Bloody Roman Catholic Cult!

*ROME'S PERSECUTION OF THE BIBLE AND BIBLE BELIEVERS*

By: David Cloud, Fundamental Baptist Information Service


The following is excerpted from the book ROME AND THE BIBLE: TRACING THE HISTORY OF THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH AND ITS PERSECUTION OF THE BIBLE AND OF BIBLE BELIEVERS. To our knowledge, this is the first history ever published which details the Roman Catholic Church's relationship to the Bible from the first millennium to the present. The book could also be titled "The Bible through the Centuries." The author has spent thousands of dollars obtaining rare documents relevant to this history (such as a 1641 edition of Foxe's unabridged Acts and Monuments) and researched the topic in important theological libraries in Canada, America, England, and Ireland. The book covers the Roman Catholic Inquisition from the 11th to the 19th centuries, particularly the role played by the Inquisition to keep translations of the Bible out of the hands of the common people. It contains the history of ancient separated Christians, including the Waldensians and the Lollards. It gives the history of the English Bible from John Wycliffe to William Tyndale, and the history of the Spanish, German, French, and Italian Bibles. It contains amazing biographies of royal queens who loved the Bible. It gives the decade-by-decade details of papal condemnations of 19th-century Bible societies and of Roman Catholic persecution in the 19th century. It describes the 20th-century phenomenon of Rome changing tactics and joining hands with the Bible societies. It documents the similarities between the Latin Vulgate and the modern versions. It answers the question: Has the Roman Catholic Church changed? The book contains 95 illustrations from rare out-of-print books. Dr. Ian Paisley, Martyrs Memorial Presbyterian Church, Belfast, Northern Ireland, commended us for Rome and the Bible and showed us his copy in which he had written the following words: "Brother Cloud is not beclouded!"
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During the period when the Roman Catholic Church was in power, she did everything she could to keep the Bible out of the hands of the common people. It was illegal to translate the Bible into the common languages, even though most people could not read the official Catholic Bible because it was in Latin, a language known only to the highly educated. Consider some of the laws Rome made against Bible translation. These began to be made in the 13th century and were in effect through the 19th.


(1) In the year 1215 Pope Innocent III issued a law commanding "that they shall be seized for trial and penalties, WHO ENGAGE IN THE TRANSLATION OF THE SACRED VOLUMES, or who hold secret conventicles, or who assume the office of preaching without the authority of their superiors; against whom process shall be commenced, without any permission of appeal" (J.P. Callender, Illustrations of Popery, 1838, p. 387). Innocent "declared that as by the old law, the beast touching the holy mount was to be stoned to death, so simple and uneducated men were not to touch the Bible or venture to preach its doctrines" (Schaff, History of the Christian Church, VI, p. 723).


(2) The Council of Toulouse (1229) FORBADE THE LAITY TO POSSESS OR READ THE VERNACULAR TRANSLATIONS OF THE BIBLE (Allix, Ecclesiastical History, II, p. 213). This council ordered that the bishops should appoint in each parish "one priest and two or three laics, who should engage upon oath to make a rigorous search after all heretics and their abettors, and for this purpose should visit every house from the garret to the cellar, together with all subterraneous places where they might conceal themselves" (Thomas M'Crie, History of the Reformation in Spain, 1856, p. 82). They also searched for the illegal Bibles.


(3) The Council of Tarragona (1234) "ORDERED ALL VERNACULAR VERSIONS TO BE BROUGHT TO THE BISHOP TO BE BURNED" (Paris Simms, Bible from the Beginning, p. 1929, 162).


(4) In 1483 the infamous Inquisitor General Thomas Torquemada began his reign of terror as head of the Spanish Inquisition; King Ferdinand and his queen "PROHIBITED ALL, UNDER THE SEVEREST PAINS, FROM TRANSLATING THE SACRED SCRIPTURE INTO THE VULGAR TONGUES, OR FROM USING IT WHEN TRANSLATED BY OTHERS" (M'Crie, p. 192). For more than three centuries the Bible in the common tongue was a forbidden book in Spain and multitudes of copies perished in the flames, together with those who cherished them.


(5) In England, too, laws were passed by the Catholic authorities against vernacular Bibles. The Constitutions of Thomas Arundel, issued in 1408 by the Archbishop of Canterbury, made this brash demand: "WE THEREFORE DECREE AND ORDAIN THAT NO MAN SHALL, HEREAFTER, BY HIS OWN AUTHORITY, TRANSLATE ANY TEXT OF THE SCRIPTURE INTO ENGLISH, OR ANY OTHER TONGUE, by way of a book, libel, or treatise, now lately set forth in the time of John Wyckliff, or since, or hereafter to be set forth, in part of in whole, privily or apertly, upon pain of greater excommunication, until the said translation be allowed by the ordinary of the place, or, if the case so require, by the council provincial" (John Eadie, The English Bible, vol. 1, 1876, p. 89). Consider Arundel's estimation of the man who gave the English speaking people their first Bible: "This pestilential and most wretched John Wycliffe of damnable
memory, a child of the old devil, and himself a child or pupil of Anti-Christ, who while he lived, walking in the vanity of his mind Š crowned his wickedness by translating the Scriptures into the mother tongue" (Fountain, John Wycliffe, p. 45).


(6) Pope Leo X (1513-1521), who railed against Luther's efforts to follow the biblical precept of faith alone and Scripture alone, called the fifth Lateran Council (1513-1517), which charged that no books should be printed except those approved by the Roman Catholic Church. "THEREFORE FOREVER THEREAFTER NO ONE SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO PRINT ANY BOOK OR WRITING WITHOUT A PREVIOUS EXAMINATION, TO BE TESTIFIED BY MANUAL SUBSCRIPTION, BY THE PAPAL VICAR AND MASTER OF THE SACRED PALACE IN ROME, and in other cities and dioceses by the Inquisition, and the bishop or an expert appointed by him. FOR NEGLECT OF THIS THE PUNISHMENT WAS EXCOMMUNICATION, THE LOSS OF THE EDITION, WHICH WAS TO BE BURNED, a fine of 100 ducats to the fabric of St. Peters, and suspension from business for a year" (Henry Lea, The Inquisition of the Middle Ages).


(7) These restrictions were repeated by the Council of Trent in 1546, which placed translations of the Bible, such as the German, Spanish, and English, on its list of prohibited books and forbade any person to read the Bible without a license from a Catholic bishop or inquisitor.


Following is a quote from Trent: "ŠIT SHALL NOT BE LAWFUL FOR ANYONE TO PRINT OR TO HAVE PRINTED ANY BOOKS WHATSOEVER DEALING WITH SACRED DOCTRINAL MATTERS WITHOUT THE NAME OF THE AUTHOR, OR IN THE FUTURE TO SELL THEM, OR EVEN TO HAVE THEM IN POSSESSION, UNLESS THEY HAVE FIRST BEEN EXAMINED AND APPROVED BY THE ORDINARY, UNDER PENALTY OF ANATHEMA AND FINE prescribed by the last Council of the Lateran" (Fourth session, April 8, 1546, The Canons and Decrees of the Council of Trent, Translated by H.J. Schroeder, pp. 17-19).


These rules were affixed to the Index of Prohibited Books and were constantly reaffirmed by popes in the 16th, 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. These prohibitions, in fact, have never been rescinded. It is true that the Council of Trent did not absolutely forbid the reading of the Scriptures under all circumstances. It allowed a few exceptions. The priests were allowed to read the Latin Bible. Bishops and inquisitors were allowed to grant license for certain faithful Catholics to read the Scriptures in Latin as long as these Scriptures were accompanied by Catholic notes and if it was believed that these would not be "harmed" by such reading. In practice, though, the proclamations of Trent forbade the reading of the Holy Scriptures to at least nine-tenths of the people. Rome's claim to possess authority to determine who can and cannot translate, publish, and read the Bible is one of the most blasphemous claims ever made under this sun.


The attitude of 16th century Catholic authorities toward the Bible was evident from a speech Richard Du Mans delivered at Trent, in which he said "that the Scriptures had become useless, since the schoolmen had established the truth of all doctrines; and though they were formerly read in the church, for the instruction of the people, and still read in the service, yet they ought not to be made a study, because the Lutherans only gained those who read them" (William M'Gavin, The Protestant, 1846, p. 144). It is true that the Bible leads men away from Roman Catholicism, but this is only because Roman Catholicism is not founded upon the Word of God!


