Reformation 500

Reformation 500 Years-Luther Before the Diet At Worms

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Beginning today (October 24, 2017) a series of conferences (Kairos 2017) between  Catholic, Protestant & Orthodox Churches (including the Lutherans) will begin in Kansas City.  Their purpose is to “heal the wound” caused by the “split in the church” that occurred when Martin Luther officially kicked off the “protest” of the Catholic church and her dogmas/traditions. He asserted the church’s teachings ran against the plain and simple word of God.

The anticipated outcome of the Kairos 2017 meeting is to bring back the Protestants to the mother church and officially end the 500-year-old protest. They claim,  “the protest is over.” The high officials of the Roman Catholic church say, the reasons for the protest are no longer valid because the Roman Catholic church has incorporated into its doctrine that justification before God is attained through grace and not any works man can offer. Does this mean they were wrong before this declaration? Is this the only error the Reformers renounced?

What would Martin Luther think of such a meeting after he and many others stood up to the errors of the papacy and gave their lives to the fires? Today, as the Pope tries to draw back the Protestants, under the theme of unity, but at the cost of God’s word, we read of the founder of the Lutheran church, Martin Luther who stood before the papacy upon the cry, “Solo Scriptura”  God’s word alone directs the life of a Christian.

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From the book, The Great Controversy starting on page 145

A new emperor, Charles V, had ascended the throne of Germany, and the emissaries of Rome hastened to present their congratulations and induce the monarch to employ his power against the Reformation. On the other hand, the elector of Saxony, to whom Charles was in great degree indebted for his crown, entreated him to take no step against Luther until he should have granted him a hearing. The emperor was thus placed in a position of great perplexity and embarrassment. The papists would be satisfied with nothing short of an imperial edict sentencing Luther to death. The elector had declared firmly that “neither his imperial majesty nor any other person had shown that Luther’s writings had been refuted;” therefore he requested “that Dr. Luther should be furnished with a safe-conduct, so that he might appear before a tribunal of learned, pious, and impartial judges.”–D’Aubigne, b. 6, ch. 11.

The attention of all parties was now directed to the assembly of the German states which convened at Worms soon after the accession of Charles to the empire. There were important political questions and interests to be considered by this national council; for the first time the princes of Germany were to meet their youthful monarch in deliberative assembly. From all parts of the fatherland had come the dignitaries of church and state. Secular lords, highborn, powerful, and jealous of their hereditary rights; princely ecclesiastics, flushed with their conscious superiority in rank and power; courtly knights and their armed retainers; and ambassadors from foreign and distant lands,–all gathered at Worms. Yet in that vast assembly the subject that excited the deepest interest was the cause of the Saxon Reformer.

Charles had previously directed the elector to bring Luther with him to the Diet, assuring him of protection, and promising a free discussion, with competent persons, of the questions in dispute. Luther was anxious to appear before the emperor. His health was at this time much impaired; yet he wrote to the elector: “If I cannot go to Worms in good health, I will be carried there, sick as I am. For if the emperor calls me, I cannot doubt that it is the call of God Himself. If they desire to use violence against me, and that is very probable (for it is not for their instruction that they order me to appear), I place the matter in the Lord’s hands. He still lives and reigns who preserved the three young men in the burning fiery furnace. If He will not save me, my life is of little consequence. Let us only prevent the gospel from being exposed to the scorn of the wicked, and let us shed our blood for it, for fear they should triumph. It is not for me to decide whether my life or my death will contribute most to the salvation of all. . . . You may expect everything from me. . . except flight and recantation. Fly I cannot, and still less retract.”–Ibid., b. 7, ch. 1.

As the news was circulated at Worms that Luther was to appear before the Diet, a general excitement was created. Aleander, the papal legate to whom the case had been specially entrusted, was alarmed and enraged. He saw that the result would be disastrous to the papal cause. To institute inquiry into a case in which the pope had already pronounced sentence of condemnation would be to cast contempt upon the authority of the sovereign pontiff. Furthermore, he was apprehensive that the eloquent and powerful arguments of this man might turn away many of the princes from the cause of the pope. He therefore, in the most urgent manner, remonstrated with Charles against Luther’s appearance at Worms. About this time the bull declaring Luther’s excommunication was published; and this, coupled with the representations of the legate, induced the emperor to yield. He wrote to the elector that if Luther would not retract, he must remain at Wittenberg.

With all the power of learning and eloquence, Aleander set himself to overthrow the truth. Charge after charge he hurled against Luther as an enemy of the church and the state, the living and the dead, clergy and laity, councils and private Christians. “In Luther’s errors there is enough,” he declared, to warrant the burning of “a hundred thousand heretics.”

In conclusion, he endeavored to cast contempt upon the adherents of the reformed faith: “What are all these Lutherans? A crew of insolent pedagogues, corrupt priests, dissolute monks, ignorant lawyers, and degraded nobles, with the common people whom they have misled and perverted. How far superior to them is the Catholic party in number, ability, and power! A unanimous decree from this illustrious assembly will enlighten the simple, warn the imprudent, decide the waverers, and give strength to the weak.” –D’Aubigne, b. 7, ch. 3.

With such weapons the advocates of truth in every age have been attacked. The same arguments are still urged against all who dare to present, in opposition to established errors, the plain and direct teachings of God’s word. “Who are these preachers of new doctrines?” exclaim those who desire a popular religion. “They are unlearned, few in numbers, and of the poorer class. Yet they claim to have the truth, and to be the chosen people of God. They are ignorant and deceived. How greatly superior in numbers and influence is our church! How many great and learned men are among us! How much more power is on our side!” These are the arguments that have a telling influence upon the world; but they are no more conclusive now than in the days of the Reformer.

The Reformation did not, as many suppose, end with Luther. It is to be continued to the close of this world’s history. Luther had a great work to do in reflecting to others the light which God had permitted to shine upon him; yet he did not receive all the light which was to be given to the world. From that time to this, new light has been continually shining upon the Scriptures, and new truths have been constantly unfolding.

The council now demanded the Reformer’s appearance before them. Notwithstanding the entreaties, protests, and threats of Aleander, the emperor at last consented, and Luther was summoned to appear before the Diet. With the summons was issued a safe-conduct, ensuring his return to a place of security. These were borne to Wittenberg by a herald, who was commissioned to conduct him to Worms.

The friends of Luther were terrified and distressed. Knowing the prejudice and enmity against him, they feared that even his safe-conduct would not be respected, and they entreated him not to imperil his life. He replied: “The papists do not desire my coming to Worms, but my condemnation and my death. It matters not. Pray not for me, but for the word of God. . . . Christ will give me His Spirit to overcome these ministers of error. I despise them during my life; I shall triumph over them by my death. They are busy at Worms about compelling me to retract; and this shall be my retraction: I said formerly that the pope was Christ’s vicar; now I assert that he is our Lord’s adversary, and the devil’s apostle.”–Ibid., b. 7, ch. 6.

Luther was not to make his perilous journey alone. Besides the imperial messenger, three of his firmest friends determined to accompany him. Melanchthon earnestly desired to join them. His heart was knit to Luther’s, and he yearned to follow him, if need be, to prison or to death. But his entreaties were denied. Should Luther perish, the hopes of the Reformation must center upon his youthful colaborer. Said the Reformer as he parted from Melanchthon: “If I do not return, and my enemies put me to death, continue to teach, and stand fast in the truth. Labor in my stead. . . . If you survive, my death will be of little consequence.”– Ibid., b. 7, ch. 7. Students and citizens who had gathered to witness Luther’s departure were deeply moved. A multitude whose hearts had been touched by the gospel, bade him farewell with weeping. Thus the Reformer and his companions set out from Wittenberg.

As the Reformer proceeded on his journey, he was everywhere regarded with great interest. An eager multitude thronged about him, and friendly voices warned him of the purpose of the Romanists. “They will burn you,” said some, “and reduce your body to ashes, as they did with John Huss.” Luther answered, “Though they should kindle a fire all the way from Worms to Wittenberg, the flames of which reached to heaven, I would walk through it in the name of the Lord; I would appear before them; I would enter the jaws of this behemoth, and break his teeth, confessing the Lord Jesus Christ.”–Ibid., b. 7, ch. 7.

Upon his arrival at Worms, a vast crowd flocked to the gates to welcome him. So great a concourse had not assembled to greet the emperor himself. The excitement was intense, and from the midst of the throng a shrill and plaintive voice chanted a funeral dirge as a warning to Luther of the fate that awaited him. “God will be my defense,” said he, as he alighted from his carriage.

The papists had not believed that Luther would really venture to appear at Worms, and his arrival filled them with consternation. The emperor immediately summoned his councilors to consider what course should be pursued. One of the bishops, a rigid papist, declared: “We have long consulted on this matter. Let your imperial majesty get rid of this man at once. Did not Sigismund cause John Huss to be burnt? We are not bound either to give or to observe the safe-conduct of a heretic.” “No,” said the emperor, “we must keep our promise.”–Ibid., b. 7, ch. 8. It was therefore decided that the Reformer should be heard.

At length Luther stood before the council. The emperor occupied the throne. He was surrounded by the most illustrious personages in the empire. Never had any man appeared in the presence of a more imposing assembly than that before which Martin Luther was to answer for his faith. “This appearance was of itself a signal victory over the papacy. The pope had condemned the man, and he was now standing before a tribunal which, by this very act, set itself above the pope. The pope had laid him under an interdict, and cut him off from all human society; and yet he was summoned in respectful language, and received before the most august assembly in the world. The pope had condemned him to perpetual silence, and he was now about to speak before thousands of attentive hearers drawn together from the farthest parts of Christendom. An immense revolution had thus been effected by Luther’s instrumentality. Rome was already descending from her throne, and it was the voice of a monk that caused this humiliation.”–Ibid., b. 7, ch. 8.

Luther was conducted to a position directly in front of the emperor’s throne. A deep silence fell upon the crowded assembly. Then an imperial officer arose and, pointing to a collection of Luther’s writings, demanded that the Reformer answer two questions–whether he acknowledged them as his, and whether he proposed to retract the opinions which he had therein advanced. The titles of the books having been read, Luther replied that as to the first question, he acknowledged the books to be his. “As to the second,” he said, “seeing that it is a question which concerns faith and the salvation of souls, and in which the word of God, the greatest and most precious treasure either in heaven or earth, is involved, I should act imprudently were I to reply without reflection. I might affirm less than the circumstance demands, or more than truth requires, and so sin against this saying of Christ: ‘Whosoever shall deny Me before men, him will I also deny before My Father which is in heaven.’ [Matthew 10:33.] For this reason I entreat your imperial majesty, with all humility, to allow me time, that I may answer without offending against the word of God.”– D’Aubigne, b. 7, ch. 8.

When he was again ushered into the presence of the Diet, his countenance bore no trace of fear or embarrassment. Calm and peaceful, yet grandly brave and noble, he stood as God’s witness among the great ones of the earth. The imperial officer now demanded his decision as to whether he desired to retract his doctrines. Luther made his answer in a subdued and humble tone, without violence or passion. His demeanor was diffident and respectful; yet he manifested a confidence and joy that surprised the assembly.

“Most serene emperor, illustrious princes, gracious lords,” said Luther, “I appear before you this day, in conformity with the order given me yesterday, and by God’s mercies I conjure your majesty and your august highnesses to listen graciously to the defense of a cause which I am assured is just and true. If, through ignorance, I should transgress the usages and proprieties of courts, I entreat you to pardon me; for I was not brought up in the palaces of kings, but in the seclusion of a convent.”–Ibid., b. 7, ch. 8.

Those who stubbornly closed their eyes to the light, and determined not to be convinced of the truth, were enraged at the power of Luther’s words. As he ceased speaking, the spokesman of the Diet said angrily: “You have not answered the question put to you. . . . You are required to give a clear and precise answer. . . . Will you, or will you not, retract?”

The Reformer answered: “Since your most serene majesty and your high mightinesses require from me a clear, simple, and precise answer, I will give you one, and it is this: I cannot submit my faith either to the pope or to the councils, because it is clear as the day that they have frequently erred and contradicted each other. Unless therefore I am convinced by the testimony of Scripture or by the clearest reasoning, unless I am persuaded by means of the passages I have quoted, and unless they thus render my conscience bound by the word of God, I cannot and I will not retract, for it is unsafe for a Christian to speak against his conscience. Here I stand, I can do no other; may God help me. Amen.” –Ibid., b. 7, ch. 8.

