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This Podcast explains the symbolism used by John in Revelation 13:9-10 to explain events of the Renaissance and Reformation, which led ultimately to the restoration of the Church and end of the Great Apostasy in 1830. John's prophecy of the Renaissance and Reformation is preceded by the statement in Revelation 13:9 that, “If any man have an ear, let him hear.” This statement emphasizes the importance of John's prophecy and the need for people of the world to both hear and heed the prophetic words spoken by John with reference to the Renaissance and the Reformation, which led ultimately to the restoration of the true church of Jesus Christ.
In Revelation 13:10, John symbolically describes the conditions of the Renaissance and the Reformation, saying: "He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity.” The captivity in this verse refers to the spiritual bondage of people held hostage to the belief system of the Roman Catholic church throughout the dark ages. Spiritual freedom and liberty came as reformers finally broke the bonds of Roman Catholicism during the Protestant Reformation.
Bloodshed paved the way of the Reformation throughout Europe and in Latin American countries where millions of people died for their faith in Jesus Christ. John symbolically describes this scene of carnage in Revelation 13:10, saying, “he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword.” This prophecy was fulfilled as the Protestant Reformation ended the political and spiritual control of the Roman Catholic church in an era of great bloodshed.
Finally, John described people of faith from the Renaissance and Reformation in Revelation 13:10, saying: “Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.” The saints are those people who patiently endured the Catholic Counter-Reformation that included the courts of inquisition, also known as the Holy Office. These ecclesiastical courts of the Catholic Church tried and punished heretics. For hundreds of years, faith-filled saints sought for, and ultimately prevailed in, their spiritual quest for religious and spiritual freedom.