Pope Clement VIII (1592-1605) confirmed the Council of Trent's proclamations against Bible translations (Eadie, History of the English Bible, II, p. 112) and went even further by forbidding licenses to be granted for the reading of the Bible under any conditions (Richard Littledale, Plain Reasons Against Joining the Church of Rome, 1924, p. 91).


(8) The restrictions against ownership of the vernacular Scriptures were repeated by the popes until the end of the 19th century:


Benedict XIV (1740-1758) confirmed the Council of Trent's proclamations against Bible translations (Eadie, History of the English Bible, II, p. 112) and issued an injunction "that no versions whatever should be suffered to be read but those which should be approved of by the Holy See, accompanied by notes derived from the writings of the Holy Fathers, or other learned and Catholic authors" (D.B. Ray, The Papal Controversy, p. 479).


It was during the reign of Pope Pius VII (1800-1823) that the modern Bible society movement began. The British and Foreign Bible Society was formed in March 1804, the purpose being "to encourage a wider circulation of the Holy Scriptures without note or comment." Other societies were soon created for the same exalted purpose. Germany (1804); Ireland (1806); Canada (1807); Edinburgh (1809); Hungary (1811); Finland, Glasgow, Zurich, Prussia (1812); Russia (1813); Denmark and Sweden (1814); Netherlands, Iceland (1815); America, Norway, and Waldensian (1816); Australia, Malta, Paris (1817); etc. One of the societies began distributing a Polish Bible in Poland. The Pope, instead of praising the Lord that the eternal Word of God was being placed into the hands of the multitudes of spiritually needy people, showed his displeasure by issuing a bull against Bible Societies on June 29, 1816. The Pope expressed himself as "shocked" by the circulation of the Scriptures in the Polish tongue. He characterized this practice as a "most crafty device, by which the very foundations of religion are undermined," "a pestilence," which he must "remedy and abolish," "a defilement of the faith, eminently dangerous to souls." Pope Pius VII also rebuked Archbishop Buhusz of Mohiley in Russia because of his endorsement of a newly formed Bible society (Kenneth Latourette, The Nineteenth Century in Europe, p. 448). The papal brief, dated September 3, 1816, declared that "if the Sacred Scriptures were allowed in the vulgar tongue everywhere without discrimination, more detriment than benefit would arise" (Jacobus, Roman Catholic and Protestant Versions
Compared, p. 236).


Pope Leo XII (1823-29) issued a bull to the Bishops in Ireland, May 3, 1824, in which he affirmed the Council of Trent and condemned Bible distribution. "It is no secret to you, venerable brethren, that a certain Society, vulgarly called The Bible Society, is audaciously spreading itself through the whole world. After despising the traditions of the holy Fathers, and in opposition to the well-known Decree of the Council of Trent, this Society has collected all its forces, and directs every means to one object,--the translation, or rather the perversion, of the Bible into the vernacular languages of all nations. ... IF THE SACRED SCRIPTURES BE EVERYWHERE INDISCRIMINATELY PUBLISHED, MORE EVIL THAN ADVANTAGE WILL ARISE THENCE, on account of the rashness of men" (Bull of Leo XII, May 3, 1824; cited from Charles Elliott, Delineation of Roman Catholicism, 1851, p. 21). This Pope re-published the Index of Prohibited Books on March 26, 1825, and mandated that the decrees of the Council of Trent be enforced against distribution of Scriptures (R.P. Blakeney, Popery in Its Social Aspect, p. 137).


Pope Gregory XVI (1831-46) ratified the decrees of his predecessors, forbidding the free distribution of Scripture. In his encyclical of May 8, 1844, this Pope stated: "Moreover, we confirm and renew the decrees recited above, DELIVERED IN FORMER TIMES BY APOSTOLIC AUTHORITY, AGAINST THE PUBLICATION, DISTRIBUTION, READING, AND POSSESSION OF BOOKS OF THE HOLY SCRIPTURES TRANSLATED INTO THE VULGAR TONGUE" (James Wylie, The Papacy, 1867, p. 182). This encyclical was delivered against Bible societies in general, and mentioned in particular the Christian Alliance, which was formed in 1843 in New York for the purpose of distributing Scriptures.


Pope Pius IX (1846-78) in November 1846 issued an encyclical letter in which he denounced all opponents of Roman Catholicism, among which he included "those insidious Bible Societies." He said the Bible societies were "renewing the crafts of the ancient heretics" by distributing to "all kinds of men, even the least instructed, gratuitously and at immense expense, copies in vast numbers of the books of the Sacred Scriptures translated against the holiest rules of the Church into various vulgar tongues..." What a horrible crime! Distributing the Scriptures freely to all people! It was Pius IX who had himself and his fellow popes declared "infallible" at the Vatican I Council in 1870.


Pope Leo XIII (1878-1903) published an "Apostolic Constitution" in 1897 which stated: "All versions of the vernacular, even by Catholics, are altogether prohibited, unless approved by the Holy See, or published under the vigilant care of the Bishops, with annotations taken from the Fathers of the Church and learned Catholic writers" (Melancthon Jacobus, Roman Catholic and Protestant Bibles, p. 237).


Where the Roman Catholic Church held power the Bible was always scarce. Consider a few examples: When the government of New Orleans was taken over in 1803, "it was not till after a long search for a Bible to administer the oath of office that a Latin Vulgate was at last procured from a priest" (William Canton, The Bible and the Anglo-Saxon People, I, p. 245). In Quebec, as late as 1826, MANY PEOPLE HAD NEVER HEARD OF THE NEW TESTAMENT (Canton, II, 61). The situation was the same in South America, where "for about three centuries, were almost entirely without the Bible." It was 1831 before the first Bible was printed in Spanish America, and even then the copies were exorbitantly expensive (Canton, II, 347). Thus, even when Catholic authorities finally printed some Bibles, they were priced far beyond the reach of most people. Between December 1907 and February 1908 a diligent search was made to determine how many Bibles were available in Catholic Ireland. Not a portion of the Bible was available in bookshops in Athlone, Balbriggan, Drogheda, Mullingar, Wexford, and Clonmel. A shop assistant at Mullingar said, "I never saw a Catholic Bible." When asked about the New Testament, a sales person at the The Catholic Truth Society replied, "We don't keep it." Those who did the extensive survey concluded "that IN NINE TENTHS OF THE CITIES, TOWNS, AND VILLAGES OR IRELAND A ROMAN CATHOLIC COULD NOT PROCURE A COPY OF THE ROMAN CATHOLIC BIBLE OR NEW TESTAMENT" (Alexander Robertson, The Papal Conquest, 1909, pp. 166-167).


These facts uncover only the tip of iceberg in regard to Rome's attitude toward the Bible in former times. Our book "Rome and the Bible: The History of the Bible through the Centuries and Rome's Persecution against It" documents this more extensively.


THE WALDENSES (also called Vaudois or Albigenses) are an example of what occurred during this period. They lived in the mountains of Italy and France and eventually spread throughout Europe; they refused to join the Catholic Church or recognize the Pope. They received the Bible as the sole source for faith and practice and had their own translations, which they diligently reproduced in hand-written copies. Rome persecuted the Waldenses throughout the Dark Ages up until the 18th century.


A few brief descriptions of the persecutions against the Waldenses follow. Note that many entire books have been written about these persecutions and the following facts only hint at the destruction and torment poured out upon these people. [For more information, the reader's attention is invited to the Fundamental Baptist CD-Rom Library, which contains dozens of rare antiquarian Baptist and Waldensian histories, including Baptist History by John M. Cramp (1852), The Story of the Baptists in All Ages and Countries by Richard Cook (1888), Memorials of Baptist Martyrs by J. Newton Brown (1854), A History of the Baptists by Thomas Armitage (1890), A History of the Christian Church (Waldenses) by William Jones (1819), History of the Ancient Churches of Piedmont and Albigenses by Pierre Allix (1690, 1692), A History of the
Waldenses by J.A. Wylie (1860), and A History of the Ancient Christians of the Valleys of the Alps by Perrin (1618).


