¤[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,
00:06:51.37\00:06:53.21
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.
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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,
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inviting you to
join me for "500,"
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nine programs
produced by It Is Written,
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taking you deep
into the Reformation.
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This is the 500th anniversary
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of the beginning
of the Reformation,
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when Martin Luther
nailed his Ninety-Five Theses
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to the door of the Castle
Church in Wittenberg, Germany.
00:07:53.30\00:07:55.80
We'll take you to Wittenberg,
00:07:55.84\00:07:57.44
and to Belgium, to
England, to Ireland,
00:07:57.47\00:08:00.68
to Rome, to the Vatican City,
00:08:00.71\00:08:02.74
and introduce you to the people
who created the Reformation,
00:08:02.78\00:08:05.78
who pushed the
Reformation forward.
00:08:05.81\00:08:07.75
We'll take you to
sites all throughout Europe
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where the reformers
lived and, in some cases, died.
00:08:09.68\00:08:12.49
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.
00:08:17.19\00:08:20.10
Don't miss "500."
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You can own the
"500" series on DVD.
00:08:22.20\00:08:25.23
Call us on 888-664-5573,
00:08:25.27\00:08:29.87
or visit us online
at itiswritten.shop.
00:08:29.90\00:08:34.88
¤[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,
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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.
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He read about
Jesus and about the lives
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of the saints of his church,
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and was impressed by
people like Francis of Assisi.
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He spent weeks in prayer
and meditation in this cave,
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developing what
would eventually be called
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his "Spiritual Exercises."
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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
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and had many things that shone
like eyes, but were not eyes.
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He received much
delight and consolation
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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,
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as many monks or
priests did in those days.
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He made a pilgrimage to Israel,
00:11:13.67\00:11:15.40
hoping to convert the
people controlling the Holy Land
00:11:15.44\00:11:17.97
to Christianity.
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The "Spiritual Exercises"
he developed set the tone
00:11:19.14\00:11:23.01
for the Jesuit order.
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The exercises
emphasized discernment regarding
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the difference between good
and evil in a person's life.
00:11:30.72\00:11:34.56
He taught that
through discernment
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a believer can achieve
a mystical union with God
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and therefore
understand God's will.
00:11:40.63\00:11:44.70
This trend toward mysticism
in the philosophy of the Jesuits
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encouraged a larger
movement toward mysticism
00:11:49.34\00:11:52.81
during the time of
the Counter-Reformation.
00:11:52.84\00:11:55.61
The challenge, of
course, is that with this system
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the Bible isn't necessarily
seen as a Christian's
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supreme spiritual authority.
00:12:01.68\00:12:03.99
But emphasizing the Bible
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was what the
reformers had been doing,
00:12:06.22\00:12:08.69
and that had taken a toll on the
church's power and authority.
00:12:08.72\00:12:13.29
He studied in Barcelona
and then spent seven years
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as a university
student in Paris.
00:12:16.26\00:12:18.97
The Reformation was
in full swing by then,
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the effects of the
Reformation clearly seen
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as people all around him,
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irrespective of
their class in society,
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were taking sides
in the controversy.
00:12:27.94\00:12:30.25
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,
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work that would
impact his church,
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Christianity as a
whole, and even the world.
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On the morning of
August the 15th, 1534,
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Ignatius Loyola
and his six friends
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met together in one of
the oldest churches in Paris.
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Together they took vows
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and formed what would become
known as the Society of Jesus.
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It was formally
established five years later,
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and one year after that,
00:13:04.68\00:13:06.38
in that memorable
meeting with Pope Paul III,
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the highest
blessing of the church
00:13:09.52\00:13:11.59
was bestowed upon
Ignatius and his friends
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and their plans to
regain ground lost by the papacy
00:13:14.69\00:13:17.63
and blunt the
progress of the Reformation.
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¤[Soft music]¤
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He sent his
companions throughout Europe,
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establishing universities
and colleges and seminaries.
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Educate the educators, and you
influence what's being taught
00:13:31.84\00:13:35.61
and what's being thought.
00:13:35.64\00:13:38.11
With the help of
his personal secretary,
00:13:38.15\00:13:40.05
he wrote the
Jesuit Constitution,
00:13:40.08\00:13:42.78
based on the principle
of absolute self-denial
00:13:42.82\00:13:45.49
and complete
obedience to the pope.
