Satan Hates God's Word!
Satan's Wicked War Against The Infallible, Eternal, Preserved
WORD OF ALMIGHTY GOD, THE AUTHORIZED
KING JAMES BIBLE
by Missionary Ken Hutcheson
From the beginning, a ferocious battle has raged between God and Satan over the Bible. Satan knows that if he can get us to doubt the Bible we actually doubt our Lord Jesus Christ.No one, absolutely no one, can believe in Jesus and doubt the Bible! If we doubt the Bible, we actually doubt Jesus, because without an infallible Bible, we don't have an infallibleSaviour! This is why Satan has worked tirelessly to get men to destroy it, to corrupt it, and to disobey it. And his diabolical efforts have been greater in the 20th Century than all other centuries combined.
The New Testament Written and Distributed!
Copies of all New Testament books were quickly sent to Jewish believers all over the Roman Empire. Several facts prove this: First, James was inspired to write to "the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad," because for about 15 years after Pentecost all Christians were Jews. (James 1: 1) Second, Simon Peter, while in Babylon, was inspired to write Jewish Christians in five different countries (I Peter 1:1, I Peter 5:13). In his second letter he referred to the letters which God had inspired through Paul (2 Peter 3:15-16 and Col. 4: 16). His readers already knew that Paul's letters had been quickly distributed to the five countries Simon Peter addressed! And this was while Paul and Peter were still alive! This clearly reveals thatmost, if not all, New Testament books had been written and distributed over the Roman world by this time.
Satan's Hatred for God's Word!
In the Old Testament Satan fought the books of the Bible as they were being written, arid he led certain so-called believers to persecute and even kill some of the prophets. Also Satan led worldly or counterfeit Christians to make corrupted copies of the New Testament. He did this primarily by Greek Gnostics (so-called intellectuals). Then in about 68 AD Satan led themonster Nero to start horribly persecuting Christians and the Bible, which the Roman Empire continued for about 240 years. Many Christians were tortured unbelievably and gave theirlives to preserve God's Word for us.
Destroy Christianity? Never!
Leaders of the Empire finally realized that Christianity could not be destroyed by persecution, but that persecution made Christianity stronger and helped to spread and to purify it. So in 313 the Emperor Constantine stopped persecuting Christians and in 323 made Christianity the official religion of the Empire; because by then it was the only religion that covered the entire Empire! All the Empire provinces had their own local religions, but only Christianity had covered virtually the whole Empire. Constantine did this to help unite the crumblingEmpire and to strengthen his power. He professed to be a Christian and was greatly influenced by his Christian mother.
Many Bibles Copied!
With persecution ended, Christians were free to make many copies of the Bible in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin. And since there was a critical shortage of Bibles, God's people began making copies as fast as possible. But Satan's servants sneaked corruptions into some copies gradually. Augustine said in disgust about 390 AD that there were as many different Latin versions as there were Greek manuscripts, which caused confusion. But their differences were minor! Augustine would be shocked at the much confusion caused by the more than 100 English versions today with their major differences!
The Latin Vulgate
Therefore a brilliant and dedicated Bible believer named Jerome (Geronimo in Spanish) made a Latin version known as the Vulgate or Common Bible. The New Testament was completed in 384 AD and the Old Testament in 405. Jerome translated directly from the Hebrew Old Testament and Greek New Testament, but was influenced by the old Latin versions. The Vulgate became the standard Bible for most Latin-speaking people for over a thousand years, and is used by some Catholics today. Even though it differs with the King James in some places, it is closer to the King James than all the modern "bibles."
Fifty Government Bibles
As previously stated, Emperor Constantine ordered that 50 new Bibles be copied in Greek and placed in the major cities of the Eastern Empire. This was supposed to be done under the supervision of Christian leaders. But two of these government Bibles have survived because they were so severely corrupted either deliberately or carelessly that they were not trusted and thus not used. More about them later.
Pagan "Christians"
As a result of Rome making Christianity its official religion, all citizens and government workers, including soldiers, were required to become Christians. Most Christians praised the Lord for answering their prayers, ending the horrible persecution and making Christianity Rome's "Official Religion." But when the Government made Christianity its official religion,dedicated Bible believers soon realized that it was just another clever trick of the Devil to corrupt the Bible by corrupting the churches. The Roman people didn't object to beingChristians because they believed in many gods and thought that one more would help. Most "new members" that flooded the churches were not saved, but changing labels on emptybottles, and worse, bringing into the churches pagan beliefs such as salvation by baptism and works (rather than by grace through faith in Christ), belief in Purgatory, praying for the dead, praying with beads, calling pastors "priests" and "fathers," bringing idols of "saints" into the churches, especially Mary, and praying to them, baptizing babies, observing Christmas, "Easter", etc.
