Chapter 5: John Wycliff

The Great Controversy ^ | 1911 | Ellen White

[vespa300]

At last the work was completed—the first English translation of the Bible ever made. The word of God was opened to England. The Reformer feared not now the prison or the stake. He had placed in the hands of the English people a light which should never be extinguished. In giving the Bible to his countrymen, he had done more to break the fetters of ignorance and vice, more to liberate and elevate his country, than was ever achieved by the most brilliant victories on fields of battle.

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TOPICS: General Discusssion; History
KEYWORDS: bible; dayworshippers; ellenwhite; sleepers; wingnuts; wycliff

[vespa300]

The appearance of the Scriptures brought dismay to the authorities of the church. They had now to meet an agency more powerful than Wycliffe—an agency against which their weapons would avail little. There was at this time no law in England prohibiting the Bible, for it had never before been published in the language of the people. Such laws were afterward enacted and rigorously enforced. Meanwhile, notwithstanding the efforts of the priests, there was for a season opportunity for the circulation of the word of God.

Again the papal leaders plotted to silence the Reformer's voice. Before three tribunals he was successively summoned for trial, but without avail. First a synod of bishops declared his writings heretical, and, winning the young king, Richard II, to their side, they obtained a royal decree consigning to prison all who should hold the condemned doctrines.

[vespa300]

Ellen White adds in this chapter about the Reformer Wycliff :

Wycliffe appealed from the synod to Parliament; he fearlessly arraigned the hierarchy before the national council and demanded a reform of the enormous abuses sanctioned by the church. With convincing power he portrayed the usurpation and corruptions of the papal see. His enemies were brought to confusion. The friends and supporters of Wycliffe had been forced to yield, and it had been confidently expected that the Reformer himself, in his old age, alone and friendless, would bow to the combined authority of the crown and the miter. But instead of this the papists saw themselves defeated. Parliament, roused by the stirring appeals of Wycliffe, repealed the persecuting edict, and the Reformer was again at liberty.

A third time he was brought to trial, and now before the highest ecclesiastical tribunal in the kingdom. Here no favor would be shown to heresy. Here at last Rome would triumph, and the Reformer’s work would be stopped. So thought the papists. If they could but accomplish their purpose, Wycliffe would be forced to abjure his doctrines, or would leave the court only for the flames.

[vespa300]

Wow, what a hero Wycliff was to stand up to The Pope and Rome. Such inspiration!

Quote:

“The pope ought to leave unto the secular power all temporal dominion and rule, and thereunto effectually to move and exhort his whole clergy; for so did Christ, and especially by His apostles. Wherefore, if I have erred in any of these points, I will most humbly submit myself unto correction, even by death, if necessity so require; and if I could labor according to my will or desire in mine own person, I would surely present myself before the bishop of Rome; but the Lord hath otherwise visited me to the contrary, and hath taught me rather to obey God than men.”

In closing he said: “Let us pray unto our God, that He will so stir up our Pope Urban VI, as he began, that he with his clergy may follow the Lord Jesus Christ in life and manners; and that they may teach the people effectually, and that they, likewise, may faithfully follow them in the same.”—John Foxe, Acts and Monuments, vol. 3, pp. 49, 50.

Thus Wycliffe presented to the pope and his cardinals the meekness and humility of Christ, exhibiting not only to themselves but to all Christendom the contrast between them and the Master whose representatives they professed to be.

[vespa300]

She adds that “GOD HAD APPOINTED WYCLIFF HIS WORK..”

Wow, Amen. What a hero. The Protestant Reformers..HEROS!!

Quote:

God had appointed to Wycliffe his work. He had put the word of truth in his mouth, and He set a guard about him that this word might come to the people. His life was protected, and his labors were prolonged, until a foundation was laid for the great work of the Reformation.

Wycliffe came from the obscurity of the Dark Ages. There were none who went before him from whose work he could shape his system of reform. Raised up like John the Baptist to accomplish a special mission, he was the herald of a new era. Yet in the system of truth which he presented there was a unity and completeness which Reformers who followed him did not exceed, and which some did not reach, even a hundred years later. So broad and deep was laid the foundation, so firm and true was the framework, that it needed not to be reconstructed by those who came after him.

[Tell It Right]

Thanks for posting. Even after Wycliffe died, the inquisitors dug up his remains and burned him just so they could say that they burned Wycliffe as a heretic. Talk about Wycliffe Derangement Syndrome.

Bible history note: Before Wycliffe translated the Bible to English, not only were there few copies in English before him. But that pre-Wycliffe translation was in Old English (Wessex Gospels). No one could read it in Wycliffe's time (Middle English), just like we can't read it today.

For example, below is the John 1:1 of the Old English translation before Wycliffe:

Note: In principio erat uerbum. Her onginð þæt god-spell þe Iohannes se godspellere ge-wrat on pathmos þam eiglande. On anginne ærest wæs word. & þæt word wæs mid gode. & god wæs þt word.

Only because I know that verse can I barely make out: "In the beginning was the Word. And the Word was with God. And the Word was God." That's how important it was for Wycliffe to translate the Bible to English. And the church leaders in his day hated him for educating the masses just like today's political left does everything they can to have a dumbed down masses.