12TH CENTURY


The Roman Catholic Church persecuted Peter Waldo and refused to accept his translation of the New Testament into the Romaunt language. Pope Alexander III (1159-1181) expelled Waldo and his followers from his diocese, and the next pope, Lucius III, put his papal curse upon them (William Blackburn, History of the Christian Church, 1880, pp. 309, 310). The Council of Tours in 1163 promoted inquisition against Bible believers, issuing a decree that stated: "No man must presume to receive or assist heretics, nor in buying or selling have any thing to do with them, that being thus deprived of the comforts of humanity, they may be compelled to repent of the error of their way" (Gideon Ouseley, A Short Defence of the Old Religion, 1821, p. 221). "Many Albigenses, refusing the terms, were burnt in different cities in the south of France" (G.H. Orchard, A Concise History of the Baptists, 1855, p. 199). The Third Lateran Council "gave permission to princes to reduce heretics to slavery and shortened the time of penance by two years for those taking up arms against them" (Philip Schaff, History of the Christian Church,
V, p. 519).


13TH CENTURY


In the year 1209, Pope Innocent III called for a crusade against the Waldenses in France. Anyone who volunteered to war against the "heretics" (so called by Rome because they dissented from her dogmas) was promised forgiveness of sin and many rewards. Tens of thousands took up arms for the Pope and marched against the hated Waldenses. Some 200,000 dissenters were killed by the Pope's army within a few months. Two large cities, Beziers (Braziers) and Carcasone, were destroyed, together with many smaller towns and villages. The war was conducted for 20 years! Thousands were made homeless and were forced to wander in the woods and mountains to escape their tormentors. The cruelties practiced by the Catholic persecutors were horrible. The Christians were thrown from high cliffs, hanged, disemboweled, pierced through repeatedly, drowned, torn by dogs, burned alive, crucified. In one case, 400 mothers fled for refuge with their babies to a cave in Castelluzzo, which was located 2,000 feet above the valley in which they lived. They were discovered by the rampaging Catholics; a large fire was built outside of the cave and they were suffocated.


15TH CENTURY


In 1487 Pope Innocent VIII called for a crusade against the Waldenses in Italy, Germany, and elsewhere. He promised forgiveness of sins and a share in the plunder to those who joined. Charles VIII of France and Charles II of Savoy agreed to raise an army for the destruction of the Waldenses. This regular army numbered about 18,000 soldiers and thousands of "ruffians" joined, urged on by the promise of forgiveness of sins and the expectation of obtaining spoil from the Waldensian possessions. Wylie describes these volunteers as "ambitious fanatics, reckless pillagers, merciless assassins" (James Wylie, History of the Waldenses, 1860, p. 29). This army attacked the Waldensian mountain valleys in northern Italy simultaneously from the plains to the south and from France to the west. Thousands of Bible-believing Christians perished in this crusade. Their homes and crops were destroyed. Many entire villages were razed. Their women were raped and then viciously murdered. Their children were dashed against trees and thrown off cliffs. More than 3,000 Waldensian Christians, men, women, and children, perished in one cave called Aigue-Froid to which they had fled for safety. These were the inhabitants of the entire village of Val Loyse, and the property of these pitiful people was distributed to the participants of the crusade. Many entire large valleys were burned and pillaged and depopulated. This crusade against the Waldensians lasted for a year.


16TH CENTURY


Following is a brief description of the persecutions in the 16th century as given by a Waldensian pastor: "There is no town in Piedmont under a Vaudois pastor, where some of our brethren have not been put to death Š Hugo Chiamps of Finestrelle had his entrails torn from his living body, at Turin. Peter Geymarali of Bobbio, in like manner, had his entrails taken out at Lucerna, and a fierce cat thrust in their place to torture him further; Maria Romano was buried alive at Rocco-patia; Magdalen Foulano underwent the same fate at San Giovanni; Susan Michelini was bound hand and foot, and left to perish of cold and hunger at Saracena. Bartholomew Fache, gashed with sabres, had the wounds filled up with quicklime, and perished thus in agony at Fenile; Daniel Michelini had his tongue torn out at Bobbio for having praised God. James Baridari perished covered with sulphurous matches, which had been forced into his flesh under the nails, between the fingers, in the nostrils, in the lips, and over all his body, and then lighted. Daniel Revelli had his mouth filled with gunpowder, which, being lighted, blew his head to pieces. Maria Monnen, taken at Liousa, had the flesh cut from her cheek and chin bone, so that her jaw was left bare, and she was thus left to perish. Paul Garnier was slowly sliced to pieces at Rora. Thomas Margueti was mutilated in an indescribable manner at Miraboco, and Susan Jaquin cut in bits at La Torre. Sara Rostagnol was slit open from the legs to the bosom, and so left to perish on the road between Eyral and Lucerna. Anne Charbonnier was impaled and carried thus on a pike, as a standard, from San Giovanni to La Torre. Daniel Rambaud, at Paesano, had his nails torn off, then his fingers chopped off, then his feet and his hands, then his arms and his legs, with each successive refusal on his part to abjure the Gospel" (Alex Muston, A History of the Waldenses: The Israel of the Alps, 1866).


Not only were the Waldensian Christians themselves destroyed wherever the armies could gain ascendancy, but their literature and vernacular Scriptures were destroyed with a vengeance during these persecutions. The Catholic priests who accompanied the armies made certain of this. So many copies of the Waldensian Scriptures were destroyed that we have little information about their Bibles.


In the 17th century, Samuel Morland visited the Waldenses in northern Italy as the representative of England's ruler, Oliver Cromwell. Morland tried to assist the Waldenses in the bitter persecutions that were still being poured out upon them. Entire armies had been sent to destroy the Waldensian villages in the 17th century. Practically all of their documents had been destroyed. Morland gathered up any remaining materials he could find and in 1658 sent them back to England to be deposited in the library at the University of Cambridge. The Morland collections are still available. On June 2, 2004, Miss J.S. Ringrose, Deputy Keeper of Manuscripts at University Library, Cambridge, wrote to Justin Savino, a student at Emmanuel Baptist Theological Seminary, Newington, Connecticut, as follows: "There are two main collections of Waldensian manuscripts, both deposited by Samuel Morland in 1658. MSS Dd. 3. 25-38 (Morland MSS G-V) are seventeenth century manuscripts, mainly transcripts of earlier historical sources. MSS. Dd. 15.29-34 (Morland A-F) are medieval." The Morland F packet contains manuscripts from the 14th century with the entire New Testament and parts of the Old and apocryphal writings "in the Peidemontese dialect of Provencal or Occitan." On a visit to the library in April 2005 I examined the F packet. It contains six small items, including a New Testament (though not containing all of the books).


CONSIDER SOME EXAMPLES OF HOW THE BIBLE WAS PERSECUTED BY ROME:


THE ENGLISH BIBLE WAS PERSECUTED


JOHN WYCLIFFE (1324-1384), the father of the English Bible, is an example of how Rome treated the Bible in these days.


Wycliffe, the vicar of St. Mary's Church at Lutterworth, completed the English New Testament in 1380 and the Old Testament in 1382. He rejected many of Rome's heresies, including the doctrine that the people should not have the Bible in their own language. Here is one of the powerful statements that he made to the Catholic authorities: "You say it is heresy to speak of the Holy Scriptures in English. You call me a heretic because I have translated the Bible into the common tongue of the people. Do you know whom you blaspheme? Did not the Holy Ghost give the Word of God at first in the mother-tongue of the nations to whom it was addressed? Why do you speak against the Holy Ghost? You say that the Church of God is in danger from this book. How can that be? Is it not from the Bible only that we learn that God has set up such a society as a Church on the earth? Is it not the Bible that gives all her authority to the Church? Is it not from the Bible that we learn who is the Builder and Sovereign of the Church, what are the laws by which she is to be governed, and the rights and privileges of her members? Without the Bible, what charter has the Church to show for all these? It is you who place the Church in jeopardy by hiding the Divine warrant, the missive royal of her King, for the authority she wields and the faith she enjoins" (David Fountain, John Wycliffe, pp. 45-47).


Rome persecuted Wycliffe bitterly and attempted unsuccessfully to have him imprisoned. Pope Gregory XI issued five bulls against Wycliffe, but he was protected by the Queen of England and others.


Wycliffe died on December 31, 1384, and forty-three years later, in 1428, the Roman Catholic Church dug up Wycliffe's bones and burned them.


