He was an author, 
theologian, composer, reformer,
00:00:51.75\00:00:54.78
and probably the best 
known religious figure of the
00:00:54.78\00:00:57.25
16th century, his 
name: Martin Luther.
00:00:57.25\00:01:01.32
He was loved by 
the German masses,
00:01:02.32\00:01:04.69
yet reviled by the 
Roman church authorities.
00:01:04.69\00:01:07.40
The son of a well-to-do
 Copper miner, he was the
00:01:07.40\00:01:10.70
chief motivator of perhaps 
the greatest period of religious
00:01:10.70\00:01:13.74
social and political upheaval
 in the history of Europe,
00:01:13.74\00:01:17.34
"The Reformation. "
00:01:17.34\00:01:19.17
Europeans living at the 
beginning of the 16th century
00:01:42.13\00:01:45.33
probably had little 
inkling of the changes
00:01:45.33\00:01:47.67
that were about to sweep away
00:01:47.67\00:01:49.54
their medieval 
conceptions of life.
00:01:49.54\00:01:51.24
It is estimated 
that around 80% of them,
00:01:55.84\00:01:58.38
were still tilling the 
soil in much the same ways
00:01:58.38\00:02:01.38
as their 
forefathers had been doing
00:02:01.38\00:02:03.62
for a thousand years.
00:02:03.62\00:02:04.89
Yet, the signs 
were already before them
00:02:05.92\00:02:08.19
that change was imminent.
00:02:08.19\00:02:09.82
Johannes Guttenberg's
 invention of printing,
00:02:11.49\00:02:13.70
the manufacturer of paper,
00:02:13.70\00:02:15.56
and the general 
spirit of inquiry,
00:02:15.56\00:02:17.87
fostered by other nations.
00:02:17.87\00:02:19.57
Up until 1450, Europe possessed
 less than 100,000 books.
00:02:25.71\00:02:30.18
By the year 1500, the number
00:02:30.71\00:02:33.05
had dramatically 
increased to nine million.
00:02:33.05\00:02:35.38
One major 
consequence of Guttenberg's work
00:02:36.12\00:02:38.65
was that the Bible ceased to be
00:02:38.65\00:02:40.76
the exclusive domain of
 the rich and the clergy.
00:02:40.76\00:02:43.59
In the hands of 
the common people,
00:02:43.59\00:02:45.83
its light was about to 
banish the great darkness
00:02:45.83\00:02:48.96
that had enveloped Europe.
00:02:48.96\00:02:50.63
Rising high above both 
kings and their subjects
00:03:09.45\00:03:12.69
was the medieval church.
00:03:12.69\00:03:14.66
It formed the influential 
center of every village, city
00:03:14.66\00:03:18.46
and court imprisonment.
00:03:18.46\00:03:20.06
Yet, for all its sway 
over the people's lives,
00:03:20.06\00:03:23.23
there was something amiss
00:03:23.23\00:03:25.10
with this 
religio-political system.
00:03:25.10\00:03:26.90
The kingdoms of 
Europe were filled
00:03:32.01\00:03:34.78
with poorly educated, 
idle and pleasure-loving
00:03:34.78\00:03:37.48
priests and monks who 
were often more interested
00:03:37.48\00:03:40.02
in the personal 
benefits of the priesthood
00:03:40.02\00:03:42.18
and its associated power 
than in the spiritual welfare
00:03:42.18\00:03:46.02
of those they 
were ordained to serve.
00:03:46.02\00:03:47.92
Bishops and 
Abbotts rivaled kings
00:03:55.36\00:03:58.00
in the 
magnificence of their dwellings.
00:03:58.00\00:03:59.57
Bishoprics, that is the region
 which a Bishop controlled,
00:03:59.57\00:04:03.67
was sold to the highest bidders.
00:04:03.67\00:04:05.47
In fact, the lives 
of many of the clergy
00:04:05.47\00:04:08.38
had become a 
scandal to religion.
00:04:08.38\00:04:10.71
The people were taught, 
that if they regularly confessed
00:04:13.25\00:04:15.72
to a priest, paid their tithes
 and offerings, attended Mass,
00:04:15.72\00:04:19.45
went on a 
pilgrimage to the shrine
00:04:19.45\00:04:21.76
of some celebrated 
saint, or performed some act
00:04:21.76\00:04:24.89
of bodily mortification, 
their salvation was assured.
00:04:24.89\00:04:28.46
By the 16th century, the church
00:04:28.90\00:04:31.70
had shifted away 
from the simplicity,
00:04:31.70\00:04:33.80
poverty, and 
spiritual power of its roots.
00:04:33.80\00:04:36.77
So how did the 
change come about?
00:04:40.51\00:04:42.08
The early Christians shared
 the good news of the life,
00:04:44.95\00:04:47.78
death, 
resurrection, and ascension
00:04:47.78\00:04:49.52
of Jesus Christ of Nazareth 
right across the Roman Empire.
00:04:49.52\00:04:52.92
They stressed that salvation
 was found in Christ alone,
00:04:52.92\00:04:56.99
and that it was a gift 
received by the grace of God
00:04:56.99\00:05:00.33
through faith.
00:05:00.33\00:05:01.96
Those who responded 
constituted His church.
00:05:03.70\00:05:07.07
But it was a church soon to 
become a fortress under attack.
00:05:07.07\00:05:11.47
At first, the 
assault was from outside.
00:05:16.08\00:05:18.71
Roman emperors such as 
Nero, Trajan and Diocletian
00:05:18.71\00:05:22.72
put thousands of Christians
 to death for their faith.
00:05:22.72\00:05:25.72
Here at the 
Coliseum, for instance,
00:05:26.72\00:05:28.62
Christians were pitted against
 wild animals and torn to pieces
00:05:28.62\00:05:32.99
to the enthusiastic 
applause of the crowds.
00:05:32.99\00:05:35.53
The greater threat, 
however, came from within.
00:05:50.08\00:05:52.95
In the Book of Acts, 
we find the apostle Paul
00:05:54.32\00:05:56.69
warning the Bishops - 
or Elders of the church,
00:05:56.69\00:05:59.02
that from among 
them, men would arise
00:05:59.02\00:06:01.72
and distort the truth
00:06:01.72\00:06:03.69
in order to draw 
away disciples after them.