00:13:45.52\00:13:48.49
They adopted the
motto "perinde ac cadaver,"
00:13:48.52\00:13:51.93
which means "as if a dead body."
00:13:51.96\00:13:54.66
Part of the oath
taken by Jesuits says,
00:13:54.73\00:13:57.07
"I do further
promise and declare,
00:13:57.10\00:13:59.60
that I will have no
opinion or will of my own,
00:13:59.63\00:14:02.60
or any mental
reservation whatever,
00:14:02.64\00:14:04.77
even as a corpse or cadaver,
00:14:04.81\00:14:07.94
but will unhesitatingly
obey each and every command
00:14:07.98\00:14:11.11
that I may
receive from my superiors
00:14:11.15\00:14:13.01
in the Militia of the
Pope and of Jesus Christ."
00:14:13.05\00:14:17.09
>>Dr. Damsteegt: The people who
adopt the "Spiritual Exercises"
00:14:18.22\00:14:21.36
were--had a strong
faith in that whatever
00:14:21.39\00:14:25.19
they were being
told is the truth.
00:14:25.23\00:14:27.83
If the church would tell me that
this is white while it is black,
00:14:27.86\00:14:34.40
I would accept it.
00:14:34.44\00:14:37.04
Very, very simple.
00:14:37.07\00:14:38.57
And if the church says this,
00:14:38.61\00:14:42.11
even if my senses
says it is incorrect,
00:14:42.14\00:14:45.35
because the church
says it, I will accept it.
00:14:45.38\00:14:49.85
And so it was a total,
total mortification of the will.
00:14:49.88\00:14:58.26
That was a fantastic
system of brainwashing--
00:14:58.29\00:15:01.50
that you believe
without reservation
00:15:01.53\00:15:03.90
that what the church
teaches you should be--
00:15:03.93\00:15:05.93
that is the truth and
nothing but the truth.
00:15:05.97\00:15:08.34
>>John: The Jesuits
are still a powerful force
00:15:09.27\00:15:10.94
in the Roman Catholic Church,
00:15:10.97\00:15:12.77
and scores of colleges and
universities around the world
00:15:12.81\00:15:15.74
are under their guidance.
00:15:15.78\00:15:17.81
In 2013, Pope Francis
became the first Jesuit
00:15:17.85\00:15:22.38
to be elected to his
church's highest office.
00:15:22.42\00:15:25.19
The Jesuits were
the foot soldiers
00:15:25.22\00:15:27.52
of the Counter-Reformation.
00:15:27.56\00:15:29.46
But the papal church
was also taking other steps
00:15:29.49\00:15:32.73
to restore its power.
00:15:32.76\00:15:34.20
There was much more to
the Counter-Reformation.
00:15:34.23\00:15:36.97
At the Council of Trent,
held between 1545 and 1563,
00:15:37.00\00:15:42.94
strategies were devised
to help the church address
00:15:42.97\00:15:46.21
the challenges presented
by the Protestant Reformation.
00:15:46.24\00:15:49.81
Now, any talk of compromise with
Protestantism was ruled out.
00:15:49.84\00:15:54.38
But the council did acknowledge
that certain abuses had occurred
00:15:54.42\00:15:57.85
at some levels under
the auspices of the church.
00:15:57.89\00:16:01.36
So there were some changes made.
00:16:01.39\00:16:03.43
For example, certain
measures were introduced
00:16:03.46\00:16:06.09
to govern more closely
the sale of indulgences.
00:16:06.13\00:16:09.60
But the veto power
of church tradition
00:16:09.63\00:16:11.93
above the Bible was maintained,
00:16:11.97\00:16:14.37
as was the role of sacraments
and other rituals in obtaining
00:16:14.40\00:16:17.74
salvation and divine grace.
00:16:17.77\00:16:20.21
The apocryphal books--books
such as Wisdom, Judith, Tobit,
00:16:20.24\00:16:23.85
those two extra chapters said to
be part of the book of Daniel--
00:16:23.88\00:16:27.28
they were
granted the same status
00:16:27.32\00:16:29.82
as Scripture by the council.
00:16:29.85\00:16:31.99
The council reaffirmed the
veneration of relics and images,
00:16:32.02\00:16:36.49
as well as the
veneration of saints.
