“But the word of the LORD endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.” (1 Pet 1:25).

After centuries during which the state church wielded the worldly sword and spiritual power over individuals and entire nations, a spiritual renewal and return to the Bible was on the horizon toward the end of the Middle Ages.

In all of the revivals before and after the Reformation, the believers of the Bible left the state church and were persecuted by her. John Wycliffe (1321-1384), who translated the Vulgate into the English language, recognized the significance of the Word of God and confessed publicly, “As far as I am concerned, only what is written in the Bible is valid!” He rejected the papacy and was declared to be a heretic even 30 years after his death. Also Jan Hus (1370-1415) preached from the Bible after he had received enlightenment and decided to stand in opposition to the all-encompassing claim of the papacy. For him, the Bible became the only authority for all questions of faith. Thus he wrote in his commentary on Jn 8:31-32: “Seek the truth, hear the truth, learn the truth, love the truth, speak the truth, hold the truth, and defend the truth until death!” On July 6, 1415, after being sentenced to death by the Council of Constance, he committed his soul unto his Redeemer Jesus Christ as he stood amidst the flames, bound at the stake, all the while praying for forgiveness for the enemies of the truth.Martin Luther renounced the papal selling of indulgences and preached repentance and justification through faith. Already in the year 1520, he published the treatise “The Babylonian Captivity of the Church” and conveyed his standpoint that not any church sacrament but only the faith in Jesus Christ leads to salvation. He likewise adhered to “Sola Scriptura” – only the Scripture! At the end of his speech at the Imperial Diet of Worms on April 18, 1521, Martin Luther spoke these famous words: “Unless I am convinced by the testimony of the Scriptures or by clear reason (for I do not trust either in the pope or in councils alone, since it is well known that they have often erred and contradicted themselves), I am bound by the Scriptures I have quoted and my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and will not recant anything, since it is neither safe nor right to go against conscience. May God help me. Amen. At the climax of the spiritual dispute, the reformer viewed himself as the mouthpiece of God against the pope and the church.

In Switzerland, the Reformation achieved its triumph in 1531 through Huldrych Zwingli in Zurich; John Calvin facilitated its breakthrough in Geneva in 1536. They and many others contributed their part to the Protestant revival in all of Europe at that time. People who had become believers, who were being labelled as “heretics” by the established church, came together everywhere for prayer. The small congregations that thus came into existence, including the Anabaptist movement, were called “sects” and were persecuted.

But the Reformation could not be held back anymore, and the Holy Scripture was revealed and proclaimed ever deeper and clearer during the revivals of the subsequent centuries. Revivalist preachers like Earl Zinzendorf for the Moravian Church, John Wesley for the Methodists, John Smith for the Baptists, Menno Simon for the Mennonites, William Booth for the Salvation Army, and many others came on the scene. All of the preachers of the biblical truth were in agreement when it came to the vicar of Christ, who appropriated for himself all power on earth and who exalted himself above all that is called God or that is worshipped, whom Paul calls the son of perdition (2 Ths 2). They emphasized that God’s Word mentions neither a “vicar of Christ” (Vicarius Filii Dei) nor a “successor of Peter,” and they also placed great emphasis on what our LORD said in Mt 23:9: “And call no man your father upon the earth (let alone “Holy Father”): for one is your Father, which is in heaven.”

“But the word of the LORD endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.” (1 Pet 1:25).

After centuries during which the state church wielded the worldly sword and spiritual power over individuals and entire nations, a spiritual renewal and return to the Bible was on the horizon toward the end of the Middle Ages.

In all of the revivals before and after the Reformation, the believers of the Bible left the state church and were persecuted by her. John Wycliffe (1321-1384), who translated the Vulgate into the English language, recognized the significance of the Word of God and confessed publicly, “As far as I am concerned, only what is written in the Bible is valid!” He rejected the papacy and was declared to be a heretic even 30 years after his death. Also Jan Hus (1370-1415) preached from the Bible after he had received enlightenment and decided to stand in opposition to the all-encompassing claim of the papacy. For him, the Bible became the only authority for all questions of faith. Thus he wrote in his commentary on Jn 8:31-32: “Seek the truth, hear the truth, learn the truth, love the truth, speak the truth, hold the truth, and defend the truth until death!” On July 6, 1415, after being sentenced to death by the Council of Constance, he committed his soul unto his Redeemer Jesus Christ as he stood amidst the flames, bound at the stake, all the while praying for forgiveness for the enemies of the truth.Martin Luther renounced the papal selling of indulgences and preached repentance and justification through faith. Already in the year 1520, he published the treatise “The Babylonian Captivity of the Church” and conveyed his standpoint that not any church sacrament but only the faith in Jesus Christ leads to salvation. He likewise adhered to “Sola Scriptura” – only the Scripture! At the end of his speech at the Imperial Diet of Worms on April 18, 1521, Martin Luther spoke these famous words: “Unless I am convinced by the testimony of the Scriptures or by clear reason (for I do not trust either in the pope or in councils alone, since it is well known that they have often erred and contradicted themselves), I am bound by the Scriptures I have quoted and my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and will not recant anything, since it is neither safe nor right to go against conscience. May God help me. Amen. At the climax of the spiritual dispute, the reformer viewed himself as the mouthpiece of God against the pope and the church.

In Switzerland, the Reformation achieved its triumph in 1531 through Huldrych Zwingli in Zurich; John Calvin facilitated its breakthrough in Geneva in 1536. They and many others contributed their part to the Protestant revival in all of Europe at that time. People who had become believers, who were being labelled as “heretics” by the established church, came together everywhere for prayer. The small congregations that thus came into existence, including the Anabaptist movement, were called “sects” and were persecuted.

But the Reformation could not be held back anymore, and the Holy Scripture was revealed and proclaimed ever deeper and clearer during the revivals of the subsequent centuries. Revivalist preachers like Earl Zinzendorf for the Moravian Church, John Wesley for the Methodists, John Smith for the Baptists, Menno Simon for the Mennonites, William Booth for the Salvation Army, and many others came on the scene. All of the preachers of the biblical truth were in agreement when it came to the vicar of Christ, who appropriated for himself all power on earth and who exalted himself above all that is called God or that is worshipped, whom Paul calls the son of perdition (2 Ths 2). They emphasized that God’s Word mentions neither a “vicar of Christ” (Vicarius Filii Dei) nor a “successor of Peter,” and they also placed great emphasis on what our LORD said in Mt 23:9: “And call no man your father upon the earth (let alone “Holy Father”): for one is your Father, which is in heaven.”