It Is Written

The Revolution Against Tyranny

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

Program transcript

Participants: John Bradshaw

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Series Code: IIW

Program Code: IIW001341


00:02 [Theme Music] It has stood the test
00:08 of time.
00:11 God4s book, the bible still relevant in today4s
00:18 complex world.
00:21 It Is Written, sharing hope around the globe.
00:36 Thanks for joining me today.
00:37 In May of 2012 I had a very interesting experience.
00:42 I was here, in Paris, France, to conduct some Bible lectures
00:46 around the city and it was while I was here
00:48 that the French presidential elections were being held.
00:52 The President of France at the time was Nicolas Sarkozy
00:55 and he was being challenged for the presidency
00:57 by François Hollande.
00:59 A week or two before the elections, Sarcozy
01:02 was trailing Messier Hollande by about 13 points
01:05 in the opinion polls.
01:06 But just before the elections, that gap had narrowed
01:11 to about six percent.
01:13 It was clear this was going to be a close race.
01:16 Now, unlike some parts of the world, progress reports
01:20 on election results are not given throughout Election Day
01:23 here in France.
01:25 That means you don4t get to find out how the election
01:27 is going until you find out how the election has gone.
01:31 But that doesn't4t supports of presidential candidates
01:34 making preparations for big victory celebrations.
01:38 The Election Day was a Sunday and that Sunday morning
01:40 I was here, in the Place de la Bastille and I noticed that
01:44 the supporters of Messier Hollande were making plans
01:46 for a big victory celebration.
01:49 That night, France had elected itself a new president.
01:56 The scenes of jubilation here at the Place de la Bastille
01:59 were incredible.
02:01 The music blared.
02:03 The people cheered and shouted and chanted.
02:06 They waived their flags in the air.
02:09 I came down to witness what was going on and found myself
02:11 jammed into a massive humanity right here about 50
02:15 yards behind me.
02:16 There were tens of thousands of people jammed
02:19 into this place.
02:20 People were clambering all over the monument, something
02:23 you just don4t see everyday.
02:25 But, the fact that people were celebrating an election
02:28 result here, at the Place de la Bastille, is itself
02:33 extremely significant.
02:35 About 230 years ago, the Bastille or the Bastille
02:40 prison was stormed.
02:43 Revolutionaries made their way into that prison located,
02:47 it was located right behind me, and the revolution
02:50 was not so much born, but propelled into prominence.
02:54 Now, there could be no going back for France.
02:58 The Revolution was full on.
03:00 The French Revolution: One of the most incredible
03:06 revolutions in the last several hundred years.
03:08 It was a time of tremendous turmoil, a time of terrible
03:19 bloodshed and cruelty and a time when God
03:23 was told in no uncertain terms that he was not welcome
03:28 in France.
03:30 Many people don4t realize what some of the most
03:32 remarkable things were that happened in association
03:35 with The French Revolution.
03:37 On yes, we have heard about the guillotines, but what
03:39 about the story behind the story.
03:43 Today we are going to take a look at this landmark period
03:46 in human history.
03:48 We are going to see that it is very closely related
03:50 to the Bible and we are going to find out that people
03:53 ought to be very careful what they ask for.
03:56 You know that Bible verse that essentially says you
03:59 reap what you sow?
04:00 That principle was graphically demonstrated
04:04 during the French Revolution.
04:05 The French people reaped what they had sown.
04:10 What they had sown was a rejection of God and what
04:15 they reaped was chaos, bloodshed at a terrible time
04:20 of intense misery.
04:25 [Music] Let's go back, way back.
04:31 During the middle Ages, the medieval church kept
04:33 the Bible from the people and the people believed
04:36 what they were told to believe by a church
04:38 whose leaders did not do a very good job of modeling
04:41 Biblical Christianity.
04:43 Rather than making God directly accessible
04:46 to the people, the church made God accessible to the people
04:50 through the church.