00:16:36.52\00:16:39.26
And the Council of
Trent was responsible
00:16:39.29\00:16:41.36
for some very interesting
theological developments,
00:16:41.40\00:16:45.13
developments which today
have largely been lost sight of,
00:16:45.17\00:16:48.27
but developments which
have impacted Christianity
00:16:48.30\00:16:51.61
in an enormous way.
00:16:51.64\00:16:53.34
I'll tell you
more in just a moment.
00:16:53.38\00:16:54.61
¤[Break music]¤
00:16:54.64\00:17:00.38
¤[Music]¤
00:17:02.35\00:17:04.09
>>Announcer: In Matthew
4:4, the Word of God says,
00:17:04.12\00:17:06.69
"It is written, 'Man
shall not live by bread alone,
00:17:06.72\00:17:09.82
but by every word that proceeds
from the mouth of God.'"
00:17:09.86\00:17:13.63
"Every Word" is a one-minute
Bible-based daily devotional
00:17:13.66\00:17:16.87
presented by
Pastor John Bradshaw,
00:17:16.90\00:17:18.63
and designed especially
for busy people like you.
00:17:18.67\00:17:21.74
Look for "Every
Word" on selected networks
00:17:21.77\00:17:24.81
or watch it online
every day on our website:
00:17:24.84\00:17:26.98
itiswritten.com.
00:17:27.01\00:17:29.31
Receive a daily spiritual
boost. Watch "Every Word."
00:17:29.34\00:17:32.88
You'll be glad you did.
00:17:32.91\00:17:34.28
Here's a sample.
00:17:34.32\00:17:37.22
¤["Every Word" theme music]¤
00:17:38.02\00:17:43.26
>>John Bradshaw: It was 500
years ago that Martin Luther
00:17:43.29\00:17:45.83
nailed his Ninety-Five Theses
00:17:45.86\00:17:47.50
to that famous church
door in Wittenberg, Germany.
00:17:47.56\00:17:50.40
Half a millennium.
00:17:50.43\00:17:52.27
Why would that protest 500
years ago be important today?
00:17:52.30\00:17:55.27
In Galatians 5:1
we read these words:
00:17:55.30\00:17:57.74
"Stand fast therefore in
the liberty by which Christ
00:17:57.77\00:18:00.51
has made us free."
00:18:00.54\00:18:02.24
Five hundred years ago
there was no religious freedom.
00:18:02.28\00:18:04.61
The state and the people
were ruled by the Roman church.
00:18:04.65\00:18:08.45
Everyone,
including kings and emperors,
00:18:08.48\00:18:10.22
worshiped and
believed as they were told.
00:18:10.25\00:18:12.32
To step out of line,
to think for yourself,
00:18:12.35\00:18:14.16
to follow your
conscience meant certain death.
00:18:14.19\00:18:17.53
Without the Reformation there'd
be no freedom of religion today.
00:18:17.56\00:18:20.83
So how important is
freedom of religion?
00:18:20.86\00:18:23.00
It's hard for us to
imagine religious persecution
00:18:23.03\00:18:25.30
or intolerance
in a free country,
00:18:25.33\00:18:26.80
but that's what
Luther knew where he was.
00:18:26.84\00:18:29.47
That's where we'd be
without him and others like him.
00:18:29.50\00:18:31.37
Thank God today for
your religious freedom.
00:18:31.41\00:18:33.58
I'm John Bradshaw
for It Is Written.
00:18:33.61\00:18:35.01
Let's live today by every word.
00:18:35.04\00:18:36.98
¤[Music]¤
00:18:38.95\00:18:44.82
>>John Bradshaw: Thanks for
joining me on It Is Written.
00:18:44.85\00:18:47.76
As Protestants appealed to the
Bible during the Reformation,
00:18:47.79\00:18:51.66
the authority of the
ruling church was undermined.
00:18:51.69\00:18:54.83
Numerous figures
claimed that the prophecies
00:18:54.83\00:18:57.70
of Daniel and Revelation
and the writings of Paul
00:18:57.73\00:19:01.17
pointed out that the papacy
00:19:01.20\00:19:02.94
was the
antichrist of Bible prophecy.
