¤[Theme music]¤
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>>John Bradshaw:
This is It Is Written.
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I'm John Bradshaw.
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Welcome to “500,”
our series of programs
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on the Protestant Reformation,
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which began October 31, 500
years ago, in the year 1517.
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Tonight we'll look at
the Counter Reformation.
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As we do so, we'll travel
to Spain, to northern Spain.
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We'll travel to Rome
and to the Vatican City.
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And we'll study some
interesting personalities,
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including Ignatius of Loyola,
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the man who founded
the Society of Jesus,
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better known to most of
us today as the Jesuits.
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After our program
filmed on location,
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I'll be back.
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My special guest is
Dr. Gerard Damsteegt,
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retired professor
of church history,
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Andrews University,
Berrien Springs, Michigan.
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Dr. Damsteegt,
thank you for joining me.
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>>Dr. Damsteegt: It's a
pleasure for me to be here.
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>>John: Just very briefly,
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how significant in the
overall scheme of things
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was the Counter Reformation?
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>>Dr. Damsteegt: It
was extremely significant
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because most of the
conquests made by the Reformers
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were taken back as a result
of the Counter Reformation.
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>>John: I'm looking forward
to talking more about that
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in just a few moments.
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Our next program will
be “A Wall of Separation,”
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in which our guest
will be Lincoln Steed.
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The Counter Reformation.
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What an event.
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What a process.
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It took place over, well,
we could say many, many years.
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And to a certain extent,
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you might claim that in some
spheres it's going on today.
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While much of
Protestantism, in fact,
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I'm going to say the vast
majority of Protestantism,
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has forgotten that
there ever was a protest,
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and is by no
means carrying forward
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the protest of
Protestantism today.
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Signs of the Counter Reformation
are everywhere to behold.
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If you take a
journey to the city of Rome
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and travel to a church
called the Church of the Gesu,
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not very far
from the Vatican City,
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a long stone throw from
the Tiber River in Rome,
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you discover some
interesting architecture.
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On the front, on the exterior
wall of the Church of the Gesu,
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to the left and to the right of
the main door into the church,
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are some fascinating statues.
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The statues, one to
the left, one to the right,
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high and lifted up,
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of Ignatius of Loyola,
the founder of the Jesuits.
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He's not only
depicted in statue form,
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but he's depicted as
standing on a Protestant
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who is stretched out
or splayed out before him.
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It's a very strong message,
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indicating to the
world the very clear intent
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of the purpose of the Jesuits,
or the Society of Jesus,
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and the meaning
of Ignatius' mission.
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That was to crush Protestantism.
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Go inside the church,
and the statue you see
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is even more
interesting and more graphic.
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It's an elaborate statue.
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In fact, well, let
me explain it to you.
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There is a depiction of Mary.
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Before her are
two men falling away,
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as though she is
casting them down.
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They are intended to depict
Martin Luther and John Calvin.
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To the right and down a
little from the figure of Mary
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is an angel, a
cherub, you might say,
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wearing a very determined look
and tearing pages from a book.
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Now, if you have
very good eyesight,
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or a good lens on your camera,
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you'll see that on the
spine of the book it says,
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“Ulrich Zwingli.”
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There are other books to
be seen in the sculpture,
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one authored by John Calvin,
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the other by Martin Luther.
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So what's taking place here?
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Mary and her
help has been invoked
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in destroying Protestantism
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and asserting Roman Catholicism.
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Of course, if
you're a Roman Catholic
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and you believe that the
Roman Catholic Church was,
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uh, formed by God
and is the true church,
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then you would welcome this.
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You would understand
this, and you would see,
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say, why should we not
depict our mission as such?
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We are just
declaring to the world
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that we are doing what
God has asked us to do.
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But what if you don't
agree the Roman Catholic Church
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is the true church?
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What if, for some reason,
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you don't believe it was
on a divine mission from God
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to spread Catholic
truth throughout the world?
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You're left with a fact,
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and that is that Rome
is asserting its right
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to crush Protestantism and stamp
out what it sees as heresy.
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So if you're a non-Catholic,
or if you're a Protestant,
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right there in
Rome, for all to see,
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you're being given
a very stern message,
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and that message is,
there is no place for you.
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Interestingly, you
enter the very magnificent
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St. Peter's
Basilica in the Vatican City,
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and not far in, on
the left-hand side,
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is a large statue or
representation, again,
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of Ignatius of Loyola.
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He's holding in one arm
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the Councils of
the Society of Jesus,
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or the spiritual
exercises of Ignatius Loyola.
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And before him, right
there in the Vatican City,
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right there in St.
Peter's lies a Protestant;
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Ignatius Loyola has his
foot on that Protestant.
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You cannot
possibly miss the intent,
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the meaning of a work like that.
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The Counter Reformation was a
very, very definite procedure.
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It was Rome saying,
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we'll do everything we can
to get rid of Protestantism.
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Think about what
Protestantism sought to do:
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to reintroduce to
the world the Bible
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as primary in Christianity,
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a personal
relationship with Jesus
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as paramount in a
person's Christian experience.
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The Protestant Reformation
sought to reassert in
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Christianity,
because it did exist already,
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confession to God for sin rather
than confession to a priest,
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when Rome is saying,
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“We want to obliterate that;
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we want to
counter that reformation.”
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Rome is saying no
to the Bible as primary
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in the believer's experience.
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Rome is saying no to a
personal relationship with God
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that does not go
through a priest.
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Rome is saying,
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“No, you will not
take away the sacraments.
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You will not take away
the role of the church.”
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Rome is
reasserting its dominance
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and what it believes
is its divine prerogative.
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Now, this is just a
matter of the historical record.
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I'm not speaking to
you in a critical fashion.
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Again, if you were
to believe that Rome
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holds the primary
place among Christians,
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you would say
this is appropriate.
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This is good.
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You would wish to
see it encouraged.
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But if, for some reason,
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you don't believe
that the Roman church
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was raised up by
God to do God's work,
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you would see here that there
is a church that must be somehow
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confused about the
message of the Bible,
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and is on a mission,
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but not a mission
that has been given by God.
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In just a moment, our program,
“The Counter Reformation,”
00:09:17.72\00:09:21.09
filmed on
location in Spain, in Rome,
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and in the Vatican City.
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We'll be right back.
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Don't go away.
00:09:27.50\00:09:28.13
¤[Theme music]¤
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What is the mark of the beast?
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One of the most serious warning
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centers around
the mark of the beast.
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And you can understand
what it is from the Bible.
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I'd like to send
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Its called, "The
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Call us on, 800-253-3000.
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Or visit us online
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I'd like you to
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"The Mark of the Beast."
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It's your support
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¤[Music]¤
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>>Announcer: Planning
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This is It Is
Written. I'm John Bradshaw.
00:11:07.66\00:11:11.17
Thanks for joining me.
00:11:11.20\00:11:12.73
On September the
27th, 1540, Pope Paul III
00:11:12.77\00:11:16.91
sat in the apostolic
palace in the Vatican City,
00:11:16.94\00:11:19.97
wondering if things
could possibly get worse,
00:11:20.01\00:11:23.04
for him and for his church.
00:11:23.08\00:11:25.35
He realized
that the Vatican City
00:11:25.38\00:11:27.48
had a lot of ground to make up.
00:11:27.52\00:11:29.85
It had been 23
years since Martin Luther
00:11:29.88\00:11:32.65
had nailed his 95 theses to
the door of the Castle Church
00:11:32.69\00:11:36.46
in Wittenberg, Germany,
00:11:36.49\00:11:38.29
and since that
time whole countries
00:11:38.33\00:11:40.90
had broken free
from Rome's control.
00:11:40.93\00:11:43.73
Parts of
Germany and Scandinavia,
00:11:43.77\00:11:46.80
England, the
Netherlands, Switzerland,
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they all seceded from Rome.
00:11:49.64\00:11:52.64
Luther's writings and the
writings of other Reformers
00:11:52.67\00:11:55.44
had spread across Europe.
00:11:55.48\00:11:58.01
People were
experiencing liberation.
00:11:58.05\00:12:02.52
Long before Luther,
00:12:02.55\00:12:03.92
there were reform
movements within Catholicism.
00:12:03.95\00:12:06.76
Peter Waldo pressed for
reform within the church
00:12:06.79\00:12:09.72
in the 12th century.
00:12:09.76\00:12:11.16
He spoke against purgatory
and against the teaching
00:12:11.19\00:12:14.50
of transubstantiation,
00:12:14.56\00:12:16.56
which states that
during the communion service
00:12:16.60\00:12:18.83
the bread and wine, or juice,
00:12:18.87\00:12:20.87
become the actual
body and blood of Jesus.
00:12:20.90\00:12:24.31
For his trouble he
was severely persecuted.
00:12:24.34\00:12:27.61
He and his followers retreated
to live in the isolated valleys
00:12:27.64\00:12:30.51
of the Piedmont
region in northern Italy,
00:12:30.55\00:12:32.75
where they worked and educated.
00:12:32.78\00:12:35.28
But it wasn't far enough
away to be out of the reach
00:12:35.32\00:12:37.59
of a church that was
determined to destroy them.
00:12:37.62\00:12:42.59
John Wycliffe, who was
born around the year 1328,
00:12:42.62\00:12:46.06
is known today as “the Morning
Star of the Reformation.”
00:12:46.09\00:12:49.66
Educated at
Balliol College in Oxford,
00:12:49.70\00:12:52.13
he translated the Bible
from Latin into English,
00:12:52.17\00:12:55.04
or the English of his day.
00:12:55.07\00:12:57.54
From his parish in
Lutterworth in England,
00:12:57.57\00:12:59.87
Wycliffe attacked monasticism,
00:12:59.91\00:13:02.84
the veneration of saints,
00:13:02.88\00:13:04.58
transubstantiation,
00:13:04.61\00:13:06.41
and he even said the
papacy wasn't biblical,
00:13:06.45\00:13:09.72
going so far as to equate
the papacy with the antichrist.
00:13:09.75\00:13:13.92
It's no wonder
he wasn't popular.
00:13:13.96\00:13:15.89
After his death the church
declared him to be a heretic,
00:13:15.92\00:13:20.10
exhumed his body,
burned his remains,
00:13:20.13\00:13:23.13
and cast his ashes
into the River Swift,
00:13:23.16\00:13:26.70
which flows through Lutterworth.