The papal leaders were chagrined that their power, which had caused kings and nobles to tremble, should be thus despised by a humble monk; they longed to make him feel their wrath by torturing his life away. But Luther, understanding his danger, had spoken to all with Christian dignity and calmness. His words had been free from pride, passion, and misrepresentation. He had lost sight of himself, and the great men surrounding him, and felt only that he was in the presence of One infinitely superior to popes, prelates, kings, and emperors. Christ had spoken through Luther’s testimony with a power and grandeur that for the time inspired both friends and foes with awe and wonder. The Spirit of God had been present in that council, impressing the hearts of the chiefs of the empire. Several of the princes boldly acknowledged the justice of Luther’s cause. Many were convinced of the truth; but with some the impressions received were not lasting. There was another class who did not at the time express their convictions, but who, having searched the Scriptures for themselves, at a future time became fearless supporters of the Reformation.

He had not been long absent from Worms, when the papists prevailed upon the emperor to issue an edict against him. In this decree Luther was denounced as “Satan himself under the form of a man and dressed in a monk’s frock.”– D’Aubigne, b. 7, ch. 11. It was commanded that as soon as his safe-conduct should expire, measures be taken to stop his work. All persons were forbidden to harbor him, to give him food or drink, or by word or act, in public or private, to aid or abet him. He was to be seized wherever he might be, and delivered to the authorities. His adherents also were to be imprisoned and their property confiscated. His writings were to be destroyed, and, finally, all who should dare to act contrary to this decree were included in its condemnation.The elector of Saxony and the princes most friendly to Luther had left Worms soon after his departure, and the emperor’s decree received the sanction of the Diet. Now the Romanists were jubilant. They considered the fate of the Reformation sealed…….

 

Reformation 500

Reformation 500 Years-Luther’s Separation

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Beginning tomorrow (October 24, 2017) a meeting between  Catholic, Protestant & Orthodox Churches will begin in Kansas City.  Their purpose is to “heal the wound” caused by the “split in the church” that occurred when Martin Luther officially kicked off the “protest” of the Catholic church and her dogmas/traditions which run against the plain and simple word of God.

Their hope is to bring back the Protestants to the mother church and officially end the 500-year-old protest. The claim is that “the protest is over.” The reasons  for the protest are no longer valid because the Roman Catholic church has incorporated into its doctrine that justification before God is attained through grace and not any works man can offer.

However , the objections Martin Luther put forward and nailed to the door of the Wittenburg church were 95 in number.  The split did not occur over just this one teaching of the Bible but much more….

As we will see in the coming week in our study of the history of the Reformation, such a move to “heal” this wound is part of Bible prophecy and will bring in the great delusion of the final days that will be so great that

“if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect...”

Matthew 24:24

The only safeguard against deception is the word of God and a personal day-by-day trust in the Lord.

To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.

Isaiah 8:20

To all of God’s word was Luther committed.  He had found the  Roman church marketed tradition and indulgences to finance the church and keep the people under her power through the use of pomp, display, ignorance of God’s word, and raw power of influence and force.

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Great Controversy, excerpts starting on page 124…

Foremost among those who were called to lead the church from the darkness of popery into the light of a purer faith, stood Martin Luther. Zealous, ardent, and devoted, knowing no fear but the fear of God, and acknowledging no foundation for religious faith but the Holy Scriptures, Luther was the man for his time; through him, God accomplished a great work for the reformation of the church and the enlightenment of the world.

Like the first heralds of the gospel, Luther sprang from the ranks of poverty. His early years were spent in the humble home of a German peasant. By daily toil as a miner, his father earned the means for his education. He intended him for a lawyer, but God purposed to make him a builder in the great temple that was rising so slowly through the centuries. Hardship, privation, and severe discipline were the school in which Infinite Wisdom prepared Luther for the important mission of his life.

At school, where he was sent at an early age, Luther was treated with harshness and even violence. So great was the poverty of his parents that upon going from home to school in another town he was for a time obliged to obtain his food by singing from door to door, and he often suffered from hunger. The gloomy, superstitious ideas of religion then prevailing filled him with fear. He would lie down at night with a sorrowful heart, looking forward with trembling to the dark future and in constant terror at the thought of God as a stern, unrelenting judge, a cruel tyrant, rather than a kind heavenly Father.

Yet under so many and so great discouragements, Luther pressed resolutely forward toward the high standard of moral and intellectual excellence which attracted his soul. He thirsted for knowledge, and the earnest and practical character of his mind led him to desire the solid and useful rather than the showy and superficial.

When, at the age of eighteen, he entered the University of Erfurt, his situation was more favorable and his prospects were brighter than in his earlier years. His parents having by thrift and industry acquired a competence, they were able to render him all needed assistance.

The fear of the Lord dwelt in the heart of Luther, enabling him to maintain his steadfastness of purpose and leading him to deep humility before God. He had an abiding sense of his dependence upon divine aid, and he did not fail to begin each day with prayer, while his heart was continually breathing a petition for guidance and support. “To pray well,” he often said, “is the better half of study.”– D’Aubigne, b. 2, ch. 2.

While one day examining the books in the library of the university, Luther discovered a Latin Bible. Such a book he had never before seen. He was ignorant even of its existence. He had heard portions of the Gospels and Epistles, which were read to the people at public worship, and he supposed that these were the entire Bible. Now, for the first time, he looked upon the whole of God’s word. With mingled awe and wonder he turned the sacred pages; with quickened pulse and throbbing heart he read for himself the words of life, pausing now and then to exclaim: “O that God would give me such a book for myself!”–Ibid., b. 2, ch. 2. Angels of heaven were by his side, and rays of light from the throne of God revealed the treasures of truth to his understanding. He had ever feared to offend God, but now the deep conviction of his condition as a sinner took hold upon him as never before. 

An earnest desire to be free from sin and to find peace with God led him at last to enter a cloister and devote himself to a monastic life. Here he was required to perform the lowest drudgery and to beg from house to house. He was at an age when respect and appreciation are most eagerly craved, and these menial offices were deeply mortifying to his natural feelings; but he patiently endured this humiliation, believing that it was necessary because of his sins.

When it appeared to Luther that all was lost, God raised up a friend and helper for him. The pious Staupitz opened the word of God to Luther’s mind and bade him look away from himself, cease the contemplation of infinite punishment for the violation of God’s law, and look to Jesus, his sin-pardoning Saviour. “Instead of torturing yourself on account of your sins, throw yourself into the Redeemer’s arms. Trust in Him, in the righteousness of His life, in the atonement of His death. . . . Listen to the Son of God. He became man to give you the assurance of divine favor.” “Love Him who first loved you.”–Ibid., b. 2, ch. 4. Thus spoke this messenger of mercy. His words made a deep impression upon Luther’s mind. After many a struggle with long-cherished errors, he was enabled to grasp the truth, and peace came to his troubled soul.

Luther was still a true son of the papal church and had no thought that he would ever be anything else. In the providence of God, he was led to visit Rome. …With deep emotion he prostrated himself upon the earth, exclaiming: “Holy Rome, I salute thee!”–Ibid., b. 2, ch. 6. He entered the city, visited the churches, listened to the marvelous tales repeated by priests and monks, and performed all the ceremonies required. Everywhere he looked upon scenes that filled him with astonishment and horror. He saw that iniquity existed among all classes of the clergy. He heard indecent jokes from prelates and was filled with horror at their awful profanity, even during mass. As he mingled with the monks and citizens he met dissipation, debauchery. Turn where he would, in the place of sanctity he found profanation. “No one can imagine,” he wrote, “what sins and infamous actions are committed in Rome; they must be seen and heard to be believed. Thus they are in the habit of saying, ‘If there is a hell, Rome is built over it: it is an abyss whence issues every kind of sin.'”–Ibid., b. 2, ch. 6.

By a recent decretal an indulgence had been promised by the pope to all who should ascend upon their knees “Pilate’s staircase,” said to have been descended by our Saviour on leaving the Roman judgment hall and to have been miraculously conveyed from Jerusalem to Rome. Luther was one day devoutly climbing these steps, when suddenly a voice like thunder seemed to say to him: “The just shall live by faith.” Romans 1:17. He sprang to his feet and hastened from the place in shame and horror. That text never lost its power upon his soul. From that time he saw more clearly than ever before the fallacy of trusting to human works for salvation, and the necessity of constant faith in the merits of Christ. His eyes had been opened, and were never again to be closed, to the delusions of the papacy. When he turned his face from Rome he had turned away also in heart, and from that time the separation grew wider, until he severed all connection with the papal church.

After his return from Rome, Luther received at the University of Wittenberg the degree of doctor of divinity. Now he was at liberty to devote himself, as never before, to the Scriptures that he loved.  He had taken a solemn vow to study carefully and to preach with fidelity the word of God, not the sayings and doctrines of the popes, all the days of his life. He was no longer the mere monk or professor, but the authorized herald of the Bible. He had been called as a shepherd to feed the flock of God, that were hungering and thirsting for the truth. He firmly declared that Christians should receive no other doctrines than those which rest on the authority of the Sacred Scriptures. These words struck at the very foundation of papal supremacy. They contained the vital principle of the Reformation.

Precious was the message which he bore to the eager crowds that hung upon his words. Never before had such teachings fallen upon their ears. The glad tidings of a Saviour’s love, the assurance of pardon and peace through His atoning blood, rejoiced their hearts and inspired within them an immortal hope. At Wittenberg a light was kindled whose rays should extend to the uttermost parts of the earth, and which was to increase in brightness to the close of time.

But light and darkness cannot harmonize. Between truth and error there is an irrepressible conflict. To uphold and defend the one is to attack and overthrow the other. Our Saviour Himself declared: “I came not to send peace, but a sword.” Matthew 10:34. Said Luther, a few years after the opening of the Reformation: “God does not guide me, He pushes me forward. He carries me away. I am not master of myself. I desire to live in repose; but I am thrown into the midst of tumults and revolutions.”–D’Aubigne, b. 5, ch. 2. He was now about to be urged into the contest.

The Roman Church had made merchandise of the grace of God. The tables of the money-changers (Matthew 21:12) were set up beside her altars, and the air resounded with the shouts of buyers and sellers. Under the plea of raising funds for the erection of St. Peter’s Church at Rome, indulgences for sin were publicly offered for sale by the authority of the pope. By the price of crime a temple was to be built up for God’s worship–the cornerstone laid with the wages of iniquity! But the very means adopted for Rome’s aggrandizement provoked the deadliest blow to her power and greatness. It was this that aroused the most determined and successful of the enemies of popery, and led to the battle which shook the papal throne and jostled the triple crown upon the pontiff’s head.

The official appointed to conduct the sale of indulgences in Germany–Tetzel by name–had been convicted of the basest offenses against society and against the law of God; but having escaped the punishment due for his crimes, he was employed to further the mercenary and unscrupulous projects of the pope. With great effrontery he repeated the most glaring falsehoods and related marvelous tales to deceive an ignorant, credulous, and superstitious people. Had they possessed the word of God they would not have been thus deceived. It was to keep them under the control of the papacy, in order to swell the power and wealth of her ambitious leaders, that the Bible had been withheld from them. (See John C. L. Gieseler, A Compendium of Ecclesiastical History, per. 4, sec. 1, par. 5.)

Luther’s teachings attracted the attention of thoughtful minds throughout all Germany. From his sermons and writings issued beams of light which awakened and illuminated thousands. A living faith was taking the place of the dead formalism in which the church had so long been held. The people were daily losing confidence in the superstitions of Romanism. The barriers of prejudice were giving way. The word of God, by which Luther tested every doctrine and every claim, was like a two-edged sword, cutting its way to the hearts of the people. Everywhere there was awakening a desire for spiritual progress. Everywhere was such a hungering and thirsting after righteousness as had not been known for ages. The eyes of the people, so long directed to human rites and earthly mediators, were now turning in penitence and faith to Christ and Him crucified.

The Reformer’s writings and his doctrine were extending to every nation in Christendom. The work spread to Switzerland and Holland. Copies of his writings found their way to France and Spain. In England his teachings were received as the word of life. To Belgium and Italy also the truth had extended. Thousands were awakening from their deathlike stupor to the joy and hope of a life of faith.

Rome became more and more exasperated by the attacks of Luther, and it was declared by some of his fanatical opponents, even by doctors in Catholic universities, that he who should kill the rebellious monk would be without sin. One day a stranger, with a pistol hidden under his cloak, approached the Reformer and inquired why he went thus alone. “I am in God’s hands,” answered Luther. “He is my strength and my shield. What can man do unto me?”–Ibid., b. 6, ch. 2. Upon hearing these words, the stranger turned pale and fled away as from the presence of the angels of heaven.

Rome was bent upon the destruction of Luther; but God was his defense. His doctrines were heard everywhere–“in cottages and convents, . . . in the castles of the nobles, in the universities, and in the palaces of kings;” and noble men were rising on every hand to sustain his efforts.–Ibid., b. 6, ch. 2.

