Transcript Our Gospel Age Heritage

Our Gospel Age Heritage
(Fore Gleams of the Reformation)
Wycliffe
Arius
Waldo
Huss
Self Examination
Hymn # 13 – 5 verses
Am I a soldier of the cross,
A fol’w- er of the Lamb?
And shall I fear to own his cause,
Or blush to speak his name?
Must I be borne to Par – adise,
On Flower – y beds of ease,
While oth-ers fought win the prize,
And sailed through bloody seas?
Are there no foes for me to face?
Must I not stem the flood?
Is this vain world a friend to grace,
To help me on to God?
Sure I must fight if I would reign;
Increase my courage, Lord;
I’ll bear the toil, endure the pain,
Support - ed by thy Word.
When thine il-lus-trious day shall rise,
And all thy saints shall shine,
And shouts of vic-t’ry rend the skies,
The glory, Lord, be thine.
Our Gospel Age Heritage
(Fore Gleams of the Reformation)
Wycliffe
Arius
Waldo
Huss
Our Gospel Age Heritage
(Fore Gleams of the Reformation)
“Presbyter of Alexandria, Egypt, he
was widely acclaimed for his
scholarly, ascetic and morally
exemplary life…. Opposed to
lordship in the church, he humbly
declined the offer of becoming
bishop of Alexandria.
Arius
Arius became the chief spokesman
for the early church view of the
Our Gospel Age Heritage
(Fore Gleams of the Reformation)
Arius
pre-eminence of the Heavenly
Father above all other beings. He
resisted the efforts of churchmen
such as Alexander and Athanasius
to equate Jesus with God. He
believed the Bible taught that Jesus
was to be highly esteemed above
men and not co-eternal, co-equal,
or identical in substance.
Our Gospel Age Heritage
(Fore Gleams of the Reformation)
Arius
There was a time when the Son was
not; he was made, like all creatures,
of a substance that had not
previously existed. In 321 A.D. he
was excommunicated by a synod
convened by Alexander, the ruling
patriarch… As the dispute
escalated to threaten the unity of
the empire, the Emperor
Our Gospel Age Heritage
(Fore Gleams of the Reformation)
Arius
Constantine convened the Council
of Nicea in 325 to settle the matter.
At the council, the emperor himself
took a leading role, although it is
doubtful that he could have
comprehended the theological
points at issue. Essentially a
politician, he concluded that the
Alexandrian view was the most
Our Gospel Age Heritage
(Fore Gleams of the Reformation)
Arius
expedient. He therefore forced its
adoption upon the council and
threatened loss of position to any
who disagreed. Only Arius and two
bishops refused to sign the Creed;
all three were banished.
Undaunted, Arius composed a rival
creed to that of Nicea which so
impressed Constantine that he was
Our Gospel Age Heritage
(Fore Gleams of the Reformation)
recalled. But on the very day of his
installation ceremony in
Constantinople, Arius died under
suspicious circumstances, leading
his friends to suspect he had been
poisoned.”
The Seven Churches of Revelation,
Redeker,
1989, p. 12
Arius
“And to the angel of the
church of Pergamos write;
These things are spoken by
him who has the sharp two
edged sword. I know where
you live - where Satan sits
enthroned. I know that you
hold fast to my name and that you never denied
your faith in me even in the days when Antipas,
my faithful witness, was killed before your eyes in
the very house of Satan.”
Rev. 2:12, 13 (Phillips)
“And to the angel of the
church of Pergamos write;
These things are spoken by
him who has the sharp two
edged sword. I know where
you live - where Satan sits
enthroned. I know that you
hold fast to my name and that you never denied
your faith in me even in the days when Antipas,
my faithful witness, was killed before your eyes in
the very house of Satan.”
Rev. 2:12, 13 (Phillips)
Arius and others who followed him
were still part of the Papal system
“And to the angel of the
church of Pergamos write;
These things are spoken by
him who has the sharp two
edged sword. I know where
you live - where Satan sits
enthroned. I know that you
hold fast to my name and that you never denied
your faith in me even in the days when Antipas,
my faithful witness, was killed before your eyes in
the very house of Satan.”
Rev. 2:12, 13 (Phillips)
They defended the truth regarding
the superiority of God
“And to the angel of the
church of Pergamos write;
These things are spoken by
him who has the sharp two
edged sword. I know where
you live - where Satan sits
enthroned. I know that you
hold fast to my name and that you never denied
your faith in me even in the days when Antipas,
my faithful witness, was killed before your eyes in
the very house of Satan.”
