¤[Theme music]¤
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¤[Theme music]¤
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>>John: This is It Is
Written. I'm John Bradshaw.
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Welcome to 500.
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¤[Music]¤
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¤[Music]¤
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Five hundred years ago the world
was a very different place.
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There weren't any
cars, or airplanes.
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No trains.
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No buses.
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No computers.
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There was no radio,
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no television,
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no internet.
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There was no plastic,
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no cardboard,
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no United States.
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There was no Taj Mahal.
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There was no junk food,
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no x-rays,
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no antibiotics,
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no vaccines.
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There was no anesthetic.
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Smoking was virtually unknown.
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No GMOs,
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no cameras, no newspapers...
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It was a different world.
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Now think about this.
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There was no Baptist
Church 500 years ago.
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No Pentecostal Church.
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There were no
Presbyterians, no Methodists,
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no Seventh-day Adventists,
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no Church of England
(or Episcopal Church).
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In fact, there
was only one Church.
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Then, as now, it
was led by a pope.
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The popes 500 years ago
were men like Leo the 10th,
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Adrian the 6th,
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Clement the 7th,
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Paul the 3rd,
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Julius the 3rd
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and Marcellus the 2nd.
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And they weren't only
leaders of the church,
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but they were also immensely
powerful political figures.
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Or, to put it another way,
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500 years ago there
was no religious freedom.
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You could attend
church, listen to the priest,
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maybe hear the organ music,
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but you couldn't believe
what you wanted to believe.
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And you definitely
couldn't read a Bible.
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You believed what the
church told you to believe.
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And if you dared
to do otherwise, well,
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life was difficult at best.
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Now, down through the ages
there were those who dissented,
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but they existed in the shadows.
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It was only a tiny minority
that dared to stand up against
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the might of the Church.
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¤[Music]¤
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Five hundred
years ago it was tough
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if you didn't
agree with the church.
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If you wanted to
believe what you believed,
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you either had to be
very secretive about it,
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or run the risk
of being uncovered,
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persecuted,
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and more than likely killed.
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If you value
religious freedom today,
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the freedom to belong
to the church you want
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and to believe what you believe,
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or even the freedom
to belong to no church
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and believe there is no God,
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then consider that
a few centuries ago
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that freedom didn't exist.
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But all that would change.
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In 1517, on October the 31st,
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a priest in a
small town in Germany
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changed western civilization,
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and risked his life by defying
the power of the ruling church.
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His contribution to
history was so immense that
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Time Magazine ranked him fourth
on the list of the Greatest Men
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of the Millennium.
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Looking at those
ranked above him,
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it's easy to think he should
have been ranked number one.
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Five hundred years ago,
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the Protestant Reformation
began when a young priest
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turned academic by the
name of Dr. Martin Luther
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nailed a list of protests
to the door of this church
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in Wittenberg, Germany.
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When he did so,
he didn't realize
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he was about to
set history on fire.
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He had no intention
of starting a new church.
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All Martin Luther
wanted to see was his church
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come closer to the Bible.
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He was calling for reform.
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Bound up in the genesis of
the Protestant Reformation,
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several very
important questions.
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To begin with,
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how important is it
that a person have that right
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to determine for himself
or herself what to believe?
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Five hundred years ago,
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you believed what the
church told you to believe.
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Beyond that, you
didn't have much of anything.
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How important is it
that you choose for yourself
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what you think
and what you believe?
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Second, when it
comes to what you believe,
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think about that
question that Pilate asked Jesus
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the night before
Jesus was crucified.
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Pilate said to
him, “What is truth?”
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Today you'll hear that
people have their truth.
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I have my truth.
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You have your truth.
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What is truth?
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And how do you decide?
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Is truth subject to a vote?
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Should there be
a, a court of ideas?
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How do you decide?
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Is there a standard
by which ideas or truths
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can be objectively judged?
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And what's truth worth?
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What is the freedom to
believe actually worth?
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How far do you press this?
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When is it worth being
a troubler of the people?
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And is there ever a time that
the freedom to believe your own
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ideas is something
that's actually worth dying for?
