The Forbidden Book

History of the English Bible narrated by Craig Lampe, Ph.D. Bible Historian

The Word Bible, comes from the Greek word for papyrus plant... Biblos... since the leaves of that plant were used for paper... ancient Bibles were sometimes printed on parchment made from sheep or goatskins...

it required an entire flock of sheep to provide the material for one 4th century New Testament... the cost of a Bible in the 1300s, might easily amount to a priest’s whole yearly income... the Bible’s chapter divisions were created in the early 1200s, by a lecturer at the University of Paris... its current verse divisions, were not fully developed, until 1551... the Geneva Bible, was quoted by William Shakespeare over 5,000 times in his plays... most early Bibles included the 14 apocrypha books, in fact, the Book of Daniel had 15 chapters, not 12... 3 of those chapters, came from the apocrypha books... one of the King James Translators, the Arch-Bishop of Canterbury, decreed that any printer that printed the King James Bible, without the apocrypha, would be fined, and imprisoned for one year... the first Bible printed in the United States was printed in 1663... it was a translation for the

Algonquin Indians...

By 400AD, the Bible had been translated into 500 languages... by 500AD, the Bible had been reduced... to only one language... how did this happen?

“I’m holding a Bible... that was printed in the 14th

century, 25yrs after the invention of the Gutenberg press with the movable type that revolutionized knowledge, and its proliferation... as we know it... prior to... this printing press being invented... everything that was recorded had to be done by hand, on parchment... with valum, or some kind of writing surface... rice paper if you were an Oriental... even stone tablets, if you lived in particular parts of the world... that’s what you had to do to preserve... what you wanted preserved, from generation to generation, in written form... I’m holding a beautiful Bible... its one of the most beautiful printings that was ever done...

it was done in Venice... in fact, this Bible... is the first Bible ever printed, in which a title page was employed to tell us where it was printed... and by whom... things we take for granted today...

It began with Moses, on Mount Sinai... we know he received the Ten Commandments, he spent 40 days in the mountain, and he came down with the Ten Commandments... that’s more or less, the point that we date the beginning... of the preservation of God’s Word... God... gave to Moses the story of creation... He gave to Moses the story of God’s Blessing on His chosen people... and He gave prophecies, and He gave laws, and He gave rules and orders on how those people were to live, and to relate to God Almighty... He actually wrote these things down in Hebrew, on a writing

surface just like this (Craig Lampe holds up a scroll)... I’m holding in my hand the book of Lamentations... of course, Moses didn’t write the book of Lamentations, Jeremiah did... but at the time... that the Torah... the Pentateuch was recorded, Moses did... Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy... and Joshua writes the last chapter, of the book of Deuteronomy... he describes how Moses died...

and... the five books are the legacy of Moses, as to not only the wanderings in the wilderness, the battles that were fought and won, the battles that were fought and lost, the story of disobedience from every imagination... that you could possibly conceive of, God let us know... how people fail to relate to Him based on how He wants them to... and that’s part of the story of the Pentateuch, the first 5 books of the Bible, and Moses gave us those...

Ezra... assembled... the Bible... using these Hebrew scrolls... and with... other... revelation of God that Ezra received, he assembled what we call... the Old Testament... and he assembled it in the Hebrew language... and this is the language of the Bible that Ezra took back to Jerusalem... and proceeded in the... Temple worship... to educate the people... to the ways of God... and it was done on parchment... on a material like this sheepskin... very carefully by... scribes... that gave their lives... to make sure that the Bible was preserved... (Craig Lampe unrolls a big ancient scroll) This is a 1,000 year old Torah, the first 5 books of the Bible that would not be unlike what Ezra assembled... in the 4th century BC... of the whole Bible... they could have easily... just... kept the books separate like one book of Genesis, one book of Exodus, which they did... in separate scrolls, which would be easier to protect, and easier to preserve versus something bulky like this, because this just being the first 5 books... it would take several hundred feet, perhaps 500 feet of a script written this large... to lay down the text of the whole Old Testament... but this thousand year old scroll is perfect proof, and almost an absolute perfect... rendering... we can compare this for example to the dead sea scrolls... from information that is a thousand years older than this... and... there is not a single error, of... a single book, as it’s been transmitted from generation to generation... so thanks to the Hebrews, and to the Greek speaking people of Constantinople and eastern orthodoxy... the text has been preserved... “

By AD210, Origen listed the books that he considered to be scripture... he excluded James and Jude... because they were not apostolic in terms of their authorship... in 315, Eusebius communicated some of the controversies of other books, including the Revelation... in 315 Athanasius listed 27 books, in his annual letter to the churches under his jurisdiction... this is the first time a church leader would identify the very books Christians today call The New Testament... Cyril would recommend his own list of books in 340... as did the Council of Laodicea in 364... Epiphanius in 370, Gregory in 375, and Philastrius in 380... Jerome, was the most outstanding scholar of his day... in 382, he was commissioned to translate the Bible from the Greek... into Latin... it became known... as the Latin Vulgate... Vulgate meaning common... he put an asterisk by the apocrypha books... saying he did not know if they were inspired, because they had not originated in the Hebrew language... as with the 39 books of the Old Testament... in AD397, the Senate of Carthage... officially declared 27 books of the New Testament era... to be accepted as scripture... the Septuagint was accepted as Old Testament

scripture, with a footnote that the 14 apocrypha books were to be included for instruction, and history... but not as holy writ...

