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Lest We Forget
A WStS Prologue to
J.A. Wylie's "The History of Protestantism"
"Ye are bought with a price; be not ye the servants of men"
(1 Corinthians 7:23).
by Tom and Katie Stewart
Preface
he word "protestant"
is a reactionary word. It objects to the errors of the Church of Rome. "Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers:
for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath
light with darkness?" (2Corinthians 6:14). In 1755, Samuel
Johnson's dictionary defined a Protestant as "one
of those who adhere to them, who, at the beginning of the reformation, protested
against the errours of the church of Rome." Error-- in
the name of Christ-- is to be separated from and reproved. "Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness,
but rather reprove them" (Ephesians 5:11). To passively
abide in the darkness of Roman Catholicism is to take sides against the LORD Jesus
Christ. "He that is not with Me is against
Me; and he that gathereth not with Me scattereth abroad"
(Matthew 12:30). Those whose objection to Rome is based
upon the Truth, endeavor to serve the LORD, and refuse homage to Rome's substitute
christ. "Little children, it is the Last
Time: and as ye have heard that Antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists;
whereby we know that it is the Last Time" (1John 2:18).
Remember the Martyrs' Blood
Christian should be careful in their
studies and not delve into the evil practices of the world simply for the sake of
understanding evil. The LORD warns us through Paul, "I
would have you wise unto that which is good, and simple concerning evil" (Romans 16:19). But, this warning to safeguard our innocence is not a license
to ignore evil. To stand righteous before our LORD, we must be willing to "judge righteous judgment"
(John 7:24). We must not close our eyes and ears and hearts to the cries of our martyred
brethren, slain by the Whore (the Church of Rome), who have proved their devotion
to their LORD, and have "endure[d] all things for the elect's sakes,
that they may also obtain the Salvation which is in Christ Jesus with Eternal Glory" (2Timothy 2:10).
Their blood testified to the strength of their faith causing them to endure
to the very end of their sojourn among wicked men. "And
ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end
shall be saved" (Matthew 10:22). Their testimony remains
for us a standard of the purest intentions and most selfless witness of love that
could be given to the perfect sacrifice of the Spotless Lamb of God. They are saying
to us: "The 'same sufferings which we
also suffer' (2Corinthians 1:6) you must 'now rejoice in [our] sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions
of Christ in [your] flesh
for His body's sake, which is the Church'" (Colossians
1:24).
Martyrs willing died because they refused to deny their Saviour. But
they also died because they knew that others were watching. "Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on Eternal Life, whereunto
thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.
13 I
give thee charge in the sight of God, Who quickeneth all things, and before Christ
Jesus, Who before Pontius Pilate witnessed a good confession" (1Timothy 6:12-13). "For
all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving
of many redound to the glory of God. For which cause we faint not; but though our
outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. For our light affliction,
which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight
of glory" (2Corinthians 4:15-17).
We Have Become Partakers of Rome's Evil
Deeds
he saints of old suffered for us.
"Christ also suffered for us, leaving
us an Example, that ye should follow His steps" (1Peter
2:21). And what is the response of the Church, at large, in this Laodicean age? We
have joined arm-in-arm with the enemy. We have embraced the Whore and welcomed her
into our assemblies. We have become "partakers
of her sins" (Revelation 18:4) and have bidden her God's
blessings on her wicked work of binding men's souls into union with her lies and
hellish doctrine. "For he that biddeth [her] God speed is partaker of [her] evil deeds" (2John 1:11).
We, to our shame, have called the "Mother
of Harlots" the Mother of Christianity-- the one
who birthed the Protestant Church-- thus robbing the LORD Jesus of the glory due
Him for the travail He bore for His own Church. "Who
gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify
unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works"
(Titus 2:14). "How much more shall the
blood of Christ, Who through the Eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God,
purge your conscience from dead works to serve the Living God?" (Hebrews 9:14). "Forasmuch as
ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from
your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; but with the
precious blood of Christ, as of a Lamb without blemish and without spot" (1Peter 1:18-19).
We should be ashamed to call "friend" the Harlot who spilled the life of
those brethren "of whom the world was
not worthy" (Hebrews 11:38). Woe unto us, who are called
the children of God, and yet "call evil
good, and good evil; that put darkness for Light, and Light for darkness; that put
bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! 21 Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their
own sight! 23 Which justify
the wicked for reward, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from
him! 24 Therefore as
the fire devoureth the stubble, and the flame consumeth the chaff, so their root
shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust: because they have
cast away the Law of the LORD of hosts, and despised the WORD of the Holy One
of Israel. 25 Therefore
is the anger of the LORD kindled against His people, and He hath stretched forth
His hand against them" (Isaiah 5:20-25)!
