt = Atheism
Pharaoh declared unto Moses:
“Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not the Lord, neither will I let Israel go.”
(Exodus 5:2)
Sodom = Licentiousness
But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the Lord exceedingly. (Genesis 13:13) And the Lord said, because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous. (Genesis 18:20) (Jeremiah 23:14)(Jude 1:7)(Revelation 11:8)
Church marriage was forbidden and civil unions were recognized.
Homosexuality was legalized
Concept: IDOLATRY
An actress from the opera was paraded before National Assembly where they declared her to be the “Goddess of reason.” She was brought to Notre Dame cathedral as a replacement for God.
… Where Also Our Lord Was Crucified
Revelation 11:8
How was Christ crucified in France?
Event: ST. BARTHOLOMEW'S
DAY MASSACRE (1572)
Thousands of protestant Huguenots are murdered in Paris France and surrounding countryside.
It was supported and celebrated by Pope Gregory XIII who struck a medallion to commemorate the event.
Christ is crucified in the person of His people. His faithful witness.
Concept: PROBATION
France is left to reap they’re chosen course during the Reformation. God's restraining Spirit removed and evil is permitted to mature. (John 3:19)
There is a war on God and His word. The French Revolution was the result of Rome suppressing the Bible.
Concept: HUMAN RIGHTS
Humanism is put into place where God’s law was supposed to reside.
Rome's Influence caused the French Revolution by ensuring that the people were kept in ignorance, superstition, and in slavery.
It caused the people to be more sinful when they rejected Catholicism leaving the people in a state of infidelity.
Unfortunately the people of France hated the Bible also as they associated it with Catholicism which caused them to reject their only source of truth.
Event: ARREST OF THE POPE (1798)
Pope Pius VI is captured by French general Louis-Alexandre Berthier. The pope was taken back to France and imprisoned where he soon after died.
Napoleon declared the papacy at an end.
Event: THE TWO WITNESSES COME BACK TO LIFE
The 1793 abolition of the Bible is repealed three and a half years later in France. (Revelation 11:11; Isaiah 40:8; Psalm 111:7-8)
In 1804, the British and Foreign Bible Society is founded followed in 1816, by the American Bible Society. The Bible was now abled to be translated and distributed into hundreds of languages throughout the world.
What does this have to do with me today?
What are the results of throwing out God's law?
Do you see God's image defaced in His church?
Do you see the results of throwing out God's law in your church?
What type of persecution do you see in your church?