The European Union in Prophecy The EU in Prophecy I | Page 92

The European Union in Prophecy
where he would, in the place of sanctity he found profanation. "No one can imagine,"
he wrote, "what sins and infamous actions are committed in Rome; they must be seen
and heard to be believed. Thus they are in the habit of saying, 'If there is a hell, Rome
is built over it: it is an abyss whence issues every kind of sin.'"-- Ibid., b. 2, ch. 6. By
a recent decretal an indulgence had been promised by the pope to all who should
ascend upon their knees "Pilate's staircase," said to have been descended by our
Saviour on leaving the Roman judgment hall and to have been miraculously conveyed
from Jerusalem to Rome.
Luther was one day devoutly climbing these steps, when suddenly a voice like
thunder seemed to say to him: "The just shall live by faith." Romans 1:17. He sprang
to his feet and hastened from the place in shame and horror. That text never lost its
power upon his soul. From that time he saw more clearly than ever before the fallacy
of trusting to human works for salvation, and the necessity of constant faith in the
merits of Christ. His eyes had been opened, and were never again to be closed, to the
delusions of the papacy. When he turned his face from Rome he had turned away also
in heart, and from that time the separation grew wider, until he severed all connection
with the papal church.
After his return from Rome, Luther received at the University of Wittenberg the
degree of doctor of divinity. Now he was at liberty to devote himself, as never before,
to the Scriptures that he loved. He had taken a solemn vow to study carefully and to
preach with fidelity the word of God, not the sayings and doctrines of the popes, all
the days of his life. He was no longer the mere monk or professor, but the authorized
herald of the Bible. He had been called as a shepherd to feed the flock of God, that
were hungering and thirsting for the truth. He firmly declared that Christians should
receive no other doctrines than those which rest on the authority of the Sacred
Scriptures. These words struck at the very foundation of papal supremacy. They
contained the vital principle of the Reformation.
Luther saw the danger of exalting human theories above the word of God. He
fearlessly attacked the speculative infidelity of the schoolmen and opposed the
philosophy and theology which had so long held a controlling influence upon the
people. He denounced such studies as not only worthless but pernicious, and sought
to turn the minds of his hearers from the sophistries of philosophers and theologians
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