THE GREAT CONTROVERSY SERMON SERIES
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Today we will take a look once again at one of the most important events in the great controversy between Christ and Satan. Why is the French Revolution important in the great controversy, what lessons can we take from it? It is a good question because the story of the French Revolution is not a pleasant topic to entertain us.
God treats us both as individuals and nations. He wants us personally to obey His law. In short, He wants from us the fruit of righteousness. But this concept extends to nations as well. If a nation, as a group, formally rejects the Bible as God’s word, what will happen? What will God do to that nation? And why should we consider this experience in the great controversy?
We consider this experience because from the very beginning of the great controversy Satan has been casting a shadow on God’s character, His purposes and His law. Satan said to Eve, completely contrary to God’s word, “You will not surely die. 5 "For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil" (Genesis 3:4-5). In Satan’s words we find that he implies that God is withholding something good from us. Satan says, “If I were God, you would be at a better level. My government would be better.” In the French Revolution the world saw what will happen if the divine principles are set aside. We must put this lesson in front of people because in many countries, even supposedly Christian countries especially like the United States and the countries of Europe, they are making laws contrary to God’s law. What will be the result? There is a war against the Bible in many countries. If you can’t take the Bible there, if you can’t distribute it, what will be the result?
In history in the French Revolution such an event reached the peak of the question. The Bible offers this event to us as an example.
Revelation 11:2-7 "But leave out the court which is outside the temple, and do not measure it, for it has been given to the Gentiles. And they will tread the holy city underfoot for forty-two months. 3 "And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy one thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth." 4 These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands standing before the God of the earth. 5 And if anyone wants to harm them, fire proceeds from their mouth and devours their enemies. And if anyone wants to harm them, he must be killed in this manner. 6 These have power to shut heaven, so that no rain falls in the days of their prophecy; and they have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to strike the earth with all plagues, as often as they desire. 7 When they finish their testimony, the beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit will make war against them, overcome them, and kill them.
Last time David showed us that the holy city is not physical Jerusalem but spiritual Jerusalem, that is, God’s people, the church. The 42 months and the 1260 days are the same period: The 1260 years when in Europe the papacy suppressed the truth and persecuted Protestants from 538 to 1798. The two witnesses are the Old and New Testaments. In the papal period the Catholic Church proscribed as much as possible the Bible’s being translated into known languages, its being read, preached and owned. In that period, people like the Waldenses secretly copied the Bible and distributed it. Wycliffe, Luther and millions of Protestants risked their lives by putting forth the doctrines of the Bible. Millions of people were executed.
Jesus said this 1260 year period would be shortened. Toward 1798, the beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit makes war against the two witnesses and kills them. This beast is not the papacy because the beast comes out near 1798. To understand who the beast is we will look at what the beast does.
Revelation 11:8 And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.
What is the important aspect of Egypt in this context? You remember that pharaoh said to Moses, "Who is the LORD, that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I do not know the LORD, nor will I let Israel go" (Exodus 5:2). The city mentioned in Revelation 11:8 would adopt a similar attitude toward God. Atheism denies the existence of God.
The city is compared to Sodom. Sodom’s outstanding quality was licentiousness.
Which country displayed these qualities in the prophecy? Without doubt atheism and licentiousness were dominant in the French Revolution. The beast is the dominant power which denied God and gave free reign to licentiousness in the French Revolution and Reign of Terror.
During the Revolution, in 1793, "the world for the first time heard an assembly of men, born and educated in civilization, and assuming the right to govern one of the finest of the European nations, uplift their united voice to deny the most solemn truth which man's soul receives, and renounce unanimously the belief and worship of a Deity."--Sir Walter Scott, Life of Napoleon, vol. 1, ch. 17.
"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."--Blackwood's Magazine, November, 1870.
During the French Revolution, licentiousness reached a new level. Holy marriage which was instituted by God to last life long and which cannot be broken without adultery was changed into a civil contract which can be annulled whenever wanted. In our day in the west many countries are following atheistic France. Men are marrying men and women with women. Marriage is not as God designed it. It is just a common contract. In this context licentiousness abounded in the French Revolution.
Revelation 11:8 And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.
“Their”, that is, the bodies of the two witnesses would be crucified there. Where was Jesus crucified? Not in France but in Jerusalem. But we must remember that we are evaluating the city spiritually.
