The European Union in Prophecy The EU in Prophecy I | Page 104

The European Union in Prophecy
the universities, and in the palaces of kings;" and noble men were rising on every
hand to sustain his efforts.-- Ibid., b. 6, ch. 2.
It was about this time that Luther, reading the works of Huss, found that the
great truth of justification by faith, which he himself was seeking to uphold and teach,
had been held by the Bohemian Reformer. "We have all," said Luther, "Paul,
Augustine, and myself, been Hussites without knowing it!" "God will surely visit it
upon the world," he continued, "that the truth was preached to it a century ago, and
burned!"--Wylie, b. 6. ch. 1 In an appeal to the emperor and nobility of Germany in
behalf of the reformation of Christianity, Luther wrote concerning the pope: "It is a
horrible thing to behold the man who styles himself Christ's vicegerent, displaying a
magnificence that no emperor can equal. Is this being like the poor Jesus, or the
humble Peter? He is, say they, the lord of the world! But Christ, whose vicar he boasts
of being, has said, 'My kingdom is not of this world.' Can the dominions of a vicar
extend beyond those of his superior?"-- D'Aubigne, b. 6, ch. 3.
He wrote thus of the universities: "I am much afraid that the universities will
prove to be the great gates of hell, unless they diligently labor in explaining the Holy
Scriptures, and engraving them in the hearts of youth. I advise no one to place his
child where the Scriptures do not reign paramount. Every institution in which men
are not unceasingly occupied with the word of God must become corrupt."-- Ibid., b. 6,
ch. 3. This appeal was rapidly circulated throughout Germany and exerted a powerful
influence upon the people. The whole nation was stirred, and multitudes were roused
to rally around the standard of reform. Luther's opponents, burning with a desire for
revenge, urged the pope to take decisive measures against him. It was decreed that
his doctrines should be immediately condemned. Sixty days were granted the
Reformer and his adherents, after which, if they did not recant, they were all to be
excommunicated.
That was a terrible crisis for the Reformation. For centuries Rome's sentence of
excommunication had struck terror to powerful monarchs; it had filled mighty
empires with woe and desolation. Those upon whom its condemnation fell were
universally regarded with dread and horror; they were cut off from intercourse with
their fellows and treated as outlaws, to be hunted to extermination. Luther was not
blind to the tempest about to burst upon him; but he stood firm, trusting in Christ to
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