Participants:
Series Code: IIW
Program Code: IIW001474A
01:30 ♪[Theme Music]♪
01:40 ♪[Theme Music]♪ 01:49 This is It Is Written, in John Bradshaw, 01:52 thanks for joining me. 01:54 In rural England there stands a monument 01:57 to one of the great heroes of the reformation. 02:01 While he grew up a long way from the center of attention, 02:04 he's remembered as one of the giants of history. 02:09 While others formulated doctrine, 02:11 while others were preaching and teaching, 02:14 this man poured himself into translating and printing 02:19 his legacy is the Bible. 02:29 The Bible, one volume, two divisions, 02:33 the old and the New Testaments. 02:35 It's made up of 66 individual books. 02:38 Some of them are very short, 2nd John has just 13 verses. 02:42 3rd John has one more verse, but fewer words. 02:46 The book of Jude, only 25 verses. 02:50 Some books of the Bible are very long. 02:52 The book of psalms has 150 chapters 02:54 including the Bible's longest chapter psalm 119. 03:00 There are 1,189 chapters in the Bible, 03:04 more than three quarters of a million words. 03:07 It was written by shepherds, 03:09 farmers, 03:09 merchants, 03:10 scholars, 03:11 statesmen and kings, 03:13 the majority of whom had never met each other. 03:16 And the Bible says some pretty remarkable things about itself. 03:20 1 Peter 1:23 says that people are born again 03:25 through the word of God, which lives and abides forever. 03:29 The early Christian's tested the teachings of the apostles 03:32 by the Old Testament. 03:33 Jesus called God's word the truth in John 17:17. 03:39 Psalm 119 verse nine says, 03:42 "How can a young man cleanse his way? 03:45 By taking heed according to Your word." 03:48 Same chapter verse 130, 03:50 the entrance of Your words gives light. 03:54 It gives understanding to the simple. 03:58 And David said on the 105th verse of the same psalm, 04:02 "Thy word is A lamp unto my feet. 04:05 And a light under my path." 04:09 So if this is true, that the Bible is the truth, 04:13 that it cleanses, 04:14 that people are born again by it, 04:16 that it's a lamp and a light. 04:18 If that's true, then imagine a world with no Bible. 04:23 It's not that hard to imagine. 04:29 Back in Jesus day, the scriptures, and remember, 04:32 in Christ's day they only had the Old Testament scriptures, 04:36 back then the scriptures formed the framework 04:39 or the basis for society. 04:41 The word of God was widely taught, 04:43 and people had a good working knowledge 04:46 of what we today would recognize as the first 04:49 39 books of the Bible, the Old Testament. 04:53 But several hundred years after 04:55 the founding of the Christian church, by people such as 04:58 Peter and James and John, 05:00 non-biblical traditions and teachings 05:03 started to seep into christianity. 05:06 Some of the plainest teachings of the Bible were ignored. 05:11 If the entrance of God's word gives light, 05:14 then the obscuring of God's word 05:16 led to a period of some real spiritual darkness. 05:22 How did it happen? 05:23 In the 4th century AD, the Roman emperor Constantine, 05:28 Constantine the great, he became known as, 05:31 converted to christianity. 05:33 It was a nominal conversion 05:35 and Constantine never really abandoned paganism. 05:39 As a result, a number of pagan practices 05:42 became established within the Christian faith. 05:47 For example, the early Christians 05:49 practiced baptism by immersion, 05:52 but over time, infant baptism found its way into the church. 05:56 The venerating of relics was certainly not practiced by 05:59 the early Christians, but that too found its way 06:01 into Christianity shortly after Constantine was baptized. 06:04 The early Christians did not confess their sins to a priest, 06:09 but that found its way into church practice as well. 06:12 Now, there were some Christians who clung to the Bible 06:17 as their rule of faith and practice, 06:20 but over time the church began to drift more and more 06:25 away from the word of God. 06:29 Now come down to the 16th century, 06:31 by this time, the ruling church had been in power 06:34 for more than a 1,000 years, 06:36 and many non-biblical practices had become deeply entrenched, 06:41 worse than that, the Bible itself had become 06:45 virtually inaccessible to the vast majority of the people. 06:49 In many places, the Bible was banned. 06:52 People were forbidden to read it or to possess it. 06:56 Here in England in Coventry, 06:58 a dozen people became known as the Coventry Martyrs 07:01 after they lost their lives, they were executed, 07:04 because it was known that they disagreed 07:06 with some of the practices of the established church. 