THE GREAT CONTROVERSY SERMON SERIES
|
|
| 22__the_bible_and_the_french_revolution_part_3.pdf |
In the French Revolution, Satan’s war against the Bible reached a new level. Religion was banned, the Bible was burned and the people denied God with one voice. What was the reason of the French Revolution? How was it that in a Catholic country suddenly religion was completely rejected? Actually, atheism was completing the work that the papacy had started.
Yes, the reason for the French Revolution can be traced to the church. The papacy worked to withhold the Bible from the people and persecuted the Protestants. Wherever the Bible is held in high esteem there is a spirit of freedom. Wherever the gospel is accepted people reject ignorance, superstition and moral corruption. The people begin to think and act for themselves. Then the despotic kings who crush people under their feet fear because ignorance, superstition and immorality are tools they use to maintain their power.
The Catholic Church enticed kings against the Protestants both from a political and religious aspect. As an example, in 1525 the pope said to the king of France, "This mania [Protestantism] will not only confound and destroy religion, but all principalities, nobility, laws, orders, and ranks besides."-- G. de Felice, History of the Protestants of France, b. 1, ch. 2, par. 8. By putting forth such propaganda the papacy prepared France against the Reformation.
But if the principles of the Bible are accepted, far from destroying kingdoms, they will support just kingdoms.
Proverbs 14:34 Righteousness exalts a nation, But sin is a reproach to any people.
Proverbs 16:12 It is an abomination for kings to commit wickedness, For a throne is established by righteousness.
Isaiah 32:17 The work of righteousness will be peace, And the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever.
Those who love God will honor the king and leaders in all their just and legal authority.
For centuries the Bible was prohibited, God’s people either fled the country, were thrown into prison or were executed. Intellectual, hard-working, honest and capable people were rarely found. Under the rule of the papacy the lessons of Jesus Christ’s self-sacrifice and love were lost sight of. The rich oppressed the poor and the poor hated the rich. There was no condemnation of the rich’s oppression of the poor.
In many regions property was in the hands of the nobles. Farmers, villagers were only tenants. The desires of the property-holders were supreme. The rights of the farmers were restricted. All the laws and judges were on the side of the nobles. The entire burden of support for the state and the church fell to the middle and lower classes. The nobles were exempt from taxes. Courts would always hold a noble’s word above a farmer’s word. Whether it was the church or state, half of the money collected didn’t make it into the treasury as it was supposed to but was used for the personal benefit of judges and church workers.
As expected, King Louis was living a luxurious life. Palace officials saw that the state’s economy was falling and warned the king of the disaster to come but the king did not care.
The Roman Church supported this system. The papacy knew that if the people were in a slave-type situation the state would remain weak. While the state was weak the church could hold kings and rulers in their own power. To keep the people from freedom the church withheld the Bible and exemplified to the people bigotry and selfishness. While the people were steeped in ignorance, superstition and immorality, they were not capable of governing themselves. The church supported its dominance in this manner.
Years later, the second president of the United States John Adams would say these words: Democracy is suitable only for a religious and moral people. It is not suitable for another group. The need of others is despots and cruel dictators.
Actually we saw this struggle for power between religion and state in Daniel chapter 2.
Daniel 2:41 "Whereas you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter's clay and partly of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; yet the strength of the iron shall be in it, just as you saw the iron mixed with ceramic clay. 42 "And as the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly fragile.
After the fall of the Roman Empire in divided Europe, the iron which represents the power of the state does not mix well with the church which is represented by the clay. They remain separate. The European states and the Catholic Church, as it was in France, were always in a power struggle with one-another.
The results were not what the papacy expected. The policies of the church, instead of keeping the people in blind obedience to her doctrines made them infidels and revolutionists. The people saw the papacy as part of the oppressive regime. Their only religion was the Catholic Church. The people viewed the church’s greed and brutality as the fruit of the Bible. The church had misrepresented God’s character and thwarted His purposes. Now the people rejected God and His word together. The people wanted to take revenge on those who oppressed them. When the people rebelled, they used the merciless violence and persecuting techniques they learned from the papacy. In the same place that the church had erected the stake when the Reform began, the Revolution set up the first guillotine. In the place where the Protestants were first burned in the 16th century, the first victims in the revolution were executed with the guillotine in the 18th century.
If God’s law is set to one side, human laws cannot hold human passions. The king was executed. The ones who executed him were executed a short time later. All those suspected of being against the revolution were killed. One faction warred against another faction. The cities of France were filled with scenes of horror. Wars with other countries added to the misery. The country was nearly bankrupt, the soldiers could not get their pay and people went hungry.
The followers of Christ had long ago either fled the country or were executed. The merciless violence employed by the papacy against the Protestants was now employed against the church priests. Many priests were killed by the guillotine and the stake. The streets of France were painted with blood. Those who had put the Huguenots in jail were now jailed. The time period known as the Reign of Terror lasted approximately 11 months. Three hundred thousand people were arrested, 17,000 were formally executed and 10,000 more died in prison. But in ten years, many more people perished.