Rome also persecuted Wycliffe's followers, the Lollards, imprisoning them and putting many of them to death. The Lollards' Tower in London was so named because it is one of the places where they were imprisoned and tortured. It was illegal to own a copy of the Wycliffe Bible, and most of the priceless handwritten Scriptures were burned.


WILLIAM TYNDALE (1484-1536), the first to translate the English Bible from Greek and Hebrew, is another example of Rome's persecutions.


As a young man Tyndale had a burden to translate the Bible into English directly from the Hebrew and Greek so that his people could have the Word of God from the purest fountains. When he expressed this plan to Catholic authorities in England, then under Roman Catholic rule, he learned that it would not be possible to do this work in his own country.


While employed at Little Sodbury Manor after graduation from Oxford, Tyndale preached in that part of western England and debated the truth with Catholic priests. One evening a priest exclaimed, "We are better without God's laws than the pope's." Hearing that, Tyndale replied: "If God spare my life, ere many years I will cause a boy that driveth a plough shall know more of the Scriptures than thou doest."


Tyndale traveled to Europe to pursue this objective, where he had to move from place to place and hide his work from the ecclesiastical authorities.


After completing the New Testament and a portion of the Old, Tyndale was arrested in May 1535. He was imprisoned for 16 months in the castle at Vilvorde, Belgium.


On October 6, 1536, Tyndale was strangled and then burned at the stake. His ashes were thrown into the river that flowed alongside the castle.


THE GERMAN BIBLE WAS PERSECUTED


The PRE-LUTHER GERMAN BIBLES were persecuted in the 15th century. The first complete printed Bible in German was published by Johann Mentelin (John Mentel) at Strassburg in 1466 (Olaf Norlie, The Translated Bible, 1934, p. 73). Mainz was the most active publication center in Germany at that time, and in 1485, the archbishop there issued AN EDICT PRESCRIBING CENSORSHIP FOR ALL TRANSLATIONS OF THE BIBLE. The edict forbade the Scriptures to be given to simple and unlearned men and to women. Following is an excerpt: "We have observed books containing the office of the mass and also containing divine things and lofty matters of our religion and translated from Latin into the German language, not without damage to religion [meaning the Catholic religion!], circulating among the hands of the vulgar [common people] Š for who will give to the ignorant and unlettered persons, and to the female sex at that, into whose hands the manuscripts of sacred learning should fall, the ability to find the true sense? No sane person would deny that the texts of the Holy Gospels and of the Epistles of Paul require many additions and explanations from other writings."


THE LUTHER BIBLE, which first appeared in 1522, was also fiercely persecuted.


D'Aubigne, in his History of the Reformation, describes how Rome replied to this milestone in Germany history: "Ignorant priests shuddered at the thought that every citizen, nay every peasant, would now be able to dispute with them on the precepts of our Lord. The King of England denounced the work to the Elector Frederick and to Duke George of Saxony. But as early as the month of November THE DUKE HAD ORDERED HIS SUBJECTS TO DEPOSIT EVERY COPY OF LUTHER'S NEW TESTAMENT IN THE HANDS OF THE MAGISTRATES. BAVARIA, BRANDENBURG, AUSTRIA, AND ALL THE STATES DEVOTED TO ROME, PUBLISHED SIMILAR DECREES. IN SOME PLACES THEY MADE SACRILEGIOUS BONFIRES OF THESE SACRED BOOKS IN THE PUBLIC PLACES" (D'Aubigne, III, p. 77).


Persecutions were poured out by the Catholic authorities upon those who read the works of Luther. An example of those who were tormented for distributing the German Luther New Testament was a bookseller named John in Buda, Hungary. He had circulated the German Scriptures throughout that country. "He was bound to a stake; his persecutors then piled his books around him, enclosing him as if in a tower, and then set fire to them. John manifested unshaken courage, exclaiming from the midst of the flames, that he was delighted to suffer in the cause of the Lord" (D'Aubigne, III, p. 152).


In 1520 a strict search for Lutheran Bibles and books was instigated in Venice, and those found were destroyed (M'Crie, Reformation in Italy, p. 28).


The ANABAPTIST LUTHERAN BIBLES were persecuted.


The German Bible produced by Anabaptists appeared in 1529, five years before the entire Luther Bible. It was called THE WORMS BIBLE, after the name of the city in which it was published. The translation was done by two Anabaptists, Ludwig Hetzer and Hans Denck, "accomplished scholars, thoroughly versed in Hebrew and Greek, as well as in Latin. Denck studied and received the degree of Master at the University of Basel, under and with Erasmus, Hetzer was an alumnus of Basel, and also of the University of Paris" (John Porter, The World's Debt to the Baptists, 1914, p. 138). "At the time of its publication the approval of the Denck-Hetzer edition was unlimited and universal. Within three years thirteen separate editions appeared at Strasburg, Augsburg, Hagenau, and other places. ... In a word, in all Germany the book of the despised Anabaptists was bought, read, and treasured" (Ludwig Keller, Hans Denck, Ein Apostel der Wiedertaufer, p. 211; cited by Porter, p. 139).


This German Bible and its translators suffered the fate we have seen so many times already. "Denck, suffering with tuberculosis, under the decree of banishment and outlawry, died in hiding, in Basel, in 1529, a little before the Bible came from the press. Hetzer was arrested, condemned as a heretic, and beheaded the same year at Constance. Š EVERY POSSIBLE EFFORT WAS MADE TO SUPPRESS THIS 'HERETIC BIBLE;' PRINTING OFFICES, PLACES WHERE THE BOOK WAS FOR SALE, PRIVATE HOUSES AND INDIVIDUALS WERE SEARCHED, AND ALL COPIES FOUND WERE DESTROYED. Only three copies that are accessible to scholars are now known to be in existence, one is in the library in the University of Bonn, one in a library in Stuttgart, and one in the New York Public Library" (Porter, p. 139).


THE SPANISH BIBLE WAS PERSECUTED


In the fifteenth century a Roman Catholic priest named BONIFACIO FERRER translated the whole Scriptures into the Valencian or Catalonian dialect of Spain. He died in 1417, but his translation was printed in Valencia in 1478. In spite of the fact that it was produced by a Catholic, "it had scarcely made its appearance when it was suppressed by the Inquisition, who ordered the whole impression to be devoured by the flames. So strictly was this order carried into execution, that scarcely a single copy appears to have escaped" (M'Crie, History of the Progress and Suppression of the Reformation in Spain, 1829, pp. 191, 92). In 1645 four leaves of this translation were discovered in a monastery.


In 1543 the FRANCISCO DE ENZINAS Spanish New Testament was published with the title "The New Testament, that is, the New Covenant of our Only Redeemer and Saviour Jesus Christ, translated from the Greek to the Castillian [Spanish] language." Enzinas presented a copy of his New Testament to Charles V, Emperor of the Roman Empire (1519-1558), during the emperor's visit to Brussels, who gave it to his Catholic confessor, Pedro de Soto. "After various delays, Enzinas, having waited on the confessor, was upbraided by him as an enemy to religion, who had tarnished the honor of his native country; and refusing to acknowledge a fault, was seized by the officers of justice and thrown into prison" (M'Crie, History of the Reformation in Spain, pp. 194-95). Francisco's father and uncles visited him in prison and reproached him for dishonoring his family. After fifteen months' confinement he miraculously escaped prison in Brussels and fled to Antwerp, then on to England, where, in 1548, he was given the chair of Greek at Cambridge. He returned to the continent in 1550 and died of the plague at Strasbourg in 1553. Most of his New Testaments were burned and all of his manuscripts were destroyed by the Inquisition.


Another man who was raised up by God to provide the Spanish world with a vernacular Bible was JUAN PEREZ DE PINEDA (c. 1490-1567). In Seville, Spain, as the head of the College of Doctrine, he began to study the Bible and rejected Roman Catholic doctrine. When persecution began against the believers in that area, Perez and some of his friends were able to flee from Spain. Perez settled in Geneva and was the first to form a Spanish church in that city (M'Crie, p. 363). Afterwards he moved to France. His translation of the New Testament into Spanish, relying heavily on the Enzinas version, was published in 1556 in Geneva.


