Participants: John Bradshaw
Series Code: IIWR
Program Code: IIWR000006A
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01:30 ♪[Theme music]♪
01:40 ♪[Theme music]♪ 01:49 >>John Bradshaw: This is It Is Written. 01:50 I'm John Bradshaw. 01:51 Welcome to “500,” our series of programs 01:55 on the Protestant Reformation, 01:56 which began October 31, 500 years ago, in the year 1517. 02:03 Tonight we'll look at the Counter Reformation. 02:07 As we do so, we'll travel to Spain, to northern Spain. 02:12 We'll travel to Rome and to the Vatican City. 02:15 And we'll study some interesting personalities, 02:19 including Ignatius of Loyola, 02:22 the man who founded the Society of Jesus, 02:25 better known to most of us today as the Jesuits. 02:29 After our program filmed on location, 02:32 I'll be back. 02:33 My special guest is Dr. Gerard Damsteegt, 02:36 retired professor of church history, 02:38 Andrews University, Berrien Springs, Michigan. 02:40 Dr. Damsteegt, thank you for joining me. 02:43 >>Dr. Damsteegt: It's a pleasure for me to be here. 02:44 >>John: Just very briefly, 02:45 how significant in the overall scheme of things 02:49 was the Counter Reformation? 02:51 >>Dr. Damsteegt: It was extremely significant 02:53 because most of the conquests made by the Reformers 02:58 were taken back as a result of the Counter Reformation. 03:01 >>John: I'm looking forward to talking more about that 03:03 in just a few moments. 03:04 Our next program will be “A Wall of Separation,” 03:07 in which our guest will be Lincoln Steed. 03:11 The Counter Reformation. 03:13 What an event. 03:14 What a process. 03:15 It took place over, well, we could say many, many years. 03:18 And to a certain extent, 03:20 you might claim that in some spheres it's going on today. 03:24 While much of Protestantism, in fact, 03:27 I'm going to say the vast majority of Protestantism, 03:30 has forgotten that there ever was a protest, 03:34 and is by no means carrying forward 03:36 the protest of Protestantism today. 03:40 Signs of the Counter Reformation are everywhere to behold. 03:46 If you take a journey to the city of Rome 03:48 and travel to a church called the Church of the Gesu, 03:52 not very far from the Vatican City, 03:55 a long stone throw from the Tiber River in Rome, 03:59 you discover some interesting architecture. 04:02 On the front, on the exterior wall of the Church of the Gesu, 04:06 to the left and to the right of the main door into the church, 04:09 are some fascinating statues. 04:12 The statues, one to the left, one to the right, 04:15 high and lifted up, 04:17 of Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Jesuits. 04:22 He's not only depicted in statue form, 04:25 but he's depicted as standing on a Protestant 04:29 who is stretched out or splayed out before him. 04:33 It's a very strong message, 04:35 indicating to the world the very clear intent 04:39 of the purpose of the Jesuits, or the Society of Jesus, 04:42 and the meaning of Ignatius' mission. 04:46 That was to crush Protestantism. 04:50 Go inside the church, and the statue you see 04:52 is even more interesting and more graphic. 04:55 It's an elaborate statue. 04:57 In fact, well, let me explain it to you. 05:00 There is a depiction of Mary. 05:02 Before her are two men falling away, 05:06 as though she is casting them down. 05:08 They are intended to depict Martin Luther and John Calvin. 05:14 To the right and down a little from the figure of Mary 05:19 is an angel, a cherub, you might say, 05:21 wearing a very determined look and tearing pages from a book. 05:26 Now, if you have very good eyesight, 05:29 or a good lens on your camera, 05:31 you'll see that on the spine of the book it says, 05:34 “Ulrich Zwingli.” 05:36 There are other books to be seen in the sculpture, 05:39 one authored by John Calvin, 05:43 the other by Martin Luther. 05:45 So what's taking place here? 05:47 Mary and her help has been invoked 05:51 in destroying Protestantism 05:53 and asserting Roman Catholicism. 05:56 Of course, if you're a Roman Catholic 05:58 and you believe that the Roman Catholic Church was, 06:01 uh, formed by God and is the true church, 06:03 then you would welcome this. 06:04 You would understand this, and you would see, 06:06 say, why should we not depict our mission as such? 06:10 We are just declaring to the world 06:12 that we are doing what God has asked us to do. 06:16 But what if you don't agree the Roman Catholic Church 06:20 is the true church? 06:20 What if, for some reason, 06:22 you don't believe it was on a divine mission from God 06:27 to spread Catholic truth throughout the world? 06:31 You're left with a fact, 06:32 and that is that Rome is asserting its right 06:35 to crush Protestantism and stamp out what it sees as heresy. 06:40 So if you're a non-Catholic, or if you're a Protestant, 06:46 right there in Rome, for all to see, 06:49 you're being given a very stern message, 06:53 and that message is, there is no place for you. 06:59 Interestingly, you enter the very magnificent 07:02 St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican City, 07:04 and not far in, on the left-hand side, 07:06 is a large statue or representation, again, 07:10 of Ignatius of Loyola. 07:12 He's holding in one arm 07:15 the Councils of the Society of Jesus, 07:18 or the spiritual exercises of Ignatius Loyola. 07:22 And before him, right there in the Vatican City, 07:25 right there in St. Peter's lies a Protestant; 07:29 Ignatius Loyola has his foot on that Protestant. 07:33 You cannot possibly miss the intent, 07:38 the meaning of a work like that. 07:41 The Counter Reformation was a very, very definite procedure. 07:45 It was Rome saying, 07:46 we'll do everything we can to get rid of Protestantism. 07:51 Think about what Protestantism sought to do: 07:53 to reintroduce to the world the Bible 07:56 as primary in Christianity, 07:59 a personal relationship with Jesus 08:01 as paramount in a person's Christian experience. 08:04 The Protestant Reformation sought to reassert in 08:09 Christianity, because it did exist already, 08:12 confession to God for sin rather than confession to a priest, 08:16 when Rome is saying, 08:17 “We want to obliterate that; 08:19 we want to counter that reformation.” 08:21 Rome is saying no to the Bible as primary 08:24 in the believer's experience. 08:25 Rome is saying no to a personal relationship with God 08:29 that does not go through a priest. 08:30 Rome is saying, 08:31 “No, you will not take away the sacraments. 08:34 You will not take away the role of the church.” 08:36 Rome is reasserting its dominance 08:38 and what it believes is its divine prerogative. 08:42 Now, this is just a matter of the historical record. 08:45 I'm not speaking to you in a critical fashion. 08:48 Again, if you were to believe that Rome 08:49 holds the primary place among Christians, 08:52 you would say this is appropriate. 