The mid-16th century
00:00:19.05\00:00:20.52
saw the rise of
Protestantism in England
00:00:20.55\00:00:23.22
initiated by King
Henry VIII break from Rome
00:00:23.25\00:00:26.72
and nurtured by Edward VI
00:00:26.76\00:00:28.79
and a nine-day
Queen Lady Jane Grey.
00:00:28.82\00:00:31.56
This was brought to a halt
during the reign of Mary Tudor
00:00:31.59\00:00:35.13
who reinstated
Catholicism in England
00:00:35.16\00:00:37.43
and earned the
title Bloody Queen Mary
00:00:37.47\00:00:40.50
for her role in the
murder of over 260 Protestants.
00:00:40.54\00:00:44.77
Things change when
Elizabeth I came to the throne.
00:00:44.81\00:00:47.84
She reinstated Protestantism
and cemented earlier reforms
00:00:47.88\00:00:51.81
that had started
00:00:51.85\00:00:53.18
and established
the Anglican Church.
00:00:53.21\00:00:55.75
Catholics though viewed her
00:00:55.78\00:00:57.19
as an illegitimate Queen
because they never recognized
00:00:57.22\00:01:00.32
King Henry VIII divorce
from Catherine of Aragon.
00:01:00.36\00:01:03.76
Thus making his
marriage to Ann Boleyn,
00:01:03.79\00:01:06.86
Elizabeth's mother illegitimate,
00:01:06.90\00:01:09.16
thus making her
an illegitimate Queen
00:01:09.20\00:01:11.77
in their eyes.
00:01:11.80\00:01:13.84
Rome then wanted to establish
00:01:13.87\00:01:15.80
a Catholic monarchy
and attempted to do this
00:01:15.84\00:01:18.71
through a military invasion.
00:01:18.74\00:01:21.11
On the 28th of May, 1588,
00:01:26.58\00:01:29.82
the Spanish Armada
a fleet of 130 ships
00:01:29.85\00:01:33.76
set sail from Spain to England.
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One of the largest fleets
00:01:36.49\00:01:38.06
ever assembled at
a huge cost to Spain,
00:01:38.09\00:01:41.06
it had almost
double the firepower
00:01:41.10\00:01:43.20
of the entire English Navy
00:01:43.23\00:01:45.60
almost
guaranteeing an easy victory.
00:01:45.63\00:01:48.90
They were first sighted
on July the 19th in Lizard,
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Cornwall and the
news was relayed to London
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via a system of beacons.
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Sailing up the English Channel,
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they missed an opportunity
to attack the English fleet
00:02:05.92\00:02:09.12
stuck in the
tidal mud in Plymouth,
00:02:09.16\00:02:12.19
hoping to reach the Netherlands
00:02:12.23\00:02:13.93
to pick up 30,000 soldiers
to battle with the English,
00:02:13.96\00:02:17.67
they dropped anchor in Calais.
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On the 29th of July
00:02:25.97\00:02:28.21
across from the cliffs of
Dover over in the French waters
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of Calais behind me,
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the Armada was attacked
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by 8 English fire
ships that came in,
00:02:35.85\00:02:39.19
broke their
formation allowing the smaller
00:02:39.22\00:02:42.22
and more agile English ships
to come in and wreak havoc.
00:02:42.26\00:02:46.70
The Armada broke up
and sailed up the channel
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to the North Sea
while being pursued
00:02:57.21\00:02:59.37
by the English ships.
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They continued around Scotland,
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but much of the fleet crashed
onto the rocks of Scotland
00:03:02.81\00:03:06.41
an island as in their
hasty retreat that many of them
00:03:06.45\00:03:09.95
had lost their anchors.
00:03:09.98\00:03:12.25
Of the 130 ships
that originally set sail
00:03:12.29\00:03:15.96
only 67 of them
made it back home.
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Unaware of the Armada's fate
00:03:24.60\00:03:26.53
the English militias
assembled in Tilbury, Essex
00:03:26.57\00:03:29.80
where Elizabeth was
invited to inspect the troops.