The Ana-Baptists, Or Independents
When Bible-believing pastors and Christians realized what was happening, they obeyed the Bible and separated themselves from government churches into independent Bible churches. Also they refused to fellowship with "government" churches. These separatist Christians went by different names, usually that of their leaders. But the most common name that followed them for 1200 years was "Ana-Baptists," a name which their enemies gave them. It means "Re-baptizers." That is, when a member of a government certified church got saved and wanted to unite with true believers, his government baptism was not accepted and he was required to be scripturally baptized.
The Roman Catholic Church
Predictably, government approved churches began turning away from the Bible because it condemned their pagan beliefs and practices. Government churches started looking to the Empire's largest church for leadership, which was in Rome. This caused Bible believers to avoid "government Christians" even more because Bible believers were dedicated to following God's Word rather than a man or human organization. As a result of Bible Christians being separatists and refusing to accept government approved baptism, "government Christians"grew to resent, hate, and even to persecute and kill Bible Christians. This persecution included destroying their Bibles!
The Bible or Rome?
During the next two hundred years (about 350-550 AD) the government churches, with their mixture of paganism and Christianity, grew into the Roman Catholic (universal) Church. With the largest church in Rome, the government Christians had begun calling the senior Roman "father" the "Santa papa" or Holy Father or Pope. Also by that time the "Santa papa"was telling all the government churches what to believe and practice, rather than telling them to study and to obey the Bible. In addition, the Roman church also taught that ordinary Christians were not qualified or capable of reading and interpreting the Bible for themselves; that they needed educated "priests" to tell them what to believe. The Roman Church didthis because the Bible condemned their pagan teachings and practices, even though they had been given Christian names. Just as today, the Roman Church didn't want the people to learn the truth from their Bibles!.
For 240 years the Roman Empire persecuted all Christians. Then for about 12 hundred years the Catholic Church persecuted Bible Christians, known primarily as Anabaptists, for the"crime" of following the Bible and not Rome! Almighty God alone knows how many millions of Bible Christians were jailed, tortured, murdered, burned at the stake for the "crime" of owning a Bible, or worse, teaching the Bible to others.
John Wycliffe
In the late BOOs an English Catholic priest and Oxford theologian named John Wycliffe was saved while studying the Latin Vulgate. He learned that salvation was in Christ alone; thatthe Catholic Church was corrupt with its idols, Mary worship, salvation by works, Purgatory, indulgences (paying to have sins forgiven), power of the Popes, and other pagan practices. So Wycliffe began preaching the Bible to his university students and friends and winning many of them to salvation in Christ. Although a few Bible portions had beentranslated into English, he was the very first to translate the entire Bible into English, which was from the Latin Vulgate. Because of persecution from the Roman Empire and then theCatholic Church, England had to wait nearly 14 hundred years to receive all of God's Word in its language of English, copied by hand.
The Lollards
Then Wycliffe trained and sent many of his converts, called Lollards, to towns and villages preaching the Gospel from the Bible and winning multitudes to Christ. As a result these saved people stopped paying priests to forgive their sins and the Catholic Church, losing much money, began furiously opposing Wyc1iffe and his Lollards.
However, Wycliffe had friends in the King's Court and the Catholics could not harm him. Wycliffe died in 1384. Forty-four years later the new king obeyed the Pope's order, dug up Wycliffe's body, burned it, along with some of his hand copied Bibles and writings, and threw the ashes into the nearby stream. In addition, he burned some Lollards at the stake,including some of their converts, for preaching the Bible.
John Hus
During Wycliffe's lifetime, the English King's wife, Queen Anne, was greatly influenced by his preaching and writings. So she sent his writings to her brother, the king of Prague, and other relatives. A young priest and professor there, John Hus, also read the Bible and Wycliffe's writings and was saved about 1405 and began preaching to multitudes in both Latin and Czech. The rich and poor flocked to hear Hus preach from the Bible and multitudes were saved. Hus, like Wycliffe, proclaimed the Bible to be the only basis for our faith, rather than the Pope. The people who were saved by faith in Christ stopped paying priests (as in England) to forgive their sins resulting in more financial loss to the Pope. So Hus was ordered to stop preaching the Bible and to bum Wycliffe's writings. Hus refused and was burned at the stake in 1415 for preaching the Bible! He was only 43 and his tremendous preaching ministry lasted less than ten years. At the time the Catholic Church was so corrupt that three men claimed to be pope and a council was called at Constance, Germany, to decide who the real one was! This council was the same that ordered Hus to be burned, even though it had promised him safe return if he would come and present his views! In America today Bible preachers and believers are not burned at the stake, but many are ridiculed into silence by dishonest "scholars" and "intellectuals" for not bowing to their criticisms of God's Infallible Word! The same satanic spirit that deceived and burned Hus is now working in unbelieving "scholars" to silence believers and defenders of the King James Bible and its Greek Text.