00:06:03.69\00:06:05.79
In the Second 
Book of Thessalonians,
00:06:06.96\00:06:08.86
he also alerted the church 
to a future internal rebellion
00:06:08.86\00:06:12.67
that would 
reveal, what he called,
00:06:12.67\00:06:14.80
"The Man of Lawlessness"
00:06:14.80\00:06:16.64
who would have oppose and 
exalt himself over everything
00:06:16.64\00:06:19.87
that is called 
God or is worshiped.
00:06:19.87\00:06:22.31
Paul's warnings were based 
on an Old Testament prophecy.
00:06:36.49\00:06:39.56
Centuries before, 
the prophet Daniel,
00:06:39.56\00:06:42.10
in the 7th chapter of 
his book, had described
00:06:42.10\00:06:45.10
the rise of four world empires
00:06:45.10\00:06:47.14
that he symbolized 
by four great beasts.
00:06:47.14\00:06:50.31
A lion, a bear, a 
four-headed leopard
00:06:51.61\00:06:55.61
and a terrifying 
fourth beast with ten horns.
00:06:55.61\00:06:58.91
He told how the fourth empire
00:07:00.55\00:07:01.85
would be the 
strongest of them all,
00:07:01.85\00:07:03.99
but that it would become divided
 into ten smaller kingdoms.
00:07:03.99\00:07:07.46
And from among 
these ten kingdoms,
00:07:08.12\00:07:10.19
represented by the ten horns
00:07:10.39\00:07:12.36
growing out of the 
head of the fourth beast,
00:07:12.36\00:07:14.56
would arise 
another horn or kingdom
00:07:14.56\00:07:17.17
that would be more 
imposing than the others.
00:07:17.17\00:07:19.60
It would make 
war on God's people,
00:07:19.60\00:07:22.47
speak boastful 
words against God,
00:07:22.47\00:07:25.47
and even think that it could
00:07:25.47\00:07:27.38
change God's set 
times and His laws.
00:07:27.38\00:07:30.91
The earliest known 
systematic commentary
00:07:40.16\00:07:41.89
on the Book of Daniel, 
was written by Hippolitus,
00:07:41.89\00:07:44.36
a brilliant 
third century scholar.
00:07:44.36\00:07:46.59
He was one among 
many who identified Rome
00:07:46.59\00:07:49.60
as the fourth great 
empire of Daniel's prophecy.
00:07:49.60\00:07:52.57
He predicted that Rome's fall
00:07:53.40\00:07:55.64
would be the next 
world shaking event
00:07:55.64\00:07:58.11
to be closely 
followed by the appearance
00:07:58.11\00:08:00.58
of the Anti-Christ.
00:08:00.58\00:08:01.88
From as early as 
the second century,
00:08:03.75\00:08:05.41
we find that Christians 
prayed for the continuation
00:08:05.41\00:08:08.05
of the Roman empire 
so that the appearance
00:08:08.05\00:08:10.89
of the dreaded 
Anti-christ would be delayed.
00:08:10.89\00:08:13.52
True to the 
prediction, this power did arise
00:08:16.09\00:08:19.16
from within the Roman empire.
00:08:19.16\00:08:20.70
From among the Bishops 
appointed as heads of the church
00:08:20.70\00:08:24.07
in different 
regions, the Bishop of Rome
00:08:24.07\00:08:26.57
gradually 
assumed a leading role.
00:08:26.57\00:08:28.77
In Rome, the queen of cities,
00:08:28.77\00:08:31.64
its pastor became 
the king of Bishops.
00:08:31.64\00:08:34.04
About the same 
time, a number of beliefs
00:08:47.76\00:08:49.79
and practices 
entered the church,
00:08:49.79\00:08:51.39
that the apostles 
would never have recognized.
00:08:51.39\00:08:54.13
The veneration 
of angels and saints
00:08:54.13\00:08:56.50
and the worship of images 
and relics were introduced.
00:08:56.50\00:08:59.60
The observance of 
Sunday slowly replaced
00:08:59.60\00:09:02.40
the keeping of the 
seventh day as the Sabbath.
00:09:02.40\00:09:04.37
The doctrine of 
purgatory was established
00:09:05.37\00:09:07.31
and prayers were 
directed to Mary and the saints.
00:09:07.31\00:09:10.28
The church taught 
that the bread and wine
00:09:12.51\00:09:15.08
of the Lord's Supper
00:09:15.08\00:09:16.12
became Christ's 
actual flesh and blood.
00:09:16.12\00:09:18.82
And so, the Mass 
became a sacrifice.
00:09:18.82\00:09:21.46
The confession of
 sins to the priest
00:09:21.46\00:09:24.23
took the place of 
the believer's sinful,
00:09:24.23\00:09:26.73
direct prayers 
to God for pardon.
00:09:26.73\00:09:29.16
And only to those who 
try to atone for their sins
00:09:29.96\00:09:32.83
through worthy acts of penance
00:09:32.83\00:09:34.40
did the church 
grant forgiveness.
00:09:34.40\00:09:36.77
For gifts and 
services rendered to the church
00:09:42.94\00:09:45.05
or as rewards for good 
deeds, the Pope and his Bishops
00:09:45.05\00:09:48.78
provided what they
 called indulgences.
00:09:48.78\00:09:51.49
These foreshortened or even 
canceled the sinner's sufferings
00:09:51.49\00:09:55.09
in the fires of purgatory.
00:09:55.09\00:09:56.89
Denying the great Biblical 
truth of salvation by faith,
00:09:59.73\00:10:03.20
the church distributed
 the merits of Christ,
00:10:03.20\00:10:06.23
of the Virgin 
Mary, and the saints
00:10:06.23\00:10:08.64
by giving written 
guarantees of deliverance
00:10:08.64\00:10:11.91
from the pains of purgatory.