Rev. 2:12, 13 (Phillips)
Antipas means “anti-father”
“And to the angel of the
church of Pergamos write;
These things are spoken by
him who has the sharp two
edged sword. I know where
you live - where Satan sits
enthroned. I know that you
hold fast to my name and that you never denied
your faith in me even in the days when Antipas,
my faithful witness, was killed before your eyes in
the very house of Satan.”
Rev. 2:12, 13 (Phillips)
Arius murdered as he waited to be reinstated as priest
Their legacy was one
of hungering for the
truth of God’s word,
balanced with a Godhonoring lifestyle
“Sell everything that you
have and give to the poor,
and you will have treasure
in heaven. Then come,
follow me.” Luke 18:22 (NIV)
Peter Waldo
In 1170 AD he founded
a group known as
“The Poor of Lyon”
Peter Waldo
“He arranged for the Gospels
and some other books of the
Bible to be translated in
common speech . . . which he
read very often, though
without understanding their
import. Infatuated with
himself, he usurped the
prerogatives of the Apostles by
presuming to preach the
Gospel in the streets, where he
made many disciples, and
involving them, both men and
women, in a like presumption
by sending them out, in turn,
to preach.
Peter Waldo
These people, ignorant and
illiterate, went about through
the towns, entering houses and
even churches, spreading many
errors round about.”
“The principal heresy, then, of
the aforesaid Waldensians was
and still remains the contempt
for ecclesiastical power.
Excommunicated for this
reason and delivered to Satan,
they were precipitated into
innumerable errors. . . The
erring followers and
sacrilegious masters of this sect
Peter Waldo
hold and teach that they are not
subject to the lord pope or
Roman pontiff or to any
prelates of the Roman Church.”
From an Inquisitor’s report found in
church archives in southern France
Peter Waldo
The name Waldo can be
said as “Valdensius”
His followers then were
referred to as the
“Waldensians”
Peter Waldo
They were simply Catholics
who wanted to live simple
austere lives and preach the
Gospel to the world
The two witnesses are the
Old and New Testaments
“I will give authority to my two witnesses to
proclaim the message, clothed in sackcloth
and ashes for twelve hundred and sixty
days.” Rev. 11:3
Common Issues Among Other Groups;
• The propriety of poverty and asceticism
as a means of spiritual growth
• the role of ritualism in their lives
• they espoused deep involvement of the laity in
Christian service and activity
• the integrity of the clergy, and the
worldly lifestyle of many of the priests
• Papal interpretation of the Bible
The Waldensians Believed:
• The Scriptures alone were sufficient to guide people to
Salvation
• The blessings …of the Church did not confer any
particular sanctity upon the things or persons blessed
• Catholic priests. . .had no authority; and the Pope of
Rome was the chief of all heretics
• Everyone had the right to preach publicly the word of God
• Purgatory is a dream, an invention of the sixth century
• Indulgences were the invention of covetous Priests
The Waldensians Believed:
• The invocation of Saints is wrong
• Every honor given to holy images and to the relics of Saints
should to be abolished
• Hearing Confession was useless, . . .it was enough to
confess our sins to God
• The church and the state should remain as separate
authorities
• The bread and wine were to be viewed as a memorial, not
as a sacrifice
Waldensians fleeing the Crusades
1214 - First crusade against
the Waldensians began
Waldensian Strong holds
“For twenty long years
Languedoc and Provence
in France were subjected
to a blood bath which not
only wiped out the most
advanced culture of the
time but introduced …
into the Church, …the
rule that any ideological
deviation must be crushed
by force.”
Giorgio Tourn, The Waldensians, p. 18
Waldensians fleeing the Crusades
1214 - First crusade against
the Waldensians began
Tens of thousands
were murdered
“In June of 1561 the
Italian town of San
Sisto, with its 6,000
inhabitants was burned
to the ground. Another
Burning of San Sisto
neighboring Italian
town, Guardia Piemontese, was likewise destroyed.
Prisoners were burned like torches, sold as slaves to the
Moors or condemned to die of starvation in dungeons.
The massacre reached its height at Montalto Uffugo on
June 11th. On the steps in front of the parish church, 88
Waldensians were slaughtered one by one, like animals
brought to market.