08:53 This is good. 08:54 You would wish to see it encouraged. 08:56 But if, for some reason, 08:57 you don't believe that the Roman church 09:00 was raised up by God to do God's work, 09:04 you would see here that there is a church that must be somehow 09:08 confused about the message of the Bible, 09:11 and is on a mission, 09:13 but not a mission that has been given by God. 09:17 In just a moment, our program, “The Counter Reformation,” 09:21 filmed on location in Spain, in Rome, 09:25 and in the Vatican City. 09:26 We'll be right back. 09:27 Don't go away. 09:28 ♪[Theme music]♪ 09:36 What is the mark of the beast? 09:39 One of the most serious warning messages in all of the Bible 09:41 centers around the mark of the beast. 09:43 And you can understand what it is from the Bible. 09:47 I'd like to send you today's free offer. 09:49 Its called, "The Mark of the Beast." 09:51 Call us on, 800-253-3000. 09:54 Or visit us online at, itiswritten.com. 09:58 Or you can write to the address on your screen. 10:01 I'd like you to receive our free offer, 10:03 "The Mark of the Beast." 10:06 Thank you for remembering that It Is Written exists 10:09 due to the gracious support of people like you. 10:12 It's your support that enables It Is Written 10:14 to share Jesus and the the great hope of the Bible, 10:16 with the world. 10:18 You can send your tax-deductible gift 10:20 to the address on your screen, 10:22 or you can support It Is Written through our website, 10:24 itiswritten.com. 10:27 Thanks for your generous support. 10:28 Our number is 800-253-3000, 10:32 and our web address is itiswritten.com. 10:35 ♪[Music]♪ 10:38 >>Announcer: Planning for your financial future 10:39 is a vital aspect of Christian stewardship. 10:43 For this reason, It Is Written is pleased to offer 10:46 free planned giving and estate services. 10:49 For information on how we can help you, 10:51 please call 800-992-2219. 10:56 Call today, or visit our website, 10:58 HisLegacy.com. 11:01 Call 800-992-2219. 11:07 This is It Is Written. I'm John Bradshaw. 11:11 Thanks for joining me. 11:12 On September the 27th, 1540, Pope Paul III 11:16 sat in the apostolic palace in the Vatican City, 11:20 wondering if things could possibly get worse, 11:23 for him and for his church. 11:25 He realized that the Vatican City 11:27 had a lot of ground to make up. 11:29 It had been 23 years since Martin Luther 11:32 had nailed his 95 theses to the door of the Castle Church 11:36 in Wittenberg, Germany, 11:38 and since that time whole countries 11:40 had broken free from Rome's control. 11:43 Parts of Germany and Scandinavia, 11:46 England, the Netherlands, Switzerland, 11:49 they all seceded from Rome. 11:52 Luther's writings and the writings of other Reformers 11:55 had spread across Europe. 11:58 People were experiencing liberation. 12:02 Long before Luther, 12:03 there were reform movements within Catholicism. 12:06 Peter Waldo pressed for reform within the church 12:09 in the 12th century. 12:11 He spoke against purgatory and against the teaching 12:14 of transubstantiation, 12:16 which states that during the communion service 12:18 the bread and wine, or juice, 12:20 become the actual body and blood of Jesus. 12:24 For his trouble he was severely persecuted. 12:27 He and his followers retreated to live in the isolated valleys 12:30 of the Piedmont region in northern Italy, 12:32 where they worked and educated. 12:35 But it wasn't far enough away to be out of the reach 12:37 of a church that was determined to destroy them. 12:42 John Wycliffe, who was born around the year 1328, 12:46 is known today as “the Morning Star of the Reformation.” 12:49 Educated at Balliol College in Oxford, 12:52 he translated the Bible from Latin into English, 12:55 or the English of his day. 12:57 From his parish in Lutterworth in England, 12:59 Wycliffe attacked monasticism, 13:02 the veneration of saints, 13:04 transubstantiation, 13:06 and he even said the papacy wasn't biblical, 13:09 going so far as to equate the papacy with the antichrist. 13:13 It's no wonder he wasn't popular. 13:15 After his death the church declared him to be a heretic, 13:20 exhumed his body, burned his remains, 13:23 and cast his ashes into the River Swift, 13:26 which flows through Lutterworth. 13:28 Wycliffe influenced the Czech reformer Jan Hus, or John Huss. 13:33 Now, you have to keep in mind that to speak out 13:36 against the church meant death, 13:38 and these men knew that. 13:40 Huss was commanded by the church to appear at a trial 13:43 in Constance, Germany. 13:44 The church promised to protect him. 13:48 But the moment he arrived in that city, 13:50 he was apprehended by the church, 13:52 thrown into a loathsome prison, left to languish there. 13:55 Then he was brought out and executed, 13:58 and his ashes were thrown into the Rhine River. 14:02 Luther was by no means the first burr 14:04 under the saddle of the church, 14:06 but he was definitely the biggest challenge 14:08 they'd had to deal with. 14:10 Now, it's not like Luther didn't have 14:12 plenty of material to work with. 14:14 Church leaders, many of them, 14:15 were openly corrupt; 14:17 the faithful were kept completely in the dark 14:19 as far as Scripture was concerned. 14:21 They couldn't possess the Bible. 14:23 In fact, to have the Bible, portions of the Bible, 14:26 even handwritten portions of the Bible, 14:29 was enough to get a person sentenced to death. 14:33 The church financed the building of St Peter's 14:35 by selling indulgences. 14:37 This was a phenomenal abuse of ignorant church members, 14:40 telling them that sins could be forgiven 14:42 or temporal punishment for sin would be lessened 14:45 if they paid money to the church. 14:48 Indulgences could be bought for the dead. 14:51 It was outrageous. 14:53 Reform was inevitable. 14:56 And by the time Luther stood up, 14:58 and Melanchthon with him, 14:59 and Calvin 15:00 and Farel 15:01 and Zwingli 15:02 and Knox, 15:02 all roughly at the same time, 15:05 the world was shaken. 15:08 And the church trembled. 15:12 Which brings us back to September the 27th, 1540, 15:16 at a meeting that took place on that day, 15:18 here in the Vatican. 15:20 A small group of priests 15:22 was ushered into Pope Paul's presence. 15:24 A group with an agenda, a concerned group. 15:28 Concerned by what they saw happening to the church, 15:30 which they believed was divinely commissioned 15:33 to represent God on Earth. 15:35 They were led by a sharply intelligent man, 15:38 a theologian and former soldier. 15:40 His name was Ignatius of Loyola. 15:44 His words at that memorable meeting 15:46 have been paraphrased by the late author Malachi Martin. 15:49 He said, “Holy Father, the papacy and the Roman Catholic 15:53 Church are in mortal trouble. 15:56 Needed is a modern weapon to fight this totally new warfare. 