Jesus lives in the believers by means of the Holy Spirit. Jesus so identifies with His followers that He said,
Matthew 25:40 "And the King will answer and say to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.'
In France many Protestants were slain. In the mountains the Waldenses were killed. The Albigenses were executed with tortures. The Huguenots were killed while seeking their rights of conscience. In the 18th century, the few remaining Christians were hunted like animals without respect to babies, aged people, men or women. Some passed their lives in galleys of slave ships as punishment. Others, more mercifully dealt with were killed immediately.
The greatest example of this was the Saint Bartholomew Day Massacre. By instigation of the Catholic priests, the French king gave permission to the massacre. In the middle of the night a ringing bell gave signal to the massacre. Thousands of Protestants were dragged from their beds without warning and unmercifully killed. The massacre lasted 7 days in Paris. But the massacre continued not only in Paris, but wherever Protestants were found. In two months 70 thousand Protestants were killed. In the Vatican, when the news arrived, there was a big celebration!
The spirit that was dominant in the Saint Bartholomew Day Massacre was the same in the French Revolution. Jesus Christ was declared an impostor. The unbelieving French gathered together and, implying Christ, shouted, “Crucify the wretch!” In these events Satan’s rule was accepted but Jesus with his characteristics of truth, sinlessness and self-sacrificing love was crucified.
Revelation 11:7 When they finish their testimony, the beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit will make war against them, overcome them, and kill them.
In the National Congress, the worship of God was outlawed. Bibles were gathered and burned with scorn. God’s law was trampled on. The weekly day of rest was put aside and in its place, every 10th day was set aside for reveling and blasphemy. Baptism and the Lord’s Supper was proscribed. Death was declared to be an eternal sleep. The lead bishop and a few priests were brought and before everyone they denied God and declared that the religion they had performed their whole lives was a fake.
Psalm 14:1 The fool has said in his heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt, They have done abominable works, There is none who does good.
In a short time, the people fell into idolatry by worshiping the Goddess of Reason. The historian writes, “"One of the ceremonies of this insane time stands unrivaled for absurdity combined with impiety. The doors of the Convention were thrown open to a band of musicians, preceded by whom, the members of the municipal body entered in solemn procession, singing a hymn in praise of liberty, and escorting, as the object of their future worship, a veiled female, whom they termed the Goddess of Reason. Being brought within the bar, she was unveiled with great form, and placed on the right of the president, when she was generally recognized as a dancing girl of the opera. . . . To this person, as the fittest representative of that reason whom they worshiped, the National Convention of France rendered public homage.
The convention speaker declared, "Mortals, cease to tremble before the powerless thunders of a God whom your fears have created. Henceforth acknowledge no divinity but Reason. I offer you its noblest and purest image; if you must have idols, sacrifice only to such as this. . . . Fall before the August Senate of Freedom, oh! Veil of Reason!"
"The goddess, after being embraced by the president, was mounted on a magnificent car, and conducted, amid an immense crowd, to the cathedral of Notre Dame, to take the place of the Deity. There she was elevated on the high altar, and received the adoration of all present."--Alison, vol. 1, ch. 10.
"This impious and ridiculous mummery had a certain fashion; and the installation of the Goddess of Reason was renewed and imitated throughout the nation, in such places where the inhabitants desired to show themselves equal to all the heights of the Revolution."--Scott, vol. 1, ch. 17.
When the Bible together with God’s law is rejected, the people fall into idolatry and licentiousness. In the French Revolution, God did not directly punish the people who rejected Him and His word by sending an earthquake or lightening from the sky. The Holy Spirit who was rejected was in a large measure withdrawn and the people were left to themselves. This is the punishment. Evil itself destroys itself. Evil is its own punishment.
Psalm 111:10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; A good understanding have all those who do His commandments. His praise endures forever.
What do we see in this prophecy? There are a number of issues.
Next time we will look at the reasons behind this situation because the same things are being repeated in many nations. This world is getting ready for its doom. Jesus is coming! Get ready!
God treats us both as individuals and nations. He wants us personally to obey His law. In short, He wants from us the fruit of righteousness. But this concept extends to nations as well. If a nation, as a group, formally rejects the Bible as God’s word, what will happen? What will God do to that nation? And why should we consider this experience in the great controversy?