07:08 One of them was a woman who was found to have in her possession 07:13 a handwritten copy of the Lord's prayer, 07:15 The Ten Commandments and the Apostles' Creed. 07:18 She was burned at the stake for that. 07:22 There are hundreds of stories just like it, thousands even. 07:27 After centuries of drifting from the Bible, 07:30 the Word of God was out of the reach of the people. 07:34 The darkness that existed was almost palpable, 07:38 but here in England heroes stood tall, 07:41 who would cause the light of the Bible to shine again. 07:50 John Wycliffe who was born in around 1328, 07:53 became known as the morning star of the reformation. 07:57 In the 14th century the peasant class were essentially slaves, 08:01 and the influence of the ruling church was enormous. 08:04 The catholic church essentially controlled the country 08:08 and by later in the 14th century, 08:10 the pope was receiving five times as much 08:13 gold from the government of 08:15 England as was the king. 08:18 And when it came to the teaching of God's word, 08:20 the people were living in superstition and fear 08:23 as priests as well as traveling monks and Friars 08:26 kept the people in spiritual darkness. 08:30 It was a common practice for the monks 08:32 to sell forgiveness of sin. 08:34 They would live in luxury, 08:36 fleecing the flock instead of feeding the flock. 08:40 The people were kept in darkness by monks 08:42 who were barely less ignorant of the scriptures than they were. 08:46 In 1365 pope Urban the 5th 08:49 demanded that England submit entirely to the authority 08:52 of the church of Rome, 08:54 which would have been an admission on England's part 08:57 that the pope was the legitimate sovereign of England, 09:01 as he lay on what people thought was his death bed, 09:04 the monks urged Wycliffe to recant the things that he 09:07 had said in opposition to them and the church, 09:10 but instead Wycliffe propped himself up and said, 09:14 "I will not die, 09:15 but live and declare the evil deeds of the Friars. 09:20 What Wycliffe went on to do was to translate the Bible 09:25 into the English language of the day. 09:27 At Wycliffe's third trial, 09:30 he met his accusers with these words, 09:32 "With whom think you are you contending, 09:36 with an old man on the brink of the grave? 09:38 No, with truth, truth which is stronger than you, 09:43 and will overcome you." 09:45 Wycliffe was hated by the church. 09:47 After his death, his books were burned 09:51 and even his body was exhumed and burned 09:53 and his ashes were cast into the River Swift near Lutterworth. 09:57 His followers were persecuted, 09:59 and it was enshrined in law that to translate the Bible 10:03 into English without a license was a punishable crime. 10:08 110 years after Wycliffe's death, 10:11 another man came on the scene, 10:12 another Bible translator, 10:15 when William Tyndale was born in 1494, 10:18 superstition controlled people's lives, 10:21 kings could sentence people to death for petty reasons, 10:24 popes could issue decrees that had no basis in scripture, 10:28 and yet people accepted that as the will of God for their lives, 10:32 without the Bible they couldn't know 10:33 whether the church was right or wrong. 10:37 As Hosea 4 verse 6 says, 10:39 “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.” 10:43 By the time William Tyndale was born, 10:45 John Wycliffe's translation of the Bible was out of date, 10:47 because the English language had changed substantially. 10:52 Wycliffe and his followers had been known as Bible men. 10:56 100 plus years later, 10:58 another Bible man was needed. 11:02 Back with more in a moment. 11:03 ♪[Music]♪ 11:11 Now here is a question for you, 11:12 can God be trusted? 11:15 And I have the answer for you. 11:16 Can God be trusted? 11:18 That's our offer today it's absolutely free to you. 11:21 Can God be trusted and can the Bible be trusted? 11:24 Call us on (800) 253 3000 11:28 or visit us online at www.itiswritten.com, 11:33 or you can write to the address on your screen. 11:36 I'd like you to receive our free offer, 11:38 can God be trusted? 11:40 ♪[Music]♪ 11:43 >>Announcer: Planning for your financial future 11:44 is a vital aspect of Christian stewardship. 11:48 For this reason, It Is Written is pleased to offer 11:51 free planned giving and estate services. 11:54 For information on how we can help you, 11:56 please call 800-992-2219. 12:01 Call today, or visit our website, 12:03 HisLegacy.com. 12:06 Call 800-992-2219. 12:10 ♪[Music]♪ 12:19 >>John: Thanks for joining me today on It Is Written. 12:22 William Tyndale was born in Gloucestershire England 12:24 in around the year 1494. 12:27 His family moved here during the wars of the roses. 12:30 A series of wars for control of the English throne 12:32 between the house of York and the house of Lancaster. 