00:03:29.84\00:03:33.07
Wearing a silver breastplate
over a white velvet dress,
00:03:33.11\00:03:36.54
she gave a famous speech,
00:03:36.58\00:03:39.01
"My loving people
we have been persuaded
00:03:39.05\00:03:41.48
by some that are careful
for our safety to take heed
00:03:41.52\00:03:44.95
how we commit
ourselves to armed multitudes
00:03:44.99\00:03:47.46
for fear of treachery,
00:03:47.49\00:03:49.22
but I assure you I
do not desire to live
00:03:49.26\00:03:52.43
to distrust my
faithful and loving people.
00:03:52.46\00:03:55.43
I know I have the body
but of a weak and feeble woman
00:03:55.46\00:03:59.57
but I have the heart
and stomach of a king
00:03:59.60\00:04:02.27
and of a king of
England too and think foul scorn
00:04:02.30\00:04:06.41
that Parma or Spain
or any Prince of Europe
00:04:06.44\00:04:09.68
would dare to invade
the borders of my realm."
00:04:09.71\00:04:12.31
When it was clear
that the Armada's attempt
00:04:18.92\00:04:21.66
to overthrow
Protestantism had failed,
00:04:21.69\00:04:24.56
England was relieved
00:04:24.59\00:04:26.09
and Elizabeth I at
her Thanksgiving service
00:04:26.13\00:04:29.03
to St. Paul's
Cathedral that was attended by
00:04:29.06\00:04:31.80
almost as many
as her coronation.
00:04:31.83\00:04:34.64
Many took the defeat
of the Armada to be a sign
00:04:34.67\00:04:37.14
of God's favor
00:04:37.17\00:04:38.51
and the
inviolability of the rule
00:04:38.54\00:04:40.14
of the Queen and her realm.
00:04:40.18\00:04:42.94
Protestantism was uplifted
and medals were inscribed
00:04:42.98\00:04:47.12
that bore
variations of the inscription,
00:04:47.15\00:04:49.58
God blew the winds
and they were scattered
00:04:49.62\00:04:52.55
or he blew and
they were scattered.
00:04:52.59\00:04:55.09
While historians debate
exactly what was the factor
00:04:55.12\00:04:57.79
that led to the
defeat of the Armada,
00:04:57.83\00:04:59.69
one thing is clear,
providence played a key role.
00:04:59.73\00:05:04.00
Now in our lives
today it may not be
00:05:04.03\00:05:06.17
on such a grand scale
as the Armada back then,
00:05:06.20\00:05:09.27
but God still moves through
providential circumstances.
00:05:09.30\00:05:12.51
He doesn't always speak audibly,
00:05:12.54\00:05:14.34
He doesn't always have
00:05:14.38\00:05:15.71
a bloodless
handwriting on the wall
00:05:15.74\00:05:17.35
as in Daniel Chapter 5,
00:05:17.38\00:05:19.11
but God still rules
in the affairs of men
00:05:19.15\00:05:21.85
and in our lives today,
00:05:21.88\00:05:23.72
He still moves through
providential circumstances.
00:05:23.75\00:05:26.65
May we be open to His
leading in this manner.
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Remember, remember
the 5th of November,
00:06:02.86\00:06:06.16
gunpowder, treason
and plot, I see no reason
00:06:06.19\00:06:09.86
why Guy Fawkes
should ever be forgot.
00:06:09.90\00:06:12.33
A short run at I along
with numerous of the children
00:06:12.37\00:06:15.47
growing up in England
learned in school and yet today
00:06:15.50\00:06:19.31
it seems that many
have forgotten the story.
00:06:19.34\00:06:22.71
In the early 1600s England
00:06:22.74\00:06:24.85
was under a
Protestant king, King James.
00:06:24.88\00:06:28.15
Born in Edinburgh Castle,
00:06:28.18\00:06:29.78
he ascended to
the Scottish throne
00:06:29.82\00:06:31.69
and when the Scottish
00:06:31.72\00:06:33.05
and English
thrones merged in 1603,
00:06:33.09\00:06:36.32
he became the King
of England as well.
00:06:36.36\00:06:39.39
King James is best
known for the translation
00:06:44.80\00:06:47.47
of the Bible that
is named after him,
00:06:47.50\00:06:49.94
translated over a period
00:06:49.97\00:06:51.37
of five years
and released in 1611,
00:06:51.41\00:06:54.91
it is a masterpiece
of the English language
00:06:54.94\00:06:57.95
shaping many of the terms
and phrases that we use today.
