Our Gospel Age Heritage

1. Our Gospel Age Heritage (Fore Gleams of the Reformation) Wycliffe Arius Waldo Huss

2. Self ExaminationHymn # 13 – 5 verses Am I a soldier of the cross, A fol’w- er of the Lamb? And shall I fear to own his cause, Or blush to speak his name?

3. Must I be borne to Par – adise, On Flower – y beds of ease, While oth-ers fought win the prize, And sailed through bloody seas?

4. Are there no foes for me to face? Must I not stem the flood? Is this vain world a friend to grace, To help me on to God?

5. Sure I must fight if I would reign; Increase my courage, Lord; I’ll bear the toil, endure the pain, Support - ed by thy Word.

6. When thine il-lus-trious day shall rise, And all thy saints shall shine, And shouts of vic-t’ry rend the skies, The glory, Lord, be thine.

7. Our Gospel Age Heritage (Fore Gleams of the Reformation) Wycliffe Arius Waldo Huss

8. Our Gospel Age Heritage “Presbyter of Alexandria, Egypt, he was widely acclaimed for his scholarly, ascetic and morally exemplary life…. Opposed to lordship in the church, he humbly declined the offer of becoming bishop of Alexandria. Arius became the chief spokesman for the early church view of the (Fore Gleams of the Reformation) Arius

9. Our Gospel Age Heritage pre-eminence of the Heavenly Father above all other beings. He resisted the efforts of churchmen such as Alexander and Athanasius to equate Jesus with God. He believed the Bible taught that Jesus was to be highly esteemed above men and not co-eternal, co-equal, or identical in substance. (Fore Gleams of the Reformation) Arius

10. Our Gospel Age Heritage There was a time when the Son was not; he was made, like all creatures, of a substance that had not previously existed. In 321 A.D. he was excommunicated by a synod convened by Alexander, the ruling patriarch… As the dispute escalated to threaten the unity of the empire, the Emperor (Fore Gleams of the Reformation) Arius

11. Our Gospel Age Heritage Constantine convened the Council of Nicea in 325 to settle the matter. At the council, the emperor himself took a leading role,although itis doubtful that he could have comprehended the theological points at issue. Essentially a politician, he concluded that the Alexandrian view was the most (Fore Gleams of the Reformation) Arius

12. Our Gospel Age Heritage expedient. He therefore forced its adoption upon the council and threatened loss of position to any who disagreed. Only Arius and two bishops refused to sign the Creed; all three were banished. Undaunted, Arius composed a rival creed to that of Nicea which so impressed Constantine that he was (Fore Gleams of the Reformation) Arius

13. Our Gospel Age Heritage recalled. But on the very day of his installation ceremony in Constantinople, Arius died under suspicious circumstances, leading his friends to suspect he had been poisoned.” The Seven Churches of Revelation, Redeker, 1989, p. 12 (Fore Gleams of the Reformation) Arius

14. “And to the angel of the church of Pergamos write; These things are spoken by him who has the sharp two edged sword. I know where you live - where Satan sits enthroned. I know that you hold fast to my name and that you never denied your faith in me even in the days when Antipas, my faithful witness, was killed before your eyes in the very house of Satan.” Rev. 2:12, 13 (Phillips)

15. “And to the angel of the church of Pergamos write; These things are spoken by him who has the sharp two edged sword. I know where you live - where Satan sits enthroned. I know that you hold fast to my name and that you never denied your faith in me even in the days when Antipas, my faithful witness, was killed before your eyes in the very house of Satan.” Rev. 2:12, 13 (Phillips) Arius and others who followed him were still part of the Papal system

16. “And to the angel of the church of Pergamos write; These things are spoken by him who has the sharp two edged sword. I know where you live - where Satan sits enthroned. I know that you hold fast to my nameand that you never denied your faith in me even in the days when Antipas, my faithful witness, was killed before your eyes in the very house of Satan.” Rev. 2:12, 13 (Phillips) They defended the truth regarding the superiority of God