It was about this time that Luther, reading the works of Huss, found that the great truth of justification by faith, which he himself was seeking to uphold and teach, had been held by the Bohemian Reformer. “We have all,” said Luther, “Paul, Augustine, and myself, been Hussites without knowing it!” “God will surely visit it upon the world,” he continued, “that the truth was preached to it a century ago, and burned!”–Wylie, b. 6. ch. 1

But Luther was fearless still. Rome had hurled her anathemas against him, and the world looked on, nothing doubting that he would perish or be forced to yield. But with terrible power he flung back upon herself the sentence of condemnation and publicly declared his determination to abandon her forever. In the presence of a crowd of students, doctors, and citizens of all ranks Luther burned the pope’s bull, with the canon laws, the decretals, and certain writings sustaining the papal power. “My enemies have been able, by burning my books,” he said, “to injure the cause of truth in the minds of the common people, and destroy their souls; for this reason I consumed their books in return. A serious struggle has just begun. Hitherto I have been only playing with the pope. I began this work in God’s name; it will be ended without me, and by His might.” –Ibid., b. 6, ch. 10.

Yet it was not without a terrible struggle with himself that Luther decided upon a final separation from the church. It was about this time that he wrote: “I feel more and more every day how difficult it is to lay aside the scruples which one has imbibed in childhood. Oh, how much pain it has caused me, though I had the Scriptures on my side, to justify it to myself that I should dare to make a stand alone against the pope, and hold him forth as antichrist! What have the tribulations of my heart not been! How many times have I not asked myself with bitterness that question which was so frequent on the lips of the papists: ‘Art thou alone wise? Can everyone else be mistaken? How will it be, if, after all, it is thyself who art wrong, and who art involving in thy error so many souls, who will then be eternally damned?’ ‘Twas so I fought with myself and with Satan, till Christ, by His own infallible word, fortified my heart against these doubts.”–Martyn, pages 372, 373.

The pope had threatened Luther with excommunication if he did not recant, and the threat was now fulfilled. A new bull appeared, declaring the Reformer’s final separation from the Roman Church, denouncing him as accursed of Heaven, and including in the same condemnation all who should receive his doctrines. The great contest had been fully entered upon.

Opposition is the lot of all whom God employs to present truths specially applicable to their time. There was a present truth in the days of Luther,–a truth at that time of special importance; there is a present truth for the church today.

More of Luther to be continued tomorrow….

Reformation 500

Reformation 500 Years-Huss and Jerome

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October 31, 2017  marks 500 years since the official beginning of the Reformation when Luther nailed his 95 Thesis to the Wittenberg church door.

In celebration of the Reformation, we are honoring the great reformers of the 16th century and telling their story by taking excerpts from the book, The Great Controversy.

This book is free online by clicking on this link:

The Great Controversy

If you are a Christian and not a Catholic, you are a Protestant. How much do you know about the origins of the Protestant beliefs? What were the reformers protesting against? Has the Protestants had a change of heart and desire to return to the “mother church?”

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Great Controversy pages, 97, 98, 104, 106, 108, 109, 110

The gospel had been planted in Bohemia as early as the ninth century. The Bible was translated, and public worship was conducted, in the language of the people. But as the power of the pope increased, so the word of God was obscured. Gregory VII, who had taken it upon himself to humble the pride of kings, was no less intent upon enslaving the people, and accordingly a bull was issued forbidding public worship to be conducted in the Bohemian tongue. The pope declared that “it was pleasing to the Omnipotent that His worship should be celebrated in an unknown language, and that many evils and heresies had arisen from not observing this rule.”–Wylie, b. 3, ch. 1. Thus Rome decreed that the light of God’s word should be extinguished and the people should be shut up in darkness. But Heaven had provided other agencies for the preservation of the church. Many of the Waldenses and Albigenses, driven by persecution from their homes in France and Italy, came to Bohemia. Though they dared not teach openly, they labored zealously in secret. Thus the true faith was preserved from century to century.

Before the days of Huss there were men in Bohemia who rose up to condemn openly the corruption in the church and the profligacy of the people. Their labors excited widespread interest. The fears of the hierarchy were roused, and persecution was opened against the disciples of the gospel…

John Huss was of humble birth, and was early left an orphan by the death of his father. His pious mother, regarding education and the fear of God as the most valuable of possessions, sought to secure this heritage for her son. Huss studied at the provincial school, and then repaired to the university at Prague, receiving admission as a charity scholar. He was accompanied on the journey to Prague by his mother; widowed and poor, she had no gifts of worldly wealth to bestow upon her son, but as they drew near to the great city, she kneeled down beside the fatherless youth and invoked for him the blessing of their Father in heaven. Little did that mother realize how her prayer was to be answered.

At the university, Huss soon distinguished himself by his untiring application and rapid progress, while his blameless life and gentle, winning deportment gained him universal esteem. He was a sincere adherent of the Roman Church and an earnest seeker for the spiritual blessings which it professes to bestow. On the occasion of a jubilee he went to confession, paid the last few coins in his scanty store, and joined in the processions, that he might share in the absolution promised. After completing his college course, he entered the priesthood, and rapidly attaining to eminence, he soon became attached to the court of the king. He was also made professor and afterward rector of the university where he had received his education. In a few years the humble charity scholar had become the pride of his country, and his name was renowned throughout Europe.

But it was in another field that Huss began the work of reform. Several years after taking priest’s orders he was appointed preacher of the chapel of Bethlehem. The founder of this chapel had advocated, as a matter of great importance, the preaching of the Scriptures in the language of the people. Notwithstanding Rome’s opposition to this practice, it had not been wholly discontinued in Bohemia. But there was great ignorance of the Bible, and the worst vices prevailed among the people of all ranks. These evils Huss unsparingly denounced, appealing to the word of God to enforce the principles of truth and purity which he inculcated.

A citizen of Prague, Jerome, who afterward became so closely associated with Huss, had, on returning from England, brought with him the writings of Wycliffe. The queen of England, who had been a convert to Wycliffe’s teachings, was a Bohemian princess, and through her influence also the Reformer’s works were widely circulated in her native country. These works Huss read with interest; he believed their author to be a sincere Christian and was inclined to regard with favor the reforms which he advocated. Already, though he knew it not, Huss had entered upon a path which was to lead him far away from Rome.

About this time there arrived in Prague two strangers from England, men of learning, who had received the light and had come to spread it in this distant land. Beginning with an open attack on the pope’s supremacy, they were soon silenced by the authorities; but being unwilling to relinquish their purpose, they had recourse to other measures. Being artists as well as preachers, they proceeded to exercise their skill. In a place open to the public they drew two pictures. One represented the entrance of Christ into Jerusalem, “meek, and sitting upon an ass” (Matthew 21:5), and followed by His disciples in travel-worn garments and with naked feet. The other picture portrayed a pontifical procession–the pope arrayed in his rich robes and triple crown, mounted upon a horse magnificently adorned, preceded by trumpeters and followed by cardinals and prelates in dazzling array…..

o cure the evils that were distracting Europe, a general council was summoned to meet at Constance. The council was called at the desire of the emperor Sigismund, by one of the three rival popes, John XXIII. The demand for a council had been far from welcome to Pope John, whose character and policy could ill bear investigation, even by prelates as lax in morals as were the churchmen of those times. He dared not, however, oppose the will of Sigismund. (See Appendix.)

The chief objects to be accomplished by the council were to heal the schism in the church and to root out heresy. Hence the two antipopes were summoned to appear before it, as well as the leading propagator of the new opinions, John Huss. The former, having regard to their own safety, did not attend in person, but were represented by their delegates. Pope John, while ostensibly the convoker of the council, came to it with many misgivings, suspecting the emperor’s secret purpose to depose him, and fearing to be brought to account for the vices which had disgraced the tiara, as well as for the crimes which had secured it. Yet he made his entry into the city of Constance with great pomp, attended by ecclesiastics of the highest rank and followed by a train of courtiers. All the clergy and dignitaries of the city, with an immense crowd of citizens, went out to welcome him. Above his head was a golden canopy, borne by four of the chief magistrates. The host was carried before him, and the rich dresses of the cardinals and nobles made an imposing display.

Meanwhile, another traveler was approaching Constance. Huss was conscious of the dangers which threatened him.

Upon arriving at Constance, Huss was granted full liberty. To the emperor’s safe-conduct was added a personal assurance of protection by the pope. But, in violation of these solemn and repeated declarations, the Reformer was in a short time arrested, by order of the pope and cardinals, and thrust into a loathsome dungeon. Later he was transferred to a strong castle across the Rhine and there kept a prisoner. The pope, profiting little by his perfidy, was soon after committed to the same prison. Ibid., vol. 1, p. 247. He had been proved before the council to be guilty of the basest crimes, besides murder, simony, and adultery, “sins not fit to be named.” So the council itself declared, and he was finally deprived of the tiara and thrown into prison. The antipopes also were deposed, and a new pontiff was chosen.

Though the pope himself had been guilty of greater crimes than Huss had ever charged upon the priests, and for which he had demanded a reformation, yet the same council which degraded the pontiff proceeded to crush the Reformer. The imprisonment of Huss excited great indignation in Bohemia. Powerful noblemen addressed to the council earnest protests against this outrage. The emperor, who was loath to permit the violation of a safe-conduct, opposed the proceedings against him. But the enemies of the Reformer were malignant and determined. They appealed to the emperor’s prejudices, to his fears, to his zeal for the church. They brought forward arguments of great length to prove that “faith ought not to be kept with heretics, nor persons suspected of heresy, though they are furnished with safe-conducts from the emperor and kings.”–Jacques Lenfant, History of the Council of Constance, vol. 1, p. 516. Thus they prevailed.

Enfeebled by illness and imprisonment,–for the damp, foul air of his dungeon had brought on a fever which nearly ended his life,–Huss was at last brought before the council. Loaded with chains he stood in the presence of the emperor, whose honor and good faith had been pledged to protect him. During his long trial he firmly maintained the truth, and in the presence of the assembled dignitaries of church and state he uttered a solemn and faithful protest against the corruptions of the hierarchy. When required to choose whether he would recant his doctrines or suffer death, he accepted the martyr’s fate.

The grace of God sustained him. During the weeks of suffering that passed before his final sentence, heaven’s peace filled his soul. “I write this letter,” he said to a friend, “in my prison, and with my fettered hand, expecting my sentence of death tomorrow. . . . When, with the assistance of Jesus Christ, we shall again meet in the delicious peace of the future life, you will learn how merciful God has shown Himself toward me, how effectually He has supported me in the midst of my temptations and trials.”–Bonnechose, vol. 2, p. 67.

In the gloom of his dungeon he foresaw the triumph of the true faith. Returning in his dreams to the chapel at Prague where he had preached the gospel, he saw the pope and his bishops effacing the pictures of Christ which he had painted on its walls. “This vision distressed him: but on the next day he saw many painters occupied in restoring these figures in greater number and in brighter colors. As soon as their task was ended, the painters, who were surrounded by an immense crowd, exclaimed, ‘Now let the popes and bishops come; they shall never efface them more!'” Said the Reformer, as he related his dream: “I maintain this for certain, that the image of Christ will never be effaced. They have wished to destroy it, but it shall be painted afresh in all hearts by much better preachers than myself.”–D’Aubigne, b. 1, ch. 6.

For the last time, Huss was brought before the council. It was a vast and brilliant assembly–the emperor, the princes of the empire, the royal deputies, the cardinals, bishops, and priests, and an immense crowd who had come as spectators of the events of the day. From all parts of Christendom had been gathered the witnesses of this first great sacrifice in the long struggle by which liberty of conscience was to be secured.

Being called upon for his final decision, Huss declared his refusal to abjure, and, fixing his penetrating glance upon the monarch whose plighted word had been so shamelessly violated, he declared: “I determined, of my own free will, to appear before this council, under the public protection and faith of the emperor here present.”–Bonnechose, vol. 2, p. 84. A deep flush crimsoned the face of Sigismund as the eyes of all in the assembly turned upon him.

Sentence having been pronounced, the ceremony of degradation began. The bishops clothed their prisoner in the sacerdotal habit, and as he took the priestly robe, he said: “Our Lord Jesus Christ was covered with a white robe, by way ofinsult, when Herod had Him conducted before Pilate.”– Ibid., vol. 2, p. 86. Being again exhorted to retract, he replied, turning toward the people: “With what face, then, should I behold the heavens? How should I look on those multitudes of men to whom I have preached the pure gospel? No; I esteem their salvation more than this poor body, now appointed unto death.” The vestments were removed one by one, each bishop pronouncing a curse as he performed his part of the ceremony. Finally “they put on his head a cap or pyramidal-shaped miter of paper, on which were painted frightful figures of demons, with the word ‘Archheretic’ conspicuous in front. ‘Most joyfully,’ said Huss, ‘will I wear this crown of shame for Thy sake, O Jesus, who for me didst wear a crown of thorns.'”

