15. The Bible And The French Revolution. 275
of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them.” 385
The periods here mentioned—“ forty and two months,” and“ a thousand two hundred and threescore days”— are the same, alike representing the time in which the church of Christ was to suffer oppression from Rome. The 1260 years of papal supremacy began in A. D. 538, and would therefore terminate in 1798. 386 At that time a French army entered Rome, and made the pope a prisoner, and he died in exile. Though a new pope was soon afterward elected, the papal hierarchy has never since been able to wield the power which it before possessed.
The persecution of the church did not continue throughout the entire period of the 1260 years. God in mercy to His people cut short the time of their fiery trial. In foretelling the“ great [ 267 ] tribulation” to befall the church, the Saviour said,“ Except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect ' s sake those days shall be shortened.” 387 Through the influence of the Reformation, the persecution was brought to an end prior to 1798.
Concerning the two witnesses, the prophet declares further,“ These are the two olive-trees, and the two candle-sticks standing before the God of the earth.”“ Thy word,” said the psalmist,“ is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” 388 The two witnesses represent the Scriptures of the Old and the New Testament. Both are important testimonies to the origin and perpetuity of the law of God. Both are witnesses also to the plan of salvation. The types, sacrifices, and prophecies of the Old Testament point forward to a Saviour to come. The Gospels and Epistles of the New Testament tell of a Saviour who has come in the exact manner foretold by type and prophecy.
385 Rev. 11:2-11. 386 See Appendix. 387 Matt. 24:22. 388 Rev. 11:4; Ps. 119:105.