16:01 Give us, a new charter like no other charter given before. 16:06 Make us independent of all local authorities 16:10 and directly responsible to Your Holiness. 16:14 We will go anywhere at any time at any cost 16:18 to life and comfort in order to do anything.” 16:23 And so the Society of Jesus came into existence: the Jesuits. 16:27 It was the first time an organization quite like this 16:30 had existed within the Roman Catholic Church. 16:33 The pope would launch a counter reformation, 16:37 a strategy to press back against 16:39 the advances made by Protestantism. 16:41 The Jesuits would be a significant factor 16:44 in aiding the church to regain lost prestige, 16:48 power and influence. 16:50 >>Dr. Damsteegt: The Counter Reformation 16:52 was simply the response of the church 16:56 against what they saw, an uprising. 16:58 Kind of a revolt that should be put out. 17:02 What they did is analyzing the arguments 17:06 that were presented by Luther and others, 17:09 and trying to counteract it. 17:12 You know, you have to keep in mind, 17:13 the church was one church, and there is no split whatsoever. 17:19 And the church wanted to preserve this, 17:22 and they thought the greatest sin in the world 17:24 would be to ruin the unity of the church. 17:33 >>John: When you're losing market share, 17:35 when in a sporting event you have to come from behind, 17:39 when it's the third quarter of the Super Bowl 17:40 and you're down by 28 points to 3, 17:43 and it looks like you're about to lose big, 17:45 you mount a comeback effort. 17:47 Some comebacks are successful, some not so much. 17:51 This would be a comeback of epic proportions. 17:56 If Rome was going to fix the damage caused by Luther 17:59 and Wycliffe and Farel and a host of others, 18:03 something had to be done. 18:04 And it would take some remarkable leadership. 18:09 Which brings us to Ignatius of Loyola. 18:13 I'll have more in just a moment. 18:15 ♪[Theme music]♪ 18:22 I'm John Bradshaw from It Is Written, 18:25 inviting you to join me for “500,” 18:28 nine programs produced by it Is Written 18:31 taking you deep into the Reformation. 18:34 This is the 500th anniversary 18:36 of the beginning of the Reformation, 18:38 when Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses 18:40 to the door of the Castle church in Wittenberg, Germany. 18:43 We'll take you to Wittenberg, 18:45 and to Belgium, 18:46 to England, 18:47 to Ireland, 18:48 to Rome, 18:49 to the Vatican City, 18:50 and introduce you to the people who created the Reformation, 18:53 who pushed the Reformation forward. 18:55 We'll take you to sites all throughout Europe 18:57 where the reformers lived and in some cases died. 19:00 We'll bring you back to the United States 19:02 and take you to a little farm in upstate New York, 19:05 and show you how God spread the Reformation here. 19:07 Don't miss 500. 19:10 You can own the 500 series on DVD. 19:13 Call us on 888-664-5573, 19:17 or visit us online at itiswritten.shop. 19:23 ♪[Music]♪ 19:26 He was born here in Azpeitia, at the Castle of Loyola, 19:31 in what's known today as Basque Country in northern Spain, 19:36 about 30 miles from the border with France 19:38 and about 60 miles from Pamplona, 19:41 famous for the Running of the Bulls. 19:43 This basilica, the santuario de Loyola, 19:47 is built on the site of his birthplace. 19:50 He was named Iñigo, the youngest of thirteen children. 19:54 His mother died shortly after he was born, 19:57 so he was raised by the wife of a local blacksmith. 19:59 He took the surname Loyola, 20:02 a reference to this place where he was born and raised. 20:04 At the time, it was just a village. 20:07 When he was 17, he joined the military. 20:10 He became an expert in dueling. 20:12 It's said that when a man 20:14 challenged the divinity of Christ, 20:16 he challenged that man to a duel, 20:18 and he killed him with his sword. 20:22 When he was 18 years old, he was employed by the Duke of Najera. 20:25 He spent 12 years working for the man. 20:27 He was involved in a lot of battles. 20:29 But his military career came to an end in 1521, 20:33 during the Battle of Pamplona. 20:35 He was struck by a cannon ball, seriously injured. 20:38 One of his legs was shattered. 20:40 It's a wonder he survived at all. 20:42 But he did survive, 20:44 and spent the rest of his life walking with a limp. 20:50 During his recovery, 20:51 he underwent a spiritual experience 20:53 which led him to devote the rest of his life 20:56 to the service of his faith. 20:59 He read about Jesus and about the lives 21:01 of the saints of his church, 21:02 and was impressed by people like Francis of Assisi. 21:07 He spent weeks in prayer and meditation in this cave, 21:11 developing what would eventually be called 21:13 his Spiritual Exercises. 21:17 During this time Inigo experienced a number of visions. 21:22 According to one writer, they appeared to him as 21:24 "a form in the air near him and this form 21:28 gave him much consolation 21:29 because it was exceedingly beautiful, 21:32 it somehow seemed to have the shape of a serpent 21:35 and had many things that shone like eyes, but were not eyes. 21:40 He received much delight and consolation 21:43 from gazing upon this object, 21:45 but when the object vanished he became disconsolate.” 21:51 In order to grow close to God, 21:53 he pursued an ascetic life of strict self-denial, 21:57 as many monks or priests did in those days. 22:01 He made a pilgrimage to Israel, 22:03 hoping to convert the people controlling 22:05 the Holy Land to Christianity. 22:07 The Spiritual Exercises he developed 22:09 set the tone for the Jesuit order. 22:15 The exercises emphasized discernment regarding 22:18 the difference between good and evil in a person's life. 22:21 He taught that through discernment 22:24 a believer can achieve a mystical union with God, 22:28 and therefore understand God's will. 22:32 This trend toward mysticism in the philosophy of the Jesuits 22:37 encouraged a larger movement toward mysticism 22:40 during the time of the Counter Reformation. 22:43 The challenge, of course, is that with this system 22:45 the Bible isn't necessarily seen as a Christian's 22:49 supreme spiritual authority. 22:51 But emphasizing the Bible 22:54 was what the Reformers had been doing, 22:56 and that had taken a toll on the church's power and authority. 23:01 He studied in Barcelona, and then spent seven years 23:04 as a university student in Paris. 23:07 The Reformation was in full swing by then, 23:09 the effects of the Reformation clearly seen 23:11 as people all around him, 23:13 irrespective of their class in society, 23:15 were taking sides in the controversy. 23:18 And it was while he was at that university 23:21 that he met the six men who would join with him 23:24 in his life's work, 23:26 the work for which the world remembers him, 23:28 work that would impact his church, 23:30 Christianity as a whole, and even the world. 