00:06:57.98\00:07:02.42
Had the Gunpowder Plot
in 1605 being successful,
00:07:02.45\00:07:06.02
it is likely that
the work of translation
00:07:06.05\00:07:08.62
would have stopped.
00:07:08.66\00:07:09.99
The crown of
England had gone back
00:07:15.76\00:07:17.80
and forth between
Catholic and Protestant hands
00:07:17.83\00:07:20.57
in the early to
mid 16th century,
00:07:20.60\00:07:23.10
but during the
reign of Elizabeth I
00:07:23.14\00:07:25.54
some stability had
been brought to the throne.
00:07:25.57\00:07:28.68
Despite this it was
the dream of Catholics,
00:07:28.71\00:07:31.41
both at home and abroad
00:07:31.45\00:07:33.28
to restore a Catholic
monarch to the throne.
00:07:33.31\00:07:36.35
An audacious plot was
launched to assassinate the king
00:07:36.38\00:07:40.22
not by a bullet or by poison,
00:07:40.26\00:07:42.52
but by blowing up
the houses of parliament
00:07:42.56\00:07:45.39
during the state's
opening of parliament,
00:07:45.43\00:07:47.90
thus not only killing the king
00:07:47.93\00:07:50.17
but also many of
his close advisors
00:07:50.20\00:07:52.70
and members of parliament.
00:07:52.73\00:07:54.57
It was then the
hope of the Catholics
00:07:54.60\00:07:56.44
to bring a new monarch
and government to England.
00:07:56.47\00:07:59.67
In those days security
was not what it is today
00:08:05.01\00:08:08.45
and they were able to rent
a space underneath parliament
00:08:08.48\00:08:11.49
which they filled with
36 barrels of gunpowder.
00:08:11.52\00:08:14.72
This huge supply of explosives
could not be detonated remotely
00:08:14.76\00:08:19.13
and someone had
to light it manually
00:08:19.16\00:08:21.20
and that job fell to Guy Fawkes.
00:08:21.23\00:08:23.77
Fawkes born in York had
worked for several years
00:08:23.80\00:08:26.84
in the Spanish army
as an explosives expert
00:08:26.87\00:08:29.87
and whilst he was not a
major player in this plot,
00:08:29.90\00:08:32.94
due to the role that he played
his name is etched in history
00:08:32.97\00:08:36.61
and he is the
one best remembered.
00:08:36.64\00:08:38.41
Up to this point everything
had been kept top-secret
00:08:43.95\00:08:48.02
but there was to
be a fortunate leak,
00:08:48.06\00:08:50.46
just prior to
the 5th of November
00:08:50.49\00:08:52.93
an anonymous letter was sent
to William Parker warning him
00:08:52.96\00:08:56.46
not to attend
parliament on that day.
00:08:56.50\00:08:58.97
Suspicion was aroused
00:08:59.00\00:09:00.57
and the thorough search
of the building took place
00:09:00.60\00:09:02.97
whereby they found Guy Fawkes
and his stash of gunpowder.
00:09:03.00\00:09:07.34
He was taken to the
tower of London and tortured
00:09:07.38\00:09:10.08
until he gave up the names
of his fellow conspirators,
00:09:10.11\00:09:13.05
the coherence of his signature
00:09:13.08\00:09:14.98
before and after
his torture reveals
00:09:15.02\00:09:17.95
the severity of his punishment.
00:09:17.99\00:09:20.49
Eventually they captured
00:09:20.52\00:09:21.89
and executed all
those involved in the plot,
00:09:21.92\00:09:25.23
including the
ringleader Robert Catesby.
00:09:25.26\00:09:27.73
The king and
parliament had been saved,
00:09:34.50\00:09:37.27
England had been
spared another bloody takeover
00:09:37.31\00:09:40.01
and Protestantism
remained the dominant religion.
00:09:40.04\00:09:43.65
Today this event is
commemorated in every village,
00:09:43.68\00:09:46.61
town and city across the country
00:09:46.65\00:09:48.82
with bonfires being lit.