When he was thus arrayed, “the prelates said, ‘Now we devote thy soul to the devil.’ ‘And I,’ said John Huss, lifting up his eyes toward heaven, ‘do commit my spirit into Thy hands, O Lord Jesus, for Thou hast redeemed me.'”–Wylie, b. 3, ch. 7.

He was now delivered up to the secular authorities and led away to the place of execution. An immense procession followed, hundreds of men at arms, priests and bishops in their costly robes, and the inhabitants of Constance. When he had been fastened to the stake, and all was ready for the fire to be lighted, the martyr was once more exhorted to save himself by renouncing his errors. “What errors,” said Huss, “shall I renounce? I know myself guilty of none. I call God to witness that all that I have written and preached has been with the view of rescuing souls from sin and perdition; and, therefore, most joyfully will I confirm with my blood that truth which I have written and preached.”–Ibid., b. 3, ch. 7. When the flames kindled about him, he began to sing, “Jesus, Thou Son of David, have mercy on me,” and so continued till his voice was silenced forever.

Even his enemies were struck with his heroic bearing. A zealous papist, describing the martyrdom of Huss, and of Jerome, who died soon after, said: “Both bore themselves with constant mind when their last hour approached. They prepared for the fire as if they were going to a marriage feast. They uttered no cry of pain. When the flames rose, they began to sing hymns; and scarce could the vehemency of the fire stop their singing.”–Ibid., b. 3, ch. 7.

Reformation 500

Reformation 500 Years- John Wycliffe

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In celebration of the 500 years since the start of the Reformation, we are taking time out from our Daniel and Revelation study to honor the great reformers of the 16th century.

If you are a Christian and not a Catholic, you are a Protestant. How much do you know about the origins of the Protestant beliefs? What were the reformers protesting against?

October 31, 2017  marks 500 years since the official beginning of the Reformation when Luther nailed his 95 Thesis to the Wittenberg church door. As part of Answer From Scriptures’ recognition of this great period in history, excerpts from the book The Great Controversy will be published. 

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The Great Controversy, pages 79-82, 87, 91, 92, 96

Before the Reformation there were at times but very few copies of the Bible in existence, but God had not suffered His word to be wholly destroyed. Its truths were not to be forever hidden. He could as easily unchain the words of life as He could open prison doors and unbolt iron gates to set His servants free. In the different countries of Europe men were moved by the Spirit of God to search for the truth as for hid treasures. Providentially guided to the Holy Scriptures, they studied the sacred pages with intense interest. They were willing to accept the light at any cost to themselves. Though they did not see all things clearly, they were enabled to perceive many long-buried truths. As Heaven-sent messengers they went forth, rending asunder the chains of error and superstition, and calling upon those who had been so long enslaved, to arise and assert their liberty.

Except among the Waldenses, the word of God had for ages been locked up in languages known only to the learned; but the time had come for the Scriptures to be translated and given to the people of different lands in their native tongue. The world had passed its midnight. The hours of darkness were wearing away, and in many lands appeared tokens of the coming dawn.

In the fourteenth century arose in England the “morning star of the Reformation.” John Wycliffe was the herald of reform, not for England alone, but for all Christendom. The great protest against Rome which it was permitted him to utter was never to be silenced. That protest opened the struggle which was to result in the emancipation of individuals, of churches, and of nations.

Wycliffe received a liberal education, and with him the fear of the Lord was the beginning of wisdom. He was noted at college for his fervent piety as well as for his remarkable talents and sound scholarship. In his thirst for knowledge he sought to become acquainted with every branch of learning. He was educated in the scholastic philosophy, in the canons of the church, and in the civil law, especially that of his own country. In his after labors the value of this early training was apparent. A thorough acquaintance with the speculative philosophy of his time enabled him to expose its errors; and by his study of national and ecclesiastical law he was prepared to engage in the great struggle for civil and religious liberty. While he could wield the weapons drawn from the word of God, he had acquired the intellectual discipline of the schools, and he understood the tactics of the schoolmen. The power of his genius and the extent and thoroughness of his knowledge commanded the respect of both friends and foes. His adherents saw with satisfaction that their champion stood foremost among the leading minds of the nation;and his enemies were prevented from casting contempt upon the cause of reform by exposing the ignorance or weakness of its supporter.

While Wycliffe was still at college, he entered upon the study of the Scriptures. In those early times, when the Bible existed only in the ancient languages, scholars were enabled to find their way to the fountain of truth, which was closed to the uneducated classes. Thus already the way had been prepared for Wycliffe’s future work as a Reformer. Men of learning had studied the word of God and had found the great truth of His free grace there revealed. In their teachings they had spread a knowledge of this truth, and had led others to turn to the living oracles.

Like after Reformers, Wycliffe did not, at the opening of his work, foresee whither it would lead him. He did not set himself deliberately in opposition to Rome. But devotion to truth could not but bring him in conflict with falsehood. The more clearly he discerned the errors of the papacy, the more earnestly he presented the teaching of the Bible. He saw that Rome had forsaken the word of God for human tradition; he fearlessly accused the priesthood of having banished the Scriptures, and demanded that the Bible be restored to the people and that its authority be again established in the church. He was an able and earnest teacher and an eloquent preacher, and his daily life was a demonstration of the truths he preached. His knowledge of the Scriptures, the force of his reasoning, the purity of his life, and his unbending courage and integrity won for him general esteem and confidence. Many of the people had become dissatisfied with their former faith as they saw the iniquity that prevailed in the Roman Church, and they hailed with unconcealed joy the truths brought to view by Wycliffe; but the papal leaders were filled with rage when they perceived that this Reformer was gaining an influence greater than their own.Wycliffe was a keen detector of error, and he struck fearlessly against many of the abuses sanctioned by the authority of Rome

Wycliffe, like his Master, preached the gospel to the poor. Not content with spreading the light in their humble homes in his own parish of Lutterworth, he determined that it should be carried to every part of England. To accomplish this he organized a body of preachers, simple, devout men, who loved the truth and desired nothing so much as to extend it. These men went everywhere, teaching in the market places, in the streets of the great cities, and in the country lanes. They sought out the aged, the sick, and the poor, and opened to them the glad tidings of the grace of God.,,,

The art of printing being still unknown, it was only by slow and wearisome labor that copies of the Bible could be multiplied. So great was the interest to obtain the book, that many willingly engaged in the work of transcribing it, but it was with difficulty that the copyists could supply the demand. Some of the more wealthy purchasers desired the whole Bible. Others bought only a portion. In many cases, several families united to purchase a copy. Thus Wycliffe’s Bible soon found its way to the homes of the people….

Wycliffe was summoned for trial before the papal tribunal at Rome, which had so often shed the blood of the saints. He was not blind to the danger that threatened him, yet he would have obeyed the summons had not a shock of palsy made it impossible for him to perform the journey. But though his voice was not to be heard at Rome, he could speak by letter, and this he determined to do. From his rectory the Reformer wrote to the pope a letter, which, while respectful in tone and Christian in spirit, was a keen rebuke to the pomp and pride of the papal see.

“Verily I do rejoice,” he said, “to open and declare unto every man the faith which I do hold, and especially unto the bishop of Rome: which, forasmuch as I do suppose to be sound and true, he will most willingly confirm my said faith, or if it be erroneous, amend the same.

“First, I suppose that the gospel of Christ is the whole body of God’s law. . . . I do give and hold the bishop of Rome, forasmuch as he is the vicar of Christ here on earth, to be most bound, of all other men, unto that law of the gospel. For the greatness among Christ’s disciples did not consist in worldly dignity or honors, but in the near and exact following of Christ in His life and manners…. Christ, for the time of His pilgrimage here, was a most poor man, abjecting and casting off all worldly rule and honor. . . .

“No faithful man ought to follow either the pope himself or any of the holy men, but in such points as he hath followed the Lord Jesus Christ; for Peter and the sons of Zebedee, by desiring worldly honor, contrary to the following of Christ’s steps, did offend, and therefore in those errors they are not to be followed.

“The pope ought to leave unto the secular power all temporal dominion and rule, and thereunto effectually to move and exhort his whole clergy; for so did Christ, and especially by His apostles. Wherefore, if I have erred in any of these points, I will most humbly submit myself unto correction, even by death, if necessity so require; and if I could labor according to my will or desire in mine own person, I would surely present myself before the bishop of Rome; but the Lord hath otherwise visited me to the contrary, and hath taught me rather to obey God than men.”

The papists had failed to work their will with Wycliffe during his life, and their hatred could not be satisfied while his body rested quietly in the grave. By the decree of the Council of Constance, more than forty years after his death his bones were exhumed and publicly burned, and the ashes were thrown into a neighboring brook. “This brook,” says an old writer, “hath conveyed his ashes into Avon, Avon into Severn, Severn into the narrow seas, they into the main ocean. And thus the ashes of Wycliffe are the emblem of his doctrine, which now is dispersed all the world over.”– T. Fuller, Church History of Britain, b. 4, sec. 2, par. 54. Little did his enemies realize the significance of their malicious act.

It was through the writings of Wycliffe that John Huss, of Bohemia, was led to renounce many of the errors of Romanism and to enter upon the work of reform. Thus in these two countries, so widely separated, the seed of truth was sown. From Bohemia the work extended to other lands. The minds of men were directed to the long-forgotten word of God. A divine hand was preparing the way for the Great Reformation.

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Reformation 500

Reformation 500 Years-The Waldenses

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In celebration of the 500 years since the start of the Reformation, we are taking time out from our Daniel and Revelation study to honor the great reformers of the 16th century.

If you are a Christian and not a Catholic, you are a Protestant. How much do you know about the origins of the Protestant beliefs? What were the reformers protesting against?

October 31, 2017  marks 500 years since the official beginning of the Reformation when Luther nailed his 95 Thesis to the Wittenberg church door. As part of Answer From Scriptures’ recognition of this great period in history, excerpts from the book The Great Controversy will be published. 

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From the Great Controversy, page 61, 62, 64, 65, 66

Amid the gloom that settled upon the earth during the long period of papal supremacy, the light of truth could not be wholly extinguished. In every age there were witnesses for God–men who cherished faith in Christ as the only mediator between God and man, who held the Bible as the only rule of life, and who hallowed the true Sabbath. How much the world owes to these men, posterity will never know. They were branded as heretics, their motives impugned, their characters maligned, their writings suppressed, misrepresented, or mutilated. Yet they stood firm, and from age to age maintained their faith in its purity, as a sacred heritage for the generations to come.

The history of God’s people during the ages of darkness that followed upon Rome’s supremacy is written in heaven, but they have little place in human records. Few traces of their existence can be found, except in the accusations of their persecutors. It was the policy of Rome to obliterate every trace of dissent from her doctrines or decrees. Everything heretical, whether persons or writings, she sought to destroy. Expressions of doubt, or questions as to the authority of papal dogmas, were enough to forfeit the life of rich or poor, high or low. Rome endeavored also to destroy every record of her cruelty toward dissenters. Papal councils decreed that books and writings containing such records should be committed to the flames. Before the invention of printing, books were few in number, and in a form not favorable for preservation; therefore there was little to prevent the Romanists from carrying out their purpose.

No church within the limits of Romish jurisdiction was long left undisturbed in the enjoyment of freedom of conscience. No sooner had the papacy obtained power than she stretched out her arms to crush all that refused to acknowledge her sway, and one after another the churches submitted to her dominion.

In Great Britain primitive Christianity had very early taken root. The gospel received by the Britons in the first centuries was then uncorrupted by Romish apostasy. Persecution from pagan emperors, which extended even to these far-off shores, was the only gift that the first churches of Britain received from Rome. Many of the Christians, fleeing from persecution in England, found refuge in Scotland; thence the truth was carried to Ireland, and in all these countries it was received with gladness.

When the Saxons invaded Britain, heathenism gained control. The conquerors disdained to be instructed by their slaves, and the Christians were forced to retreat to the mountains and the wild moors. Yet the light, hidden for a time, continued to burn. In Scotland, a century later, it shone out with a brightness that extended to far-distant lands. From Ireland came the pious Columba and his colaborers, who, gathering about them the scattered believers on the lonely island of Iona, made this the center of their missionary labors. Among these evangelists was an observer of the Bible Sabbath, and thus this truth was introduced among the people. A school was established at Iona, from which missionaries went out, not only to Scotland and England, but to Germany, Switzerland, and even Italy.

But Rome had fixed her eyes on Britain, and resolved to bring it under her supremacy. In the sixth century her missionaries undertook the conversion of the heathen Saxons.

