The Rise, Fall of the Reformation

8/9/2019 The Rise, Fall of the Reformation

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THE RISE, FALL, AND

FINISHING OF THEREFORMATION

SOLA SCRIPTUREThe Reformation is BornThe Failure to Follow Sola ScriptureThe Defeat of Sola ScriptureWill Sola Scripture or Tradition Win?

THE REFORMATION IS BORNFor hundreds of years the Church of Rome had kept the nations of Europe in bondage to her doctrines

and superstitions. The Little Horn, which Daniel describes as being more stout than the others, which

spoke great swelling words and made war with God's saints and prevailed against them; the little horn

that attempted to reach into heaven itself and cast down Christ's daily sanctuary ministry to the ground

that little horn had enshrouded Christianity with darkness.

Like a glorious sunrise after a dismal night, the sixteenth century Reformation ushered in the penetratin

light of the gospel! God was at work to break the shackles of ignorance and superstition. Men were rising

up in different lands to present to the people forgiveness and justification with a personal Savior. With

their very lives they resisted the controlling tyranny of the Roman Religion.

This Protestant movement received it's greatest momentum from the fearless leadership of Martin Luthe

Rome was sorely shaken. Whole Protestant nations came into being. Through Luther, God accomplished great work for the reformation of Christianity and the enlightenment of the world.

The Reformation sprang forth from a three fold discovery:

1. The Rediscovery of Christ and His salvation

2. The acknowledgment of the Holy Scriptures as the only foundation for religious faith

3. The discovery of the identity of Antichrist and his subversions from the prophesies

Yet the enemy of all souls was also actively at work to cast his blanket of darkness and hide the light on

more. Not only was the counter reformation initiated by the Roman Church, but the Protestants

themselves caused the reformation to flounder and come to a halt through theological and political

compromises.

Let's trace the floundering of the Reformation. The column on the left traces the failures of Reformers to

move forward in scriptural understanding and slide back into Papal traditions. The right side traces the

Reformers who stood for the Biblical truths and continued to seek for a true restitution of the "faith which was once delivered unto the saints." (Jude 3)

THE FAILURE TO FOLLOW SOLA SCRIPTURE

MAIN REFORMATION MOVEMENTSOLA SCRIPTURE

THE FAITHFUL REFORMATIONSOLA SCRIPTURE
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The reformation, pushing aside thetraditions and ultimate authority overscripture which the Roman Churchinsisted upon, held up the Bible as theonly foundation for religious faith. If they

had adhered to this principle, the papacywould have been completely overthrown.But they stumbled on this issue in agreat and suicidal way and as we willsee, it gave the papacy the footholds tomake a grand, and in the end times,almost complete comeback.

The first mistake was in being selectivein scriptural interpretation. Luther choseto be selective in his Biblical beliefs. His

bold depreciation of James is oneexample. He also declared that "Moses isno concern of ours." And in thepreference to his first edition of the New

Testament he wrote of Revelation, "Thereis too much lacking in this book to call itapostolic or prophetic." This positionshowed up in the complete confusion onend time events among Protestants andopened them up to the deceptions of the

Jesuit counter reformation.

LAW AND GRACEThe selective interpretation of scripturealso led to Luther's tendency to separate

justification from sanctification. Luthertended to see the law as merely a tool by

which people see their inability to do the will of God and therefore, the sinnerthrows himself on the mercy of God after

which the law, not even the tencommandments, is no longer needed.

The Christian does good works out of

spontaneous love in obedience to God.Luther's gospel focused primarily on

justification.THE EUCHARIST

Catholics believe the bread and wine inthe Eucharistic service actually turn intothe body and blood of Christ and the

The Bible, not tradition, was thewatchword. The whole Bible wasregarded as God's holy Word.

Andreas Karlstadt, contemporary and co-reformer with Luther declared: "God's

Word is a fountain out of which theDivine Spirit flows into the believers...we

believe the Biblical books because theHoly Spirit spoke them to the church."Karlstadt wrote: "I am grieve by the bolddepreciation of James."

As to the Revelation, it was theAnabaptists who, with diligent andprayerful study discovered many truthsof the Advent hope, long suppressed byall churches.It was the firm adherence to the Bible inopposition to the traditions of the papacy

which caused these faithful believers tosuffer, not only the wrath of the papacy,

but also the wrath of the Protestants. Yetif their stand on the Bible had beenfollowed the Papacy would never havegained the victories over Protestantism

which have been gained.LAW AND GRACE

Karlstadt also emphasized theimportance of justification by faith andpointed out that good works are never to

be seen as "merits". But he pointed outto Luther that throwing out the morallaw was contrary to scriptural teaching.He strongly asserted that the moral law

was still the divine standard by whichthe obedience of grace is demonstratedin the life. Do we then abolish the law?No! We become "lovers and doers of the

law."Karlstadt stressed that "the full gospel ofChrist" must include not only

justification by faith but alsosanctification, or a "new supernaturallife," lived in harmony with thecommandments of God, as the forgiven


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priest created and reenacted the sacrificeof Christ. The emblems then becamefilled with mystical power to infuse gracefor meritorious works into the receiver.

At first Luther spoke quite strongly

against this unbiblical doctrine. Yet he continued the service of mass,simply modifying it somewhat.

Then, in his zeal to stop the mob actionof the fanatics, he swung right back intoCatholism by turning back the reform inthis area; restoring the Latin mass withits elevation of the host, condemnedgiving the emblems into the hands of theparticipants, and reinforced the rules offasting before Communion!

BAPTISMThe spiritual significance of baptismseems to have totally escaped many ofthe reformers. The concept of the carnalnature dying with Christ and the person

being raised to newness of life in Christ was not seen. Luther continued to baptize babies on the basis of their"sleeping faith".

This is one of the reformers blackest

marks! On April 23, 1529 the Catholicand Protestant Princes gathered at thesecond Diet of Speyer and one of theirdecrees was: "every Anabaptist andrebapitized man and woman of the age ofreason shall be condemned and broughtfrom natural life into death by fire,sword, and the like, according to theperson, without proceeding by theinquisition of the spiritual judges."Speaking for Luther and himself,

Melanchthon, making no distinctionbetween the quiet reformers who believedin baptism and the radicals who hadused mob action (peasant's revolt)to waragainst papal oppression, wrote(February, 1530) "The government isunder obligation to kill them:" A year

sinner gives himself to Christ in completeself-surrender and total commitment.

