The Great Controversy: John Wycliffe—Chapter 5, Part 4

The great movement that Wycliffe inaugurated, which was to liberate the conscience and the intellect, and set free the nations so long bound to the triumphal car of Rome, had its spring in the Bible. Here was the source of that stream of blessing, which, like the water of life, has flowed down the agesContinue reading “The Great Controversy: John Wycliffe—Chapter 5, Part 4”

The Great Controversy: John Wycliffe—Chapter 5, Part 3

The appearance of the Scriptures brought dismay to the authorities of the church. They had now to meet an agency more powerful than Wycliffe—an agency against which their weapons would avail little. There was at this time no law in England prohibiting the Bible, for it had never before been published in the language ofContinue reading “The Great Controversy: John Wycliffe—Chapter 5, Part 3”

The Great Controversy: John Wycliffe—Chapter 5, Part 2

Men of learning and piety had labored in vain to bring about a reform in these monastic orders; but Wycliffe, with clearer insight, struck at the root of the evil, declaring that the system itself was false and that it should be abolished. Discussion and inquiry were awakening. As the monks traversed the country, vendingContinue reading “The Great Controversy: John Wycliffe—Chapter 5, Part 2”

The Great Controversy: John Wycliffe—Chapter 5, Part 1

Before the Reformation there were at times but very few copies of the Bible in existence, but God had not suffered His word to be wholly destroyed. Its truths were not to be forever hidden. He could as easily unchain the words of life as He could open prison doors and unbolt iron gates toContinue reading “The Great Controversy: John Wycliffe—Chapter 5, Part 1”

The Great Controversy: The Waldenses—Chapter 4, Part 4

[“Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28.] The teachings of popes and priests had led men to look upon the character of God, and even of Christ, as stern, gloomy, and forbidding. The Saviour was represented as so far devoid of sympathy with man inContinue reading “The Great Controversy: The Waldenses—Chapter 4, Part 4”

The Great Controversy: The Waldenses—Chapter 4, Part 3

While the Waldenses regarded the fear of the Lord as the beginning of wisdom, they were not blind to the importance of a contact with the world, a knowledge of men and of active life, in expanding the mind and quickening the perceptions. From their schools in the mountains some of the youth were sent toContinue reading “The Great Controversy: The Waldenses—Chapter 4, Part 3”

The Great Controversy: The Waldenses—Chapter 4, Part 2

[Psalms 23:1 (A Psalm of David.) The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.Psalms 23:2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.Psalms 23:3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.Psalms 23:4 Yea, though I walk throughContinue reading “The Great Controversy: The Waldenses—Chapter 4, Part 2”