Another of the men who fled Spain's inquisition terrors was CASSIODORO DE REINA (1520-1594). As a monk in the San Isidro del Campo monastery in Seville he joined the Protestant revival and rejected Catholic doctrine. Arrested and sentenced to death, Reina was able to escape from prison and flee to London, where he preached to a Spanish congregation (Lupton, A History of the Geneva Bible, I, p. 40). Later he journeyed to Geneva and associated with the Protestant Spanish church there, pastored by the aforementioned Juan Perez de Pineda. In 1567 Reina completed a Spanish New Testament that "is hailed to this day as the greatest literary triumph in Spanish history." Reina settled in Basle, and the entire Bible appeared in 1569.


Reina's work was taken over by CIPRIANO DE VALERA (1532-1602?).


Like Enzinas and Reina, Valera had fled the inquisition in Spain. In 1565 Valera joined Oxford University and became well known for his linguistic expertise, "having mastered at least ten languages." He revised and corrected Reina's work and published the New Testament in London in 1596, and, the entire Bible in 1602 in Amsterdam.


All of these Spanish Bibles "were accompanied with vindications of the practice of translating the scriptures into vernacular languages, and the right of the people to read them" (M'Crie, p. 202).


What a contrast this was with the attitude of the Roman Catholic Church. As late as 1747, the inquisitor general in Spain fretted that "some men carried their audacity to the execrable extreme of asking permission to read the sacred scriptures in the vulgar tongue, not afraid of finding in them the most deadly poison" (M'Crie, p. 202, f3).


Pope Julius III addressed a bull to the inquisitors in 1550 in which he warned them of the Spanish Bibles which were being smuggled into the country (M'Crie, History of the Reformation in Spain, p. 203). The inquisitors were given instructions "to seize all the copies, and proceed with the utmost rigour against those who should retain them, without excepting members of universities, colleges or monasteries. ... At the same time the strictest precautions were adopted to prevent the importation of such books by placing officers at all the sea-ports and land-passes, with authority to search every package, and the person of every traveller that should enter the kingdom" (M'Crie, p. 204).


THE FRENCH BIBLE WAS PERSECUTED


JACQUES LEFEVRE (1455-1536), a professor at the University of Paris, published a French New Testament in 1523 and the complete French Bible in 1528. For his labor of love for the French people, the elderly Lefevre was hated and persecuted by the Romanist authorities.


One thing that galled them was Lafevre's principle that all Christians should read the Scriptures. One of these angry authorities exclaimed: "Does he not dare to recommend all the faithful to read the Scriptures? Does he not tell therein that whoever loves not Christ's Word is not a Christian; and that the Word of God is sufficient to lead to eternal life?" (D'Aubigne, III, p. 385).


The Sorbonne, the theological faculty of the University of Paris, condemned Lefevre as a heretic and he was forced to flee to Strasbourg in 1525. In 1531, Lefevre took refuge in southern France and remained there till his deathŠ" (Durant, The Story of Civilization, VI, p. 502).


The Sorbonne declared war on printing and printers. In 1534, twenty men and one woman were burnt alive. One of those was a printer whose sole crime was printing some of Luther's writings, while another was a bookseller who had sold the same.


An edict was issued in 1546 by the Roman Catholic authorities against Lefevre and his work, in which the following statement is found: "It is neither expedient nor useful for the Christian public that any translation of the Bible should be permitted to be printed; but that they ought to be suppressed as injurious." It was also ordered that any person possessing a copy of it should deliver it up within eight days (John Beardslee, The Bible among the Nations, 1899, pp. 211, 12).


Many French believers were burned for distributing the Bible. Foxe's unabridged Martyrology is a massive set of books. I own a copy of the 8th edition, which was printed in 1641. It is 3 volumes folio, 3227 pages, the three volumes together almost one foot in width, and each page 9 X 13.5 inches. Roughly 150 of these large pages are dedicated to an enumeration of just some of the French martyrs. Following are a few examples:


In 1925 a Gospel preacher named Schuch was burned in the town of Nancy in France. When he was arrested and tried, he had his Bible with him, and holding the same as he stood before his accusers, he preached to them out of the Scriptures and "meekly yet forcibly confessed Christ crucified." His words so incised his tormentors that "transported with rage, they rushed upon him with violent cries, TORE AWAY THE BIBLE FROM WHICH HE WAS READING THIS MENACING LANGUAGE, and like mad dogs, unable to bite his doctrine, THEY BURNT IT in their convent." The man was immediately condemned to be burned alive, and the sentence was quickly carried out. "On the 19th of August 1525 the whole city of Nancy was in motion. The bells were tolling for the death of a heretic. The mournful procession set out. When the martyr reached the place of execution, HIS BOOKS WERE BURNT BEFORE HIS FACE; he was then called upon to retract; but he refused, saying, "It is thou, O God, who hast called me, and thou
wilt give me strength unto the end." Having mounted the pile, he continued to recite the psalm until the smoke and the flames stifled his voice" (D'Aubigne, History of the Reformation, III, pp. 468, 69).


In 1546 Peter Chapot was burned to death for bringing French Bibles into France and for selling them. Because of his bold testimony at the place of persecution, a decree was made that "all which were to be burned, unless they recanted at the fire, should have their tongues cut off. Which law diligently afterward was observed" (Foxe, unabridged, 1641, II, p. 133).


Stephen Polliot was also arrested in 1546 with a bag of Scriptures and Gospel books he was distributing. His tongue was cut out and he was burned, "his satchel of books hanging about his neck" (Foxe, unabridged, II, p. 134).


Nicholas Nayle, a shoemaker, was arrested in Paris and burned in 1553 for bringing parcels of books to distribute among the believers.


In 1554 Dionysius Vayre, who had smuggled many books into France, was arrested in Normandy and sentenced to be "burned alive, and thrice lifted up, and let down again into the fire" (Foxe, unabridged, II, p. 145).


Waldensian bookseller Bartholmew Hector was arrested in 1556. When the Inquisition judge said, "You have been caught in the act of selling books that contain heresy; what say you?" Hector replied, "If the Bible is heresy to you, it is truth to me." After languishing in prison for several months, Hector was burned at the stake.


THE DUTCH BIBLE WAS PERSECUTED


In 1270 JACOB VAN MAERLANDT completed the four Gospels in Dutch. "This effort aroused the wrath of the Roman Catholic Bishop of Utrecht, who thought it was disrespectful to the Scriptures thus to bring them within the reach of the common people, and Van Maerlandt nearly lost his life as a reward for his labor" (John Beardslee, The Bible among the Nations, p. 175).


In 1526 the first entire Bible in Dutch was published by JACOB VAN LIESVELDT in Antwerp, and 20 years later Liesveldt was beheaded in Antwerp "for his printing labours" (Lupton, A History of the Geneva Bible, I, p. 35).


THE ITALIAN BIBLE WAS PERSECUTED


ANTONIO BRUCIOLI published an Italian New Testament at Venice in 1530 and an entire Bible two years later. Brucioli also produced a commentary on the whole Bible, which was published in seven volumes. "His translations of the Bible were put into the first class of forbidden books, and all his works, on whatever subject, 'published or to be published,' together with all books which came from his press, even after his death, were strictly prohibited. ... violent measures were afterwards employed for its suppression" (M'Crie, Reformation in Italy,
1856, pp. 56, 57).

Gays aren't worse than straights

Re: Living Church of God Commentary: "A rose by any other name..."
"What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet," said Juliet in Shakespeare's famous work, Romeo and Juliet. The playwright makes the point that just changing the name of something doesn't change what it actually is. Read more

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As a recovering homosexual, I know the Bible condemns the practice of homosexuality. I've written about it thoroughly in God and the Gays and speak of it in my YouTube video God and Gays.

I also know, unlike your article would mislead folks to believe, that HIV/AIDS first began among the heterosexual community in Africa but spread like wildfire first among the homosexual community in the United States. HIV/AIDS continues to spread like wildfire among heterosexuals in Africa, among prostitutes and drug addicts predominantly.

It also needs to be stated that HIV/AIDS includes 26 or so diseases they've all lumped in together that Africans have been dying from for years, for political purposes, to extort aid money, to support the PIC (pharmaceutical industrial complex). For the record, I am an American living with AIDS and I reject the highly toxic medicines. I've written two articles about it:

Scarlet Letter: A Christian With AIDS
Does God Heal Today?

When we consider all of the sexual diseases prevalent among the heterosexual community, besides within the homosexual community, it is enough to scare you CELIBATE (not straight).

"But, many of the advocates of this way of life are aggressively pressing forward with an agenda of forcing acceptance by the government on national, state and local levels. They strive to equate homosexuality with civil rights." - Sounds like you're talking about abortion.

"Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.
For this reason God gave them up to vile passions."

Although Paul was referring to reprobate Roman Empire homosexuals, the same thing can be said about heterosexual perverts who consider their abominations "normal." Do they like to retain God in their knowledge any more than practicing homosexuals? Do they care for what God's Word says about their sex life any more than homosexuals? NO!

The worst "homosexuals" are spiritual perverts, abominable Christians, who prefer idolatrous traditions of men over the holy commandments of God, as brought out in the YouTube video Drunks and Whores.

May God bless all, regardless of sexual orientation and temptation, to return to Him and learn to think like Him , in preparation for His Kingdom that transcends the flesh (Isaiah 55:7-9).

Beyond Babylon at Rocky Mountain National Park!

The best $60 I ever spent on advertising! Baruch Hashem. Folks across America, on the highways and national parks (Badlands, Custer, Devil's Tower, Yellowstone, Grand Tetons, Flaming Gorge, Dinosaur, Rocky Mountain, etc.), were seen reading and even saying out loud, "Beyond Babylon" - and to many of them I was pleased to be able to give my Beyond Babylon cards to that pictures my book and on the back has David Ben-Ariel and my website address written. I loved it.




















http://www.davidbenariel.org/

Sivan 6, Pentecost, Shavuot

Passover and Pentecost Differences Settled!
The correct dates to observe God's holy days should not be a Church of God issue, having been settled by God thousands of years ago and preserved throughout the ages by faithful Jews.

The Oracles of God
God's empowered the Jews - despite themselves - to preserve His Word. They are the only people on Earth that God has blessed and ordained to fulfill such a calling! God will not retract His Word or renege on this gift and responsibility that He's graciously bestowed upon Judah.

The Pharisees
Who isn't aware of the sins of the Pharisees? Especially the Accuser of the Brethren? But does that mean the truths they teach, even if they don't live them, are no longer true?

Christians love Israel

Christians honor Israel at Sunday services
WASHINGTON (JTA) -- More than 900 churches in the United States participated in a Christian Zionist organization's event honoring Israel.

CUFI Sunday, sponsored by Christians United For Israel, was incorporated into the regular Sunday church service.

Although varying from church to church, the service generally included a sermon about the Jewish state and a request to sign the group's "Israel Pledge." The pledge states that the Jewish people "have a right to live in their ancient land of Israel" and that Israel has the right to defend itself from terrorism.

Churches from all 50 states, and a total of 1,100 churches in 49 countries, participated in the event, according to CUFI...
more

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Christian-Zionist Response to Shimon Peres’ AIPAC speech
Christian-Zionist David Ben-Ariel’s strong response to Shimon Peres’ weak AIPAC speech, condemning the lying peace process, collaboration with the Vatican and warning about UN Resolution 181 as the Final Solution!

Christian Zionists, Jews, and Israel
I am a Bible-believer, a Christian-Zionist (one who believes the Prophets foretold the restoration of Jews first of all 12 Tribes of Israel to the Promised Land of Israel before the end of this world as we know it). I am not a Protestant or a “Jew for Jesus” and certainly not a member of the Roman Catholic Cult. I am a baptized member of the Sabbath-keeping Church of God…

Justice demands Obama must be stopped!

The racist president-usurper Soetoro/Obama is doing all he can to abort America's future, in every way possible. Justice demands Obama must be stopped! Law and order must be preserved. It's past time to enforce our Constitution!

Hitler Will Judge Us!
It used to be a country’s worst enemies who ripped up their pregnant women—now we’ve turned on ourselves. Don't abort our future: Think twice, choose life, let love grow.

Abortion: Blood of Innocents (Jeremiah 7:31)
The cult of Choice is the worst symptom evident in society of the Hellenist disease. It sacrifices children upon the hedonistic altars of convenience and irresponsibility in an immoral and idolatrous way. It disguises itself as progressive and enlightened, but it is actually a dark throwback to the pagan rituals performed in the Valley of Hinnom: the holocaust of children that the prophet Jeremiah condemned (Jeremiah 7:31).

http://www.davidbenariel.org/

Crisis will coerce Europe to unite

Re: Europe Nukes US! (David Ben-Ariel YouTube video)
BEYOND BABYLON warns we're going down and out due to our idolatry and immorality.

zanderzander05
im confused...do you dislike europe? like it? or are you just saying that america has downhill due to wrong beliefs.

by the way, Europe, as a collective group of countries, is so diversified that i am willing to bet anything that they would never 'nuke' america.

you should also take into account deterrence theory.

could you please direct me to where it says that europe is going to nuke america in the bible, im interested to read this for myself
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I love Europe enough to dare to share the plain truth of the Bible and history with them.

I've been through Europe four times and know their diversity but also recognize they will transcend their differences when their back is against the wall - a real or imagined crisis that will coerce them to get their act together and work as one under some strong leader who has the pope's "blessing."

The deterrence theory is just a theory and whether or not the Nazi EU agents are able to disable our deterrence or they feel it's worth the risk with a blitzkrieg attack, Germany's Fourth Reich will nuke us.

See Europe's Bitter Roots by David Ben-Ariel, as well as the other articles referenced in the YouTube video.

www.davidbenariel.org

United States of Europe

Will U.S. financial woes lead to new world order?
By Adam Abrams

Is the U.S. about to lose its status as the dominant global superpower? Will the dollar collapse? If so, what would become the new global reserve currency and what would replace U.S. hegemony in a new world order?

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Germany to the rescue! Watch as the German-dominated European Union is forced to get its act together to put China in check and demand the global position once enjoyed by the United States.

Such a United States of Europe amounts to nothing less than Germany's Fourth Reich, as Herbert W. Armstrong forewarned for years and Beyond Babylon: Europe's Rise and Fall continues to warn.

The Secret Nazis

Is Germany in Danger of Backsliding?

Is a World Dictator About to Appear?

The EU is a German Ruse

Will The Atlantic Times address the German threat?

Catholic Europe in Vogue?

The Intelligence Summit Misses the Mark: the German-Jesuit Threat to World Peace

www.davidbenariel.org

Talking about the Two Witnesses...

Will the Church of God Welcome the Two Witnesses?
Church of God minister Arlen Berkey, in "The Work of God in the Laodicean Era," makes a statement nobody in God's Church would disagree with: "The whole world will soon know about the two witnesses. They will not be welcome by this world."

The Two Witnesses of Revelation 11
The Two Witnesses of Revelation 11. Who are these two prophets? What do they have to say? Why are they called the two witnesses? How will their message be proclaimed? And is there any special significance to the fact that they're headquartered in Jerusalem?

Two Witnesses to Testify in Jerusalem Against Europe
Two controversial figures, referred to in the Book of Revelation as two witnesses, two olive trees, two candlesticks and two prophets, will boldly declare GOD'S JUDGMENTS and proclaim the LORD'S CONTROVERSY (Micah 3:8; 6:1-2), delivering a BLISTERING MESSAGE and a SCORCHING CONDEMNATION -- just before NUCLEAR FIRE AND BRIMSTONE RAINS DOWN upon those who've rejected GOD'S ULTIMATUM (Isaiah 41:27; 30:27).

Politics in the Church of God Hinders Progress

www.DavidBenAriel.org

Apostle Paul or Paul the apostle?

Why do all the Sabbath-keeping Church of God groups refer to the "Apostle Paul" with a capital letter rather than the apostle Paul or Paul the apostle? I'm not trying to be picky but biblical! What's the difference between the religious title of APOSTLE versus RABBI? We know Yeshua said not to refer to any man as a rabbi, using it as a religious title, didn't he? Isn't Yeshua our Apostle and the others are apostles? Ever think about it? Doesn't the same principle apply when it comes to any religious title?

Hebrew 3:1
Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Christ Jesus...

Matthew 23:6-8
6 They love the best places at feasts, the best seats in the synagogues, 7 greetings in the marketplaces, and to be called by men, ‘Rabbi, Rabbi.’ 8 But you, do not be called ‘Rabbi’; for One is your Teacher, the Christ, and you are all brethren.

1 Corinthians 4:7
For who makes you differ from another? And what do you have that you did not receive? Now if you did indeed receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?

www.davidbenariel.org

Do You Want God’s Protection?