23:35 On the morning of August the 15th, 1534, 23:38 Ignatius Loyola and his six friends 23:40 met together in one of the oldest churches in Paris. 23:44 Together they took vows, 23:45 and formed what would become known as the Society of Jesus. 23:50 It was formally established five years later, 23:52 and one year after that, 23:54 in that memorable meeting with Pope Paul III, 23:56 the highest blessing of the church 23:59 was bestowed upon Ignatius and his friends, 24:02 and their plans to regain ground lost by the papacy 24:05 and blunt the progress of the Reformation. 24:08 ♪[Soft music]♪ 24:14 He sent his companions throughout Europe 24:16 establishing universities and colleges and seminaries. 24:19 Educate the educators, and you influence what's being taught, 24:23 and what's being thought. 24:26 With the help of his personal secretary, 24:28 he wrote the Jesuit Constitution, 24:30 based on the principle of absolute self-denial 24:33 and complete obedience to the pope. 24:36 They adopted the motto, “perinde ac cadaver,” 24:39 which means “as if a dead body.” 24:42 Part of the oath taken by Jesuits says, 24:45 "I do further promise and declare, 24:47 that I will have no opinion or will of my own, 24:50 or any mental reservation whatever, 24:52 even as a corpse or cadaver, 24:55 but will unhesitatingly obey each and every command 24:59 that I may receive from my superiors 25:01 in the Militia of the Pope and of Jesus Christ." 25:06 >>Dr. Damsteegt: The people who adopt the Special Exercises 25:09 were, had a strong faith in that whatever 25:13 they were being told is the truth. 25:16 If the church would tell me that this is white while it is black, 25:22 I would accept it. 25:25 Very, very simple. 25:26 And if the church says this, 25:30 even if my senses says it is incorrect, 25:33 because the church says it, I will accept it. 25:38 And so it was a total, total mortification of the will. 25:46 That was a fantastic system of brainwashing, 25:49 that you believe without reservation 25:51 that what the church teaches you should be, 25:54 that is the truth and nothing but the truth. 25:56 ♪[Soft music]♪ 25:57 The Jesuits are still a powerful force 25:59 in the Roman Catholic Church, 26:00 and scores of colleges and universities around the world 26:04 are under their guidance. 26:06 In 2013, Pope Francis became the first Jesuit 26:10 to be elected to his church's highest office. 26:13 The Jesuits were the foot soldiers 26:15 of the Counter Reformation. 26:17 But the papal church was also taking other steps 26:20 to restore its power. 26:22 There was much more to the Counter Reformation. 26:25 At the Council of Trent, held between 1545 and 1563, 26:31 strategies were devised to help the church address 26:34 the challenges presented by the Protestant Reformation. 26:38 Now, any talk of compromise with Protestantism was ruled out. 26:42 But the council did acknowledge that certain abuses 26:45 had occurred at some levels 26:47 under the auspices of the church. 26:49 So there were some changes made. 26:51 For example, certain measures were introduced 26:54 to govern more closely the sale of indulgences. 26:57 But the veto power of church tradition 27:00 above the Bible was maintained, 27:02 as was the role of sacraments 27:04 and other rituals in obtaining salvation and divine grace. 27:08 The apocryphal books, books such as Wisdom, Judith, Tobit, 27:12 those two extra chapters said to be part of the book of Daniel, 27:15 they were granted the same status 27:18 as Scripture by the council. 27:19 The council reaffirmed the veneration of relics and images, 27:24 as well as the veneration of saints. 27:26 And the Council of Trent was responsible 27:29 for some very interesting theological developments, 27:33 developments which today have largely been lost sight of, 27:36 but developments which have impacted 27:38 Christianity in an enormous way. 27:41 I'll tell you more in just a moment. 27:42 ♪[Theme music]♪ 27:52 >>Announcer: In Matthew 4:4, the Word of God says, 27:54 “It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, 27:58 but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.'" 28:02 “Every Word” 28:02 is a one-minute, Bible-based daily devotional 28:05 presented by Pastor John Bradshaw, 28:07 and designed especially for busy people like you. 28:10 Look for Every Word on selected networks, 28:12 or watch it online every day on our website, 28:15 ItIsWritten.com. 28:17 Receive a daily spiritual boost. 28:19 Watch “Every Word.” 28:21 You'll be glad you did. 28:22 Here's a sample. 28:26 ♪[Theme music]♪ 28:31 >>John: It was five hundred years ago that Martin Luther 28:34 nailed his 95 theses to that famous church door 28:36 in Wittenberg, Germany. 28:38 Half a millennium. 28:40 Why would that protest 500 years ago be important today? 28:43 In Galatians 5:1 we read these words: 28:46 “Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ 28:48 has made us free.” 28:50 Five hundred years ago there was no religious freedom. 28:52 The state and the people were ruled by the Roman church. 28:56 Everyone, including kings and emperors 28:58 worshiped and believed as they were told. 29:00 To step out of line, 29:01 to think for yourself, 29:02 to follow your conscience, meant certain death. 29:05 Without the Reformation there'd be no freedom of religion today. 29:08 So how important is freedom of religion? 29:11 It's hard for us to imagine religious persecution 29:13 or tolerance in a free country, 29:15 but that's what Luther knew where he was. 29:17 That's where we'd be without him and others like him. 29:19 Thank God today for your religious freedom. 29:22 I'm John Bradshaw for It Is Written. 29:23 Let's live today by every Word. 29:24 ♪[Music]♪ 29:27 ♪[Music]♪ 29:33 >>John: Thanks for joining me on It Is Written. 29:36 As Protestants appealed to the Bible during the Reformation, 29:40 the authority of the ruling church was undermined. 29:43 Numerous figures claimed that the prophecies of 29:46 Daniel and Revelation and the writings of Paul 29:49 pointed out that the papacy 29:51 was the Antichrist of Bible prophecy. 29:54 So during the Council of Trent, 29:56 the pope commissioned the Jesuits and the others present 30:00 to go to Scripture and find an interpretation 30:03 of those passages that would claim otherwise. 30:07 In the decades that followed the Council of Trent, 30:09 Jesuit theologian Francisco Ribera claimed that 30:13 the papacy couldn't possibly be the Antichrist, 30:16 because the Antichrist would be a single figure 30:18 that would arise at the end of the time. 30:20 Twentieth-century Protestant theologian George Eldon Ladd 30:24 commented on Ribera's work, saying this: 30:27 “In 1590 Ribera published a commentary on the Revelation 30:32 as a counter interpretation to the prevailing view 30:35 among Protestants which identified the Papacy 30:38 with the Antichrist. 