******* Continuing our prophecy study-- Please
GO back and READ the study from the beginning to gain full understanding of
where we are if you haven't been following this study daily. Thank you
:) We are on lesson number 84. God bless you! ******
Rev
10:1 And I saw another mighty angel come
down from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow was upon his head, and
his face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire:
Rev
10:2 And he had in his hand a little
book open...
Here
John's vision of the angel with the sixth trumpet is interrupted.
He
sees another angel. Why the interruption? The last angel sounded the sixth
trumpet and set about telling of the second woe. Could it be perhaps because
even while the woe is occurring other things are happening as well?
Think about it. Right now there are men and
women overseas fighting in wars, some of us know some of those over there, or
we know of others who have loved ones over there. What do you think their lives
consist of? Anything but the normalcy which we know, in which we live. They
exist in another whole world, a world of war where they have guns in their
hands, slung across their backs, in a holster at their hips, in a strap about
their leg, in a back pack they wear on their backs. They have weapons of war in
their possession and they wield them with the intention of shooting another
human being should they be attacked by them. They are fighting to uphold
principles of freedom that the others don't seem to have. The war is on going
and has been for several years now. Think about it, really think about what is
going on right now in a place that we are not. We are sitting at our computers
reading/writing this in the comforts of our own home, in our own town, in our
own city, in our own state, in our own country and we aren't wielding weapons
of warfare. Two different worlds and it's the same in all time, really. While
wars are being waged there is also another existence for those who send their
loved ones off to war while remaining home. Rarely is there war every where in
fact most likely never. When a war is started it's for a purpose, whether or
not that purpose is achieved it is started for a reason. Perhaps to conquer,
but there is no guarantee to being the conqueror, you could be the one
conquered in the battle.
Anyway,
the point that I'm trying to make here is that while wars go on they don't go
on simultaneously everywhere so there is an existence that doesn't have the war
going on and I believe that when this angel comes down from heaven after the
angel with the sixth trumpet sounds and tells of the second woe, it's not
necessarily a continuation of time because that would mean the seventh angel
should sound. It isn't the seventh angel with the seventh trumpet but rather a
completely different angel and we'd do well to pay attention what messages are
given to us by this angelic interlude.
This
mighty angel comes down from heaven and is clothed with a cloud and a rainbow
rests upon his head, what an image this evokes. His face is as the sun, his
feet as pillars of fire.
If
ever an angel was grand in appearance this angel all but demands notice.
We are
concerned with symbols and the symbolic references here are what? Clothed with
a cloud and rainbow on his head. A reminder of God's past dealings with humans,
mmm? The rainbow was given as a symbol that God would never flood the entire
earth again in a way that would kill almost all living things, it was a sign, a
covenant with God and His people. His face as the sun- brilliantly bright,
illuminated with the most powerful luminary in the skies. Feet as pillars of
fire, a pillar of fire led God's people at night when Moses was guiding them
through God out of captivity into the land of freedom. Clearly this angel is
bringing a powerful message from God, enlightenment, powerful- powerful
enlightenment.
Rev 10:2 ... and he set his right foot upon the sea,
and his left foot on the earth
Symbolically
in prophecy the sea can represent a place of many people, just as the earth can
represent a place without so many people. It's possible the angel's stance is
such that this messenger is going to give the message to all.
Rev 10:3 And cried with a loud voice, as when a lion
roareth: and when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices.
Rev 10:4 And when the seven thunders had uttered their
voices, I was about to write: and I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me,
Seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered, and write them not.
What a
mighty cry! Yet just what his cry -was- isn't mentioned. His cry precedes the voices of seven thunders to
sound. Seven Angels, Seven Seals, Seven Trumpets, Seven Thunders- and yet
whatever messages the Seven Thunders have to give to us we can't know, it
wasn't for us to know or read, or hear, or keep. A voice came from heaven to
John and told him to seal up the things the seven thunders uttered and write
them not. That the angel who was amazing and glorious in appearance cried out
and caused seven thunders to sound a message we weren't to know- tells us what?
