them; but they were greatly deceived by a false Christianity until almost all the world wondered after the beast.  The release of the dragon, then, in order to be entirely satisfactory and consistent, must embrace the following points:  First, it must at least include the development of a great public antichristian power whose avowed object is to destroy the whole fabric of Christianity.  Second, being bound by divine power, his release must be the result of divine permission for a special purpose.  Third, the scene of his imprisonment must necessarily be the place of his release; namely, the earth—­the Apocalyptic earth—­the territory of the Roman empire.

We find all these requirements meeting a most perfect fulfilment in the events described under the pouring out of the first vial, which was done by the direction of Him that sat upon the throne.  A sufficient history of that fearful system of infidelity which, through the labors of Voltaire and his coadjutors, spread throughout all Europe has already been given.  The very object of the leaders of this movement was the extermination of the Christian religion, and their secret watchword was “Crush the wretch,” meaning Jesus Christ.  The dragon was loose in all his terrible features.  The Pagans upheld a false belief; these modern worshipers of the dragon did likewise and publicly exalted the “Goddess of Reason” as an object of devotion, setting aside every tenth day for their hellish orgies in her honor.  The former endeavored to overthrow the Christian religion; the latter had for its special aim the utter destruction of everything Christian either in name or in character.  This devilish system spread over all Europe and almost undermined the whole fabric of society, and threatened to convert the world from Christianity to the worship of the Goddess of Reason.  Its foothold gained was so extensive and its effects so far-reaching that prominent historians, D’Aubigne among the number, have denominated the period of its greatest triumph “the day of Reason.”  It is one of the three and one-half days covered by the prophecy in Rev. 11:9.

I do not wish to be understood, however, as limiting the release of the dragon and his work to the system of infidelity that had its origin in France.  I merely refer to that unfortunate system as the beginning of the dragon’s release and work—­the re-introduction to the world of those principles of public hostility to Christianity which had lain buried since the days of Pagan Rome.  The dragon in the beginning was a deceptive system, one that “deceived the whole world”; but its deceptions were uncovered by the light of Christianity, and then it became the bitter public opposer of the religion of Christ.  In the release of the dragon the order is reversed.  He first appears as the public enemy of Christianity in the form already mentioned, but afterwards changes his tactics to milder methods in order the better to “deceive” the people, as we shall see hereafter.