Satan Never Stops, But Jesus Never Fails!
Thus far Bible history has shown that it has been a ferocious battle between God and Satan; that Satan has viciously fought the Bible from the very beginning; that he never stops; thathe uses anyone, even so-called Christians. Therefore the most dangerous attitude that Bible believers can have is to forget or minimize Satan's never ending battle against God's Word,and that we are not to blindly trust "Christian Scholars" to tamper with it. Also, neither can a Christian believe in Jesus without doubts if he doubts the Bible, God's Word. That is, Bible doubting means doubting Jesus.
For 240 years the Roman Empire persecuted Christians brutally, unmercifully, including burning their Bibles. Then when the Roman Catholic Church was developed enough, from amixture of Roman paganism and Christianity (about 550 AD), it persecuted Bible believers for about 12 hundred years, even worse than the Roman Empire.
The Printing Press
The battle took on new meaning when God gave John Gutenberg in Mainz, Germany, wisdom to build the first printing press about 1455. This ended the necessity of copying Bibles byhand. And the very first book he printed was the Bible, the Latin Vulgate. (I had the privilege of visiting the German museum while in the military!) The Pope condemned him for inventing the printing press, but Gutenberg continued and sold Bibles as fast as he could print them. In 30 years every major city in Europe had printing shops which printed mainly Bibles plus some Christian literature.
Savonarola's Fiery Preaching
In Florence, Italy, a Catholic Monk, Girolamo Savonarola, became deeply horrified by the Church's corruption. He was saved while studying the Vulgate Bible and in 1491 he began reaching multitudes with his Bible-preaching. He pleaded with the people to accept Christ as their Saviour and King. His messages covered Florence and much of Italy, includingpolitical and religious leaders. This caused many to repent and turn to Christ. The whole city of Florence was transformed and many read their Bibles. Business men publicly repented ofcrooked deals. Rich women stopped showing off their finery. The poor were helped. People packed the churches to hear the fiery Bible preaching of Savonarola or his trained helpers.But Rome began losing money, as in England and Prague, for people stopped paying for forgiveness of sins and the Pope ordered Savonarola to stop preaching. He refused and the Pope ordered his death. He and two helpers were hanged and burned in 1498. His converts were heartbroken because they could not protect him. He was 46 and his astonishing ministry lasted only seven years.
Erasmus Prints the First Greek New Testament
In 1516 Desiderius Erasmus printed the first Greek New Testament. Although a priest, Erasmus spent his life as a professor. He studied and taught in many of the universities and monasteries of Europe. He also wrote several pamphlets rebuking and ridiculing the Catholic Church and the corruptions of its clergy at all levels. Knowing the history of the popes' wrath against anyone who questioned the Church's authority or who provided the Bible to the common people, Erasmus moved often. He published five editions of his Greek New Testament. His later writings were close to Anabaptist doctrines. He died in 1536 and was buried in the Basel (Swiss) Protestant Cemetery.
Wycliffe, Hus, Savonarola, Luther, and Erasmus were Catholic priests who never left the Church. (Luther was excommunicated.) They disagreed among themselves on some points,but (I), they believed that the Bible was the Infallible Word of God; (2), that the Bible alone was the basis for faith and practice and not the Catholic Pope; and (3) sadly, they thoughtthey could cleanse the Church from the inside. Erasmus, more brilliant than the others, spent his life writing and teaching rather than being a pastor.
Since their beliefs were so close to the Anabaptists, one wonders why they didn't unite with the Anabaptists who were thriving in various parts of Europe, preaching the Bible, gettingmany saved, and being regularly burned at the stake.
Martin Luther
The most well known Bible preacher of this era was Martin Luther of Germany.
As a Catholic monk he struggled for years to get assurance of salvation and forgiveness of sins. He confessed his sins to other monks and priests constantly. He starved and tortured himself, but nothing brought peace. His leaders sent him to Rome hoping he would find peace; but his despair deepened when he saw the corruption of the priests, monks, and even thePope. A common expression of the day was, "If there is a Hell, Rome is its capitol!" After an intensive study of the Latin Bible (Vulgate) he found the answer in Romans and Galatians,"The just shall live by faith." Luther's agonizing salvation resulted after years of darkness and searching. Continued Bible study revealed the false Catholic doctrines. He was infuriated that the Church had deliberately kept him in darkness so long. As a university professor as well as the town priest in Wittenberg, he taught and thundered against Purgatory, praying toidols, buying the forgiveness of sins, etc. His theme was "justification by faith in Christ alone."
Bargain-Priced Sins!
The Pope at that time was trying desperately to get credit for completing the famous St. Peter's Cathedral which had been under construction about a hundred years. So he put on adrive to raise money all over Europe by offering to forgive sins and get people out of Purgatory at reduced (sale) prices, called indulgences! No kidding!