There are mysteries not meant for us,
mysteries we cannot know. What we are being given isn't all there is but
it's all we need and we have to trust that God has given us His words in such a
way that we aren't completely overwhelmed.
Rev
10:5 And the angel which I saw stand
upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven,
Rev
10:6 And sware by him that liveth for
ever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the
earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are
therein, that there should be time no longer
Our
Father who are in heaven
Hallowed
be thy name
They
kingdom come
Thy
will be done
on
EARTH as it is in HEAVEN
Give
us this day our daily bread
And
forgive us our tresspasses as we forgive those who tresspass against us
Lead
us not into temptation but deliver us from evil
For
thine is the kingdom, the power, the glory forever.
Remember
the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
Six
days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work
But
the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God
in it
thou shalt not do any work
thou,
nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant,
nor
thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates
For in
six days the LORD made HEAVEN and EARTH,
the
sea, and all that in them is,
and
rested the seventh day
wherefore
the LORD blessed the sabbath day,
and
hallowed it.
Him
that liveth forever and ever! The creator of HEAVEN, of EARTH, of the SEA.
For in
six days the Lord made HEAVEN and EARTH, and the SEA.
The
angel swore by the one and the only Creator God, the maker of HEAVEN, of EARTH,
of the SEA.
Rev 10:7 But in the days of the voice of the seventh
angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as
he hath declared to his servants the prophets.
The
seventh angel has yet to sound and yet we are being told ahead of time that
when the seventh angel does sound that the mystery of God would be finished.
The
mystery of God
...
Colossians
{2:1}
For I would that ye knew what great conflict I have for you, and [for] them at
Laodicea, and [for] as many as have not seen my face in the flesh;
{2:2}
That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all
riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the
MYSTERY OF GOD, and of the Father, and of Christ;
{2:3}
In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
{2:4}
And this I say, lest any man should beguile you with enticing words.
{2:5}
For though I be absent in the flesh, yet am I with you in the spirit, joying
and beholding your order, and the stedfastness of your faith in Christ.
...
In
whom are hid ALL the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
Romans
{16:25}
Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the
preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which
was kept secret since the world began
{16:26}
But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to
the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the
obedience of faith
{16:27}
To God only wise, [be] glory through Jesus Christ for ever. Amen.
Praise
God!
1
Corinthians
{2:7}
But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, [even] the hidden [wisdom,] which
God ordained before the world unto our glory
{2:8}
Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known [it,] they
would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
{2:9}
But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered
into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love
him.
{2:10}
But God hath revealed [them] unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth
all things, yea, the deep things of God.
{2:11}
For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in
him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.
{2:12}
Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of
God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.
{2:13}
Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but
which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
{2:14}
But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are
foolishness unto him: neither can he know [them,] because they are spiritually
discerned.
{2:15}
But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no
man.
{2:16}
For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have
the mind of Christ.
***
Praise
the Lord!
Ephesian
{3:9}
And to make all [men] see what [is] the fellowship of the mystery, which from
the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by
Jesus Christ
{3:10}
To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly [places]
might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God
{3:11}
According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord
{3:12}
In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him.
{3:13}
Wherefore I desire that ye faint not at my tribulations for you, which is your
glory.
{3:14}
For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ
{3:15}
Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named
{3:16}
That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be
strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man
{3:17}
That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and
grounded in love
{3:18}
May be able to comprehend with all saints what [is] the breadth, and length,
and depth, and height;
{3:19}
And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be
filled with all the fulness of God.
All
Glory to God!
***
The
mystery of God finished. Realized. Known. Complete. Amen.
Rev 10:8 And the voice which I heard from heaven spake
unto me again, and said, Go and take the little book which is open in the hand
of the angel which standeth upon the sea and upon the earth.
