Revelation 16:10-11

THE FIFTH VIAL.

"And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain, and blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds."--16:10-11.

The next angel pours out his vial upon the seat or throne of the beast, and his kingdom is filled with darkness. They gnaw their tongues in pain, and revile God for their sufferings. They repent not of their wicked deeds. There can be no doubt concerning what is meant by the throne of the beast. The scene of the calamities of the fifth vial will be Italy and Rome. That has been the seat of the beast for 1300 years. In the very seat of his power the beast shall receive. blow that will fill his kingdom with darkness, and those who worship him with anguish. Something shall occur that shall cause great dismay and anguish to the Roman priesthood.

It would be well for the reader to note the fact that, when the disasters came upon the Papacy through the rule of Napoleon, the people of Italy were sufferers also. That country was still loyal to the Pope. He was driven forth, not by the consent of the Italian people, but by foreign power. Rome remained. Catholic city, under the dominion of priestcraft, devoted to the Pope. But within the present generation. change has come. The Italians have shaken off the yoke that had been borne for over 1200 years. The light has penetrated the thick darkness of Rome itself.

In the year 1848 the people of Rome arose in rebellion to the Papal authority and drove Pius IX. into exile.. few months later he was restored by. French army. Nor did he dare remain when restored, save under the protection of French bayonets. With. French garrison he continued to rule his circumscribed territory until 1870. In that year France was compelled to withdraw her soldiers to defend her soil from German invasion. That was the opportunity of Italy. The Papal army was scattered by the soldiers of Victor Emmanuel; the Pope shut himself in the Vatican, and Rome became the capital of new Italy. The temporal power of the Pope is gone forever.

But this is not all that this vial symbolizes. The Italian government has seized upon the overgrown possessions of the church. The lands it claimed have been confiscated, monasteries and convents have been closed, and universal religious toleration declared. The days of Papal persecution have forever departed. The free church of Italy has been organized by the long persecuted Waldenses, and Protestant missionaries preach in every important city.

This is what has been done. This is how the vial has been poured out on the throne of the beast, It remains to inquire how these reverses have been received by the devotees of Rome.

The lately deceased Pope was declared by. Catholic General Council, sitting in Rome, to be infallible. He then shut himself up in the Vatican and styled himself. prisoner. He had previously issued. syllabus claiming. right to rule the nations of the earth. He fulminated anathemas against those who opposed him, as bitter, as hostile, as arrogant, as those of Pope Hildebrand. He and his supporters have metaphorically gnawed their tongues in anguish. When Cavour, the great Italian statesman, died, the priests were forbidden to attend the last moments of the dying patriot. If any one wishes to know the rage felt by all devout Catholics over the scenes. have depicted, let him engage in conversation with any devotee of Rome.

By these events none can doubt that the power of the Papacy is much weakened. She can no longer resort to violence as. means of suppressing rebellion against her spiritual despotism.. time has come when in Italy and Rome Protestant missionaries may raise the cry to the citizens of Babylon, "Come out of her, my people," and there is no power that will hinder their coming.

This brings us to the sixth vial