“The beast THAT WAS, and is not; and is about to come …”
Another one of the leading causes that brought life to the beast “THAT WAS”:
10) Disregard for the laws of the land.
“When the government’s monopoly of power is effectively challenged by groups who no longer recognize its legitimate authority, no longer grant it loyalty, and no longer obey its commands (its laws), a revolutionary spirit evolves.”
The fires for revolution (change) and the disregard for the laws of the land are likewise prevalent today; in fact it is this refusal to recognize legitimate authority structures (governments, laws, law enforcement and etc.) that is contributing rapidly to the disintegration of the social order.
“The role of the people and violence: This contrast between theory and practice, between good intentions and acts of savage violence, which was the salient feature of the French Revolution, becomes less startling when we remember that the Revolution, though sponsored by the most civilized classes of the nation, was carried out by its least educated and MOST UNRULY ELEMENTS.”
And so it is written,
“But the day of the Lord (the great day of trouble) will come as a thief (suddenly, unexpectedly), in which the heavens (the ecclesiastical heavens, the powers that be, both the seen and the unseen) will pass away with a great noise (hissing, turmoil, confusion), and the elements (society in general) will melt with fervent heat (dissolve into confusion, trouble and anarchy); both the earth (the present social order) and the works that are in it will be burned up (dissolve, go to destruction). Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat (into violence, anarchy and bloodshed)?” 2 Pet 3:10-12
The foregoing were some of the primary causes which brought rise to the beast “THAT WAS”; however the results or outcome was even more manifold, the revolution instigated,
1) The Great Terror (an initiative designed to purge France of all counter-revolutionaries, which in turn resulted in their slaughter.)
2) The establishment of the revolutionary tribunal designed to try citizens who were suspected of counter-revolutionary activity.
3) The execution of all political prisoners.
4) The institution of A POLICE STATE.
5) The establishment of the Committee of Public Safety (Robespierre [i.e. the government] decided who lived and who died.)
6) The suspension of Constitutional rights.
7) The censorship of the press.
8) The eradication of Christianity.
9) The establishment of a new calendar in which all religious references to religion were stricken.
10) The creation of a new ten day week intended to make French citizens forget about Sunday, the proverbial day of worship and rest.
11) A New Government Religion instituted, The Cult of the Supreme Being, the god of reason and logic.
12) Military Rule.
“One of the most fascinating and haunting aspects of the French Revolution is that no one was spared from its gory violence. There was no effort to shield women and children’s eyes from the heads that lolled at the base of the guillotine. Dainty aristocrats became hardened from years languishing in dank prisons. A man who’d been your political ally and friend on Tuesday could very well turn you in for counter-revolutionary plotting on Wednesday. In Paris, the steady thud of the guillotine’s blade meeting flesh and bone became white noise to city inhabitants.”
The French Revolution was brought to an end by the Napoleonic military coup, the ending of which brought about the restoration of “order” and domestic peace through an authoritarian regime.
Of course the true cause for the end of this revolution was because the time was not yet due.
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Extracts were taken from,
“How the French Revolution Worked” by Alfred Woody
History 151 “The French Revolution: Causes, Outcomes, Conflicting Interpretations”, Schwartz
Continued with next post.