THE LORD'S SUPPERKarlstadt replaced the mass with thecommunion service. He again offered the

cup with the bread and emphasized thatthis was a memorial service of Christ'sdeath. He officiated without theEucharistic vestments, wearing a plaingown. He did not elevate the host andmade no reference to this being areenacted sacrifice. It was Karlstadt whoreintroduced the Lord's Supper as Jesusgave it to His disciples.(Note: Karlstadt and his followers weretotally against violent measures toimplement changes. They refused toparticipate in the peasant's revolt, etc.

Yet, as we will see, they were constantlylumped with, and condemned, with thepeople who sought reform by violence,rather than the Spirit of God. This was

just another of the enemies tactics tocause the reformation to flounder andmaintain as much of the false doctrinesas possible)

BAPTISMKarlstadt saw baptism, not as a ticket toheaven, but as a public confession ofcommitment to Christ, and anacknowledgment that the old way of life

was forsaken and a new way enteredupon. "He who wants to receive baptismproperly...must repent, forsake the oldlife, and take up a new life," he wrote.

This is sola scripture! Infant baptismcame from Catholic tradition not Biblical

authority. "Repent, and be baptized."(Acts 2:38) the Bible says."Know you not, that as you are baptizedinto Jesus Christ you are baptized intohis death? Therefore we are buried withhim by baptism into death; that like asChrist was raised up from the dead, even


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later, Luther himself wrote: "Iapprove, ...although it is terrible to view."Here we have a classic example wherethe lawless deeds of some is used topersecute the true, honest believers in

Biblical truth. And the mainlineReformers sided with the Papal position.Proper procedure would have been topunish those individuals who instigatedthe violence, but instead they condemnedtruth and persecuted those who followedit.Luckily not all Protestant princesfollowed the decree. Prince Philip ofHesse, when urged to do so, said, "Wecannot find it in our conscience to judgesomeone with the sword for his faith,

where we have no other adequateevidence of an uprising."

STATE OF THE DEADThe Catholic Church teaches theimmortality of the soul, complete withthe soul going to hell, purgatory andheaven. In his early years Lutherfrequently referred to the "sleep" of thedead. He asserted that the immortality of

the soul was only a papal doctrine to"make it possible for them to hold fast tohuman dreams and doctrines of devils."However, as the doctrine of the sleep ofthe dead was accepted by the " wholeBible only" reformers, who also believedin baptism, etc., Luther began to say lessand less about it. It was never includedin his catechism or in his confession offaith.

After Luther's death the truth on the

state of the dead continued to besuppressed and the papal traditionsupheld.

THE SABBATHLuther opposed the Sabbath, calling itlegalistic. He failed to see the spiritual

value of the full truth in the Biblical

so we also should walk in newness oflife!" (Romans 6:3-6)

Jesus set the example by being baptized by John in the river Jordan.These reformers instituted the dedication

of children after the example of Jesus. This service was begun by Hubmaier inSwitzerland. The ordinance of foot

washing was also rediscovered by severalof them.Interestingly, the mainline reformersrenounced their belief on baptism, not

with the Bible, for they had no basis forthat, but because of "disruption to thestate." For the honest Christian, to be

baptized into Christ was a solemndecision indeed, not to be taken lightly,for many were forced to seal theirdecision with their lives.

STATE OF THE DEAD The doctrine of the "sleep" of the dead was taken up strongly by these reformers who based their belief on a thoroughknowledge of the subject from thescriptures.

THE SABBATH

Karlstadt saw the moral law as thecontinuing standard of the Christian life, but at first he excluded the Sabbathcommand. As he continued to study, herealized that God did not place thecommand in the middle of the Decalogue

by mistake. So he began to advocateSabbath keeping. But he did notassociate it with the 7th day.Luther condemned the whole idea aslegalism but pointed out that to be

consistent, Karlstadt would have to keepSaturday. Some of Karlstadt's followerstook Luther's words seriously andsearched the scriptures to see if thesethings were so.Oswald Glait, about 1529, became thefirst to point out that the true Sabbath


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Sabbath. He was however perceptiveenough to point out that Sunday was notthe Biblical Sabbath, Saturday was.

A Protestant leader named Schwenckfeld,was quite impressed with Gait's thorough

Biblical research on the Sabbath, butcountered it by spiritualizing awaySabbath. He wrote the Biblicaladmonitions should not be taken literal

but all one does is "resting from sin isthe true spiritual Sabbath." To which theSabbath believers responded that he hadan "extreme mystic holy day theory."Luther, on hearing of the Sabbathkeeping churches springing up, declared."A foolish group of people who callthemselves Sabbatarians."By 1529 reports of people being martyredin reference to Sabbath keeping begin toshow up. In France, Barabara of Thiers

was executed because "God commandedus to rest on the seventh day."So once again, Biblical truth wasuncovered but suppressed while thePapal tradition was maintained in it'splace.

was the "seventh" day. Glait pointed outthat the moral law of the Decalogue wasas binding on Christians under the newcovenant as it had been in the Old."Either the Sabbath must be kept," he

argued, "or all the other ninecommandments must also be rejected."He maintained that the ceremonial law

was the shadow that passed away, butGod's moral law stands firm. "Sunday,"he said, "is the pope's invention," and theabrogation of the Sabbath is none otherthan "the devil's work."Oswald Glait can be classified as the firstSeventh-day Adventist, for his argumentson the Sabbath sound surprisingly likethose of any Seventh-day Adventist. Andhe also believed in the coming of Christ

before the 1000 year millennium.Others took up the message andSabbath keeping churches sprung up inMoravia, Bohemia and spread to otherEuropean countries. The Seventh-dayBaptists are direct descendants of thismovement.

THE DEFEAT OF SOLA SCRIPTURE The big showdown came at the Council of Trent in 1562. Would Sola Scripture become the authority of

the Christian community, or would Catholic Tradition be the final authority. In the Council of Trent the

Protestant position of Sola Scripture was defeated and the Catholic Tradition upheld BECAUSE THE

PROTESTANTS THEMSELVES WERE UPHOLDING IT.

"The Bible and the Bible only," were the watchwords of the Protestants.

"The Bible as interpreted by the Church and according to the unanimous consent of the Fathers," this wa

the position and claim of the Catholic Church.

Back and forth the arguments flowed. There were strong advocates for the Bible only, even among

Catholics within the council. The Papal authorities became very worried as the debate continued day aft

day.

Then on January 18, 1562 Archbishop Reggio came with an argument that completely took the wind out

of the sails of the Protestants and won the battle for tradition over the Bible.