04:51 That is, through the traditions and the sacraments
04:54 of the church.
04:55 The priests were said to be God's representatives
04:57 here on earth.
04:58 Forgiveness was to be obtained by going to God through
05:01 the priests of the church.
05:03 The people were not encouraged to read the Bible.
05:06 As a matter of fact, those who had the Bible or found
05:10 to have the Bible or many times even suspected of having
05:13 the Bible or parts of the Bible, were often sentenced
05:16 to death.
05:17 Now, regarding salvation and forgiveness, the people
05:21 were told that they could even purchase forgiveness
05:24 of their sins, that salvation could come from forgiveness
05:26 of sins that was obtained for a price.
05:29 In spite of the fact that the Bible said, Jesus said
05:34 whoever is thirsty; he can come and drink of the water
05:37 of life freely.
05:39 Jesus said, come to me all ye that labor and are heavy-laden
05:43 and I will give you rest.
05:45 We are told that we have an advocate with the Father
05:47 and that that is Jesus Christ, the righteous.
05:50 And when Paul wrote to Timothy, he told them
05:52 that there is one Mediator between God and men,
05:55 the Man, Christ Jesus.
05:57 This manmade, tradition-based religion could not satisfy
06:02 the longings of the human heart.
06:05 But then, light was found.
06:06 People discovered that God had said salvation came
06:10 freely by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.
06:14 When that sort of light was found, it could not be kept
06:17 hidden.
06:18 It was shared.
06:19 It was shared with others.
06:20 And the Protestant Reformation was born.
06:29 There were many others, of course, but through Hus
06:31 in Bohemia and later Luther, in Germany and then Calvin
06:34 and Zwingli, and Wesley in England and Knox in Scotland,
06:39 the Reformation took off and thousands and thousands
06:42 of people were introduced to salvation by grace through
06:45 faith in Jesus Christ and not through a church, a priest
06:51 or a pope.
06:52 But what about France?
06:55 The Reformation struggled to take hold in France
06:58 and as long as the Reformation struggled to get off the ground,
07:02 the people were stuck in tradition.
07:05 They were kept from the freeing truths of the Bible.
07:08 They were kept in darkness and ignorance and superstition.
07:11 Now, God did raise up a people who would take hold
07:15 of the Word of God here in France.
07:17 There were the Albigenses and the Huguenots,
07:20 a Bible-believing people who loved the Word of God.
07:25 There were, at times, some people who sided with the
07:27 Protestants, even some in high places.
07:29 But generally, the Huguenots were relentlessly persecuted
07:32 and as many as 200,000 of them were hounded right
07:36 out of France.
07:38 But as bad as that was, that was nothing compared
07:40 to what would happen in 1572.
07:43 It was in 1572 that the St.
07:46 Bartholomew's Day Massacre took place.
07:49 At the behest of the ruling church, several thousand
07:54 Huguenot Protestants were murdered in one night.
07:57 Within a month, 25,000 Protestants were murdered
08:02 here in Paris, and tens of thousands of others
08:05 were killed in other parts of France.
08:08 The signal to stop the massacre was the tolling
08:12 of church bells here in Paris.
08:19 [Music] The news of the massacre was received
08:21 with joy in the Vatican.
08:23 In fact, there are three frescos in the Vatican
08:25 that detail the massacre.
08:27 The event is forever commemorated there.
08:32 France simply would not let the light shine.
08:35 The people were kept in the dark.
08:37 The darkness was not only welcomed, but preserved, even
08:41 defended, and good things do not tend to happen when
08:45 people are kept in the dark.
08:46 The very large underclass in French society was forced
08:52 to bare the financial burden for the nation.
08:54 The nobility was not taxed but the lower class people;
08:58 the poor people were heavily taxed and contemptibly
09:02 treated.
09:03 If you are familiar with Victor Hugo's book Les Miserables,
09:06 you understand that the central protagonist in that book
09:09 was a gentleman named Jean Valjean, who was sentenced
09:12 to 7 years in squalor's prison for simply stealing a loaf
09:16 of bread.