30:40 Ribera applied all of Revelation but the earliest chapters 30:43 to the end time rather than to the history of the church. 30:47 Antichrist, he taught, would be a single evil person 30:51 who would be received by the Jews 30:54 and who would rebuild Jerusalem.” 30:57 Another brilliant Jesuit scholar, 30:59 Cardinal Robert Bellarmine of Rome, 31:01 now St. Robert Bellarmine, 31:03 assisted Ribera in developing this new theology. 31:07 Another 20th-century theologian 31:09 had this to say about Bellarmine: 31:12 “The futurist teachings of Ribera were further 31:14 popularized by an Italian cardinal, 31:17 and the most renowned of all Jesuit controversialists. 31:21 His writings claimed that Paul, Daniel, and John 31:25 had nothing whatsoever to say about the Papal power. 31:29 The futurists' school 31:31 won general acceptance among Catholics. 31:35 They were taught that antichrist was a single individual 31:39 who would not rule until the very end of time.” 31:43 >>Dr. Damsteegt: The goal was to eliminate any shadow of a 31:45 doubt that the pope has anything to do with prophecy. 31:50 And so they projected the little horn into the future. 31:55 As a result, they said, “We haven't yet seen it. 32:00 It has not been here. 32:02 It will come one day. 32:04 And so we have still to look in the future 32:06 before we see the antichrist.” 32:08 And still today most Catholics look in the future 32:12 and wait until the appearance of this. 32:15 Futurism was slow to catch on. 32:18 But the intention was that the ideas promoted by futurism 32:22 would eventually be taught by Protestants. 32:26 In the early 1800s, 32:28 a British preacher by the name of John Darby, 32:31 a man who stood strongly for the veracity of scripture 32:34 in face of growing theological liberalism, 32:37 took hold of the idea of a future one-man antichrist. 32:41 In the United States, 32:43 a Kansas City attorney named Cyrus Schofield 32:46 published a version of the Bible popular enough 32:49 to sell millions of copies. 32:50 And in that Bible he included study notes 32:53 based on the writings of Darby and the Jesuits Ribera 32:58 and Bellarmine, 32:59 study notes that pointed to a future one-man antichrist. 33:05 A British theologian commented on that, saying this: 33:08 “It is a matter of deep regret that those who hold and advocate 33:13 the futurist system at the present day, 33:15 Protestants as they are for the most part, 33:17 are thus really playing into the hands of Rome, 33:21 and helping to screen the Papacy from detection 33:24 as the Antichrist.” 33:26 Another Jesuit scholar originated 33:28 the school of prophetic interpretation 33:30 known as preterism. 33:32 “Pre”-terism teaches that all of the apocalyptic prophecies 33:36 of the Bible have been fulfilled already. 33:38 Previously. 33:40 Which would mean, then, that there can't possibly be 33:42 an end-time antichrist. 33:44 And if that's the case, then whoever antichrist is 33:48 couldn't possibly be the papacy. 33:50 Now, the Reformers were convinced. 33:53 But years later, their views have been undermined 33:55 by interpretations of prophecy that sprang directly 34:00 from the Counter Reformation. 34:04 So the work of Ignatius of Loyola 34:06 and the Counter Reformation has been profoundly influential. 34:10 Five hundred years ago reformers like Martin Luther, 34:13 Ulrich Zwingli, John Calvin and John Knox were engaged 34:17 in a resistance movement against a powerful church 34:20 with enormous political influence. 34:23 They rebutted teachings they saw as unbiblical 34:26 and believed that they were doing the work of God 34:28 in bringing the light of the Bible into the lives of people. 34:32 That's why there was such an emphasis on the part of people 34:35 such as William Tyndale and Martin Luther 34:37 to translate the Bible. 34:39 They saw it as vital to get the word of God 34:42 into people's hands and drive back the darkness 34:45 that had flooded into Christianity 34:47 under the watch of a church that had compromised. 34:51 The Reformers championed the teaching of justification 34:54 by grace alone, 34:56 through faith alone, in Christ alone. 34:59 But the church made itself essential 35:01 in the plan of salvation, 35:03 declaring that the sacraments were channels 35:06 of the grace of God. 35:08 That idea was unbiblical in Jesus' day, 35:10 unbiblical in the Reformers' day, 35:13 and it's unbiblical today. 35:15 The idea that human beings should confess their sins 35:18 to another human being and receive forgiveness 35:20 from that human being, 35:21 or even from God through that human being, 35:25 is the sort of idea that the Reformers 35:26 fought against strenuously, 35:28 and something that the Counter Reformation fought to defend. 35:33 Martin Luther, while he was still a priest, 35:35 was scandalized by the way the church sold indulgences. 35:40 Essentially, pardon for sin was bought and sold. 35:46 Sacramentalism was denounced as being unbiblical. 35:49 The same for transubstantiation and celibacy, 35:52 and the papacy itself. 35:54 The abuses carried out by church leaders 35:56 couldn't be tolerated any longer, 35:58 and the Reformers stood up to say so, 36:01 often paying with their lives. 36:04 So two things are clear. 36:06 Number one, the Reformation brought 36:08 about a lot of much-needed change. 36:10 And number two, 36:12 500 years later it could be said 36:14 that the Reformation didn't change much. 36:18 And that raises a lot of questions. 36:22 ♪[Theme music]♪ 36:27 >>John: What is the mark of the beast? 36:32 One of the most serious warning messages in all of the Bible 36:35 centers around the mark of the beast. 36:37 And you can understand what it is from the Bible. 36:41 I'd like to send you today's free offer. 36:43 It's called “The Mark of the Beast.” 36:45 Call us on 800-253-3000, 36:48 or visit us online at itiswritten.com. 36:52 Or you can write to the address on your screen. 36:54 I'd like you to receive our free offer, 36:57 “The Mark of the Beast.” 36:59 Thank you for remembering that It Is Written 37:01 exists due to the gracious support 37:04 of people like you. 37:06 It's your support that enables 37:07 It Is Written to share Jesus 37:09 and the great hope of the Bible with the world. 37:11 You can send your tax-deductible gift 37:14 to the address on your screen, 37:15 or you can support It Is Written through our website, 37:18 itiswritten.com. 37:21 Thanks for your generous support. 37:22 Our number is 800-253-3000, 37:26 and our web address is itiswritten.com. 37:30 >>John: Welcome back to 500. 37:31 I'm John Bradshaw from It Is Written, 37:33 and my guest is Dr. Gerard Damsteegt, 37:37 recently retired professor of church history 37:39 from Andrews University in Berrien Springs, Michigan. 