00:10:11.91\00:10:13.38
Absolution from 
years of purgatorial fire
00:10:15.28\00:10:18.38
could also be 
purchased from a Bishop
00:10:18.38\00:10:20.42
for repairing a 
church, building a bridge,
00:10:20.42\00:10:23.82
or enclosing a forest,
00:10:23.82\00:10:25.32
as well as for reciting 
a certain number of prayers
00:10:27.02\00:10:30.06
and making pilgrimages
00:10:30.06\00:10:31.39
to view the 
relics of the saints.
00:10:31.39\00:10:33.43
Soon after the 
election of Pope Leo X,
00:10:49.68\00:10:52.15
Michelangelo presented 
him with the finished design
00:10:52.15\00:10:54.95
of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.
00:10:54.95\00:10:56.95
And the sale of indulgences
 was an attractive means
00:10:56.95\00:11:02.09
of meeting the enormous 
expenses of this venture.
00:11:02.09\00:11:04.39
The Pope entrusted their sale
 in Germany to the persuasive
00:11:06.39\00:11:10.07
Dominican monk, Johann Tetzel.
00:11:10.07\00:11:11.53
Tetzel's arrival at the Saxony
 border, near Wittenberg in 1517
00:11:11.90\00:11:16.50
would trigger events that 
would rock the very foundations
00:11:16.50\00:11:20.41
of the church of Rome.
00:11:20.41\00:11:22.01
The church of the 16th 
century had indeed departed
00:11:26.98\00:11:30.22
from the true faith, and 
was in desperate need of reform.
00:11:30.22\00:11:33.25
But it demanded someone 
with a certain brand of courage
00:11:35.06\00:11:37.46
to face the most powerful 
ecclesiastical organization
00:11:37.46\00:11:40.90
this world has ever known.
00:11:40.90\00:11:43.06
Martin Luther 
was just such a man.
00:11:43.06\00:11:46.00
It was on the eve of All 
Saint's day, October 31, 1517,
00:12:18.50\00:12:23.00
that Martin Luther 
chose to nail his 95 theses
00:12:23.00\00:12:26.27
to the castle 
church door in Wittenberg.
00:12:26.27\00:12:28.81
His timing could 
not have been better.
00:12:28.81\00:12:31.28
For on the following 
day, pilgrims would gather
00:12:31.28\00:12:33.78
in the church to view 
the extensive collection
00:12:33.78\00:12:36.55
of sacred relics 
belonging to Frederick the Wise,
00:12:36.55\00:12:39.69
Elector of Saxony.
00:12:39.69\00:12:41.06
On display was 
a fragment of wood
00:12:41.06\00:12:44.16
supposedly from Noah's Ark,
00:12:44.16\00:12:45.83
some soot from the 
fiery furnace in Babylon,
00:12:45.83\00:12:50.47
a piece of wood 
from Jesus' cradle,
00:12:50.47\00:12:53.64
some bread from The Last Supper,
00:12:53.64\00:12:56.57
a twig from Moses' burning bush,
00:12:56.57\00:13:00.08
and more than 19,000 Holy bones.
00:13:00.08\00:13:04.45
But more importantly, 
the viewing of such items
00:13:07.15\00:13:10.02
could result in indulgences 
for the reduction of purgatory
00:13:10.02\00:13:13.32
to the extent of 
1,902,202 years and 270 days.
00:13:13.32\00:13:22.30
While Luther may well 
have intended his theses
00:13:30.91\00:13:33.01
for academic debate 
only, he did not reckon
00:13:33.01\00:13:35.88
with the facility of 
Guttenberg's printing press.
00:13:35.88\00:13:38.08
Within two weeks, his 
theses against indulgences
00:13:38.08\00:13:42.12
and the 
proclaimed power of the Pope
00:13:42.12\00:13:43.82
were read throughout Germany.
00:13:43.82\00:13:45.45
Within months, 
all of Christendom
00:13:45.45\00:13:47.66
knew about them.
00:13:47.66\00:13:48.72
To Luther, the very idea 
of indulgences was repugnant.
00:13:56.33\00:14:00.17
After all, as a fledging 
monk, he had driven himself
00:14:00.17\00:14:04.14
to physical and 
mental exhaustion
00:14:04.14\00:14:05.97
in his earnest strivings
00:14:05.97\00:14:07.88
to gain the 
forgiveness for his sins.
00:14:07.88\00:14:09.74
If ever a monk made it to Heaven
00:14:09.74\00:14:11.75
through his monkery, 
then I would have made it.
00:14:11.75\00:14:15.05
But his reading 
of the New Testament
00:14:16.58\00:14:18.39
led to a startling discovery.
00:14:18.39\00:14:20.66
It was the discovery 
that forgiveness of sins
00:14:23.93\00:14:26.06
is a gift of God
00:14:26.06\00:14:27.40
rather than something 
to be earned or bought.
00:14:27.40\00:14:30.07
This recognition 
of the joyful truth
00:14:30.60\00:14:33.03
of salvation by faith alone 
was to become the cornerstone
00:14:33.03\00:14:36.40
of the Reformation.
00:14:36.40\00:14:37.71
It made Luther 
realize that the clergy
00:14:39.91\00:14:42.48
could never stand as mediators
00:14:42.48\00:14:44.51
between God and His people
00:14:44.51\00:14:46.51
as the church 
taught and practiced.
00:14:46.51\00:14:48.38
Where did these 
convictions come from?
00:14:49.85\00:14:51.69
It was not by the 
edicts of Popes or Counsels
00:14:52.99\00:14:55.49
but from the 
study of Sola Scriptura-
00:14:55.49\00:14:58.13
the Scriptures alone.
00:14:58.13\00:15:00.20
Papal authority, 
however, saw little merit
00:15:00.20\00:15:04.17
in the beliefs of this 
devil dressed as a monk.
00:15:04.17\00:15:06.80
He was 
excommunicated in June 1520
00:15:06.80\00:15:10.21
and his writings were 
condemned to the flames.
00:15:10.21\00:15:13.98
At about this time, 
Luther's study of the Scriptures
00:15:20.98\00:15:23.92
also focused on the prophecies
 of Jesus, Daniel, Paul and John
00:15:23.92\00:15:28.49
in relation to the 
rise of the Antichrist.
