1
Timothy 4:1-3, “1 The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon
the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. 2 Such
teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared
as with a hot iron. 3 They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain
from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those
who believe and who know the truth.”
The Heart of the Protestant Revival and Reformation
Paul foretold about
the Roman Catholic Church when he said to Timothy that in later times some
people would abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught
by demons. As you can see from reading
the timeline of Rome’s false doctrines in the previous chapter it is easy to
tell that these lies came from Satan’s kingdom.
Only demons would teach Christians to pray to Mary and believe in a
place like purgatory and other such lies as indulgences, papal infallibility,
and mass. Also, it was the Roman
Catholic Church that eventually forbade their priests to marry and also
commanded certain foods not to be eaten on special days such as meat on Friday
or during Lent.
Therefore, as the True
Church of the Lord Jesus Christ lost it place in the Church of Rome the
Catholic Church also became the fulfillment of John’s prophecy about the Whore
of Babylon.[1] Read the following verses in Revelation to
learn why the Roman Catholic Church was and is the Whore of Babylon.
Revelation, 17:4-6, “The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and was glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls. She held a golden cup in her hand, filled with abominable things and the filth of her adulteries. 5 This title was written on her forehead: MYSTERY BABYLON THE GREAT THE MOTHER OF PROSTITUTES AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. 6 I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of those who bore testimony to Jesus.”
The word to John in
the above passage teaches that this prostitute of Babylon, also known as the
“whore of Babylon”, was a rich powerful organization that filled the earth with
her filth and had become drunk with the blood of saints. Protestants have always taught and believed
this to be the Roman Catholic Church because of the following reasons: (1) The
Church of Rome had become rich and powerful by making partnerships with wicked
governments and thus was clothed in “purple”, the color symbolic for
royalty (2) The Church of Rome has
always been full of wicked leaders that abuse their religious positions for
sex, money, and power and spread it all over the world as filthy adulteries (3)
When the true Church broke away from Roman Catholic Church the Catholics killed
and tortured over 5 million Christians simply because of their testimony about
Jesus Christ.
Therefore, as you
begin to read about the lives and stories of the Protestants and their great
struggles for religious freedom from the demonic strongholds in the Catholic
church remember that they in fact were always the True Church of Jesus Christ
and that God was using their lives and deaths to revive a backslidden
church. Here is a brief timeline of
these Protestors lives and movements.
Timeline of the Roman Catholic Protestors from the 1100’s to the
1500’s
1177-1500’s Peter
Waldo starts the Waldensian movement. This movement fought against the
dictatorship of the pope and lies of the Catholic Church, they believed the
Bible was for everyone and that priests should not be the only ones allowed to
preach it.
1320-1400’s John
Wycliffe, known as the “Morning Star” of the Reformation, founded the Lollard
movement, which opposed the Catholic Church and taught the priesthood of the
believer; salvation by faith, and the foundation of doctrine was found only in
the Bible. He was the first person to translate the Bible (New Testament)
into English, which was the common language of the people.
1372-1500’s John Hus carried the teachings
of Wycliffe to his people and his followers were known as the Hussites.
1494-1536 William Tyndale translated the whole Bible into English and
supported the work of Martin Luther and the Reformation.
1483-1546 Martin
Luther is known for being the founder of Protestant Reformation by nailing his
95 theses on the door of his Catholic Church and thus starting the
Reformation. His followers became known as the Lutherans and exist in the
present day.
Description of the Early
Protestors
Though
most of these great men did know each other or have the opportunity to meet one
another, they did share the same heart for the truth and were each used in
their own time and in their own land to bring about the change and the revival
to the Roman Catholic Church that God wanted.
They were labeled by the Catholics of their day as “enemies of Christ”,
“protesters of the Church”, and “heretics”, but in God’s eyes they were as
forever known as his “apostles of truth”, “revivers of the church”, and
“precious saints of God”. Below is a
list of the truths that held these courageous men together.
The Five Solas of the Protestors
1. By
Faith Alone (Sola Fide) | This meant that
a person was not saved by doing the sacraments or the good works of the
Catholic Church, but rather a person was saved by grace alone through faith
alone in Jesus Christ, Romans 5:1 & Ephesians 2:8.
2. By
Scripture Alone (Sola Scriptura) | This
teaching stood for the Bible alone being the only infallible rule for faith and
conduct and not the Bible plus the traditions of the Roman Catholic Church, 2
Timothy 3:16-17 & 2 Peter 1:19-21.
3. Through
Christ Alone (Solus Christus) | This
taught that there was only one mediator between God and man and that is the
God-Man Jesus Christ, not the Mary or the saints of the Catholic Church, 1
Timothy 2:5-6 & John 14:6.
4. By
Grace Alone (Sola Gratia) | This means
that God saves not because of what good things man does but because of His own
grace that He gives freely to sinners, Ephesians 2:8 & 2 Thessalonians
2:15-17.
