The European Union in Prophecy The EU in Prophecy I | Página 221

The European Union in Prophecy
there the Revolution set up its first guillotine. On the very spot where the first
martyrs to the Protestant faith were burned in the sixteenth century, the first victims
were guillotined in the eighteenth. In repelling the gospel, which would have brought
her healing, France had opened the door to infidelity and ruin. When the restraints
of God's law were cast aside, it was found that the laws of man were inadequate to
hold in check the powerful tides of human passion; and the nation swept on to revolt
and anarchy. The war against the Bible inaugurated an era which stands in the
world's history as the Reign of Terror. Peace and happiness were banished from the
homes and hearts of men. No one was secure. He who triumphed today was suspected,
condemned, tomorrow. Violence and lust held undisputed sway.
King, clergy, and nobles were compelled to submit to the atrocities of an excited
and maddened people. Their thirst for vengeance was only stimulated by the
execution of the king; and those who had decreed his death soon followed him to the
scaffold. A general slaughter of all suspected of hostility to the Revolution was
determined. The prisons were crowded, at one time containing more than two hundred
thousand captives. The cities of the kingdom were filled with scenes of horror. One
party of revolutionists was against another party, and France became a vast field for
contending masses, swayed by the fury of their passions. "In Paris one tumult
succeeded another, and the citizens were divided into a medley of factions, that
seemed intent on nothing but mutual extermination." And to add to the general
misery, the nation became involved in a prolonged and devastating war with the great
powers of Europe. "The country was nearly bankrupt, the armies were clamoring for
arrears of pay, the Parisians were starving, the provinces were laid waste by brigands,
and civilization was almost extinguished in anarchy and license."
All too well the people had learned the lessons of cruelty and torture which Rome
had so diligently taught. A day of retribution at last had come. It was not now the
disciples of Jesus that were thrust into dungeons and dragged to the stake. Long ago
these had perished or been driven into exile. Unsparing Rome now felt the deadly
power of those whom she had trained to delight in deeds of blood. "The example of
persecution which the clergy of France had exhibited for so many ages, was now
retorted upon them with signal vigor. The scaffolds ran red with the blood of the
priests. The galleys and the prisons, once crowded with Huguenots, were now filled
with their persecutors. Chained to the bench and toiling at the oar, the Roman
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