Luther's Challenge
Luther was infuriated, so on October 31, 1517, he posted his famous 95 theses in Latin on the church door (the town bulletin board) which challenged other university professors to debate, based on the Bible alone, whether or not sins could be forgiven for money, whether people could be gotten out of Purgatory for money, whether the Pope had authority to forgive sins, or whether Purgatory actually existed! An enterprising printer copied, printed, and sold them all over Europe for a penny, making a nice profit. Thus exploded theProtestant Reformation which greatly decreased the Pope's income!
Here I Stand!
After debating leading professors and writing several pamphlets, declaring that the Bible alone must be believed and obeyed rather than the Pope, Luther was ordered to appear before a group of religious and political leaders, including the Emperor, in Worms (pronounced Vorms) in April, 1521. The meeting lasted several days because Luther tried to reason with his accusers by quoting the Bible. When they realized that he was not an ignorant country priest, they demanded that he say no more, but renounce all his writings and teachings. They further ordered that he pledge his total loyalty to the Pope. But Luther replied that unless they showed him from the Bible that he was wrong, he would not recant. His historic statementwas, "My conscience is captive to the Word of God. Here I stand. I can do no other. God help me!"
The Pope immediately excommunicated him and ordered his death. But his state governor, Frederick of Saxony, saved his life by ordering his men to hide Luther in a castle for a yeardisguised as a knight. The time was not wasted because Luther spent the time translating the Greek New Testament into German.
Revival at Cambridge
Erasmus taught Greek at Cambridge University, England, from 1509 - 1514. This inspired widespread interest in the study of Greek. Bilney, a student at Cambridge, who probably studiedunder Erasmus, had a conversion similar to Luther's. After many fastings, vigils (hours of prayer), and indulgences (sacrifices), he found no peace. With little money to pay a priest (forgiveness was expensive!), he decided that since he could not be saved, he might as well go to Hell for good reasons. So one night he went out and bought a black-market copy of the Erasmus Greek New Testament which had been published the year before (1516). Although banned by the Catholic Church, it was a part of the Cambridge subculture. As he read it, Bilney was thrilled and stunned. The words of I Tim. 1: 15 went like an arrow to his heart. He repented and trusted Christ on the spot and was gloriously saved. Peace and assurance flooded his soul, replacing doubt and spiritual torment. He began proclaiming his faith and led a study group which resulted in a revival among students and professors. Several of the converts became leaders in the English Reformation and some were burned to death, including Bilney himself.
William Tyndale
The most saintly and beloved Bible preacher and reformer was William Tyndale of England. He did far more for England spiritually and the English language than Luther did for Germany spiritually and the German language. After graduating from Oxford he was ordained a priest but never served a church. It is assumed that Tyndale was drawn to Cambridge and the study of Greek by the great influence of Erasmus and the student revival led by Bilney. The details are sketchy, but he was saved while studying the Bible and Luther's writings at Cambridge with other students. He was also probably influenced by Wycliffe's few surviving writings. Tyndale's linguistic gift enabled him to master Latin, Hebrew, Greek, Germanand three other languages.
The Power of God's Word
At Cambridge Tyndale not only witnessed the regenerating power of the Word of God, but he was overwhelmed by the need of getting the Bible into the language of the Englishpeople. The Catholic Church required all church services including Bible quotations to be in Latin. So in 1521 he left Cambridge determined to translate the Bible into English directlyfrom the Hebrew and Greek. Just two years previously, six men and one woman had been burned to death in Coventry for teaching their children the Lord's Prayer in English rather thanLatin! The Catholic Church taught that Latin was the holy language rather than English or even the Hebrew and Greek that God used to write the Bible, and all Catholic churches the world over had their Masses and prayers in Latin for centuries. It was only about 1960 that the Pope authorized the Catholic Church (which boasts that it never changes!) to use local languages for their Masses and prayers rather than Latin. The Catholic Church still teaches that Rome is the "Holy City" and not Jerusalem, and that Catholics are the chosen people and not Jews!
The Plough boy's Bible
So Tyndale had to work secretly. Most of Wycliffe's Bibles, hand-copied and translated from Latin, with some inaccuracies, had been burned by Catholics. Tyndale's Bible was the first to be translated into English directly from the Greek and Hebrew and the first to be printed, rather than copied. For two years Tyndale stayed in the home of a wealthy family "as their children's tutor" while translating the New Testament and occasionally preaching in the village church. He confided to a few that he was translating the Bible into English so that every plough boy could read it. Some of his friends were shocked. Once he was called before a Catholic council because of his doctrine; but he talked his way out. Fearing that he might endanger the family who had befriended him, he left for London hoping to work for Bishop Tunstall who was supposedly sympathetic, but he was turned down. So he stayed with a friendly merchant, Monmouth, in the German community of merchants south of London where he continued his work in secret for six months.