37:42 Dr. Damsteegt, again, thanks for joining me. 37:44 Walk me through the Counter Reformation. 37:46 What was it? 37:48 >>Dr. Damsteegt: The Counter Reformation 37:50 was simply the response of the church against what they saw, 37:54 an uprising, kind of a revolt that should be put out. 37:59 >>John: A natural enough response. 38:01 Their authority was being threatened. 38:02 They had to respond somehow. 38:04 The Counter Reformation was their method of doing so. 38:06 What did the Counter Reformation involve? 38:08 What'd they do? 38:10 >>Dr. Damsteegt: What they did is analyzing the arguments 38:14 that were presented by Luther and others, 38:17 and trying to counteract it. 38:20 Now, initially it was discussions, 38:23 Luther was summoned, 38:25 and he had simply to recant. 38:27 Now, Luther didn't like that because he went to Worms 38:32 for a discussion on those things, and that didn't happen. 38:36 And so time again, time again, they were challenged. 38:40 The church was one church, and there is no split whatsoever. 38:46 And the church wanted to preserve this, 38:48 and they thought the greatest sin in the world 38:51 would be to ruin the unity of the church. 38:55 And so that is what their attempt was, how to do this. 38:58 The priests tried to do it, 39:00 the theologians tried to do it, 39:02 and finally you get the Council of Trent 39:05 that tried to analyze all the arguments of the Reformers 39:09 and the Lutherans, and pronounce, 39:13 were they okay or not? 39:15 And the result of this series of, of studies 39:21 was that every teaching of the Reformers were anathema: 39:26 cursed, cursed, cursed. 39:29 Not one element was, uh, adopted. 39:32 >>John: I want to come back to that in just a moment. 39:34 My first question, though, is, during the Council of Trent, 39:37 did the church make any concessions at all? 39:41 >>Dr. Damsteegt: They said, okay, 39:42 we are going to tackle this, and whatever. 39:45 Yes, we need to have reform. 39:47 Uh, the [indiscernible]. 39:50 But none of the teachings of the Catholic church 39:53 was at all changed. 39:54 >>John: So they told some of their priests 39:55 to clean up their behavior. 39:57 They, they suggested that some people 39:59 might want to act differently. 40:01 But theologically, the church said nothing would change. 40:05 >>Dr. Damsteegt: Absolutely so. 40:07 Nothing was going to be changed. 40:08 >>John: Now, when they said the teachings of the Reformers 40:10 were anathema, let's consider together 40:13 what that actually means. 40:15 Cursed be the idea of sola scripture. 40:20 >>Dr. Damsteegt: Correct. 40:21 Cursed is the idea by faith alone. 40:25 >>John: Cursed. 40:26 >>Dr. Damsteegt: Cursed is the idea by grace alone. 40:31 It is a cooperation of works and faith. 40:38 They are recognized a, uh, together, 40:40 but the Reformer said, no, 40:42 salvation depends only on Christ. 40:45 It's faith in Him, and not to do anything with works. 40:51 Yes, works are the result, 40:55 but works are not contributing in any way or form to salvation. 41:03 >>John: The church was really caught, wasn't it? 41:06 Because the church couldn't concede. 41:08 What position could the church really give up? 41:12 There was no middle ground, was there? 41:13 There was, there could not be a meeting of minds 41:16 with the Protestants, a meeting halfway. 41:18 Because, as you've just said, if they gave a little, 41:21 they'd have to give all. 41:22 Which teaching they've declared to be true could they possibly 41:27 surrender to the Protestants? 41:29 There was no way this could probably, 41:31 there was no way this could possibly end 41:33 somewhere in the middle. 41:34 There was no negotiating, was there? 41:35 >>Dr. Damsteegt: No. And so they had to find a way 41:39 to debunk the arguments of the Protestants. 41:43 And one of the key elements that the Reformers used 41:48 was the prophetic word. 41:50 The prophetic word that clearly shows that the pope 41:54 is the predicted antichrist. 41:57 >>John: So biblically it measured up. 42:00 I, I think it's important to establish this, 42:02 because I don't want anybody thinking that this 42:04 might have been the scholarship of one scholar 42:10 off in left field doing his own thing. 42:13 This, this was a well-researched, 42:15 well-agreed-upon principle or, or prophetic interpretation, 42:20 that Protestantism as a whole had its arms around. 42:24 >>Dr. Damsteegt: And it is interesting that this 42:25 interpretation as the pape, the pope or the papacy 42:29 as the little horn was developed by the Archbishop 42:32 of Salzburg in the 13th century, 42:36 in which the character of the pope and the papacy 42:40 was such that it exactly fitted the little horn. 42:45 >>John: So it became very, very clear as scholars, 42:48 Bible students from whatever background, 42:51 studied the Word of God, 42:54 the Roman church, 42:54 the papacy, 42:55 was implicated in Revelation, chapter 13, Daniel 7, 42:59 II Thessalonians and other places. 43:01 Rome is looking at this and saying, 43:03 “It all points to us.” 43:06 They had to do something about it. What did they do? 43:09 >>Dr. Damsteegt: Simply to debunk the whole interpretation. 43:12 >>John: How do you debunk an interpretation like that? 43:14 >>Dr. Damsteegt: The key is exactly what you see 43:17 happened today as a result of the Counter Reformation. 43:20 The Counter Reformation was, 43:21 uh, trying to eliminate all the blame in prophecy 43:28 from the shoulders of the pope. 43:31 And so they said, ah, what did the early Christians, 43:34 because the early Christians were the closest to the truth, 43:37 what did they believe? 43:39 They didn't believe in a yeah-day, 43:41 year-day principle. 43:42 They believed in a literal time. 43:45 Did any of the early Christians believe in literal time 43:48 in regard to the little horn? 43:49 No. It was a Jew, really in Palestine, 43:54 rebuilding the temple, do all those things. 43:57 So that is the antichrist. 44:00 Have they seen the antichrist? 44:02 No. No. 44:03 The 3 and a half years have not yet been fulfilled. 44:06 And so they clearly debunked 44:09 the year-day principle and said it didn't exist. 44:12 >>John: It's very interesting, 44:13 because when we get down to today, 44:15 these ideas that were used historically to debunk 44:19 solid interpretations of Bible prophecy have taken hold, 44:24 and they're the prevalent ideas in Christianity today. 44:27 We're going to explore that in just a moment. 44:29 We're going, also, to look at the scholarship of two Jesuits 44:33 who turned out to be very, very influential: 44:35 Ignatius of Loyola's name will appear again, 44:39 and we'll trace the work of the Counter Reformation 44:41 through and see how it plays out in this, our day. 44:43 We'll be back with more from “500” 44:46 in just a moment. 