The
voice from heaven which told John not to write what the seven thunders uttered,
spoke again. He told Him to take the little book which is opened in the hand of
the angel standing upon the sea and earth. John is taking something from an
angel, very interesting.
Rev 10:9 And I went unto the angel, and said unto him,
Give me the little book. And he said unto me, Take it, and eat it up; and it
shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey.
Rev 10:10 And I took the little book out of the angel's
hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I
had eaten it, my belly was bitter.
Rev 10:11 And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again
before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings.
Wow.
The little book is open. Was there ever a little book closed?
Daniel
{12:9}
And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words [are] closed up and sealed till
the time of the end.
Now a
little book is opened.
John
is to take this little open book and eat it. Eat it? Who eats books? Seriously?
If I devour a book I'm reading it with enthusiasm. We've discussed this before
recently, the book of Daniel- a book of prophecy was to be sealed to the time
of the end. Now here in Revelation John is being given prophecy and in this
particular prophecy he is shown an amazing angel who has this little open book
and he's instructed to eat it. After eating it his belly would be bitter even
though the book tasted sweet.
In the
1800's there was a religious revival that was unprecedented, as the book of
Daniel and Revelation were studied and enlightenment seemed to descend upon
people. History fit together with the prophecies and this particular prophecy
in Daniel talked of 2300 days. The end of that 2300 day would be in 1844. So
people began to believe that Christ would return then. They believed it so
thoroughly their lives revolved around the predicted second coming of Christ-
it was sweet, so sweet to have such understanding! Then when Christ didn't come
as they believed the bitterness was vile in their bellies. There was more to be
done. This was the beginning of the end so to speak. There had to be more
prophesying, a lot more, and where were John's thoughts directed?
Rev 11:1 And there was given me a reed like unto a
rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the
altar, and them that worship therein.
Rev 11:2 But the court which is without the temple
leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy
city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.
The
temple of God! The wonder of the Sanctuary and its services. If after 2300 the
Sanctuary was to be cleansed and that didn't mean Christ's returning it surely
meant something momentous. A study of the Sanctuary services revealed the
typified day of Atonement, the day the Sanctuary was cleansed. The High Priest
had to enter the Most Holy Place, a place so sacred it was only entered once a
year on this day. So in heaven it's safe to believe that Christ entered in the
Most Holy Place, the most sacred of places to finish the cleansing. Once that
cleansing is complete then Christ will return again- we live in that cleansing
time.
Rev 11:3 And I will give power unto my two witnesses,
and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in
sackcloth.
Again
I'm going to defer to the Book of Daniel and Revelation for a more intellectual
explanation of things.
(Daniel
and Revelation by Uriah Smith) --
By
this message, our attention has been called to the temple above, and through it
the light and truth on this subject has come out. Thus we measure the temple
and the altar, or the ministration connected with the temple, the work and the
position of our great High Priest; and we measure the worshipers with that part
of the rod which relates to character, the ten commandments.
"The
court which is without the temple leave out." This must be interpreted to
mean that the attention of the church is now directed to the inner temple and
the service there. Matters pertaining to the court are of less consequence now.
It is given to the Gentiles. That the court refers to this earth is proved
thus: The court is the place where the victims were slain whose blood was to be
ministered in the sanctuary. The antitypical victim must die in the antitypical
court, and He died on Calvary in Judea. The Gentiles being thus introduced, the
attention of the prophet is directed to the great feature of Gentile apostasy,
the treading down of the holy city forty and two months during that time. Thus
we are carried back into the past by an easy and natural transition, and our
attention is called to a new series of events.
Verse 3 And I will give power unto My two
witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days,
clothed in sackcloth.
The
period of "a thousand two hundred and three score days" is variously
referred to in the Scriptures. It appears in three forms:
As
1260 days in this verse and Revelation 12: 6.
As 42
months in Revelation 11: 2 and 13: 5.
As 3
1/2 times in Daniel 7: 25 and 12: 7, and Revelation 12: 14.
