The beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit, is that on which, in a subsequent vision, the woman is seated, 17:7, 8. John saw this beast arise out of the sea, (13:1); and the subsequent exposition given of it, will show that it symbolized the civil power of the [pg 127] Roman empire in its divided form.—See p. [169]. As the ten kingdoms constitute the beast, what is done by any of these kingdoms, is done by the beast. France was one of the more prominent of these kingdoms, and at one period, under Napoleon, controlled the greater portion of the whole.
To war against the witnesses, is to oppose, resist, and endeavor to crush them; and to overcome them, is to be successful in such efforts.
To kill, when used symbolically and applied to Christians, is to cause them to apostatize—producing spiritual death, 9:5. When applied to the Scriptures, it can only denote their prohibition.
The great city, as shown in connection with Rev. 16:19, p. 290, is the Roman hierarchy:—symbolized by Babylon, and “spiritually called Sodom and Egypt.” By being thus “spiritually called Sodom,” some understand that it is a “spiritual Sodom,” &c., which would be a contradiction of terms; others understand that it is called figuratively by those names, and deduce from it an argument for spiritualizing the Scriptures; but the use of the word “spiritually,” it is believed, will not sanction any such meaning. It occurs only in two other passages:—in Rom. 8:7, to be “spiritually minded,” is to have a mind in accordance with the will of the Spirit; and in 1 Cor. 2:14, things “spiritually discerned,” [pg 128] signifies that they are discerned by the aid of the Spirit. The great city, then, is called by the Spirit, “Sodom and Egypt;” and is so called because of her licentiousness and idolatries, and her subjecting the saints to bondage. To crucify the Lord afresh, is to apostatize from his teachings, Heb. 6:6.
In 1793, twelve hundred and sixty years from the date of the Papal supremacy, the Bible was abolished in France, by the solemn decree of the government, which declared that the nation acknowledged no God. A copy of the Bible could not be found in a single bookstore in Paris. Inquiry also was made for it in Rome, in all the book establishments of that city, and the invariable reply was, that it was prohibited. All the churches of Paris were shut, and the church plate was declared the property of the nation. Professors of religion, at the same time, in large numbers openly apostatized and embraced infidelity. Says Dr. Croley:—
“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 instead of divine service in the ancient cathedral of Notre Dame, which had been desecrated, and been named, ‘the Temple of Reason;’ a pyramid was erected in the centre of the church, surmounted by a temple, inscribed, ‘To Philosophy.’ [pg 129] The torch of ‘Truth’ was on the altar of ‘Reason,’ spreading light, &c. The National Convention, and all the authorities, attended at this burlesque and insulting ceremony. In February, 1794, a grand fête was ordered by the convention, in which hymns to Liberty were chanted, and a pageant in honor of the abolition of slavery in the colonies, was displayed in the ‘Temple of Reason.’ In June another festival was ordered—to the Supreme Being: the God of Philosophy. But the most superb exhibition was the ‘general festival,’ in honor of the republic. It was distinguished by a more audacious spirit of scoffing and profanation than the former. Robespierre acted the ‘high-priest of Reason’ on the day, and made himself conspicuous in blasphemy. He was then at the summit of power,—actual sovereign of France.”
The dead bodies of the witnesses, would be their existence in that prohibited condition, when, in France, neither the Scriptures, nor the church showed any symptoms of life. In the street, would be the conspicuous and public manner in which indignities should be heaped on them. France had been one of the principal states yielding homage to the Roman church. Surrounding nations beheld, but would not permit the extermination of the Bible and Christianity.
The French made merry over their blasphemous work. Says Dr. Croley:—
“A very remarkable and prophetic distinction of this period, was the spirit of frenzied festivity which seized upon France. The capital, and all the republican towns, were the scene of civic feasts, processions, and shows of the most extravagant kind. The most festive times of peace under the most expensive kings were thrown into the shade by the frequency, variety, and extent of the republican exhibitions. Yet this was a time of perpetual miseries throughout France. The guillotine was bloody from morn till night. In the single month of July, 1794, nearly eight hundred persons, the majority, principal individuals of the state, and all possessing some respectability of situation, were guillotined in Paris alone. In the midst of this horror, there were twenty-six theatres open, filled with the most profane and profligate displays in honor of the ‘triumph of reason.’ ”
In Lyons a Bible was tied to the tail of an ass and dragged in a procession through the streets of that city. Thus they rejoiced over the supposed end of religion in France; and congratulated themselves that the terrors of God's word, and the church would no more torment them.