00:13:26.74\00:13:28.87
Wycliffe influenced the Czech
reformer Jan Hus, or John Huss.
00:13:28.90\00:13:33.61
Now, you have to keep
in mind that to speak out
00:13:33.64\00:13:36.04
against the church meant death,
00:13:36.08\00:13:38.45
and these men knew that.
00:13:38.48\00:13:40.15
Huss was commanded by the
church to appear at a trial
00:13:40.18\00:13:43.39
in Constance, Germany.
00:13:43.42\00:13:44.75
The church
promised to protect him.
00:13:44.79\00:13:48.19
But the moment he
arrived in that city,
00:13:48.22\00:13:50.33
he was
apprehended by the church,
00:13:50.36\00:13:52.43
thrown into a loathsome
prison, left to languish there.
00:13:52.46\00:13:55.73
Then he was
brought out and executed,
00:13:55.76\00:13:57.97
and his ashes were
thrown into the Rhine River.
00:13:58.00\00:14:02.10
Luther was by no
means the first burr
00:14:02.14\00:14:04.91
under the saddle of the church,
00:14:04.94\00:14:06.81
but he was
definitely the biggest challenge
00:14:06.84\00:14:08.91
they'd had to deal with.
00:14:08.94\00:14:10.25
Now, it's not
like Luther didn't have
00:14:10.28\00:14:12.15
plenty of material to work with.
00:14:12.18\00:14:14.08
Church leaders, many of them,
00:14:14.12\00:14:15.65
were openly corrupt;
00:14:15.68\00:14:17.19
the faithful were
kept completely in the dark
00:14:17.22\00:14:19.32
as far as
Scripture was concerned.
00:14:19.35\00:14:21.56
They couldn't possess the Bible.
00:14:21.59\00:14:23.16
In fact, to have the
Bible, portions of the Bible,
00:14:23.19\00:14:26.09
even handwritten
portions of the Bible,
00:14:26.13\00:14:29.00
was enough to get a
person sentenced to death.
00:14:29.03\00:14:31.53
The church financed
the building of St Peter's
00:14:33.34\00:14:35.47
by selling indulgences.
00:14:35.50\00:14:37.71
This was a phenomenal abuse
of ignorant church members,
00:14:37.74\00:14:40.94
telling them that
sins could be forgiven
00:14:40.98\00:14:42.94
or temporal punishment
for sin would be lessened
00:14:42.98\00:14:45.71
if they paid
money to the church.
00:14:45.75\00:14:48.45
Indulgences could
be bought for the dead.
00:14:48.48\00:14:51.85
It was outrageous.
00:14:51.89\00:14:53.59
Reform was inevitable.
00:14:53.62\00:14:56.76
And by the time Luther stood up,
00:14:56.79\00:14:58.39
and Melanchthon with him,
00:14:58.43\00:14:59.73
and Calvin
00:14:59.76\00:15:00.63
and Farel
00:15:00.66\00:15:01.33
and Zwingli
00:15:01.36\00:15:02.00
and Knox,
00:15:02.03\00:15:02.73
all roughly at the same time,
00:15:02.76\00:15:05.53
the world was shaken.
00:15:05.57\00:15:08.40
And the church trembled.
00:15:08.44\00:15:10.97
Which brings us back to
September the 27th, 1540,
00:15:12.27\00:15:16.24
at a meeting that
took place on that day,
00:15:16.28\00:15:18.48
here in the Vatican.
00:15:18.51\00:15:20.38
A small group of priests
00:15:20.42\00:15:22.08
was ushered into
Pope Paul's presence.
00:15:22.12\00:15:24.79
A group with an
agenda, a concerned group.
00:15:24.82\00:15:28.06
Concerned by what they
saw happening to the church,
00:15:28.09\00:15:30.96
which they believed
was divinely commissioned
00:15:30.99\00:15:33.50
to represent God on Earth.
00:15:33.53\00:15:35.90
They were led by a
sharply intelligent man,
00:15:35.93\00:15:38.83
a theologian and former soldier.
00:15:38.87\00:15:40.74
His name was Ignatius of Loyola.
00:15:40.77\00:15:44.64
His words at
that memorable meeting
00:15:44.67\00:15:46.34
have been paraphrased by
the late author Malachi Martin.
00:15:46.37\00:15:49.54
He said, “Holy Father, the
papacy and the Roman Catholic
00:15:49.58\00:15:53.92
Church are in mortal trouble.
00:15:53.95\00:15:56.35
Needed is a modern weapon to
fight this totally new warfare.
00:15:56.38\00:16:01.62
Give us, a new charter like
no other charter given before.
00:16:01.66\00:16:06.39
Make us independent
of all local authorities
00:16:06.43\00:16:10.10
and directly
responsible to Your Holiness.
00:16:10.13\00:16:13.97
We will go anywhere
at any time at any cost
00:16:14.00\00:16:18.67
to life and comfort
in order to do anything.”
00:16:18.71\00:16:23.08
And so the Society of Jesus came
into existence: the Jesuits.
00:16:23.11\00:16:27.85
It was the first time an
organization quite like this
00:16:27.88\00:16:30.42
had existed within
the Roman Catholic Church.
00:16:30.45\00:16:33.29
The pope would launch
a counter reformation,
00:16:33.32\00:16:37.39
a strategy to press back against
00:16:37.43\00:16:39.39
the advances
made by Protestantism.
00:16:39.43\00:16:41.93
The Jesuits would
be a significant factor
00:16:41.96\00:16:44.30
in aiding the church
to regain lost prestige,
00:16:44.33\00:16:48.77
power and influence.
00:16:48.80\00:16:50.81
>>Dr. Damsteegt:
The Counter Reformation
00:16:50.84\00:16:51.97
was simply the
response of the church
00:16:52.01\00:16:56.14
against what
they saw, an uprising.
00:16:56.18\00:16:58.71
Kind of a revolt
that should be put out.
00:16:58.75\00:17:02.35
What they did is
analyzing the arguments
00:17:02.38\00:17:05.99
that were presented
by Luther and others,
00:17:06.02\00:17:09.06
and trying to counteract it.
00:17:09.09\00:17:12.09
You know, you
have to keep in mind,
00:17:12.13\00:17:13.66
the church was one church, and
there is no split whatsoever.
00:17:13.70\00:17:19.27
And the church
wanted to preserve this,
00:17:19.30\00:17:22.37
and they thought the
greatest sin in the world
00:17:22.40\00:17:24.84
would be to ruin
the unity of the church.
00:17:24.87\00:17:29.44
>>John: When you're
losing market share,
00:17:33.58\00:17:35.62
when in a sporting event
you have to come from behind,
00:17:35.65\00:17:39.05
when it's the third
quarter of the Super Bowl
00:17:39.09\00:17:40.92
and you're down
by 28 points to 3,
00:17:40.96\00:17:43.06
and it looks like
you're about to lose big,
00:17:43.09\00:17:45.96
you mount a comeback effort.
00:17:45.99\00:17:47.76
Some comebacks are
successful, some not so much.
00:17:47.76\00:17:51.70
This would be a
comeback of epic proportions.
00:17:51.73\00:17:56.37
If Rome was going to fix
the damage caused by Luther
00:17:56.40\00:17:59.61
and Wycliffe and
Farel and a host of others,
00:17:59.64\00:18:03.45
something had to be done.
00:18:03.48\00:18:04.75
And it would take
some remarkable leadership.
00:18:04.78\00:18:09.35
Which brings us to
Ignatius of Loyola.
00:18:09.38\00:18:13.56
I'll have more in just a moment.
00:18:13.59\00:18:15.79
¤[Theme music]¤
00:18:15.82\00:18:20.96
I'm John Bradshaw
from It Is Written,
00:18:22.96\00:18:25.23
inviting you to
join me for “500,”
00:18:25.27\00:18:28.74
nine programs
produced by it Is Written
00:18:28.77\00:18:31.04
taking you deep
into the Reformation.
00:18:31.07\00:18:34.18
This is the 500th anniversary
00:18:34.21\00:18:36.58
of the beginning
of the Reformation,
00:18:36.61\00:18:38.31
when Martin Luther
nailed his 95 theses
00:18:38.35\00:18:40.75
to the door of the Castle
church in Wittenberg, Germany.
00:18:40.78\00:18:43.59
We'll take you to Wittenberg,
00:18:43.62\00:18:45.22
and to Belgium,
00:18:45.25\00:18:46.19
to England,
00:18:46.22\00:18:47.06
to Ireland,
00:18:47.09\00:18:48.39
to Rome,
00:18:48.42\00:18:49.12
to the Vatican City,
00:18:49.16\00:18:50.46
and introduce you to the people
who created the Reformation,
00:18:50.49\00:18:53.50
who pushed the
Reformation forward.
00:18:53.53\00:18:55.43
We'll take you to
sites all throughout Europe
00:18:55.46\00:18:57.33
where the reformers
lived and in some cases died.
00:18:57.37\00:19:00.24
We'll bring you
back to the United States
00:19:00.27\00:19:01.97
and take you to a little
farm in upstate New York,
00:19:02.00\00:19:04.97
and show you how God
spread the Reformation here.
00:19:05.01\00:19:07.91
Don't miss 500.
00:19:07.94\00:19:10.01
You can own the
500 series on DVD.
00:19:10.05\00:19:13.08
Call us on 888-664-5573,
00:19:13.11\00:19:17.72
or visit us online
at itiswritten.shop.
00:19:17.75\00:19:22.82
¤[Music]¤
00:19:23.69\00:19:26.59
He was born here in Azpeitia,
at the Castle of Loyola,
00:19:26.63\00:19:31.50
in what's known today as Basque
Country in northern Spain,
00:19:31.53\00:19:36.20
about 30 miles from
the border with France
00:19:36.24\00:19:38.71
and about 60
miles from Pamplona,
00:19:38.74\00:19:41.24
famous for the
Running of the Bulls.
00:19:41.28\00:19:43.78
This basilica, the
santuario de Loyola,
00:19:43.81\00:19:47.52
is built on the
site of his birthplace.
00:19:47.55\00:19:50.72
He was named Iñigo, the
youngest of thirteen children.
00:19:50.75\00:19:54.62
His mother died
shortly after he was born,
00:19:54.66\00:19:57.16
so he was raised by the
wife of a local blacksmith.