These
all refer to the same period and can be easily be calculated. A time is a year,
as is evident from Daniel 11: 13, marginal reading. A year has twelve months,
and a Biblical month contains thirty days. Thus we have the following:
1 year
of 12 months at 30 days - - - - 360 days
3 1/2
years, or times, of 360 days - - - - 1260 days
42
months of 30 days - - - - - - - - 1260 days
A year
made up of 12 months will be readily conceded, but that the month has 30 days
needs perhaps to be demonstrated. This can readily be seen by referring to the
record of the flood in Genesis 7 and 8. There we learn the following:
1.
That the flood came on the seventeenth day of the second month. (Genesis 7:
11.)
2.
That the waters subsided on the seventeenth day of the seventh month. (Genesis
8: 4.)
3.
That the flood continued for five months--from the second to the seventh month.
Reference
to Genesis 7: 24 reveals the fact that "the waters prevailed upon the
earth a hundred and fifty days." Our calculation showed five months. This
text mentions 150 days; hence we have five months equaling 150 days, or 30 days
to a month.
Thus
we have a definite measure for calculating the prophetic periods, bearing in
mind that in prophecy a day is equal to a year of ordinary time.
The Two Witnesses.--During
this time of 1260 years the witnesses are in a state of sackcloth, or
obscurity, and God gives them power to endure and maintain their testimony
through that dark and dismal period. But who or what are these witnesses?
Rev 11:4 These are the two olive trees, and the two
candlesticks standing before the God of the earth.
Evident
allusion is here made to Zechariah 4: 11-14, where it is implied that the two
olive trees are taken to represent the word of God.
Zec
4:11 Then answered I, and said unto him,
What are these two olive trees upon the right side of the candlestick and upon
the left side thereof?
Zec
4:12 And I answered again, and said unto
him, What be these two olive branches which through the two golden pipes empty
the golden oil out of themselves?
Zec
4:13 And he answered me and said,
Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my lord.
Zec
4:14 Then said he, These are the two
anointed ones, that stand by the Lord of the whole earth.
David
testifies, "The entrance of Thy words giveth light;" and, "Thy
word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path." Psalm 119: 130,
105.
Written
testimony is stronger than oral. Jesus declared of the Old Testament
Scriptures, "They are they which testify of Me." John 5: 39.
Says
George Croly: "The 'Two Witnesses' are the Old and New Testaments. . . .
The essential purpose of the Scriptures is to give witness to the mercy and
verity of God. Our Lord commands, 'Search the Scriptures, . . . they are they
which testify [bear witness] of Me.' This was addressed to the Jews, and
described the character and office of the Old Testament. The New Testament is
similarly pronounced the giver of testimony. 'This gospel of the kingdom shall
be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations.' (Matthew 24:
14.)" [1]
These
declarations and considerations are sufficient to sustain the conclusion that
the Old and New Testaments are Christ's two witnesses.
*******
IT
MAKES SENSE! So many are now looking for
two men to come to earth and make their stand on behalf of God we saw it in
movies, we've read it in books -Left Behind and others. People are allowing
themselves to be deceived so they will be waiting for things that will NEVER
happen and as long as they are waiting for those things they are not fully
prepared for the coming of our Lord and Savior! Deception comes in so many
forms, I pray to God we are NOT deceived! That we are prepared for our Lord's
return!
*******
Rev 11:5 And if any man will hurt them, fire
proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will
hurt them, he must in this manner be killed
To
hurt the word of God is to oppose, corrupt, or pervert its testimony, and turn
people away from it. Against those who do this work, fire proceedeth out of
their mouth to devour them, that is, judgment of fire is pronounced in that
word against such. It declares that they will have their punishment in the lake
that burns with fire and brimstone. (Malachi 4: 1; Revelation 20: 15; 22: 18,
19.)
Mal
4:1 For, behold, the day cometh, that
shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall
be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of
hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.