"The Protestants claim to stand upon the written word only. They profess to hold the Scripture alone as

the standard of faith. They justify their revolt by the plea that the church has apostatized from the

written word of God and follows tradition. Their profession of holding the Scripture alone as the standar

of faith, IS FALSE. Proof: The written word explicitly enjoins the observance of the seventh day as the

Sabbath. They do not observe the seventh day, but reject it. If they do truly hold to Scripture alone as

their standard, they would be observing the seventh day as is enjoined in the Scripture throughout. Yet


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they not only reject the observance of the Sabbath, but they have adopted and do practice the observanc

of Sunday, for which they have only the tradition of the Church. Consequently the claim of :Scripture

alone as the standard,' fails; and the doctrine of Scripture and tradition' as essential, is fully established

the Protestants themselves being the judges."

The Protestants had no answer. They themselves had admitted that Sunday was a child of the Papacy, ye

they were worshiping upon it, rather than upon the Sabbath day.

See note

The Catholic scholars were elated, the advocates for "Scripture alone," surrendered, and the council at

once unanimously condemned Protestantism and the whole Reformation as only an unwarranted revolt

from the communion and authority of the Catholic Church, and proceeded to other matters.

IN THE FINAL SHOWDOWN, WILL SOLA SCRIPTURE OR TRADITION WIN?

Thus it will be in the latter days. The study of history shows men arising with a message. Luther began

strong, but drew back retreating back into Papal traditions, condemning those who moved on. Zwingly

went further than Luther, but retreated on the issue of Baptism and the Sabbath, staying with Papal

traditions and also condemning those who moved on. And so it went. The Baptists pressed on further,

suffering extreme persecution for their Biblical beliefs, yet they too are rapidly retreating back into Papa

traditions, and now even join in condemning people who advance to positions they once held. Seventh-

day Adventism took up the torch and bravely carried the scriptural truths spreading them throughout th world, but they too are being pulled down. Attacked left and right to give up the plain Biblical truths and

retreat to mystical traditions.

The counter Reformation has almost completely undone the Protestant Reformation.

By accepting the traditions of the Catholic Church of which Sunday is held forth as her mark of

authority over God's law and her power to interpret scripture Protestantism seals her doom and will be

conquered and absorbed into the control of the Papacy. Just as Revelation predicted.

The Sabbath will be the final test, because it will be on this commandment that apostate religion will

enforce the traditions of man upon the nations, while disregarding the the plain commandment of God,

revealed in His Word.

"In vain they worship Me", Christ said, "teaching for doctrines the traditions of men." (Matt. 15:9)

"Come out of her my people!" (Rev. 18:4)

"Here is the patience of the saints, here are they that keep the commandments of God and have the faithof Jesus." (Rev. 14:12)

NOTE:

1443. Sabbath, Change of, Cited as Proof That Tradition Is Above Scripture

Source: Gaspare [Ricciulli] de Fosso (Archbishop of Reggio), Address in the 17th session of the Council o

Trent, Jan. 18, 1562, in Mansi SC, Vol. 33, cols. 529, 530. Latin. [ Gian Domenico Mansi, ''Sacrorum

Conciliorum nova et amplissima collectio"]

[col. 529] Such is the condition of the heretics of this age that on nothing do they rely more than

that, under the pretense of the word of God, they overthrow the authority of the church; as thoug

the church, His body, could be opposed to the word of Christ, or the head to the body. On the

contrary, the authority of the church, then, is illustrated most clearly by the Scriptures; for while

on the one hand she recommends them, declares them to be divine, [col. 530] offers them to us to

be read, in doubtful matters explains them faithfully, and condemns whatever is contrary to them

on the other hand, the legal precepts in the Scriptures taught by the Lord have ceased by virtue o

the same authority. The Sabbath, the most glorious day in the law, has been changed into the

Lords day. Circumcision, enjoined upon Abraham and his seed under such threatening that he wh

had not been circumcised would be destroyed from among his people, has been so abrogated that

the apostle asserts: "If ye be circumcised, ye have fallen from grace, and Christ shall profit you

nothing." These and other similar matters have not ceased by virtue of Christs teaching (for He

says He has come to fulfill the law, not to destroy it), but they have been changed by the authority
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of the church. Indeed, if she should be removed (since there must be heresies), who would set fort

truth, and confound the obstinacy of heretics? All things will be confused, and soon heresies

condemned by her authority will spring up again. [See No. 1444.]

1444. Sabbath, Change ofCited in Council of Trent as Proof that Tradition Is Above Scripture

Source: Heinrich Julius Holtzmann, Kanon und Tradition ("Canon and Tradition") (Ludwigsburg: Druck

and Verlag von Ferd. Riehm, 1859), p. 263. German. [FRS No. 72.] [Facsimile (in the original German)

below.]

The Council [of Trent] agreed fully with Ambrosius Pelargus, that under no condition should the

Protestants be allowed to triumph by saying that the council had condemned the doctrine of the

ancient church. But this practice caused untold difficulty without being able to guarantee

certainty. For this business, indeed, well-nigh divine prudence was requisitewhich the Spanish

ambassador acknowledged as belonging to the council on the sixteenth of March, 1562. Indeed,

thus far they had not been able to orient themselves to the interchanging, crisscrossing,

labyrinthine, twisting passages of an older and newer concept of tradition. But even in this they

were to succeed. Finally, at the last opening [see editors note] on the eighteenth of January, 156

all hesitation was set aside: [Gaspar de Fosso] the Archbishop of Reggio made a speech [see No.

1443] in which he openly declared that tradition stood above Scripture. The authority of the

church could therefore not be bound to the authority of the Scriptures, because the church hadchanged circumcision into baptism, Sabbath into Sunday, not by the command of Christ, but by it

own authority. With this, to be sure, the last illusion was destroyed, and it was declared that

tradition does not signify antiquity, but continual inspiration.

[Editors note: This "last opening" of the Council of Trent was not the last day, but the opening of the

17th session, the first meeting of the last series of sessions that was opened, after a lapse of time, under

new pope. The council was in session for longer or shorter periods over a series of years.] Source: Neufeld

Don F., Seventh-day Adventist Bible Students Source Book, Don F. Neufeld and Julia Neuffer.

Washington, D.C., Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1962, pgs. 887-888 Note's source at "Bible

Light"

Reference Books:

W.L.Emmerson: The Reformation and the Advent Movement

Harold Grimm, The Reformation Era 1500---1650LeRoy Froom: The Prophetic Faith of Our Fathers

B.G. Wilkinson: Truth Triumphant:The Church in the Wilderness

Romes' Challenge: Why Do Protestants Keep Sunday?Catholic Mirror

J.N. Andrews: History of the Sabbath

Return to Home Page

More On Martin Luther

The Counter Reformation and it's Deadly Work.

