In 1762 a Huguenot of Toulouse,
unjustly charged with crime, was put to torture and to death, under the
pressure of the old persecuting spirit. Many Huguenots thought the
persecutions of former times were reviving, and prepared to flee to
Switzerland. But Voltaire took up the matter, and so wrought upon public
opinion that the Paris parliament reviewed the case, and the king paid
the man's family a large indemnity.
This shows that by the middle of that century the days of any general
persecution had ceased. In the nature of the case, we may not point to
the exact year and say, Here the days of tribulation ended.
From these times, then, we are to scan the record of history to learn if
the appointed signs began to appear. As we look, we find the events
recorded, following on in the order predicted:
1. The Lisbon earthquake, cf 1755.
2. The dark day, cf 1780.
3. The falling stars, cf 1833.
4. General conditions and movements betokening the end.
"There shall be signs," the Saviour said. We are to study the record of
events, watching to catch the signs of the approaching end as earnestly
as the mariner watches the beacon lights when he nears the longed-for
haven on a dark and stormy night.
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