12:36 Tyndale was educated at Hartford college in oxford, 12:40 and earned a master's degree in theology in 1515. 12:44 He was fluent in eight languages, 12:47 including Hebrew and Greek, 12:50 the languages in which the Bible was originally written. 12:54 In 1521, he moved here to the little village of Little Sudbury 12:59 where he became the chaplain in the home of Sir John Walsh. 13:03 In fact, this church is built from the actual stones, 13:08 and according to the plan of the church, 13:10 Tyndale ministered in when he lived right here. 13:14 He had a deep respect for the Bible, 13:16 much like that which Martin Luther had. 13:18 And it wasn't long, and that respect for the word of God 13:22 got Tyndale in a lot of trouble. 13:26 John Fox, the author of the famous Fox's book of martyrs 13:30 reported on a conversation William Tyndale had. 13:34 Someone said to him, 13:35 “We had better be without God's laws, than the pope's.” 13:39 Tyndale replied, 13:40 “I defy the pope and all his laws. 13:43 And if God spares my life ere many years 13:46 I will cause the boy that driveth the plow 13:49 to know more of the scriptures than thou doest.” 13:54 It was here in Little Sudbury that William Tyndale 13:57 felt the call to translate the Bible into English. 14:00 So he left here the following year for London 14:03 to get the support he needed. 14:05 He was looking for the blessing of a certain bishop, 14:07 a man who had praised the work of a dutch theologian Erasmus. 14:11 When Erasmus translated the New Testament, 14:14 but Tyndale didn't get the support he needed. 14:19 Convinced the people of England needed the Bible 14:22 in their own language, 14:24 Tyndale left England in 1524 for Europe, 14:27 and made his way to Wittenberg where Martin Luther was living. 14:32 Luther had translated the New Testament into German 14:35 a couple of years before. 14:37 And now Tyndale set about working on a translation 14:40 of the Bible that would impact Christianity in Great Britain 14:45 and around the world. 14:47 He was helped by a priest named William Roy. 14:50 And within a year or two the translation was finished. 14:54 After some challenges owing to the opposition 14:57 Luther was facing, 14:58 Tyndale had translated the New Testament into English. 15:02 He had the printing done in Worms, 15:05 the city where Martin Luther's trial, 15:06 before emperor Charles V was held. 15:09 More copies were printed 15:10 in what was then the dutch city of Antwerp. 15:13 And in the months that followed, 15:15 those Bibles were smuggled into England and Scotland. 15:20 But smuggling an English language version of the Bible 15:22 across the English channel wasn't an easy matter. 15:26 That bishop who refused his permission to Tyndale 15:29 to translate the Bible into English back then, 15:32 he stood up a lot of opposition to the project. 15:34 In fact, he commanded that Tyndale's Bible be burned. 15:39 Booksellers were banned from selling the book. 15:42 Now burning the Bible in public, 15:43 what that did was generate a lot of sympathy 15:47 for the whole project, 15:48 even among supporters of church and state. 15:51 People didn't like to see the Bible treated in that way, 15:54 burned in the streets. 15:55 Here's what one historian said, 15:57 “The spectacle of the scriptures being put the torch 16:00 provoked controversy even amongst the faithful.” 16:05 But there was worse to come. 16:08 In January of 1529, the catholic cardinal Thomas Wolsey 16:12 condemned Tyndale as a hieratic. 16:15 This attracted the attention of England's King Henry VIII 16:19 who acted swiftly against this new reformer. 16:22 Henry was even more upset with Tyndale, 16:25 because of Tyndale's public disagreement with 16:27 Henry's intention to divorce his wife Catherine of Aragon, 16:30 so that he could marry Anne Boleyn. 16:35 Tyndale contained 16:36 that that Henry VIII's divorce lacked biblical support. 16:40 Henry wasn't open to constructive criticism, 16:42 but fortunately for Tyndale he was in the Netherlands 16:46 and Henry couldn't touch him there. 16:48 He continued to speak out, 16:50 not only about Henry VIII's morals, 16:52 but also about the teachings of the Bible as his writings 16:55 would spread news about his convictions spread also. 17:00 Like Luther, Tyndale maintained that the Bible 17:04 should be the supreme authority 17:05 in matters of faith and practice. 17:08 He also believed strongly in the Bible teaching 17:10 of justification by faith. 17:13 He did not believe that people should 17:15 confess their sins to others. 17:17 And like Luther, he also didn't believe the popular teaching 17:20 that when people die they go straight to heaven or hell. 17:24 Like the other protestant reformers, 17:26 it was Tyndale's purpose to direct men and women 17:29 to the Bible as the rule of faith and practice. 