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THE COUNTER REFORMATION

AntiChrist? Who could that be?
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A Remarkable Come Back

The Jesuits' Counter Interpretations

The Jesuit Ribera's Futurist Counter Interpretations

The Jesuit Bellarmine's Counter Interpretations

The Jesuit Alcasar's Preterist Counter Interpretations

The Protestant Interpretation Revisited

Why were the Jesuits so Successful?

The Implications Resulting from Their Success

A REMARKABLE COME BACK"

With strength and power the Religious Reformation swept across Europe. Dynamicmen, fearlessly opposed the strong grip of Roman Catholic Power upon the lives and

conscience of the people.To the casual observer in the mid 1500's, it must have seemed as though Roman

Catholicism would succumb to Protestantism. However that did not happen. TheRoman Catholic Church staged a remarkable come back called the Counter-

Reformation, by which they not only regained much that had been lost, and greatlysuppressed the reformation, but also laid the foundation for the conquest of the worl

which we now see in action. A conquest described by Catholic Writer and eminenttheologian, Malachi Martin in "Keys to this Blood" where he "reveals Pope John Paul

own blueprint for a genuinely geopolitical structure: a one-world government that isboth viable and humanly acceptable." (Flyleaf, then going on to page 480)

"From the beginning of his pontification, John Paul has been talking incessantly abouthe convergence of the nations. He had the end game in view some ten years before

other men faced into it;. . .He would endow his papacy with an international profileand, as Pope, move around among world leaders and nations, vindicating a position

for himself as a special leader among leaders, because in that competition he plans temerge as the victor."

The Pope is acknowledged, in Mikhail Gorbachev's words, "as the most eminent moraauthority in our world today."

What happened to the Reformation, where men like Luther, Calvin, Knox and all theother Protestant Reformers unanimously declared that the papacy was the prophecie

antiChrist?Luther wrote:"Here in Daniel 11:36, the pope is clearly pictured, who in all his decree

shouts impudently that all the churches and thrones will be judged by him, but hecannot be judged by anyone... Here, in Daniel 11:37, we have a description of the

Antichrist. . . the Antichrist, that is the pope, will not have God nor a legitimate wifeand that means that the Antichrist will despise laws and regulations,. . . in heaven an

on earth and accept only his own law. . . .believe me, the pope is the antichrist."Tomas Cranmer (who, combining the prophecies of Dan. 7 and 2 Thess.2, wrote) :

"After all these sprung up the pope, that triple-crowned monster, and great antichrist
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which took upon him authority, not only over the clergy, but also climbed above kingand emperors, deposing them at his pleasure, and settled himself in the temple of godthat is, in the consciences of men, extolling himself above God, dispensing with good

laws, and giving men leave to break them and to regard more his decrees than theeverlasting commandments of God."

Cranmer was burned at the stake for his testimony against the prophesied papalAntichrist, just as were Hooper, Ridley, Latimer, Bradford and many others.

What happened to these deep convictions that caused men to risk their very lives tooffer the world truth?

1. The Bible, and the Bible only they cried.2. The Papacy is the Anti-Christ revealed in Prophecy.

3. Righteousness comes by Faith in Christ.These were the main issues that fueled the reformation. The Bible was given back intthe hands of the people! They were taught that it was at once their duty and their righ

to examine it, to judge for themselves as to what it contained, and to act upon theirconvictions on what God required. The conscience was set free from the tyranny of

Rome to follow the Word of God.We already touched on how the Papacy can claim the victory of tradition over the

Bible in "Reformation Part One". In this article we will deal mainly with the Reformersrecognition of the Papacy as the Anti-Christ and the counter interpretations of the

counter Reformation .The Reformers were by no means united on all points of doctrine, but one thing they

were unanimous on, and that was applying most of the prophecies of Anti-christ to thPapacy. It was this clear understanding of the prophetic symbols that gave them suc

extraordinary courage and effectiveness to protest against Rome and to resist hertyranny, even if it meant death to themselves. The prophecies of Daniel, John and Pauwere applied to the Papacy with tremendous effect.

In order to off set this incriminating scriptural evidence, Rome realized something,besides killing the messengers, must be done if she was to regain her power. The

Bible had, dispite her efforts, gone out to the people so now she must come up with aplausible sounding counter interpretation to get the focus of the prophecies away

from her, for as long as she was recognized as the antichrist power of the last dayspeople would resist her with their very lives. Prophecy must be reinterpreted!

THE JESUIT'S COUNTER INTERPRETATIONS

"The Society of Jesus was established by the papacy in 1540 as a very specialfighting unit' at the total and exclusive disposal of the Roman Pope. From their

beginnings, the Jesuits were conceived in a military mode. Soldiers of Christ, theywere given only two purposes: to propagate the religious doctrine and the moral law

of the Roman Catholic Church as proposed and taught by the Roman Pope." (TheJesuits, page 41, Malachi Martin)


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Their first job was to counter the Reformation. They must, by plausible exposition ofScripture break the unbroken harmony of the reformers positions.

Interestingly enough, they came up with two alternatives that were actually conflictinand contradicting each other, yet the Catholic Church sanctioned both! So much for

truth! What they did achieve was to push the prophecies away from the papacy.Through the Jesuits Ribera, of Spain and Bellarmine, of Rome came the Futurist

interpretation. This interpretation leaps over the immense era of papal dominance, ancrowds the antichrist prophecies into the far distant future.

THE JESUIT RIBERA'S FUTURIST COUNTER INTERPRETATIONSJesuit Francisco Ribera (1537-1591) " assigned the first few chapters of the

Apocalypse to ancient Rome, in John's own time; the rest he restricted to a literalthree and a half years' reign of an infidel Antichrist, who would bitterly oppose and

blaspheme the saints just before the second advent. He taught that Antichrist wouldbe a single individual, who would rebuild the temple in Jerusalem, abolish the

Christian religion, deny Christ, be received by the Jews, pretend to be God, andconquer the world--all in this brief space of three and one-half literal years!" (Prophet

Faith Vol.2 p. 490)Here we see that Ribera "laid the foundation for the great structure of Futurism...and

then, wonder of wonders, in the nineteenth century this Jesuit scheme ofinterpretation came to be adopted by a growing number of Protestants, until todayFuturism, amplified and adorned with the rapture theory, has become the generally

accepted belief of the Fundamentalist wing of popular Protestantism!" (Prophetic FaitVol. 2 p. 493) How could Protestantism forsake it's main foundation of prophetic

interpretation and adopt a Jesuit counterfeit? How did this happen?