00:19:57.19\00:19:59.53
He took the surname Loyola,
00:19:59.56\00:20:02.03
a reference to this place
where he was born and raised.
00:20:02.06\00:20:04.40
At the time, it
was just a village.
00:20:04.43\00:20:07.24
When he was 17, he
joined the military.
00:20:07.27\00:20:10.54
He became an expert in dueling.
00:20:10.57\00:20:12.47
It's said that when a man
00:20:12.51\00:20:14.28
challenged the
divinity of Christ,
00:20:14.31\00:20:16.88
he challenged
that man to a duel,
00:20:16.91\00:20:18.75
and he killed
him with his sword.
00:20:18.78\00:20:22.02
When he was 18 years old, he was
employed by the Duke of Najera.
00:20:22.05\00:20:25.12
He spent 12 years
working for the man.
00:20:25.15\00:20:27.62
He was involved
in a lot of battles.
00:20:27.66\00:20:29.72
But his military
career came to an end in 1521,
00:20:29.76\00:20:33.56
during the Battle of Pamplona.
00:20:33.60\00:20:35.30
He was struck by a
cannon ball, seriously injured.
00:20:35.33\00:20:38.57
One of his legs was shattered.
00:20:38.60\00:20:40.80
It's a wonder
he survived at all.
00:20:40.84\00:20:42.47
But he did survive,
00:20:42.50\00:20:44.27
and spent the rest of
his life walking with a limp.
00:20:44.31\00:20:46.68
During his recovery,
00:20:50.11\00:20:51.35
he underwent a
spiritual experience
00:20:51.38\00:20:53.95
which led him to
devote the rest of his life
00:20:53.98\00:20:56.92
to the service of his faith.
00:20:56.95\00:20:59.15
He read about
Jesus and about the lives
00:20:59.19\00:21:01.39
of the saints of his church,
00:21:01.42\00:21:02.69
and was impressed by
people like Francis of Assisi.
00:21:02.72\00:21:07.03
He spent weeks in prayer
and meditation in this cave,
00:21:07.03\00:21:11.13
developing what
would eventually be called
00:21:11.17\00:21:13.94
his Spiritual Exercises.
00:21:13.97\00:21:17.14
During this time Inigo
experienced a number of visions.
00:21:17.17\00:21:22.08
According to one
writer, they appeared to him as
00:21:22.11\00:21:24.25
"a form in the air
near him and this form
00:21:24.28\00:21:28.35
gave him much consolation
00:21:28.38\00:21:29.78
because it was
exceedingly beautiful,
00:21:29.82\00:21:32.05
it somehow seemed to
have the shape of a serpent
00:21:32.09\00:21:35.02
and had many things that shone
like eyes, but were not eyes.
00:21:35.06\00:21:40.56
He received much
delight and consolation
00:21:40.60\00:21:43.10
from gazing upon this object,
00:21:43.13\00:21:45.27
but when the object vanished
he became disconsolate.”
00:21:45.30\00:21:48.87
In order to grow close to God,
00:21:51.94\00:21:53.68
he pursued an ascetic
life of strict self-denial,
00:21:53.71\00:21:57.91
as many monks or
priests did in those days.
00:21:57.95\00:22:01.62
He made a pilgrimage to Israel,
00:22:01.65\00:22:03.39
hoping to convert
the people controlling
00:22:03.42\00:22:05.09
the Holy Land to Christianity.
00:22:05.12\00:22:07.09
The Spiritual
Exercises he developed
00:22:07.12\00:22:09.49
set the tone for
the Jesuit order.
00:22:09.52\00:22:12.26
The exercises
emphasized discernment regarding
00:22:15.43\00:22:18.63
the difference between good
and evil in a person's life.
00:22:18.67\00:22:21.84
He taught that
through discernment
00:22:21.87\00:22:24.94
a believer can achieve
a mystical union with God,
00:22:24.97\00:22:28.28
and therefore
understand God's will.
00:22:28.31\00:22:32.68
This trend toward mysticism
in the philosophy of the Jesuits
00:22:32.71\00:22:37.29
encouraged a larger
movement toward mysticism
00:22:37.32\00:22:40.79
during the time of
the Counter Reformation.
00:22:40.82\00:22:43.59
The challenge, of
course, is that with this system
00:22:43.63\00:22:45.89
the Bible isn't necessarily
seen as a Christian's
00:22:45.93\00:22:49.53
supreme spiritual authority.
00:22:49.56\00:22:51.40
But emphasizing the Bible
00:22:51.43\00:22:54.07
was what the
Reformers had been doing,
00:22:54.10\00:22:56.57
and that had taken a toll on the
church's power and authority.
00:22:56.60\00:23:01.24
He studied in Barcelona,
and then spent seven years
00:23:01.28\00:23:04.21
as a university
student in Paris.
00:23:04.25\00:23:07.02
The Reformation was
in full swing by then,
00:23:07.05\00:23:09.28
the effects of the
Reformation clearly seen
00:23:09.32\00:23:11.62
as people all around him,
00:23:11.65\00:23:13.59
irrespective of
their class in society,
00:23:13.62\00:23:15.96
were taking sides
in the controversy.
00:23:15.99\00:23:18.29
And it was while he
was at that university
00:23:18.33\00:23:21.90
that he met the six
men who would join with him
00:23:21.93\00:23:24.30
in his life's work,
00:23:24.33\00:23:26.00
the work for which
the world remembers him,
00:23:26.03\00:23:28.60
work that would
impact his church,
00:23:28.64\00:23:30.57
Christianity as a
whole, and even the world.
00:23:30.61\00:23:35.01
On the morning of
August the 15th, 1534,
00:23:35.04\00:23:38.41
Ignatius Loyola
and his six friends
00:23:38.45\00:23:40.48
met together in one of
the oldest churches in Paris.
00:23:40.52\00:23:44.15
Together they took vows,
00:23:44.19\00:23:45.89
and formed what would become
known as the Society of Jesus.
00:23:45.92\00:23:50.29
It was formally
established five years later,
00:23:50.33\00:23:52.63
and one year after that,
00:23:52.66\00:23:54.36
in that memorable
meeting with Pope Paul III,
00:23:54.36\00:23:56.93
the highest
blessing of the church
00:23:56.97\00:23:59.53
was bestowed upon
Ignatius and his friends,
00:23:59.57\00:24:02.74
and their plans to
regain ground lost by the papacy
00:24:02.77\00:24:05.71
and blunt the
progress of the Reformation.
00:24:05.74\00:24:08.74
¤[Soft music]¤
00:24:08.78\00:24:14.12
He sent his
companions throughout Europe
00:24:14.15\00:24:16.32
establishing universities
and colleges and seminaries.
00:24:16.35\00:24:19.92
Educate the educators, and you
influence what's being taught,
00:24:19.95\00:24:23.59
and what's being thought.
00:24:23.63\00:24:26.23
With the help of
his personal secretary,
00:24:26.26\00:24:28.13
he wrote the
Jesuit Constitution,
00:24:28.16\00:24:30.50
based on the principle
of absolute self-denial
00:24:30.53\00:24:33.57
and complete
obedience to the pope.
00:24:33.60\00:24:36.57
They adopted the
motto, “perinde ac cadaver,”
00:24:36.60\00:24:39.51
which means “as if a dead body.”
00:24:39.54\00:24:42.78
Part of the oath
taken by Jesuits says,
00:24:42.81\00:24:45.18
"I do further
promise and declare,
00:24:45.21\00:24:47.72
that I will have no
opinion or will of my own,
00:24:47.75\00:24:50.65
or any mental
reservation whatever,
00:24:50.69\00:24:52.82
even as a corpse or cadaver,
00:24:52.85\00:24:55.56
but will unhesitatingly
obey each and every command
00:24:55.59\00:24:59.16
that I may
receive from my superiors
00:24:59.19\00:25:01.10
in the Militia of the
Pope and of Jesus Christ."
00:25:01.13\00:25:05.23
>>Dr. Damsteegt: The people
who adopt the Special Exercises
00:25:06.37\00:25:09.50
were, had a strong
faith in that whatever
00:25:09.54\00:25:13.07
they were being
told is the truth.
00:25:13.11\00:25:15.98
If the church would tell me that
this is white while it is black,
00:25:16.01\00:25:22.58
I would accept it.
00:25:22.62\00:25:25.22
Very, very simple.
00:25:25.25\00:25:26.76
And if the church says this,
00:25:26.79\00:25:30.29
even if my senses
says it is incorrect,
00:25:30.33\00:25:33.53
because the church
says it, I will accept it.
00:25:33.56\00:25:38.00
And so it was a total,
total mortification of the will.
00:25:38.03\00:25:46.41
That was a fantastic
system of brainwashing,
00:25:46.44\00:25:49.61
that you believe
without reservation
00:25:49.64\00:25:51.61
that what the church
teaches you should be,
00:25:51.65\00:25:54.05
that is the truth and
nothing but the truth.
00:25:54.08\00:25:56.65
¤[Soft music]¤
00:25:56.69\00:25:57.52
The Jesuits are
still a powerful force
00:25:57.55\00:25:59.05
in the Roman Catholic Church,
00:25:59.09\00:26:00.96
and scores of colleges and
universities around the world
00:26:00.99\00:26:03.99
are under their guidance.
00:26:04.03\00:26:06.06
In 2013, Pope Francis
became the first Jesuit
00:26:06.09\00:26:10.27
to be elected to his
church's highest office.
00:26:10.30\00:26:13.40
The Jesuits were
the foot soldiers
00:26:13.44\00:26:15.40
of the Counter Reformation.
00:26:15.44\00:26:17.67
But the papal church
was also taking other steps
00:26:17.71\00:26:20.58
to restore its power.
00:26:20.61\00:26:22.44
There was much more to
the Counter Reformation.
00:26:22.48\00:26:25.21
At the Council of Trent,
held between 1545 and 1563,
00:26:25.25\00:26:31.32
strategies were devised
to help the church address
00:26:31.35\00:26:34.66
the challenges presented
by the Protestant Reformation.
00:26:34.69\00:26:38.06
Now, any talk of compromise with
Protestantism was ruled out.
00:26:38.09\00:26:42.60
But the council did
acknowledge that certain abuses
00:26:42.63\00:26:45.37
had occurred at some levels
00:26:45.40\00:26:47.27
under the
auspices of the church.
