Basic HTML Version
France’s Reign of Terror: Its True Cause
163
power of Satan, was in a great measure removed, and he whose
delight is the wretchedness of men was permitted to work his will.
Those who had chosen rebellion were left to reap its fruits. The land
was filled with crimes. From devastated provinces and ruined cities
a terrible cry was heard of bitter anguish. 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.
God’s faithful witnesses, slain by the blasphemous power that
“ascendeth out of the bottomless pit,” were not long to remain silent.
“After three days and a 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.”
Revelation 11:11
. In 1793 the decrees which set
aside the Bible passed the French Assembly. Three years and a half
later a resolution rescinding these decrees was adopted by the same
body. Men recognized the necessity of faith in God and His Word
as the foundation of virtue and morality.
Concerning the “two witnesses” [the Old and New Testaments]
the prophet declares further: “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.”
Revelation
11:12
. “God’s two witnesses” have been honored as never before. In
1804 the British and Foreign Bible Society was organized, followed
by similar organizations upon the continent of Europe. In 1816
[179]
the American Bible Society was founded. The Bible has since
been translated into many hundreds of languages and dialects.
Preceding 1792, little attention was given to foreign missions.
But toward the close of the eighteenth century a great change took
place. Men became dissatisfied with rationalism and realized the ne-
cessity of divine revelation and experimental religion. From this time
foreign missions attained unprecedented growth.
Improvements in printing have given impetus to circulating the
Bible. The breaking down of ancient prejudice and national exclu-
siveness and the loss of secular power by the pontiff of Rome have
opened the way for the entrance of the Word of God. The Bible has
now been carried to every part of the globe.