Rev
20:15 And whosoever was not found
written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
Rev 22:18 For I testify unto every man that heareth the
words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God
shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:
Rev 22:19 And if any man shall take away from the words
of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of
life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this
book.
Rev 11:6 These have power to shut heaven, that it rain
not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to
blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will.
In
what sense have these witnesses power to shut heaven, turn waters to blood, and
bring plagues on the earth? Elijah shut heaven so that it did not rain for
three years and a half, but he did by the word of the Lord. Moses by the word
of the Lord turned the waters of Egypt to blood. Just as these judgments,
recorded in their testimony, have been fulfilled, so will every threatening and
judgment pronounced by them against any people surely be accomplished.
"As
often as they will" means that as often as judgments are recorded on their
pages to take place, so often they will come to pass. An instance of this the
world is yet to experience in the infliction of the seven last plagues.
Rev 11:7 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.
Rev 11:8 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.
"When
they shall have finished their testimony," that is, "in
sackcloth." the sackcloth state ended, or as elsewhere expressed the days
of persecution were shortened (Matthew 24: 22), before the period itself
expired. "A 'beast' in prophecy, denotes a kingdom, or power. (See Daniel
7: 17, 23.) The question now arises, When did the sackcloth state of the
witnesses close?
And
did such a kingdom as described make war on them at the time spoken of?
If we
are correct in fixing upon A.D. 583 as the time of the commencement of the
sackcloth state, forty-two months being the 1260 prophetic days, or years,
would bring us down to A.D. 1798.
About
this time, then, did such a kingdom as described appear, and make war on them,
etc.? Mark! this beast, or kingdom, is out of the bottomless pit--no
foundation--an atheistical power--'spiritually Egypt.' (See Exodus 5: 2:
'Pharaoh said, 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.') Here is atheism. Did any kingdom, about
1798 manifest the same spirit?--Yes, France; she denied the being of God in her
national capacity, and made war on the 'Monarchy of heaven.' " [2]
"In
the year 1793, . . . the gospel was, by a solemn act of the Legislature and the
people abolished in France. The indignities offered to the actual copies of the
Bible were unimportant after this; their life in their doctrines, and the
extinction of the doctrines is the extinction of the Bible. By the decree of
the French Government, declaring that the nation acknowledged no God, the Old
and New Testaments were slain throughout the limits of Republican France. But
contumelies to the Sacred Books could not have been wanting, in the general
plunder of every place of worship. In Lyons they were dragged at the tail of an
ass in a procession through the streets. . . .
"On
the 1st of November, 1793, Gobet, with the Republican priests of Paris, had
thrown off the gown, and abjured Religion. On the 11th, a 'Grand Festival,'
dedicated to 'Reason and Truth,' was celebrated in the Cathedral of Notre Dame,
which had been desecrated, and been named 'the Temple of Reason;' a pyramid was
erected in the center of the Church, surmounted by a temple, inscribed 'To
philosophy.' The torch of 'Truth' was on the altar of 'Reason' spreading light,
etc. The National Convention and all the authorities attended at this burlesque
and insulting ceremony." [3]
*1793
marked a year that could have been prevented, a period that should never have
befallen the liberated citizens of France. Mirabeau warned that the destruction
of the Monarchy would plunge the country into anarchy and his words rang true.
France was not prepared for such social and political upheaval, and the
resulting shift towards a republic would change the country forever. The
Jacobins
discarded
their holy bible, the constitution, in order to ensure the security and
stability of the country. Not only did their hasty actions backfire, but the
tens of thousands of lives that perished during their reign symbolized the
radical stage of the revolution in all its bloody glory.
