¤[Theme music]
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>>John Bradshaw:
This is It Is Written.
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I'm John Bradshaw.
Thanks for joining me.
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On September the
27th, 1540, Pope Paul III
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sat in the Apostolic
Palace in the Vatican City,
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wondering if things
could possibly get worse
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for him and for his church.
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He realized
that the Vatican City
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had a lot of ground to make up.
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It had been 23
years since Martin Luther
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had nailed his
Ninety-Five Theses to the door
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of the Castle Church
in Wittenberg, Germany.
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And since that
time, whole countries
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had broken free
from Rome's control.
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Parts of
Germany and Scandinavia,
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England, the
Netherlands, Switzerland--
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they all seceded from Rome.
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Luther's writings and the
writings of other reformers
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had spread across Europe.
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People were
experiencing liberation.
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Long before Luther,
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there were reform
movements within Catholicism.
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Peter Waldo pressed for
reform within the church
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in the 12th century.
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He spoke against purgatory
and against the teaching
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of transubstantiation,
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which states that
during the communion service
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the bread and wine, or juice,
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become the actual
body and blood of Jesus.
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For his trouble, he
was severely persecuted.
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He and his followers retreated
to live in the isolated valleys
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of the Piedmont
region in northern Italy,
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where they worked and educated.
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But it wasn't far enough
away to be out of the reach
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of a church that was
determined to destroy them.
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John Wycliffe, who was
born around the year 1328,
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is known today as "the Morning
Star of the Reformation."
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Educated at
Balliol College in Oxford,
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he translated the Bible
from Latin into English,
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or the English of his day.
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From his parish in
Lutterworth in England,
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Wycliffe attacked monasticism,
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the veneration of saints,
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transubstantiation,
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and he even said the
papacy wasn't biblical,
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going so far as to equate
the papacy with the antichrist.
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It's no wonder
he wasn't popular.
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After his death the church
declared him to be a heretic,
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exhumed his body,
burned his remains,
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and cast his ashes
into the River Swift,
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which flows through Lutterworth.
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Wycliffe influenced the Czech
reformer Jan Hus, or John Huss.
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Now, you have to keep
in mind that to speak out
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against the church meant death,
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and these men knew that.
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Huss was commanded by the
church to appear at a trial
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in Constance, Germany.
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The church
promised to protect him.
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But the moment he
arrived in that city,
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he was
apprehended by the church,
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thrown into a loathsome
prison, left to languish there.
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Then he was
brought out and executed,
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and his ashes were
thrown into the Rhine River.
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Luther was by no
means the first burr
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under the saddle of the church,
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but he was
definitely the biggest challenge
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that they'd had to deal with.
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Now, it's not
like Luther didn't have
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plenty of material to work with.
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Church leaders, many of
them, were openly corrupt;
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the faithful were kept
completely in the dark,
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as far as
Scripture was concerned.
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They couldn't possess the Bible;
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in fact, to have the
Bible, portions of the Bible,
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even handwritten
portions of the Bible,
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was enough to get a
person sentenced to death.
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The church financed
the building of St. Peter's
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by selling indulgences.
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This was a phenomenal abuse
of ignorant church members,
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telling them that
sins could be forgiven
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or temporal punishment
for sin would be lessened
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if they paid
money to the church.
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Indulgences could
be bought for the dead.
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It was outrageous.
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Reform was inevitable.
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And by the time Luther stood
up, and Melanchthon with him,
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and Calvin and Farel
and Zwingli and Knox--
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all roughly at the same time--
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the world was shaken.
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And the church trembled.
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Which brings us back to
September the 27th, 1540,
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at a meeting that
took place on that day,
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here in the Vatican.
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A small group of priests
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was ushered into
Pope Paul's presence.
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A group with an
agenda, a concerned group.
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Concerned by what they
saw happening to the church,
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which they believed
was divinely commissioned
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to represent God on earth.
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They were led by a
sharply intelligent man,
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a theologian and former soldier.
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His name was Ignatius of Loyola.
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His words at
that memorable meeting
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have been paraphrased by
the late author Malachi Martin.
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He said, "Holy
Father, the papacy
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and the Roman Catholic
Church are in mortal trouble.
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Needed is a modern weapon to
fight this totally new warfare.
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Give us...a new charter like
no other charter given before...
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Make us independent
of all local authorities
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and directly
responsible to Your Holiness...
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We will go anywhere
at any time at any cost
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to life and comfort
in order to do anything."