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But of those who resisted the encroachments of the papal power, the Waldenses stood foremost. In the very land where popery had fixed its seat, there its falsehood and corruption were most steadfastly resisted. For centuries the churches of Piedmont maintained their independence; but the time came at last when Rome insisted upon their submission. After ineffectual struggles against her tyranny, the leaders of these churches reluctantly acknowledged the supremacy of the power to which the whole world seemed to pay homage. There were some, however, who refused to yield to the authority of pope or prelate. They were determined to maintain their allegiance to God and to preserve the purity and simplicity of their faith. A separation took place. Those who adhered to the ancient faith now withdrew; some, forsaking their native Alps, raised the banner of truth in foreign lands; others retreated to the secluded glens and rocky fastnesses of the mountains, and there preserved their freedom to worship God.

The faith which for centuries was held and taught by the Waldensian Christians was in marked contrast to the false doctrines put forth from Rome. Their religious belief was founded upon the written word of God, the true system of Christianity. But those humble peasants, in their obscure retreats, shut away from the world, and bound to daily toil among their flocks and their vineyards, had not by themselves arrived at the truth in opposition to the dogmas and heresies of the apostate church. Theirs was not a faith newly received. Their religious belief was their inheritance from their fathers. They contended for the faith of the apostolic church,–“the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.” Jude 3. “The church in the wilderness,” and not the proud hierarchy enthroned in the world’s great capital, was the true church of Christ, the guardian of the treasures of truth which God has committed to His people to be given to the world.

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The Waldenses were among the first of the peoples of Europe to obtain a translation of the Holy Scriptures. (See Appendix.) Hundreds of years before the Reformation they possessed the Bible in manuscript in their native tongue. They had the truth unadulterated, and this rendered them the special objects of hatred and persecution. They declared the Church of Rome to be the apostate Babylon of the Apocalypse, and at the peril of their lives they stood up to resist her corruptions. While, under the pressure of long-continued persecution, some compromised their faith, little by little yielding its distinctive principles, others held fast the truth. Through ages of darkness and apostasy there were Waldenses who denied the supremacy of Rome, who rejected image worship as idolatry, and who kept the true Sabbath. Under the fiercest tempests of opposition they maintained their faith. Though gashed by the Savoyard spear, and scorched by the Romish fagot, they stood unflinchingly for God’s word and His honor.

Behind the lofty bulwarks of the mountains–in all ages the refuge of the persecuted and oppressed–the Waldenses found a hiding place. Here the light of truth was kept burning amid the darkness of the Middle Ages. Here, for a thousand years, witnesses for the truth maintained the ancient faith…..

To be continued…..

Reformation 500

Reformation 500 Years-An Era of Spiritual Darkness

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In celebration of the 500 years since the start of the Reformation, we are taking time out from our Daniel and Revelation study to honor the great reformers of the 16th century.

If you are a Christian and not a Catholic, you are a Protestant. How much do you know about the origins of the Protestant beliefs? What were the reformers protesting against?

October 31, 2017  marks 500 years since the official beginning of the Reformation when Luther nailed his 95 Thesis to the Wittenberg church door. As part of Answer From Scriptures’ recognition of this great period in history, excerpts from the book The Great Controversy will be published. 

___________________________________________________________________

From The Great Controversy, pages 55-58

The accession of the Roman Church to power marked the beginning of the Dark Ages. As her power increased, the darkness deepened. Faith was transferred from Christ, the true foundation, to the pope of Rome. Instead of trusting in the Son of God for forgiveness of sins and for eternal salvation, the people looked to the pope, and to the priests and prelates to whom he delegated authority. They were taught that the pope was their earthly mediator and that none could approach God except through him; and, further, that he stood in the place of God to them and was therefore to be implicitly obeyed. A deviation from his requirements was sufficient cause for the severest punishment to be visited upon the bodies and souls of the offenders. Thus the minds of the people were turned away from God to fallible, erring, and cruel men, nay, more, to the prince of darkness himself, who exercised his power through them. Sin was disguised in a garb of sanctity. When the Scriptures are suppressed, and man comes to regard himself as supreme, we need look only for fraud, deception, and debasing iniquity. With the elevation of human laws and traditions was manifest the corruption that ever results from setting aside the law of God.

Those were days of peril for the church of Christ. The faithful standard-bearers were few indeed. Though the truth was not left without witnesses, yet at times it seemed that error and superstition would wholly prevail, and true religion would be banished from the earth. The gospel was lost sight of, but the forms of religion were multiplied, and the people were burdened with rigorous exactions.

They were taught not only to look to the pope as their mediator, but to trust to works of their own to atone for sin. Long pilgrimages, acts of penance, the worship of relics, the erection of churches, shrines, and altars, the payment of large sums to the church–these and many similar acts were enjoined to appease the wrath of God or to secure His favor; as if God were like men, to be angered at trifles, or pacified by gifts or acts of penance!

Notwithstanding that vice prevailed, even among the leaders of the Roman Church, her influence seemed steadily to increase. About the close of the eighth century, papists put forth the claim that in the first ages of the church the bishops of Rome had possessed the same spiritual power which they now assumed. To establish this claim, some means must be employed to give it a show of authority; and this was readily suggested by the father of lies. Ancient writings were forged by monks. Decrees of councils before unheard of were discovered, establishing the universal supremacy of the pope from the earliest times. And a church that had rejected the truth greedily accepted these deceptions. (See Appendix.)

The few faithful builders upon the true foundation (1 Corinthians 3:10, 11) were perplexed and hindered as the rubbish of false doctrine obstructed the work. Like the builders upon the wall of Jerusalem in Nehemiah’s day, some were ready to say: “The strength of the bearers of burdens is decayed, and there is much rubbish; so that we are not able to build.” Nehemiah 4:10. Wearied with the constant struggle against persecution, fraud, iniquity, and every other obstacle that Satan could devise to hinder their progress, some who had been faithful builders became disheartened; and for the sake of peace and security for their property and their lives, they turned away from the true foundation. Others, undaunted by the opposition of their enemies, fearlessly declared: “Be not ye afraid of them: remember the Lord, which is great and terrible” (verse 14); and they proceeded with the work, everyone with his sword girded by his side. Ephesians 6:17.

The same spirit of hatred and opposition to the truth has inspired the enemies of God in every age, and the same vigilance and fidelity have been required in His servants. The words of Christ to the first disciples are applicable to His followers to the close of time: “What I say unto you I say unto all, Watch.” Mark 13:37.

The darkness seemed to grow more dense. Image worship became more general. Candles were burned before images, and prayers were offered to them. The most absurd and superstitious customs prevailed. The minds of men were so completely controlled by superstition that reason itself seemed to have lost its sway. While priests and bishops were themselves pleasure-loving, sensual, and corrupt, it could only be expected that the people who looked to them for guidance would be sunken in ignorance and vice.

Another step in papal assumption was taken, when, in the eleventh century, Pope Gregory VII proclaimed the perfection of the Roman Church. Among the propositions which he put forth was one declaring that the church had never erred, nor would it ever err, according to the Scriptures. But the Scripture proofs did not accompany the assertion. The proud pontiff also claimed the power to depose emperors, and declared that no sentence which he pronounced could be reversed by anyone, but that it was his prerogative to reverse the decisions of all others. (See Appendix.)

A striking illustration of the tyrannical character of this advocate of infallibility was given in his treatment of the German emperor, Henry IV. For presuming to disregard the pope’s authority, this monarch was declared to be excommunicated and dethroned. Terrified by the desertion and threats of his own princes, who were encouraged in rebellion against him by the papal mandate, Henry felt the necessity of making his peace with Rome. In company with his wife and a faithful servant he crossed the Alps in midwinter, that he might humble himself before the pope. Upon reaching the castle whither Gregory had withdrawn, he was conducted, without his guards, into an outer court, and there, in the severe cold of winter, with uncovered head and naked feet, and in a miserable dress, he awaited the pope’s permission to come into his presence. Not until he had continued three days fasting and making confession, did the pontiff condescend to grant him pardon. Even then it was only upon condition that the emperor should await the sanction of the pope before resuming the insignia or exercising the power of royalty. And Gregory, elated with his triumph, boasted that it was his duty to pull down the pride of kings.

How striking the contrast between the overbearing pride of this haughty pontiff and the meekness and gentleness of Christ, who represents Himself as pleading at the door of the heart for admittance, that He may come in to bring pardon and peace, and who taught His disciples: “Whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant.” Matthew 20:27.

To be continued….

Reformation 500

Reformation 500 Years-Conversion of Calvin

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In celebration of the 500 years since the start of the Reformation, we are taking time out from our Daniel and Revelation study to honor the great reformers of the 16th century.

If you are a Christian and not a Catholic, you are a Protestant. How much do you know about the origins of the Protestant beliefs? What were the reformers protesting against?

October 31, 2017  marks 500 years since the official beginning of the Reformation when Luther nailed his 95 Thesis to the Wittenberg church door. As part of Answer From Scriptures’ recognition of this great period in history, excerpts from the book The Great Controversy will be published. Following is the first installment…Calvin’s conversion…Next will be the story of Luther

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Calvin’s Conversion

God was still preparing workers to extend His cause. In one of the schools of Paris was a thoughtful, quiet youth, already giving evidence of a powerful and penetrating mind, and no less marked for the blamelessness of his life than for intellectual ardor and religious devotion. His genius and application soon made him the pride of the college, and it was confidently anticipated that John Calvin would become one of the ablest and most honored defenders of the church. But a ray of divine light penetrated even within the walls of scholasticism and superstition by which Calvin was enclosed. He heard of the new doctrines with a shudder, nothing doubting that the heretics deserved the fire to which they were given. Yet all unwittingly he was brought face to face with the heresy and forced to test the power of Romish theology to combat the Protestant teaching.

A cousin of Calvin’s, who had joined the Reformers, was in Paris. The two kinsmen often met and discussed together the matters that were disturbing Christendom. “There are but two religions in the world,” said Olivetan, the Protestant. “The one class of religions are those which men have invented, in all of which man saves himself by ceremonies and good works; the other is that one religion which is revealed in the Bible, and which teaches man to look for salvation solely from the free grace of God.”

“I will have none of your new doctrines,” exclaimed Calvin; “think you that I have lived in error all my days?” –Wylie, b. 13, ch. 7.

But thoughts had been awakened in his mind which he could not banish at will. Alone in his chamber he pondered upon his cousin’s words. Conviction of sin fastened upon him; he saw himself, without an intercessor, in the presence of a holy and just Judge. The mediation of saints, good works, the ceremonies of the church, all were powerless to atone for sin. He could see before him nothing but the blackness of eternal despair. In vain the doctors of the church endeavored to relieve his woe. Confession, penance, were resorted to in vain; they could not reconcile the soul with God.

While still engaged in these fruitless struggles, Calvin, chancing one day to visit one of the public squares, witnessed there the burning of a heretic. He was filled with wonder at the expression of peace which rested upon the martyr’s countenance. Amid the tortures of that dreadful death, and under the more terrible condemnation of the church, he manifested a faith and courage which the young student painfully contrasted with his own despair and darkness, while living in strictest obedience to the church. Upon the Bible, he knew, the heretics rested their faith. He determined to study it, and discover, if he could, the secret of their joy.

In the Bible he found Christ. “O Father,” he cried, “His sacrifice has appeased Thy wrath; His blood has washed away my impurities; His cross has borne my curse; His death has atoned for me. We had devised for ourselves many useless follies, but Thou hast placed Thy word before me like a torch, and Thou hast touched my heart, in order that I may hold in abomination all other merits save those of Jesus.” –Martyn, vol. 3, ch. 13.

Calvin had been educated for the priesthood. When only twelve years of age he had been appointed to the chaplaincy of a small church, and his head had been shorn by the bishop in accordance with the canon of the church. He did not receive consecration, nor did he fulfill the duties of a priest, but he became a member of the clergy, holding the title of his office, and receiving an allowance in consideration thereof.

Now, feeling that he could never become a priest, he turned for a time to the study of law, but finally abandoned this purpose and determined to devote his life to the gospel. But he hesitated to become a public teacher. He was naturally timid, and was burdened with a sense of the weighty responsibility of the position, and he desired still to devote himself to study. The earnest entreaties of his friends, however, at last won his consent. “Wonderful it is,” he said, “that one of so lowly an origin should be exalted to so great a dignity.”–Wylie, b. 13, ch. 9.

Quietly did Calvin enter upon his work, and his words were as the dew falling to refresh the earth. He had left Paris, and was now in a provincial town under the protection of the princess Margaret, who, loving the gospel, extended her protection to its disciples. Calvin was still a youth, of gentle, unpretentious bearing. His work began with the people at their homes. Surrounded by the members of the household, he read the Bible and opened the truths of salvation. Those who heard the message carried the good news to others, and soon the teacher passed beyond the city to the outlying towns and hamlets. To both the castle and the cabin he found entrance, and he went forward, laying the foundation of churches that were to yield fearless witnesses for the truth.

To be continued….