00:15:28.49\00:15:30.86
Chapters 7 and 8 of 
Daniel, and Paul's description
00:15:30.86\00:15:35.06
of the man of 
lawlessness in 2 Thessalonians 2
00:15:35.06\00:15:38.43
received special attention.
00:15:38.43\00:15:40.40
Early in 1521, Luther produced
00:15:44.44\00:15:47.71
his first written 
work to deal with prophecy.
00:15:47.71\00:15:49.84
The foundations 
for the Reformation
00:15:50.41\00:15:52.55
were to be firmly
 laid on the ground
00:15:52.55\00:15:54.82
of prophetic truth.
00:15:54.82\00:15:56.08
In identifying the 
Pope as Antichrist in 1521,
00:15:57.19\00:16:00.09
Luther added his
 voice to the many
00:16:00.09\00:16:02.52
illustrious Bible scholars
 who had gone before him.
00:16:02.52\00:16:05.86
Men like the Bohemian
 preacher, John Militz,
00:16:05.86\00:16:08.70
who 150 years earlier had 
nailed a placard to the door
00:16:08.70\00:16:12.57
of the All Saint 
Peter's Church in Rome
00:16:12.57\00:16:14.30
declaring that the 
Antichrist had already taken up
00:16:14.30\00:16:17.41
his residence in the church.
00:16:17.41\00:16:19.04
Few things in this 
world are more powerful
00:16:20.48\00:16:23.48
than the prophetic 
truth whose time has come.
00:16:23.48\00:16:25.91
Fortified by 
Daniel's prophecies,
00:16:25.91\00:16:28.72
Luther was now prepared 
for perhaps his finest hour.
00:16:28.72\00:16:32.69
Late in March 1521, 
he received a summons
00:16:36.12\00:16:40.23
from the newly elected emperor
00:16:40.23\00:16:41.73
of the Holy Roman
 Empire, Charles V,
00:16:41.73\00:16:44.17
to appear before him at
 the Diet, or Parliament,
00:16:44.17\00:16:47.84
convened in the 
German city of Worms.
00:16:47.84\00:16:50.64
Seated on straw with
 three of his friends,
00:16:52.74\00:16:54.74
in a borrowed horse-drawn
 cart, he entered the city
00:16:54.74\00:16:58.48
to the welcoming 
shouts of the crowds.
00:16:58.48\00:17:00.08
I wonder how he 
would have faired today?
00:17:01.25\00:17:02.98
The hearing was 
set in a location
00:17:05.25\00:17:07.12
next to the great cathedral.
00:17:07.12\00:17:08.96
The once majestic 
building no longer exists.
00:17:08.96\00:17:12.29
But 400 years ago, it
 was a worthy structure
00:17:12.29\00:17:15.56
for such an assembly.
00:17:15.56\00:17:16.97
Today, it is 
replaced by a garden
00:17:16.97\00:17:20.60
and its site 
marked by this plaque.
00:17:21.74\00:17:25.01
Never before in any
 age had a lowly monk
00:17:31.31\00:17:35.58
appeared before so 
many kings, princes, nobles,
00:17:35.58\00:17:40.02
deputies, ambassadors, barons,
 lords of the realm, bishops
00:17:40.02\00:17:46.19
and prelates of the church.
00:17:46.19\00:17:47.86
Luther had 
nothing to sustain him
00:17:48.36\00:17:51.00
but his faith in 
Christ and the Scriptures.
00:17:51.00\00:17:53.23
Asked to recant his 
writings, he spoke the words
00:17:53.23\00:17:58.31
that would shake the world.
00:17:58.31\00:18:00.31
Unless I'm convinced by 
Scripture and when reasoned,
00:18:02.01\00:18:06.85
I do not accept the 
authority of Popes and Councils
00:18:06.85\00:18:14.66
for they have 
contradicted each other.
00:18:14.66\00:18:16.26
My conscience is 
captive to the Word of God.
00:18:17.89\00:18:22.46
I cannot and will 
not recant anything.
00:18:24.30\00:18:29.70
For to go against conscience
 is neither right nor safe.
00:18:30.41\00:18:36.95
Here I stand. I 
cannot do otherwise.
00:18:37.71\00:18:42.62
God help me. Amen.
00:18:44.09\00:18:48.82
One lone monk 
against the ancient
00:18:52.56\00:18:55.36
and almost 
universal opinion of mankind.
00:18:55.36\00:18:57.80
Yet, such a conscience,
 captive to God's Word,
00:18:58.87\00:19:02.20
lay at the heart of the 
Reformation of the church.
00:19:02.20\00:19:04.94
It is significant 
that, at the Diet of Worms,
00:19:06.34\00:19:08.84
Luther was charged, not 
with teaching new heresy,
00:19:08.84\00:19:12.31
but rather with holding 
the views of others before him.
00:19:12.31\00:19:15.58
Among them was 
the English scholar,
00:19:15.58\00:19:17.99
John Wycliffe, 
who has been called,
00:19:17.99\00:19:20.39
"The Morning Star 
of the Reformation. "
00:19:20.39\00:19:22.36
Wycliffe was devoted 
to the study of truth,
00:19:31.57\00:19:33.74
as he found it expressed
 in the Latin Scriptures.
00:19:33.74\00:19:36.17
Appointed Master of 
Balliol College in Oxford,
00:19:36.17\00:19:39.71
he often 
preached in the university
00:19:39.71\00:19:42.08
and was given the 
title, "Gospel Doctor. "
00:19:42.08\00:19:45.08
From his study of 
Daniel, he too identified
00:19:45.08\00:19:48.08
the Papal system 
as the Antichrist.
00:19:48.08\00:19:50.99
But his anticlerical 
outbursts eventually led
00:19:50.99\00:19:55.16
to his dismissal from Oxford.
00:19:55.16\00:19:56.83
To the English Bishops' dismay,
00:20:01.23\00:20:02.46
this did not 
diminish his influence.
00:20:02.46\00:20:04.87
As Rector here in 
Lutterworth in Leicestershire,
00:20:05.43\00:20:08.10
he continued to call on 
the Bishops and the Clergy
00:20:08.10\00:20:11.21
and the nobility 
to reform the church.