THE JESUIT BELLARMINE'S COUNTER INTERPRETATIONSThere was also (Saint) Robert Bellarmine, Jesuit, cardinal and theologian who, as anoutstanding controversialist opposing the Protestant doctrines of the Reformation,was regarded by the Roman Catholic Church as one of its most powerful defendersHe entered the Society of Jesus in 1560....He was a lecturer at the new Jesuit College

in Rome.Between 1576 and 1589, in addition to his teaching Bellarmine lectured to large

audiences. He insisted that the prophecies concerning Antichrist in Daniel, Paul andJohn, had no application to the papal power. This formed the third part of his"Disputations de Controversiis Christianae Fidei Adversus Huius Temporis

Haereticos" published between 1581-1593.Bellarmine's assault on the Protestant interpretations of prophecy was centered upo

the year-day principle which stood at the base of the historic interpretation ofprophecy and had risen to general notice and wide acceptance among both Catholic

and Protestants. He went out of his way to do this.Determined to nullify the day = year prophetic principle, used by Protestants as the

basis of the 1260 year period of Antichrist's tyranny, he sought to deprive this symbo


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of its Scriptural support. He came up with the argument that Ezekiel 4 was in reversethat is saying a year = a day, when in actuality Ezekiel's acted out prophecy was in

days and symbolized years.Ballarmine was very methodical as he dissected the Protestant position, his works fi

nine ponderous folio tomes, attacking the standard prophecies pertaining toAntichrist.

Ballarmine capitalized on Luther's weakness. Luther had declared the Bible as thesource for truth, yet Luther was selective in what he considered inspired in the BibleLuther rejected the book of Revelation. "There is too much lacking in this book to ca

it apostolic or prophetic," he had written in the preference to his first edition of thenew Testament. Zwingli made the same mistake in interpreting prophecy. He too

refused to recognize the Revelation as apostolic. Now the Jesuit Ballarmine posedhimself as the defender of the Bible against the Reformers who, he declared had

rejected it. He then shaped the Revelation to fit the futurist view, thereby by- passingthe whole Christian era and the real antichrist.

Actually Ballarmine assigned the apocalyptic symbols to the distant past and thedistant future. Antichrist, according to him, had not yet come, for he would abolish th

daily sacrifice or the Eucharist (daily mass) and would reign for three and a halfliteral years.

Bellarmine maintained that the little horn of Daniel 7 as well as the end power in Dani11 was a single king--who like Antiochus would take away three kings and subdue

seven other to himself, who, he contends, would therefore be one man only, and not kingdom. Antiochus was a figure or symbol of the Antichrist of the last days.

THE JESUIT ALCASAR'S PRETERIST COUNTER INTERPRETATIONS

On the flip side of the Counter Reformation was another Jesuit. Jesuit Luis De Alcazaor Alcasar (1554-1613) of Seville Spain.Alcasar advanced the Preterist interpretation. He made all prophecy stop short of thepapal domination. He maintained that the apocalypse describes the war of the churc

in the early centuries. Partly between the Jews and their adversaries and then theChurch and paganism. Revelation 1-11 he applied to the rejection of the Jews and th

desolation of Jerusalem by the Romans. Revelation 12-19 Alcazar allotted to theoverthrow of Roman paganism and the conversion of the empire to the church, the

judgment of the great Harlot being effected by the downfall of pagan idolatry.Revelation 20 he applied to the final persecution by Antichrist and chapters 21

referring to the New Jerusalem he made descriptive of the glorious and endlesstriumphant state of the Roman church. ( See Prophetic Faith vol 2 p. 507)

The three Jesuits who worked most effectively to overthrow the Protestantunderstanding of prophecy, and whose theories are now (in modified forms) almost

universally accepted are:


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Robert Bellarmine (1542-1621) From Italy.Jesuit Francisco Ribera (1537-1591) of Salamanca Spain

Jesuit Luis De Alcazar, or Alcasar (1554-1613) of Seville Spain.THE PROTESTANT INTERPRETATION REVISITED

Let's look again at the Protestant interpretation which was based on the historicmethod.

The Protestant John Knox in Scotland: (1505-1572) believed:1. That "the papal religion is but an abomination before God" and to "flee out of

Babylon, that you perish not with her." (Friedrich Brandes, John Knox, der ReformatoSchottlands p. 191)

2. "Knox took the text written in Daniel, the seventh chapter, beginning thus: Andanother King shall rise unlike unto the first. . . ".

He identified the creatures as Babylonian, Persia, Greeks, and the fourth of theRomans; which he affirmed to be the Roman Church; for to none other power that evehath yet been, do all the notes that God hath showed to the Prophet appertain, excep

to it alone;3. Knox next showed that Daniel's "little horn" was identical with Paul's "man of sin"

and John's "Whore of Babylon" as one single Antichrist4. Every prophetic day is a year every common prophetical day is taken for a year. Aprophetic week is a "week of years," and a Jewish or Greek common year is a year o"360" days". He quotes Numbers 14:34 and Ezekiel 4:5,6 and cites the seventy weeks

as evidence of fulfillment, "In the seventy weeks of Daniel, a day to be taken for a yeaextending in the whole to 490 years; otherwise, that prophecy of the Messiah's

coming, would not fall upon the just time of Christ's coming, as necessarily it ought t

doe.. . . .The point is clear, these concepts did not originate with ADVENTISM. Adventism issticking to Protestantism while the rest of Christendom is following Jesuit

interpretations. We also see the sure result of this shift in Prophetic understanding othe apocalypse. Protestants are playing into the hands of Rome, by helping to screen

the Papacy from detection as the Antichrist. The ecumenical movement which is atwork to unite all Christendom under the "shepherding" influence of Rome is sweepin

the world. The Pope's dream and plan "of his own universal Roman Church awinner-take all race against time to establish, maintain, and control the first one-worlgovernment that has ever existed on the face of the earth" (Keys of Blood, flyleaf) is i

the process of being set up. For Revelation tells us that "all that dwell upon the earthshall worship him, all except those whose names are written in the book life", will

worship the beast that was wounded to death (officially by Napoleon's stripping theVatican of political power in 1798) but it's deadly wound was healed and all the world

wonders after him. (Rev. 13:3,8)WHY WERE THE JESUIT'S SO SUCCESSFUL?


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Yet how did this complete reversal of prophetic interpretation permeate the Protestanworld?