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¤[Music]¤
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Now, when you
think of a person's
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deeply held personal beliefs,
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you could dismiss that
as just ideas, theories.
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But what we know
is that a person's
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deeply held personal
beliefs provide the framework
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for that person's entire life,
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and they certainly
form that person's faith.
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In looking at the
Protestant Reformation,
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it's important that
you go back and consider
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the foundation of
Christianity altogether.
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Reform today
typically means new ideas,
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whether you're dealing
with political, cultural,
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social, or religious reform.
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It's about finding
something new, whatever's next.
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But not the way God sees it.
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As God looks at reform,
typically He calls us back.
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He calls us back to old ideas,
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to things that he
has established already.
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Speaking for God, the
prophet Jeremiah said this:
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“Thus says the Lord,
Stand in the ways and see,
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and ask for the old paths,
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where the good way
is, and walk in it;
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then you shall find rest
for your souls” (Jeremiah 6:16).
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The Bible, both the
Old and the New Testaments,
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form the basis of the
early Christian church.
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The Apostle Paul, writing
to young Timothy said that
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“all Scripture is
given by inspiration of God,
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and is profitable for doctrine,
for reproof, for correction,
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and for
instruction in righteousness.”
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That's Second
Timothy 3 and verse 16.
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The consuming passion
of the early Christians,
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the death, burial,
and resurrection of Jesus
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for the salvation of humanity,
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was said by Paul to
rest upon the Scriptures:
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“For I delivered to you first of
all that which I also received:
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that Christ died for our sins
according to the Scriptures,
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And that He was buried,
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and that He rose
again the third day
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according to the Scriptures”
(1 Corinthians 15:3 and 4).
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The New Testament teaching
of justification by faith,
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a central focus of the
Protestant Reformation,
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is also said by Paul
to rest upon scripture.
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Listen to what he said in
Romans, chapter 1, verses 16-17
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“For I am not ashamed
of the gospel of Christ,
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for it is the power of
God to salvation for everyone
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who believes,
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for the Jew first
and also for the Greek.
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For in it the
righteousness of God
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is revealed from faith
to faith; as it is written,
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‘The just shall live by
faith'” (Romans 1:16 and 17).
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What was clear to the founders
of the Christian religion
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is that the message they shared
was the Word of the eternal God.
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“When you received the word
of God which you heard from us,
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you welcomed it
not as the word of men,
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but as it is in
truth, the word of God,
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which also effectively
works in you who believe”
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(First Thessalonians 2:13).
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When certain individuals
got it in their heads
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that the church
had to be reformed,
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and when they chose to
put their lives on the line
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to see that it happened,
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things were
going to get exciting.
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I'll be back with
more in just a moment.
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¤[Music]¤
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[Sound of wolves]
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¤[Music]¤
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[Camera equipment rattling]
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[Rustling in grass]
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[People talking]
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[Wind Gusts]
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¤[Music]¤
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¤[Music]¤
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[Cheering]
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¤[Music]¤
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>>John: This is It Is
Written, I'm John Bradshaw.
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Thanks for joining me for 500.
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Now, think of some of the great
reform movements of history.
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The Civil Rights
movement in the United States.
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Lunch counter sit-ins.
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Bus boycotts.
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Protest marches.
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Where would the
United States be today
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without those heroes who stood
up boldly and demanded reform?
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Many lost their lives.
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Was it worth it?
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The fall of European
communism in the early 1990s.
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Starting with Lech Walesa
and the Solidarity Movement,
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and desperate East Germans
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who wanted to see the
Berlin Wall come down,
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and Czechs who
protested in Wenceslas Square.
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Was that worth it?
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The Boston Tea Party in 1773.
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Of course the list goes on.
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Sometimes protest is
absolutely essential.
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A protest about
taxation without representation?
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Yeah, that's important.
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Your country is occupied?
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Well, that's important too.
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You don't like your
system of government;
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you feel like
you're being oppressed.
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Well, most of us
can only imagine.
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But the
Protestant Reformation was
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on an
altogether different level.
