The European Union in Prophecy The EU in Prophecy I | Page 77

The European Union in Prophecy
arguments of great length to prove that "faith ought not to be kept with heretics, nor
persons suspected of heresy, though they are furnished with safe-conducts from the
emperor and kings."--Jacques Lenfant, History of the Council of Constance, vol. 1, p.
516. Thus they prevailed.
Enfeebled by illness and imprisonment,--for the damp, foul air of his dungeon
had brought on a fever which nearly ended his life,--Huss was at last brought before
the council. Loaded with chains he stood in the presence of the emperor, whose honour
and good faith had been pledged to protect him. During his long trial he firmly
maintained the truth, and in the presence of the assembled dignitaries of church and
state he uttered a solemn and faithful protest against the corruptions of the hierarchy.
When required to choose whether he would recant his doctrines or suffer death, he
accepted the martyr's fate. The grace of God sustained him. During the weeks of
suffering that passed before his final sentence, heaven's peace filled his soul. "I write
this letter," he said to a friend, "in my prison, and with my fettered hand, expecting
my sentence of death tomorrow. . . . When, with the assistance of Jesus Christ, we
shall again meet in the delicious peace of the future life, you will learn how merciful
God has shown Himself toward me, how effectually He has supported me in the midst
of my temptations and trials."--Bonnechose, vol. 2, p. 67.
In the gloom of his dungeon he foresaw the triumph of the true faith. Returning
in his dreams to the chapel at Prague where he had preached the gospel, he saw the
pope and his bishops effacing the pictures of Christ which he had painted on its walls.
"This vision distressed him: but on the next day he saw many painters occupied in
restoring these figures in greater number and in brighter colors. As soon as their task
was ended, the painters, who were surrounded by an immense crowd, exclaimed, 'Now
let the popes and bishops come; they shall never efface them more!'" Said the Reformer,
as he related his dream: "I maintain this for certain, that the image of Christ will
never be effaced. They have wished to destroy it, but it shall be painted afresh in all
hearts by much better preachers than myself."--D'Aubigne, b. 1, ch. 6.
For the last time, Huss was brought before the council. It was a vast and brilliant
assembly--the emperor, the princes of the empire, the royal deputies, the cardinals,
bishops, and priests, and an immense crowd who had come as spectators of the events
of the day. From all parts of Christendom had been gathered the witnesses of this first
76