00:20:11.21\00:20:14.54
Perhaps Wycliffe's 
greatest contribution
00:20:16.41\00:20:18.58
was the supervision 
of the first translation
00:20:18.58\00:20:21.12
of the Bible into 
the English vernacular.
00:20:21.12\00:20:23.25
This helped lay the 
foundation for the Reformation
00:20:23.25\00:20:26.35
that followed and 
kindled a light in England -
00:20:26.35\00:20:29.62
never to be extinguished.
00:20:30.69\00:20:32.36
Wycliffe died in December 1384
00:20:41.34\00:20:43.57
after suffering a stroke 
while administering Communion
00:20:43.57\00:20:46.71
here in his church.
00:20:46.71\00:20:47.81
His bones were 
belatedly exhumed and burnt
00:20:48.94\00:20:51.88
some 40 years later by order
 of the Council of Constance.
00:20:51.88\00:20:55.18
His ashes were then 
thrown into this nearby stream,
00:20:56.82\00:21:00.26
the Swift, which flows
 on into the Avon River.
00:21:00.26\00:21:03.29
The Avon to the 
Severn; the Severn to the sea.
00:21:08.80\00:21:15.77
It's as if Wycliffe's 
lectures were spread abroad
00:21:15.77\00:21:19.41
white as the water sea.
00:21:19.41\00:21:23.01
One who was influenced
 by Wycliffe's teachings
00:21:31.79\00:21:33.82
was the Czech 
reformer, John Hus.
00:21:33.82\00:21:36.22
Like Wycliffe, Hus 
claimed that God's people
00:21:36.22\00:21:39.79
are not bound by the
 decisions of councils
00:21:39.79\00:21:41.83
when they conflict 
with the laws of Christ.
00:21:41.83\00:21:44.73
For Hus, the Bible 
was the supreme authority.
00:21:46.63\00:21:49.97
In 1412, he was placed 
under the ban of the king.
00:21:49.97\00:21:54.31
Hus declared that it was 
because he preached Christ,
00:21:54.31\00:21:57.05
and the Gospel, and 
exposed the Antichrist.
00:21:57.05\00:22:00.02
When called to 
answer charges of heresy,
00:22:02.98\00:22:05.35
Hus was promised a 
safe conduct to Constance
00:22:05.35\00:22:08.66
by the emperor Sigismund.
00:22:08.66\00:22:10.46
But on his arrival, he
 was thrown into prison.
00:22:10.46\00:22:14.56
The same council of Constance
 that ordered Wycliffe's
00:22:22.24\00:22:24.67
disinterment, condemned Hus 
to the stake on July 6, 1415.
00:22:24.67\00:22:30.55
In every age, God has provided
 Himself with faithful witnesses
00:22:32.35\00:22:36.22
to the truths of the Gospel.
00:22:36.22\00:22:37.72
They have not always 
perceived those truths
00:22:37.72\00:22:40.39
clearly and without 
error, but they have loved
00:22:40.39\00:22:43.49
God and His Word 
and have followed truth
00:22:43.49\00:22:47.30
as they have known it.
00:22:47.30\00:22:48.46
The prophet Daniel 
used the allitery images
00:22:48.46\00:22:51.57
of the beasts and horns
00:22:51.57\00:22:53.10
to foretell the rise and work 
of the great apostate religious
00:22:53.10\00:22:56.44
system that would persecute
 God's faithful minority.
00:22:56.44\00:22:59.74
And in the 12th 
chapter of Revelation,
00:22:59.74\00:23:02.48
the apostle John also 
used symbols to describe
00:23:02.48\00:23:06.28
the experience of God's people
 at the hands of this power.
00:23:06.28\00:23:09.95
He tells of the 
terrible conflict between
00:23:09.95\00:23:12.45
a great red dragon 
and a beautiful woman
00:23:12.45\00:23:14.89
and her offspring.
00:23:14.89\00:23:15.99
The dragon is 
identified as that old serpent
00:23:15.99\00:23:19.49
called the devil and Satan, 
who deceives the whole world.
00:23:19.49\00:23:22.43
The beautiful woman represents
 God's faithful church.
00:23:22.43\00:23:26.47
The beginning of 
this conflict is described
00:23:28.07\00:23:30.47
in Genesis chapter 3.
00:23:30.47\00:23:31.97
God told the serpent 
that He would put enmity
00:23:31.97\00:23:34.68
between it and the woman,
00:23:34.68\00:23:36.18
and between its 
offspring and her's.
00:23:36.18\00:23:38.91
Now in Revelation 12, 
John sees the continuation
00:23:38.91\00:23:42.92
of this warfare in the 
hatred of the dragon's serpent
00:23:42.92\00:23:46.12
against the woman.
00:23:46.12\00:23:47.36
He describes the woman 
as clothed with the Sun,
00:23:48.52\00:23:51.19
standing on the Moon and 
wearing a crown of 12 stars.
00:23:51.19\00:23:55.13
She is portrayed 
as waiting anxiously
00:23:55.13\00:23:57.97
for the birth of Jesus.
00:23:57.97\00:23:59.40
The dragon also 
waits for this birth.
00:24:00.50\00:24:02.50
When his attempts against 
the Male Child are thwarted,
00:24:02.97\00:24:06.44
he turns on the 
woman, or the church.
00:24:06.44\00:24:09.04
His attacks are similar
00:24:10.41\00:24:11.71
to the ones he 
made against Jesus.
00:24:11.71\00:24:13.38
First, by persecution and death.
00:24:13.85\00:24:16.08
And then, through an 
apostate religious system
00:24:16.08\00:24:18.99
that buried God's truth 
under layers of tradition.
00:24:18.99\00:24:22.62
But the Revelator doesn't 
leave us to mourn the sufferings
00:24:22.62\00:24:25.96
of the woman's descendants.
00:24:25.96\00:24:27.10
He tells how God 
would preserve His church
00:24:27.10\00:24:30.33
in sparsely populated areas,
00:24:30.33\00:24:31.97
symbolized by 
desert or wilderness.