00:13:18.43\00:13:20.26
¤[Music]¤
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Christianity began with
people such as Peter and James
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and John and Paul
and Silas and Timothy,
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carrying forward the
message of the gospel.
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But after a few centuries,
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that message
began to get clouded.
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When the Roman Empire
officially accepted Christianity
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and called off its
persecution of the church,
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faith in Jesus became popular.
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Unfortunately, it
also became corrupt.
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Jesus had warned His disciples,
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saying to them in
Luke 6 and verse 26,
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“Woe unto you when all
men speak well of you.”
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Instead of the Bible deciding
what Christians should believe,
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church councils and bishops,
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even Roman
emperors like Constantine,
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began making these decisions.
00:14:08.74\00:14:10.08
Now, of course, not all
of those decisions were bad.
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But more and more
these human judgments
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began subverting the
authority of the Bible.
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Church tradition began to
hold veto power over scripture.
00:14:19.62\00:14:23.93
Jesus' words regarding
the Pharisees of His day
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began to hold more
and more relevance.
00:14:27.40\00:14:29.76
“And in vain they worship
Me, teaching as doctrines
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the commandments of
men” (Matthew 15:9).
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In the centuries that
followed the so-called
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conversion of Constantine,
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this reliance on human
ideas and human traditions
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became more and more pronounced.
00:14:44.81\00:14:47.02
Those who wanted
to follow the Bible
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were forced to go underground.
00:14:48.65\00:14:51.22
¤[Music]¤
00:14:51.25\00:14:54.89
The Vatican became
more and more powerful,
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effectively governing
the lives and the souls
00:14:57.43\00:15:00.13
and the political
institutions of Europe.
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No pope was more powerful
than Pope Innocent the Third,
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who reigned from 1198 to 1216,
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a period that's
been referred to as the
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“high noon” of the papacy.
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A leading Protestant historian,
J.A. Wylie, wrote that
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“the noon of the papacy
was the midnight of the world.”
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Innocent the Third was able
to compel the monarchs of Europe
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to do his will.
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At times he deposed
those who would not.
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¤[Music]¤
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One weapon that the
church had in its arsenal
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was something
known as interdict.
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A territory that was
censured with an interdict
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was made to
believe that the priests
00:15:43.10\00:15:45.27
would not hear confession,
00:15:45.31\00:15:47.21
prayers would not be
offered for the dead,
00:15:47.24\00:15:49.14
and the sacraments of the
church would not be dispensed.
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Now, for anybody who
actually believed that the pope
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held the keys to God's kingdom,
this was absolutely terrifying.
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They were effectively
shut out from the grace of God.
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Now this mindset that had
existed for hundreds of years
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and which greeted
the Protestant reformers
00:16:07.76\00:16:10.37
at the beginning of
the sixteenth century
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¤[Music]¤
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John Wycliffe,
the English scholar
00:16:13.37\00:16:15.40
who translated the Latin
Bible into English in the 1300s,
00:16:15.44\00:16:19.14
is often called the “morning
star of the Reformation.”
00:16:19.17\00:16:23.31
Wycliffe spoke against
what he saw as the inaccuracies
00:16:23.35\00:16:27.62
of the state church.
00:16:27.65\00:16:28.92
Church leaders in Rome
summoned him to stand trial,
00:16:28.95\00:16:32.45
intending to end his life.
00:16:32.49\00:16:34.66
He got sick and died
before he could be tried,
00:16:34.69\00:16:36.76
but Wycliffe's work was done.
00:16:36.79\00:16:40.50
But such was the animosity
of the church towards him
00:16:40.53\00:16:42.83
that his body was
exhumed, and it was burned,
00:16:42.86\00:16:46.97
and his ashes
were dumped in a river.
00:16:47.00\00:16:49.54
Wycliffe's
teachings were carried forward
00:16:52.77\00:16:54.74
by a Bohemian
priest named John Huss.
00:16:54.78\00:16:58.85
The church summoned Huss to a
council in Constance, Germany,
00:16:58.88\00:17:02.05
and promised him protection.
00:17:02.08\00:17:04.35
Huss arrived in
Constance and was arrested,
00:17:04.39\00:17:07.42
thrown into a horrible
prison, sentenced to death,
00:17:07.46\00:17:11.16
and was then
burned at the stake.