*
*
Spiritual
Sodom.--" 'Spiritually' this power 'is called Sodom.' What was the
characteristic sin of Sodom? Licentiousness. Did France have this character? She did; fornication
was established by law during the period spoken of. 'Spiritually' the place was
'where our Lord was crucified.' Was this true in France? It was, in more senses
than one. First, in 1572 a plot was
laid in France to destroy all the pious Huguenots; and in one night, fifty
thousand of them were murdered in cold blood, and the streets of Paris
literally ran with blood. Thus our Lord was 'spiritually crucified' in
His members. Again, the watch-word and motto of the French Infidels was, 'CRUSH
THE WRETCH,' meaning Christ. Thus it may be truly said, 'where our Lord was
crucified.' The very spirit of the bottomless pit' was poured out in that
wicked nation.
"But
did France 'make war' on the Bible? She did; and 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, and all institutions of
the Bible abolished; the Sabbath was blotted out, and every tenth day
substituted for mirth and profanity. Baptism and the communion were abolished.
The being of God was denied; and death pronounced to be an eternal sleep. The
Goddess of Reason was set up, in the person of a vile woman, and publicly
worshiped. Surely here is a power that exactly answers the prophecy." [4]
This point will be further developed in the comments on the next verse.
*
THE
COUNCIL OF TARRAGONA - 1234 A.D. The Council of Tarragona of 1234, in its
second canon,
ruled
that: "No one may possess the books of the Old and New Testaments in the
Romance language, and if anyone possesses them he must turn them over to the
local bishop within eight days after promulgation of this decree, so that they
may be burned...." - D. Lortsch, Historie de la Bible en France, 1910,
p.14.
*
Rev 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.
"The
language of this verse denotes the feelings of other nations than the one
committing the outrage on the witnesses. They would see what war infidel France
had made on the Bible, but would not be led nationally to engage in the wicked
work, nor suffer the murdered witnesses to be buried, or put out of sight among
themselves, though they lay dead three days and a half, that is, three years
and a half, in France. No; this very attempt of France served to arouse
Christians everywhere to put forth a new exertion in behalf of the Bible, as we
shall presently see." [5]
Rev 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.
"This
denotes the joy those felt who hated the Bible, or were tormented by it. Great
was the joy of infidels everywhere for awhile. But 'the triumphing of the
wicked is short;' so was it in France, for their war on the Bible and
Christianity had well-nigh swallowed them all up. They set out to destroy
Christ's 'two witnesses,' but they filled France with blood and horror, so that
they were horror-struck at the result of their wicked deeds, and were glad to
remove their impious hands from the Bible." [6]
Rev 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.
Witnesses
Restored.--"In 1793, the decree passed the French Assembly suppressing the
Bible. Just three years after, a resolution was introduced into the Assembly
going to supersede 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." [7]
"On
the 17th of June, Camille Jourdan, in the 'Council of Five Hundred,' brought up
the memorable report on the 'Revision of the laws relative to religious
worship.' It consisted of a number of propositions, abolishing alike the
Republican restrictions on Popish worship, and the Popish restrictions on
Protestant.
"1.
That all citizens might buy or hire edifices for the free exercise of religious
worship.
"2.
That all congregations might assemble by the sound of bells.
"3.
That no test or promise of any sort unrequired from other citizens should be
required of the ministers of those congregations.
"4.
That any individual attempting to impede, or in any way interrupt the public
worship should be fined, up to 500 livres, and not less than 50; and that if
the interruption proceeded form the constituted authorities, such authorities
should be fined double the sum.
"5.
That entrance to assemblies for the purpose of religious worship should be free
for all citizens.
"6.
That all other laws concerning religious worship should be repealed.
"Those
regulations, in comprehending the whole state of worship of France, were, in
fact, a peculiar boon to Protestantism. Popery was already in sight of full
restoration. But Protestantism, crushed under the burthen of the laws of Louis
XIV, and unsupported by the popular belief, required the direct support of the
state to 'stand on its feet.' The Report of the Church; the old prohibitions to
hold public worship, to possess places of worship, to have ingress, etc.
"From
that period the Church has been free in France. . . .
"The
Church and the Bible had been slain in France from November, 1793 till June,
1797. The three years and a half were expended, and the Bible, so long and so
sternly repressed before, was placed in honor, and was openly the book of free
Protestantism!" [8]
Rev 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.
