When General Berthier led the French forces into Rome and took the pope prisoner in 1798, to most people in Europe this was the end of the papacy as a political force. The pope was taken prisoner to Avignon in southern France and the Papacy was effectively under the control of the French government. As a consequence you had popes and anti-popes firing salvos of invective, bulls, counter bulls and interdictions at one another. The papacy was dead many thought, but the words of scripture was there to be heeded by all true believers.
John the Revelator had predicted that “he who takes captive will himself be taken into captivity.” One of the heads of the Beast would receive a deadly wound and apparently be dead. The prophecy did not end there however, because the Seer of Patmos said that the deadly wound would be healed and the whole earth would wonder at the Beast. The resurgent beast would again rule and dominate in matters of religion and politics until human history came to an end in the glorious return of Jesus Christ.
