By Emmanuel Tatenda Charuka
Reading some book, on some of the excruciating pains that early Christians known as the Protestants went through I was impressed with a statement that read, “All this was endured by men and women and even weak girls, that people in future ages might be free…All this was endured that men might be free, and that all future ages might know it to be the inalienable right of every soul to worship God according to the dictates of his own conscience.” But what is it exactly that the quoted statement refers to, what did they really endure for our freedom.
The Bible says, “And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.
For now we are going to focus on the highlighted texts only, wearing out the saints of the most High and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time. For curiosities sake I will tell you the ‘he’ that is being mentioned here is the papal Rome, but will explain about him soon. But for the sake of our study we will first know that the ‘time and times and dividing of times’ refers to 3 and a half years, or 42 months, if we are to consider the text from Daniel 4.23 we would find that Nebuchadnezzar was given 7 times and these referred to 7 years. So a time refers to a year so we are going to use the time equals a year principle, hence time = 1year, times (2) = 2years and dividing of times = ½ a year or six months taking us to 3 and a half years or 42months. This has only started to get interesting now in prophecy a year is not literal. We have to now go to the book of Numbers 14.34 and Ezekiel 4.6 to establish that the principle here applied is that of a day to a year. 42 months = 1260 days therefore the period that the saints were in his hands is equal to 1,260 years.
Historians have seen that in the year A.D 533 an edict was passed by emperor Justinian, which made the bishop of Rome the head of all churches. Btu the edict did not come into effect until A.D 538 for in those 5 years the three nations were still in protest of the papal sovereign rule. These three named the Heruli, the Vandals and the Ostrogoths were in opposition to this rule. In A.D 493 the Heruli were plucked out, the Vandals in 534 and Ostrogoths in 553. But the edict came in effect in 538 when the last of the (Ostrogoths) were driven out of Rome by Belisarius in that same year. The 1,260 years commenced then in A.D 538 up to 1798 when Berthier, with a French army entered Rome declaring a republic and in the process taking the pope a prisoner. Since then the papal Rome has never again the privileges it had in both the religious and political arena. This period is the darkest period that Christianity has ever gone under, a period so dark history has named it the dark ages. Estimates are around 50 million Christians killed during this period. In this period records show the depths of cruelty that human nature may sink to and the heroism that may be attained. Tortures were inflicted either by the populace or whilst they were watching and jeering. Man and women would gather around to see heads rolled under the axe as if they were in an Olympics arena. They would cheer on as Christians were bound to chairs of red hot iron to which the stench of their consuming flesh was suffocating the air. They bough ring side seats as holy virgins were given to the lusts of the gladiators. Some were driven out of their minds by being tickled to death by feathers. Eyes were gouged out of their sockets. There were fires that burnt so slow the victims writhed for hours in agony, tortures prolonged and varied for entire days. The people seemed uninterested in their death, they rather came to the show to see new methods through which pain could be exerted, how much of the pain Christians could endure and how slow or fast they would succumb and finally give up the ghost. All this was for the love of their divine Master, for a cause they believed could be true. For something they could not compromise on. They had no crime except they believed in God. It would not be surprising to realize that of the entire Christian community only a small percent know what the term protestant or Protestantism means. Some think that it is another fancy word to call the now Pentecostal world, others do allude that it refers to the old Christian community. But I believe that Protestantism never dies. As they fought so should we, as they held on to their strong belief on conscience that God alone deserves worship and no other so should we, as they believed that to the law of God there can be no substitute so should we! An old protestant hymn has these words, “Must I be carried to the skies on flowery beds of ease, while others fought to win the prize and sailed through bloody seas.”
But today we will learn of one particular man during this period. John Huss a man of humble birth, orphaned at an early age was a pious and humble man being schooled in the roman way. Ever so keen to receive the blessings it promised to bestow upon him. From school he went on to become a priest at the king’s court and also a professor and afterwards a rector at the university he had attained his education. He was a pride of his country. But God who counts the hearts of man had a different course for this pious man. Being acquainted with Jerome while he was a preacher at the chapel of Bethlehem he read the writings of Wycliffe acquired form Jerome and was impressed that this man was a sincere Christian. About that time two men who protested against the papal rule, being also artists used their skill to preach sermons in art depicting the ride into Jerusalem on a donkey by Jesus and being followed by his disciples in travel worn garments and naked feet. Contrast to this was a drawing of the pope in rich robes and a triple crown, moving in a pontifical procession, mounted on a magnificently adorned horse and preceded by trumpets and followed by cardinals in dazzling array. At this time (somewhere between late 14th century and early 15th century) the archbishop of Prague banned the writings of Wycliffe from being published and read anywhere, but Huss strongly opposed this decree. This strong opposition or protesting reached to the ears of the pope who would have Huss appear under charges of preaching errors and heresies. Cardinal Colonna to whom Huss to appear before, declared him contumacious and excommunicated him accordingly. Huss would further retire to his native hometown of Husseitz were he continued both on the pulpit and in pen to promulgate this newfound doctrine. He boldly declared against the vices of the pope. In November of 1414 he was summoned to appear before the council of Constance in what was pretended to be an inquiry, two men hired by the clergy, Michael de cassis and Paletz laid charges and articles against him. In that town he was imprisoned for his faith, questioned before the pope to whom he would reply, “there is no more just or effectual appeal than that appeal which is made unto Christ…who is then a higher judge than Christ? Who, I say, can know or judge the matter more justly or with equity? Disrobed of his priestly garments and placed a crown written “ringleader of heretics”, he would go on to say: “My Lord Jesus Christ, for my sake, did wear a crown of thorns; why should not I then for his sake, again wear this light crown, be it ever so ignominious? Truly I will do I, and that willingly.”
http://redirect.viglink.com?key=c854d45afd385a32f8029d3a632d20e7&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FProtector-MIKASA-TECH-Compatible-Oleophobic%2Fdp%2FB017TWKFVK%2Fref%3Dsr_1_1%3Fie%3DUTF8%26qid%3D1452683431%26sr%3D8-1%26keywords%3Diphone%2B6%2Bcharger%26m%3DATVPDKIKX0DER&type=TOTied with chains to a stake, fagots piled up to his neck the duke of Bavaria desired him to adjure. But even then he replied with a firm, “No, I never preached any doctrine of an evil tendency; and what I taught with my lips I now seal with my blood.” The man sang a hymn so loud; it could be heard beyond the noise of the flames. But the flame soon closed his existence, burnt to ashes and his ashes gathered up and cast into the river Rhine so that nothing of this man could remain on this earth. Though his body did waste away and nothing was left for his relatives to bury, the fire that burnt that day quenched a great revival among the faithful of God’s people. His memory and his works have been forever etched in the halls up in heaven and have been a pillar for our faith today.
Revelation 6.11,12, “And they cried with a loud voice, saying, how long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? And white robes were given unto every one of them that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellow servants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.”
These all died in faith not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.
Emmanuel Tatenda Charuka
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