The European Union in Prophecy The EU in Prophecy I | Page 65

The European Union in Prophecy
humbly submit myself unto correction, even by death, if necessity so require; and if I
could labor according to my will or desire in mine own person, I would surely present
myself before the bishop of Rome; but the Lord hath otherwise visited me to the
contrary, and hath taught me rather to obey God than men." In closing he said: "Let
us pray unto our God, that He will so stir up our Pope Urban VI, as he began, that he
with his clergy may follow the Lord Jesus Christ in life and manners; and that they
may teach the people effectually, and that they, likewise, may faithfully follow them
in the same."-John Foxe, Acts and Monuments, vol. 3, pp. 49, 50.
Thus Wycliffe presented to the pope and his cardinals the meekness and
humility of Christ, exhibiting not only to themselves but to all Christendom the
contrast between them and the Master whose representatives they professed to be.
Wycliffe fully expected that his life would be the price of his fidelity. The king, the
pope, and the bishops were united to accomplish his ruin, and it seemed certain that
a few months at most would bring him to the stake. But his courage was unshaken.
"Why do you talk of seeking the crown of martyrdom afar?" he said. "Preach the gospel
of Christ to haughty prelates, and martyrdom will not fail you. What! I should live
and be silent? . . . Never! Let the blow fall, I await its coming."-D'Aubigne, b. 17, ch.
8.
But God's providence still shielded His servant. The man who for a whole
lifetime had stood boldly in defense of the truth, in daily peril of his life, was not to
fall a victim of the hatred of its foes. Wycliffe had never sought to shield himself, but
the Lord had been his protector; and now, when his enemies felt sure of their prey,
God's hand removed him beyond their reach. In his church at Lutterworth, as he was
about to dispense the communion, he fell, stricken with palsy, and in a short time
yielded up his life. God had appointed to Wycliffe his work. He had put the word of
truth in his mouth, and He set a guard about him that this word might come to the
people. His life was protected, and his labors were prolonged, until a foundation was
laid for the great work of the Reformation. Wycliffe came from the obscurity of the
Dark Ages. There were none who went before him from whose work he could shape
his system of reform. Raised up like John the Baptist to accomplish a special mission,
he was the herald of a new era. Yet in the system of truth which he presented there
was a unity and completeness which Reformers who followed him did not exceed, and
which some did not reach, even a hundred years later.
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