00:24:31.97\00:24:33.97
Both Daniel and John foresaw 
the persecution of God's people
00:24:37.67\00:24:41.14
lasting for the 
same period of time.
00:24:41.14\00:24:43.11
In Daniel's case, a time, times,
00:24:43.11\00:24:46.28
and half a time or 1260 days.
00:24:46.28\00:24:49.22
Similarly, 
Revelation 12:6 reads...
00:24:49.22\00:24:53.49
"And the woman fled into 
the desert to a place prepared
00:24:53.49\00:24:56.56
of God where she might be 
taken care of for 1260 days. "
00:24:56.56\00:25:02.56
But did the writers 
mean 1260 literal days?
00:25:02.56\00:25:06.77
For more than 2,000 years, 
Bible scholars have identified
00:25:10.11\00:25:13.61
the day-for-a-year principle.
00:25:13.61\00:25:15.44
Long before the birth of Christ,
00:25:15.44\00:25:17.65
the Jewish translators of 
the Old Testament into Greek
00:25:17.65\00:25:20.52
were the first to apply this 
principle to the book of Daniel.
00:25:20.52\00:25:24.02
From the 12th century, 
Christian writers have also
00:25:26.59\00:25:28.99
identified the 1,260 
days as being 1,260 years.
00:25:28.99\00:25:34.06
During this time, 
the church would flee
00:25:34.06\00:25:37.10
from the dragon, but 
God would prepare a place
00:25:37.10\00:25:39.93
of safety for His people.
00:25:39.93\00:25:41.54
One such place 
where New Testament truths
00:25:51.08\00:25:53.11
were preserved 
against the growing power
00:25:53.11\00:25:54.95
of the Bishop of Rome
 was in Northern Italy.
00:25:54.95\00:25:57.69
At the end of the 4th century,
00:26:03.83\00:26:05.29
Ambrose, Bishop of 
Milan, maintained an evangelical
00:26:05.29\00:26:09.43
theology that is 
difficult to separate from that
00:26:09.43\00:26:11.97
re-founded by the Protestant
 faith a thousand years later.
00:26:11.97\00:26:15.40
Here in these plains and
 mountains, west of Milan,
00:26:17.41\00:26:20.11
witnesses still 
held to the doctrines
00:26:20.11\00:26:22.44
of the primitive 
church and spoke against
00:26:22.44\00:26:24.68
the growing 
superstitions and perversions
00:26:24.68\00:26:27.05
in the church.
00:26:27.05\00:26:28.25
Claudius, Bishop of 
Turin, who is often referred to
00:26:29.75\00:26:33.36
as the Protestant 
of the 9th century,
00:26:33.36\00:26:35.42
also upheld the 
authority of Scripture.
00:26:35.42\00:26:38.03
These nearby valleys and
 mountains became a refuge
00:26:54.31\00:26:57.58
for perhaps the oldest and 
noblest of the line of witnesses
00:26:57.58\00:27:00.95
representing the 
church in the wilderness -
00:27:00.95\00:27:03.25
the Waldenses.
00:27:03.25\00:27:05.12
Their devotion and perseverance
00:27:17.93\00:27:19.73
filled some of the brightest 
pages of the church's history.
00:27:19.73\00:27:23.24
Many have claimed that 
the name Waldenses is derived
00:27:28.11\00:27:31.48
from Peter Waldo, who 
founded the Poor Men of Lyon,
00:27:31.48\00:27:35.18
late in the 12th century.
00:27:35.18\00:27:37.05
But history shows 
that groups of evangelicals
00:27:37.05\00:27:40.46
in Northern Italy 
upheld the teachings
00:27:40.46\00:27:42.79
of the primitive church, long
 before the arrival of Waldo.
00:27:42.79\00:27:46.09
Just outside the 
Waldensian Church Headquarters
00:27:48.23\00:27:51.00
in Torre Pellice is 
this statue of Henri Arnauld,
00:27:51.00\00:27:54.70
the famous 17th 
century leader of the Waldenses
00:27:54.70\00:27:58.21
or the Vaudois 
as they were called.
00:27:58.21\00:28:00.78
He once said of his people,
 "The Vaudois are, in fact,
00:28:00.78\00:28:05.35
descended from those 
refugees from Italy who,
00:28:05.35\00:28:08.48
after Saint Paul had 
there preached the Gospel,
00:28:08.48\00:28:11.35
abandoned their 
beautiful country and fled,
00:28:11.35\00:28:14.69
like the woman 
mentioned in the Apocalypse,
00:28:14.69\00:28:17.13
to these wild mountains 
where they have to this day
00:28:17.13\00:28:21.50
handed down the 
Gospel from father to son
00:28:21.50\00:28:23.73
in the same purity as 
it was preached to Paul.
00:28:23.73\00:28:27.34
Historians have stated that 
the greatest engineering skill
00:28:39.01\00:28:41.98
could not have 
better adapted these valleys
00:28:41.98\00:28:45.12
for the purpose of 
offering refuge to fugitives.
00:28:45.12\00:28:47.82
Each one opens into another,
 like a series of interlocking
00:28:47.82\00:28:51.79
chambers, that taken 
together form a single fortress
00:28:51.79\00:28:55.10
of amazing strength.
00:28:55.10\00:28:56.40
And it was to this fortress,
00:28:56.40\00:28:58.43
prepared for 
them by God Himself,
00:28:58.43\00:29:00.34
that the Waldenses 
fled during the 1,260 years
00:29:00.34\00:29:03.94
of Papal supremacy.
00:29:03.94\00:29:05.54
In the heart of 
these mountains is situated
00:29:12.45\00:29:14.68
the most important 
region in all of their valleys -
00:29:14.68\00:29:17.25
the "Pra Del Torno".
00:29:17.25\00:29:18.95
To this valley, 
watered by the Angrogna River,
00:29:20.66\00:29:23.39
and clothed with corn fields,
 pastures, fruit trees and
00:29:23.39\00:29:28.96
mighty chestnuts, the Waldenses
 often retreated when attacked
00:29:28.96\00:29:32.57
by their enemies.
00:29:32.57\00:29:33.80
It was here too that 
their missionaries were trained
00:29:34.07\00:29:37.37
at the College of the Barbs.