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And so the Society of Jesus came
into existence: the Jesuits.
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It was the first time an
organization quite like this
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had existed within
the Roman Catholic Church.
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The pope would launch
a counter-reformation,
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a strategy to press back against
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the advances
made by Protestantism.
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The Jesuits would
be a significant factor
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in aiding the church
to regain lost prestige,
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power, and influence.
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>>Dr. Gerard Damsteegt:
The Counter-Reformation was
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simply the response of the
church against what they saw,
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an uprising, a kind of a
revolt that should be put out.
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What they did is
analyzing the arguments
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that were presented
by Luther and others,
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and trying to counteract it.
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You know, you have to keep in
mind the church was one church,
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and there is no
split whatsoever.
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And the church
wanted to preserve this,
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and they thought the
greatest sin in the world
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would be to ruin
the unity of the church.
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¤[Music]
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>>John: When you're
losing market share,
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when in a sporting event
you have to come from behind,
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when it's the third
quarter of the Super Bowl,
00:06:51.04\00:06:52.87
and you're down
by 28 points to 3,
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and it looks like
you're about to lose big,
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you mount a comeback effort.
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Some comebacks are
successful, some not so much.
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This would be a
comeback of epic proportions.
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If Rome was going to fix
the damage caused by Luther
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and Wycliffe and
Farel and a host of others,
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something had to be done.
00:07:15.36\00:07:17.47
And it would take
some remarkable leadership.
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Which brings us to
Ignatius of Loyola.
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I'll have more in just a moment.
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¤[Break music]
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>>John: I'm John
Bradshaw from It Is Written,
00:07:34.88\00:07:37.15
inviting you to
join me for "500,"
00:07:37.19\00:07:40.66
nine programs
produced by It Is Written,
00:07:40.69\00:07:42.96
taking you deep
into the Reformation.
00:07:42.99\00:07:46.09
This is the 500th anniversary
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of the beginning
of the Reformation,
00:07:48.50\00:07:50.20
when Martin Luther
nailed his Ninety-Five Theses
00:07:50.23\00:07:52.93
to the door of the Castle
Church in Wittenberg, Germany.
00:07:52.97\00:07:55.47
We'll take you to Wittenberg,
00:07:55.50\00:07:57.11
and to Belgium, to
England, to Ireland,
00:07:57.14\00:08:00.34
to Rome, to the Vatican City,
00:08:00.38\00:08:02.41
and introduce you to the people
who created the Reformation,
00:08:02.44\00:08:05.45
who pushed the
Reformation forward.
00:08:05.48\00:08:07.42
We'll take you to
sites all throughout Europe
00:08:07.45\00:08:09.32
where the reformers
lived and, in some cases, died.
00:08:09.35\00:08:12.15
We'll bring you
back to the United States
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and take you to a
little farm in upstate New York
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and show you how God
spread the Reformation here.
00:08:16.86\00:08:19.76
Don't miss "500."
00:08:19.79\00:08:21.83
You can own the
"500" series on DVD.
00:08:21.86\00:08:24.90
Call us on 888-664-5573,
00:08:24.93\00:08:29.54
or visit us online
at itiswritten.shop.
00:08:29.57\00:08:34.54
¤[Music]
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He was born here in Azpeitia,
at the Castle of Loyola,
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in what's known today as Basque
Country in northern Spain,
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about 30 miles from
the border with France
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and about 60
miles from Pamplona,
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famous for the
Running of the Bulls.
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This basilica, the
Santuario de Loyola,
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is built on the
site of his birthplace.
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He was named Iņigo, the
youngest of 13 children.
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His mother died
shortly after he was born,
00:09:06.54\00:09:09.04
so he was raised by the
wife of a local blacksmith.
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He took the surname Loyola,
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a reference to this place
where he was born and raised.
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At the time, it
was just a village.
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When he was 17, he
joined the military.
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He became an expert in dueling.
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It's said that when a
man challenged the divinity
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of Christ, he
challenged that man to a duel,
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and he killed
him with his sword.
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When he was 18 years old, he was
employed by the Duke of Nájera.
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He spent 12 years
working for the man.
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He was involved
in a lot of battles.
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But his military
career came to an end in 1521
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during the Battle of Pamplona.
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He was struck by a
cannon ball, seriously injured.
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One of his legs was shattered.
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It's a wonder
he survived at all.
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But he did survive,
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and spent the rest of
his life walking with a limp.