Do You Want God’s Protection?
By Richard F. Ames
Thursday, May 14, 2009
A friend of mine fought in the Battle of the Bulge in World War II. As an 18-year-old American soldier, he joined his comrades in facing incoming artillery shells exploding all around them. My friend told me, “There were no atheists there that day. The men were trying to remember all their childhood prayers in that frightening attack.”

Why is it that we human beings, created in the image of God, generally ignore our Creator until some tragedy or calamity strikes? Is it because many of us by nature are procrastinators? Do we realize what we may be giving up by procrastinating? How deeply do we really want God’s protection? It is there for us now, if we seek it.

Historically, the servants of God have always urged the human family to seek God now—not to wait for a so-called deathbed repentance (which rarely if ever actually occurs).

The Apostle Paul told the scholarly Athenians, “Truly these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent” (Acts 17:30). You need to establish a relationship with the Creator and His Son, Jesus Christ, if you haven’t already. God promises guidance, blessings, and protection for those who love Him, obey Him and serve him.

Notice this promise in the book of Psalms: “The angel of the LORD encamps all around those who fear Him, and delivers them” (Psalm 34:7). Yes, God will give divine protection to those who reverence Him. Read Psalm 91, where God again promises protection for those who trust in Him.

Today, we face many dangers. Our children may be gunned down at their schools; terrorist bombings threaten the normal routine of society; highway accidents bring grief to many thousands every year; wars and regional hostilities are also killing thousands every year and fear of disease epidemics looms on the horizon!

Let’s understand. God does allow Christians to suffer persecution and to experience trials to test their faith—but He also gives spiritual strength and power to His children to endure and overcome!

We all face our own personal tribulations. But you should not wait for calamity before reforming your life and submitting to the Creator of the universe. Read your Bible now. Respond now to the love and the instructions of your Lord. As the prophet Isaiah urges us, “Seek the LORD while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the LORD, and He will have mercy on him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon” (Isaiah 55:6-7).

God wants you to have His love and His protection. To learn more about what God can do in your life, read our Tomorrow’s World article, “Comfort in Times of Tragedy” or watch our Tomorrow’s World telecast, “Power in Prayer.”

Now is the time to seek God’s love. Pray to the Creator with all your heart—and if you are willing to truly serve Him and obey Him, then claim His promises of divine protection!

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The Rapture or Place of Safety?
We know those who are accounted worthy to escape WWIII, those with a prayerful attitude and watchful spirit, growing and overcoming and sensitive to the lead of the Holy Spirit (Luke 21:34-36), will be more than provided for in "Her Place," as our gracious Lord of Hosts has promised (Revelation 12:14).

Warning about Nazis for years!

Top Nazis Planned EU-Style Fourth Reich
Influential economists and industrialists were ordered to preserve Nazi power by creating European common market, documents show
By Paul Joseph Watson
Prison Planet.com

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Revealed: The secret report that shows how the Nazis planned a Fourth Reich ...in the EU
By ADAM LEBOR
With defeat certain, the SS met industrialists to map out a new fascist order - and an astonishing number of their plans are already reality.

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Beyond Babylon: Europe’s Rise and Fall, in the biblical tradition of Herbert W. Armstrong, has been warning about a German-dominated Europe for years!

The EU is a German Ruse

Germany's Fourth Reich Spreads Its Wings Over the World

The Secret Nazis

Germany Behind the Mask

Is Germany in Danger of Backsliding?

The Intelligence Summit Misses the Mark: the German-Jesuit Threat to World Peace

Arnold's Office Refuses to Comment

Apostate Church of Tkach or Synagogue of Satan

WORLDWIDE CHURCH OF GOD ANNOUNCES NAME CHANGE
The Worldwide Church of God announced that, effective April 3, 2009, it changed its denominational name to Grace Communion International.

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Sadly, Apostate Church of Tkach or Synagogue of Satan would be a better name to reflect their spiritual darkness since they've returned to traditional vomit, have gone back to Egypt and are stuck in the muck of Babylon. Such reprobate Christians are in worse condition than those who never knew better.

Giving credit where credit is due, Malachi's Message and Raising the Ruins bear witness against their religious deception and descent to spiritual depravity.

Apostate Christians

A Nation of Drunks and Whores

Plea to Diehard Catholics & Protestants to Repent

Fighting Antisemitism

David Ben-Ariel Faces the Aryan Nations
My agenda is to serve the Great God of Israel, sharing the plain truth of His Bible and announce His soon coming Kingdom of God-Beings to rule on Earth and save all mankind from extinction. This clarity of mind, vision and purpose also includes serving as an emissary of Joseph (revealing the Israelite origins of the West). This God-given message must reach those high and low, rich and poor, regardless of race or religion.

Aryan Nations to be Deported by Germany!
The Aryan Nations again misses a God-given opportunity to repent of their blind hatred of our Jewish brethren and prefer to believe the idolatrous ideas of deceived and deceiving men over the Word of God.

Worldwide Church of God offshoots don't proselytize

Re: Christian radical theology?

The offshoots of the Worldwide Church of God have NEVER engaged in any missionary work or proselytizing, which is why we always had such excellent relationships with the Israeli government from Golda Meir on (who all received gifts of Steuben crystal when Mr. Armstrong met with them and stories about such meetings were always published in The Plain Truth magazine and on the World Tomorrow broadcast).

The ironic thing is I have not been an official member of any of the offshoots of the Worldwide Church of God for years, and the last group I was involved with was the Philadelphia Church of God who are presently working on archaeological digs in Israel. The Israeli ambassador just spoke at their headquarters in Edmond, Oklahoma - Israeli Ambassador visits Armstrong College.

My Christian Zionist beliefs are too "radical" for the Philadelphia Church of God, although my Christian Zionist beliefs are biblical, and they shamefully considered my association with the Temple Mount Faithful as "extremist" since we (the Temple Mount Faithful) believe the Temple Mount must be restored as the Temple Mount (how logical!). Furthermore, the PCG failed to give my book, Beyond Babylon, official approval since they were playing politics with me and insisted I must be a minister to write such a book even though no such demand is found in Scripture.

The ads were bought and paid for by me - not any group or organization - and not a single group or organization is promoted on any of my blogs or website. Unlike many of them who play politics (so sad and prevalent in the religious world), I glean from all of them and share information from all of them, as well as from many Jewish groups and organizations. Yet none of the Worldwide Church of God offshoots has yet mentioned Beyond Babylon since I'm not a part of their organization.

Nothing was deceptive or missionary about my ads and the portrayal of my "Christian radical theology" and alleged antisemitism and association with evangelicals is not accurate.

Pentecost, Shavuot, Pharisees

Passover and Pentecost Differences Settled!
The correct dates to observe God's holy days should not be a Church of God issue, having been settled by God thousands of years ago and preserved throughout the ages by faithful Jews.

The Oracles of God
God's empowered the Jews - despite themselves - to preserve His Word. They are the only people on Earth that God has blessed and ordained to fulfill such a calling! God will not retract His Word or renege on this gift and responsibility that He's graciously bestowed upon Judah.

The Pharisees
Who isn't aware of the sins of the Pharisees? Especially the Accuser of the Brethren? But does that mean the truths they teach, even if they don't live them, are no longer true?

Liberty Bell Park, Herbert Armstrong, and Teddy Kollek

Herbert W. Armstrong wrote to the members and co-workers of the Worldwide Church of God, May 21, 1978:

"On July 4 there will be a big '4th of July Celebration' in Jerusalem, hosted jointly by the Mayor of Jerusalem, Teddy Kollek, and myself. The city of Philadelphia had an exact duplicate made of the Liberty Bell--crack and all--and gave it to the city of Jerusalem. In the spring of 1976--Passover time--the Mayor came to me privately, and asked my help in building an important downtown park in Jerusalem, to be named the 'Liberty Bell Park.' Through the AICF [Ambassador International Cultural Foundation], I was able to agree to supply the children's playground area, at the very opening of the park. The park is now completed, and Mayor Kollek has asked me to be present on July 4 for the opening and dedication of the Liberty Bell Park."

This is a picture I took in 1982 of "A Children's Playground" monument sponsored by Herbert W. Armstrong and the Ambassador International Cultural Foundation.