It did not happen overnight! Nor did it happen during the lifetimes of the Jesuits whofirst promoted the new interpretations. It happened by promoting diversity of opinion

and then moving in to divide and conquer! Had the Protestants remained firm andunited on their historic interpretative stand, the counter reformation could never hav

succeeded in implanting these new interpretations into all of Christendom. Manyreformers rose and refuted the futurist and preterist positions, but others bought into

them.Here is one example. Protestant statesman and theologian, Hugo Grotius, had a Jesu

friend, named Petavius. Grotius said he wanted peace between Catholics andProtestants and he used his diplomacy to achieve this end. To do this he studied

Jesuit Alcazar's Preterist interpretation, and wrote his own anti-Protestantcommentary on the Antichrist (1620) He bought into the Jesuit counter interpretationso strongly that he believed the pope was not mentioned in any of the prophecies.

Other Protestants were shocked at his writings and wrote to refute him, yet his worksmarked the beginning of others following his lead.

Thus the work of infiltrating and planting the counter interpretive ideas and thenwatching the Protestants themselves undoing the Reformation slowly gained control

"The Jesuits carried the battle right into the territories of their papal enemies. Theywaged public controversies with kings, they debated in Protestant universities, they

preached at crossroads and in marketplaces. They addressed municipal councils, theinstructed Church Councils. They INFILTRATED hostile territories in disguise, and

moved around underground. They were everywhere, showering their contemporaries

with brilliance, with wit, with acerbity, with learning, with piety. Their constant themeThe Bishop of Rome is successor to Peter the Apostle. . .any other church institutionis rank heresy. . .they had a monopoly in the education of Europe for over two hundre

years, and numbered the famous and infamous. . .they were giants with but onepurpose: the defense and propagation of papal authority and papal teaching." (The

Jesuits, p.28- 29)IMPLICATIONS WHICH RESULT FROM THEIR SUCCESS

They were so successful in deleting the evidence that the Papacy is antichrist thatnow we see the Lutherans and Catholics embracing one another as fellow Christians

articulating a "common understanding of justification" agreeing that their Joint

Declaration "encompasses a consensus in the basic truths, claiming that the "differinexplications" are compatible with the joint Declaration and thus no longer the

occasion for doctrinal condemnations, and to look past historic differences in thename of Christian unity. (Christianity Today, Jan. 10,2000 pp.63-65)

Protestants are willing to clasp the hands of Catholism even though THEY KNOW thehave great differences in doctrines (purgatory, penance, purgatory, images, Mary,)


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THEY KNOW that "Roman Catholics have not now adopted the Lutheran Position"THEY KNOW that the pope will never give up his stand on papal supremacy.

(Time, Dec.16,1991 p.53 the Holy See officially declares it's position, insisting that areunited church must be built upon a papacy that is a God-given, "permanent"

institution with "universal" jurisdiction, "directly founded" by Jesus Christ And thePope has personal power to teach infallibly on faith and morals.)

They know all this, yet they sign joint declarations? How can this be?The success of the counter Reformation has infiltrated all of Christendom. The ideathat the Papacy is antichrist will soon have the same penalties as it did in the 16th

century when people stood against the demands of the Papacy at the peril of their owlives.

Protestants are joining with and patronizing the papacy. They have madecompromises and concessions.They bow to the accusation that:

"It is all too easy for Protesants, who have shattered the church into thousands ofpieces, to speak blithely of spiritual unity and continue along a schismatic way.

(Christianity Today)They never realize that from the beginning the Jesuits tactics were to divide them and

then move in to conquer them for the Catholic Church.People are closing their eyes to the real character of Romanism and the dangers

realized when she gains again her supremacy. The people need to be aroused to resisthe advances of this most dangerous foe to civil and religious liberty.

"The Roman Church now presents a fair front to the world, covering with apologiesher record of horrible cruelties. She has clothed herself in Christlike garments; but sh

is unchanged." (GC) This is not to say that many sincere Catholics do not truly lovethe Lord. No, this is not about individuals, this is about a system. The system willrestore and supercede all her cruelties to enforce her dogmas.

Why are there dungeons and torture chambers in the basements of her churches. Whhas the office of the inquisition been reactivated?

"Every principle of the papacy that existed in past ages exists today. The doctrinesdevised in the darkest ages are still held. Let none deceive themselves. The papacy

that Protestants are now so ready to honor is the same that ruled the world in the dayof the Reformation, when men of God stood up, at the peril of their lives, to expose he

iniquity. She possesses the same pride and arrogant assumption that lorded it over

kings and princes, and claimed the prerogatives of God. Her spirit is no less cruel andespotic now than when she crushed out human liberty and slew the saints of the

Most High. The papacy is just what prophecy declared that she would be, the apostasof the latter times. 2 Thessalonians 2:3, 4. ( GC)

References:Froom, LeRoy The Prophetic Faith of Our Fathers Vol. 2


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Martin, Malachi, Keys of This Bloodalso The JesuitsGrimm, Harold The Reformation Era

Emmerson, W.L. The Reformation and the Advent MovementEncyclopedia Britannica

Time Magazine, Dec. 16, 1991Christianity Today, January 10, 2000

Go to: The Reformation, Part OneReturn to Home page

THE AUTHORITY OF LUTHER

A Bit of HistoryThe Reformation and Fanaticism

What Did He Write Concerning Obedience?Was Luther the Final Authority?

Upon the forums dealing with Adventism one finds many references to Luther. Most othe time references are pulled from his writings to try to prove to Adventists that thei

belief that God's holy law is still binding is against the Protestant Reformation. AreAdventists against the Protestant Reformation? No, they uphold the Protest of theReformation, while the rest of the world is gravitating back into the arms of Rome.

Luther was only a man. Yes, God used him mightily to free Christianity from theRoman oppressive power. The Reformation that gained strength to sweep away thesuperstitions and darkness of popery into the light of a purer faith based upon the

scriptures was, in a large measure, due to the courage and determination of this manBut Luther was neither a prophet nor a saint. He wrote some things that are wrong an

his writings should not be considered infallible inspired.

Personally I believe Luther would be totally upset if he saw and read how his worksare now being used. His fight was against the Papacy whom he considered antichris-- now his works are used to level the walls that separate people from the papacy! He

would be belligerently angry if he saw what was happening today!

A BIT OF HISTORY
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For interest sake, here is some history.(With a great deal of help from "The Reformation Era" by

Harold Grimm)January 3, 1521 four years after the outbreak of the

indulgence controversy during which Luther hammeredhis thesis on the cathedral door, the Pope issued the

actual excommunication bull "Decet pontificemromanum" against Luther.