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¤[Music]
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During his recovery he underwent
a spiritual experience,
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which led him to
devote the rest of his life
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to the service of his faith.
00:10:08.84\00:10:11.04
He read about
Jesus and about the lives
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of the saints of his church,
00:10:13.27\00:10:14.81
and was impressed by
people like Francis of Assisi.
00:10:14.84\00:10:18.78
He spent weeks in prayer
and meditation in this cave,
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developing what
would eventually be called
00:10:22.95\00:10:25.72
his "Spiritual Exercises."
00:10:25.75\00:10:28.92
During this time Iņigo
experienced a number of visions.
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According to one
writer, they appeared to him as
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"a form in the air near
him and this form gave him
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much consolation because it
was exceedingly beautiful...
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it somehow seemed to
have the shape of a serpent
00:10:43.84\00:10:46.78
and had many things that shone
like eyes, but were not eyes.
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He received much
delight and consolation
00:10:52.35\00:10:54.88
from gazing upon this object...
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but when the object vanished
he became disconsolate."
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In order to grow close to God,
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he pursued an ascetic
life of strict self-denial,
00:11:05.56\00:11:09.73
as many monks or
priests did in those days.
00:11:09.76\00:11:13.30
He made a pilgrimage to Israel,
00:11:13.34\00:11:15.07
hoping to convert the
people controlling the Holy Land
00:11:15.10\00:11:17.64
to Christianity.
00:11:17.67\00:11:18.77
The "Spiritual Exercises"
he developed set the tone
00:11:18.81\00:11:22.68
for the Jesuit order.
00:11:22.71\00:11:24.31
The exercises
emphasized discernment regarding
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the difference between good
and evil in a person's life.
00:11:30.39\00:11:34.22
He taught that
through discernment
00:11:34.26\00:11:36.66
a believer can achieve
a mystical union with God
00:11:36.69\00:11:40.26
and therefore
understand God's will.
00:11:40.30\00:11:44.37
This trend toward mysticism
in the philosophy of the Jesuits
00:11:44.40\00:11:48.97
encouraged a larger
movement toward mysticism
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during the time of
the Counter-Reformation.
00:11:52.51\00:11:55.28
The challenge, of
course, is that with this system
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the Bible isn't necessarily
seen as a Christian's
00:11:57.61\00:12:01.32
supreme spiritual authority.
00:12:01.35\00:12:03.65
But emphasizing the Bible
00:12:03.69\00:12:05.85
was what the
reformers had been doing,
00:12:05.89\00:12:08.36
and that had taken a toll on the
church's power and authority.
00:12:08.39\00:12:12.96
He studied in Barcelona
and then spent seven years
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as a university
student in Paris.
00:12:15.93\00:12:18.63
The Reformation was
in full swing by then,
00:12:18.67\00:12:20.90
the effects of the
Reformation clearly seen
00:12:20.94\00:12:23.24
as people all around him,
00:12:23.27\00:12:25.21
irrespective of
their class in society,
00:12:25.24\00:12:27.58
were taking sides
in the controversy.
00:12:27.61\00:12:29.91
And it was while he
was at that university
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that he met the six
men who would join with him
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in his life's work,
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the work for which
the world remembers him,
00:12:37.69\00:12:40.26
work that would
impact his church,
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Christianity as a
whole, and even the world.
00:12:42.36\00:12:45.99
On the morning of
August the 15th, 1534,
00:12:46.03\00:12:50.03
Ignatius Loyola
and his six friends
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met together in one of
the oldest churches in Paris.
00:12:52.13\00:12:55.77
Together they took vows
00:12:55.80\00:12:57.51
and formed what would become
known as the Society of Jesus.
00:12:57.54\00:13:01.98
It was formally
established five years later,
00:13:02.01\00:13:04.31
and one year after that,
00:13:04.35\00:13:06.05
in that memorable
meeting with Pope Paul III,
00:13:06.08\00:13:09.15
the highest
blessing of the church
00:13:09.18\00:13:11.25
was bestowed upon
Ignatius and his friends
00:13:11.29\00:13:14.32
and their plans to
regain ground lost by the papacy
00:13:14.36\00:13:17.29
and blunt the
progress of the Reformation.
00:13:17.33\00:13:20.33
¤[Soft music]
00:13:20.36\00:13:25.67
He sent his
companions throughout Europe,
00:13:25.70\00:13:27.87
establishing universities
and colleges and seminaries.