00:19:02.97\00:19:06.37
So during the Council of Trent,
00:19:06.41\00:19:08.24
the pope commissioned the
Jesuits and the others present
00:19:08.28\00:19:11.95
to go to Scripture
and find an interpretation
00:19:11.98\00:19:15.22
of those passages
that would claim otherwise.
00:19:15.25\00:19:18.95
In the decades that
followed the Council of Trent,
00:19:18.99\00:19:21.39
Jesuit theologian
Francisco Ribera claimed
00:19:21.42\00:19:24.73
that the papacy couldn't
possibly be the antichrist
00:19:24.76\00:19:27.66
because the antichrist
would be a single figure
00:19:27.73\00:19:29.93
that would arise
at the end of time.
00:19:29.96\00:19:32.50
Twentieth-century Protestant
theologian George Eldon Ladd
00:19:32.53\00:19:35.94
commented on
Ribera's work, saying this:
00:19:35.97\00:19:39.11
"In 1590 Ribera published a
commentary on the Revelation
00:19:39.14\00:19:44.08
as a counter-interpretation
to the prevailing view
00:19:44.11\00:19:46.88
among Protestants
which identified the Papacy
00:19:46.92\00:19:49.92
with the Antichrist.
00:19:49.95\00:19:51.79
Ribera applied all of Revelation
but the earliest chapters
00:19:51.82\00:19:55.56
to the end time rather than
to the history of the church.
00:19:55.59\00:19:59.46
Antichrist, he taught,
would be a single evil person
00:19:59.49\00:20:03.50
who would be
received by the Jews
00:20:03.53\00:20:05.80
and who would
rebuild Jerusalem."
00:20:05.83\00:20:08.34
Another
brilliant Jesuit scholar,
00:20:09.00\00:20:10.91
Cardinal Robert
Bellarmine of Rome,
00:20:10.94\00:20:13.21
now St. Robert Bellarmine,
00:20:13.24\00:20:15.31
assisted Ribera in
developing this new theology.
00:20:15.34\00:20:19.05
Another 20th-century theologian
00:20:19.08\00:20:20.78
had this to say
about Bellarmine:
00:20:20.82\00:20:23.55
"The futurist
teachings of Ribera were further
00:20:23.59\00:20:26.32
popularized by
an Italian cardinal
00:20:26.35\00:20:28.96
and the most renowned of
all Jesuit controversialists.
00:20:28.99\00:20:33.23
His writings claimed
that Paul, Daniel, and John
00:20:33.26\00:20:36.87
had nothing whatsoever to
say about the Papal power.
00:20:36.90\00:20:41.30
The futurists' school
won general acceptance
00:20:41.34\00:20:44.54
among Catholics.
00:20:44.57\00:20:46.64
They were taught that antichrist
was a single individual
00:20:46.68\00:20:50.35
who would not rule
until the very end of time."
00:20:50.38\00:20:54.42
>>Dr. Damsteegt: The goal
was to eliminate any shadow
00:20:54.45\00:20:57.09
of a doubt that the pope has
anything to do with prophecy.
00:20:57.12\00:21:02.12
And so they projected the
little horn into the future.
00:21:02.16\00:21:06.56
As a result, they said,
"We haven't yet seen it.
00:21:06.59\00:21:12.00
It has not been here.
00:21:12.03\00:21:13.64
It will come one day.
00:21:13.67\00:21:15.60
And so we have still
to look in the future
00:21:15.64\00:21:18.14
before we see the antichrist."
00:21:18.17\00:21:19.64
And still today most
Catholics look in the future
00:21:19.67\00:21:24.11
and wait until the
appearance of this.
00:21:24.15\00:21:27.32
>>John: Futurism
was slow to catch on.
00:21:27.35\00:21:30.25
But the intention was that
the ideas promoted by futurism
00:21:30.29\00:21:33.99
would eventually be
taught by Protestants.
00:21:34.02\00:21:38.06
In the early 1800s,
00:21:38.09\00:21:39.83
a British preacher by
the name of John Darby,
00:21:39.86\00:21:42.56
a man who stood strongly
for the veracity of Scripture
00:21:42.60\00:21:45.47
in face of growing
theological liberalism,
00:21:45.50\00:21:48.97
took hold of the idea of
a future one-man antichrist.