Giorgio Tourn, The Waldensians, p. 88
Waldensian Pastor
Henri Arnaud - 1692
“. . .Men and women, great and lesser, day and
night do not cease to learn and teach; the workman
who labors all day teaches or learns at night . . . "
Edward Peters, Heresy and Authority in Medieval Europe, p. 153
“I know your deeds, your love and faith, your
service and perseverance, and that you are now
doing more than you did at first.” Rev. 2:19 (NIV)
John Wycliffe
“[Wycliffe] was a pupil, a
graduate, a master, a doctor,
and a professor in Oxford
University, an institution
second to none in Europe…
In Oxford, Wycliffe stood
without a rival. He was a
man of slender frame, genial
disposition, immense energy,
immovable conviction, and
of austere plainness and
purity of life.”
History of the Church of God, p. 457 - Hassell
“The great theme of
Wycliffe’s life was summed
up in his glorious statement,
‘The sacred Scriptures be
the property of the people,
and one which no party
should be allowed to wrest
from them.’”
John Wycliffe
There are currently over
500 English translations
of the Bible
“This 1410 Wycliffe New
Testament was the personal
copy of one of England’s most
famous martyrs, Richard
Hunne. Richard Hunne’s
lawsuits against the Roman
Catholic clergy of England
resulted in his murder at the
Lollard’s Tower, and Hunne is
mentioned in Foxe’s Book of Martyrs for this. Hunne was put
on trial posthumously, and this very New Testament is
mentioned in the depositions of these famous trials. This
particular piece is probably the single most important symbol
of the Protestant movement in England that is in private hands.
There is no way to put a market value on it… It is being offered
at 2.75 Million Dollars
Luttenworth Church
Where Wycliffe
Preached
Wycliffe’s Pulpit
• Wealth and power had so corrupted the church
that a reform was needed
• The church should return to the poverty and
simplicity of the apostles
• Church property should be taken over by the state
Luttenworth Church
Where Wycliffe
Preached
Wycliffe’s Pulpit
• Applied prophecies of Daniel to Papacy
• The Bible should be the only rule to follow
• Oppossed church hierarchy, the priesthood,
indulgences, confession, penance, veneration of
images and transsubstantiation
It took months to
produce just one Bible
“The Lollards”
• From Dutch word, “Lollaerd,” - to lull to sleep”
(Derivative of “lullaby” )
• From Latin word “Lolium” - “tares”
• From Old English word “Loller” – “a lazy vagabond, a
fraudulent beggar”
“The Lollards”
“These are the words of him who holds the seven
spirits of God and the seven stars. I know your deeds;
you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead.
Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to
die… If you do not wake up I will come like a thief,
and you will not know what time I come to you.”
Rev. 3:1-3 (NIV)
“The Lollards”
Sardis means “Remnant”
“These are the words of him who holds the seven
spirits of God and the seven stars. I know your deeds;
you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead.
Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to
die… If you do not wake up I will come like a thief,
and you will not know what time I come to you.”
Rev. 3:1-3 (NIV)
“The Lollards”
“These are the words of him who holds the seven
spirits of God and the seven stars. I know your deeds;
you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead.
Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to
die… If you do not wake up I will come like a thief,
and you will not know what time I come to you.”
Rev. 3:1-3 (NIV)
As a response to
Waldo’s “Poor Men of
Lyon” Papacy formed
a group known as
“Mendicant Friars”
Mendicant = “to beg”
They copied Waldo’s approach
of poverty and preaching because they saw how
popular it was and they wanted to counteract Waldo’s
work and bring people back to the “crumbling church ”
Also known as “The Begging Friars”
The Swift River
Luttenworth Church
Morning Star
of the Reformation
“His doctrines would spread
throughout the world as
his ashes spread to the sea.”
Persecution of the Lollards
• Princess Ann offered
Bohemian students
scholarships to Oxford
• These students then
carried the doctrines
of Wycliffe back home
with them
Painting of Coronation/Marriage of King
Richard II and Princess Ann of Bohemia
John Huss
“Here is the Heresiarch”
(Chief advocate of a heresy)
Huss Before the Counsel
“Here is the Heresiarch”
(Chief advocate of a heresy)
“… Arriving at the gate of
the Episcopal palace, he saw
a pile of wood, and believed
that he was already at the
place of execution. He was
soon undeceived, for the
wood being fired, he saw his
writings brought forward,
and successively thrown
into the flames. … He now
approached the large area,
“Here is the Heresiarch”
(Chief advocate of a heresy)
which had been cleared
from the crowd, who still
anxiously pressed forward
wherever the vigilance of
the guards was relaxed. …
In the center he saw an
accumulation of bundled
sticks, amidst which a
strong post was erected.