09:17 Then, because of various infractions, his seven-year
09:19 prison sentence grew into a 19-year prison sentence.
09:22 Now, I understand that Les Miserables is not a documentary,
09:27 it's a work of fiction, but it does represent how
09:31 French society operated at that time.
09:35 The French people started to develop intense resentment
09:38 and bitterness.
09:39 As a matter of fact, deep hatred for the ruling class.
09:43 There came a time when the king realized that
09:46 the poorer people needed to have representation
09:49 in the affairs of the state.
09:50 But when the underclass was given that representation,
09:55 they simply wanted more, and more, and more power.
10:02 An absolute tidal wave of anger was let loose across
10:07 France and the French Revolution was born.
10:12 [Music]
10:28 This is an incredible piece of architecture and it
10:32 also represents an incredible amount of arrogance on the part
10:35 of its builder.
10:36 It's the Palace of Versailles.
10:39 It was built by the Sun King, Luis XIV who was the King
10:42 of France for around 60 years.
10:47 During that time, France about went bankrupt.
10:50 Louis had several wars he was fighting, but he also spent
10:54 piles of money on excesses like this.
10:57 You can imagine how that went over with the people.
11:01 They resented what the wealthy class was doing while they
11:04 suffered so badly.
11:05 It was actually Luis XIV who sowed the seeds
11:09 of the Revolution.
11:15 [Music] Now consider the factors that went into this.
11:28 You had a group of people who were starved of the Word
11:30 of God and, therefore, had no real conception of the true
11:34 character of God.
11:36 And this same group of people had been pushed down,
11:39 manipulated by the State, persecuted, really.
11:43 When this group of people rose up, they really rose up
11:46 and what was going to happen wasn't going to be pretty.
11:53 In Matthew 4:4 the Word of God says "It is written 'Man
11:57 shall not live by bread alone but by every word
12:00 that proceeds out of the mouth of God'." Every Word is a one
12:04 minute Bible-based daily devotional presented
12:07 by Pastor John Bradshaw and designed especially for busy
12:10 people like you.
12:11 Look for Every Word on selected networks or watch
12:15 it on-line everyday on our website itiswritten.com.
12:19 Receive a daily spiritual boost.
12:21 Watch Every Word.
12:22 You'll be glad you did.
12:23 Here's a sample:
12:34 What a great example Jacob gave us.
12:37 He'd made plenty of mistakes but late one night he wrestled
12:39 with God and said to God in Genesis 32:26, "I will not
12:43 let you go unless you bless me."
12:44 Now there's the right attitude.
12:47 "Lord, I must have your blessing and I'm going
12:49 to hang on to you until I get it."
12:52 You can pray that way: "Lord, I must be delivered, I have
12:54 to know your will, I have to have your power in my life."
12:58 Jacob showed us what to do when you fall.
13:00 Instead of running FROM God he ran TO God.
13:03 Instead of giving up he took hold of God believing that
13:06 God was willing and able to bless.
13:09 Don't let your falls and failures keep you
13:11 away from God.
13:12 Be like Jacob - knowing he had made mistakes he took
13:15 hold of God, and wouldn't let go until God had blessed him.
13:19 I'm John Bradshaw for It Is Written.
13:22 Let's live today by Every Word.
13:27 I live in a country where people are free to believe
13:30 whatever they want to believe about God.
13:32 And I like it that way.
13:33 I like not being forced to believe something about God
13:37 that I might not necessarily choose to believe on my own.
13:40 I have noticed in recent years, atheists have started
13:44 to speak with a louder voice.
13:46 To be honest, in some cases, I sympathize with atheists
13:50 because the God that many atheists don't believe
13:53 in is a God that I don't believe in.
13:56 The argument from some atheists goes like this:
13:59 Because some of the things that Christians believe
14:02 are just so silly, therefore, I don't believe in God.