00:09:48.85\00:09:50.82
In an event often
fondly known as bonfire night,
00:09:50.85\00:09:54.72
in a country that
has remained independent
00:09:54.76\00:09:56.73
for hundreds of years,
00:09:56.76\00:09:58.23
this is perhaps
the closest thing
00:09:58.26\00:09:59.89
to a national
00:09:59.93\00:10:01.26
or Independence Day celebration.
00:10:01.30\00:10:03.67
Something that stands out from
this episode of history is how
00:10:03.70\00:10:07.67
thin and fragile the line
is between freedom and tyranny.
00:10:07.70\00:10:13.31
A famous person once
said that your freedom
00:10:13.34\00:10:15.91
and mine cannot be separated
00:10:15.94\00:10:18.28
and yet today we
live in a society
00:10:18.31\00:10:20.42
where if someone's
rights are being abused
00:10:20.45\00:10:22.55
people are more
likely to film it
00:10:22.58\00:10:24.09
on their mobile phones
00:10:24.12\00:10:25.49
than they are to stop
and do something to help.
00:10:25.52\00:10:28.49
May we defend our
freedoms, civil and religious,
00:10:28.52\00:10:32.29
anytime they come under attack
00:10:32.33\00:10:34.26
and the freedoms of others
00:10:34.30\00:10:35.76
if we ever see them
under threat as well.
00:10:35.80\00:10:38.47
In 1620, a boat laid
with 130 passengers set sail
00:11:22.88\00:11:27.95
for the new world, a
frontier that had been
00:11:27.98\00:11:30.55
breached by only a
few other Europeans
00:11:30.59\00:11:33.15
and would
eventually come to be known
00:11:33.19\00:11:34.96
as the United States of America.
00:11:34.99\00:11:37.93
They would land on
the East Coast in Cape Cod
00:11:37.96\00:11:40.70
before finally settling
in Plymouth, Massachusetts.
00:11:40.73\00:11:44.20
Their journey however begins
in a small English village.
00:11:44.23\00:11:50.01
Scrooby lies in Nottinghamshire
and whilst it appears calm
00:11:54.91\00:11:58.91
and humble, the residents
00:11:58.95\00:12:00.52
who came from this
village over 380 years ago
00:12:00.55\00:12:04.35
were firm in belief
and strong in conviction.
00:12:04.39\00:12:07.79
The principal members
of the Scrooby separatists
00:12:07.82\00:12:10.43
were Clyfton as pastor,
00:12:10.46\00:12:12.49
Robinson as teacher and
Brewster as ruling elder.
00:12:12.53\00:12:16.97
Thirty residents left Scrooby
and headed for the Netherlands
00:12:17.00\00:12:20.87
where they joined John Smith
00:12:20.90\00:12:22.80
who had previously left England
00:12:22.84\00:12:24.94
with another
group of separatists,
00:12:24.97\00:12:27.14
though this would not
be their permanent home.
00:12:27.18\00:12:30.18
Further
meetings would take place
00:12:35.05\00:12:37.09
and those in
Holland decided that
00:12:37.12\00:12:39.65
they would head to the Americas.
00:12:39.69\00:12:41.82
On the English
side of the channel
00:12:41.86\00:12:44.13
there were
people who were unhappy
00:12:44.16\00:12:46.03
with the religious restrictions
being imposed by the church
00:12:46.06\00:12:49.43
and they also decided
that England was ceasing to be
00:12:49.46\00:12:53.57
a habitable place.
00:12:53.60\00:12:54.94
The Mayflower set sail
from this exact spot here
00:12:59.91\00:13:03.45
on the Thames in
Rotherhithe, South London.
00:13:03.48\00:13:06.38
Above me the
Mayflower pub marks this spot
00:13:06.41\00:13:09.65
where 53 people
set sail for America.
00:13:09.68\00:13:13.02
Its sister ship the Speedwell
left from the Netherlands
00:13:13.05\00:13:16.32
but when it was 200 miles
off the coast of Cornwall,
00:13:16.36\00:13:19.29
they had to turn back
00:13:19.33\00:13:20.66
because it had developed a leak.