By this time threats were being made against Tyndale because he was translating the New Testament into English. Also he realized that he could never get it printed in England. So in1524, he defied the king and quietly slipped away to Germany, where Luther was, to complete his work and arrange to get it printed.
Beware of Satan's Secret War
We repeat, William Tyndale was the most beloved and saintly of all the reformers. He was willing to go anywhere, to bear any burden, and to pay any price to get the Word of God to the people. It is certainly fitting that he is known today as the Father of the English Bible. From the time he began translating the Bible in 1521 until his martyrdom in 1536, he had to be constantly on guard for spies, ready to run with his meager belongings, with little or no notice. He used disguises and spoke the local languages like a native. He was never able to settle down as he did the Lord's work. His life and ministry surpass any spy or mystery novel because he was working for Almighty God and His Infallible Word. Surely he is one of the "others" of Heb. 2:35.
As stated previously, Tyndale had to sneak out of England secretly. Threats were being made on his life because he was translating the New Testament into English, with Luther. So inearly 1524 he went to Wittenberg, Germany, Luther's town. He registered in the University on May 27, 1524, under the name of Daltin (reverse of Tyn-dale. His family name was Hutchins and it is not known why he chose Tyndale). By this time Catholic authorities in England had put a price on his head and bounty hunters were after him almost everywhere.
Even though he was ten years younger than Luther, they became good friends and worked together on their translations. They disagreed on several points, but were strongly united on"the Bible only" as our basis for faith and practice. Another Englishman, William Roye in Wittenberg, became Tyndale's loyal friend and helper. Luther had completed his German translation of the New Testament two years previously (1522) and five thousand copies were sold in two months. During the following fifteen years nearly a quarter of a million wereprinted and sold in Germany. Some of Tyndale's expressions are very similar to Luther's. In fact, his preface to Romans was translated almost entirely from Luther's German.
Ready to Print!
Tyndale completed his New Testament translation in just over a year, but getting it printed was the most difficult. In August, 1525, Tyndale and Roye slipped into Cologne, Germany'slargest commercial city, with the most print shops. A printer began the job, but English Catholic spies learned of it and planned to raid the shop, destroy the manuscripts, and arrest Tyndale. However, the Lord let him learn of it, and just hours before the raid, he and Roye took the completed sheets and fled to Worms, where Luther's "trial" had been held in 1521! There another printer completed the job.
England's First Printed New Testament!
In early 1526 the first six thousand printed copies of the New Testament in English began to trickle into England. They were smuggled past the vigilant agents, into the eager hands ofprofessors, students, workers, the rich and poor. Almighty God helped the smuggling in a marvelous way. The previous summer a disastrous crop failure had left England in a nearfamine. The government tried to buy grain from France, but negotiations failed. However, German merchants imported wheat so fast that it became cheap and plentiful in England! But in the wheat sacks were Tyndale's New Testaments! The German merchants not only rescued England from a famine of food, but also provided the Bread of Life for the nation's spiritual hunger!
By the end of the summer of 1526, England's first printed New Testament had spread to the rich and poor in cities, universities, and villages. All who could read eagerly sought one. It was relative1y cheap for a laborer, about half a week's work. Some families combined their resources and bought one together. Many who couldn't read pleaded to listen while others read the precious Book aloud. The New Testaments had spread over much of England before Catholic leaders realized what was happening, and they were furious. They made it a serious offense to buy, sell, or even to handle one. Sermons were preached against it. In October an English New Testament was burned before the great London cathedral. In November the Pope's spokesman condemned it along with all Luther's writings. The following February (1527) King Henry VIII condemned it to be burned and anyone possessing onewould be severely punished.
The Holocaust against the Bible!
Many of the New Testaments were intercepted and hundreds of copies were burned. Catholic authorities filled the prisons to overflowing, not only with university students and professors, but with the wealthy and all sorts of common laborers. Even the German merchants were ordered to swear that they would not deal any more with such literature, but stillcopies poured into the country. Also Scotland received cargoes of New Testaments. By then it was in such demand that a printer in Antwerp produced a pirate edition. It was smaller than Tyndale's and much easier to smuggle. That printer was later arrested by Catholic authorities and his presses and books destroyed. But it was impossible to recall the copies that had already been sent to England.
Burning Bibles!
A Catholic leader in London authorized an Antwerp merchant to buy all available copies of Tyndale's New Testaments and to bring them back to London for burning. But the Catholic leader did not know that the merchant was a personal friend of Tyndale who charged the Catholic four times the production cost. So, every New Testament that Catholic leadersburned, they paid for it plus three more to be printed and distributed! And the burnings helped advertise the New Testaments to all the people!
After completing the printing of Tyndale's New Testament in Worms (1526), he was again on the run from English bounty hunters. They also used disguises and bribed various people for information about Tyndale's location. Occasionally they ran into each other, but God protected him.