"
'Ascended up to heaven.'--To understand this expressions, see Daniel 4: 22:
'Thy greatness is grown, and reacheth unto heaven.' Here we see that the
expression signifies great exaltation. Have the Scriptures attained to such a
state of exaltation as here indicated, since France made war upon them?--They
have.
Shortly after, the British Bible Society was
organized [1804]; then followed the American Bible Society [1816]; and these,
with their almost innumerable auxiliaries, are scattering the Bible
everywhere." [9] Before 1804 the Bible had been printed and circulated in
fifty languages.
"Up
to the end of December, 1942, the Bible in whole or in part has been translated
into 1,058 languages and dialects."
No
other book approaches the Bible in inexpensiveness and the number of copies
circulated. The American bible Society reported having printed and circulated,
in whole, or in part, 7,696,739 portions in 1940; 8,096,069, in 1941; and
6,254,642, in 1942. The British and Foreign Bible Society reported for the year
ending in the middle of 1941 a circulation of 11,017,334 copies; and in 1942,
7,120,000 copies.
A
conservative estimate places the number of Bibles printed annually by
commercial houses at six million. Hence the annual output of Bibles and
portions has reached the enormous total of from twenty-five to thirty million
copies a year.
From
its organization up to and including 1942, the American Bible Society had
issued 321,951,266 copies; and the British and Foreign Bible Society up to
March, 1942, had issued 539,664,024 copies, making a total of 861,600,000
copies put out by these two societies alone. The American Bible Society said in
May, 1940: "It is that nine tenths of the 2,000,000,000 people in the
world might now, if they turned to the Bible, hear it read in a language they
understand." The Bible is exalted as above all price, as, next to His Son,
the most invaluable blessing of God to man, and as the glorious testimony
concerning that son. Yes; the Scriptures may truly be said to be exalted
"to heaven in a cloud," a cloud being an emblem of heavenly elevation.
*
Bible [1] Traditional Christian view:
Revelation or Inspiration by God[2] to various authors Hebrew, Koine Greek,
Aramaic 70 BC- 105 AD, Further
information: dating of the Bible 2.5 billion[3]
to more than 6
billion[4]
*******
Rev 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.
Rev 11:14 The second woe is past; and, behold, the
third woe cometh quickly.
"What
city? (See Revelation 17: 18: 'The woman which thou sawest is that great city
which reigneth over the kings [kingdoms] of the earth.') That city is the papal
Roman power. France is one of the ' ten horns' that gave 'their power and
strength unto the [papal] beast;' or is one of the ten kingdoms that arose out
of the Western Empire of Rome, as indicated by the ten toes of Nebuchadnezzar's
image, Daniel's ten-horned beast [Daniel 7: 24], and John's ten-horned dragon.
[Revelation 12: 3.] France, then, was 'a tenth part of the city,' and was one
of the strongest ministers of papal vengeance; but in this revolution it 'fell,' and with it fell
the last civil messenger of papal fury. 'And in the earthquake were
slain of men [margin, names of men] seven thousand.' France made war, in here
revolution of 1798 [1789] and onward, on all titles and nobility. . . . 'And
the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven.' Their
God-dishonoring and Heaven-defying work filled France with such scenes of
blood, carnage, and horror, as made even the infidels themselves to tremble,
and stand aghast; and the 'remnant' that escaped the horrors of that hour 'gave
glory to God--not willingly, but the God of heaven caused this 'wrath of man to
praise Him,' by giving all the world to see that those who make war on heaven
make graves for themselves; thus glory redounded to God by the very means that
wicked men employed to tarnish that glory." [10]
*******
SO MUCH TO
STUDY! SO MUCH TO LEARN! SO MUCH TO UNDERSTAND AND ALL BY THE GRACE OF
GOD!
In His love! We need
to study this more and tomorrow we're going to go over it again, I need to.
All in His love, in
HIS righteousness now and forever!
Amen!