14:07 Or, because the way many Christians act is just so silly
14:12 or repugnant, therefore, I don't want to have anything
14:15 to do with God.
14:17 But history shows us that atheism isn't a great path
14:21 for people to follow, either as individuals or as nations.
14:27 Think about the implications of atheism.
14:29 Point 1) If there is no God, if there is no God who
14:33 purposely created this earth, then you and I are just
14:36 the results of a cosmic accident and we don't have any real
14:39 divine purpose to our being here.
14:41 Point 2) If there was no creation, if there is no God,
14:45 then surely there is no after life and then this earth
14:50 is all you have.
14:51 After your life on earth, it's all over.
14:54 Is that an attractive thought; and
14:57 Point 3) What happens to morals?
14:59 If there is no God, there is no absolute source of right
15:02 and wrong.
15:03 There is no final arbiter in these things other than you
15:06 and me.
15:08 Really?
15:09 You and I get to choose what is right and wrong
15:12 about everything?
15:14 It's hard to imagine that that's a good way
15:16 to approach life.
15:17 You know, we have examples of what society would be like
15:20 if there was no God.
15:22 European communism in the 20th Century was largely
15:26 a Godless form of communism, which led to the tyranny
15:29 of the state-controlled Soviet Union and dictatorships
15:33 like that of the Romanian monster, Nicolae Ceausescu,
15:36 who was killed by his own people.
15:38 [Music] And here in France we have
15:42 a chilling example of what happens when a country
15:46 turns its back on God.
15:48 France did that, officially.
15:50 It turned its back on God and declared itself
15:54 to be an atheist state.
15:57 Let's discuss that.
15:59 [Music] The French Revolution
16:03 came about because of a variety of factors.
16:06 The working class had been ground down by the ruling
16:08 class and they came to the place where they decided
16:11 - the working class - that they just weren't going to take
16:14 it any longer.
16:15 And so they rose up.
16:16 They took revenge against the ruling class killing anyone
16:20 who dared to stand in their way.
16:22 A national assembly was formed and this was
16:25 an assembly that gave voice to the people, not simply
16:28 listening to the nobility and the ruling classes.
16:30 Now the poverty and the exploitation being
16:35 experienced by the working class in Paris, France
16:38 at the time was phenomenal.
16:39 When I talk about poverty and exploitation, I mean really,
16:43 it was hard to imagine.
16:45 The difficult circumstances that the poorer classes went
16:48 through were absolutely amazing.
16:51 So, theBastille was
16:53 stormed, as a symbol of the protest of the people.
16:56 The state prison, the Bastille was stormed.
17:00 Now, there was only a few people in there at the time
17:03 as prisoners, seven, as a matter of fact, but they
17:06 were liberated and the governor of the prison was killed.
17:10 To demonstrate how serious they were, the Bastille
17:13 was destroyed.
17:14 Parts of it were taken around France and shown to the citizens
17:18 of France and this was a way for the revolutionaries
17:21 to say to the people of France: We are serious about this.
17:25 The Revolution was in full swing.
17:28 The country was now being run by the people, not the nobility.
17:32 And before long, a Bill of Rights was drafted.
17:34 [Music] And the Church,
17:39 which had exercised such power in France until this time,
17:43 wasn't going to escape the attention
17:45 of the revolutionaries.
17:47 Its right to collect a tithe, a ten percent on income
17:52 from every citizen in France, was abolished.
17:55 In fact, it wasn't long and the church itself would find
18:02 itself in the cross hairs of the revolutionaries.
18:04 The members of the clergy who remained loyal to the Pope
18:08 rather than to the national assembly, and that was
18:11 the majority, were considered to be traitors and now many
18:15 members of the clergy were themselves persecuted.
18:20 Here is what you had.
18:21 An essentially godless group of people seizing power
18:24 and rebelling against not only the State that had persecuted
18:28 them, but against the Church that had extorted and misused
18:31 them.