00:17:11.19\00:17:14.63
But as one historian wrote,
00:17:14.66\00:17:16.23
“The blood of the
martyrs was seed.”
00:17:16.26\00:17:18.77
The persecution
the Reformers suffered
00:17:18.80\00:17:21.97
only seemed to
further their cause.
00:17:22.00\00:17:25.67
And the need for
reform seemed obvious.
00:17:25.71\00:17:28.71
The luxury and the depravity
indulged in by church leaders
00:17:28.74\00:17:31.81
was breathtaking.
00:17:31.85\00:17:33.52
It's no secret
that there were popes
00:17:33.55\00:17:34.85
who fathered
illegitimate children.
00:17:34.88\00:17:36.85
Church offices
were bought and sold,
00:17:36.89\00:17:40.32
and the luxurious
lifestyle of church leaders
00:17:40.36\00:17:42.46
was out of sync with
the self-denial of Jesus.
00:17:42.49\00:17:45.69
Speaking of the
corruption of that time,
00:17:45.73\00:17:47.56
one historian wrote that
00:17:47.60\00:17:49.56
“the advance of the Turks
00:17:49.60\00:17:50.90
since the fall of
Constantinople in 1453
00:17:50.93\00:17:54.30
was generally considered
to have been allowed by God
00:17:54.34\00:17:57.74
in punishment for
the sins of the Church.”
00:17:57.77\00:18:01.98
The Christian church was
certainly ready for a change.
00:18:02.01\00:18:06.08
But how would
that change come about?
00:18:06.11\00:18:08.22
We'll find out in just a moment.
00:18:08.25\00:18:10.02
¤[Music]¤
00:18:10.05\00:18:15.36
>>Announcer: In Matthew
4:4, the Word of God says,
00:18:18.43\00:18:20.96
"It is written,
00:18:21.00\00:18:22.00
'Man shall not
live by bead alone,
00:18:22.03\00:18:24.13
but by every word that proceeds
from the mouth of God.'"
00:18:24.17\00:18:27.87
"Every Word"
00:18:27.90\00:18:28.84
is a one-minute,
Bible-based daily devotional
00:18:28.87\00:18:31.14
presented by
Pastor John Bradshaw,
00:18:31.17\00:18:33.27
and designed especially
for busy people like you.
00:18:33.31\00:18:36.34
Look for Every Word
on selected networks,
00:18:36.38\00:18:39.21
or watch it online
every day on our website,
00:18:39.25\00:18:41.48
ItIsWritten.com.
00:18:41.52\00:18:43.62
Receive a daily spiritual boost.
00:18:43.65\00:18:45.72
Watch “Every Word.”
00:18:45.75\00:18:47.06
You'll be glad you did.
00:18:47.09\00:18:48.66
Here's a sample.
00:18:48.69\00:18:50.86
¤[Music]¤
00:18:51.33\00:18:55.90
>>John: After he was arrested,
00:18:55.93\00:18:57.00
a New York man
confessed to 6 burglaries,
00:18:57.03\00:19:00.17
in the borough of Queens.
00:19:00.20\00:19:01.60
He broke into
churches and stole from them.
00:19:01.64\00:19:03.64
He said he did it
because “I'm mad at God.
00:19:03.67\00:19:06.04
I don't like church anymore.
I break in to get back at God.”
00:19:06.07\00:19:10.18
Get back at God?
00:19:10.21\00:19:11.55
After all God has done for you;
00:19:11.58\00:19:13.21
brought you into existence,
00:19:13.25\00:19:14.42
sustained you,
00:19:14.45\00:19:15.15
gave you opportunity,
00:19:15.18\00:19:16.08
and promised you
everlasting life,
00:19:16.12\00:19:18.89
in a world where there's no sin,
00:19:18.92\00:19:20.09
disappointment,
or broken dreams.
00:19:20.12\00:19:22.22
You can't get back at God.