Daniel and Revelation

Daniel and Revelation-Part 5-Longest Time Prophecy-Ram and Goat

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The next three studies will unlock the most amazing prophecy in the entire Bible.  It covers over two millenniums of time.  History has shown it to be extremely accurate.  But, it doesn’t just cover history;  It reveals the work of Jesus at this very moment as He prepares a people for His soon return.

The study of Daniel chapter 8 and 9 helped transfer me from unbelief to a committed believer in Jesus. These chapters, like many others in the Old Testament, show Jesus as the promised Messiah and the soon coming King.  Like  a friend once told me, “It is all about Jesus.”

Yes, these prophecies are about the foretelling of the Messiah and His arrival His work, death, ministry, and His second coming.  His first advent happened exactly on time according to the longest time prophecy in the Bible.

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Before we start, let’s plant some stakes in the ground of Bible interpretation. There are least three main principles:

1.) Let the prophecy speak for itself and give its own interpretation.

2.)  Keep the prophetic words in context and in line with other Bible passages that talk directly to the same event.

3.) Keep in mind each vision in Daniel repeats and expands.  Each successive vision adds detail to the previous vision.

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As we open to Chapter 8 of Daniel, we notice that the time setting for Daniel’s vision is the  “third year of the reign of King Belshazzar.  This is near the end of the reign of Babylon.  Soon Babylon will fall and King Belshazzar will die when the Medes and Persians come pouring through a dried up river (Euphrates) and through doors left open due to a drunken orgy.

The last straw for King Belshazzar was the use of holy “vessels” (used in the sanctuary services) as common objects for his sin-laden party. He took what was holy and profaned it. These sanctified bowls and utensils had been taken when King Belshazzar’s grandfather (Nebuchadnezzar) took them when Jerusalem fell captive to Babylon.

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The opening passages tell us Daniel was by a river (Ulai) in Shushan when he saw the vision as follows:

Then I lifted my eyes and saw, and there, standing beside the river, was a ram which had two horns, and the two horns were high; but one was higher than the other, and the higher one came up last.

Daniel 8:3

This was not just a normal ram, but one that had two “high” horns, but one horn was higher than the other.  This ram pushed northward, southward, and westward and “became great.” (V. 4)

As Daniel was thinking about the ram, some action begins to take place as a male goat shows up.

And as I was considering, suddenly a male goat came from the west, across the surface of the whole earth, without touching the ground; and the goat had a notable horn between his eyes. Then he came to the ram that had two horns, which I had seen standing beside the river, and ran at him with furious power.

Daniel 8: 5-6

A ferocious battle takes place

“And I saw him confronting the ram; he was moved with rage against him, attacked the ram, and broke his two horns. There was no power in the ram to withstand him, but he cast him down to the ground and trampled him, and there was no one that could deliver the ram from his hand.”

Daniel 8: 7

Image result for images of ram and goat fight in Daniel

The male goat was victorious and began to grow in strength

Therefore the male goat grew very great; but when he became strong, the large horn was broken, and in place of it four notable ones came up toward the four winds of heaven. 

Daniel 8: 8

At this point, a new element is brought into the series of powers that would arise and have great influence upon God’s people….a little horn….

 And out of one of them came a little horn which grew exceedingly great toward the south, toward the east, and toward the Glorious Land.

Daniel 8:9

Please notice the context, this little horn came from one of the horns.  Here is it’s origin.  It can be from no other place. This will be important as we get the interpretation because many have misinterpreted the origin of the little horn.  But the passage is clear.  It comes from one of the four horns that replaced the large horn that was broken.  History will tell us exactly who is the little horn.

Before it is identified, it describes its devastating activity.

And it grew up to the host of heaven, and it cast down some of the host and some of the stars to the ground and trampled them. He even exalted himself as high as the Prince of the host, and by him, the daily sacrifices were taken away, and the place of His sanctuary was cast down.  Because of transgression, an army was given over to the horn to oppose the daily sacrifices; and he cast truth down to the ground. He did all this and prospered.

Daniel 8: 10-12

This little horn is the same as found in Daniel 7: 23-27 and the beast of Revelation 13! This we discovered in a previous study:

Daniel and Revelation-Part 2- The Image and the Beasts

In summary, here are the actions of the little horn:

Little Horn

  • Grew up to the host of heaven
  • Cast down some of the host and some of the stars to the ground and trampled them.
  • Exalted himself as high as the Prince of the host
  • Daily sacrifices were taken away
  • Place of the sanctuary was cast down.
  • Cast truth to the ground
  • Did all this and prospered

What does all this mean?  How should this dream be interpreted? What meaning does it have for us today in the 21st century?  We don’t have to worry, for its clear interpretation is in the chapter and fits in with the previous dreams and visions.

The interpretation of the ram, the goat, and the little horn begins in verse 15, but before that, we hear the discussion between two angels. The concern is over the length of time that the little horn would have as he took away the daily sacrifice, the sanctuary, and trampled upon the host of heaven.

 Then I heard a holy one speaking; and another holy one said to that certain one who was speaking, “How long will the vision be, concerning the daily sacrifices and the transgression of desolation, the giving of both the sanctuary and the host to be trampled underfoot?”

Daniel 8: 13

The answer is given straightway,

And he said to me, “For two thousand three hundred days; then the sanctuary shall be cleansed.”

Daniel 8: 14

2,300 days! if taken literally,  would be a little over 6.4 years. But, the key to unlocking this time period is the day-for-a-year principle.  It is used by the Lord and described throughout the Bible.  But the real proof is that it works with the time prophecies in Daniel and Revelation.

Relevant passages:

When Israel rebelled in the desert, God said that they would bear for a year of each day they spent spying out the promised land and refusing to go in.

 According to the number of the days in which you spied out the land, forty days, for each day you shall bear your guilt one year, namely forty years, and you shall know My rejection.

Number 14:34 

In the portrayal of the siege of Jerusalem by Ezekiel, God commanded Ezekiel to bear the iniquities of Judah for 40 days which signified 40 years.

And when you have completed them, lie again on your right side; then you shall bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days. I have laid on you a day for each year.

Ezekiel 4:6

Applying the day-for-a-year principle, 2,300 days equal 2,300 years.  If we knew the starting time, we would know when the “sanctuary shall be cleansed.”

But, God does not keep us in the dark. We can know the mystery  of the time period from His word.  We don’t have to rely on a fanciful interpretation, it starts in verse 15.

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The Interpretation:

 Then it happened, when I, Daniel, had seen the vision and was seeking the meaning, that suddenly there stood before me one having the appearance of a man.

Daniel 8:15

 Daniel did not understand the vision and was searching for the meaning. Then, immediately, Daniel heard a man’s voice telling Gabriel to help Daniel understand the vision.

And I heard a man’s voice between the banks of the Ulai, who called, and said, “Gabriel, make this man understand the vision.”  So he came near where I stood, and when he came I was afraid and fell on my face; but he said to me, “Understand, son of man, that the vision refers to the time of the end.”

Daniel 8: 16-17

There is so much from this few verses that should not be overlooked.  First, angels can appear as men. If this is true for good angels, it is also true for bad angels for we are told,

For Satan, himself transforms himself into an angel of light. 

2 Corinthians 11: 14

Where is our safety?  It is by knowing God personally and comparing stories and events with the Bible itself.

To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.

Isaiah 8:20

This we will apply as we let the angel tell us the interpretation of this vision.

Secondly, the vision refers to the time of the end.  Notice that the end of all things (i.e. earth and sin) is a specific day.  The end of time is when it ends, but the time of the end is a longer space in time when the end approaches and things begin to line up. While we won’t know the exact end of time (Jesus said, no man know the day or the hour), we can know that we are in the time of the end by the prophecies of God.

When Jesus was talking with the Pharisee and Sadducees (all religious leaders and “experts.”), he said to them:

“When it is evening you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red’; and in the morning, ‘It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.’Hypocrites! You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times

Matthew 16: 2-3

Just being good and wise weathermen did not mean they had the spiritual wherewithal to understand the time of the end (the approaching storm of end time events.)  As it is today, there are many smart and wise men who are in love with their own interpretations but fail to understand and accept what God’s word has to say.

knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation

2 Peter 1:20

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Gabriel begins to plainly tell Daniel that the animals and horns he saw were symbolic that occupy time in future history (at least to Daniel)  He gives him specific information as to the symbolic identity so there is no doubt.  We, too, should have no doubt about the identity of the ram, the goat, the horns, and the little horn.

“Look, I am making known to you what shall happen in the latter time of the indignation; for at the appointed time the end shall be. The ram which you saw, having the two horns—they are the kings of Media and Persia.  And the male goat is the kingdom[ of Greece. 

Daniel 8: 19-21

To Daniel, these events were future, but to us they are history…at least most of it.

Here is what we can be sure about so far.  No fanciful interpretation of man needed.  The Bible tells us in no uncertain terms:

1.) The vision has parts and time in space, but the point of the vision is about“what will happen in the latter time.”

2.)  The “time of the end” is “appointed.” As we will see, we can know this time, just like the wise men knew from the prophecies that the Messiah was to appear…” when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law  Galatians 4.4

3.)  The ram represents the king of Media and Persia.  God had told Daniel back in Chapter 2 that the arms and shoulders of silver also represented Media and Persia.  As mentioned at the start, the prophecies of Daniel repeat and expand. While we see clearly that the ram represents Media and Persian, we also are introduced to a male goat and the horns.

4.) The male goat represents Greece.

But there is more….

The large horn that is between its eyes is the first king. As for the broken horn and the four that stood up in its place, four kingdoms shall arise out of that nation, but not with its power.

Daniel 8:21-22

Who was this broken horn (power or king) of Greece?  History tells us clearly it was Alexander the Great.  He died at age 32 and his kingdom was divided into 4 kingdoms (Egypt, Thrace, Macedonia, and Syria).  These 4 kingdoms were ruled by the four generals of Alexander: Ptolemy, Lysimachus, Cassander, and Seleucus.

History also tells us that out of one of these horns came another power.

The next power to arise was described back in verse 9 as the little horn:

And out of one of them came forth a little horn, which waxed exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the pleasant land.

Daniel 8:9

The angel lets us know that this little horn is a king or power, but it is going to do some dreadful things….not to other countries, but to the kingdom of God.

And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up. 

And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power: and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practice, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people.

Daniel 8:24

And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes, but he shall be broken without hand.

Daniel 8:25

Here is what we can be sure about so far.  No fanciful interpretation of man needed, as mentioned.  The Bible tells us in no uncertain terms:

1.) This little horn that is fierce towards God Himself begins his power at the latter time of the 4 kingdoms of Greece.

2.)  He will have a mighty power, but it won’t be his. This power will come from Satan himself!

3.) He will destroy the mighty and holy people. We might be tempted to think the mighty and holy people are the Jews, but in its historical context, we will see it is another group.

4. He will stand up to the Prince of Princes.  This can be none other than Jesus Himself.  This we will understand clearly in Chapter 9.

5.)  The little horn will prosper, but his end is “without hand.”  Just as the rock that was cut “without hand” in Chapter two.  It will be the return of Jesus that is the final demise of this little horn.

In our previous studies, we saw that this power is non-other than Pagan Rome which gave its power to Papal Rome.

Below is a summary of the dreams we have studied so far.  The principal of repeating and expanding is demonstrated  in this picture:

  • Babylon is represented by the head of God and the Lion of Daniel 7
  • Medo Persia is represented by the arms and shoulders of silver in Daniel 2 and the bear with three ribs in Daniel 7. But it also appears as the ram with two horns in Daniel 8.
  • Greece is represented by the belly and thighs of brass in Daniel 2 and the 4-headed leopard of Daniel 7.  But also the he-goat of Daniel 8
  • Rome is the legs of iron in Daniel 2, the fierce beast of Daniel 7
  • Rome is divided into ten kingdoms as represented by the 10 toes of Daniel 2 and the 10 horns of Daniel 7.
  • The little horn comes from one of the four horns  of the he-goat in Daniel 8, but is also described as the little horn of Daniel 7 that uproots 3 of the 10 horns

The little horn that comes out of one the 4 horns of Greece and makes war on God and His people can be none other than the Pagan Rome with its heathen practices.  This power was transferred to Papal Rome. During the dark ages, it put the Bible away and replaced it with tradition.  Out of the Dark Ages sprung the reformation of Jerome, Huss, Luther, and many others.  We will study more on this later.

Daniel 2, 7, 8

All of this is explained to Daniel very clearly, but the chapter ends with these words:

And I Daniel fainted, and was sick certain days; afterward, I rose up, and did the king’s business; and I was astonished at the vision, but none understood it.

Daniel 8:27

What was it that Daniel did not understand?  The prophecy is clearly interpreted. This we will find out in our next study of Daniel 9.