18:32 And a group of people with that sort of power
18:35 and with that sort of bitterness, not guided
18:38 by the Holy Spirit or anything remotely resembling
18:40 Christian principles, were committed to revenge
18:45 and destruction, and this morphed into
18:48 a hellish period that became known as the Reign of Terror.
19:04 The Reign of Terror began in 1793 and it lasted for about
19:07 10 months.
19:09 During that time, 20,000 people were executed
19:12 by guillotine, thousands of them here in Paris.
19:15 And tens of thousands of others were executed
19:17 by other means all over France.
19:20 Many of the executions happened right here,
19:23 in a place that is now known as the Place de la Concorde.
19:27 It is a fabulous place now.
19:32 [Music]
19:36 In one direction is the Louvre and the beautiful
19:38 gardens that surround it.
19:39 And the other is the famous Champs-Elysées, a magnificent
19:44 boulevard that leads to the Arc de Triomphe.
19:47 The National Assembly Building is right there.
19:50 There is a stunning Obelisk that was given to France
19:54 by the Nation of Egypt in the 19th Century.
19:57 But before t here was an Obelisk here, there was a
20:00 guillotine and it was kept busy.
20:03 At that time, instead of being the Place de la
20:11 Concorde, or Concorde Square, in other words, Getting along
20:15 with each other Square, it was called the Place de la
20:19 Revolution.
20:20 The executioners started wiping out the nobility.
20:24 King Louis XXI was executed here.
20:27 So was his wife, Marie Antoinette, who incidentally
20:31 probably didn't say, "Let them eat cake", and seems
20:34 to have been executed simply because people didn't like her.
20:41 You know, the guillotines were actually set up right here.
20:46 They were set up right here where this Obelisk now stands.
20:50 And when you think about it, what the revolutionaries were
20:53 really trying to do was execute God.
20:58 They were so fueled by their lack of Christianity,
21:00 so maddened by what they perceived to be the misdeeds
21:04 of the church, that they began this process
21:06 of banishing God from society.
21:08 What they did was initiate an intentional process
21:12 of de-Christianization, where God was pushed out of society
21:16 and not only was God pushed out of society, but atheism
21:20 was set up as a national religion.
21:23 Think about it.
21:24 In 1793, the world heard an educated, civilized country
21:29 declare in its national assembly that there is no God
21:32 and masses of people rejoiced.
21:45 [Music] But it goes even further and gets even more
21:47 bizarre than that.
21:49 In a ceremony that now seems impossible to believe,
21:52 a woman was brought into France's National Assembly
21:55 building, placed right next to the country's highest
21:58 political leaders, and declared to be the goddess
22:02 of reason and the people were told it was this woman
22:07 that they would worship from now on.
22:09 Then, unbelievably, she was taken here,
22:18 to Notre Dame Cathedral.
22:21 She was elevated before the people and was presented
22:24 as an object of worship, receiving the adoration
22:28 of everyone present.
22:33 The weekly day of rest was set aside and France
22:36 installed every 10th day as a festive day.
22:40 The institutions of the Bible were banned.
22:42 Baptism and communion were strictly prohibited.
22:46 A nation had declared that there was no God.
22:49 France had de-Christianized itself and installed a goddess
22:53 of reason.
22:55 A nation turned its back on God and essentially declared
22:58 itself atheist and look where that got it.
23:03 Having thrown off the restraining power
23:05 of the Holy Spirit, the leaders of this movement
23:09 left to their own devices, filled France
23:12 with blood.
23:15 Godlessness never prospers an individual or a nation.
23:19 History shows us that.
23:21 Nobody can point to a place in the world where Godlessness
23:24 has turned out for the better and led to advancement
23:26 or prosperity.
23:28 And nobody will ever be able to do that, because that sort
23:31 of place has never existed and never will.
23:35 The Bible says, "The fool has said in his heart there
23:39 is no God." Proverbs 14:34 says, "Righteousness exalts
23:44 a nation." Listen to this, from the prophet Isaiah:
23:48 "Oh, that thou hast harkened to my commandments.
