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What Saith the Scripture?
http://www.WhatSaithTheScripture.com/
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
6-3-99
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Preface
The 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
A 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
The 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
The 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",-- http://whatsaiththescripture.com/Timeline/Babylon.The.Great.Part.1.html
--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"-- http://whatsaiththescripture.com/Voice/Fifty.Years.Church.Rome.html
--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",-- http://whatsaiththescripture.com/Fellowship/James.A.Wylie.html
--Volume 3, Book 23, Chapter 15).
We Owe These Martyrs More Than We Can Repay
It 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", 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
We 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"
-- http://whatsaiththescripture.com/Fellowship/An.Earnest.Appeal.html --
to see from Rome's own catechism, how faith in Rome's
Gospel is dead faith.
For more material related to this topic please
see
WStS TOPICAL LINKS: On Catholicism
-- http://whatsaiththescripture.com/Voice/On.Catholicism.html --
.
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