Excerpt from "Inside Jerusalem," an article I wrote in 1996 for The National Messenger:

Teddy Kollek: Former mayor of Jerusalem. I just happened to be walking past a dinner theatre he was coming out of at the time, so I took advantage of the opportunity to say "Shabbat Shalom" (it was the Sabbath) and shake his hand. When I mentioned Herbert Armstrong, he said, "I have fond memories of the old man." (He isn't looking too young himself!). I saw him again when I was waiting with Aryeh Gallin in the lobby of the Laromme Hotel for some friends. (It's next to Jerusalem's Liberty Bell Park, where "The Children's Playground" was clearly designated as a gift from H.W.A and the A.I.C.F.--but not any more. When I first noticed this discrepancy years ago, I wrote a letter of inquiry to the WCG. but never received any reply).

I emailed Aaron Dean (Herbert W. Armstrong's personal assistant for years) Teddy Kollek's comments in August of 2000, and he responded and informed me:

"Is Teddy Kollek still alive? It would be good to see him again. He was a good friend. Mr. Tkach refused to maintain the park as contracted and I believe he wanted HWA's name out of there. Of course he abandoned his beliefs as well. Sad, but God is in control."

Politics in the Church of God Prevents Progress offers an update on the monument in Jerusalem's Liberty Bell Park:

[The Philadelphia Church of God] even know I've given them contacts in the Middle East, in Jerusalem, Jewish leaders, and that it was me whom God used to contact the mayor of Jerusalem to get the HWA monument repaired (in the Liberty Bell Park in Jerusalem), and then I forwarded the information to Flurry (who didn't even say thank you and wasn't even aware of its woeful neglect that I knew about from being over there so many times). I'll bet you didn't know that, did you?

I had written an open letter to the mayor of Jerusalem, Uri Lupolianski, that was published in The Jerusalem Post. His office contacted me to inquire about what groups or organizations I was referring to that would be interested in undertaking the financial responsibility for the monument's restoration and the rest is history.

Gerald Flurry wrote the Philadelphia Church of God members and co-workers in the July/Aug. 2001 Royal Vision magazine:

"In January 1997, the Philadelphia Foundation contacted the Jerusalem Foundation to inquire about the Herbert W. Armstrong Memorial Plaque that once rested in Liberty Bell Park. Several members had visited the park and were unable to locate the marker.

Alan Freeman of the Jerusalem Foundation informed us the park was being restored and the marker would be replaced upon completion.

In November 2000, after additional contacts, we were told that a new plaque would need to be produced. The Philadelphia Foundation agreed to provide the funds for the new plaque and to help support the maintenance and refurbishment of the Liberty Bell Park in the memory of Mr. Armstrong."

I'm very pleased that Herbert W. Armstrong's name has been restored to Jerusalem's Liberty Bell Park and that I was honored to have something to do with it. You can view how it appears today by clicking on the link below:

Liberty Bell Park Plaque

Now I encourage the Philadelphia Church of God (and others) to reach out to the cities of Judah and sponsor planting a forest or creating a park to honor Herbert W. Armstrong's memory and commemorate his close friendships with Israeli leaders. Mr. Armstrong said we should focus on Jerusalem. Why not?

David Ben-Ariel is a Christian-Zionist writer and author of Beyond Babylon: Europe's Rise and Fall. With a focus on the Middle East and Jerusalem, his analytical articles help others improve their understanding of that troubled region. Check out the Beyond Babylon blog.

BEYOND BABYLON by DBA

Beyond Babylon: Europe's Rise and Fall is destined to become a national debate and an international controversy because it dares to speak the plain truth in a world of lies!

Beyond Babylon
Introduction

Beyond Babylon
Chapter 1
Survival Guaranteed!

The DEVASTATION unleashed against America and her British allies was without precedent. Destruction was everywhere and a body count impossible. The catastrophe was beyond calculation.

Europe - gripped with a messianic furor - justified this mass destruction of the body to "save the soul." Besides, they have the blessing of the pope. His white robes are stained with the blood of many martyrs.

Beyond Babylon
Chapter 2
Why National Defeat?

Why are we in mortal danger? Why will the American, British and Jewish people SUFFER national defeat? How could Europe ever turn against us?

Beyond Babylon
Chapter 3
Truth or Consequences

As global tensions increase, and threats of confrontation escalate, we might very well wonder whether humanity will survive. Unless there’s a GOD to intervene, we have a bleak future indeed: a DEAD PLANET! Will earth become a nuclear fireball? Will charred bones - aftermath of unleashed atomic fires - and the smoldering ruins of a suicidal civilization be all that’s left?

Beyond Babylon
Chapter 4
Victims of Tradition

Whenever our behavior gets out of control, God lets us loose control! When we’re held hostage to bad habits, and refuse to let them go, we go into captivity! A national lack of discipline results in God sending corrective punishment! Then we wake up and get with it, and beg God to save us. The whole purpose is to bring us to our knees and senses.

Beyond Babylon
Chapter 5
Europe's Fate

What’s going to happen to Europe? We know what’s going to happen to the American and British peoples, as well as to our Jewish brethren. The coming WORLD CRISIS is prophesied to fall especially hard on them. Why?

Beyond Babylon
Chapter 6
Jesus and the Jews

Why don't the Jews accept Jesus?" I've been asked that so many times. My usual reply? "Why haven't the Christians?" At least the Jews are waiting for the proper imperial restoration. The Messiah's coming to sit on DAVID'S THRONE - not Caesar's or "St. Peter's." The Anointed One's going to rule from JERUSALEM - not Rome!

Beyond Babylon
Chapter 7
Elijah's Key Role

Israel's about to host the greatest showdown on earth! A spiritual conflict of interests will create such a scene in Jerusalem that the whole world will watch! Zion will be an arena of prophets and sorcerers, warriors and kings! The forces of good and evil are set to duel: the sons of light will battle the sons of darkness, and truth will confront error head-on!

Timid Jews and brazen Catholics

Rabbi Lau: No Need to Flatter the Pope -- or to Rebuff Him
(IsraelNN.com) Israel’s former Chief Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau explains Pope Benedict XVI’s two “mistakes” and how he differs from the last pope – but says we shouldn’t rebuff his visit to Israel...

...Rabbi Lau says, “We must not rebuff the visit. We need not bend over backwards or flatter him, but it should not be rejected. This is a visit initiated by the pope himself so that he can follow in the footsteps of his predecessors. We must welcome him, if only for the fact that millions of Jews still live in the Diaspora, and many of them in places where the Catholic Church is strong, such as Latin America, Poland, Ukraine and elsewhere. We must not give our enemies ammunition or pour fuel on the fire; we must not endanger even one Jew.”

************

Shame on the ghetto rabbi for fearing to oppose the Nazi pope's political campaign to the Holy Land of Israel out of concern for Jews who choose to remain in a self-imposed exile, who fail to follow Judaism to the Jewish Homeland of Israel!

Shame on the political and religious leaders of Israel who sin against God, Israel and Torah by looking the other way, turning a blind eye, to the Temple treasures and Judaica Rome holds hostage while the Babylonian envoy spies out Jerusalem!

By failing to stand up to pharaoh with demands to release the Temple treasures and Judaica, and by failing to "slay" Balaam, Israeli leaders endanger every Jew worldwide as the German-Jesuit jackboot will stomp Jerusalem and treacherous "peacekeeping" troops will pollute the Holy Land of Israel.

Christian-Zionist Response to Shimon Peres' AIPAC speech
Christian-Zionist David Ben-Ariel's strong response to Shimon Peres' weak AIPAC speech, condemning the lying peace process, collaboration with the Vatican and warning about UN Resolution 181 as the Final Solution!

Jerusalem's Betrayal and Rape
The treacherous Vatican - Israel collaboration has sold out the Jews and backstabbed Jerusalem

Warning Jews
Warning Jews about the pope's plans for Jerusalem: Rome's dream will become Jerusalem's NIGHTMARE

Pope's Evil Eye on Jerusalem! (You Tube video)
The Nazi pope aims to rip the heart out of Israel: Jerusalem!

The Vatican plot against Jerusalem exposed!

Israel must reject Vatican overtures for peace or lose Jerusalem!
The bloody vulture Shimon Peres (Peres is Hebrew for vulture) is right where the Vatican-controlled Israeli oligarchy wants him to be: positioned as president of Israel, dark prince of perfidy, as orchestrated. Woe to Ariel! Jerusalem will soon suffer EU occupation: THE GERMANS ARE COMING!