If the pope believed that he could silence Luther withoutgiving him a hearing he was greatly mistaken. The many

people who had come to look upon the Wittenbergreformer as their spokesman in political, economic, and

social, as well as religious, matters would not meeklyaccept the condemnation of Luther solely on papal

authority.In all the excitement which followed, Luther remained belligerent, and self-confident

for he was certain that the growing support coming to him from all sides was anevidence of God's will that he should continue the struggle against the pope. He

considered the pope the Antichrist of the Apocalypse who ruled a church which hadbecome "the most lawless den of robbers, the most shameless of all brothels, the ver

kingdom of sin, death, and hell."Luther publicly announced his reaction to the papal attack, especially to the publicburning of his books at Cologne, Mainz, and Louvain, by having a public burning ofhis own. Just outside the eastern gate a big bonfire was started, into which Luther

ceremoniously threw a number of books which supported the authority of the papacyand the Catholic hierarchy. Finally consigning the Pope's bull against him to theflames as well.

Meanwhile, exasperated by the arguments which the supporters of the papacy hadadvanced on behalf of papal absolutism and informed of the fact that Leo X was takin

steps officially to condemn his doctrines, Luther published his three significantpamphlets of 1520. These served to arouse the German people to a defiant stand

against the papacy. These pamphlets no longer reflected the spirit of a humble monkseeking enlightenment on doctrinal matters, but of a bold leader of the people

demanding a revolutionary break with Rome.

The first "Address to the Christian Nobility of the German Nation" was primarilyconcerned with ecclesiastical politics. Luther called upon the Germans to reform thechurch and all society. After summarizing the many evils recognized by most of his

contemporaries, Luther demanded in strong and uncomprising terms that the Germarulers radically reform the papacy and the entire ecclesiastical hierarchy, whose

inviolate character he denied. The Pope, was not the sole interpreter of Scriptures anhad no legal or divine authority in secular matters, Luther wrote.


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Therefore the government should not only put an end to such evils as the financialexploitation of the German people and the trafficking in religious matters, but deprivethe pope of all political rights. He also favored the repression of the mendicant order

because of their interference with Christian liberty. He fought against the laws ofenforced celibacy of the clergy and for the abolition of punishment for heresy.

The second of the revolutionary pamphlets, which Luther called "The BabylonianCaptivity of the Church" was largely theological in nature. In it he summarized his newtheology on justification by faith alone, particularly with respect to the sacraments. H

condemned the papacy for holding the church in captivity by distorting the originalmeaning and purpose of the sacraments and reserving for the clerical hierarchy therights which belonged to all Christians as members of the universal priesthood of

believers, in short, fighting for the right for every Christian to approach God directlyand personally through faith. He attacked the doctrine of transubstantiation as taughby the Catholics, and looked upon the Lord's supper as a visible memorial signifying

God's forgiveness of sins through faith in Christ.Luther made his sharpest attack upon penance. He stated that the tyranny consistedof distorting the simple Biblical teachings of contrition, confession, and satisfactionThe popes had made a merit of contrition, had made confession a monopoly of theclergy, and had hindered the regeneration of man by burdening satisfaction with all

sorts of meritorious works, even granting absolution before demanding satisfaction.Yes, Luther made very important and great changes in the thinking of the Christian

world.THE REFORMATION AND FANATICISM

But then something happened. Fanaticism took hold of some of his followers. They

became violent. "To them the Holy Scriptures were but a dead letter, and they allbegan to cry, The Spirit! The Spirit!" One leader of the fanatics, a Thomas Munzer,declared, "He who possesses this spirit, possesses the true faith, although he shoul

never see the Scriptures in his life."And oh, how often we hear the same cry today Upon one forum someone told mejust recently that he no longer really needs the Bible (except to read the historicalfacts of the great Christ event in history) but as to his daily life the Spirit is leading

him. The whole scheme of getting rid of the binding nature of not only the decaloguebut even the bible! The downplaying of God's standards in the name of the Holy SpiriLuther did not do away with the Bible-- He gave the Bible to the common people, and

gave people the right to read it and find God's will for themselves.However, the authorities began to accuse Luther of insurrection. This is always thework of the great adversary the devil, to stir up mischief and then blame it on God's

followers. Luther moved to stop the fanaticism. Not only were the people throwing ofthe authority of the Papacy but also the authority of God and of law abiding citizens.

Is this where we are now heading. Are people now using Luther's writings, butthrowing out the written commands of God's Word, and telling us that the Spirit is al


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they need! Are they now moving to rid us of all rules and laws? Has the fanaticalelement again taken hold?

Luther did move to counter act. His counter action helped save the reformation fromdisgrace. However Luther also made mistakes, his strong stand against fanaticism

and violence was heroic and necessary, but then he also began to back pedal on manof his positions. His colleague, Karlstadt, was totally against the violent sectors and

totally for the Bible as the source of truth, he was advocating reform in a decentorderly fashion, yet Luther also turned against him.

For example: Catholics believe the bread and wine in the Eucharistic service actuallyturn into the body and blood of Christ and the priest created and reenacted the

sacrifice of Christ. The emblems then became filled with mystical power to infusegrace for meritorious works into the receiver.

At first Luther spoke very strongly against this unbiblical doctrine. He encouraged thmove to a more "Communion style" ordinance. Then, in his zeal to stop the mob

action of the fanatics, he swung right back into Catholism by turning back the reformin this area; restoring the Latin mass with its elevation of the host, though modifyingthe words, he condemned giving the emblems into the hands of the participants, and

reinforced the rules of fasting before Communion!Karlstadt replaced the mass with the communion service. He again offered the cup

with the bread and emphasized that this was a memorial service of Christ's death. Heofficiated without the Eucharistic vestments, wearing a plain gown. He did not elevat

the host and made no reference to this being a reenacted sacrifice. It was Karlstadtwho reintroduced the Lord's Supper as Jesus gave it to His disciples.

(Note: Karlstadt and his followers were totally against violent measures to implemen

changes. They refused to participate in the peasant's revolt, etc. Yet, (see Reformatiopart one), they were constantly lumped with, and condemned, with the people whosought reform by violence, rather than the Spirit of God speaking through the Holy

Scriptures.)The same was true of baptism. Luther taught that baptism was not merely a promise o

forgiveness of sins through faith but also a regeneration of man. It was not a singlesacramental act which magically wiped out original sin, as the scholastics maintained

but a process which continued throughout life.Yet Luther continued to baptize babies on the basis of their "sleeping faith".The

concept of the carnal nature dying with Christ and the person being raised to newnes

of life in Christ was not seen. The "repent and be baptized" seems to have not beenunderstood.

The issue of baptism remains the greatest black mark upon the Reformation era. Formany of the great reformers, including Melancthron and Luther, sided with the edict t

kill all twice baptized adults without trial of any kind, . Here they themselves fell intothe devil's methods condemning the righteous with the fanatical criminals. For theedict went into effect after the peasant's revolt the edict however, condemned all


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baptized people to death, without trial as to whether they were involved in the revolt onot.