Daniel and Revelation

Daniel and Revelation-Part 4 Worship Restrictions

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Please read Daniel 6

Summary so far:

In Daniel 2,  King Nebuchadnezzar was troubled about a dream.  None of his wise men could tell him his disturbing dream nor its interpretation. But Daniel, after a prayer session with his three friends, received the revelation of the dream and its interpretation. Confident in God, Daniel went into the King to reveal this remarkable image seen by the great King of Babylon. The absolute accuracy of Daniel’s interpretation (given by God Himself) has been proven by time and history. Only one part of it remains unfulfilled.

 The image with its multiple metals, digressing in strength and value, would eventually be destroyed by a rock. This rock cut out of a mountain would consume the whole earth. The dream revealed the rise and fall of nations that impacted or currently impact God’s people until the second coming of Jesus!

The king was so moved by Daniel’s accuracy and details of the dream and steadfast strength in the only true God of heaven that he fell on his face and prostrated himself before Daniel. His words are accurate to this day:

“Truly your God is the God of gods, the Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, since you could reveal this secret.” 

Daniel 2: 47

But as time passed and the routine of daily life slowly dismissed the King’s experience.  King Nebuchadnezzar defied the God of heaven and set up an image entirely of gold.  HIs message and implications were clear.  He felt in his heart that His kingdom could not possibly end.  He was too strong! He arrogantly proclaimed, by his actions, that he was the head, body, and feet of gold! He would not accept the future end to his kingdom.

But, the three follower’s of the only true God (Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego) refused to bow down to the image which would break the commandments of God.  They were thrown into the fire and “one like the son of man” walked with them to protect them. This man was Jesus himself in pre-incarnate form.

This story is an example of forced religion with a death decree. Revelation also predicts a decree to “worship the image of the beast.” This we will study in the coming days.

Once again, the King saw God at work and repented, but he would fall back into pride in Chapter 4 when he stated,

“Is not this great Babylon, which I have built by my mighty power as a royal residence and for the glory of my majesty?” 

Daniel 4:30

By these words, he denied the words of Daniel, that God

“….changes times and seasons;
    he removes kings and sets up kings;…”

Daniel 2:21

The God of heaven bore long and patiently with King Nebucannazar, but the King was soon to humbled.  The king received one last vision about a tree, which Daniel, again,  gave the interpretation. ( See Daniel 4)

After the king’s mental breakdown where he ate grass and became like a beast for seven years, He came to his senses and was converted as predicted by the dream.

As far as we know and from indications from Daniel 7, the king was finally fully converted and became a follower of the true God of heaven.

Buried in this story is the question to us today.  Does the passage of time and the routine of life make us doubt what we know is the truth of God? Is God, perhaps, at work humbling us?  God not only saves us from eternal death, but also from ourselves and our pride while on this earth.  Don’t you agree?At the end of time, there is a group of believers who begin to doubt Christ’s promise to return and they return to the life and attitude they had before their conversion:

At the end of time, there is a group of believers who begin to doubt Christ’s promise to return and they return to the life and attitude they had before their conversion:

…knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. They will say, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.”

‘My master is delayed,’ and begins to beat his fellow servants and eats and drinks with drunkards, 

2 Peter 3:3-4, Matthew 24: 48-49

The attitude of many who have heard about the second coming is doubt, scoffing, and to rationalize away His coming.  Notice, it is their own sinful desires which propel them into unbelief. They would rather “enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season” (Hebrews 11:25) than the daily eternal joy as found in Christ. Their reward is here on earth rather than the reward of eternal life that Jesus brings with Him.

The passage in Matthew 24: 48-49 (above) discloses followers of the master Jesus who fail to endure the passage of time and, instead, become like the wicked of the world.

As we saw last time in Daniel 5, Babylon fell to the dual kingdom of the Medes and the Persians. The night Belshazzar met his end, he made an aging Daniel third ruler in the kingdom. Of course, the kingdom was gone as was Belshazzar’s power, so it was a worthless designation.

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In our study of Daniel 6, a famous story that most 6-year-olds know,  the theme is not just about the deliverance of Daniel from the mouth of hungry lions, but the reason he was there in the first place and how it relates to Revelation.  It is about the forbidding of the freedom of worship and about the government making it illegal to worship in spirit and in truth.

As I write this, I have seen a clear example of Daniel 6 in the firing of the Washington high school coach whose custom was to take a knee and pray a prayer of thankfulness to the God of heaven after each football game. The case has gone to a circuit court and has yet to be ruled upon (at the time of this writing).

The only difference between the case of the praying coach and Daniel 6 is the death decree, but will this country ever get to the point where the death decree is given to both force false religion as shown in Daniel 3 or to prohibit true worship as found in Daniel 6? As unlikely as it sounds for a republic government, the Bible tells us, “yes!”

As we know, there is already a religion in this world that prohibits the freedom of worship.  The punishment is death. While this is a small radical sect, it is a false religion looking and working to enforce their law upon everyone.  They obtain followers only by falsehood and force.

But, this is not the beast of Revelation 13 who forces everyone on a worldwide scale.  The characteristics and identifying features as described in Daniel and Revelation do not point to Islam, but a less obvious power alive today. This we will study later.

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Daniel 6: An Example of Prohibiting True Worship

Just as predicted by Daniel the great golden empire of Babylon fell and the inferior silver kingdom of the Medes and Persians was established.  Daniel was still alive and active under the rule of the Darius (Medes and Persians) during the time of Daniel 6. In fact, Daniel was one of three governors.

 It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom 120 satraps (subordinate governors of the region), to be throughout the whole kingdom; and over them three high officials, of whom Daniel was one, to whom these satraps should give account, so that the king might suffer no loss.

Daniel 6: 1-2

Daniel distinguished himself because of God’s spirit was upon him. He became to be the most favored of the three high officials.  The king was actually thinking about making him the number one leader next to himself. This meant heirship to the throne!

Then this Daniel became distinguished above all the other high officials and satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him. And the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom. 

Daniel 6:3

Of course, this made the other two high officials angry to the point of scheming for the destruction of Daniel. But, they could not find anything bad to accuse him, so they set up Daniel for failure. It all surrounded the idea of the freedom of worship and the well-known worship habits of Daniel.

they could find no ground for complaint or any fault, because he was faithful, and no error or fault was found in him. Then these men said, “We shall not find any ground for complaint against this Daniel unless we find it in connection with the law of his God.”

Daniel 6: 4-5

 So these governors and satraps thronged before the king, and said thus to him: “King Darius, live forever!  All the governors of the kingdom, the administrators and satraps, the counselors and advisors, have consulted together to establish a royal statute and to make a firm decree, that whoever petitions any god or man for thirty days, except you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions.

Daniel 6: 6-8

Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went home. And in his upper room, with his windows open toward Jerusalem, he knelt down on his knees three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days.

Daniel 6:10

The two other governors lied by saying that ALL the leaders under Darius desired to set aside 30 days for worship only of the King.  Of course, Daniel would never agree to this so they left him out of the discussion and tricked the king (through flattery) into signing and unchangeable law about worship.

Daniel’s habit was to pray three times a day. Quickly, the two governors went to the government (i.e. Darius) and described the “law-breaker’s” habit. This “religious” habit was against the King’s orders. Reluctantly, the king executed the prescribed penalty for breaking the law, but we know that Daniel was delivered and the hungry lions had a feast on the liars.  The tables had turned.

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Daniel 3 and Revelation 13: An Example of Forced Worship

“To you it is commanded, O peoples, nations, and languages, …you SHALL fall down and worship the gold image…But if you do not worship, you shall be cast immediately into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.

Daniel 3: 4-6

And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation. All who dwell on the earth will worship him. ..He was granted power to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed.

Revelation 13:  7,15

In these two books are similar worship restrictions separated by thousands of years.  Both time periods are marked by ruling governments who enforce worship. Both have death decrees attached to the enforcement. Both have faithful followers of the true God and His word who obey the law of God rather than the law of man.

As we have seen, there are two types of government-restricted worship decrees in Daniel, which describe the days we live in and beyond.

Daniel 3, deals with forced worship. Everyone was commanded to worship regardless of their faith or beliefs. Only three knew God’s law (particularly the 2nd commandments) and worshipped in truth. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego did not obey the king’s command, the death decree was initiated, but they were delivered.

The book of Daniel and Revelation provide a forewarning to those living in the last days.   Just as in the days of Daniel and John, worship will again be an issue, but it will be a combination of forced religion by the government and worship that is illegal; both resulting in a death decree for those who do not bow to the beast. But, there will be those who stand fast in worshipping the Creator in truth.  Sadly, only a faithful few will be delivered. This might sound like an impossibility living in a democratic/republic country, but God’s word is sure and needs no fanciful interpretation.

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There is a controversy between God and the enemy of mankind, Satan.  This has been made clear in the early stages of our study in Daniel and Revelation. This controversy revolves around worship and obedience.  God can proclaim and demonstrate only the truth for the benefit of mankind, but Satan will use all the tricks of deception and confusion.  His objective is to smear the image of God and lead mankind down a path of eternal destruction. This controversy between God and Satan is the underlining theme of Daniel and Revelation, churning just below the surface of the stories and symbols.

As we move ahead in our examination of these books, we will see the truth of this conflict clearer and will begin to peek over the shoulder at the hand of the enemy, God wants to reveal the path we should take.  It is often shown in the stories of Daniel.

Everything that was written in the Holy Writings long ago was written to teach us. By not giving up, God’s Word gives us strength and hope.

Romans 15:4

Paul tells us in Romans, the “things…written” long before are to teach us and if we are committing to learning we will find “strength and hope” today.

The things that happened to those people are examples. They were written to be warnings for us. We live in the time that all those past histories were pointing to.

1 Corinthians 10:11 (ERV)

It is sobering to think that the time in which we live are the times these stories spoke. Someone has said that the stories written thousands are years ago are probably more relevant today than when they were written because they all pointed forward to the culmination of the great controversy.

These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them

Hebrews 11:13

The people we are studying died in faith and knew the fulfillment of the times were “afar off.”  So as we enter into the study of end time events, it will require some faith (based on the word of God) so that we, too, can be “persuaded of them.”

In our next study, we will see a dream given to Daniel in Chapter 7 about 4 beasts which coincide with the metals of Daniel 2. More detail is layered in so that we can begin to fill in the blanks of end-time events.  The little horn power, which corresponds to the beast of Revelation 13, is introduced.  The dream was so intense that Daniel becomes sick.  This is the first time in the book of Daniel where we see Daniel in such a dramatic state….and for good reason.

Blessings until next time.

Eddie

 

 

 

Daniel and Revelation

Daniel and Revelation-Part 3-Babylon is Fallen

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And another angel followed, saying, “Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city because she has made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.”

Revelation 14:8

Please read Daniel 5

Introduction:

In the 14th Chapter of Revelation, three angles broadcast three seemingly different messages. This middle or second message makes an announcement to the whole world about Babylon falling. What is Babylon?  What does it mean that it is fallen?

Revelation 18 repeats the message of the second angel, but with a “loud voice” and added detail.  In verse 4, the urgent worldwide plea is given to all who will listen…” come out of her my people”

Who are “God’s people” and how did they get there anyway?  What happens if God’s people don’t come out? The answer is clear:

“lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues.”

Revelation 18:4

These are difficult passages to understand unless we allow the book of Daniel to unlock Revelation.  Does Daniel describe the fall of Babylon and the reasons why it fell?  Indeed it does! The literal city of Babylon fell in one night as predicted by Daniel through dreams (visions) given to Him from God.  It is both historically and spiritually applicable to Revelation’s three angels and the times in which we live.

The fall of ancient Babylon happened suddenly because of the sins of King Belshazzar and an apostate people.  The sins of Babylon will be repeated 2500 years later and with similar rapidity.  The same conditions of that literal city will be found in spiritual Babylon in the time just before the return of Jesus.  The two are connected.  A prayerful study of the former is vital to unlocking the mystery of the times in which we live and positive identification of the latter so that we can “come out” of her. How can we come out of something if we don’t know what it is?

 Babylon is described in Daniel, as we have seen in the previous two studies, as the head of Gold (Chapter 2), and a lion with two wings (Chapter 7). The characteristics of these two symbols are relevant to that historical ancient city of great hanging gardens and beauty.

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Daniel Chapter 5

A Blasphemous Party!

Belshazzar the king made a great feast for a thousand of his lords, and drank wine in the presence of the thousand. 2 While he tasted the wine, Belshazzar gave the command to bring the gold and silver vessels which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple which had been in Jerusalem, that the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines might drink from them. 3 Then they brought the gold vessels that had been taken from the temple of the house of God which had been in Jerusalem; and the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines drank from them. 4 They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze and iron, wood and stone.

Daniel 5: 1-4

When Jerusalem was captured, the magnificent temple of Solomon was destroyed by Babylon.  They confiscated the sacred vessels used in the sanctuary services. God instituted the sacrificial services and gave Moses the pattern for the sanctuary after He freed His people from the slavery of Egypt.  The services and the design of the temple and all the utensils were directed by God Himself through Moses.