We consider this experience because from the very beginning of the great controversy Satan has been casting a shadow on God’s character, His purposes and His law. Satan said to Eve, completely contrary to God’s word, “You will not surely die. 5 "For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil" (Genesis 3:4-5). In Satan’s words we find that he implies that God is withholding something good from us. Satan says, “If I were God, you would be at a better level. My government would be better.” In the French Revolution the world saw what will happen if the divine principles are set aside. We must put this lesson in front of people because in many countries, even supposedly Christian countries especially like the United States and the countries of Europe, they are making laws contrary to God’s law. What will be the result? There is a war against the Bible in many countries. If you can’t take the Bible there, if you can’t distribute it, what will be the result?
In history in the French Revolution such an event reached the peak of the question. The Bible offers this event to us as an example.
Revelation 11:2-7 "But leave out the court which is outside the temple, and do not measure it, for it has been given to the Gentiles. And they will tread the holy city underfoot for forty-two months. 3 "And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy one thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth." 4 These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands standing before the God of the earth. 5 And if anyone wants to harm them, fire proceeds from their mouth and devours their enemies. And if anyone wants to harm them, he must be killed in this manner. 6 These have power to shut heaven, so that no rain falls in the days of their prophecy; and they have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to strike the earth with all plagues, as often as they desire. 7 When they finish their testimony, the beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit will make war against them, overcome them, and kill them.
Last time David showed us that the holy city is not physical Jerusalem but spiritual Jerusalem, that is, God’s people, the church. The 42 months and the 1260 days are the same period: The 1260 years when in Europe the papacy suppressed the truth and persecuted Protestants from 538 to 1798. The two witnesses are the Old and New Testaments. In the papal period the Catholic Church proscribed as much as possible the Bible’s being translated into known languages, its being read, preached and owned. In that period, people like the Waldenses secretly copied the Bible and distributed it. Wycliffe, Luther and millions of Protestants risked their lives by putting forth the doctrines of the Bible. Millions of people were executed.
Jesus said this 1260 year period would be shortened. Toward 1798, the beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit makes war against the two witnesses and kills them. This beast is not the papacy because the beast comes out near 1798. To understand who the beast is we will look at what the beast does.
Revelation 11:8 And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.
What is the important aspect of Egypt in this context? You remember that pharaoh said to Moses, "Who is the LORD, that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I do not know the LORD, nor will I let Israel go" (Exodus 5:2). The city mentioned in Revelation 11:8 would adopt a similar attitude toward God. Atheism denies the existence of God.
The city is compared to Sodom. Sodom’s outstanding quality was licentiousness.
Which country displayed these qualities in the prophecy? Without doubt atheism and licentiousness were dominant in the French Revolution. The beast is the dominant power which denied God and gave free reign to licentiousness in the French Revolution and Reign of Terror.
During the Revolution, in 1793, "the world for the first time heard an assembly of men, born and educated in civilization, and assuming the right to govern one of the finest of the European nations, uplift their united voice to deny the most solemn truth which man's soul receives, and renounce unanimously the belief and worship of a Deity."--Sir Walter Scott, Life of Napoleon, vol. 1, ch. 17.
"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."--Blackwood's Magazine, November, 1870.
During the French Revolution, licentiousness reached a new level. Holy marriage which was instituted by God to last life long and which cannot be broken without adultery was changed into a civil contract which can be annulled whenever wanted. In our day in the west many countries are following atheistic France. Men are marrying men and women with women. Marriage is not as God designed it. It is just a common contract. In this context licentiousness abounded in the French Revolution.
Revelation 11:8 And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.
“Their”, that is, the bodies of the two witnesses would be crucified there. Where was Jesus crucified? Not in France but in Jerusalem. But we must remember that we are evaluating the city spiritually.
Jesus lives in the believers by means of the Holy Spirit. Jesus so identifies with His followers that He said,
Matthew 25:40 "And the King will answer and say to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.'
In France many Protestants were slain. In the mountains the Waldenses were killed. The Albigenses were executed with tortures. The Huguenots were killed while seeking their rights of conscience. In the 18th century, the few remaining Christians were hunted like animals without respect to babies, aged people, men or women. Some passed their lives in galleys of slave ships as punishment. Others, more mercifully dealt with were killed immediately.