WHAT DID HE WRITE CONCERNING OBEDIENCE?Luther was a man used by God, but by no means infallible.

Now people are telling us that Luther told us "to sin boldly, because we have grace."If Luther taught that HE WAS VERY, VERY WRONG!

LUTHER WAS FIGHTING THE PAPAL SYSTEM! A man standing up to the mostpowerful system in his world! He changed the course of History and helped free the

world from Roman tryanny.Yet, just as with the words of Paul, people today are taking Luther's words and totallymisapplying their meanings. Now they actually take Luther, or Paul's, words and figh

against Christ's own words which He spoke while on earth. The way they use theirwords today will lead people straight back into the Roman system, which Luther's lif

was dedicated to releasing us from.Paul was not opposed to God's law.

And from what I have personally read from Luther, he was not opposed to God's laweither.

Here are words from the pen of Luther in his introduction to Romans: These wordsneed to be balanced with all the quotes some people are pulling forth, and weighed i

the understanding of what Luther was really working against."Epistle to the Romans is the very purest Gospel and is worthy that every Christian should kno

it word for word. . .but first we must have knowledge of its words: law, sin, grace, faith,

righteousness, flesh, spirit, etc., otherwise no reading of it has any value.

"The little word "law" you must not take in human fashion, as a teaching about whatworks are to be done or not done. That is the way it is with human laws human lawcan be fulfilled by works, even though there is no heart in them. But God JUDGESaccording to what is at the bottom of the heart, and cannot be satisfied with mere

works. For even though you keep the law outwardly, with works, from fear ofpunishment of desire for reward, nevertheless, you do all this without willingness an

pleasure, and without love for the law, but rather with unwillingness, undercompulsion and if the law were not there you would gladly do otherwise. The

conclusion is that you hate the law."For this reason Paul says the law is spiritual. What is that? If the law were a human

law, it could be satisfied with works; but since it is spiritual, no one can satisfy it,UNLESS all that you do is done from the bottom of the heart. But such a heart is give

only by God's Spirit, so that he acquires a desire for the law in his heart, and hencedoes nothing out of mere fear and compulsion but everything will be loved and

fulfilled with such a spiritual heart and this requires the Holy Spirit. Doing the works othe law and fulfilling the law are two very different things. How can a man fulfill the

law, if he is doing the works of the law from a reluctant and resisting heart? To fulfil


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the law is to do its works with pleasure and love without the compulsion. Thispleasure and love for the law is put into the heart by the Holy Spirit.

"Sin, means not only the outward works of disobedience, but looks into the heart andregards the root and source of all sin.

"Faith, is a divine work in us. It changes us and makes us to be born anew of God. Itkills the old nature and makes us altogether different in heart and spirit and mind andpowers. Oh, it is a living, active, mighty thing, is faith and so it is impossible for it no

to do good works all the time. It does not ask if good works must be done forsalvation, but does them from a heart overflowing.. . .it is impossible to separate

works from faith.""Sin", Luther, thundered from the pulpit, "is a terrible thing, it totally unfits man for

heaven. It is like the poison of asps, the asp is a serpent and it's poison is sure to kilA sinner cannot be restored to spiritual life by simply applying merits. These pitiable

people do not recognize the poison nor the death of their souls. Where is yourepentance? Only in Christ can salvation be found, it can not be earned or purchasedIt is a free gift. . . .Humble yourselves at the foot of the cross, there is no other way."

The reformers taught that absence of the Moral Law Brings Chaos.The warnings of Roderick Campbell and Martin Luther ring true.

The absence of the basic Moral law would bring chaos, anarchy, or death, into everyrealm of rational being. On the other hand, if there were no law there would be no sin

hence no sinners, and no room for Grace. If there were no sin, there would be noSaviour, no redemption, and no gospel message.

Thus we read, "But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound; that as sinhath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto

eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 5:20,21). Grace is that golden streamthat river of the water of life, which always flows in the channel of Law, out from thefountain of the immeasurable love of God.

Without a conscience within and an objective Moral Law without, mankind wouldrevert to a condition lower than the brute creation. The earth becomes a garden or a

desert, a paradise or a hell, according as men perform, or fail to perform, the justdemands of the righteous Moral Law. A stable order among men can be maintained

only when it is based upon a conviction that, above the level of life on earth, andabove the physical creation, there exists a supreme Moral Governor of the world...

Israel and the New Covenant, pp. 42, 43

A Heresy That Luther Never Thought to SeeMartin Luther was amazed how some responded to his gospel

message, and commented:But Satan, the god of all dissension, stirreth up daily new sects, and last of all (whichof all other I should never have foreseen or once suspected), he hath raised up a sec

of such as teach that the Ten Commandments ought to be taken out of the church, an


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that men should not be terrified by the law, but gently exhorted by the preaching of thgrace of Christ. Preface to Luther's Commentary on Galatians

WAS LUTHER THE FINAL AUTHORITY?Luther does not do away with obedience, he strongly condemned outward

righteousness without inward renewal. In this he is preaching true righteousness.

Yet, if in any of his writings he does say that disregard for any of God'scommandments is fine --- he is VERY WRONG! Indeed, his heavy emphasis on

justification at times causes him to loose focus on the binding nature of God's law, ais seen in his treatment of the 4th commandment. The idea that grace somehow

replaces God's law does come through in his writings.Other Reformers, like Carlstadt, Zwingli and Wesley, denied that the moral law was

abrogated by grace, and asserted that they were the continuing standard of thesanctified life. Therefore we must not take Luther's, words without considering unde

what condition they were written and uphold them as if they were the inspiredrevelation of God on the interpretation of scripture.

Luther made incredible advances under the most adverse situations, but he did notreach all truth.

Now some are upholding the words of Luther above the words of Christ Himself.Luther had some big time problems and said some things that shock even those withtoughened sensibilities. He was very stubborn and very head strong -- yet those very

qualities God used to fight the mammoth despotic system of the papacy.Now people take his writings where he is looking for justification apart from the

Roman false system, and use it to break down the wall that separates people from tha

self same false system.Sunday is the biggest bond Protestant Churches have with Rome. Their claim of solascripture makes total ship wreck on this one commandment. There is no scripture fo

Sunday, but to break people from holding to the true sanctified day of worship, the"Jesuits" must first destroy the concept that God's laws are binding. Once that is

destroyed then it will be easy to slip in Sunday as the day of convenient worship -- anthe people will hardly notice they have rejected their date with God.

Our work is to move forward not backward.

Go to The Reformation, It's Rise and FallThe Counter Reformation

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The Rise, Fall of the Reformation