00:13:27.90\00:13:31.47
Educate the educators, and you
influence what's being taught
00:13:31.51\00:13:35.28
and what's being thought.
00:13:35.31\00:13:37.78
With the help of
his personal secretary,
00:13:37.81\00:13:39.71
he wrote the
Jesuit Constitution,
00:13:39.75\00:13:42.45
based on the principle
of absolute self-denial
00:13:42.48\00:13:45.15
and complete
obedience to the pope.
00:13:45.19\00:13:48.16
They adopted the
motto "perinde ac cadaver,"
00:13:48.19\00:13:51.59
which means "as if a dead body."
00:13:51.63\00:13:54.36
Part of the oath
taken by Jesuits says,
00:13:54.36\00:13:56.73
"I do further
promise and declare,
00:13:56.77\00:13:59.27
that I will have no
opinion or will of my own,
00:13:59.30\00:14:02.27
or any mental
reservation whatever,
00:14:02.30\00:14:04.44
even as a corpse or cadaver,
00:14:04.47\00:14:07.61
but will unhesitatingly
obey each and every command
00:14:07.64\00:14:10.78
that I may
receive from my superiors
00:14:10.81\00:14:12.68
in the Militia of the
Pope and of Jesus Christ."
00:14:12.71\00:14:16.75
>>Dr. Damsteegt: The people who
adopt the "Spiritual Exercises"
00:14:17.89\00:14:21.02
were--had a strong
faith in that whatever
00:14:21.06\00:14:24.86
they were being
told is the truth.
00:14:24.89\00:14:27.50
If the church would tell me that
this is white while it is black,
00:14:27.50\00:14:34.07
I would accept it.
00:14:34.10\00:14:36.71
Very, very simple.
00:14:36.74\00:14:38.24
And if the church says this,
00:14:38.27\00:14:41.78
even if my senses
says it is incorrect,
00:14:41.81\00:14:45.01
because the church
says it, I will accept it.
00:14:45.05\00:14:49.52
And so it was a total,
total mortification of the will.
00:14:49.55\00:14:57.93
That was a fantastic
system of brainwashing--
00:14:57.96\00:15:01.16
that you believe
without reservation
00:15:01.20\00:15:03.57
that what the church
teaches you should be--
00:15:03.60\00:15:05.60
that is the truth and
nothing but the truth.
00:15:05.63\00:15:08.00
>>John: The Jesuits
are still a powerful force
00:15:08.94\00:15:10.61
in the Roman Catholic Church,
00:15:10.64\00:15:12.44
and scores of colleges and
universities around the world
00:15:12.47\00:15:15.41
are under their guidance.
00:15:15.44\00:15:17.48
In 2013, Pope Francis
became the first Jesuit
00:15:17.51\00:15:22.05
to be elected to his
church's highest office.
00:15:22.08\00:15:24.85
The Jesuits were
the foot soldiers
00:15:24.89\00:15:27.19
of the Counter-Reformation.
00:15:27.22\00:15:29.12
But the papal church
was also taking other steps
00:15:29.16\00:15:32.39
to restore its power.
00:15:32.43\00:15:33.90
There was much more to
the Counter-Reformation.
00:15:33.93\00:15:36.63
At the Council of Trent,
held between 1545 and 1563,
00:15:36.67\00:15:42.60
strategies were devised
to help the church address
00:15:42.64\00:15:45.87
the challenges presented
by the Protestant Reformation.
00:15:45.91\00:15:49.48
Now, any talk of compromise with
Protestantism was ruled out.
00:15:49.51\00:15:54.05
But the council did acknowledge
that certain abuses had occurred
00:15:54.08\00:15:57.52
at some levels under
the auspices of the church.
00:15:57.55\00:16:01.02
So there were some changes made.
00:16:01.06\00:16:03.09
For example, certain
measures were introduced
00:16:03.12\00:16:05.76
to govern more closely
the sale of indulgences.
00:16:05.79\00:16:09.26
But the veto power
of church tradition
00:16:09.30\00:16:11.60
above the Bible was maintained,
00:16:11.63\00:16:14.04
as was the role of sacraments
and other rituals in obtaining
00:16:14.07\00:16:17.41
salvation and divine grace.
00:16:17.44\00:16:19.87
The apocryphal books--books
such as Wisdom, Judith, Tobit,
00:16:19.91\00:16:23.51
those two extra chapters said to
be part of the book of Daniel--
00:16:23.55\00:16:26.95
they were
granted the same status
00:16:26.98\00:16:29.48
as Scripture by the council.
