The Revelation of Jesus Christ - The Herald

"beast" that makes war on the witnesses to be Papacy (and there is no other solution), we
meet with an insurmountable obstacle in applying the words, "And when they shall have
finished their testimony," as meeting their fulfillment in 1799, for the reason that the
inspired record states that when they shall have finished their testimony the beast shall
make war on the witnesses and overcome them, and kill them. Now the Papal beast did
not make war against the witnesses at this time; no such event, nor anything like it,
occurred at or after 1799. Indeed, the very opposite occurred, for it was at this time--the
period of the French Revolution--that Papacy received its most terrible blow, at the hands
of Napoleon--a blow that so weakened its power that it was utterly unable to wage a war
of extermination on the witnesses of Christ. It was at this time that the witnesses--the
saints, and the Word of God as well--were delivered out of Papacy's power. It was at this
time that the witnesses, whether they be understood to represent Christ's saints or the
Word of God, or both, ascended to heaven (Matt. 11:23), that is they came into favor with
the powers that be. Furthermore, the overcoming, or death of the witnesses and their lying
dead in the street of the great city was a result of the Papal war, and nothing occurred in
1799 or since, that can be construed to fulfill these symbols. On the other hand, it is an
indisputable fact of history, that all these things occurred in the period before, during, and
since the great Reformation, reaching their culmination in the humiliation of Papacy in
1799. That Papacy should wage war on the witnesses and overcome them is foretold in
another vision of the Revelation, as we read: "And it was given unto him [the beast] to
make war with the saints, and to overcome them." (Rev. 13:7.) Who can doubt that the
same "war" is referred to as in this vision. History records this event, as we shall see.
Another matter that has a very important bearing on the vision's interpretation that is well
to have in mind is, that if it were possible to apply this part of the vision to 1799, there
would be a passing by, an ignoring in the Apocalypse of the most critical, trying
experiences that the true saints of God ever encountered in connection with their
testimony or witnessing for their Lord and Master. It would be incredible to believe that
those three centuries before the Reformation, which marked the most terrible persecutions
that the saints of God ever experienced, would be passed over in silence, or at least no
special mention be made of them in the Apocalyptic visions; this would be true, if we
applied all the symbols of this vision to the end of Papacy's domination in 1799.
The indisputable facts of history, as we find them, fulfill every feature of the vision, and
should cause us to examine very carefully and critically the seemingly conflicting words:
"And when they shall have finished their testimony the beast that ascendeth out of the
Abyss shall make war against them and shall conquer them." In doing this it will be
necessary to examine the translation. Thus we discover that there are several different
renderings given by able and eminent Scripture writers. Of these we note three:
"And when they shall be about finishing their testimony."--Newton.
"And whenever they shall have finished their testimony."--Stuart.
"And when they shall have perfected their testimony."--Elliott.