5. Glory
to God Alone (Soli Deo Gloria) | This
taught that because God alone was 100% responsible for salvation therefore only
God alone would receive the glory, not the saints, the mother Mary, the Pope,
nor the Catholic Church, Philippians 2:11 & Jude 1:25.
These pioneers of the
faith did more than just teach against the Roman Catholic Church, they resisted
it with all their might and fought against that Great Whore of Babylon with
their words and lives until Satan was forced to loose his grip on the True
Church and God was moved to send revival to the land. Countless thousands of men, woman, and
children died as a result of standing for the above listed truths, but they
gave their lives not in vain, but in the promise that Christ would not let the
gates of hell prevail against His Church.
Therefore, because of
these many strong waves of Protestors that for over five hundred years
continued to crash against the Whore of Babylon, the True Church was finally
set free! The True Church got free from
the tyranny and oppression of the Roman Catholic Church and God’s people were
able to experience a fresh revival of the Holy Spirit. Thus they were used to bring God’s power to
their generation and to many generations after them. Here are just some of their stories.
Peter Waldo and the Waldensian Movement | 1177-1500’s
Peter
Waldo was born in Lyon, France in 1140 and was a merchant by trade and did his
business in a very shrewd and dishonest way.
He was converted as a young man and immediately began preaching the
Gospel to the people in the urban areas of France. At first he was accepted by the Catholic
Church, but soon was excommunicated because he would not neither stop preaching
nor making the Bible understood in the common language.
He
believed in the priesthood of the believer and fought against the priesthood of
the Roman Catholic Church that oppressed the people and hid the Word of God in
the Latin language. His followers became
known as the “Waldensians,” which means “poor ones” in French, and they
continued his teachings all through France, Italy, and Spain for the next 300
years.
The Waldensians lived
very humble lives, giving much of their money to the poor, and they taught that
God should use all men for the work of the ministry and just a “priestly
class”. Because of their anti-Catholic
practices the Whore of Babylon consistently persecuted them, but they remained
until the time of Martin Luther and the Great Reformation. During the Great Reformation they joined
forces with other Protestors and gave great strength to the movement and thus
legacy is still with us today.
Here the words that
this great movement lived by:
To
All
who
are weary and need rest,
who
rejoice and want to share the news,
who
mourn and need comfort,
who
have been blessed and want to praise,
who
are lonely and need friends,
who
sin and need a Savior, or
who
are grateful and want to serve God
and
their neighbor --
this
church opens wide its doors and its heart
and
bids you welcome
in
the name of our Lord Jesus Christ!
(Author
Unknown)
John Wycliffe and the Lollards | 1320-1400’s
John
Wycliffe was born in 1320 in Yorkshire, England and went to Oxford University
where he became a Doctor in Divinity.
With all his knowledge of the Word of God and church history he began to
oppose the role and place of the Pope and began to preach that the Bible was
the only sole authority in the Church.
He then was opposed and excommunicated by the Whore of Babylon and his
followers became known as the “Lollards,” which meant “heretics” in Old
English.
John
Wycliffe desired that the Bible be translated from Latin to the English, which
was the language of his day so he broke the Roman Catholic law and translated
the entire New Testament into the English of his day. His followers began to teach and distribute
the Bible to the people in England. He
also was a sort powerful voice in opposing the British monarchy and held strong
political views, which led to uprisings that took power from the wicked leaders
and gave freedom to the people.
Because Wycliffe came
200 years before Martin Luther he is called the “Morning Star of the
Reformation” and after he died the Roman Catholic Church dug up his body and
burned to try to turn people away from his teachings. But his teachings inspired men like John Hus
and many others who saw the dream of religious freedom and revival come to
Europe!
Quotes
from Wycliffe
“This Bible is for the government of the people, by the people and for the people.”
“I believe that in the end truth will conquer.”
“This Bible is for the government of the people, by the people and for the people.”
“I believe that in the end truth will conquer.”
John Hus and the Hussites | 1372-1500’s
John Hus was born in
Husinec, Bohemia (Modern Day Czech Republic) and became a Roman Catholic
Priest. He eventually heard John
Wycliffe’s teachings and he began to denounce the Church of Rome and preach
salvation by faith and as a result he was excommunicated and labeled a heretic. However, because John Hus gained many dedicated
followers very quickly by the time he was excommunicated his followers began
revolutionary wars against the Catholic supported government. Therefore, John Hus was the first reformer to
have actually wars over his teachings and protesting. Though his followers lost most of these wars,
it was the start of revolution, which soon would sweep over Europe during the
Great Reformation.
His followers became
known as the Hussites and his teachings of universal priesthood, the authority
of the Bible, and salvation by grace spread all over Europe. Eventually the Whore of Babylon captured him
and burned him alive at the stake.