44:47 ♪[Theme music]♪ 44:54 >>John: I'm John Bradshaw from It Is Written, 44:56 inviting you to join me for “500,” 45:00 nine programs produced by It Is Written 45:02 taking you deep into the Reformation. 45:05 This is the 500th anniversary 45:08 of the beginning of the Reformation, 45:09 when Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the door 45:12 of the Castle church in Wittenberg, Germany. 45:15 We'll take you to Wittenberg, and to Belgium, 45:17 to England, 45:18 to Ireland, 45:19 to Rome, 45:20 to the Vatican City, 45:21 and introduce you to the people who created the Reformation, 45:24 who pushed the Reformation forward. 45:26 We'll take you to sites all throughout Europe 45:28 where the reformers lived and, in some cases, died. 45:31 We'll bring you back to the United States 45:33 and take you to a little farm in upstate New York, 45:36 and show you how God spread the Reformation here. 45:39 Don't miss 500. 45:41 You can own the 500 series on DVD. 45:44 Call us on 888-664-5573, 45:49 or visit us online at itiswritten.shop. 45:55 >>John: Welcome back to “500.” I'm John Bradshaw. 45:57 With me is Dr. Gerard Damsteegt, 45:59 retired professor of church history 46:01 from Andrews University. 46:03 Dr. Damsteegt, a moment ago we were discussing 46:05 the Counter Reformation and how the Reformers 46:10 had really implicated the Vatican, 46:13 the popes of Rome, 46:15 by pointing out their place in Bible prophecy. 46:19 So walk me through that, 46:21 some of the theories that emerged from out 46:23 of the Counter Reformation. 46:24 To kind of take the heat off the Church of Rome? 46:28 >>Dr. Damsteegt: First of all, let us understand what 46:31 the key element for the power of prophecy 46:34 among the Reformers was. 46:36 Take, for example, Daniel, Daniel 7. 46:39 You have there Babylon, 46:40 Medo-Persia, 46:41 Greece, 46:42 and the Roman Empire. 46:44 Out of the Roman Empire you get, then, ten horns coming up. 46:50 Then, another little horn comes up, takes away three. 46:55 Will persecute God's people, 46:57 will change the times and the law, 46:59 and all of those things. 47:00 Now, what happened then in history, 47:02 and that was discovered by the Archbishop of Salzburg, 47:07 Eberhard the Second, 47:09 is that after the fall of the Roman Empire, 47:13 it was divided into ten kingdoms. 47:16 Then, three of them disappears. 47:20 Why did they disappear? 47:22 Because of the activity of the religious-political power 47:28 of the papacy. 47:31 Then, when the three were eliminated, 47:35 the papacy is full swing. 47:36 >>John: There's persecution. 47:37 >>Dr. Damsteegt: Persecution. 47:39 And then persecuted started against God's people, 47:43 against those who did not accept the [indiscernible], 47:46 the power, and the influence of the papacy. 47:50 And so this little horn, it says its different, 47:55 because it's not political only. 47:58 It is a religious political power. 48:01 It comes up among the ten horns, 48:05 which clearly shows in history it came among the ten horns. 48:08 >>John: Western Europe. 48:09 >>Dr. Damsteegt: Western Europe. 48:10 Then it takes away three powers, 48:13 that are the Heruli, the Ostrogoths, and the Vandals. 48:18 Then what happened is clearly, 48:23 it persecutes God's people, and then it attacks God's law. 48:31 Very interesting what we see here. 48:33 The Reformers didn't clearly see it, 48:35 except in certain sec, 48:36 certain sections of the Reformers 48:38 that were the Anabaptists. 48:39 They discovered in a very interesting way 48:42 that Catholicism had also changed God's law. 48:48 In the catechism, the second commandment is removed. 48:53 It worships images. 48:56 And also,the fourth commandment, in regard to the Sabbath, 49:02 it is changed into Sunday. 49:04 >>John: Um-hmm. 49:06 >>Dr. Damsteegt: This was also believed by some Reformers. 49:09 And so it would go for 1,260 days, 42 months, 49:15 three and a half years. 49:16 >>John: Which is 1,260 years. 49:18 >>Dr. Damsteegt: Years, according to the year-day 49:19 principle that was invented again 49:22 by the Catholics themselves. 49:25 And so they came to the conclusion that there was 49:27 a period of 1,260 years starting in the reign of Justinian 49:33 ‘til the French Revolution. 49:34 And in the French Revolution, 49:36 the papacy was going to cut the deadly wounds. 49:40 And what happened is, that at the beginning, 49:43 in the reign of Justinian, 49:44 the pope gets all the power over all the bishops and priests 49:49 of the whole of Christianity, 49:51 both in the east and in the west. 49:53 And then what happened further is that 49:56 at the end of the 1,260 years, 49:58 which fell during the French Revolution, 50:01 the papacy was taken captive and the power of the papacy, 50:06 the political power, was abolished by the 50:09 French revolution by General Berthier, 50:13 who was sent by Napoleon to eliminate the papacy. 50:17 >>John: So all of this is very much anchored in history. 50:19 The Bible speaks to it. 50:22 You look over history, you see it. 50:24 Look at it academically or theologically; it's there. 50:27 Rome says, “We've got to get the heat off us.” 50:30 And so they introduced into Christianity 50:32 some new ways of interpreting those prophecies. 50:36 What were those new ways? 50:38 >>Dr. Damsteegt: Now, the newer ways were simply 50:41 also the old ways, 50:42 because they said, hey, this idea of the, 50:45 of year-day principle that, that one year, 50:48 one day in prophecy is actually a year, is much later. 50:52 But, you know, it took time for the, 50:55 for the little horn to develop its character. 50:58 Much later. 51:00 And so they said, you have to go back. 51:02 And what did the early Christians do? 51:04 And they found two views among the early Christians. 51:07 One view was that the little horn was literal days. 51:14 Years was in the future. 51:16 And so they projected the little horn into the future. 51:22 As a result, they said, “We haven't yet seen it.” 51:27 What happened is, in regard to the little horn, 51:30 it has not been here. 51:33 It will come one day. 51:35 They said yes, but Rome has fallen. 51:37 They said, “No, Rome has not fallen.” 51:39 Look at the image. 51:41 The image has two legs. 51:43 When western Rome fell, 51:47 it had still the leg of the eastern Rome. 51:50 And then finally the Turks defeated eastern Rome. 51:53 Western Rome had, was restored again, 51:58 and was again. 51:59 So Rome has never completely fallen. 52:03 And so we are still to look at the future 52:06 before we see the antichrist. 52:07 And still today most Catholics look in the future 52:12 and wait until the appearance of this. 52:14 >>John: Yeah, what's interesting about that is the vast majority 52:18 of other Christians, 52:19 Protestants, for the want of a better term, 52:22 uh, approach Bible prophecy in the same way. 52:26 Antichrist has not come; 52:28 little horn, we don't know who it is; 52:30 it's going to take place sometime in the distant future. 