Several men were employed
in carrying more wood in
“Here is the Heresiarch”
(Chief advocate of a heresy)
the open space, and four
large bundles of straw were
placed inside the bundled
sticks. A man of ferocious
aspect stood near the post
about which the bundled
wood was being piled. He
was engaged in disentangling the coils of a
rope, which had been
recently immersed in
water, and two or three
chains were laid across a
bench, with the appearance
of careful arrangement…
“Here is the Heresiarch”
(Chief advocate of a heresy)
The executioner then took a
frock, prepared with pitch
and tar. It was brought to
Huss, and wearing this, he
was conducted to the
stake…
“Here is the Heresiarch”
(Chief advocate of a heresy)
Huss was first tied round
the middle with cords. A
chain was passed over
these, and chains were
fastened to his left leg and
his neck. Thus securely
bound to the stake, the
wooden bundles… were
piled to the chin; straw was
placed beneath and
between them where it was
thought likely most
effectually to contribute to
the fierceness of the blaze.
A moment of awful
expectation followed. The
executioner approached
with a lighted torch; when
the Duke of Bavaria rode
up to Huss, and loudly
called to him, demanding
that he should now
renounce his errors; at the
same time reminding him
that in a few moments it
would be out of his power
to do so.
“I thought the danger
already passed” he replied;
“but happily, I am nothing
tempted to gainsay what I
have advanced. I have
taught the truth, and am
now ready to seal it with my
blood. Ultimately it shall
prevail, though I may not
see it. This day you kindle
the flames of persecution
about a poor and worthless
sinner; but the spirit which
animates me, shall, phoenixlike, ascend from my ashes,
soar majestically on high
through many succeeding
ages, and prove to all the
Christian world, how vain
this persecution, how
impotent your rage.”
…Huss saw the torch
resumed, and in the same
instant he heard the
crackling of the lighted
straw.”
The Massachusetts Spy and
Worcester County Advertiser
Wednesday, September 27, 1826
“Yet you have a few people in Sardis who
have not soiled their clothes. They will
walk with me, dressed in white, for they
are worthy. He who overcomes will, like
me, be dressed in white. I will never erase
his name from the book of life, but will
acknowledge his name before my father
and his angels.” Rev. 3:4, 5
“And when he had opened
the fifth seal, I saw under
the altar the souls of them
that were slain for the
word of God, and for the
testimony which they held:
And they cried with a loud
voice, saying, How long O
lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge
our blood on them that dwell on the earth?
And white robes were given unto every one of
them; and it was said unto them, that they should
rest yet for a little season, until their fellow servants
also and their brethren, that should be killed as
they [were], should be fulfilled.” Rev. 6:9-11
The persecution experienced during the 5th stage
of the church would continue for a season, but
after that season justice would be served
“Season” = Greek “Chronos”- Quantity of Time
1518 AD
Chronos
1 Prophetic Year
(360 Years)
1878 AD
“In your struggle against sin, you have not yet
resisted to the point of shedding your blood.”
Heb. 12:4 (NIV)
“Be strong and courageous … The Lord himself
goeth before you and will be with you; He will never
leave you or forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be
discouraged.” Deut. 31:7, 8
“They overcame him (Satan) by the blood of the Lamb
and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their
lives so much as to shrink from death. Therefore rejoice
you heavens and you who dwell in them!. Rev. 12: 10-12
The Church
Hymn 281
The Church’s one foundation
Is Jesus Christ her Lord;
She is his new creation,
By water and the word.
From heav’n he came and sought her
To be his holy bride;
With his own blood he bought her,
and for her life he died
Though with a scournful wonder,
Men see her sore opprest:
By foes too great to number,
By trials sore dis-trest,
Yet saints their watch are keeping;
Their cry goes up, “How long?”
And soon the night of weeping
Shall change to morn of song.
Mid toil and tribulation,
And tumult of her war,
She waits the consumation
Of peace for-ever-more;
Till, with the vision glorious,
Her longing eyes are blest,
And the great Church vic-to-rious
Shall be the Church at rest.