The greatest example of this was the Saint Bartholomew Day Massacre. By instigation of the Catholic priests, the French king gave permission to the massacre. In the middle of the night a ringing bell gave signal to the massacre. Thousands of Protestants were dragged from their beds without warning and unmercifully killed. The massacre lasted 7 days in Paris. But the massacre continued not only in Paris, but wherever Protestants were found. In two months 70 thousand Protestants were killed. In the Vatican, when the news arrived, there was a big celebration!
The spirit that was dominant in the Saint Bartholomew Day Massacre was the same in the French Revolution. Jesus Christ was declared an impostor. The unbelieving French gathered together and, implying Christ, shouted, “Crucify the wretch!” In these events Satan’s rule was accepted but Jesus with his characteristics of truth, sinlessness and self-sacrificing love was crucified.
Revelation 11:7 When they finish their testimony, the beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit will make war against them, overcome them, and kill them.
In the National Congress, the worship of God was outlawed. Bibles were gathered and burned with scorn. God’s law was trampled on. The weekly day of rest was put aside and in its place, every 10th day was set aside for reveling and blasphemy. Baptism and the Lord’s Supper was proscribed. Death was declared to be an eternal sleep. The lead bishop and a few priests were brought and before everyone they denied God and declared that the religion they had performed their whole lives was a fake.
Psalm 14:1 The fool has said in his heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt, They have done abominable works, There is none who does good.
In a short time, the people fell into idolatry by worshiping the Goddess of Reason. The historian writes, “"One of the ceremonies of this insane time stands unrivaled for absurdity combined with impiety. The doors of the Convention were thrown open to a band of musicians, preceded by whom, the members of the municipal body entered in solemn procession, singing a hymn in praise of liberty, and escorting, as the object of their future worship, a veiled female, whom they termed the Goddess of Reason. Being brought within the bar, she was unveiled with great form, and placed on the right of the president, when she was generally recognized as a dancing girl of the opera. . . . To this person, as the fittest representative of that reason whom they worshiped, the National Convention of France rendered public homage.
The convention speaker declared, "Mortals, cease to tremble before the powerless thunders of a God whom your fears have created. Henceforth acknowledge no divinity but Reason. I offer you its noblest and purest image; if you must have idols, sacrifice only to such as this. . . . Fall before the August Senate of Freedom, oh! Veil of Reason!"
"The goddess, after being embraced by the president, was mounted on a magnificent car, and conducted, amid an immense crowd, to the cathedral of Notre Dame, to take the place of the Deity. There she was elevated on the high altar, and received the adoration of all present."--Alison, vol. 1, ch. 10.
"This impious and ridiculous mummery had a certain fashion; and the installation of the Goddess of Reason was renewed and imitated throughout the nation, in such places where the inhabitants desired to show themselves equal to all the heights of the Revolution."--Scott, vol. 1, ch. 17.
When the Bible together with God’s law is rejected, the people fall into idolatry and licentiousness. In the French Revolution, God did not directly punish the people who rejected Him and His word by sending an earthquake or lightening from the sky. The Holy Spirit who was rejected was in a large measure withdrawn and the people were left to themselves. This is the punishment. Evil itself destroys itself. Evil is its own punishment.
Psalm 111:10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; A good understanding have all those who do His commandments. His praise endures forever.
What do we see in this prophecy? There are a number of issues.
- 1. The Bible predicted the rise of atheism and rationalism in the French Revolution. Again, prophecy showed the Bible as an unchanged source of truth revealed by God. Prophecy which predicts history is God’s signature because no other book gives such a prediction like the Bible has done time and time again. The Bible consisting of the Old and New Testaments is God’s revelation.
- 2. Behind the French Revolution Satan was playing a role. Satan made war on the Bible which reveals his purposes.
- 3. To reject God’s word, His law and worship of Him does not bring man to a higher level. Just the opposite, it degrades him. Atheism and rationalism opened the way to idolatry and licentiousness in the French Revolution and as we will see next time, to violence in the Reign of Terror.
- 4. God did not punish the people in a miraculously unusual way. He punished them by removing His Spirit and leaving people to their own sins. The Lord does this for individuals and nations.
Next time we will look at the reasons behind this situation because the same things are being repeated in many nations. This world is getting ready for its doom. Jesus is coming! Get ready!