17:32 And even though the protestant reformers didn't always agree 17:35 with each other on any number of subjects, 17:38 what they did do was lift up the Bible as supreme, 17:42 helping believers move towards a clearer understanding 17:46 of God's truth. 17:48 William Tyndale's scholarship had a profound influence 17:51 on the translation of the King James version of the Bible, 17:54 as well as the English language itself. 17:57 Translation of the King James began in 1604 18:00 by order of James 1st, king of England, 18:03 and it was completed in 1611. 18:06 It's estimated that 83% of the New Testament 18:09 and 76% of the Old Testament in the King James comes to us 18:15 from William Tyndale, 18:16 Passover, scapegoat, my brother's keeper, 18:20 the salt of the earth. 18:21 It came to pass. 18:23 The signs of the times, 18:25 let there be light, 18:26 a law unto themselves, 18:29 and much more is the result of Tyndale's scholarship. 18:32 Now, ultimately, Tyndale would meet the same fate 18:37 as the Oxford Martyrs, 18:38 Cranmer, Ridley, and Latimer who were burned at the stake 18:42 right here by the Roman church, 20 years after Tyndale died. 18:48 But before Tyndale was put to death, 18:50 he prayed a prayer that would change the world, 18:54 that's coming next. 18:55 ♪[Music]♪ 19:02 [Cricketts chirping] 19:06 ♪[Music]♪ 19:14 [Camera equipment rattling] 19:17 [Rustling in bushes] 19:19 [People talking] 19:21 [Wind blowing] 19:29 ♪[Music]♪ 19:39 ♪[Music]♪ 19:47 [Cheering] 19:55 ♪[Music]♪ 20:14 >>John: Today I'd like to ask you to help It Is Written 20:16 open the eyes of the blind. 20:18 India has more blind people than any country on earth. 20:21 But simple cataract surgery can make the difference 20:24 between seeing and not seeing. 20:26 Eyes for India is a project that's providing cataract 20:29 surgery for people in desperate need of the gift of sight. 20:33 Please help today. 20:34 Call 800-253-3000. 20:37 Or visit ItIsWritten.com. 20:44 Thanks for joining me on It Is Written. 20:46 In Vilvoorde Belgium, 20:48 on the northern side of the capital city of Belgium Brussels 20:53 is a museum dedicated to the 20:54 life and ministry of William Tyndale. 20:58 It's situated here, 20:59 because this location is only yards from the very spot 21:04 where William Tyndale was executed. 21:07 It might not look like much of anything today, 21:09 but if you'd been here 500 years ago, 21:11 you'd have seen a castle standing on this spot 21:15 right behind me. 21:16 The Senne River just over here runs between Antwerp 21:18 and Brussels making Vilvoorde 21:20 a place of real strategic importance. 21:24 That castle was of a line of fortifications 21:26 and William Tyndale who'd been betrayed 21:28 to the holy Roman empire was kept as a prisoner 21:31 for more than a year in the castle right on this spot. 21:35 Eventually he was brought out and executed right here. 21:40 Before he was put to death, Tyndale prayed one last prayer. 21:45 He said, "Lord, open the king of England's eyes." 21:49 His prayer was answered. 21:52 Within four years of his death, 21:53 four English translations of the bible 21:56 had been published, 21:57 all at the behest of king Henry VIII, 22:00 and all of them based on the work of William Tyndale. 22:06 I've come here to this museum to speak to the experts 22:09 on the life of William Tyndale. 22:12 Why was Tyndale held here in Vilvoorde, 22:15 why here of all places? 22:17 >>Speaker 3: Here in Vilvoorde there was a castle, 22:19 and in that castle there was not so many people, 22:24 so there they know if we put him in Vilvoorde, 22:28 he can, he will stay in prison. 22:32 >>John: What do you think conditions were like 22:34 inside the castle prison? 22:36 >>Speaker 3: Uh, as prisons in the 16th, very difficult. 22:40 We know by his last written letter 22:43 that we have in archives that he asked on the authorities 22:48 to have warm clothes, 22:51 to become candles and to become his work, 22:55 his translation work for having the time now in prison 23:00 and he stayed there for the time he had to stay, 23:04 and hoping that he wouldn't escaped, 23:07 they killed him. 23:08 >>John: So why was the church so opposed to Tyndale 23:12 translating the Bible? 23:14 >>Speaker 3: It's, a, a, a way to eliminate all critical 23:21 actions and reactions in church. 23:23 If you have, uh, uh, uh, your people, 23:29 who can criticize your own way to live as church, 23:34 it's very difficult to stay as church. 23:40 They want to keep their own power, 23:45 and don't give the opportunity on all people to understand 23:52 what was the word God's and not the word of the church. 23:57 >>John: Explain for me William Tyndale's 24:02 contribution to the reformation. 