00:26:47.30\00:26:49.50
So there were some changes made.
00:26:49.54\00:26:51.57
For example, certain
measures were introduced
00:26:51.61\00:26:54.24
to govern more closely
the sale of indulgences.
00:26:54.28\00:26:57.78
But the veto power
of church tradition
00:26:57.81\00:27:00.18
above the Bible was maintained,
00:27:00.22\00:27:02.68
as was the role of sacraments
00:27:02.72\00:27:04.39
and other rituals in obtaining
salvation and divine grace.
00:27:04.42\00:27:08.52
The apocryphal books, books
such as Wisdom, Judith, Tobit,
00:27:08.56\00:27:12.16
those two extra chapters said to
be part of the book of Daniel,
00:27:12.19\00:27:15.26
they were
granted the same status
00:27:15.30\00:27:18.10
as Scripture by the council.
00:27:18.13\00:27:19.90
The council reaffirmed the
veneration of relics and images,
00:27:19.93\00:27:24.21
as well as the
veneration of saints.
00:27:24.24\00:27:26.37
And the Council of
Trent was responsible
00:27:26.41\00:27:29.68
for some very interesting
theological developments,
00:27:29.71\00:27:33.45
developments which today
have largely been lost sight of,
00:27:33.48\00:27:36.25
but developments
which have impacted
00:27:36.28\00:27:38.89
Christianity in an enormous way.
00:27:38.92\00:27:41.19
I'll tell you
more in just a moment.
00:27:41.22\00:27:42.92
¤[Theme music]¤
00:27:42.96\00:27:48.60
>>Announcer: In Matthew
4:4, the Word of God says,
00:27:52.33\00:27:54.90
“It is written, 'Man
shall not live by bread alone,
00:27:54.94\00:27:58.04
but by every word that proceeds
from the mouth of God.'"
00:27:58.07\00:28:01.98
“Every Word”
00:28:02.01\00:28:02.94
is a one-minute,
Bible-based daily devotional
00:28:02.98\00:28:05.25
presented by
Pastor John Bradshaw,
00:28:05.28\00:28:07.02
and designed especially
for busy people like you.
00:28:07.05\00:28:10.12
Look for Every Word
on selected networks,
00:28:10.15\00:28:12.85
or watch it online
every day on our website,
00:28:12.89\00:28:15.36
ItIsWritten.com.
00:28:15.39\00:28:17.69
Receive a daily spiritual boost.
00:28:17.73\00:28:19.79
Watch “Every Word.”
00:28:19.83\00:28:21.23
You'll be glad you did.
00:28:21.26\00:28:22.63
Here's a sample.
00:28:22.66\00:28:25.57
¤[Theme music]¤
00:28:26.37\00:28:31.61
>>John: It was five hundred
years ago that Martin Luther
00:28:31.64\00:28:34.04
nailed his 95 theses
to that famous church door
00:28:34.08\00:28:36.88
in Wittenberg, Germany.
00:28:36.91\00:28:38.78
Half a millennium.
00:28:38.81\00:28:40.48
Why would that protest 500
years ago be important today?
00:28:40.52\00:28:43.65
In Galatians 5:1
we read these words:
00:28:43.69\00:28:46.12
“Stand fast therefore in
the liberty by which Christ
00:28:46.15\00:28:48.82
has made us free.”
00:28:48.86\00:28:50.56
Five hundred years ago
there was no religious freedom.
00:28:50.59\00:28:52.93
The state and the people
were ruled by the Roman church.
00:28:52.96\00:28:56.73
Everyone,
including kings and emperors
00:28:56.77\00:28:58.33
worshiped and
believed as they were told.
00:28:58.37\00:29:00.57
To step out of line,
00:29:00.60\00:29:01.54
to think for yourself,
00:29:01.57\00:29:02.57
to follow your
conscience, meant certain death.
00:29:02.60\00:29:05.94
Without the Reformation there'd
be no freedom of religion today.
00:29:05.97\00:29:08.64
So how important is
freedom of religion?
00:29:08.68\00:29:11.45
It's hard for us to
imagine religious persecution
00:29:11.48\00:29:13.62
or tolerance in a free country,
00:29:13.65\00:29:15.12
but that's what
Luther knew where he was.
00:29:15.15\00:29:17.92
That's where we'd be
without him and others like him.
00:29:17.95\00:29:19.59
Thank God today for
your religious freedom.
00:29:19.62\00:29:22.02
I'm John Bradshaw
for It Is Written.
00:29:22.06\00:29:23.46
Let's live today by every Word.
00:29:23.49\00:29:24.79
¤[Music]¤
00:29:24.83\00:29:26.33
¤[Music]¤
00:29:27.40\00:29:33.23
>>John: Thanks for
joining me on It Is Written.
00:29:33.27\00:29:36.17
As Protestants appealed to the
Bible during the Reformation,
00:29:36.20\00:29:40.08
the authority of the
ruling church was undermined.
00:29:40.11\00:29:43.24
Numerous figures
claimed that the prophecies of
00:29:43.28\00:29:46.15
Daniel and Revelation
and the writings of Paul
00:29:46.18\00:29:49.55
pointed out that the papacy
00:29:49.58\00:29:51.32
was the
Antichrist of Bible prophecy.
00:29:51.35\00:29:54.76
So during the Council of Trent,
00:29:54.79\00:29:56.62
the pope commissioned the
Jesuits and the others present
00:29:56.66\00:30:00.33
to go to Scripture
and find an interpretation
00:30:00.36\00:30:03.43
of those passages
that would claim otherwise.
00:30:03.47\00:30:07.30
In the decades that
followed the Council of Trent,
00:30:07.34\00:30:09.74
Jesuit theologian
Francisco Ribera claimed that
00:30:09.77\00:30:13.07
the papacy couldn't
possibly be the Antichrist,
00:30:13.11\00:30:16.04
because the Antichrist
would be a single figure
00:30:16.08\00:30:18.21
that would arise at
the end of the time.
00:30:18.25\00:30:20.88
Twentieth-century Protestant
theologian George Eldon Ladd
00:30:20.92\00:30:24.32
commented on
Ribera's work, saying this:
00:30:24.35\00:30:27.49
“In 1590 Ribera published a
commentary on the Revelation
00:30:27.52\00:30:32.46
as a counter interpretation
to the prevailing view
00:30:32.49\00:30:35.03
among Protestants
which identified the Papacy
00:30:35.06\00:30:38.27
with the Antichrist.
00:30:38.30\00:30:40.14
Ribera applied all of Revelation
but the earliest chapters
00:30:40.17\00:30:43.61
to the end time rather than
to the history of the church.
00:30:43.64\00:30:47.81
Antichrist, he taught,
would be a single evil person
00:30:47.84\00:30:51.88
who would be
received by the Jews
00:30:51.91\00:30:54.18
and who would
rebuild Jerusalem.”
00:30:54.22\00:30:57.19
Another
brilliant Jesuit scholar,
00:30:57.22\00:30:59.29
Cardinal Robert
Bellarmine of Rome,
00:30:59.32\00:31:01.66
now St. Robert Bellarmine,
00:31:01.69\00:31:03.83
assisted Ribera in
developing this new theology.
00:31:03.86\00:31:07.56
Another 20th-century theologian
00:31:07.60\00:31:09.26
had this to say
about Bellarmine:
00:31:09.30\00:31:12.03
“The futurist
teachings of Ribera were further
00:31:12.07\00:31:14.80
popularized by
an Italian cardinal,
00:31:14.84\00:31:17.44
and the most renowned of
all Jesuit controversialists.
00:31:17.47\00:31:21.71
His writings claimed
that Paul, Daniel, and John
00:31:21.74\00:31:25.51
had nothing whatsoever to
say about the Papal power.
00:31:25.55\00:31:29.82
The futurists' school
00:31:29.85\00:31:31.69
won general
acceptance among Catholics.
00:31:31.72\00:31:35.16
They were taught that antichrist
was a single individual
00:31:35.19\00:31:39.03
who would not rule
until the very end of time.”
00:31:39.06\00:31:43.10
>>Dr. Damsteegt: The goal
was to eliminate any shadow of a
00:31:43.13\00:31:45.93
doubt that the pope has
anything to do with prophecy.
00:31:45.97\00:31:50.54
And so they projected the
little horn into the future.
00:31:50.57\00:31:54.98
As a result, they said,
“We haven't yet seen it.
00:31:55.01\00:32:00.52
It has not been here.
00:32:00.55\00:32:02.22
It will come one day.
00:32:02.25\00:32:04.19
And so we have still
to look in the future
00:32:04.22\00:32:06.72
before we see the antichrist.”
00:32:06.76\00:32:08.22
And still today most
Catholics look in the future
00:32:08.26\00:32:12.69
and wait until the
appearance of this.
00:32:12.73\00:32:15.86
Futurism was slow to catch on.
00:32:15.90\00:32:18.93
But the intention was that
the ideas promoted by futurism
00:32:18.97\00:32:22.87
would eventually be
taught by Protestants.
00:32:22.90\00:32:26.61
In the early 1800s,
00:32:26.64\00:32:28.51
a British preacher by
the name of John Darby,
00:32:28.54\00:32:31.31
a man who stood strongly
for the veracity of scripture
00:32:31.35\00:32:34.18
in face of growing
theological liberalism,
00:32:34.22\00:32:37.69
took hold of the idea of
a future one-man antichrist.
00:32:37.72\00:32:41.89
In the United States,
00:32:41.92\00:32:43.36
a Kansas City
attorney named Cyrus Schofield
00:32:43.39\00:32:46.26
published a version of
the Bible popular enough
00:32:46.29\00:32:49.23
to sell millions of copies.
00:32:49.26\00:32:50.60
And in that Bible
he included study notes
00:32:50.63\00:32:53.37
based on the writings of
Darby and the Jesuits Ribera
00:32:53.40\00:32:57.97
and Bellarmine,
00:32:58.01\00:32:59.17
study notes that pointed to
a future one-man antichrist.
00:32:59.21\00:33:05.05
A British theologian
commented on that, saying this:
00:33:05.08\00:33:07.98
“It is a matter of deep regret
that those who hold and advocate
00:33:08.02\00:33:13.25
the futurist
system at the present day,
00:33:13.29\00:33:15.66
Protestants as they
are for the most part,
00:33:15.69\00:33:17.93
are thus really
playing into the hands of Rome,
00:33:17.96\00:33:21.63
and helping to screen
the Papacy from detection
00:33:21.66\00:33:24.43
as the Antichrist.”