00:13:20.70\00:13:22.53
Those onboard the
Speedwell then disembarked
00:13:22.56\00:13:25.17
and got on board the
Mayflower swelling its numbers
00:13:25.20\00:13:27.80
from 53 to 130.
00:13:27.84\00:13:30.61
Forty-three of those people
00:13:30.64\00:13:32.11
on the
Mayflower were separatist,
00:13:32.14\00:13:34.18
puritans who did not believe
00:13:34.21\00:13:35.84
in the union of church and state
00:13:35.88\00:13:38.05
and were unhappy at
how the Anglican Church
00:13:38.08\00:13:40.75
was treating those
who disagreed with her.
00:13:40.78\00:13:43.22
Those on board had to put up
with cramped living conditions,
00:13:49.52\00:13:53.50
food shortages,
little fresh meat,
00:13:53.53\00:13:56.36
little water, severe seasickness
00:13:56.40\00:13:59.37
and violent storms making it
an incredibly arduous journey.
00:13:59.40\00:14:04.17
They finally sighted
land on the 9th of November,
00:14:04.21\00:14:07.64
1620, in Cape Cod and
would eventually anchor
00:14:07.68\00:14:11.68
in Provincetown on
the 21st of November.
00:14:11.71\00:14:15.58
Of those who made the
journey over half would die
00:14:15.62\00:14:19.45
that first winter
due to the harsh weather,
00:14:19.49\00:14:22.49
illness and the poor
diet available to them.
00:14:22.52\00:14:25.96
Little did these
people realize the impact
00:14:30.40\00:14:33.13
that this journey
would have on history
00:14:33.17\00:14:35.10
and the legacy
that they would leave
00:14:35.14\00:14:36.77
that in just 150 years
00:14:36.81\00:14:38.81
the land that they
arrived in would fight
00:14:38.84\00:14:41.44
and win its independence,
00:14:41.48\00:14:43.14
and just 200 years
past its independence
00:14:43.18\00:14:46.15
would rank as the
most powerful nation
00:14:46.18\00:14:48.35
in the world.
00:14:48.38\00:14:49.72
For those on board the
ship I'm sure the actions
00:14:49.75\00:14:52.39
did not seem so
heroic and brave,
00:14:52.42\00:14:54.59
but history remembers them well.
00:14:54.62\00:14:57.09
Never underestimate the impact
00:14:57.13\00:14:59.36
that your life can have
00:14:59.39\00:15:00.80
on future
successive generations,
00:15:00.83\00:15:03.47
the decisions that you make,
00:15:03.50\00:15:04.97
the sacrifices you
enjoy and the principles
00:15:05.00\00:15:08.10
that you live by can
have a profound impact
00:15:08.14\00:15:10.77
on your children
00:15:10.81\00:15:12.14
and it can have
a profound impact
00:15:12.17\00:15:13.51
on the successive generations
00:15:13.54\00:15:14.88
of young people
that come after you.
00:15:14.91\00:15:17.48
Our life that we
live however small
00:15:17.51\00:15:19.98
they may seem can have an impact
00:15:20.02\00:15:22.48
that will be
reflected only in eternity.
00:15:22.52\00:15:25.15
What was at the
heart of the reformation,
00:15:54.25\00:15:56.95
was it a location,
was it Augsburg, Geneva,
00:15:56.99\00:16:00.56
Wittenberg or Edinburgh
00:16:00.59\00:16:02.49
or was it
something more than that?
00:16:02.52\00:16:05.53
The focal point was that
the Bible was written for
00:16:05.56\00:16:09.93
and could be interpreted
00:16:09.96\00:16:11.43
and understood
by the common man.
00:16:11.47\00:16:14.37
The result of this
focus was a discovery of
00:16:14.40\00:16:17.51
who the Antichrist was
and who Jesus Christ was
00:16:17.54\00:16:21.51
and that he was
freely accessible to all.
00:16:21.54\00:16:24.08
On October 31st, 1517,
00:16:29.12\00:16:32.05
Martin Luther nailed
his 95 thesis to the door
00:16:32.09\00:16:35.39
of Wittenberg Castle Cathedral,
00:16:35.42\00:16:37.16
oblivious of the
ramifications of his actions.