00:19:22.26\00:19:24.53
If you want to get back at
anyone that'll be the devil who
00:19:24.56\00:19:26.86
is responsible for every ounce
of misery that has ever existed.
00:19:26.90\00:19:31.20
Jesus said in John 5 verse 40:
00:19:31.23\00:19:33.30
“But you are not willing to come
to Me that you may have life.”
00:19:33.34\00:19:36.94
If you want to right
wrongs, come to faith in Christ.
00:19:36.97\00:19:40.21
Staying away from God only
plays into the devil's hands.
00:19:40.24\00:19:44.85
I'm John Bradshaw
for It Is Written.
00:19:44.88\00:19:46.41
Let's live today by every word.
00:19:46.45\00:19:48.72
¤[Music]¤
00:19:48.75\00:19:51.05
¤[Music]¤
00:19:51.79\00:19:54.42
One hundred years
after the death of Huss,
00:19:54.46\00:19:57.46
a young German priest by
the name of Martin Luther
00:19:57.49\00:20:01.03
found himself in
the city of Rome,
00:20:01.06\00:20:04.03
seeking to earn God's favor
00:20:04.07\00:20:06.03
by climbing on his
knees up Pilate's Staircase.
00:20:06.07\00:20:10.84
The church
claimed that Jesus Himself
00:20:10.87\00:20:12.57
had walked on that staircase,
00:20:12.61\00:20:14.58
and that it had
been miraculously
00:20:14.61\00:20:16.34
transported from
Jerusalem to Rome.
00:20:16.38\00:20:19.55
While performing this act,
Luther seemed to hear a voice
00:20:19.58\00:20:23.45
as loud as thunder,
00:20:23.49\00:20:25.75
declaring in his ear the
gospel truth articulated by
00:20:25.79\00:20:28.66
both Testaments
of the Sacred Word:
00:20:28.69\00:20:31.36
“The just shall live
by faith” (Romans 1:17;
00:20:31.39\00:20:34.93
Habakkuk: 2, verse 4).
00:20:34.96\00:20:38.27
So why was Luther walking
up a staircase on his knees?
00:20:38.30\00:20:41.80
Because Luther believed
that climbing those steps
00:20:41.84\00:20:46.44
would earn favor with God.
00:20:46.47\00:20:49.78
And why did Luther believe that?
00:20:49.81\00:20:51.65
Because that's
what the church taught.
00:20:51.68\00:20:54.72
¤[Music]¤
00:20:54.75\00:20:55.68
[Birds chirping]
00:20:55.72\00:20:58.19
The church taught that you could
reduce your punishment for sin,
00:20:58.22\00:21:02.16
that you could lessen
the “temporal effects of sin”
00:21:02.19\00:21:05.96
by doing things such as
attending a certain church
00:21:05.99\00:21:09.03
on a certain day,
00:21:09.06\00:21:10.33
honoring the
“blessed sacrament,”
00:21:10.37\00:21:12.20
praying the rosary,
00:21:12.23\00:21:14.20
or climbing the Scala Sancta,
00:21:14.24\00:21:16.81
Pilate's
Staircase, on your knees.
00:21:16.84\00:21:19.41
In fact, the church
still believes this.
00:21:19.44\00:21:22.98
Here's what the church
says about indulgences.
00:21:23.01\00:21:26.31
"An indulgence is a
remission before God
00:21:26.35\00:21:29.88
of the temporal punishment
due to sins whose guilt
00:21:29.92\00:21:34.52
has already been forgiven,
00:21:34.56\00:21:36.66
which the faithful Christian
who is duly disposed gains
00:21:36.69\00:21:40.30
under certain
prescribed conditions
00:21:40.33\00:21:43.50
through the action
of the Church which,
00:21:43.53\00:21:45.73
as the minister of redemption,
00:21:45.77\00:21:48.00
dispenses and
applies with authority
00:21:48.04\00:21:51.11
the treasury of
the satisfactions
00:21:51.14\00:21:53.21
of Christ and the saints.”
00:21:53.24\00:21:56.01
So you can understand why Luther
felt he had to do something.
00:21:56.04\00:21:59.75
The church was
teaching salvation by works.
