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Event 1 - Final Signs |
Sign#2 |
Key Text
"For
then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning
of the world." Matthew 24:21 |
A Great Persecution, or Tribulation
Prophecy: "For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since
the beginning of the world." Matthew 24:21. "...they shall lay
their hands on you, and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues,
and into prisons, being brought before kings and rulers for my name's
sake... And ye shall be betrayed both by parents, and brethren, and kinsfolks,
and friends; and some of you shall they cause to be put to death." Luke
21:12,16
This prophecy points primarily to the long period of tribulation that took place
during the Dark Ages and was instigated by the apostate church. It lasted more
than 1,000 years, multitudes were tortured, burned at the stake, or both. Over
50 million Christians were slain for their faith in this terrible tribulation
period.
One writer says the apostate church "has shed more innocent blood than any
other institution that has ever existed among mankind." W.E.H. Lecky, History
of the Rise and Influence of the Spirit of Rationalism in Europe, (Reprint; New
York: Braziller, 1955) Vol. 2, pp. 40-45.
"From the birth of popery to the present time, it is estimated by careful
and credible historians, that more than fifty millions of the human family, have
been slaughtered for the crime of heresy by popish persecutors..." John
Dowling, The History of Romanism, pp. 541-542
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