00:29:37.37\00:29:38.97
Here, the Bible was
 their only textbook.
00:29:43.75\00:29:46.05
In the centuries 
before the printing press,
00:29:46.05\00:29:48.85
they would 
memorize whole Gospels
00:29:48.85\00:29:50.92
and many of the Epistles.
00:29:50.92\00:29:52.95
Over here on this 
ancient stone table,
00:29:57.79\00:30:00.20
the training Barbs took 
their turns at transcribing
00:30:00.20\00:30:03.43
the Scriptures into 
the Romaunt vernacular.
00:30:03.43\00:30:05.67
For the Waldenses were among
 the first peoples of Europe
00:30:05.67\00:30:08.47
to obtain a 
translation of the Scriptures.
00:30:08.47\00:30:11.31
Later, disguised as 
peddlers, the Waldenses traveled
00:30:30.26\00:30:33.40
throughout 
Southern and Central Europe.
00:30:33.40\00:30:35.40
By concealing copies of the 
New Testament in their clothing,
00:30:35.40\00:30:38.73
they were able to leave 
more than just material comforts
00:30:38.73\00:30:41.97
with their customers.
00:30:41.97\00:30:43.44
As the Waldenses increased
 in numbers and influence,
00:30:46.11\00:30:49.08
the church of Rome 
became increasingly uneasy.
00:30:49.08\00:30:52.25
It recognized 
that, if this movement
00:30:52.25\00:30:54.72
was permitted to 
expand, it could one day
00:30:54.72\00:30:57.19
overcome all that 
Rome had taken centuries
00:30:57.19\00:30:59.85
to achieve.
00:30:59.85\00:31:00.76
At the beginning 
of the 14th century,
00:31:04.36\00:31:06.33
the terrible fury of 
the Pope's impresadas began.
00:31:06.33\00:31:09.50
The simple, 
peace-loving Waldenses became
00:31:10.27\00:31:13.23
part of the 
church in the wilderness,
00:31:13.23\00:31:14.84
as foretold by 
John the Revelator.
00:31:14.84\00:31:16.97
But, just as the woman 
of Revelation 12 was helped
00:31:17.21\00:31:20.71
by the Earth, 
which opened up its mouth
00:31:20.71\00:31:22.84
and swallowed the 
waters of the dragon,
00:31:22.84\00:31:24.71
so the mountains gave 
protection to the Waldenses
00:31:24.71\00:31:28.42
during the 
crusades against them.
00:31:28.42\00:31:30.52
The densely timbered forests,
00:31:36.09\00:31:37.53
the seemingly 
impassible mountain ranges,
00:31:37.53\00:31:40.43
and the very 
remoteness of their valleys
00:31:40.43\00:31:42.50
served as their only defenses.
00:31:42.50\00:31:44.77
When their villages and churches
00:31:45.53\00:31:47.17
were periodically destroyed, 
the many caves among the rocks
00:31:47.17\00:31:50.74
became their 
homes and cathedrals.
00:31:50.74\00:31:54.04
This cave is in 
the Angrogna Valley,
00:31:57.88\00:31:59.58
not far from the Pra Del Torno.
00:31:59.58\00:32:01.65
It is known as the 
"Church of the Cave,"
00:32:01.65\00:32:03.69
and it's not difficult to see 
why the enemies of the Waldenses
00:32:04.02\00:32:07.49
had trouble 
finding these hideaways.
00:32:07.49\00:32:09.86
It must have been a time of 
fearful, but warm fellowship,
00:32:34.72\00:32:37.65
as neighbors 
gathered from far and wide
00:32:37.65\00:32:40.36
to seek comfort and safety,
00:32:40.36\00:32:42.66
here deep in the 
bowels of the Earth.
00:32:42.66\00:32:46.70
In 1487, just four 
years after Luther's birth,
00:33:06.28\00:33:10.12
Pope Innocent VllI 
determined to purge the valleys
00:33:10.12\00:33:13.79
of their inhabitants.
00:33:13.79\00:33:14.99
Promising those 
who joined the crusade
00:33:16.06\00:33:17.89
the remission of all their sins,
00:33:17.89\00:33:20.43
he proceeded to 
raise a large army,
00:33:20.43\00:33:22.83
under the 
direction of Albert Cataneo.
00:33:22.83\00:33:25.17
Cataneo camped his army
00:33:27.44\00:33:28.60
at the foot of 
the mighty Casteluzzo,
00:33:28.60\00:33:30.67
just near the valley 
capital, Torre Pellice.
00:33:30.67\00:33:33.74
Hoping to avert 
disaster, the Waldenses sent two
00:33:34.48\00:33:37.98
of their number 
to meet with him.
00:33:37.98\00:33:39.78
If the Waldenses had 
hoped to intimidate Cataneo
00:33:42.15\00:33:44.85
with their forth-right approach,
00:33:44.85\00:33:46.22
they had sadly 
misjudged their man.
00:33:46.22\00:33:49.06
Dividing his forces in two,
 Cataneo directed one company
00:33:49.06\00:33:53.06
to march up the Pellice Valley
00:33:53.06\00:33:54.90
attacking the 
villages of Villaro and Bobbio
00:33:54.90\00:33:57.90
and forcing the inhabitants
 to flee to the mountains.
00:33:57.90\00:34:00.74
The other company 
he determined to lead
00:34:00.74\00:34:03.57
up the Angrogna Valley 
right to the Pra Del Torno
00:34:03.57\00:34:06.57
where he expected to 
link up with the others.
00:34:06.57\00:34:09.54
In his day, the road to 
the Pra was nearly blocked
00:34:11.61\00:34:14.55
by the barricade.
00:34:14.55\00:34:15.95
This was a steep 
rampart that crossed the valley.
00:34:15.95\00:34:19.19
It's only entrance 
being a path so narrow
00:34:19.19\00:34:22.12
that barely two men 
could walk it side-by-side.
00:34:22.12\00:34:25.19
Today, it is wide 
enough for motor traffic.