00:21:59.78\00:22:03.92
In fact,
indulgences were sold for money.
00:22:03.95\00:22:07.22
Money was raised for the
building of St Peter's Basilica
00:22:07.26\00:22:10.69
through the
selling of indulgences.
00:22:10.73\00:22:12.63
This was Luther's reality.
00:22:12.66\00:22:15.63
Of course he had to protest.
00:22:15.66\00:22:17.47
¤[Music]¤
00:22:17.50\00:22:20.67
That moment at
Pilate's Staircase proved to be
00:22:20.70\00:22:22.87
the turning point in
Martin Luther's experience.
00:22:22.90\00:22:25.87
With that voice
still ringing in his heart,
00:22:25.91\00:22:28.14
he sprang to his feet
and fled from the place
00:22:28.18\00:22:32.08
in shame and horror.
00:22:32.11\00:22:33.21
¤[Music]¤
00:22:33.25\00:22:34.18
Luther's zeal would spark a fire
00:22:34.22\00:22:36.52
that spread
throughout Europe and beyond.
00:22:36.55\00:22:39.69
From John Calvin's Geneva
to William Tyndale's England,
00:22:39.72\00:22:43.22
from France to
Scandinavia and the Netherlands,
00:22:43.26\00:22:45.99
and then to
Plymouth Rock on an unknown
00:22:46.03\00:22:48.40
and distant shore,
00:22:48.43\00:22:50.30
the message of
supreme biblical authority,
00:22:50.33\00:22:52.93
justification
through faith in Christ,
00:22:52.97\00:22:55.67
and a conscience
set free from civil
00:22:55.70\00:22:57.47
and ecclesiastical control,
00:22:57.51\00:22:59.64
would inspire millions of
hearts and alter the course
00:22:59.67\00:23:03.85
of human events.
00:23:03.88\00:23:05.05
[Birds singing]
00:23:05.08\00:23:10.39
Luther and
others would also teach
00:23:10.42\00:23:12.15
the principle of Sola
Scriptura, the Bible alone.
00:23:12.19\00:23:17.09
The Reformers believed that
any teaching should be subjected
00:23:17.13\00:23:20.06
to the ultimate
authority: God's Word.
00:23:20.10\00:23:23.43
Now, 500 years later,
00:23:23.47\00:23:25.30
in much of Christianity,
00:23:25.33\00:23:26.67
we simply take that for granted.
00:23:26.70\00:23:29.17
But five hundred years ago?
00:23:29.20\00:23:31.14
No way.
00:23:31.17\00:23:32.24
That's not the way
the church was run.
00:23:32.27\00:23:35.84
Now, of course, the
Reformers were human,
00:23:35.88\00:23:38.65
and human beings are faulty.
00:23:38.68\00:23:40.98
Martin Luther
certainly had his faults.
00:23:41.02\00:23:43.79
But we must keep in
mind that the Reformers
00:23:43.82\00:23:45.99
came to the Bible a
lot like an archaeologist
00:23:46.02\00:23:49.12
comes to an artifact.
00:23:49.16\00:23:50.63
It was new to them.
00:23:50.66\00:23:52.53
They had to
wrestle with the Bible
00:23:52.56\00:23:54.13
and work some things out.
00:23:54.20\00:23:55.73
They didn't have the
benefit of hundreds of years
00:23:55.76\00:23:57.83
of scholarship
having gone before them.
00:23:57.87\00:24:00.24
Now the truth is,
00:24:00.27\00:24:01.24
we inherit a lot of
what we believe by the people
00:24:01.27\00:24:04.97
who've gone before us
and done the heavy lifting.
00:24:05.01\00:24:07.91
Which is fine, as long
as what we receive from
00:24:07.94\00:24:11.78
those who have
gone before us is true.
00:24:11.81\00:24:14.42
In all cases,
00:24:14.45\00:24:15.62
it's important that we go
to the Bible and find out.