00:21:49.00\00:21:53.07
In the United States,
00:21:53.11\00:21:54.58
a Kansas City
attorney named Cyrus Scofield
00:21:54.61\00:21:57.48
published a version of
the Bible popular enough
00:21:57.51\00:22:00.48
to sell millions of copies.
00:22:00.52\00:22:02.12
And in that Bible
he included study notes
00:22:02.15\00:22:04.82
based on the writings
of Darby and the Jesuits,
00:22:04.85\00:22:08.32
Ribera and Bellarmine,
00:22:08.36\00:22:10.49
study notes that pointed to
a future one-man antichrist.
00:22:10.53\00:22:16.13
A British theologian
commented on that, saying this:
00:22:16.16\00:22:19.33
"It is a matter of deep regret
that those who hold and advocate
00:22:19.37\00:22:24.31
the futurist
system at the present day,
00:22:24.34\00:22:26.81
Protestants as they
are for the most part,
00:22:26.84\00:22:28.98
are thus really
playing into the hands of Rome,
00:22:29.01\00:22:32.75
and helping to screen the Papacy
00:22:32.78\00:22:34.65
from detection
as the Antichrist."
00:22:34.68\00:22:37.15
Another Jesuit
scholar originated the school
00:22:37.19\00:22:40.46
of prophetic interpretation
known as preterism.
00:22:40.49\00:22:44.16
PRE-terism teaches that all
of the apocalyptic prophecies
00:22:44.19\00:22:47.46
of the Bible have been
fulfilled already, previously,
00:22:47.50\00:22:51.30
which would mean, then,
that there can't possibly be
00:22:51.33\00:22:54.00
an end-time antichrist.
00:22:54.04\00:22:55.94
And if that's the case,
00:22:55.97\00:22:57.24
then whoever antichrist is
couldn't possibly be the papacy.
00:22:57.27\00:23:01.48
Now, the
reformers were convinced.
00:23:01.51\00:23:04.31
But years later, their
views have been undermined
00:23:04.35\00:23:07.15
by interpretations of
prophecy that sprang directly
00:23:07.18\00:23:11.32
from the Counter-Reformation.
00:23:11.35\00:23:13.76
¤[Music]¤
00:23:13.79\00:23:15.66
So the work of
Ignatius of Loyola
00:23:15.69\00:23:17.59
and the Counter-Reformation
has been profoundly influential.
00:23:17.63\00:23:21.50
Five hundred years ago
reformers like Martin Luther,
00:23:21.53\00:23:24.37
Ulrich Zwingli, John Calvin,
and John Knox were engaged
00:23:24.40\00:23:28.60
in a resistance movement
against a powerful church
00:23:28.64\00:23:31.71
with enormous
political influence.
00:23:31.74\00:23:34.31
They rebutted
teachings they saw as unbiblical
00:23:34.34\00:23:37.51
and believed that they
were doing the work of God
00:23:37.55\00:23:39.88
in bringing the light of the
Bible into the lives of people.
00:23:39.91\00:23:43.95
That's why there was such an
emphasis on the part of people
00:23:43.99\00:23:46.45
such as William
Tyndale and Martin Luther
00:23:46.49\00:23:49.22
to translate the Bible.
00:23:49.26\00:23:51.16
They saw it as vital
to get the Word of God
00:23:51.19\00:23:53.66
into people's hands
and drive back the darkness
00:23:53.70\00:23:56.77
that had flooded
into Christianity
00:23:56.80\00:23:59.00
under the watch of a
church that had compromised.
00:23:59.03\00:24:02.64
The reformers
championed the teaching
00:24:02.67\00:24:04.81
of justification by grace alone,
00:24:04.84\00:24:07.54
through faith
alone, in Christ alone.
00:24:07.58\00:24:10.71
But the church
made itself essential
00:24:10.75\00:24:13.15
in the plan of salvation,
00:24:13.18\00:24:14.92
declaring that the
sacraments were channels
00:24:14.95\00:24:18.09
of the grace of God.
00:24:18.12\00:24:19.85
That idea was
unbiblical in Jesus' day,
00:24:19.89\00:24:22.46
unbiblical in
the reformers' day,
00:24:22.49\00:24:24.89
and it's unbiblical today.