00:33:24.47\00:33:26.27
Another Jesuit
scholar originated
00:33:26.30\00:33:28.67
the school of
prophetic interpretation
00:33:28.70\00:33:30.77
known as preterism.
00:33:30.81\00:33:32.77
“Pre”-terism teaches that all
of the apocalyptic prophecies
00:33:32.81\00:33:36.31
of the Bible have
been fulfilled already.
00:33:36.34\00:33:38.88
Previously.
00:33:38.91\00:33:40.38
Which would mean, then,
that there can't possibly be
00:33:40.42\00:33:42.72
an end-time antichrist.
00:33:42.75\00:33:44.82
And if that's the case,
then whoever antichrist is
00:33:44.85\00:33:48.12
couldn't possibly be the papacy.
00:33:48.16\00:33:50.46
Now, the
Reformers were convinced.
00:33:50.49\00:33:53.16
But years later, their
views have been undermined
00:33:53.19\00:33:55.93
by interpretations of
prophecy that sprang directly
00:33:55.96\00:34:00.14
from the Counter Reformation.
00:34:00.17\00:34:02.44
So the work of
Ignatius of Loyola
00:34:04.61\00:34:06.21
and the Counter Reformation
has been profoundly influential.
00:34:06.24\00:34:10.21
Five hundred years ago
reformers like Martin Luther,
00:34:10.25\00:34:13.08
Ulrich Zwingli, John Calvin
and John Knox were engaged
00:34:13.11\00:34:17.32
in a resistance movement
against a powerful church
00:34:17.35\00:34:20.42
with enormous
political influence.
00:34:20.46\00:34:23.02
They rebutted
teachings they saw as unbiblical
00:34:23.06\00:34:26.23
and believed that they
were doing the work of God
00:34:26.26\00:34:28.56
in bringing the light of the
Bible into the lives of people.
00:34:28.60\00:34:32.63
That's why there was such an
emphasis on the part of people
00:34:32.67\00:34:35.14
such as William
Tyndale and Martin Luther
00:34:35.17\00:34:37.91
to translate the Bible.
00:34:37.94\00:34:39.84
They saw it as vital
to get the word of God
00:34:39.87\00:34:42.21
into people's hands
and drive back the darkness
00:34:42.24\00:34:45.48
that had flooded
into Christianity
00:34:45.51\00:34:47.72
under the watch of a
church that had compromised.
00:34:47.75\00:34:51.49
The Reformers championed
the teaching of justification
00:34:51.52\00:34:54.59
by grace alone,
00:34:54.62\00:34:56.19
through faith
alone, in Christ alone.
00:34:56.22\00:34:59.36
But the church
made itself essential
00:34:59.39\00:35:01.83
in the plan of salvation,
00:35:01.86\00:35:03.67
declaring that the
sacraments were channels
00:35:03.70\00:35:06.84
of the grace of God.
00:35:06.87\00:35:08.60
That idea was
unbiblical in Jesus' day,
00:35:08.64\00:35:10.87
unbiblical in
the Reformers' day,
00:35:10.91\00:35:13.64
and it's unbiblical today.
00:35:13.68\00:35:15.64
The idea that human
beings should confess their sins
00:35:15.68\00:35:18.51
to another human being
and receive forgiveness
00:35:18.55\00:35:20.78
from that human being,
00:35:20.82\00:35:21.82
or even from God
through that human being,
00:35:21.85\00:35:25.29
is the sort of
idea that the Reformers
00:35:25.32\00:35:26.76
fought against strenuously,
00:35:26.79\00:35:28.79
and something that the Counter
Reformation fought to defend.
00:35:28.82\00:35:33.23
Martin Luther, while
he was still a priest,
00:35:33.26\00:35:35.73
was scandalized by the way
the church sold indulgences.
00:35:35.76\00:35:40.24
Essentially, pardon for
sin was bought and sold.
00:35:40.27\00:35:46.07
Sacramentalism was
denounced as being unbiblical.
00:35:46.11\00:35:49.14
The same for
transubstantiation and celibacy,
00:35:49.18\00:35:52.61
and the papacy itself.
00:35:52.65\00:35:54.68
The abuses carried
out by church leaders
00:35:54.72\00:35:56.48
couldn't be
tolerated any longer,
00:35:56.52\00:35:58.75
and the Reformers
stood up to say so,
00:35:58.79\00:36:01.62
often paying with their lives.
00:36:01.66\00:36:04.63
So two things are clear.
00:36:04.66\00:36:06.06
Number one, the
Reformation brought
00:36:06.09\00:36:07.96
about a lot of
much-needed change.
00:36:08.00\00:36:10.60
And number two,
00:36:10.63\00:36:12.10
500 years later it could be said
00:36:12.13\00:36:14.37
that the
Reformation didn't change much.
00:36:14.40\00:36:18.91
And that raises
a lot of questions.
00:36:18.94\00:36:22.28
¤[Theme music]¤
00:36:22.31\00:36:27.58
>>John: What is
the mark of the beast?
00:36:27.92\00:36:32.92
One of the most serious warning
messages in all of the Bible
00:36:32.95\00:36:35.52
centers around
the mark of the beast.
00:36:35.56\00:36:37.43
And you can understand
what it is from the Bible.
00:36:37.46\00:36:41.50
I'd like to send
you today's free offer.
00:36:41.53\00:36:43.30
It's called “The
Mark of the Beast.”
00:36:43.33\00:36:45.33
Call us on 800-253-3000,
00:36:45.37\00:36:48.50
or visit us online
at itiswritten.com.
00:36:48.54\00:36:52.27
Or you can write to
the address on your screen.
00:36:52.31\00:36:54.81
I'd like you to
receive our free offer,
00:36:54.84\00:36:57.05
“The Mark of the Beast.”
00:36:57.08\00:36:59.61
Thank you for
remembering that It Is Written
00:36:59.65\00:37:01.85
exists due to
the gracious support
00:37:01.88\00:37:04.22
of people like you.
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It's your support that enables
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It Is Written to share Jesus
00:37:07.42\00:37:09.12
and the great hope of
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00:37:09.16\00:37:11.29
You can send your
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Our number is 800-253-3000,
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and our web
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00:37:26.04\00:37:29.48
>>John: Welcome back to 500.
00:37:30.58\00:37:31.71
I'm John Bradshaw
from It Is Written,
00:37:31.75\00:37:33.78
and my guest is
Dr. Gerard Damsteegt,
00:37:33.82\00:37:37.19
recently retired
professor of church history
00:37:37.22\00:37:39.19
from Andrews University
in Berrien Springs, Michigan.
00:37:39.22\00:37:42.82
Dr. Damsteegt, again,
thanks for joining me.
00:37:42.86\00:37:44.93
Walk me through the
Counter Reformation.
00:37:44.96\00:37:46.86
What was it?
00:37:46.90\00:37:48.70
>>Dr. Damsteegt:
The Counter Reformation
00:37:48.73\00:37:49.96
was simply the response of the
church against what they saw,
00:37:50.00\00:37:54.94
an uprising, kind of a
revolt that should be put out.
00:37:54.97\00:37:59.61
>>John: A
natural enough response.
00:37:59.64\00:38:01.11
Their authority
was being threatened.
00:38:01.14\00:38:02.58
They had to respond somehow.
00:38:02.61\00:38:04.51
The Counter Reformation
was their method of doing so.
00:38:04.55\00:38:06.61
What did the
Counter Reformation involve?
00:38:06.65\00:38:08.75
What'd they do?
00:38:08.78\00:38:10.49
>>Dr. Damsteegt: What they
did is analyzing the arguments
00:38:10.52\00:38:14.29
that were presented
by Luther and others,
00:38:14.32\00:38:17.43
and trying to counteract it.
00:38:17.46\00:38:20.50
Now, initially
it was discussions,
00:38:20.53\00:38:23.70
Luther was summoned,
00:38:23.73\00:38:25.40
and he had simply to recant.
00:38:25.43\00:38:27.70
Now, Luther didn't like
that because he went to Worms
00:38:27.74\00:38:32.44
for a discussion on those
things, and that didn't happen.
00:38:32.47\00:38:36.78
And so time again, time
again, they were challenged.
00:38:36.81\00:38:40.35
The church was one church, and
there is no split whatsoever.
00:38:40.38\00:38:46.02
And the church
wanted to preserve this,
00:38:46.05\00:38:48.39
and they thought the
greatest sin in the world
00:38:48.42\00:38:51.63
would be to ruin
the unity of the church.
00:38:51.66\00:38:55.33
And so that is what their
attempt was, how to do this.
00:38:55.36\00:38:58.60
The priests tried to do it,
00:38:58.63\00:39:00.10
the theologians tried to do it,
00:39:00.14\00:39:02.47
and finally you get
the Council of Trent
00:39:02.50\00:39:05.11
that tried to analyze all
the arguments of the Reformers
00:39:05.14\00:39:09.88
and the
Lutherans, and pronounce,
00:39:09.91\00:39:13.01
were they okay or not?
00:39:13.05\00:39:15.65
And the result of
this series of, of studies
00:39:15.68\00:39:21.19
was that every teaching of
the Reformers were anathema:
00:39:21.22\00:39:26.59
cursed, cursed, cursed.
00:39:26.63\00:39:28.96
Not one element
was, uh, adopted.
00:39:29.00\00:39:32.50
>>John: I want to come
back to that in just a moment.
00:39:32.53\00:39:34.14
My first question, though,
is, during the Council of Trent,
00:39:34.17\00:39:37.37
did the church make
any concessions at all?
00:39:37.41\00:39:41.81
>>Dr.
Damsteegt: They said, okay,
00:39:41.84\00:39:42.78
we are going to
tackle this, and whatever.
00:39:42.81\00:39:45.18
Yes, we need to have reform.
00:39:45.21\00:39:47.95
Uh, the [indiscernible].
00:39:47.98\00:39:49.98
But none of the
teachings of the Catholic church
00:39:50.02\00:39:53.05
was at all changed.
00:39:53.09\00:39:54.29
>>John: So they told
some of their priests
00:39:54.32\00:39:55.76
to clean up their behavior.
