The Great Controversy The Great Controversy | Page 237

Ages. But under God’s blessing and the labors of those noble men whom
He had raised up to succeed Luther, Protestantism was not overthrown.
Not to the favor or arms of princes was it to owe its strength. The
smallest countries, the humblest and least powerful nations, became its
strongholds. It was little Geneva in the midst of mighty foes plotting
her destruction; it was Holland on her sandbanks by the northern sea,
wrestling against the tyranny of Spain, then the greatest and most opulent
of kin gdoms; it was bleak, sterile Sweden, that gained victories for the
Reformation.
For nearly thirty years Calvin labored at Geneva, first to establish
there a church adhering to the morality of the Bible, and then for the
advancement of the Reformation throughout Europe. His course as a
public leader was not faultless, nor were his doctrines free from error.
But he was instrumental in promulgating truths that were of special
importance in his time, in maintaining the principles of Protestantism
against the fast-returning tide of popery, and in promoting in the
reformed churches simplicity and purity of life, in place of the pride
and corruption fostered under the Romish teaching.
From Geneva, publications and teachers went out to spread the
reformed doctrines. To this point the persecuted of all lands looked for
instruction, counsel, and encouragement. The city of Calvin became a
refuge for the hunted Reformers of all Western Europe. Fleeing from
the awful tempests that continued for centuries, the fugitives came to
the gates of Geneva. Starving, wounded, bereft of home and kindred,
they were warmly welcomed and tenderly cared for; and finding a home
here, they blessed the city of their adoption by their skill, their learning,
and their piety. Many who sought here a refuge returned to their own
countries to resist the tyranny of Rome. John Knox, the brave Scotch
Reformer, not a few of the English Puritans, the Protestants of Holland
and of Spain, and the Huguenots of France carried from Geneva the torch
of truth to lighten the darkness of their native lands.

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