00:24:15.65\00:24:18.32
¤[Music]¤
00:24:18.35\00:24:21.19
With the translation
of the Bible by Luther
00:24:21.22\00:24:23.59
and Tyndale and others,
00:24:23.63\00:24:24.89
into German and English
00:24:24.93\00:24:27.03
and French and Polish and Czech,
00:24:27.10\00:24:29.73
and with the advent
of the printing press,
00:24:29.76\00:24:31.60
the common people soon
had access to God's word.
00:24:31.63\00:24:35.87
And when the Bible was put
in the hands of Bible students
00:24:35.90\00:24:38.87
hungry for Scripture,
00:24:38.91\00:24:40.94
the church and the world
could never be the same again.
00:24:40.98\00:24:44.88
¤[Music]¤
00:24:44.91\00:24:48.72
The church of Rome wasn't about
to quietly tolerate an attack
00:24:48.75\00:24:51.99
on what they genuinely believed
was their God-given right
00:24:52.02\00:24:55.89
to direct the minds and
hearts of men and women,
00:24:55.92\00:24:59.09
to compel them in faith in God,
00:24:59.13\00:25:01.43
and to correct them
when they fell into error.
00:25:01.46\00:25:04.67
The Counter-Reformation would
see Rome fight back, forcefully,
00:25:04.70\00:25:10.37
creatively, and
not always obviously.
00:25:10.41\00:25:13.07
¤[Music]¤
00:25:13.11\00:25:14.44
So what does a church do when
its authority is threatened,
00:25:14.48\00:25:17.95
along with its hold on
the minds of the people
00:25:17.98\00:25:20.25
of the western world?
00:25:20.28\00:25:22.15
In Europe, there
was a lot of bloodshed.
00:25:22.18\00:25:25.55
Protestants were
burned at the stake.
00:25:25.59\00:25:28.36
Thousands died in the St
Bartholomew's Day Massacre
00:25:28.39\00:25:31.03
in France in 1572.
00:25:31.06\00:25:32.79
And anything resembling
toleration disappeared.
00:25:32.83\00:25:37.47
More than 200,000 fled France.
00:25:37.50\00:25:42.00
The first foreigners
to reach what would become
00:25:42.04\00:25:44.24
the United States of America
00:25:44.27\00:25:45.97
were Protestants
of English descent.
00:25:46.01\00:25:48.84
But even then there
would be growing pains.
00:25:48.88\00:25:51.61
The Puritans of New England
believed that religious freedom
00:25:51.65\00:25:55.25
applied to you only
if you lived and believed
00:25:55.28\00:25:58.69
and worshipped as they did.
00:25:58.72\00:26:01.39
But then along
came Roger Williams,
00:26:01.42\00:26:03.96
who introduced the concept
of religious liberty for all.
00:26:03.99\00:26:08.40
And then the truth
would go marching on.
00:26:08.43\00:26:11.73
Through men like
Ulrich Zwingli in Zurich
00:26:11.77\00:26:14.57
and John Wesley and his
brother Charles in England.
00:26:14.60\00:26:17.54
Through Philip
Melanchthon and Thomas Cranmer
00:26:17.57\00:26:20.18
and Hugh Latimer
and Nicholas Ridley
00:26:20.21\00:26:21.91
and Theodore Beza
and John Knox in Scotland
00:26:21.94\00:26:24.88
and Huss and Jerome
00:26:24.91\00:26:25.75
and William Farel
and Roger Williams
00:26:25.78\00:26:28.58
and many others.
00:26:28.62\00:26:30.25
So when did the Reformation end?
00:26:30.29\00:26:32.72
Or has it ended?
00:26:32.75\00:26:34.96
Perhaps there's
still a work to be done,
00:26:34.99\00:26:37.36
a work of reform,
00:26:37.39\00:26:38.83
a work of calling
people to faithfulness to God
00:26:38.86\00:26:42.20
and to faith in the Word of God.
00:26:42.23\00:26:44.63
Throughout the rest
of this series, 500,
00:26:44.67\00:26:47.70
you'll meet some of the great
characters of the Reformation.
00:26:47.74\00:26:51.44
Your faith in God will grow,
00:26:51.47\00:26:53.81
and your personal
experience with God
00:26:53.84\00:26:56.51
will be richly blessed.