00:39:55.79\00:39:57.26
They, they
suggested that some people
00:39:57.29\00:39:59.06
might want to act differently.
00:39:59.09\00:40:00.96
But theologically, the church
said nothing would change.
00:40:01.00\00:40:05.60
>>Dr. Damsteegt: Absolutely so.
00:40:05.63\00:40:06.97
Nothing was going to be changed.
00:40:07.00\00:40:08.60
>>John: Now, when they said
the teachings of the Reformers
00:40:08.64\00:40:10.67
were anathema,
let's consider together
00:40:10.71\00:40:13.71
what that actually means.
00:40:13.74\00:40:15.21
Cursed be the
idea of sola scripture.
00:40:15.24\00:40:20.65
>>Dr. Damsteegt: Correct.
00:40:20.68\00:40:21.68
Cursed is the
idea by faith alone.
00:40:21.72\00:40:25.12
>>John: Cursed.
00:40:25.15\00:40:26.22
>>Dr. Damsteegt: Cursed
is the idea by grace alone.
00:40:26.25\00:40:31.39
It is a
cooperation of works and faith.
00:40:31.43\00:40:38.47
They are
recognized a, uh, together,
00:40:38.50\00:40:40.60
but the Reformer said, no,
00:40:40.64\00:40:42.04
salvation
depends only on Christ.
00:40:42.07\00:40:45.61
It's faith in Him, and
not to do anything with works.
00:40:45.64\00:40:51.75
Yes, works are the result,
00:40:51.78\00:40:55.65
but works are not contributing
in any way or form to salvation.
00:40:55.68\00:41:03.69
>>John: The church was
really caught, wasn't it?
00:41:03.73\00:41:06.49
Because the
church couldn't concede.
00:41:06.53\00:41:08.46
What position could
the church really give up?
00:41:08.50\00:41:12.20
There was no
middle ground, was there?
00:41:12.23\00:41:13.94
There was, there could
not be a meeting of minds
00:41:13.97\00:41:16.44
with the
Protestants, a meeting halfway.
00:41:16.47\00:41:18.54
Because, as you've just
said, if they gave a little,
00:41:18.57\00:41:21.61
they'd have to give all.
00:41:21.64\00:41:22.91
Which teaching they've declared
to be true could they possibly
00:41:22.94\00:41:27.38
surrender to the Protestants?
00:41:27.42\00:41:29.58
There was no way
this could probably,
00:41:29.62\00:41:31.12
there was no way
this could possibly end
00:41:31.15\00:41:33.25
somewhere in the middle.
00:41:33.29\00:41:34.12
There was no
negotiating, was there?
00:41:34.16\00:41:35.76
>>Dr. Damsteegt: No. And
so they had to find a way
00:41:35.79\00:41:39.33
to debunk the
arguments of the Protestants.
00:41:39.36\00:41:43.50
And one of the key
elements that the Reformers used
00:41:43.53\00:41:48.27
was the prophetic word.
00:41:48.30\00:41:50.67
The prophetic word that
clearly shows that the pope
00:41:50.71\00:41:54.54
is the predicted antichrist.
00:41:54.58\00:41:57.88
>>John: So
biblically it measured up.
00:41:57.91\00:42:00.55
I, I think it's
important to establish this,
00:42:00.58\00:42:02.42
because I don't want
anybody thinking that this
00:42:02.45\00:42:04.95
might have been the
scholarship of one scholar
00:42:04.99\00:42:10.69
off in left field
doing his own thing.
00:42:10.73\00:42:13.03
This, this was
a well-researched,
00:42:13.06\00:42:15.36
well-agreed-upon principle
or, or prophetic interpretation,
00:42:15.40\00:42:20.74
that Protestantism as a
whole had its arms around.
00:42:20.77\00:42:23.97
>>Dr. Damsteegt: And it
is interesting that this
00:42:24.01\00:42:25.27
interpretation as the
pape, the pope or the papacy
00:42:25.31\00:42:29.01
as the little horn was
developed by the Archbishop
00:42:29.04\00:42:32.75
of Salzburg in the 13th century,
00:42:32.78\00:42:36.42
in which the character
of the pope and the papacy
00:42:36.45\00:42:40.06
was such that it
exactly fitted the little horn.
00:42:40.09\00:42:45.19
>>John: So it became
very, very clear as scholars,
00:42:45.23\00:42:48.86
Bible students from
whatever background,
00:42:48.90\00:42:51.30
studied the Word of God,
00:42:51.33\00:42:53.97
the Roman church,
00:42:54.00\00:42:54.70
the papacy,
00:42:54.74\00:42:55.84
was implicated in Revelation,
chapter 13, Daniel 7,
00:42:55.87\00:42:59.11
II Thessalonians
and other places.
00:42:59.14\00:43:01.54
Rome is looking
at this and saying,
00:43:01.58\00:43:03.75
“It all points to us.”
00:43:03.78\00:43:06.31
They had to do something
about it. What did they do?
00:43:06.35\00:43:09.92
>>Dr. Damsteegt: Simply to
debunk the whole interpretation.
00:43:09.95\00:43:12.35
>>John: How do you debunk
an interpretation like that?
00:43:12.39\00:43:14.49
>>Dr. Damsteegt: The
key is exactly what you see
00:43:14.52\00:43:16.99
happened today as a result
of the Counter Reformation.
00:43:17.03\00:43:20.06
The Counter Reformation was,
00:43:20.10\00:43:21.66
uh, trying to eliminate
all the blame in prophecy
00:43:21.70\00:43:28.54
from the shoulders of the pope.
00:43:28.57\00:43:31.14
And so they said, ah,
what did the early Christians,
00:43:31.17\00:43:34.68
because the early Christians
were the closest to the truth,
00:43:34.71\00:43:37.38
what did they believe?
00:43:37.41\00:43:39.41
They didn't
believe in a yeah-day,
00:43:39.45\00:43:41.02
year-day principle.
00:43:41.05\00:43:42.82
They believed in a literal time.
00:43:42.85\00:43:45.42
Did any of the early Christians
believe in literal time
00:43:45.45\00:43:47.99
in regard to the little horn?
00:43:48.02\00:43:49.36
No. It was a Jew,
really in Palestine,
00:43:49.39\00:43:54.50
rebuilding the
temple, do all those things.
00:43:54.56\00:43:57.33
So that is the antichrist.
00:43:57.37\00:44:00.64
Have they seen the antichrist?
00:44:00.67\00:44:01.97
No. No.
00:44:02.00\00:44:03.57
The 3 and a half years
have not yet been fulfilled.
00:44:03.61\00:44:06.61
And so they clearly debunked
00:44:06.64\00:44:09.54
the year-day principle
and said it didn't exist.
00:44:09.58\00:44:11.98
>>John: It's very interesting,
00:44:12.01\00:44:13.08
because when we
get down to today,
00:44:13.11\00:44:15.35
these ideas that were
used historically to debunk
00:44:15.38\00:44:19.55
solid interpretations of
Bible prophecy have taken hold,
00:44:19.59\00:44:24.26
and they're the prevalent
ideas in Christianity today.
00:44:24.29\00:44:26.96
We're going to
explore that in just a moment.
00:44:27.00\00:44:29.63
We're going, also, to look at
the scholarship of two Jesuits
00:44:29.66\00:44:33.44
who turned out to be
very, very influential:
00:44:33.47\00:44:35.74
Ignatius of Loyola's
name will appear again,
00:44:35.77\00:44:39.07
and we'll trace the work
of the Counter Reformation
00:44:39.11\00:44:41.01
through and see how it
plays out in this, our day.
00:44:41.04\00:44:43.78
We'll be back
with more from “500”
00:44:43.81\00:44:45.98
in just a moment.
00:44:46.01\00:44:47.28
¤[Theme music]¤
00:44:47.32\00:44:52.79
>>John: I'm John
Bradshaw from It Is Written,
00:44:54.22\00:44:56.49
inviting you to
join me for “500,”
00:44:56.52\00:45:00.26
nine programs
produced by It Is Written
00:45:00.30\00:45:02.50
taking you deep
into the Reformation.
00:45:02.53\00:45:05.73
This is the 500th anniversary
00:45:05.77\00:45:08.17
of the beginning
of the Reformation,
00:45:08.20\00:45:09.90
when Martin Luther
nailed his 95 theses to the door
00:45:09.94\00:45:12.81
of the Castle church
in Wittenberg, Germany.
00:45:12.84\00:45:15.28
We'll take you to
Wittenberg, and to Belgium,
00:45:15.31\00:45:17.48
to England,
00:45:17.51\00:45:18.31
to Ireland,
00:45:18.35\00:45:19.88
to Rome,
00:45:19.91\00:45:20.72
to the Vatican City,
00:45:20.75\00:45:21.95
and introduce you to the people
who created the Reformation,
00:45:21.98\00:45:24.95
who pushed the
Reformation forward.
00:45:24.99\00:45:26.89
We'll take you to
sites all throughout Europe
00:45:26.92\00:45:28.86
where the reformers
lived and, in some cases, died.
00:45:28.89\00:45:31.69
We'll bring you
back to the United States
00:45:31.73\00:45:33.36
and take you to a little
farm in upstate New York,
00:45:33.40\00:45:36.33
and show you how God
spread the Reformation here.
00:45:36.36\00:45:39.27
Don't miss 500.
00:45:39.30\00:45:41.37
You can own the
500 series on DVD.
00:45:41.40\00:45:44.37
Call us on 888-664-5573,
00:45:44.41\00:45:49.08
or visit us online
at itiswritten.shop.
00:45:49.11\00:45:53.95
>>John: Welcome back to
“500.” I'm John Bradshaw.
00:45:55.08\00:45:57.32
With me is Dr. Gerard Damsteegt,
00:45:57.35\00:45:59.69
retired
professor of church history
00:45:59.72\00:46:01.46
from Andrews University.
00:46:01.49\00:46:03.43
Dr. Damsteegt, a
moment ago we were discussing
00:46:03.46\00:46:05.46
the Counter Reformation
and how the Reformers
00:46:05.49\00:46:10.27
had really
implicated the Vatican,
00:46:10.30\00:46:13.30
the popes of Rome,
00:46:13.34\00:46:14.97
by pointing out their
place in Bible prophecy.
