The European Union in Prophecy The EU in Prophecy I | Page 156

The European Union in Prophecy
order against the importunate professor of Heidelberg. Melanchthon doubted not that
God had saved his friend by sending one of His holy angels to forewarn him.
"Motionless on the banks of the Rhine, he waited until the waters of that stream
had rescued Grynaeus from his persecutors. 'At last,' cried Melanchthon, as he saw
him on the opposite side, 'at last he is torn from the cruel jaws of those who thirst for
innocent blood.' When he returned to his house, Melanchthon was informed that
officers in search of Grynaeus had ransacked it from top to bottom."-- Ibid., b. 13, ch.
6.
The Reformation was to be brought into greater prominence before the mighty
ones of the earth. The evangelical princes had been denied a hearing by King
Ferdinand; but they were to be granted an opportunity to present their cause in the
presence of the emperor and the assembled dignitaries of church and state. To quiet
the dissensions which disturbed the empire, Charles V, in the year following the
Protest of Spires, convoked a diet at Augsburg, over which he announced his intention
to preside in person. Thither the Protestant leaders were summoned.
Great dangers threatened the Reformation; but its advocates still trusted their
cause with God, and pledged themselves to be firm to the gospel. The elector of Saxony
was urged by his councilors not to appear at the Diet. The emperor, they said, required
the attendance of the princes in order to draw them into a snare. "Is it not risking
everything to go and shut oneself up within the walls of a city with a powerful enemy?"
But others nobly declared, "Let the princes only comport themselves with courage,
and God's cause is saved." "God is faithful; He will not abandon us," said Luther.--
Ibid., b. 14, ch. 2. The elector set out, with his retinue, for Augsburg. All were
acquainted with the dangers that menaced him, and many went forward with gloomy
countenance and troubled heart. But Luther, who accompanied them as far as Coburg,
revived their sinking faith by singing the hymn, written on that journey, "A strong
tower is our God." Many an anxious foreboding was banished, many a heavy heart
lightened, at the sound of the inspiring strains.
The reformed princes had determined upon having a statement of their views in
systematic form, with the evidence from the Scriptures, to present before the Diet;
and the task of its preparation was committed to Luther, Melanchthon, and their
associates. This Confession was accepted by the Protestants as an exposition of their
faith, and they assembled to affix their names to the important document. It was a
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