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Eureka

AN EXPOSITION OF THE APOCALYPSE
Sixth Edition, 1915
By Dr. John Thomas (first edition written 1861)

 

 

Chapter 11

Section 2-3 Subsection 8

"The Great Earthquake"


 
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"And in that hour there was a great earthquake, and the Tenth of the City fell."

An earthquake, in symbolic language, is a shaking of "the earth," which, in the political system of the world, is representative of the common people. It answers to the phrase, a democratic and social revolution. There was to be a Great Democratic Revolution "in that hour," characterized by the ascent of the political witnesses of Jesus "in the Cloud" of Deputies "into the heaven," to the great alarm of all interested in the abuses and corruptions of Church and State. The events of that hour have since come to be spoken of as "the Great French Revolution," which has hitherto surpassed all others.

As the result of this great political convulsion, "the Tenth of the City fell." Not the other nine tenths of the Great City, which would have been the fall of the Great City itself; but of one tenth thereof. All the tenths are to continue unfallen, with the exception of the tenth before us, until after the advent of Christ, and the resurrection of his brethren. Then the Great City itself will fall, and be "found no more at all." Its thrones will all be "cast down," and not merely shaken; and the kingdoms which acknowledged their sovereignty will be taken possession of by Christ and his resurrected brethren.

The ten tenths of the Great City are symbolized in Daniel by the Ten Toes of the metallic image seen by Nebuchadnezzar; and by the Ten Horns seen by Daniel and John in their visions of the Fourth-Beast system of powers, commonly styled the European Commonwealth, acknowledging the Papal Supremacy. They are the Ten Kingdoms of the Great City, situated south and west of the Rhine and Danube. Until the late temporary development of the Kingdom of Italy, and as the result of the Treaty of Vienna A.D. 1815, modified by the revolution of 1832, they were Belgium, France, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Bavaria, Hungary, Lombardy, Naples, and Sardinia. The Italian Duchies, Venice, and Switzerland, though upon the territory of the Great City, are not reckoned as horns, because their executives are not diademed. The order of things existing in 1865 is exceptional, and therefore only provisional. Bavaria, Hungary, and Lombardy, with the Roman States of the Church, are concorded with the Little Horn, or Catholic Germany. This symbolic order, however, is disturbed by the ambition of "the Earth," or revolutionary element of the Great City. Lombardy, Naples, and Sardinia, with the Duchies, and without Rome, is the unsymbolic order of things; and with France imperial instead of a simple diademed tenth. This arrangement of the city, I apprehend, will not last long. It contains in it elements of conflict, which will probably result in a threefold division of powers, after the advent of Christ (Apoc. xvi. 19). Nevertheless, these powers continue to be styled "the ten horns, or kingdoms, which receive power as kings one hour with the beast; to whom, with one mind, they give their power and strength" (Apoc. xvii. 12,13). Ten has been the predominant number of the papal kingdoms; and, therefore, though they may vary at times, as the vision does not follow them in all their history, they are symbolically indicated as the Ten. Of these, France is the most conspicuous in its relation to the witnesses. It is therefore styled kat ’exochen, "the Tenth of the City," which was overthrown as a Diademed Horn by the executioners of the national justice upon the king, nobles and clergy -- the class-murderers of the saints.
 
 

 

 

 

 


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