17. “And to the angel of the church of Pergamos write; These things are spoken by him who has the sharp two edged sword. I know where you live - where Satan sits enthroned. I know that you hold fast to my nameand that you never denied your faith in me even in the days when Antipas, my faithful witness, was killed before your eyes in the very house of Satan.” Rev. 2:12, 13 (Phillips) Antipas means “anti-father”

18. “And to the angel of the church of Pergamos write; These things are spoken by him who has the sharp two edged sword. I know where you live - where Satan sits enthroned. I know that you hold fast to my nameand that you never denied your faith in me even in the days when Antipas, my faithful witness,was killed before your eyes in the very house of Satan.” Rev. 2:12, 13 (Phillips) Arius murdered as he waited to be reinstated as priest

19. Their legacy was one of hungering for the truth of God’s word, balanced with a God-honoring lifestyle

20. “Sell everything that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” Luke 18:22 (NIV) In 1170 AD he founded a group known as “The Poor of Lyon” Peter Waldo

21. “He arranged for the Gospels and some other books of the Bible to be translated in common speech . . . which he read very often, though without understanding their import. Infatuated with himself, he usurped the prerogatives of the Apostles by presuming to preach the Gospel in the streets, where he Peter Waldo

22. made many disciples, and involving them, both men and women, in a like presumption by sending them out, in turn, to preach. These people, ignorant and illiterate, went about through the towns, entering houses and even churches, spreading many errors round about.” Peter Waldo

23. “The principal heresy, then, of the aforesaid Waldensians was and still remains the contempt for ecclesiastical power. Excommunicated for this reason and delivered to Satan, they were precipitated into innumerable errors. . . The erring followers and sacrilegious masters of this sect Peter Waldo

24. hold and teach that they are not subject to the lord pope or Roman pontiff or to any prelates of the Roman Church.” From an Inquisitor’s report found in church archives in southern France Peter Waldo

25. The name Waldo can be said as “Valdensius” His followers then were referred to as the “Waldensians” They were simply Catholics who wanted to live simple austere lives and preach the Gospel to the world Peter Waldo

26. The two witnesses are the Old and New Testaments “I will give authority to my two witnesses to proclaim the message, clothed in sackcloth and ashes for twelve hundred and sixty days.” Rev. 11:3

28. Common Issues Among Other Groups; • The propriety of poverty and asceticism as a means of spiritual growth • the role of ritualism in their lives • they espoused deep involvement of the laity in Christian service and activity • the integrity of the clergy, and the worldly lifestyle of many of the priests • Papal interpretation of the Bible

29. The Waldensians Believed: • The Scriptures alone were sufficient to guide people to Salvation • The blessings …of the Church did not confer any particular sanctity upon the things or persons blessed • Catholic priests. . .had no authority; and the Pope of Rome was the chief of all heretics • Everyone had the right to preach publicly the word of God • Purgatory is a dream, an invention of the sixth century • Indulgences were the invention of covetous Priests

30. The Waldensians Believed: • The invocation of Saints is wrong • Every honor given to holy images and to the relics of Saints should to be abolished • Hearing Confession was useless, . . .it was enough to confess our sins to God • The church and the state should remain as separate authorities • The bread and wine were to be viewed as a memorial, not as a sacrifice

31. Waldensians fleeing the Crusades 1214 - First crusade against the Waldensians began Waldensian Strong holds

32. “For twenty long years Languedoc and Provence in France were subjected to a blood bath which not only wiped out the most advanced culture of the time but introduced … into the Church, …the rule that any ideological deviation must be crushed by force.” Waldensians fleeing the Crusades 1214 - First crusade against the Waldensians began Tens of thousands were murdered Giorgio Tourn, The Waldensians, p. 18

