June 29, 2023 | Silver Spring, Maryland, United States | Ted N.C. Wilson, President, General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists
Ted Wilson (TW): Greetings, friends. In the book The Great Controversy, we have seen how God raised up faithful people to put forward His truth and bring about what became known as the Protestant Reformation. As we continue our journey through this marvelous book, I encourage you, if you haven’t already done so, to download it today at greatcontroversyproject.org
Nancy Wilson (NW): God’s Word was the strong foundation upon which the Reformation was built, and as brave men translated the Bible into the common languages of the people, sometimes at the cost of their lives, word spread quickly, and the eyes of more and more people were opened, and hearts warmed as they accepted the beautiful truth as revealed in Scripture.
TW: As time went on, the Protestant movement spread across Europe and, despite persecution, continued to grow. In some nations, the light of Bible truth shone brightly, and people accepted it with gladness. In other lands, where the light was nearly extinguished, the people were left in darkness. We read in The Great Controversy: “The war against the Bible, carried forward for so many centuries in France, culminated in the scenes of the French Revolution. That terrible outbreaking was but the legitimate result of Rome’s suppression of the Scriptures” (The Great Controversy, p. 265).
NW: Sadly, the Roman Church, which was built on human tradition and earning one’s salvation by works, had been suppressing the Scriptures for more than 1,000 years. By the late 18th century, the results of this suppression were clearly seen in the horrific events of the French Revolution.
TW: The suppression of the Scriptures during the period of papal supremacy was foretold by the prophets, and in Revelation 11:2-11, we read about the terrible results, written in symbolic language:
Said the angel of the Lord: “2 The holy city shall they tread underfoot forty and two months. 3 And I will give power unto My two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth…. 7 And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them. 8 And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified…. 10 And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth. 11 And 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.”
NW: How are we to understand this important Bible passage? And why is it important to understand it? First of all, God gave us Bible prophecy to assure us that He knows the future and that we can trust His Word. We can be assured that what He says will happen, does happen. Bible prophecy has been proven true down through the centuries—it not only warns us of things to come, but it gives us hope for the future and assurance that God will be by our side as we face that future. So, how do we understand this prophecy in the Book of Revelation? We study it little by little, recognizing it is written in symbolic language.
TW: An important principle in understanding time prophecies is the year-day principle, where a day of prophetic time is counted as a calendar year of historical time. This is a very important Bible principle, and while we don’t have time to fully go into that study, I encourage you to visit the URL shown at the bottom of the screen [Insert: bit.ly/timeprophecy] to learn more.
The time periods mentioned in Revelation 11:2-11, “forty and two months,” and “a thousand two hundred and threescore days,”—are the same. They both represent the time God’s faithful people would suffer oppression from Rome. The 1260 years of papal supremacy began in A.D. 538 and would end, according to prophecy, in 1798.
NW: And that is exactly what happened. In 1798 the French army entered Rome and captured Pope Pius VI. He was taken to France, where he died in captivity in August 1799. Though a new pope was elected, this event struck a deadly wound to the papacy, which would later, according to prophecy, be healed.
TW: The “two witnesses” mentioned in Revelation 11:3 and described further in verse 4 as “two olive trees” and “two candlesticks” represent the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament. Both uphold the law of God, and both are witnesses to the plan of salvation. They are described in verse 3 as being clothed in “sackcloth” during the 1260 years of papal supremacy when the Church attempted to suppress their witness. Thousands of people who followed Bible truth were hunted, betrayed, tortured, and martyred for their faith. Nevertheless, even during the darkest times, God had people who continued to be faithful in sharing His Word.
NW: The book of Revelation gives solemn warnings to those who try to change or trample upon God’s Word. In chapter 11, verse 5, we read that fire proceeds out of the mouth of God’s two witnesses—that is, the Old and New Testament—and in chapter 22, verses 18 and 19, we read that anyone who tries to add or take away what is written will receive the plagues and will be taken out of the Book of Life.
Ellen White writes, “These solemn denunciations apply to all who by their influence lead men to regard lightly the law of God.” She continues, “All who exalt their own opinions above divine revelation, all who would change the plain meaning of Scripture to suit their own convenience, or for the sake of conforming to the world, are taking upon themselves a fearful responsibility” (The Great Controversy, p. 268).
TW: Down through history, the Holy Scriptures have been attacked in various ways–including being locked up, burned, misinterpreted, suppressed, or ignored. Nevertheless, when God’s Word is despised, the consequences are horrific. As we continue our journey through The Great Controversy, we will see how the prophecy of Revelation 11 was exactly fulfilled in a very striking and alarming way. I invite you to join us again for our next video.
Let’s pray together just now.
Father in heaven, we come to You asking that You will help us to fully understand Bible prophecy and realize that You foretold exactly what would happen, and that you have a plan in mind for the ultimate triumph of Bible truth and Your precious three angels’ messages. We thank you for all that You have done through those who, down through the ages, have stood firmly for the Bible. Help us now to do the same today. In Jesus’ name we ask it. Amen.