Translating From Hebrew
From 1527 to 1529 he was in Marburg, where he mastered Hebrew and translated the first five books of the Bible into English. Luther enjoyed the comforts of home, the prestige of a university with its library, and the protection by the governor. But Tyndale had to stay in hiding, endure loneliness, with barely enough food, clothes, and translation materials. We areshamed by his dedication to the written Word of our Lord Jesus; His love for lost souls; and his willingness to suffer and pay any price to get the Bible into the hands and hearts of English-speaking people.
In Marburg he not only translated the Bible, but revised his New Testament and wrote books to help people understand the difference between the Bible and Catholic doctrine. HisParable of the Wicked Mammon was mainly an exposition of the doctrine of justification by faith in Christ alone, similar to Luther's teaching.
Christians Must Obey!
Catholic scholars were writing that the Reformers were nothing but anarchists and rebels against authority. In England, "Sir" Thomas More wrote a book against The Pestilent Sect of Luther and Tyndale. Thomas More, a lawyer, was not only the most brilliant of Catholic defenders, but King Henry made him the highest official in the government, next to the king himself. But Tyndale answered Thomas More even while in hiding. His masterpiece, The Obedience of a Christian Man, proved from Scripture that God demanded obedience from His children: Subjects to the king, wives to husbands, children to parents, and servants to masters. Tyndale, a genius at exegesis, masterfully defeated Mores’ arguments. His enemies gave him grudging respect, including King Henry. Erasmus, a good friend of Mores’, praised Tyndale's writings over Mores’. Scholars today still hold Tyndale's writings in highest esteem over Mores’. C. S. Lewis described the debate of Tyndale over More as "perhaps the best specimen of that form ( of debate) ever produced in English." Tyndale clearly proved from Scripture that the Bible was our only basis for belief and practice, and not the Catholic Church.
Saint" Thomas More, the Catholic Murderer
Thomas More, with almost absolute power, led a holocaust against Tyndale's Bible and its readers. He jailed, tortured, and burned many; and he had the gall to say that not enough had been burned, because it was a kindly death to burn their bodies in order to save their souls! (Connolly) He was so power-hungry that he expected even the king to do his bidding. And when King Henry VIII divorced his Catholic Queen, Catherine, to marry Anne Boleyn in 1533 the Pope condemned Henry, but Thomas More supported the Pope against Henry! So King Henry jailed More and gave him several months to recant; but he refused and was beheaded. Thomas More conveniently ignored the many bishops, priests, and monks who lived openly with their concubines and mistresses and fathered countless illegitimate children. In 1450 the S1, Asaph Bishop got rich selling concubine licenses to priests! (A scandal began in 2002 all over America of Catholic priests molesting children and having mistresses. But this problem is nothing compared to the scandal in Mores’ day and other centuries!) In 1935 the Church made Thomas More a Catholic "saint" because he opposed the King's divorce. Now he is idolized by a book and movie: Entitled, A Man For All Seasons. Catholics today adore him, name churches after him, but are not bothered that he ordered the jailing, torturing, and murdering of countless men, women, and children for the "crime" of reading the New Testament in English! Hitler was a Catholic very much like Thomas More!
Additional Heartaches
When Tyndale completed translating the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, he and his Cambridge friend, John Frith, left Marburg with the manuscript to find a printer in Antwerp which was near the coast. However, Tyndale learned that the city was crawling with English Catholic spies and bounty hunters. So he boarded a ship for Hamburg, but the ship was wrecked on the Holland coast and he lost everything, the manuscript, all his money, and possessions. Deeply depressed, his only comfort was knowing that he was in the center of God's will in providing the Bible for the English speaking people.
In Hamburg a devout Lutheran widow, Frau Emerson, gave Tyndale lodging. He knew her because one of her sons had attended the University of Wittenberg with him. Also anotherfriend from Cambridge, Miles Coverdale, was there who enthusiastically encouraged him to begin again. So, from March until December, 1529, Tyndale worked night and day and again had the first five books of the Bible ready for a printer in Hamburg. Then he took them to Antwerp for shipment, and by the summer of 1530 they were being circulated in England.Tyndale continued translating the Old Testament and published a revised edition of his New Testament in 1534.
In 1533 King Henry VIII divorced the Catholic Queen, Catherine, married Anne Boleyn, and broke with the Pope in Rome. Anne presented himwith a daughter, the future Queen Elizabeth.
Good Queen Anne Murdered
In 1534 Tyndale completed his revision of the New Testament and thousands were smuggled into England. He even sent a personal copy to Queen Anne, who became a devout Christian by studying it. Sadly, Henry lost interest in Queen Anne apparently because of her new Christian life and he became infatuated with another woman, Jane Seymour. So he hadQueen Anne beheaded in 1536 on false charges, after only three years of marriage. Before her death, she gave her baby daughter and New Testament to her personal chaplain, MatthewParker, and persuaded him to raise her daughter, Elizabeth, in Jesus' Word. That copy is now in the British Museum.