00:16:29.52\00:16:31.65
The council reaffirmed the
veneration of relics and images,
00:16:31.69\00:16:36.16
as well as the
veneration of saints.
00:16:36.19\00:16:38.93
And the Council of
Trent was responsible
00:16:38.96\00:16:41.03
for some very interesting
theological developments,
00:16:41.06\00:16:44.80
developments which today
have largely been lost sight of,
00:16:44.83\00:16:47.94
but developments which
have impacted Christianity
00:16:47.97\00:16:51.27
in an enormous way.
00:16:51.31\00:16:53.01
I'll tell you
more in just a moment.
00:16:53.04\00:16:54.28
¤[Break music]
00:16:54.31\00:17:00.05
¤[Music]
00:17:02.02\00:17:03.75
>>Announcer: In Matthew
4:4, the Word of God says,
00:17:03.79\00:17:06.35
"It is written, 'Man
shall not live by bread alone,
00:17:06.39\00:17:09.49
but by every word that proceeds
from the mouth of God.'"
00:17:09.52\00:17:13.29
"Every Word" is a one-minute
Bible-based daily devotional
00:17:13.33\00:17:16.53
presented by
Pastor John Bradshaw,
00:17:16.56\00:17:18.30
and designed especially
for busy people like you.
00:17:18.33\00:17:21.40
Look for "Every
Word" on selected networks
00:17:21.44\00:17:24.47
or watch it online
every day on our website:
00:17:24.51\00:17:26.64
itiswritten.com.
00:17:26.68\00:17:28.98
Receive a daily spiritual
boost. Watch "Every Word."
00:17:29.01\00:17:32.55
You'll be glad you did.
00:17:32.58\00:17:33.95
Here's a sample.
00:17:33.98\00:17:36.89
¤["Every Word" theme music]
00:17:37.69\00:17:42.92
>>John Bradshaw: It was 500
years ago that Martin Luther
00:17:42.96\00:17:45.49
nailed his Ninety-Five Theses
00:17:45.53\00:17:47.20
to that famous church
door in Wittenberg, Germany.
00:17:47.23\00:17:50.07
Half a millennium.
00:17:50.10\00:17:51.93
Why would that protest 500
years ago be important today?
00:17:51.97\00:17:54.94
In Galatians 5:1
we read these words:
00:17:54.97\00:17:57.41
"Stand fast therefore in
the liberty by which Christ
00:17:57.44\00:18:00.18
has made us free."
00:18:00.21\00:18:01.91
Five hundred years ago
there was no religious freedom.
00:18:01.94\00:18:04.28
The state and the people
were ruled by the Roman church.
00:18:04.31\00:18:08.12
Everyone,
including kings and emperors,
00:18:08.15\00:18:09.88
worshiped and
believed as they were told.
00:18:09.92\00:18:11.99
To step out of line,
to think for yourself,
00:18:12.02\00:18:13.82
to follow your
conscience meant certain death.
00:18:13.86\00:18:17.19
Without the Reformation there'd
be no freedom of religion today.
00:18:17.23\00:18:20.50
So how important is
freedom of religion?
00:18:20.53\00:18:22.66
It's hard for us to
imagine religious persecution
00:18:22.70\00:18:24.97
or intolerance
in a free country,
00:18:25.00\00:18:26.47
but that's what
Luther knew where he was.
00:18:26.50\00:18:29.14
That's where we'd be
without him and others like him.
00:18:29.17\00:18:31.04
Thank God today for
your religious freedom.
00:18:31.07\00:18:33.24
I'm John Bradshaw
for It Is Written.
00:18:33.27\00:18:34.68
Let's live today by every word.
00:18:34.71\00:18:36.64
¤[Music]
00:18:38.61\00:18:44.49
>>John Bradshaw: Thanks for
joining me on It Is Written.
00:18:44.52\00:18:47.42
As Protestants appealed to the
Bible during the Reformation,
00:18:47.46\00:18:51.33
the authority of the
ruling church was undermined.
00:18:51.36\00:18:54.46
Numerous figures
claimed that the prophecies
00:18:54.50\00:18:57.37
of Daniel and Revelation
and the writings of Paul
00:18:57.40\00:19:00.84
pointed out that the papacy
00:19:00.87\00:19:02.60
was the
antichrist of Bible prophecy.