Judgment is Coming
he coming judgments of the Tribulation
Week demonstrate that the LORD is angry with any who have dared to lift their hand
against His anointed servants. "Touch
not Mine anointed, and do My prophets no harm" (Psalm
105:15).
The True Saints rejoice in the LORD's judgment of the Whore. "O daughter of Babylon, who art to be destroyed; happy shall he be, that rewardeth thee as thou hast served us" (Psalm 137:8). When God ordains the destruction of the Great Whore, how can we but rejoice?
[See our series of articles, "Babylon
the Great", ---New Window to see how Roman Catholicism
will be judged during the Tribulation Week.]
Who Can Honestly Doubt That Rome is the
Whore of the Apocalypse?
How can you doubt the Whore's identity when the LORD's description
is so plain?
"...the dark mysteries of idolatry, immorality,
degrading slavery, hatred of the Word of God, concealed behind the walls of that
Modern Babylon" (excerpted from "Fifty
Years in the Church of Rome"
---New
Window by Charles Chiniquy).
After reading even small segments of "The History of Prostestantism", there
is no other on Earth who is so worthy of this description, "drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood
of the martyrs of Jesus" as is the Roman Catholic
Church. Her "spots"
have NOT changed-- nor ever will they! "Can
the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots?"
(Jeremiah 13:23). "...modern Protestants
have not only forgotten what Rome was, what she is, and what she will for ever be;
the most irreconcilable and powerful enemy of the Gospel of Christ; but they consider
her almost as a branch of the church whose corner stone is Christ" (excerpted
from "Fifty Years in the Church of Rome" by Charles Chiniquy).
When the cruelties of the Papal headship join forces with the monstrous deeds of
the Beast (the Antichrist); our nation, nay the world, has yet to see the
full impact of the coming nightmare-- only briefly touched upon in this following
excerpt: "The nation awoke as from a horrible
nightmare; it saw the troop of dismal specters which had filled the darkness taking
flight, and a future approaching in which there would no more be spies prowling from
house to house, officers dragging men and women to loathsome gaols, executioners
torturing them on racks, and tying them with iron chains to stakes and burning them;
no more Latin Litanies, muttered masses, and shaven priests; it saw a future in which
the Bible would be permitted to be read, in which the Gospel would again be preached
in the mother tongue of old England, and quiet and prosperity would again bless the
afflicted land" (excerpted from "The History
of Protestantism", Volume 3, Book 23, Chapter 15).
We Owe These Martyrs More Than We Can Repay
t is true that our greatest debt is
to our LORD and Saviour Jesus Christ for "His
great love wherewith He loved us" (Ephesians 2:4); but,
the martyrs have also added their testimony to the foundation laid by our LORD. "If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon,
he shall receive a reward" (1Corinthians 3:14). They have
given us an heritage unto the LORD, a lineage of faith. They have given us their
testimonies of a Love that the flames could not burn out. For example, "These homilies [religious writings--
testimonies] were golden cups, filled with
living waters, and when the people of England pressed them to their parched lips,
it well became them to remember whose were the hands that had replenished these vessels
from the Divine fountains. The authors of the homilies–Cranmer, Ridley, Latimer–though
dead, were yet speaking. They had perished at the stake, but now they were preaching
by a thousand tongues to the people of England. Tyrants had done to them as they
listed; but, risen from the dead, these martyrs were marching before the nation in
its glorious exit from its house of bondage" (excerpted
from "The History of Protestantism", ---New
Window Volume 3, Book 23, Chapter 15).
Even after all these many years, which were recorded
by God's faithful servant, James Aitken Wylie, we can benefit from these heroes of
the faith. We can follow their bravely honest example, and "love the LORD [our] God with all [our]
heart, and with all [our] soul,
and with all [our] mind" (Matthew 22:37). They prove to us, that the precious sufferings of our
LORD and Saviour Jesus Christ are a "sweetsmelling" path for our imitation. "And
walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given Himself for us an offering
and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour" (Ephesians
5:2). "Wherefore seeing we also are compassed
about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight,
and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race
that is set before us" (Hebrews 12:1).
For those of you who refuse the wealth of condemnation that the ages have produced
against the Catholic Church-- hard, blood-stained Truth-- tested in the fires by
the multitudes, who have died loving the LORD, for you there is need to fear!
You have resisted those honest reports, and have fellowshipped with the enemy, and
called him a brother. "5 LORD, how long shall the wicked, how long shall the wicked
triumph?... 5 They break
in pieces thy people, O LORD, and afflict thine heritage. 6 They slay the widow and the stranger, and murder the fatherless...
8 Understand, ye brutish
among the people: and ye fools, when will ye be wise?" (Psalm
94:3,5-6,8). Beware. Jesus calls you "brutish". Jesus calls you "fools".