00:26:56.54\00:26:57.85
¤[Music]¤
00:26:57.88\00:27:03.02
>>John: The book of Revelation
makes clear that Babylon
00:27:05.62\00:27:08.42
will be a major
player on the prophetic scene
00:27:08.46\00:27:11.33
down in the close of time.
00:27:11.36\00:27:13.19
How do we understand that?
00:27:13.23\00:27:14.50
Well, that's why I'd
like you to have this book.
00:27:14.56\00:27:15.96
I wrote it.
00:27:16.00\00:27:17.03
“Babylon Rising.”
00:27:17.07\00:27:18.67
To receive it,
call us at 800-253-3000.
00:27:18.70\00:27:23.64
Or visit us online
at www.itiswritten.com.
00:27:23.67\00:27:28.88
Or you can write to
the address on your screen.
00:27:28.91\00:27:31.41
I'd like you to
receive our free offer,
00:27:31.45\00:27:33.75
“Babylon Rising.”
00:27:33.78\00:27:35.62
And thanks for
remembering that It Is Written
00:27:35.65\00:27:37.55
exists because
of the kind support
00:27:37.59\00:27:39.52
of people just like you.
00:27:39.55\00:27:41.72
Your donation makes it
possible for It Is Written
00:27:41.76\00:27:44.23
to share life-changing,
biblical truth with the world.
00:27:44.26\00:27:48.80
You can send your
tax-deductible gift
00:27:48.83\00:27:50.63
to the address on your screen,
00:27:50.67\00:27:52.47
or you can support It Is
Written through our website,
00:27:52.50\00:27:54.90
itiswritten.com.
00:27:54.94\00:27:56.91
Thanks for your
generous support.
00:27:56.94\00:27:59.04
Our number is 800-253-3000,
00:27:59.07\00:28:02.58
and our web
address is itiswritten.com.
00:28:02.61\00:28:05.25
>>John: Let's pray together now.
00:28:06.75\00:28:08.68
Our Father in Heaven,
00:28:08.72\00:28:09.72
we thank you that you
have preserved your Word,
00:28:09.75\00:28:13.02
that we can possess the
Bible not only in our hands,
00:28:13.05\00:28:17.66
but in our hearts.
00:28:17.69\00:28:19.39
And we thank you for Jesus,
00:28:19.43\00:28:21.26
the One the Bible
calls the Word Made Flesh.
00:28:21.30\00:28:25.53
As down through the ages
you have guided your truth,
00:28:25.57\00:28:29.10
guided your Word
and led your people,
00:28:29.14\00:28:32.17
I pray that you
would guide us now.
00:28:32.21\00:28:34.81
Friend, do you need to
experience a reformation
00:28:34.84\00:28:38.35
in your heart?
00:28:38.38\00:28:40.52
Father, as we talk
about the Reformation
00:28:40.55\00:28:42.18
from an historical perspective,
00:28:42.22\00:28:44.15
we recognize we must experience
reformation in our lives.
00:28:44.19\00:28:47.32
So now we pray that
you would take our hearts,
00:28:47.36\00:28:50.83
make them yours.
00:28:50.86\00:28:51.96
Friend, now is an opportunity
for you to yield to God.
00:28:51.99\00:28:54.63
Would you do that?
00:28:54.66\00:28:56.50
Our Father, we thank you,
00:28:56.53\00:28:58.07
as we continue to study in 500,
00:28:58.10\00:29:01.57
we pray for your blessing,
00:29:01.60\00:29:03.91
and we pray in Jesus' name,
00:29:03.94\00:29:07.41
Amen.
00:29:07.44\00:29:09.74
Thanks so much for joining me.
00:29:09.78\00:29:10.88
I'm looking forward to
seeing you again next time.
00:29:10.91\00:29:13.21
Until then, remember:
00:29:13.25\00:29:14.55
It Is Written.
00:29:14.58\00:29:16.65
Man shall not
live by bread alone,
00:29:16.69\00:29:18.69
but by every word that
proceeds from the mouth of God.
00:29:18.72\00:29:23.26
¤[Theme music]¤
00:29:23.29\00:29:38.27