00:19:02.64\00:19:06.04
So during the Council of Trent,
00:19:06.07\00:19:07.91
the pope commissioned the
Jesuits and the others present
00:19:07.94\00:19:11.61
to go to Scripture
and find an interpretation
00:19:11.65\00:19:14.88
of those passages
that would claim otherwise.
00:19:14.92\00:19:18.62
In the decades that
followed the Council of Trent,
00:19:18.65\00:19:21.06
Jesuit theologian
Francisco Ribera claimed
00:19:21.09\00:19:24.39
that the papacy couldn't
possibly be the antichrist
00:19:24.43\00:19:27.36
because the antichrist
would be a single figure
00:19:27.40\00:19:29.60
that would arise
at the end of time.
00:19:29.63\00:19:32.17
Twentieth-century Protestant
theologian George Eldon Ladd
00:19:32.20\00:19:35.60
commented on
Ribera's work, saying this:
00:19:35.64\00:19:38.77
"In 1590 Ribera published a
commentary on the Revelation
00:19:38.81\00:19:43.75
as a counter-interpretation
to the prevailing view
00:19:43.78\00:19:46.55
among Protestants
which identified the Papacy
00:19:46.58\00:19:49.58
with the Antichrist.
00:19:49.62\00:19:51.45
Ribera applied all of Revelation
but the earliest chapters
00:19:51.49\00:19:55.22
to the end time rather than
to the history of the church.
00:19:55.26\00:19:59.13
Antichrist, he taught,
would be a single evil person
00:19:59.16\00:20:03.16
who would be
received by the Jews
00:20:03.20\00:20:05.47
and who would
rebuild Jerusalem."
00:20:05.50\00:20:08.00
Another
brilliant Jesuit scholar,
00:20:08.67\00:20:10.57
Cardinal Robert
Bellarmine of Rome,
00:20:10.61\00:20:12.87
now St. Robert Bellarmine,
00:20:12.91\00:20:14.98
assisted Ribera in
developing this new theology.
00:20:15.01\00:20:18.71
Another 20th-century theologian
00:20:18.75\00:20:20.45
had this to say
about Bellarmine:
00:20:20.48\00:20:23.22
"The futurist
teachings of Ribera were further
00:20:23.25\00:20:25.99
popularized by
an Italian cardinal
00:20:26.02\00:20:28.62
and the most renowned of
all Jesuit controversialists.
00:20:28.66\00:20:32.89
His writings claimed
that Paul, Daniel, and John
00:20:32.93\00:20:36.53
had nothing whatsoever to
say about the Papal power.
00:20:36.56\00:20:40.97
The futurists' school
won general acceptance
00:20:41.00\00:20:44.21
among Catholics.
00:20:44.24\00:20:46.31
They were taught that antichrist
was a single individual
00:20:46.34\00:20:50.01
who would not rule
until the very end of time."
00:20:50.05\00:20:54.08
>>Dr. Damsteegt: The goal
was to eliminate any shadow
00:20:54.12\00:20:56.75
of a doubt that the pope has
anything to do with prophecy.
00:20:56.79\00:21:01.79
And so they projected the
little horn into the future.
00:21:01.82\00:21:06.23
As a result, they said,
"We haven't yet seen it.
00:21:06.26\00:21:11.67
It has not been here.
00:21:11.70\00:21:13.30
It will come one day.
00:21:13.34\00:21:15.27
And so we have still
to look in the future
00:21:15.30\00:21:17.81
before we see the antichrist."
00:21:17.84\00:21:19.31
And still today most
Catholics look in the future
00:21:19.34\00:21:23.78
and wait until the
appearance of this.
00:21:23.81\00:21:26.98
>>John: Futurism
was slow to catch on.
00:21:27.02\00:21:29.92
But the intention was that
the ideas promoted by futurism
00:21:29.95\00:21:33.66
would eventually be
taught by Protestants.
00:21:33.69\00:21:37.73
In the early 1800s,
00:21:37.76\00:21:39.49
a British preacher by
the name of John Darby,
00:21:39.53\00:21:42.23
a man who stood strongly
for the veracity of Scripture
00:21:42.26\00:21:45.13
in face of growing
theological liberalism,
00:21:45.17\00:21:48.64
took hold of the idea of
a future one-man antichrist.
00:21:48.67\00:21:52.74
In the United States,
00:21:52.77\00:21:54.24
a Kansas City
attorney named Cyrus Scofield
00:21:54.28\00:21:57.15
published a version of
the Bible popular enough
00:21:57.18\00:22:00.15
to sell millions of copies.
