French Revolution
The French Revolution, commencing in 1789, stands as a watershed moment in human history, marking the definitive transition from the "Old Regime" to the Revolutionary Age, a period whose spirit endures to the present day. Far from being a mere chance play of conflicting forces or a series of unforeseen circumstances, the Revolution was a meticulously planned and executed event, driven by a profound underlying philosophy and even a distinct theology. It represents the direct application of rationalistic ideas to the wholesale transformation of society and the entire outward order of life.
Philosophical Undercurrents and Secret Preparations
The intellectual groundwork for the Revolution was laid by prominent Enlightenment thinkers. Voltaire, a central figure among the "corrupting philosophers," epitomised the rationalist strain of Deism, dedicating his life to the destruction of Christianity, advocating to "exterminate the infamous thing" and replace it with his own deistic worldview. Alongside him, Diderot and D'Alembert further propagated these ideas. Another influential current flowed from Jean-Jacques Rousseau, the philosopher of feeling. He championed the notion that sovereignty resided not in God or the elite, but in "the people". His famous assertion, "Man is born free and is everywhere in chains," became a foundational revolutionary slogan, even though his philosophy ultimately justified tyranny by prioritising the "general will" over individual liberty.
Crucially, these philosophical strands were amplified and concretised by the clandestine activities of secret societies. Freemasonry, reorganised and flourishing from 1717 onwards, rapidly spread across Europe, particularly to France and America. It sought to forge a religious belief system that transcended traditional Catholicism and Protestantism, uniting men of goodwill under a deistic "Grand Architect".
Within this Masonic milieu, a new and particularly radical sect, Illuminism, emerged in 1776, founded by Adam Weishaupt. A former Jesuit, Weishaupt conceived a system that mimicked Jesuitical efficiency, aiming to "destroy in the dark what they erect in the light of day". Illuminism called for the abolition of all arts and sciences, monarchy, nobility, and even republics.
It envisioned a society without any controlling authority, law, or civil code, where humanity would achieve "perfect Liberty and Equality" through inherent goodness and a "just and steady morality". This involved eradicating all religious belief in a hereafter or divine retribution, replacing it with the "religion of Reason". Its ultimate objectives were the abolition of family and national life, to unite humanity into "one good and happy family," viewing patriotism as a divisive vice that fostered egoism. The true, concealed intent was to dismantle all religion, especially Christianity, by means of "pious fraud" and the chilling maxim that "the end justifies the means". By 1782, the Illuminati had forged a decisive alliance with Freemasonry at the Congress of Wilhelmsbad, boasting three million members and a concrete plan for world domination. Documents seized from them in 1785 exposed their "diabolical nature," revealing instructions for making poisons, counterfeiting, espionage, and a comprehensive program for the overthrow of civil society, including the complete destruction of religion, patriotism, property, and family bonds.
The Revolutionary Process: Violence, Depopulation, and De-Christianisation
The Revolution was spearheaded by radical factions, most notably the Jacobins, who emerged teaching "that men are all equal and free;... trampling underfoot the altars and the thrones". They were a formidable force, numbering some three hundred thousand members supported by two million armed individuals across France by 1793. Their control was absolute, and their orders were "instantly obeyed".
The violence that characterised the French Revolution was not incidental but a deliberate and calculated tactic. The massacres of September 1792, which included instances of cannibalism and torture, exemplify this. A chilling plan for "Depopulation" was also discussed by the Committee of Public Safety, proposing to reduce France's population by half to ensure adequate provisions, a policy that claimed millions of lives through guillotining, drowning, and shooting, disproportionately affecting peasants and workers. This systematic exploitation of grievances and the incitement of the populace against the established order, as seen in "The Great Fear" of July 1789, was a key operational strategy.
A central feature of the Revolution was its radical de-Christianisation. Religious ceremonies were abolished, cemeteries secularised, and the traditional seven-day week replaced by a ten-day system. Churches were closed, including Notre Dame, which was transformed into a "Temple of Reason" where actresses impersonated Liberty. Despite burning effigies of Atheism, the Revolution's underlying ideology was deistic, aspiring to replace Christianity with a new, rationalised religion.
The immediate aftermath for France was devastating. The nation was left demoralised, exhausted, and consumed by hatred. The perceived benefits for the lower classes never materialised; instead, they were "sunk to a degree of degradation and misfortune to which they never were reduced under the ancient monarchy".
Chiliastic Aspirations and the Figure of Napoleon
The French Revolution embodied a secularised form of Chiliasm, a powerful spiritual current that permeated the modern age. Like earlier millenarian sects, it sought a "new Christianity" or an earthly paradise, reinterpreting spiritual concepts in rationalistic terms. This aspiration for a radical transformation of society and the advent of a new age was a defining characteristic of the revolutionary mind.
The figure of Napoleon Bonaparte emerged as the very "soul of the Revolution". He "bridled the chaos" of the Revolution, giving it order while preserving its core principles, especially the theoretical equality of all citizens.
Napoleon viewed himself as a "fateful executor of a command unknown," a messianic figure destined to complete Christ's work and establish a new world order. He explicitly saw himself as the "first soldier of the Revolution" and its "champion leader," believing that its "sublime truths" would become "the religion of all nations".
His ambition was to establish the "Empire of reason" and conquer the world, seeing Europe merely as a route to Asia where "great empires and mighty upheavals" dwelled. He even imagined himself as a "new Alcoran" and admired ancient rulers who proclaimed their divine origin, reflecting his own aspiration to be worshipped as a god.
His self-proclaimed status as the "Roman Emperor," heir to both the "first Rome" and "third Rome" (Moscow), underscored his universal monarchical ambitions. His summoning of the Sanhedrin, the Jewish high court, to proclaim him emperor further reinforced his messianic self-perception. Napoleon, with his conscious striving for world conquest and his belief in a divinely ordained destiny, stands as a forerunner of Antichrist.
The Enduring Legacy
The French Revolution inaugurated a "Revolutionary Age" that continues to shape global events. Its underlying ideas did not vanish with Napoleon's defeat but formed the persistent "climate of the times". Subsequent revolutions, such as those of 1848, were in many ways repetitions of the French model, demonstrating the enduring influence of its tactics and philosophies. The failure of the 1848 uprisings, however, spurred figures like Karl Marx to meticulously plan for a truly successful revolution, moving from idealistic dreams to organised action and the concept of class warfare.
The French Revolution, with its "bloody massacres and deliberate depopulation," and its ultimate embrace of a single, world-conquering ruler, serves as a rehearsal for a future kingdom of this world. The crimes and atrocities it unleashed were not aberrations but "a necessary result of its principles and its systems". It initiated a continuous "unfolding of the Mystery of Iniquity," fundamentally transforming Christianity from within and preparing the way for Antichrist by changing the very essence of faith.
This historical process demonstrates that once true Orthodoxy is abandoned, a logical, albeit destructive, progression of new principles inevitably unfolds, leading ultimately to a world increasingly susceptible to universal dissolution and a new, anti-Christian revelation.