For those of you who refuse to hear the testimony of the slain righteous,
which cry out for Christian compassion and understanding and justice from the brethren
of today, may God in wrath remember mercy-- because your turn is coming. If
you will not stand for Him now, it is only His mercy that would allow you
an opportunity to stand for Him later. Only His mercy can grant you what you do not
deserve-- a "space to repent" (Revelation 2:21). Only His mercy can bestow on you so great an honour
as to "suffer for His sake." "For
unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on Him,
but also to suffer for His sake" (Philippians 1:29). May
God Almighty have that mercy upon you. "...that
you may know that the monster Church of Rome, who shed the blood of your forefathers
is still at work today, at your very door, to enchain your people to the feet of
her idols" (excerpted from "Fifty Years in the Church of Rome" by Charles Chiniquy).
"Emptied of their usual occupants, and
filled with the god-fearing people of England, "the prisons," as Fox states,
"were become Christian schools and churches;" so that if one wished to
hear good, he crept stealthily to the grated window of the confessor's dungeon, and
listened to his prayers and praises. At last, in the beginning of 1555, the stake
was restored, and now Taylor [Dr. Rowland Taylor] and his companions, as we have
already said, were brought before Gardiner. Sentence of death was passed upon the
faithful pastor. On the way down to Suffolk, where that sentence was to be executed,
his face was the brightest, and his conversation the most cheerful, of all in the
company. A most touching parting had he with his wife and children by the way; but
now the bitterness of death was past. When he arrived in his parish, he found a vast
crowd, composed of the poor whom he had fed, the orphans to whom he had been a father,
and the villagers whom he had instructed in the Scriptures, waiting for him on the
common where he was to die. "When they saw his reverend and ancient face, with
a long white beard, they burst out with weeping tears, and cried, `Jesus Christ strengthen
thee and help thee, good Dr. Taylor; the Holy Ghost comfort thee!'" He essayed
to speak to the people, but one of the guard thrust a tipstaff into his mouth. Having
undressed for the fire, he mounted the pile, and kneeled down to pray. While so engaged,
a poor woman stepped out from the crowd, and kneeling by his side, prayed with him.
The horsemen threatened to ride her down, but nothing could drive her away. The martyr,
standing unmoved, with hands folded and eyes raised to heaven, endured the fire" (excerpted from "The History of Protestantism", Volume
3, Book 23, Chapter 14, concerning the murder of Dr. Rowland Taylor, Vicar of Hadleigh
in Suffolk).
Conclusion
e challenge you to read "The
History of Protestantism" to reaffirm to your mind that it is no mistake to
avoid the Bishop of Rome as you would the Man of Sin. "Let
no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a
falling away first, and that Man of Sin be revealed, the Son of Perdition" (2Thessalonians 2:3). Allow the historical testimony of James A. Wylie's
"History of Protestantism" strengthen your resolve that Roman Catholicism's
present spiritual corruption follows the clear pattern of her abominable origin and
history. "Let every man be fully persuaded
in his own mind" (Romans 14:5).
May it not be your lot that God would judge you for your unwillingness to protest
the errors of the Church of Rome. "13 Behold, He shall come up as clouds,
and His chariots shall be as a whirlwind: His horses are swifter than eagles. Woe
unto us! for we are spoiled. 14
...wash thine heart from wickedness, that thou mayest be saved. How long shall thy
vain thoughts lodge within thee?... 18 Thy way and thy doings have procured these things unto thee; this
is thy wickedness, because it is bitter, because it reacheth unto thine heart. 19 My bowels, My bowels! I am pained
at My very heart; My heart maketh a noise in Me; I cannot hold My peace, because
thou hast heard, O My soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war. 20 Destruction upon destruction is
cried; for the whole land is spoiled... 21 How long shall I see the standard, and hear the sound of the trumpet?
22 For My people is
foolish, they have not known Me; they are sottish [foolish] children, and they have none Understanding: they are
wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge"
(Jeremiah 4:13-14;18-22). "It is that
ignorance which paralyses the arm of the Church of Christ, and makes the glorious
word "Protestant" senseless, almost a dead and ridiculous word. For who
does really protest against Rome today? where are those who sound the trumpet of
alarm?" (excerpted from "Fifty Years in the Church of Rome" by Charles Chiniquy).
.
"Come out from among them, and
be ye separate, saith the LORD, and touch not the unclean thing; and
I will receive you" (2Corinthians
6:17).
"Come out of her, My people, that
ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. For
her sins have reached unto Heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities" (Revelation 18:4-5).
Please, read
"An Earnest Appeal to
Roman Catholics"
to see from Rome's own catechism, how faith in Rome's Gospel is dead faith.
---New Window
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