00:22:00.18\00:22:01.78
And in that Bible
he included study notes
00:22:01.82\00:22:04.49
based on the writings
of Darby and the Jesuits,
00:22:04.52\00:22:07.99
Ribera and Bellarmine,
00:22:08.02\00:22:10.16
study notes that pointed to
a future one-man antichrist.
00:22:10.19\00:22:15.80
A British theologian
commented on that, saying this:
00:22:15.83\00:22:19.00
"It is a matter of deep regret
that those who hold and advocate
00:22:19.03\00:22:23.97
the futurist
system at the present day,
00:22:24.01\00:22:26.47
Protestants as they
are for the most part,
00:22:26.51\00:22:28.64
are thus really
playing into the hands of Rome,
00:22:28.68\00:22:32.41
and helping to screen the Papacy
00:22:32.45\00:22:34.32
from detection
as the Antichrist."
00:22:34.35\00:22:36.82
Another Jesuit
scholar originated the school
00:22:36.85\00:22:40.12
of prophetic interpretation
known as preterism.
00:22:40.16\00:22:43.83
PRE-terism teaches that all
of the apocalyptic prophecies
00:22:43.86\00:22:47.13
of the Bible have been
fulfilled already, previously,
00:22:47.13\00:22:50.97
which would mean, then,
that there can't possibly be
00:22:51.00\00:22:53.67
an end-time antichrist.
00:22:53.70\00:22:55.60
And if that's the case,
00:22:55.64\00:22:56.91
then whoever antichrist is
couldn't possibly be the papacy.
00:22:56.94\00:23:01.14
Now, the
reformers were convinced.
00:23:01.18\00:23:03.98
But years later, their
views have been undermined
00:23:04.01\00:23:06.82
by interpretations of
prophecy that sprang directly
00:23:06.85\00:23:10.99
from the Counter-Reformation.
00:23:11.02\00:23:13.42
¤[Music]
00:23:13.46\00:23:15.32
So the work of
Ignatius of Loyola
00:23:15.36\00:23:17.26
and the Counter-Reformation
has been profoundly influential.
00:23:17.29\00:23:21.16
Five hundred years ago
reformers like Martin Luther,
00:23:21.20\00:23:24.03
Ulrich Zwingli, John Calvin,
and John Knox were engaged
00:23:24.07\00:23:28.27
in a resistance movement
against a powerful church
00:23:28.30\00:23:31.37
with enormous
political influence.
00:23:31.41\00:23:33.98
They rebutted
teachings they saw as unbiblical
00:23:34.01\00:23:37.18
and believed that they
were doing the work of God
00:23:37.21\00:23:39.55
in bringing the light of the
Bible into the lives of people.
00:23:39.58\00:23:43.62
That's why there was such an
emphasis on the part of people
00:23:43.65\00:23:46.12
such as William
Tyndale and Martin Luther
00:23:46.15\00:23:48.89
to translate the Bible.
00:23:48.92\00:23:50.83
They saw it as vital
to get the Word of God
00:23:50.86\00:23:53.33
into people's hands
and drive back the darkness
00:23:53.36\00:23:56.43
that had flooded
into Christianity
00:23:56.46\00:23:58.67
under the watch of a
church that had compromised.
00:23:58.70\00:24:02.30
The reformers
championed the teaching
00:24:02.34\00:24:04.47
of justification by grace alone,
00:24:04.51\00:24:07.21
through faith
alone, in Christ alone.
00:24:07.24\00:24:10.38
But the church
made itself essential
00:24:10.41\00:24:12.81
in the plan of salvation,
00:24:12.85\00:24:14.58
declaring that the
sacraments were channels
00:24:14.62\00:24:17.75
of the grace of God.
00:24:17.79\00:24:19.52
That idea was
unbiblical in Jesus' day,
00:24:19.55\00:24:22.12
unbiblical in
the reformers' day,
00:24:22.16\00:24:24.56
and it's unbiblical today.
00:24:24.59\00:24:26.56
The idea that human
beings should confess their sins
00:24:26.59\00:24:29.40
to another human being
and receive forgiveness
00:24:29.43\00:24:31.67
from that human being,
00:24:31.70\00:24:32.70
or even from God
through that human being,
00:24:32.73\00:24:36.17
is the sort of
idea that the reformers
00:24:36.20\00:24:37.64
fought against strenuously,
00:24:37.67\00:24:39.67
and something that the Counter-
Reformation fought to defend.