The Tragedy of Henry VIII
Like many Catholic priests, King Henry had an insatiable lust for women and food (gluttony and sex diseases hastened his death!). He fathered many children by his six wives and manyconcubines, but only three "legal" children survived. Henry became furious at the Pope's bullying, especially because the Pope exacted from England five times the money that it took to operate the English government! But after breaking with the Pope in 1533, Henry still considered himself a loyal Catholic and tried to prove it by burning 14 Dutch Anabaptists shortly after Tyndale's arrest. He also left much money for priests to pray for him so he wouldn't have to stay in Purgatory very long.
Another Judas
Catholic authorities in England tried for years to find and arrest William Tyndale. Finally they paid a man to go and live in Antwerp and find Tyndale and his helpers, no matter howlong it took. He was to pretend to be a believer in their cause who wanted to help them print and distribute the Bible in English. He eventually found Tyndale's helpers, and with his persuasive personality and smooth talk, convinced them that he was truly one of them; so· they took him to Tyndale. He even completed his Judas-act by borrowing money fromTyndale before leading him into the trap! Many dedicated Christians know the heartache of betrayal by those they loved and trusted and helped.
The Coverdale Bible
While Tyndale was in jail, Miles Coverdale, the friend who encouraged Tyndale in Hamburg, was hired by an Antwerp printer to finish translating the Hebrew Bible into English, and it was printed in 1535, a year before Tyndale's death. But Coverdale, not fluent in Hebrew, relied more on the German and Latin to complete the Old Testament that was unfinished by Tyndale. Because of this, it had many weaknesses and was never very popular, even though it was the very first completed Bible to be printed in English. No complete copies havesurvived. Coverdale went to Geneva in 1538 and began with others to prepare what became known as the Geneva Bible.
Tyndale "A True Christian!"
Tyndale was confined near Brussels from May, 1535, until his execution in October, 1536, but he was permitted a measure of freedom to continue his writing and translation of the Hebrew Bible. George Foxe said that his godly life was so impressive that he won the jailer, his daughter and several other jail officials to the Lord. His jailers declared that if Tyndale was not a true Christian, then there was no such thing. Before his execution, Tyndale gave all his unpublished materials to a trusted friend, John Rogers. By then Tyndale had completed translating the Old Testament as far as Second Chronicles and Jonah. The first five books were already in print.
The Matthew Bible
Rogers completed the work using the pseudonym, Thomas Matthew, with a pleasant dedication to King Henry. The Antwerp printer took a copy to some English Catholic leaders who liked it and showed it to the King. He too liked it and approved it, especially since it didn't have Tyndale's name. So 1,500 copies were sold in England in 1537 as the first "authorized version," just one year after Tyndale was burned. Known as the Matthew Bible, with anti-Catholic footnotes, it grew in popularity. Rogers was later burned at the stake in 1555 by the Catholic Queen, "Bloody Mary," Henry's daughter.
Thomas Cromwell, King Henry's deputy, commissioned Miles Coverdale to revise the Matthew Bible and take out the anti-Catholic footnotes. This was done and printed in Paris in 1539 by the King's authority and became known as the Great Bible because of its large size. Within two years 20,000 copies had been sold and for 20 years it was the official English Bible. However it was basically the Matthew Bible of Tyndale and Rogers. In 1568 it was revised by a committee of bishops and became known as the Bishops' Bible. It was the official Church of England Bible, but never popular with the people because they preferred the Geneva Bible.
Good King Edward, "The Boy King!"
King Henry died in January, 1547, and his nine-year-old son, Edward VI, became king. When given three swords at his coronation symbolizing the three nations of his kingdom, herequested the fourth. When asked what he meant, he replied, "The Bible, the Sword of the Spirit, and to be preferred before these swords." During Edward's brief reign of only six years, he permitted the Bible to flood England with 13 editions of the whole Bible and 35 editions of the New Testament. Some of these were printed in England and some in Geneva. With all these Bibles and New Testaments, there was never any serious debates or conflicts over the Greek Text; only some very minor revisions in wording and spelling as new Greek manuscripts were discovered.
Bloody Mary!