00:16:37.19\00:16:40.06
Luther was 34
00:16:40.10\00:16:41.43
and throughout
the rest of his life,
00:16:41.46\00:16:43.10
he will be the engine
that drove the reformation,
00:16:43.13\00:16:45.87
inspiring countless
generations to come.
00:16:45.90\00:16:48.50
At the time Luther was
responding to John Tetzel
00:16:48.54\00:16:51.51
who was
traveling through Germany
00:16:51.54\00:16:53.14
selling indulgences essentially
a fast ticket to heaven
00:16:53.17\00:16:56.41
in order to fund the building
00:16:56.44\00:16:58.15
of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.
00:16:58.18\00:17:00.25
Based on Romans 1:16-18,
00:17:06.99\00:17:10.56
Luther believed in
salvation through faith by grace
00:17:10.59\00:17:14.30
while the papacy
believed our salvation
00:17:14.33\00:17:16.40
requires some
action on our behalf
00:17:16.43\00:17:18.70
which in this case
00:17:18.73\00:17:20.07
was the
purchasing of indulgences.
00:17:20.10\00:17:22.17
In 1999 the Catholic Church
signed a joint declaration
00:17:25.74\00:17:29.94
with the Lutheran
Church which was hailed by
00:17:29.98\00:17:32.28
many as a step in
bridging the divide
00:17:32.31\00:17:35.18
and reaching a
consensus on justification,
00:17:35.22\00:17:38.32
however the Catholic Church
00:17:38.35\00:17:39.75
still affirmed the
view of the Council of Trent
00:17:39.79\00:17:42.76
on justification
which declared upholding
00:17:42.79\00:17:45.86
justification by
faith alone as anathema.
00:17:45.89\00:17:49.50
The Roman Catholic
Church's basic view of salvation
00:17:54.24\00:17:57.57
is still dependent on
the mediation of the church,
00:17:57.61\00:18:01.08
the distribution of grace
00:18:01.11\00:18:02.51
by means of the sacraments,
00:18:02.54\00:18:04.28
the intercession of the saints
00:18:04.31\00:18:06.18
and purgatory
00:18:06.21\00:18:07.55
even after the
joint declaration of 1999.
00:18:07.58\00:18:13.56
Jesus prayed in John 17
that His people may be one
00:18:13.59\00:18:17.63
as He and the Father are one.
00:18:17.66\00:18:19.86
In the Bible at the end of time
00:18:19.89\00:18:21.66
it says there will be
one flock and one shepherd.
00:18:21.70\00:18:24.63
However, truth
must never be sacrificed
00:18:24.67\00:18:26.94
for unity and peace
00:18:26.97\00:18:28.77
cannot be attained
through compromise.
00:18:28.80\00:18:30.81
Today, unity is often secured
through shallow statements
00:18:35.01\00:18:38.91
and a minimization
of historical events
00:18:38.95\00:18:41.25
and a reinterpretation
of those same events
00:18:41.28\00:18:44.45
to suit current agendas.
00:18:44.49\00:18:46.45
Martin Luther was not a saint
00:18:46.49\00:18:48.56
nor were his beliefs
completely without error,
00:18:48.59\00:18:51.33
but his understanding
and conviction that
00:18:51.36\00:18:53.93
the Bible could be
understood by the common man
00:18:53.96\00:18:56.90
and that salvation
was available through
00:18:56.93\00:18:59.07
direct communion
between the believer
00:18:59.10\00:19:01.20
and Jesus Christ
still stands today.
00:19:01.24\00:19:04.97
The issues that gave birth
00:19:08.24\00:19:09.81
to the reformation 500 years ago
00:19:09.84\00:19:12.68
are still relevant to
the church at large today.
00:19:12.71\00:19:15.88
While we should
welcome all opportunities
00:19:15.92\00:19:17.85
for
clarification and cooperation,
00:19:17.89\00:19:20.36
we should also
affirm as did the reformers
00:19:20.39\00:19:22.96
that the Bible is
our final authority
00:19:22.99\00:19:26.16
and that salvation
is through faith alone.
00:19:26.19\00:19:29.23
Luther famously said,
00:19:33.03\00:19:34.67
"Unless I am convinced by
Scripture and plain reason,
00:19:34.70\00:19:38.07
I do not accept the
authority of popes and councils,
00:19:38.11\00:19:40.98
for they have
contradicted each other.