00:46:15.00\00:46:19.01
So walk me through that,
00:46:19.04\00:46:21.38
some of the theories
that emerged from out
00:46:21.41\00:46:23.85
of the Counter Reformation.
00:46:23.88\00:46:24.95
To kind of take the
heat off the Church of Rome?
00:46:24.98\00:46:28.88
>>Dr. Damsteegt: First of
all, let us understand what
00:46:28.92\00:46:31.65
the key element for
the power of prophecy
00:46:31.69\00:46:34.72
among the Reformers was.
00:46:34.76\00:46:36.62
Take, for
example, Daniel, Daniel 7.
00:46:36.66\00:46:39.43
You have there Babylon,
00:46:39.46\00:46:40.76
Medo-Persia,
00:46:40.80\00:46:41.40
Greece,
00:46:41.43\00:46:42.10
and the Roman Empire.
00:46:42.13\00:46:44.80
Out of the Roman Empire you
get, then, ten horns coming up.
00:46:44.83\00:46:50.74
Then, another little horn
comes up, takes away three.
00:46:50.77\00:46:55.41
Will persecute God's people,
00:46:55.44\00:46:57.41
will change the
times and the law,
00:46:57.45\00:46:59.31
and all of those things.
00:46:59.35\00:47:00.88
Now, what
happened then in history,
00:47:00.92\00:47:02.65
and that was discovered by
the Archbishop of Salzburg,
00:47:02.68\00:47:07.66
Eberhard the Second,
00:47:07.69\00:47:09.29
is that after the
fall of the Roman Empire,
00:47:09.32\00:47:13.56
it was divided
into ten kingdoms.
00:47:13.60\00:47:16.70
Then, three of them disappears.
00:47:16.73\00:47:20.54
Why did they disappear?
00:47:20.57\00:47:22.37
Because of the activity of
the religious-political power
00:47:22.40\00:47:28.58
of the papacy.
00:47:28.61\00:47:31.31
Then, when the
three were eliminated,
00:47:31.35\00:47:35.08
the papacy is full swing.
00:47:35.12\00:47:36.75
>>John: There's persecution.
00:47:36.79\00:47:37.95
>>Dr. Damsteegt: Persecution.
00:47:37.99\00:47:39.42
And then persecuted
started against God's people,
00:47:39.45\00:47:43.39
against those who did not
accept the [indiscernible],
00:47:43.43\00:47:46.76
the power, and the
influence of the papacy.
00:47:46.80\00:47:50.90
And so this little
horn, it says its different,
00:47:50.93\00:47:55.60
because it's not political only.
00:47:55.64\00:47:58.21
It is a
religious political power.
00:47:58.24\00:48:01.38
It comes up among the ten horns,
00:48:01.41\00:48:05.11
which clearly shows in history
it came among the ten horns.
00:48:05.15\00:48:08.75
>>John: Western Europe.
00:48:08.78\00:48:09.75
>>Dr. Damsteegt: Western Europe.
00:48:09.78\00:48:10.79
Then it takes away three powers,
00:48:10.82\00:48:13.12
that are the Heruli, the
Ostrogoths, and the Vandals.
00:48:13.15\00:48:18.43
Then what happened is clearly,
00:48:18.46\00:48:23.90
it persecutes God's people,
and then it attacks God's law.
00:48:23.93\00:48:31.34
Very interesting
what we see here.
00:48:31.37\00:48:33.21
The Reformers
didn't clearly see it,
00:48:33.24\00:48:35.18
except in certain sec,
00:48:35.21\00:48:36.78
certain
sections of the Reformers
00:48:36.81\00:48:38.11
that were the Anabaptists.
00:48:38.15\00:48:39.75
They discovered in
a very interesting way
00:48:39.78\00:48:42.48
that Catholicism had
also changed God's law.
00:48:42.52\00:48:48.96
In the catechism, the
second commandment is removed.
00:48:48.99\00:48:53.50
It worships images.
00:48:53.53\00:48:56.46
And also,the fourth commandment,
in regard to the Sabbath,
00:48:56.50\00:49:02.64
it is changed into Sunday.
00:49:02.67\00:49:04.81
>>John: Um-hmm.
00:49:04.84\00:49:06.31
>>Dr. Damsteegt: This was
also believed by some Reformers.
00:49:06.34\00:49:09.68
And so it would go
for 1,260 days, 42 months,
00:49:09.71\00:49:15.85
three and a half years.
00:49:15.88\00:49:16.55
>>John: Which is 1,260 years.
00:49:16.58\00:49:18.72
>>Dr. Damsteegt: Years,
according to the year-day
00:49:18.75\00:49:19.52
principle that
was invented again
00:49:19.55\00:49:22.32
by the Catholics themselves.
00:49:22.36\00:49:25.76
And so they came to the
conclusion that there was
00:49:25.79\00:49:27.86
a period of 1,260 years starting
in the reign of Justinian
00:49:27.86\00:49:33.84
‘til the French Revolution.
00:49:33.87\00:49:34.94
And in the French Revolution,
00:49:34.97\00:49:36.47
the papacy was going
to cut the deadly wounds.
00:49:36.50\00:49:40.21
And what happened is,
that at the beginning,
00:49:40.24\00:49:43.35
in the reign of Justinian,
00:49:43.38\00:49:44.88
the pope gets all the power
over all the bishops and priests
00:49:44.91\00:49:49.75
of the whole of Christianity,
00:49:49.78\00:49:51.42
both in the
east and in the west.
00:49:51.45\00:49:53.89
And then what
happened further is that
00:49:53.92\00:49:56.73
at the end of the 1,260 years,
00:49:56.76\00:49:58.83
which fell during
the French Revolution,
00:49:58.86\00:50:01.63
the papacy was taken captive
and the power of the papacy,
00:50:01.66\00:50:06.77
the political
power, was abolished by the
00:50:06.80\00:50:09.94
French revolution
by General Berthier,
00:50:09.97\00:50:13.44
who was sent by Napoleon
to eliminate the papacy.
00:50:13.48\00:50:16.98
>>John: So all of this is
very much anchored in history.
00:50:17.01\00:50:19.88
The Bible speaks to it.
00:50:19.91\00:50:21.98
You look over
history, you see it.
00:50:22.02\00:50:24.29
Look at it academically
or theologically; it's there.
00:50:24.32\00:50:27.46
Rome says, “We've got
to get the heat off us.”
00:50:27.49\00:50:30.56
And so they
introduced into Christianity
00:50:30.59\00:50:32.33
some new ways of
interpreting those prophecies.
00:50:32.36\00:50:36.56
What were those new ways?
00:50:36.60\00:50:38.87
>>Dr. Damsteegt: Now,
the newer ways were simply
00:50:38.90\00:50:40.97
also the old ways,
00:50:41.00\00:50:42.00
because they said,
hey, this idea of the,
00:50:42.04\00:50:45.01
of year-day
principle that, that one year,
00:50:45.04\00:50:48.18
one day in prophecy is
actually a year, is much later.
00:50:48.21\00:50:52.65
But, you know, it
took time for the,
00:50:52.68\00:50:55.08
for the little horn
to develop its character.
00:50:55.12\00:50:58.65
Much later.
00:50:58.69\00:51:00.09
And so they said,
you have to go back.
00:51:00.12\00:51:02.19
And what did the
early Christians do?
00:51:02.22\00:51:04.76
And they found two views
among the early Christians.
00:51:04.79\00:51:07.86
One view was that the
little horn was literal days.
00:51:07.86\00:51:14.60
Years was in the future.
00:51:14.64\00:51:16.81
And so they projected the
little horn into the future.
00:51:16.84\00:51:21.98
As a result, they said,
“We haven't yet seen it.”
00:51:22.01\00:51:27.42
What happened is, in
regard to the little horn,
00:51:27.45\00:51:30.65
it has not been here.
00:51:30.69\00:51:33.25
It will come one day.
00:51:33.29\00:51:35.02
They said yes,
but Rome has fallen.
00:51:35.06\00:51:37.56
They said, “No,
Rome has not fallen.”
00:51:37.59\00:51:39.89
Look at the image.
00:51:39.93\00:51:41.16
The image has two legs.
00:51:41.20\00:51:43.20
When western Rome fell,
00:51:43.23\00:51:47.14
it had still the
leg of the eastern Rome.
00:51:47.17\00:51:50.04
And then finally the
Turks defeated eastern Rome.
00:51:50.07\00:51:53.01
Western Rome had,
was restored again,
00:51:53.04\00:51:58.31
and was again.
00:51:58.35\00:51:59.25
So Rome has never
completely fallen.
00:51:59.28\00:52:03.79
And so we are still
to look at the future
00:52:03.82\00:52:06.35
before we see the antichrist.
00:52:06.39\00:52:07.92
And still today most
Catholics look in the future
00:52:07.96\00:52:12.29
and wait until the
appearance of this.
00:52:12.33\00:52:14.83
>>John: Yeah, what's interesting
about that is the vast majority
00:52:14.83\00:52:18.43
of other Christians,
00:52:18.47\00:52:19.70
Protestants, for the
want of a better term,
00:52:19.73\00:52:22.24
uh, approach Bible
prophecy in the same way.
00:52:22.27\00:52:26.54
Antichrist has not come;
00:52:26.57\00:52:28.21
little horn, we
don't know who it is;
00:52:28.24\00:52:30.31
it's going to take place
sometime in the distant future.
00:52:30.35\00:52:34.12
Which demonstrates
to us that this theory,
00:52:34.15\00:52:36.35
which was hatched
during the Counter Reformation,
00:52:36.38\00:52:39.89
has been enormously successful.
00:52:39.92\00:52:41.79
Who would have thought that a
church that was under the gun,
00:52:41.82\00:52:45.99
under the
spotlight of, well, intense,
00:52:46.03\00:52:50.63
let's call it criticism.
00:52:50.67\00:52:51.70
I think that's what it
was from the Reformers.
00:52:51.73\00:52:53.50
Who would have thought
they could have pulled off
00:52:53.54\00:52:54.94
such a deft maneuver
and put that attention onto,
00:52:54.97\00:53:00.08
not someone else, no one else.
00:53:00.11\00:53:03.04
Someone in the future
who has not yet arrived.
00:53:03.08\00:53:05.25
That's been
very, very effective.
00:53:05.28\00:53:07.18
Even the majority of
Protestant scholars today
00:53:07.22\00:53:10.45
believe that
theory an invention.