00:34:25.19\00:34:28.90
Here at Pra Del Torno,
 the Waldenses assembled
00:34:33.64\00:34:36.57
for one final 
stand, but before they did,
00:34:36.57\00:34:39.71
they committed 
themselves to God in prayer.
00:34:39.71\00:34:43.04
Would an angel be sent 
to block the invaders' path?
00:34:52.29\00:34:54.59
Or would the 
flickering flame of God's truth
00:34:54.59\00:34:57.59
finally be extinguished?
00:34:57.59\00:34:59.23
As Cataneo's army prepared
 to enter the narrow pass,
00:35:05.20\00:35:08.40
the Waldenses 
noticed a small cloud forming
00:35:08.40\00:35:12.01
on the nearby mountain peaks.
00:35:12.01\00:35:13.48
It rapidly grew larger 
and darker until finally,
00:35:19.65\00:35:22.65
it tumbled down into the valley.
00:35:22.65\00:35:24.65
The dense fog 
caused immediate confusion.
00:35:26.39\00:35:29.52
Being at an advantage 
in the changed conditions,
00:35:36.46\00:35:38.83
the Waldenses climbed the 
secret paths above the invaders
00:35:38.83\00:35:42.44
and began hurling large 
rocks on the soldiers below.
00:35:42.44\00:35:46.54
In the ensuing panic,
 Cataneo's forces began
00:35:52.45\00:35:55.65
to fight one another 
until scarcely a man remained.
00:35:55.65\00:35:58.55
By 1530, news of the Reformation
 that was sweeping Germany,
00:36:05.33\00:36:09.66
Switzerland and 
France, reached the people
00:36:09.66\00:36:12.17
of the Wadensian Valleys.
00:36:12.17\00:36:13.70
It came at a 
time when their morale
00:36:13.70\00:36:16.14
and numbers 
were low, but hearing
00:36:16.14\00:36:18.54
of this new army of 
champions helped to remind them
00:36:18.54\00:36:21.48
of their past glories.
00:36:21.48\00:36:22.94
The Swiss Reformers 
also rejoiced to discover
00:36:23.24\00:36:27.12
a Biblically sound 
church with such a long history.
00:36:27.12\00:36:30.22
It was resolved to convene 
a general synod to determine
00:36:30.22\00:36:34.79
the relation between 
the Church of the Alps
00:36:34.79\00:36:37.16
and the Reformation.
00:36:37.16\00:36:38.99
In 1532, the historic 
synod met at Chamforans
00:36:38.99\00:36:43.23
in this open field, 
not far from Pra Del Torno.
00:36:43.23\00:36:46.50
While not everyone agreed
 on all points of doctrine,
00:36:46.50\00:36:49.50
the Bible's pre-eminent
 place was reaffirmed.
00:36:49.50\00:36:52.91
The Waldenses pledged to 
contribute to the Reformation
00:36:52.91\00:36:56.11
a translation of the 
Scriptures into French.
00:36:56.11\00:36:58.85
The task was given to Olivetan,
00:36:58.85\00:37:00.95
a relative of John Calvin.
00:37:00.95\00:37:03.35
It was an 
appropriate gift from a church
00:37:03.35\00:37:06.55
whose very existence 
down through the centuries
00:37:06.55\00:37:08.39
was due to the strict adherence
00:37:08.39\00:37:10.06
to the underlying 
principles of this book.
00:37:10.06\00:37:13.09
Tragically, the persecutions
 against the Waldenses
00:37:17.97\00:37:20.70
did not cease 
with the Reformation.
00:37:20.70\00:37:22.94
In fact, in the 
years that followed,
00:37:22.94\00:37:25.11
they became more intense,
00:37:25.11\00:37:26.84
reaching their climax 
during the 17th century.
00:37:26.84\00:37:30.15
Time has healed the 
scars of the great massacre
00:37:30.68\00:37:33.75
of Easter 1655.
00:37:33.75\00:37:35.65
However, its 
memory is indelibly etched
00:37:35.98\00:37:39.09
into the very rocks and crevices
 of the mighty Casteluzzo.
00:37:39.09\00:37:44.16
This plaque indicates 
the location of the cave
00:37:51.40\00:37:53.94
at the foot of the Casteluzzo,
00:37:53.94\00:37:55.54
that so often 
protected the Waldensian people
00:37:55.54\00:37:58.24
during times of persecution.
00:37:58.24\00:37:59.64
And in late Easter 
1655, the people of the valley
00:37:59.64\00:38:03.75
fled to its refuge once again.
00:38:03.75\00:38:06.01
But this time, 
they were discovered.
00:38:06.01\00:38:09.82
One by one, men, women 
and children were dragged
00:38:12.09\00:38:18.46
from its depths and 
thrown over the awful precipice.
00:38:18.46\00:38:23.57
Screams of 
agony as they descend.
00:38:23.57\00:38:30.27
All of Protestant Europe 
reacted with grief and sympathy.
00:38:36.71\00:38:39.98
The blind poet, John Milton
00:38:44.99\00:38:46.39
wrote one of his 
most powerful sonnets
00:38:46.39\00:38:48.89
as a memorial to the 
martyrs of Casteluzzo.
00:38:48.89\00:38:51.73
"Avenge, O Lord 
thy slaughtered saints,
00:38:55.30\00:38:58.07
whose bones lie scattered 
on the Alpine mountains cold;
00:38:58.07\00:39:02.24
Even them who kept 
thy truth so pure of old,
00:39:02.24\00:39:06.14
When all our fathers 
worshiped stocks and stones,
00:39:06.14\00:39:09.94
Forget not: in thy 
book record their groans
00:39:09.94\00:39:14.72
Who were thy sheep, 
and in their ancient fold
00:39:14.72\00:39:17.82
Slain by the bloody 
Piemontese, that rolled
00:39:17.82\00:39:20.42
Mother with 
infant down the rocks.
00:39:20.42\00:39:23.06
Their moans The vales redoubled
00:39:23.06\00:39:25.96
to the hills, 
and they to Heaven. "
00:39:25.96\00:39:29.33
Closed captioning made possible
00:39:44.75\00:39:50.09
by 3ABN viewers and supporters.
00:39:51.99\00:39:56.66