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Saturday, December 6, 2008

History Is Cool


I was reading some church history tonight and I came across the life of John Wycliffe, who is widely known for translating the Holy Bible (which was only read Latin previously) into English in 1384. He was a pre-reformer before the Reformation period with Luther and Calvin. Also, he was one of the first expositor's of God's word. He predominately challenged the authority of the Roman Catholic Church and the Pope by placing the Word of God as the highest authority.

He wrote: “Holy Scripture is the preeminent authority for every Christian, and the rule of faith and of all human perfection.”

Again, he wrote: For as much as the Bible contains Christ, that is all that is necessary for salvation, it is necessary for all men, nor for priests alone. It alone is the supreme law that is to rule Church, State, and Christian life, without human traditions and statutes.”

Lastly, he wrote: "It helpeth Christian men to study the Gospel in that tongue in which they know best Christ’s sentence."

His highest priority was to teach and preach God's word to the world. But the only way he could do that was if he translated the Bible into a different language so people could understand what the Holy Bible said. That must of been an unbelievable task to endure, because the Bible contains 3,566,480 letters, 773,746 words, 31,102 verses, 1,189 chapters, in 66 books! Nevertheless, full of faith and love for God, John translated the Holy Bible into English with the help of disciple John Purvey and others, and sparked a passionate mission to be passed on several centuries later to Luther and others who would translate the Holy Bible into native languages. John Wycliffe was a true warrior for the Word of God! It is definitely encouraging in his diligence to fight for truth. I cannot wait to meet him one day in heaven!

Here is an amazing statistic. As of 2005, at least one book of the Bible has been translated into 2,400 of the 6,900 languages listed by Summer Institute of Linguistics, including 680 languages in Africa, followed by 590 in Asia, 420 in Oceania, 420 in Latin America and the Caribbean, 210 in Europe, and 75 in North America!

Isaiah 40:8 says, "the word of our God shall stand for ever."

1 Peter 1:25 says, "But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you."

Man, history is cool. God's fingerprints are just everywhere, its impossible to deny.

1 comment:

David said...

Amen! If God were to enter history you would expect him to make a huge impact. And he has!

Glory to God! The Bible is also the top top bestseller of all time. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best-selling_books

What is your favorite subject in Christian Studies?