This is Satan’s work. He knows his fate very well and with a hopeless frenzy he works to create sorrow in heaven. His only revenge is this. He tries to erase God’s image from people and wipe all benevolence and love from the earth. The reason for all this misery he charges upon God and blinded minds accept this. When oppressed people obtain freedom Satan urges them to excess behaviors and atrocity. Then cruel despots point to these results and maintain that this is the result of freedom.
For hundreds of years Satan used the papacy to get people to trample God’s law. But when the people saw the fallacy of the papacy Satan urged them to regard the Bible as a fable and religion as a trick. The people abandoned God’s law and gave themselves up to debauchery.
But true freedom is found in God’s law. This is the truth.
Isaiah 48:22 "There is no peace," says the LORD, "for the wicked."
Proverbs 1:33 But whoever listens to me will dwell safely, And will be secure, without fear of evil."
Satan used the papacy so that people would disobey God’s law. But Satan’s work was hidden. People could not trace effect to cause. They could not see that disobedience caused misery and degradation. The Holy Spirit was still working against this evil. So the results of disobedience were not clearly seen.
But in the in the national convention of the French Revolution God’s law was openly prohibited. In the Reign of Terror everyone could read the results of setting aside God’s principles. In the French Revolution the concepts that Satan put forth were more clearly seen. From the beginning Satan wanted to set up a kingdom completely free of the restraint of God’s law. But the transgression of a righteous and just law will sooner or later lead to misery and ruin. What was the result? War, horror, atrocity and immorality. In the controversy between God and Satan, these principles were put in front of all so that they can choose between God’s and Satan’s principles.
As in the papacy, in your religion is sin covered up_ Do human rules give license for you to commit adultery? Are lies, theft and lustful looks forgiven with a religious ceremony without true repentance? Without forsaking selfishness and hatred of others is it taught that you can be accepted by God? In your religion can you easily see the results of breaking God’s law? Or does it remain under a garb of religiosity? In the French Revolution everyone can see important issues in the great controversy.
Revelation 11:3 "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. 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. 9 Then those from the peoples, tribes, tongues, and nations will see their dead bodies three-and-a-half days, and not allow their dead bodies to be put into graves. 10 And those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them, make merry, and send gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth. 11 Now after the three-and-a-half days the breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them. 12 And they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, "Come up here." And they ascended to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies saw them.
After 3 and a half days the two prophets, that is the two witnesses that shed light, the Old and New Testaments of the Bible raised from the dead. In 1793 in the national congress the Bible and the Christian religion were prohibited. In symbolic prophecy what does a day stand for? That is right, it stands for one year. From 1793, three and a half years later the same national congress revoked the prohibition. Why. People saw that the foundation of virtue and nobility is God and His word.
Revelation 11:12 And they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, "Come up here." And they ascended to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies saw them.
After France made war on the Bible, the Bible has been honored and published like never before. In 1804 the British and Foreign Bible society was formed. Organizations like this were formed in both Europe and the United States. Up until now, the whole Bible has been translated into 670 languages and the New Testament into 1523 languages and at least part of the Bible into 1121 other languages.
Isaiah 40:8 The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever."
Not just the papacy, but other religions withhold the Old and New Testaments from the people. These also are making war against the Bible. They shout, “The Bible has been changed. Don’t touch it, don’t look at it, don’t read it. There is no truth in it.” In the end, like in the French Revolution, people will find something to worship, something to bow down in front of and be idolaters. Sexual immorality and superstition abound. Various religions while showing a cursory respect for the Bible they actually are belittling the Bible by saying it has been changed. With words that put down the Old and New Testaments, the people fall into selfishness. The rich add riches to their wealth and oppress the poor. To keep the poor in a manageable situation the rich bring forth laws in their favor and they give bribes to judges. By oppressing those who don’t accept their religion they learn violence and violence increases in their homes. Thus various religions create evil situations in all areas of social, political and spiritual realms. Intelligent people tracing cause and effect relationships understand that it is religion that creates these things and becoming disgusted with religion they turn their backs on it. They choose atheism.
Dear listener, perhaps you have observed people who are supposedly religious but are in truth immoral and you turned your back on God. Perhaps you said, “If religion is like that, I don’t want it. I am more righteous than these so-called religious people. The only benefit of religion is to hold people prisoner. Nothing else.”
But in the French Revolution we saw both sides. Satan, using a false religion withheld the Bible from the people. As a result, immorality, superstition, poverty and evil multiplied. Satan, convincing people that these results came from religion, pushed them to the other extreme and it resulted in rejecting religion altogether.
Friends, the Bible predicted the future and showed all these things. Yes, religion was used to swindle the people. But who used it? It was not just people. Behind it, Satan was waring against the Bible. Don’t be deceived. Although there are false religions, in the Old and New Testaments we see the true religion. Don’t be given over to hopelessness and atheism!