00:24:24.93\00:24:26.90
The idea that human
beings should confess their sins
00:24:26.93\00:24:29.73
to another human being
and receive forgiveness
00:24:29.76\00:24:32.00
from that human being,
00:24:32.03\00:24:33.03
or even from God
through that human being,
00:24:33.07\00:24:36.50
is the sort of
idea that the reformers
00:24:36.54\00:24:37.97
fought against strenuously,
00:24:38.01\00:24:40.01
and something that the Counter-
Reformation fought to defend.
00:24:40.04\00:24:43.61
Martin Luther, while
he was still a priest,
00:24:44.48\00:24:46.98
was scandalized by the way
the church sold indulgences.
00:24:47.02\00:24:51.49
Essentially, pardon for
sin was bought and sold.
00:24:51.52\00:24:57.33
Sacramentalism was
denounced as being unbiblical.
00:24:57.36\00:25:00.46
The same for transubstantiation
00:25:00.50\00:25:02.63
and celibacy and
the papacy itself.
00:25:02.66\00:25:05.97
The abuses carried
out by church leaders
00:25:06.00\00:25:07.77
couldn't be
tolerated any longer,
00:25:07.80\00:25:10.04
and the reformers
stood up to say so,
00:25:10.07\00:25:12.84
often paying with their lives.
00:25:12.87\00:25:15.78
So two things are clear.
00:25:15.81\00:25:17.21
Number one: The
Reformation brought about a lot
00:25:17.25\00:25:19.71
of much-needed change.
00:25:19.75\00:25:21.78
And number two: 500 years later,
00:25:21.82\00:25:24.75
it could be said that the
Reformation didn't change much.
00:25:24.79\00:25:30.09
And that raises
a lot of questions.
00:25:30.13\00:25:33.46
¤[Break music]¤
00:25:33.50\00:25:38.73
>>John: What is
"the mark of the beast"?
00:25:41.00\00:25:44.07
One of the most serious warning
messages in all of the Bible
00:25:44.11\00:25:46.81
centers around
the mark of the beast.
00:25:46.84\00:25:48.58
And you can understand
what it is from the Bible.
00:25:48.61\00:25:52.68
I'd like to send
you today's free offer.
00:25:52.71\00:25:54.65
It's called "The
Mark of the Beast."
00:25:54.68\00:25:56.52
Call us on 800-253-3000,
00:25:56.55\00:25:59.69
or visit us online
at itiswritten.com.
00:25:59.72\00:26:03.53
Or you can write to
the address on your screen.
00:26:03.56\00:26:06.06
I'd like you to
receive our free offer,
00:26:06.09\00:26:08.26
"The Mark of the Beast."
00:26:08.30\00:26:10.90
Thank you for
remembering that It Is Written
00:26:10.93\00:26:13.10
exists due to the gracious
support of people like you.
00:26:13.13\00:26:17.07
It's your support that enables
It Is Written to share Jesus
00:26:17.11\00:26:19.94
and the great hope of
the Bible with the world.
00:26:19.97\00:26:23.31
You can send your
tax-deductible gift
00:26:23.35\00:26:25.15
to the address on your screen,
00:26:25.18\00:26:27.12
or you can support It Is
Written through our website:
00:26:27.15\00:26:29.58
itiswritten.com.
00:26:29.62\00:26:32.25
Thanks for your
generous support.
00:26:32.29\00:26:33.72
Our number is 800-253-3000,
00:26:33.76\00:26:37.13
and our web
address is itiswritten.com.
00:26:37.16\00:26:40.60
>>John Bradshaw:
Let's pray together.
00:26:42.00\00:26:43.93
Our Father in heaven,
00:26:43.97\00:26:45.77
how thankful we are for Jesus,
00:26:45.80\00:26:47.74
for grace,
00:26:47.77\00:26:49.44
for Your prophetic Word.
00:26:49.47\00:26:51.47
How thankful we are for truth,
00:26:51.51\00:26:54.04
that You are a God of love
00:26:54.08\00:26:55.31
and Your Spirit has
been sent to guide us.
00:26:55.34\00:26:57.48
Lord, what are we?
00:26:57.51\00:26:59.31
Human beings weakened by sin,
00:26:59.35\00:27:01.45
weak through our own failure
to surrender our lives to You.
00:27:01.48\00:27:05.35
Lord, as the God of our lives,
let Jesus be our present Savior.
00:27:05.39\00:27:09.86
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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