33. “In June of 1561 the Italian town of San Sisto, with its 6,000 inhabitants was burned to the ground. Another neighboring Italian Burning of San Sisto town, Guardia Piemontese, was likewise destroyed. Prisoners were burned like torches, sold as slaves to the Moors or condemned to die of starvation in dungeons. The massacre reached its height at Montalto Uffugo on June 11th. On the steps in front of the parish church, 88 Waldensians were slaughtered one by one, like animals brought to market.Giorgio Tourn, The Waldensians, p. 88

34. “. . .Men and women, great and lesser, day and night do not cease to learn and teach; the workman who labors all day teaches or learns at night . . . " Edward Peters, Heresy and Authority in Medieval Europe, p. 153 Waldensian Pastor Henri Arnaud - 1692

35. “I know your deeds, your love and faith, your service and perseverance, and that you are now doing more than you did at first.” Rev. 2:19 (NIV)

36. “[Wycliffe] was a pupil, a graduate, a master, a doctor, and a professor in Oxford University, an institution second to none in Europe… In Oxford, Wycliffe stood without a rival. He was a man of slender frame, genial disposition, immense energy, immovable conviction, and of austere plainness and purity of life.” John Wycliffe History of the Church of God, p. 457 - Hassell

37. “The great theme of Wycliffe’s life was summed up in his glorious statement, ‘The sacred Scriptures be the property of the people, and one which no party should be allowed to wrest from them.’” John Wycliffe There are currently over 500 English translations of the Bible

38. “This 1410 Wycliffe New Testament was the personal copy of one of England’s most famous martyrs, Richard Hunne. Richard Hunne’s lawsuits against the Roman Catholic clergy of England resulted in his murder at the Lollard’s Tower, and Hunne is mentioned in Foxe’s Book of Martyrs for this. Hunne was put on trial posthumously, and this very New Testament is mentioned in the depositions of these famous trials. This particular piece is probably the single most important symbol of the Protestant movement in England that is in private hands. There is no way to put a market value on it… It is being offered at 2.75 Million Dollars

39. Luttenworth Church Where Wycliffe Preached • Wealth and power had so corrupted the church that a reform was needed • The church should return to the poverty and simplicity of the apostles • Church property should be taken over by the state Wycliffe’s Pulpit

40. Luttenworth Church Where Wycliffe Preached • Applied prophecies of Daniel to Papacy • The Bible should be the only rule to follow • Oppossed church hierarchy, the priesthood, indulgences, confession, penance, veneration of images and transsubstantiation Wycliffe’s Pulpit

41. It took months to produce just one Bible

42. “The Lollards” • From Dutch word, “Lollaerd,” - to lull to sleep” (Derivative of “lullaby” ) • From Latin word “Lolium” - “tares” • From Old English word “Loller” – “a lazy vagabond, a fraudulent beggar”

43. “The Lollards” “These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die… If you do not wake up I will come like a thief, and you will not know what time I come to you.” Rev. 3:1-3 (NIV)

44. “The Lollards” Sardis means “Remnant” “These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die… If you do not wake up I will come like a thief, and you will not know what time I come to you.” Rev. 3:1-3 (NIV)

45. “The Lollards” “These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die… If you do not wake up I will come like a thief, and you will not know what time I come to you.” Rev. 3:1-3 (NIV)

46. As a response to Waldo’s “Poor Men of Lyon” Papacy formed a group known as “Mendicant Friars” Mendicant = “to beg” They copied Waldo’s approach of poverty and preaching because they saw how popular it was and they wanted to counteract Waldo’s work and bring people back to the “crumbling church ” Also known as “The Begging Friars”

47. The Swift River Luttenworth Church Morning Star of the Reformation “His doctrines would spread throughout the world as his ashes spread to the sea.”

48. Persecution of the Lollards

49. Princess Ann offered Bohemian students scholarships to Oxford • These students then carried the doctrines of Wycliffe back home with them Painting of Coronation/Marriage of King Richard II and Princess Ann of Bohemia

50. John Huss