00:53:10.49\00:53:12.82
Clear, isn't it?
00:53:12.85\00:53:14.19
>>Dr. Damsteegt: The Counter
Reformation interpretation
00:53:14.22\00:53:16.96
was a response to the
Protestant Reformation
00:53:16.99\00:53:21.56
interpretation of
Daniel and Revelation.
00:53:21.60\00:53:24.33
And the goal was to
eliminate any shadow of a doubt
00:53:24.37\00:53:28.24
that the pope has
anything to do with prophecy.
00:53:28.27\00:53:31.51
>>John: So we have this
system of interpretation
00:53:31.54\00:53:33.91
which has become
known today as futurism.
00:53:33.94\00:53:37.15
It was invented
by a Jesuit scholar,
00:53:37.18\00:53:39.81
which is no surprise.
00:53:39.85\00:53:40.78
But another Jesuit,
a fellow named Alcazar,
00:53:40.82\00:53:44.72
in distinction to Ribera,
00:53:44.75\00:53:46.02
he interpreted these
prophecies another way.
00:53:46.05\00:53:48.39
Tell me about preterism.
00:53:48.42\00:53:50.13
>>Dr. Damsteegt:
Preterism considers it as being
00:53:50.16\00:53:53.46
done in the past.
00:53:53.50\00:53:54.66
>>John: Pre-viously.
00:53:54.73\00:53:55.93
>>Dr. Damsteegt: So in
other words the little horn,
00:53:55.96\00:53:57.70
the beast,
00:53:57.73\00:53:59.30
the antichrist,
00:53:59.33\00:54:00.87
was already in the past.
00:54:00.90\00:54:02.67
How did they do it?
00:54:02.70\00:54:04.44
Completely eliminated
the year-day principle.
00:54:04.47\00:54:07.38
It didn't exist.
00:54:07.41\00:54:08.81
And looking at
powers in the past.
00:54:08.84\00:54:11.05
So, for example, in
the power in the past,
00:54:11.08\00:54:13.48
who were very anti-Christian?
00:54:13.52\00:54:14.88
Nero, for example.
00:54:14.92\00:54:16.85
So Nero become
then the evil person.
00:54:16.89\00:54:20.66
Little horn.
00:54:20.69\00:54:22.16
The beast, and whatever.
00:54:22.19\00:54:24.66
Or, in Antiochus Epiphanes.
00:54:24.69\00:54:26.43
That was another one.
00:54:26.46\00:54:27.73
So in the book of
Revelation you get a
00:54:27.76\00:54:29.86
Roman Emperor as the villain.
00:54:29.90\00:54:32.27
In the Old Testament, the
little horn is in Antiochus,
00:54:32.30\00:54:35.64
as the villain against
God's people in the Jews.
00:54:35.67\00:54:39.47
And then, of course, the
other one is, in the futurism,
00:54:39.51\00:54:42.38
it has not been take place,
00:54:42.41\00:54:43.75
and so we still have to
wait for an unfaithful Jew
00:54:43.78\00:54:47.95
that attacks Christianity
and that really demolishes
00:54:47.98\00:54:52.82
much of Christianity.
00:54:52.85\00:54:54.09
>>John: So how successful has
the Counter Reformation been?
00:54:54.12\00:54:57.76
And how do we see
that manifested today?
00:54:57.79\00:55:00.50
>>Dr. Damsteegt: Initially
they didn't have much success
00:55:00.53\00:55:02.73
because of the
powerful instruments of prophecy
00:55:02.76\00:55:05.63
that protected the
Protestants to succumb to it.
00:55:05.67\00:55:08.77
But later on, when
higher criticism came up,
00:55:08.80\00:55:12.24
historical criticism, and
the faith in the biblical record
00:55:12.27\00:55:16.04
was undermined, and
in the prophecies also,
00:55:16.08\00:55:19.25
and the year-day
principle was given up.
00:55:19.28\00:55:22.12
As a result of
that, these changes,
00:55:22.15\00:55:25.95
the vision of Protestantism in
regard to the prophetic mission
00:55:25.99\00:55:30.63
of the church disappears.
00:55:30.66\00:55:33.19
And then what did they have?
00:55:33.23\00:55:36.30
They looked and
became the victim
00:55:36.33\00:55:38.83
of the Counter Reformation.
00:55:38.87\00:55:40.37
They accepted
futurism or preterism.
00:55:40.40\00:55:44.21
But historicism, the
Protestant view of historicism,
00:55:44.24\00:55:49.01
just disappeared.
00:55:49.04\00:55:51.31
And as a result,
00:55:51.35\00:55:53.52
they became victim, the
Protestant world became victim
00:55:53.55\00:55:57.19
of the Counter Reformation.
00:55:57.22\00:56:01.29
And today you see that, you see,
00:56:01.32\00:56:03.79
Catholicism has a vision,
00:56:03.83\00:56:06.23
to conquer the world for
Christ, through the church.
00:56:06.26\00:56:10.27
Protestantism
has lost its vision.
00:56:10.30\00:56:12.73
They don't have the
prophetic vision anymore.
00:56:12.77\00:56:14.97
They don't see the
danger in Catholicism.
00:56:15.00\00:56:17.84
And as a result,
they succumb to this.
00:56:17.87\00:56:21.48
And that's very, very, very sad.
00:56:21.51\00:56:23.04
The only way that
Protestantism can recoup itself
00:56:23.08\00:56:26.88
is recapture the vision,
00:56:26.92\00:56:30.42
the prophetic vision that Christ
gave in the book of Revelation,
00:56:30.45\00:56:35.32
and that Daniel gave
in the book of Daniel.
00:56:35.36\00:56:38.69
This is the only
protection against the onslaught
00:56:38.73\00:56:43.10
of the Counter Reformation.
00:56:43.13\00:56:44.70
>>John: It's very clear
00:56:44.73\00:56:47.57
that there is a
spiritual battle going on.
00:56:47.60\00:56:50.37
The world was
dragged into darkness.
00:56:50.41\00:56:52.11
The Protestant
Reformation shown a light.
00:56:52.14\00:56:54.98
As bright as that light became,
00:56:55.01\00:56:57.61
along came the
Counter Reformation
00:56:57.65\00:56:59.15
and obscured
that light eventually.
00:56:59.18\00:57:02.18
Which means that this
business of liberating
00:57:02.22\00:57:06.65
the truth in the
world or in our hearts,
00:57:06.69\00:57:09.22
there's a real strong spiritual
war taking place as we sit here,
00:57:09.26\00:57:13.70
trying to stop
that from happening.
00:57:13.73\00:57:15.33
What do we do to
keep the Word of God
00:57:15.36\00:57:18.50
burning in us so that we remain
faithful to the vision God
00:57:18.53\00:57:22.80
has for us in His Word?
00:57:22.84\00:57:24.11
What do we do?
00:57:24.14\00:57:25.57
>>Dr. Damsteegt: Go back to
the Bible and the Bible only,
00:57:25.61\00:57:28.24
and recapture the
experience of the Protestants.
00:57:28.28\00:57:31.45
Because the Protestant
Reformation was founded
00:57:31.48\00:57:34.15
on the personal
relationship with Jesus Christ,
00:57:34.18\00:57:36.65
salvation
through the Scriptures,
00:57:36.69\00:57:38.55
and at the same
time, the prophetic word.
00:57:38.59\00:57:41.56
And Protestantism today
has lost its prophetic vision,
00:57:41.59\00:57:45.63
which means they
don't know what is going on
00:57:45.66\00:57:47.46
in the great controversy
between good and evil.
00:57:47.50\00:57:50.80
And they become
victim to the new approaches
00:57:50.83\00:57:54.24
that Catholicism has, without
changing one jot or tittle,
00:57:54.27\00:57:59.11
title, of the overall vision.
00:57:59.14\00:58:02.14
>>John: Dr. Damsteegt,
thanks so much for joining me.
00:58:02.18\00:58:04.61
I appreciate it greatly.
00:58:04.65\00:58:05.81
Our next program in “500,”
00:58:05.85\00:58:09.75
“A Wall of Separation.”
00:58:09.78\00:58:11.45
What would happen next?
00:58:11.49\00:58:12.59
The Counter Reformation
came against the Reformation,
00:58:12.62\00:58:15.02
but God's truth would win out.
00:58:15.06\00:58:18.43
You'll find out how in
our next program of “500.”
00:58:18.46\00:58:22.00
Let's pray together now.
00:58:22.03\00:58:23.43
Our Father in Heaven,
00:58:23.47\00:58:25.93
how thankful we are for Jesus,
00:58:25.97\00:58:27.67
for grace,
00:58:27.70\00:58:29.60
for Your prophetic word.
00:58:29.64\00:58:31.67
How thankful we are for truth,
00:58:31.71\00:58:34.24
that You are a God of love
00:58:34.28\00:58:35.44
and Your spirit has
been sent to guide us.
00:58:35.48\00:58:37.91
Lord, what are we?
00:58:37.95\00:58:39.48
Human beings weakened by sin,
00:58:39.51\00:58:41.52
weak through our own failure
to surrender our lives to You.
00:58:41.55\00:58:46.92
Lord, as the God of our lives,
00:58:46.96\00:58:48.42
let Jesus be a,
a present Savior.
00:58:48.46\00:58:51.36
Fill us with Your Holy Spirit.
00:58:51.39\00:58:53.16
Guide us in Your way.
00:58:53.19\00:58:55.13
And grant that we may recapture
the vision the Protestants
00:58:55.16\00:58:58.77
of old had of
faithfulness to Your Word
00:58:58.80\00:59:02.87
and oneness with You.
00:59:02.90\00:59:05.57
We thank You, and
we pray in Jesus' name,
00:59:05.61\00:59:09.34
Amen.
00:59:09.38\00:59:11.08
Thanks so much for joining me.
00:59:11.11\00:59:12.41
Looking forward to seeing
you next time for more in “500.”
00:59:12.45\00:59:15.72
¤[Theme music]¤
00:59:15.75\00:59:16.55
Until then, remember:
00:59:16.58\00:59:17.79
"It Is Written, 'Man
shall not live by bread alone,
00:59:17.82\00:59:20.72
but by every word that proceeds
from the mouth of God.'"
00:59:20.76\00:59:25.43
¤[Music]¤
00:59:25.46\00:59:40.44