Despite his gruesome death his followers and teachings continued on
through the Great Reformation and out of this movement came the Moravian
Church, which was the a Spirit-filled group of radical believers that sent
missionaries all over the world and exists until this day.
Story of Execution | He
stood with his feet on the targets, which were mixed with straw that they might
the more readily ignite. Wood was piled all round him up to the chin. Before
applying the torch, Louis of Bavaria and the Marshal of the Empire approached,
and for the last time implored him to have a care for his life, and renounce
his errors. "What errors," asked 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." At the
hearing of these words they departed from him, and John Huss had now done
talking with men. The fire was applied, the flames blazed upward.
William Tyndale | 1494-1536
William
Tyndale was born in 1494 in South West England and went to Oxford where he
became a scholar in Biblical studies and knew French, Greek, Hebrew, German,
Italian, Latin, Spanish, and English. He
was greatly influenced by the reformers before his day and thus he translated
the entire Bible into English and was thus condemned by the Great Whore of
Babylon. He became a great writer for
the early reformation movement and his books are still widely known and read
today in seminaries. He was eventually
captured and strangled to death by the Church of Rome and then burned to ashes
at the early age of 42.
William
Tyndale was most known for his blunt way of protesting the Roman Catholic
Church, for his entire Bible written in English, and for his plain and
insightful books on Christian theology.
Here are just some of his courageous and valiant quotes:
Quotes
from Tyndale
"I defy the Pope,
and all his laws; and if God spares my life, I will cause the boy that drives
the plow in England to know more of the Scriptures than the Pope himself!"
“To scatter Roman
darkness by this light, the loss of land and life I'll reckon slight.”
“Take heed, therefore,
wicked prelates, blind leaders of the blind; indurate and obstinate hypocrites,
take heed …. Ye will be the chiefest in Christ's flock, and yet will not keep
one jot of the right way of his doctrine …ye keep thereof almost naught at all,
but whatsoever soundeth to make of your bellies, to maintain your honour,
whether in the Scripture, or in your own traditions, or in the pope's law, that
ye compel the lay-people to observe; violently threatening them with your
excommunications and curses, that they shall be damned, body and soul, if they
keep them not. And if that help you not, then ye murder them mercilessly with
the sword of the temporal powers, whom ye have made so blind that they be ready
to slay whom ye command, and will not hear his cause examined, nor give him
room to answer for himself.”
Martin Luther and the Lutherans | 1483-Present
Martin
Luther was born in 1483 in Eisleben, Germany and he became a Catholic priest
that had trouble with his own sinfulness and guilt. He never truly believed he was saved or
forgiven of his sin no matter how well he followed the false teachings of the
Roman Catholic Church. Eventually he
read Romans 5 and was given a revelation that the “just shall live by faith”
and from that time on he felt truly justified, at peace with God, and forgiven
of all his sins because of the finished work of Jesus Christ and not his works
in the flesh.
Therefore,
after having been truly saved he began to oppose the false teachings of the
Whore of Babylon and he wrote 95 theses against the Catholic Church and nailed
them to his church’s door. Most of these
points dealt with the ungodly misuse of indulgences for the forgiveness of
sin. Nonetheless, the Church of Rome had
no patience for his disagreements and thus he was speedily excommunicated and
called a devilish heretic.
At
the same time, the Protestors were getting stronger and stronger and getting
more vocal, so by the time of Luther and his excommunication the power of God
ripped through the devil’s anti-Christ Church of Rome and the Great Reformation
started. Leaders began to rise up all
over Europe and unite against the wicked and corrupt political and religious
powers of the land. Within fifty years
after Luther’s theses his followers, the Lutherans, had taken over most of
Germany, France, Scotland, England, Hungry, and Switzerland. His teachings on the “Five Solas” became the
anthem for the reformers and as a result his movement is still with us today
and all Evangelical owe their religious freedom to his work on justification by
faith alone!
Quotes
from Luther
“I feel much freer now
that I am certain the pope is the Antichrist.”
“Faith is a living,
daring confidence in God's grace, so sure and certain that a man could stake
his life on it a thousand times.”
“You are not only
responsible for what you say, but also for what you do not say.”
“I am more afraid of
my own heart than of the pope and all his cardinals. I have within me the great
pope, Self.”
“Prayer is a strong
wall and fortress of the church; it is a goodly Christian weapon.”
Reflection
1. Do
you believe the Roman Catholic Church is the Whore of Babylon? Explain your answer.
2. What
led to the Great Reformation? Who were
some of the pioneers?
3. Describe
your favorite Protestor and explain why you like him the best.
4. Write
out each of the “Five Solas” of reformation and describe each with Scripture.
Resources
1. “A
Woman Rides the Beast,” by Dave Hunt.
2. “Sola
Scriptura,” by Dr. James White.