[Campion]

The pope ought to leave unto the secular power all temporal dominion and rule, and thereunto effectually to move and exhort his whole clergy

That turned out GREAT in England, didn't it, vespa?

[vespa300]

____Thanks for posting. Even after Wycliffe died, the inquisitors dug up his remains and burned him just so they could say that they burned Wycliffe as a heretic. Talk about Wycliffe Derangement Syndrome.____

That’s exactly what the Papacy did. Thank you for reminding us. And her wound has healed too. The world is marveling after her. Prophecy is right on schedule.

Thank you...

[vespa300]

Yeah, they should be burned at the stake. Your church liked that method for heretics. They long for a return to the good old days and the thing is..they will have them. but only for a while. You win now, we win later. When it counts.

[kosciusko51]

This is the end result of ignoring the scriptures and replacing them with the doctrines of man.

[Tell It Right]

This is the end result of ignoring the scriptures and replacing them with the doctrines of man.

Agreed. When us Protestants move away from the Sola Scriptura that our predecessors pushed, we have apostates. Fortunately, those "churches" have few members. And about the only money they had was from USAID. So they're drying up.

Likewise, I'm happy so far with what I'm seeing with Leo 14. For now I'm going to quit treating him like he's Gregory 11.

[fidelis]

[vespa300]

Oh, you mean to today’s true history of religion and prophecy? Lots more coming. People should be aware of just who we are contending with in these last days and her history and her agenda.

[vespa300]

_____This is the end result of ignoring the scriptures and replacing them with the doctrines of man.____

Yes, it is in fact the one common denominator among all religious apostasy. Substituting scripture for something, anything else. The Protestant Reformation does not end until the return of the Lord. Mark my words.

Apostate protestantism has taken root too. They reach out to Rome. Not realizing the history and the prophecy.

God says....”Come out of her my people”.....He is issuing a warning.

[fidelis]

"Oh, you mean to today’s "true" history of religion and prophecy? Lots more coming. People should be aware of just who we are contending with in these last days and her history and her agenda."

According to the proven false prophetess Ellen White? Got it.

[vespa300]

_____According to the proven false prophetess Ellen White? Got it._____

And Luther, Wesley, Spurgeon, etc. Not a bad crowd for her to be in.

[fidelis]

"And Luther, Wesley, Spurgeon, etc. Not a bad crowd for her to be in."

LOL. Depends who you ask!

[vespa300]

____LOL. Depends who you ask!____

Well, yes, of course. We are protestants. Luther, Wesley, Spurgeon, Calvin, Knox, the Waldenses, Ellen White, Billy Graham, etc.

Protestants.

[Philsworld]

This should be standard reading for anyone claiming to be a Christian. What a shame that so many, especially non-Catholics, show their ignorance in not knowing the facts. Idiocy.

Romanism and the Reformation

https://www.whitehorsemedia.com/docs/romanism_and_the_reformation.pdf

[Philsworld]

Ellen White commenting on H. Grattan Guinness:

https://m.egwwritings.org/en/book/1583.6908#6908

III. Guinness-Outstanding Modern Expositor of Prophecy

Dr. HENRY GRATTAN GUINNESS, of London, was one of the most outstanding among all modern expositors, exerting a telling influence in America and other lands as well as in Britain. He was conspicuous as a preacher and trainer of missionaries. His greatest contribution was doubtless the writing of nine major works on prophecy, issued between 1878 and 1905. Note the titles, size, and circulation: The Approaching End of the Age (776 pp.), passed through eleven British and three American editions; Light for the Last Days (434 pp.), four British and one American; Romanism and the Reformation From the Standpoint of Prophecy (244 pp.), also had three American editions; The Divine Programme of the World’s History (450 pp.), three British and one American; The City of the Seven Hills (302 pp.), two editions; the two-volume Creation Centered in Christ (536 plus 627 pp.), two British and two American; History Unveiling Prophecy (476 pp.), with two American editions; Key to the Apocalypse; and The Fallacies of Futurism.

[Philsworld]

H Grattan Guiness, one of the greatest modern-day ministers, ever. God truly used him.

“Lo! in the Wilderness I saw advance,
Arrayed in scarlet and with lawless glance,
A Woman by a dreadful Beast upborne,
With head surmounting head, and horn on horn;
Her robe of royal red and purple blent
Hung o’er the savage beast, who grimly lent
His strength to the enchantress; at her will
He strode, or rushed, or ravaged, or was still.
Upon her brazen brow—a mystic Whore—
The name of “BABYLON THE GREAT” she bore;
And in her hand a golden chalice held,
With wine of filthiness and fury filled.

“Kings were her paramours; from every state,
They poured into her lap donations great;
While nations, drugged and drunken with her wine,
Extolled her painted beauty as divine.
Arrayed in pearls, in purple, and in gold,
She flared upon the crowd with aspect bold,
And waved her proffered cup from side to side,
DRUNKEN WITH BLOOD; for in her chalice wide
With horrors mixed she held THE BLOOD OF SAINTS
AND MARTYRS, and as swelled their dying plaints,
With bloated lips the steaming draught she drank,
And deep into her shameless dress it sank;
‘Twas this that flushed her face, and filled her frame,
As seated on her Scarlet Beast she came.”