Sadly, Edward died in 1553 before his 15th birthday. He had been sickly most of his life and his older half-sister, Mary, became queen. Her mother was the divorced Catholic Queen Catherine. Mary was driven by a satanic hatred for the Bible and its believers, plus a furious revenge because King Henry had divorced her mother. Actually her mother died a natural death and was treated fairly good compared to Henry's other wives and concubines. During Mary's five-year reign she cruelly murdered so many Bible believers that she becameknown, even today, as "Bloody Mary!" Her hatred for Bible believers was motivated by Satan himself. One of my own ancestors, Robert Drake, was burned at the stake by her because he was an Anabaptist preacher who believed the Bible and not the Pope. Thousands of Bible believers fled to cities in Europe such as Geneva and Wittenberg (Luther's town). The people rejoiced when Mary died and her younger half-sister, Elizabeth, was coroneted. She was the daughter of the beheaded Queen Anne Boleyn and became England's second longest reigning monarch, from 1558 to 1603. During Elizabeth's rein the Bible spread over England more than any other European country, resulting in an evangelist explosion and revival.
Erasmus the Scholar
After Erasmus' first edition of the Greek New Testament (1516) he spent the rest of his life searching the churches and monasteries of Europe for hand-copied New Testament Greek manuscripts to compare and to update his work. Dr. A. D. Waite says that Erasmus had access to a copy in the Vatican library and rejected it because of its incredible corruptions. But today it is almost worshipped by liberals who reverently call it "Vaticanus." Erasmus' writings in his later years showed that his study of the Bible brought him very close to the doctrines of Anabaptists. After his fifth edition, Erasmus died in 1536 and was buried in Bern, Switzerland, a Protestant town, where he lived. That same year, Tyndale was burned at the stake and Queen Anne Boleyn was beheaded.
God's Spiritual Giant
Tyndale was far superior to Luther and Calvin mentally, spiritually, and in dedication. Luther and Calvin lived safe lives compared to Tyndale. Neither was a language genius like Tyndale, and neither suffered as much as Tyndale to get the Bible to the people. But even worse, Luther and Calvin did not obey the Bible totally as did Tyndale. Neither Luther orCalvin gave up all Catholic beliefs, but kept sprinkling for baptism, baptizing babies, established state churches and opposed Anabaptists. Tyndale taught the Bible doctrine of a freechurch and believer's baptism like Anabaptists. Catholics believe that the bread and wine are changed into the actual body and blood of our Lord Jesus and call it Transubstantiation. Luther taught that the Lord is present in the elements of the Lord's Supper and he called it Consubstantiation. Tyndale was far superior to Luther and Calvin in Bible interpretation and taught that the Lord's Supper and baptism were symbolic, as Baptists do today. Luther and Calvin also encouraged the vicious persecution of Anabaptists (Baptists). Luther rejectedthe Book of James because he confused it with salvation, while Tyndale clearly taught that James was God's will for people after they were saved. Luther's rejection of James opened the door for destructive Bible criticism which developed about 150 years later in Germany.
Calvin's Murders
Calvin set up a theocracy in Geneva and ruled with an iron fist. All were required to believe his doctrines. His paid informers caused some 76 people to be banished between 1542- 64. Another 58 were executed, including 34 women burned for suspicion of spreading a plague by magic! (Connolly & Hunt) There is an upsurge of Calvinism today in certain American colleges and seminaries and by some radio preachers.
It is supposed to represent "scholarship" and "intellectualism." But those who preach this heresy conveniently overlook the fact that Calvin did not believe in freedom of religion, but in a state church. He believed in sprinkling for baptism and baptizing babies. But his most horrible and terrifying teaching was that God has selected certain ones to go to Heaven and the rest to go to Hell. This means that non-elect aborted babies go from the womb to Hell! This is the most diabolical doctrine that Satan has ever put into the minds of men. When cornered on that doctrine, they make colossal fools of themselves in trying to explain it away. Many Calvinists today are not honest because they do not teach all his doctrines. Rather,they "pick and choose."
The Textus Receptus
The Erasmus Greek New Testament was one of the most sought-after publications in Europe. Professors in all major universities learned Greek in order to read it, and also to compare it with all other known Greek manuscripts. Many also made special efforts to locate forgotten hand-copied manuscripts. In addition, professors began studying the writings of early Church Fathers to compare their New Testament quotations with the Erasmus Greek Text. Early Greek lectionaries were composed of New Testament passages for public reading in church so that the members would hear the entire New Testament every year. Professors began searching these lectionaries for comparison and found the Erasmus Text to be 98% correct.
The King James Greek
Unbelievers today in liberal and former Fundamentalist colleges and seminaries ridicule the King James Greek (Textus Receptus) because they deceitfully claim that it is based on theGreek Text of Erasmus who was a Catholic priest. Either they are too ignorant or too dishonest to tell the truth. To repeat, Erasmus published five editions of his Greek Text. Robert Stephanus published a slightly revised edition of the Erasmus Greek Text in 1551. Theodore Beza published several editions of that Greek Text and his 5th edition of 1598 became the basis of the King James New Testament. Actually it was the Erasmus, Stephanus, Beza Greek Text, which later became known as the Textus Receptus (Latin for Received Text) that the King James Translators used.
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