00:19:41.01\00:19:42.91
My conscience is
captive to the Word of God.
00:19:42.94\00:19:46.05
I cannot and I will
not recant anything,
00:19:46.08\00:19:49.02
for to go against conscience
is neither right nor safe.
00:19:49.05\00:19:52.69
Here I stand, I cannot
do otherwise, God help me.
00:19:52.72\00:19:56.96
Amen."
00:19:56.99\00:19:58.33
Today it will be well
for the church at large
00:20:03.06\00:20:05.80
and each one of us
individually to take this
00:20:05.83\00:20:08.34
as our guide.
00:20:08.37\00:20:09.70
It is neither right nor
safe to go against conscience
00:20:09.74\00:20:12.84
and Scripture
accompanied by sound reason
00:20:12.87\00:20:15.81
and the Holy Spirit
needs to be our teacher.
00:20:15.84\00:20:19.28
Let us be
faithful to God's Word,
00:20:19.31\00:20:21.48
gracious in how we share it,
00:20:21.52\00:20:23.49
firm in our
understanding of its truths
00:20:23.52\00:20:26.32
and immovable
in our convictions.
00:20:26.35\00:20:29.29
The Waldensian stand as
one of the most faithful
00:21:11.23\00:21:13.74
groups of people
throughout history in Europe,
00:21:13.77\00:21:16.71
faithful to the Word of God
and faithful amidst much trial,
00:21:16.74\00:21:20.88
despite suffering
repeated persecution
00:21:20.91\00:21:23.45
over the course of
almost a millennia.
00:21:23.48\00:21:25.71
In the 17th century
they would go through
00:21:25.75\00:21:28.32
one of the worst
episodes of their history.
00:21:28.35\00:21:31.65
In January of
1655, the Duke of Savoy
00:21:39.23\00:21:42.53
gave the Waldensians in
the lower valleys a choice,
00:21:42.56\00:21:45.27
either attend mass
or leave the valleys.
00:21:45.30\00:21:48.10
Rather than
compromise, some 2,000 believers
00:21:48.14\00:21:51.27
journeyed across snowy rivers
and hills in the dead of winter
00:21:51.31\00:21:55.11
to be welcomed by
their fellow believers
00:21:55.14\00:21:57.25
in the upper valleys.
00:21:57.28\00:21:58.95
But this was merely
the calm before the storm.
00:21:58.98\00:22:02.12
In April of that
year, the Duke sent an army
00:22:02.15\00:22:05.35
into the valleys and
on April 24th at 4 a.m.,
00:22:05.39\00:22:09.96
a Saturday, the
massacre started.
00:22:09.99\00:22:13.29
Not contempt with
simply killing them,
00:22:19.83\00:22:21.80
the soldiers and
monks who accompanied them
00:22:21.84\00:22:23.87
invented barbaric tortures,
00:22:23.91\00:22:25.87
babies and children
had their limbs torn
00:22:25.91\00:22:28.51
from their bodies
by shear strength.
00:22:28.54\00:22:31.11
Parents were forced
to watch their children
00:22:31.15\00:22:33.15
tortured and killed
before they themselves
00:22:33.18\00:22:35.78
were tortured and killed.
00:22:35.82\00:22:37.69
Fathers were made to
wear the decapitated heads
00:22:37.72\00:22:40.12
of their children
00:22:40.16\00:22:41.49
as they were
marched to their death.
00:22:41.52\00:22:43.59
Some Christians were literally
plowed into their own field,
00:22:43.63\00:22:47.26
some were flayed or burned alive
00:22:47.30\00:22:49.73
and many endured much worse.
00:22:49.76\00:22:52.73
Unburied bodies dead and
alive covered the ground.
00:22:52.77\00:22:57.01
In order to escape
this terrible massacre,
00:22:57.04\00:22:59.54
hundreds of
Waldensians fled to a large cave
00:22:59.57\00:23:02.68
in the towering
mount Castelluzzo,
00:23:02.71\00:23:05.28
the murderous
soldiers however found them
00:23:05.31\00:23:07.65
and marched them to the top.