00:24:39.71\00:24:43.28
Martin Luther, while
he was still a priest,
00:24:44.15\00:24:46.65
was scandalized by the way
the church sold indulgences.
00:24:46.68\00:24:51.15
Essentially, pardon for
sin was bought and sold.
00:24:51.19\00:24:56.99
Sacramentalism was
denounced as being unbiblical.
00:24:57.03\00:25:00.13
The same for transubstantiation
00:25:00.16\00:25:02.30
and celibacy and
the papacy itself.
00:25:02.33\00:25:05.63
The abuses carried
out by church leaders
00:25:05.67\00:25:07.44
couldn't be
tolerated any longer,
00:25:07.47\00:25:09.70
and the reformers
stood up to say so,
00:25:09.74\00:25:12.51
often paying with their lives.
00:25:12.54\00:25:15.44
So two things are clear.
00:25:15.48\00:25:16.88
Number one: The
Reformation brought about a lot
00:25:16.91\00:25:19.38
of much-needed change.
00:25:19.41\00:25:21.45
And number two: 500 years later,
00:25:21.48\00:25:24.42
it could be said that the
Reformation didn't change much.
00:25:24.45\00:25:29.76
And that raises
a lot of questions.
00:25:29.79\00:25:33.13
¤[Break music]
00:25:33.16\00:25:38.40
>>John: What is
"the mark of the beast"?
00:25:40.67\00:25:43.74
One of the most serious warning
messages in all of the Bible
00:25:43.77\00:25:46.47
centers around
the mark of the beast.
00:25:46.51\00:25:48.24
And you can understand
what it is from the Bible.
00:25:48.28\00:25:52.35
I'd like to send
you today's free offer.
00:25:52.38\00:25:54.32
It's called "The
Mark of the Beast."
00:25:54.35\00:25:56.18
Call us on 800-253-3000,
00:25:56.22\00:25:59.35
or visit us online
at itiswritten.com.
00:25:59.39\00:26:03.19
Or you can write to
the address on your screen.
00:26:03.22\00:26:05.73
I'd like you to
receive our free offer,
00:26:05.76\00:26:07.96
"The Mark of the Beast."
00:26:07.96\00:26:10.57
Thank you for
remembering that It Is Written
00:26:10.60\00:26:12.77
exists due to the gracious
support of people like you.
00:26:12.80\00:26:16.74
It's your support that enables
It Is Written to share Jesus
00:26:16.77\00:26:19.61
and the great hope of
the Bible with the world.
00:26:19.64\00:26:22.98
You can send your
tax-deductible gift
00:26:23.01\00:26:24.81
to the address on your screen,
00:26:24.85\00:26:26.78
or you can support It Is
Written through our website:
00:26:26.82\00:26:29.25
itiswritten.com.
00:26:29.28\00:26:31.92
Thanks for your
generous support.
00:26:31.95\00:26:33.39
Our number is 800-253-3000,
00:26:33.42\00:26:36.79
and our web
address is itiswritten.com.
00:26:36.83\00:26:40.26
>>John Bradshaw:
Let's pray together.
00:26:41.66\00:26:43.60
Our Father in heaven,
00:26:43.63\00:26:45.43
how thankful we are for Jesus,
00:26:45.47\00:26:47.40
for grace,
00:26:47.44\00:26:49.10
for Your prophetic Word.
00:26:49.14\00:26:51.14
How thankful we are for truth,
00:26:51.17\00:26:53.71
that You are a God of love
00:26:53.74\00:26:54.98
and Your Spirit has
been sent to guide us.
00:26:55.01\00:26:57.15
Lord, what are we?
00:26:57.18\00:26:58.98
Human beings weakened by sin,
00:26:59.01\00:27:01.12
weak through our own failure
to surrender our lives to You.
00:27:01.15\00:27:05.02
Lord, as the God of our lives,
let Jesus be our present Savior.
00:27:05.05\00:27:09.52
Fill us with Your Holy
Spirit. Guide us in Your way.
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And grant that we
may recapture the vision
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the Protestants of old had
of faithfulness to Your Word
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and oneness with You.
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We thank You, and
we pray in Jesus' name.
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Amen.
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Thanks so much for joining me.
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I look forward to
seeing you again next time.
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Until then, remember:
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"It is written, 'Man
shall not live by bread alone,
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but by every word that proceeds
from the mouth of God.'"
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¤[Theme music]
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