The European Union in Prophecy The EU in Prophecy I | Page 66

The European Union in Prophecy
So broad and deep was laid the foundation, so firm and true was the framework,
that it needed not to be reconstructed by those who came after him. The great
movement that Wycliffe inaugurated, which was to liberate the conscience and the
intellect, and set free the nations so long bound to the triumphal car of Rome, had its
spring in the Bible. Here was the source of that stream of blessing, which, like the
water of life, has flowed down the ages since the fourteenth century. Wycliffe accepted
the Holy Scriptures with implicit faith as the inspired revelation of God's will, a
sufficient rule of faith and practice. He had been educated to regard the Church of
Rome as the divine, infallible authority, and to accept with unquestioning reverence
the established teachings and customs of a thousand years; but he turned away from
all these to listen to God's holy word. This was the authority which he urged the people
to acknowledge. Instead of the church speaking through the pope, he declared the only
true authority to be the voice of God speaking through His word.
And he taught not only that the Bible is a perfect revelation of God's will, but
that the Holy Spirit is its only interpreter, and that every man is, by the study of its
teachings, to learn his duty for himself. Thus he turned the minds of men from the
pope and the Church of Rome to the word of God. Wycliffe was one of the greatest of
the Reformers. In breadth of intellect, in clearness of thought, in firmness to maintain
the truth, and in boldness to defend it, he was equaled by few who came after him.
Purity of life, unwearying diligence in study and in labor, incorruptible integrity, and
Christlike love and faithfulness in his ministry, characterized the first of the
Reformers. And this notwithstanding the intellectual darkness and moral corruption
of the age from which he emerged.
The character of Wycliffe is a testimony to the educating, transforming power of
the Holy Scriptures. It was the Bible that made him what he was. The effort to grasp
the great truths of revelation imparts freshness and vigor to all the faculties. It
expands the mind, sharpens the perceptions, and ripens the judgment. The study of
the Bible will ennoble every thought, feeling, and aspiration as no other study can. It
gives stability of purpose, patience, courage, and fortitude; it refines the character
and sanctifies the soul. An earnest, reverent study of the Scriptures, bringing the
mind of the student in direct contact with the infinite mind, would give to the world
men of stronger and more active intellect, as well as of nobler principle, than has ever
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