23:51 Then had thy peace been as a river and thy righteousness
23:55 as the waves of the sea.
23:57 There is no peace, saith the Lord, unto the wicked.
24:02 So what happens to a nation when God is left out
24:05 of the picture?
24:06 Well, it can't possibly go in a good direction and history
24:10 shows us that only too clearly.
24:13 But what happens to your life when God is left out
24:16 of the picture.
24:18 In the same way it cannot possibly go the way that God
24:21 wants it to go.
24:23 You know, I suppose it's one thing to look at a nation
24:26 and examine some of the sadder parts of its history but it's
24:28 altogether another thing and most likely a far more
24:31 important thing to examine our own hearts and ask
24:36 ourselves what is going on there.
24:38 Friend, what is going on in your hear today?
24:41 You know, in Philippians 2:14 Paul wrote, and he wrote
24:44 this words, he said: " It is God who works in you both to will
24:48 and to do for his good pleasure." When a nation asks
24:52 God to leave and says we don't want your help
24:55 and we'll do things our own way, a nation will reap what it sows.
25:00 Same thing with a person.
25:02 When a person says I don't think I want God working
25:05 in me both to will and to do of his good pleasure, what can
25:07 God do?
25:08 But friend, today you can say, Lord, whatever
25:11 the circumstances of my life, whatever my strengths
25:13 or weaknesses, whatever my ups and downs, I would like you
25:17 to live your life in me.
25:20 And when we make that request of God, God honors that request,
25:24 and God lives his life in you.
25:27 And then, you reap what you sow, but you've sown good
25:31 things and you will reap everlasting life.
25:38 [Music]
25:46 Revolutions are nothing new but many years ago,
25:50 a revolution occurred in heaven and the sin
25:52 and problems we see in the world today are the result
25:55 of that revolution.
25:56 There is a last-day battle going on.
25:59 A battle to see who will rule the earth in earth's final days.
26:02 I want you to have a study we have prepared on
26:04 this subject, called The Battle for the Throne.
26:07 You will understand the beasts of Bible prophecy,
26:10 what they mean, and what they reveal about earth's last
26:13 days.
26:14 The Battle for the Throne.
26:16 In just a few pages, you will discover what the Bible
26:18 has to say about the beasts of Bible prophecy
26:21 and it is clearly explained.
26:22 You won't be guessing or wondering after you read
26:25 The Battle for the Throne.
26:27 And it's our free gift to you right now.
26:31 This informative and practical booklet
26:33 is available free from It Is Written.
26:36 Just call 1.800.253.3000 and ask for the Battle
26:40 for the Throne.
26:41 You can also request this study by writing to
26:43 It Is Written, Box O, Thousand Oaks, CA 91359
26:49 and we will mail a copy to your address
26:51 in North America.
26:53 And be sure to visit our website, itiswritten.com,
26:56 where you will discover many more helpful resources
26:59 on a variety of life-changing topics.
27:02 It Is Written is a faith-based outreach made possible
27:05 by viewers like you.
27:07 Thanks for your letters and emails and thank you
27:10 for your continued financial support.
27:13 Your support enables It is Written to share
27:14 clear Bible truth and impact lives around
27:18 the world.
27:19 Our toll free number is 1.800.253.3000 and our web
27:24 address is itiswritten.com
27:27 Thanks for joining me today.
27:29 Let's pray together.
27:30 Our Father in heaven, thank you for showing us that
27:34 things work better when you are in the center of a nation
27:39 and of an individual.
27:40 Lord, please be the center of our lives that we might reap
27:43 what we sow, having sown the good, having sown Christ,
27:47 that we might reap everlasting life.
27:50 Be honored in our lives.
27:51 We pray and thank you in Jesus' name, amen.
27:56 I look forward to seeing you again next time.
27:59 Until then, remember "It is written, man shall not
28:03 live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds
28:07 from the mouth of God.


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Revised 2015-02-05