00:23:07.68\00:23:09.45
They came to
this spot right here
00:23:19.19\00:23:21.33
and will hurled over
the edge to their death
00:23:21.36\00:23:23.73
on the rocks below.
00:23:23.77\00:23:25.13
I believe that on
the resurrection morning
00:23:25.17\00:23:27.30
many faithful
believers will rise to glory
00:23:27.34\00:23:30.04
from the bottom of this mountain
00:23:30.07\00:23:31.71
and in this valley.
00:23:31.74\00:23:33.07
This is the reference in
Milton's famous sonnet too,
00:23:33.11\00:23:36.14
the bloody
Piedmontese that hurled mother
00:23:36.18\00:23:38.98
and infant down the rocks.
00:23:39.01\00:23:41.02
Survivors of the
massacre were few,
00:23:41.05\00:23:43.42
but they rallied
together and wrote to Christians
00:23:43.45\00:23:46.22
throughout Europe for help,
00:23:46.25\00:23:47.99
their letters included
the heartrending words,
00:23:48.02\00:23:50.86
our tears are
no longer of water,
00:23:50.89\00:23:53.76
they are of blood.
00:23:53.80\00:23:55.13
They do not
merely obscure our site,
00:23:55.16\00:23:57.60
but choke our very heart.
00:23:57.63\00:23:59.73
When Oliver Cromwell,
Lord Protector of England
00:23:59.77\00:24:02.64
heard of the massacre,
00:24:02.67\00:24:04.07
he called for a
national day of fasting
00:24:04.11\00:24:06.61
and collected
money to send to meet
00:24:06.64\00:24:09.04
the physical needs
of the Waldensians.
00:24:09.08\00:24:11.15
This was not the only
instance of persecution
00:24:19.25\00:24:21.96
and it continued over
three and a half decades
00:24:21.99\00:24:24.53
from 1655 to 1689.
00:24:24.56\00:24:28.06
During that time more than half
were driven from the valleys,
00:24:28.10\00:24:31.77
yet in 1689 Henri Arnaud
00:24:31.80\00:24:34.90
from Noyon,
Switzerland led a force
00:24:34.94\00:24:37.21
of 800 warriors
back to the border.
00:24:37.24\00:24:40.28
In the winter they
resisted four separate attacks
00:24:40.31\00:24:43.41
from a much larger army.
00:24:43.45\00:24:45.75
In spring the papal armies
returned with 22,000 soldiers,
00:24:45.78\00:24:50.15
this time to
fight a much smaller
00:24:50.19\00:24:52.09
Waldensian
force of just 400 men,
00:24:52.12\00:24:55.12
yet they were once again
defeated and not only that,
00:24:55.16\00:24:58.09
not one of the 400 men
was lost in this battle.
00:24:58.13\00:25:01.76
They returned to the valleys
00:25:01.80\00:25:03.13
in what was called
the glorious return,
00:25:03.16\00:25:05.43
we're claiming them
once again as a place
00:25:05.47\00:25:07.84
where they could
live and worship.
00:25:07.87\00:25:10.11
The Waldensians had a
faith that reminds me of Job,
00:25:19.55\00:25:22.98
they were a people
who suffered attacks
00:25:23.02\00:25:24.95
and persecutions
for several centuries
00:25:24.99\00:25:27.72
close to a thousand
years suffering immeasurably,
00:25:27.76\00:25:31.13
for many it did
not weaken their faith
00:25:31.16\00:25:33.43
but rather strengthened it.
00:25:33.46\00:25:35.03
Sometimes in life
we may be serving God
00:25:35.06\00:25:37.70
dedicating our lives to Him,
00:25:37.73\00:25:39.83
and we still go
through hard times,
00:25:39.87\00:25:42.00
trials and suffering
00:25:42.04\00:25:43.84
that may we say
we do not deserve.
00:25:43.87\00:25:46.71
May we have a faith like Job
00:25:46.74\00:25:48.64
who said though He slay
me yet will I trust Him.
00:25:48.68\00:25:52.28
Whatever we go through in life,
00:25:52.31\00:25:54.12
may we stay hold
of God trusting that
00:25:54.15\00:25:56.82
He has our best
interests at heart.
00:25:56.85\00:25:59.25