24:05 >>Speaker 3: He was the man who, 24:07 uh, who worked on the English speaking people. 24:12 And it's very important because we had a German translator, 24:16 we had a French translator, 24:17 we had still a Swiss translator. 24:20 We had several translators who makes the new world, 24:24 that's very important to know, because we have still, uh, 24:29 in Europe a big difference between the Latin part 24:33 and the non-Latin part. 24:35 So, the English contribution of William Tyndale 24:38 is not only a contribution in let's say 24:42 the English speaking part of Europe, 24:45 but always contribution on the new world, 24:50 because we would travel from this country to the states, 24:56 and making in states also the new world 24:59 with a own translation. 25:04 And it's very important to know that the new American version 25:11 is the most important translation with the biggest 25:17 part of William Tyndale in it. 25:20 ♪[Music]♪ 25:25 >>John: Few people have had so great an impact 25:27 upon the religious faith, 25:28 the cultural heritage, 25:31 even the vocabulary of the English speaking world, 25:34 as William Tyndale. 25:36 Britons voted him 26th 25:38 in the list of the 100 Greatest Britons of all Time. 25:42 And few prayers have been answered as dramatically 25:45 as that prayer Tyndale prayed in the final moments of his life 25:50 when Henry VIII granted permission for the Bible 25:52 to be published in English. 25:54 It unleashed the Bible upon the English speaking world. 25:59 And as a result, the world would never be the same again. 26:03 The core principle of the reformation 26:06 was the role of the word of God in a believer's life. 26:09 Notice, that William Tyndale 26:12 translated the bible into the English 26:13 not long after Johannes Gutenberg 26:16 gave to us the modern printing press, 26:19 which meant the word of God could be distributed to people 26:22 who could read it for themselves, 26:24 understand it for themselves, 26:26 and then follow the leading of the holy spirit in their lives. 26:31 Tyndale's contribution to the reformation was enormous. 26:36 It's one thing to teach or to preach or to write 26:39 as other reformers did. 26:41 It's another thing all together to actually 26:43 give people the Word of God. 26:46 And that's what William Tyndale accomplished. 26:48 Though he's been gone 500 years, 26:51 his influence and his impact lives on in the lives of people 26:55 who continue to be transformed by the power of the Holy Bible. 27:00 ♪[Music]♪ 27:07 >>John: I'm John Bradshaw from It Is Written, 27:09 inviting you to join me for 500, 27:13 nine programs produced by it Is Written 27:15 taking you deep into the Reformation. 27:18 This is the 500th anniversary of the beginning of the Reformation 27:22 when Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the door 27:25 of the Castle church in Wittenburg, Germany. 27:28 We'll take you to Wittenburg, and to Belgium, 27:30 to England, 27:31 to Ireland, 27:32 to Rome, 27:33 to the Vatican City, 27:34 and introduce you to the people who created the Reformation, 27:37 who pushed the Reformation forward. 27:39 We'll take you to sites all throughout Europe 27:41 where the reformers lived and, in some cases, died. 27:44 We'll bring you back to the United States 27:46 and take you to a little farm in upstate New York, 27:49 and show you how God spread the Reformation here. 27:52 Don't miss 500. 27:54 You can own the 500 series on DVD. 27:57 Call us on 888-664-5573, 28:02 or visit us online at itiswritten.shop. 28:11 >>John: Let's pray together. 28:13 Our father in heaven, 28:14 we come to you in the name of Jesus and today we are thankful. 28:17 Thankful for those men and women who paid so much 28:20 that we today could hold the Bible in our hands. 28:24 We thank You for the example of William Tyndale, 28:27 a Protestant whose protest delivered to us Your word, 28:32 brought light to this world, and through that light, 28:35 salvation to thousands and millions. 28:40 Lord, don't let us waste what 28:42 these great heroes of history have done. 28:46 Give us grace to hide Your word in our heart, 28:49 to live on Your word and through Your word and in Your word. 28:53 I pray the power of Your word would produce in us 28:55 that what You want to see. 28:57 The character of Jesus and lives lived for Your glory. 29:02 And so keep us and bless us we pray. 29:05 We thank You in Jesus' name, 29:07 Amen. 29:09 Thanks so much for joining me, 29:10 I'm looking forward to seeing you again next time. 29:12 Until then, remember, 29:14 it is written: 29:15 Man shall not live by bread alone, 29:18 but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. 29:23 ♪[Theme Music]♪ |
Revised 2017-10-17