But, when the people settled in the promised land, Solomon built the great temple.   All of the vessels were set aside for holy use, but at this party, they were used in a drunken orgy and filled with alcoholic wine as a tribute and praise to their idols created by their own hands!

King Belshazzar was the grandson of King Nebuchadnezzar’s and had heard the stories of his visions (Chapter 2) and his acknowledgment of the true God after a 7-year mental breakdown (Chapter 4):

That very hour the word was fulfilled concerning Nebuchadnezzar; he was driven from men and ate grass like oxen; his body was wet with the dew of heaven till his hair had grown like eagles’ feathers and his nails like birds’ claws.

 And at the end of the time I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my understanding returned to me; and I blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever:

Daniel 4: 33-34

King Belshazzar (Co-leader with his father Nabonidus), was defiant of the true God and performed a ritual that has always brought the wrath of God.  The doomed king mixed those things God had made holy with a pagan ritual of idol worship.

A careful student of the books of Moses and the prophets demonstrates clearly this fact:  The fall of God’s people, almost always, was due to their turning away from the plain words and commands of God to the pagan practices of idol worship.  It is a mystery how God’s people could see the miracles He provided them as they left Egypt and still turn to other gods.

Scripture bears out the influence of unbelievers (aka peer pressure).   The people of God wanted to be like the heathen people they interacted with every day. This is one of the reasons, God desired them to be separate and uninfluenced by falsehood and pagan worship practices.  But, the people wanted a king like everyone else.  This was the beginning of their downfall as they desired to trust  human leaders rather than their Creator.  It was peer-pressure that watered down the plain words of God.

Is it any different today?  God’s people don’t want to be separate or different; they want to be accepted and like everyone else. But God commanded His people:

 Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial?

2 Corinthians 6:14-15

So, it is no wonder that coming out of Babylon is a bold act of being different or non-compliant with  the practices that are not in accordance with the God’s will:

 “…Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues.

Revelation 18:4

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God’s patience with Babylon ran out on this night as the drunken King flaunted himself before the God of Creation.  Here is our first hint of what causes spiritual Babylon of Revelation to fall.  It is disrespect and blasphemy of God’s plain words and commands and indifference to what God has proclaimed as holy. It is the mixing of pagan practices with the things God has set aside for holy use.

 “Come, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters, with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth were made drunk with the wine of her fornication….

And on her forehead a name was written:

MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT,
THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS
AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS
OF THE EARTH.

Revelation 17:2, 5

Babylon, also described as a fornicating woman with “the kings of the earth”  sitting on many waters. The woman is a fallen church that has influence over kings and the whole earth. The waters upon which she sits is many people. The Bible interprets itself:

“The waters which you saw, where the harlot sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues.

Revelation 17:15

As with literal Babylon, the spiritual Babylon of Revelation is a fornicator.  Fornication can be described as two things or parties that come together that do not belong together or is unholy and sinful in God’s sight.

God Stops The Party

In the same hour the fingers of a man’s hand appeared and wrote opposite the lampstand on the plaster of the wall of the king’s palace; and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote. Then the king’s countenance changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so that the joints of his hips were loosened and his knees knocked against each other. 

Daniel 5: 5-6

The laughter of the king and his boldness suddenly changed.  The blood from his face drained into the droopy expression of fear for he saw a hand without a body writing on the wall!  He was in such fear that his knees actually shook and knocked together.  He could not stand up!  Is this not the way the wicked will feel when the hour of their judgment comes?

The mystery of the writing consumes the king and he calls for his “wise men.”

The king cried aloud to bring in the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers. The king spoke, saying to the wise men of Babylon, “Whoever reads this writing, and tells me its interpretation, shall be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold around his neck, and he shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.”

Daniel 5:7

The king makes the mistakes of his grandfather; he calls for the “fakers” (those who deceive the king into thinking they have spiritual connections and are wise.)

The fakers come into his presence….

…but they could not read the writing, or make known to the king its interpretation. Then King Belshazzar was greatly troubled, his countenance was changed, and his lords were astonished.

Daniel 5:8

Long before this time, God had made it clear that we should seek God and His word alone for spiritual questions and inquiries and not card readers, astrologers, palm readers, and people who conduct seances. To do so, puts that person in a dangerous situation and opens them up to darkness and deception. It is a pagan practice:

And when they say to you, “Seek those who are mediums and wizards, who whisper and mutter,” should not a people seek their God? Should they seek the dead on behalf of the living?  To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.

Isaiah 8: 19-20

Just as the king reached out to the wrong sources and remained in astonishment and fear so are those who would seek anyone other than God and His word.  A person’s words can be easily determined to be false or true when compared to God’s law and the testimony of those who wrote His book we call the Bible.

It is plain that the great touch stone for truth and revelation is the Bible alone. To believe otherwise is to fall into the darkness and untruth of the fakers…” there is no light in them.” In these last days upon earth, the true followers of  God and Jesus Christ are those who stay close to Jesus and His word:

Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.

Revelation 14:12

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Acknowledgement of God Before His Destruction 

The king is so troubled that he forgets about Daniel.  The queen reminds him of this great man of God,

The queen, because of the words of the king and his lords, came to the banquet hall. The queen spoke, saying, “O king, live forever! Do not let your thoughts trouble you, nor let your countenance change. There is a man in your kingdom in whom is the Spirit of the Holy God….Then Daniel was brought in before the king. 

Daniel 5: 10, 13

Daniel has proven to be an instrument in the hands of an omnipotent God.  Daniel knows that history is directed by the hand of God to counteract the work of the enemy.  He…

…removes kings and raises up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise And knowledge to those who have understanding.

Daniel 2:21

God is in control and knows the end from the beginning

Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things that are not yet done, Saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, And I will do all My pleasure,’

Isaiah 46:10

But, God reveals his secrets to his prophets before he acts.

Surely the Lord God does nothing, Unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets.

Amos 3:7

Did you catch that?  God does nothing until He reveals it ahead of time through the prophets! What assurance we have!  We can know the end from the beginning by listening to his prophets!  The Lord had not done anything to Babylon until Daniel revealed to him the mystery!

But before Daniel reveals the meaning of the handwriting on the wall, he gives the frightened king a min-sermon where he boldly reminds the king of the story of King Nebuchadnezzar in verses 17- 21. Here are the highlights:

1.) God gave King Nebuchadnezzar his kingdom and majesty, glory and honor. The king had power and was feared. Although the king was not a godly man at the beginning and was an unbeliever and a pagan, God used Him for the glory and honor of God and His people. Let this speak to us, that God’s ways are not ours, nor our thoughts His thoughts. Even the bad kings/rulers are used for God’s purposes.

2.) But when his heart was lifted up, and his spirit was hardened in pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him. Daniel 5: 20. The king had the same problem as Lucifer when he fell from heaven.  His heart was “lifted up.”  Ezekiel 28:2. Pride goes before a fall.

3.)  The king went insane when his pride got the best of him, but God used the 7 years of insanity to bring him to a point where he, “he knew that the Most High God rules in the kingdom of men, and appoints over it whomever He chooses. Daniel 5:21.  God will often allow those who would be saved to experience difficulty and strife to lead them in the path of righteousness and faith. 

For whom the Lord loves He chastens, And scourges every son whom He receives.”

Hebrews 12;6

The point of this sermon is found in these words:

“But you his son, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, although you knew all this.

Daniel 5:22

Daniel does not refer to Belshazzar as king anymore because he knows he is a mere man about to meet his end.  His own actions and rebellion brought the wrath of God upon himself even though he knew the stories and godly life of his grandfather. How many of us have led a reckless life knowing the truth about God given us by a saintly mother, father, grandmother, grandfather?

So before the king meets his doom, he is given the opportunity to know the truth. And because of this truth, he will finally, but too late, acknowledge the God of heaven.  It is even so at the time of the end when every knee will bow and acknowledge Jesus and God before their destruction:

For it is written:

“As I live, says the Lord,
Every knee shall bow to Me,
And every tongue shall confess to God.”

Romans 14:11.

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Daniel Interprets the Handwriting

Daniel begins to describe the events of the evening and reads the words to the king:

“And this is the inscription that was written:

MENE,[ MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.

Daniel 5;25

The frightened King wonders what these words mean.  Daniel immediately reveals the meaning:

 This is the interpretation of each word. MENE: God has numbered your kingdom, and finished it;  TEKEL: You have been weighed in the balances, and found wanting;  PERES: Your kingdom has been divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.”

Daniel 5:26-28

Just as predicted in Daniel 2 through the frightening image given to Belshazzar’s defiant grandfather, the kingdom of Babylon fell and was given that night over to the dual kingdom of the Medes and the Persians. Babylon had fallen in a single night!

That night as confirmed by history was October 2,  538 BC; not with a long war, but suddenly. So it will be with the Babylon of Revelation.  Its demise will be quick and sudden. The reason for its fall will be the same as literal Babylon i.e. it heart being lifted up in defiance of the God’s word and the “fornication” of the sacred with the pagan worship practices that take away the glory intended only for God.

And you have lifted yourself up against the Lord of heaven. They have brought the vessels of His house before you, and you and your lords, your wives and your concubines, have drunk wine from them. And you have praised the gods of silver and gold, bronze and iron, wood and stone, which do not see or hear or know; and the God who holds your breath in His hand and owns all your ways, you have not glorified.

Daniel 5:23

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Babylon’s demise predicted by Isaiah

The fall of Babylon was prophetical in more places of scripture than just Daniel alone.   Isaiah gives us more information that is also relevant to the fall of the Babylon of Revelation.  Isaiah described and named the person who would bring Babylon down over 150 years before it happened.

Even while the feast was going on, the fall of Babylon had begun.  The Babylonians had felt safe in their city.  The River Euphrates, which ran through the city, provided a constant source of water. The walls were impregnable.  There was plenty of food stored up for a long siege.  The Babylonians knew that the army of the Medes and Persians was on the outside, but they felt secure. However, Cyrus, the commander of the Medes and Persians, performed an ingenious engineering feat. He had his soldiers divert the River Euphrates. Then he marched his army through the river bed underneath the wall of the city and through the inside gates which had been left open by the drunken Babylonians.  Thus the words of Isaiah written over 150 years ahead of time came to fulfillment:

“Thus says the Lord to His anointed, To Cyrus, whose right hand I have held— To subdue nations before him And loose the armor of kings, To open before him the double doors, So that the gates will not be shut:

Isaiah 45:1

If the gates had not been left open, the army of Cyrus would have been annihilated by the Babylonians from atop the inner walls that lined the river. In the same way, the great river Euphrates will be dried up to let in the conquering army.

the sixth angel who had the trumpet, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.”…Then the sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, so that the way of the kings from the east might be prepared.

Revelation 9:14, 16:12

The Babylon of Revelation:

In the last days, spiritual Babylon will commit acts similar to literal Babylon.  The cup of God’s indignation will fill up and Babylon will fall.  But, the Babylon of the last days is much more powerful and universal in its deceptive powers.   Babylon is opposed to God in word and action.  It attempts to deceive as many people as possible.  Its influence can be felt world wide. It does this by appearing to be on God’s side.  We have been warned by Jesus and Paul that this deception is so great that only complete faith in God and His word will counter act its bewitching powers:

For false christs and false prophets will rise and show signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.

Mark 13:22

 For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. 

2 Corinthians 11: 13-14

The deception of Babylon cannot be overcome by sight but must come in obedience to God by leaving Babylon and trusting in Him and His word alone.  God does not attempt to reform Babylon but rather asks His people to come out of her.

Today, she sits on many waters. We have learned from Revelation 17:15 that her influence is worldwide.  It is over peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues.

God refers to her as the mother of harlots.  She passes on her sins to her children who become harlots themselves drunken by the wine of apostasy and apathy:

MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT,
THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS
AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS
OF THE EARTH.

Revelation 17:5

It is not for Babylon that God sends his appeal. It is for those who are His people and naively have been pulled into her by her influence and mixture of truth and lies.

One day, God will remember the sins of ancient Babylon and the sins of spiritual Babylon who has made the earth drunk with her apostasy.

 “Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she has made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication….And great Babylon was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath.

Revelation 16:9

 As we study the next chapter of Daniel (Chapter 6), the lessons from false worship are center stage.  Throughout God’s word, it is the subject of false worship versus true worship. True worship is vital!  It cannot be on our own terms and feelings.  Babylon would make use feel this way, but Jesus is very clear:

But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.

John 4:23

Our world is in a fallen state. It is filled with apathy and apostasy.

Will you pray this prayer with me?

“Lord, if I am in Babylon, please take my hand and lead me out. Amen.”

 

 

 

 

"He is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ. Colossians 1:28