Part 2 of presentation on the Book of Revelation 12 by Arminda Perch

1. The Bible & The French Revolution

2. 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

3. “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)

4. 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

5. “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}

6. 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.”

7. “…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)

8. 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”

9. “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}

10. “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}

11. “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)

12. 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.”

13. 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.”

14. “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}

15. 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.”

16. 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.”

17. “…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}

18. 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.”

19. 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.”

20. 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)

21. 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.”

22. 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.“

23. “…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}

24. 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

25. 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.”

26. 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.”

27. 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.

28. Rome divided into 10 nations
1. 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)

29. 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.”

30. 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}

31. Mark 13
Vs. 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.

32. “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}

33. 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.

34. “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}

35. “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}

36. Next Week We Will Talk
About France’s Reign of
Terror