52:34 Which demonstrates to us that this theory, 52:36 which was hatched during the Counter Reformation, 52:39 has been enormously successful. 52:41 Who would have thought that a church that was under the gun, 52:46 under the spotlight of, well, intense, 52:50 let's call it criticism. 52:51 I think that's what it was from the Reformers. 52:53 Who would have thought they could have pulled off 52:54 such a deft maneuver and put that attention onto, 53:00 not someone else, no one else. 53:03 Someone in the future who has not yet arrived. 53:05 That's been very, very effective. 53:07 Even the majority of Protestant scholars today 53:10 believe that theory an invention. 53:12 Clear, isn't it? 53:14 >>Dr. Damsteegt: The Counter Reformation interpretation 53:16 was a response to the Protestant Reformation 53:21 interpretation of Daniel and Revelation. 53:24 And the goal was to eliminate any shadow of a doubt 53:28 that the pope has anything to do with prophecy. 53:31 >>John: So we have this system of interpretation 53:33 which has become known today as futurism. 53:37 It was invented by a Jesuit scholar, 53:39 which is no surprise. 53:40 But another Jesuit, a fellow named Alcazar, 53:44 in distinction to Ribera, 53:46 he interpreted these prophecies another way. 53:48 Tell me about preterism. 53:50 >>Dr. Damsteegt: Preterism considers it as being 53:53 done in the past. 53:54 >>John: Pre-viously. 53:55 >>Dr. Damsteegt: So in other words the little horn, 53:57 the beast, 53:59 the antichrist, 54:00 was already in the past. 54:02 How did they do it? 54:04 Completely eliminated the year-day principle. 54:07 It didn't exist. 54:08 And looking at powers in the past. 54:11 So, for example, in the power in the past, 54:13 who were very anti-Christian? 54:14 Nero, for example. 54:16 So Nero become then the evil person. 54:20 Little horn. 54:22 The beast, and whatever. 54:24 Or, in Antiochus Epiphanes. 54:26 That was another one. 54:27 So in the book of Revelation you get a 54:29 Roman Emperor as the villain. 54:32 In the Old Testament, the little horn is in Antiochus, 54:35 as the villain against God's people in the Jews. 54:39 And then, of course, the other one is, in the futurism, 54:42 it has not been take place, 54:43 and so we still have to wait for an unfaithful Jew 54:47 that attacks Christianity and that really demolishes 54:52 much of Christianity. 54:54 >>John: So how successful has the Counter Reformation been? 54:57 And how do we see that manifested today? 55:00 >>Dr. Damsteegt: Initially they didn't have much success 55:02 because of the powerful instruments of prophecy 55:05 that protected the Protestants to succumb to it. 55:08 But later on, when higher criticism came up, 55:12 historical criticism, and the faith in the biblical record 55:16 was undermined, and in the prophecies also, 55:19 and the year-day principle was given up. 55:22 As a result of that, these changes, 55:25 the vision of Protestantism in regard to the prophetic mission 55:30 of the church disappears. 55:33 And then what did they have? 55:36 They looked and became the victim 55:38 of the Counter Reformation. 55:40 They accepted futurism or preterism. 55:44 But historicism, the Protestant view of historicism, 55:49 just disappeared. 55:51 And as a result, 55:53 they became victim, the Protestant world became victim 55:57 of the Counter Reformation. 56:01 And today you see that, you see, 56:03 Catholicism has a vision, 56:06 to conquer the world for Christ, through the church. 56:10 Protestantism has lost its vision. 56:12 They don't have the prophetic vision anymore. 56:15 They don't see the danger in Catholicism. 56:17 And as a result, they succumb to this. 56:21 And that's very, very, very sad. 56:23 The only way that Protestantism can recoup itself 56:26 is recapture the vision, 56:30 the prophetic vision that Christ gave in the book of Revelation, 56:35 and that Daniel gave in the book of Daniel. 56:38 This is the only protection against the onslaught 56:43 of the Counter Reformation. 56:44 >>John: It's very clear 56:47 that there is a spiritual battle going on. 56:50 The world was dragged into darkness. 56:52 The Protestant Reformation shown a light. 56:55 As bright as that light became, 56:57 along came the Counter Reformation 56:59 and obscured that light eventually. 57:02 Which means that this business of liberating 57:06 the truth in the world or in our hearts, 57:09 there's a real strong spiritual war taking place as we sit here, 57:13 trying to stop that from happening. 57:15 What do we do to keep the Word of God 57:18 burning in us so that we remain faithful to the vision God 57:22 has for us in His Word? 57:24 What do we do? 57:25 >>Dr. Damsteegt: Go back to the Bible and the Bible only, 57:28 and recapture the experience of the Protestants. 57:31 Because the Protestant Reformation was founded 57:34 on the personal relationship with Jesus Christ, 57:36 salvation through the Scriptures, 57:38 and at the same time, the prophetic word. 57:41 And Protestantism today has lost its prophetic vision, 57:45 which means they don't know what is going on 57:47 in the great controversy between good and evil. 57:50 And they become victim to the new approaches 57:54 that Catholicism has, without changing one jot or tittle, 57:59 title, of the overall vision. 58:02 >>John: Dr. Damsteegt, thanks so much for joining me. 58:04 I appreciate it greatly. 58:05 Our next program in “500,” 58:09 “A Wall of Separation.” 58:11 What would happen next? 58:12 The Counter Reformation came against the Reformation, 58:15 but God's truth would win out. 58:18 You'll find out how in our next program of “500.” 58:22 Let's pray together now. 58:23 Our Father in Heaven, 58:25 how thankful we are for Jesus, 58:27 for grace, 58:29 for Your prophetic word. 58:31 How thankful we are for truth, 58:34 that You are a God of love 58:35 and Your spirit has been sent to guide us. 58:37 Lord, what are we? 58:39 Human beings weakened by sin, 58:41 weak through our own failure to surrender our lives to You. 58:46 Lord, as the God of our lives, 58:48 let Jesus be a, a present Savior. 58:51 Fill us with Your Holy Spirit. 58:53 Guide us in Your way. 58:55 And grant that we may recapture the vision the Protestants 58:58 of old had of faithfulness to Your Word 59:02 and oneness with You. 59:05 We thank You, and we pray in Jesus' name, 59:09 Amen. 59:11 Thanks so much for joining me. 59:12 Looking forward to seeing you next time for more in “500.” 59:15 ♪[Theme music]♪ 59:16 Until then, remember: 59:17 "It Is Written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, 59:20 but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.'" 59:25 ♪[Music]♪ |
Revised 2017-10-25