As centuries passed... the Vulgate would be corrupted by unfaithful copying, and the interpretation of the Canon was restricted to a few dozen scholars in each generation... by 400AD, the scriptures had been translated into over 500 languages... but now, the church in Rome allowed only one language... and that language... was Latin... the technique to sustain its power was simple... control people’s minds by controlling their education, and control their education by controlling their language... one empire, many languages, but only Latin was allowed for education and instruction... the pope... was elevated to God’s sole agent... to lead the church... and resistance to his leadership, was an act of heresy, punishable by excommunication or death...

...a world that had become free in Christ, would now be plunged into a thousand year period, from AD400 to 1400... a period that would become known... as The Dark and Middle Ages...

The Dark and Middle Ages

The church demanded confession... penance... pilgrimages... the adoration of saints, and the doctrine of transubstantiation, which says that during mass, the bread and wine become in substance, the body and blood of Jesus... indulgences were granted for crimes... that ranged from adultery to murder, and rendered the state powerless to prosecute the criminal... pope Julius, granted an indulgence to the future pope Leo the 10th , who was married with two children... a list of tariffs for various indulgences... was established by pope John the 22nd, and first published by Pope Leo the 10th... you could kill a man... for a dollar and 75 cents... you could ravish a virgin for two dollars... a priest could keep a mistress for $2.25... but for 12 dollars, you could be absolved of all crimes together...

Robbing a church $2.25

Burning a house $2.75

Killing a layman $1.75

Forgery and lying $2.00

Eating meat in Lent $2.75

Ravishing a virgin $2.00

Striking a priest $2.75

Robbery $3.00

Priest to keep a concubine $2.25

Procuring an abortion $1.50

Murder of parents or wife $2.50

Absolution of all crimes $12.00

Augustine’s proclamation of prostitution as a necessary evil, resulted in over

100,000 prostitutes being employed by the church... and their symbol of power was marvellous buildings... such as St. Peter’s basilica in Rome that threatened to bankrupt the church, unless new devices for raising money could be employed... one such way was to extract enormous sums of money from parishes, by granting pardon for penance in purgatory... popes Julius and Leo declared the holy wars... to justify the mass slaughter of Jews... in order to steal their money and possessions... to finance the building of the Vatican... pope Leo the 10th revealed the truth of his convictions when he stated “...how profitable the fable of Christ has been to us...” ...this was the age of two popes... one in France... and one in Rome... they were making a mockery of Christianity... Urban the 6th and Clement the 7th, were each claiming to be pope... and both were threatening the other... with excommunication... Urban

called for war... John Wiclif replied, “How dare he make a token of Christ and the cross as a banner to leaders to slay Christian men for the love of two false

priests”... the pope Wiclif said, was not the Voice of God on earth... the Bible was... the pope he said, may not even be among those chosen for heaven...

The Culdees

“How was the Word preserved during these centuries leading up to the birth... of John

Wiclif... well, God’s always had a way... and one such way, was in Northern Scotland, on the North-west corner of Scotland, is a little Isle called Iona...

and there... a man named Columba... in 563AD... started a Bible college... and that Bible college... would continue through the dark ages... the vast majority of evangelism that took place, for the next 700yrs... would take place... as a result... of that Bible college... the secret society in Scotland were called Culdees... these Culdees... are descendants of the... Bible college at Iona, it was an underground movement...

...where did that... movement begin?

...tradition has it, it began in Glastonbury in England, shortly after the Crucifixion of Christ, when Joseph of Arimathea... the very man who took Christ’s body... from the cross... and... allowed... his tomb... to be used as the tomb of Christ... its that man, Joseph of Arimathea that tradition tells us, went to Glastonbury and built... the first church above ground, with the name

Christian on it in history... Joseph of Arimathea was called a

Culdee... the word means “Certain Stranger”... and that certain stranger from that... established church at Glastonbury which the remains are there today... of what Joseph of Arimathea did there... that we have this underground society... that existed through the dark ages... and into the Middle ages... John Wycliffe (Wiclif) was a product... of... the choosing of that secret society...

John Wycliffe

This church... that... we are sitting in... was built in the 13th century... we are in Lutterworth England... about a hundred years after the church was constructed, John Wycliffe became the pastor... he was the most powerful man... in England... he had come... more or less as a refugee... from... the criticism that was mounting against him at Oxford... where he was president of Balliol college... and the most popular teacher... on Oxford campus... (Craig Lampe in Oxford University) John Wycliffe taught...

In this lecture hall behind me, for 10 years, from 1362 to 1372... hundreds of men... from all over Europe, and England, came to this lecture hall at Balliol college... where John Wycliffe was the president... and listened to the doctrines that he was laying down... there was no printing press... students had to copy down by hand... the lecture notes... take them to their respective... homes... wherever they may be in whatever country... and in turn, those lecture notes would become ammunition... for those that dissented against the tyranny that was being heaped on them by the establishment... the established church at Rome... John Wycliffe translated the Bible, but he also translated other literature... he prepared a little tract... called “the wicket”... and it was a denial... of trans-substantiation... it was a denial, because the scriptures did not support... the idea... that... there is some kind of illusion... some kind of hocus pocus... and by the way, we get that word and that phrase hocus pocus from horcus corpus mim in the way the priests would conduct their mass... and the way they would serve the elements... and they would serve the elements... in a cannibalistic way... they would tell the people... that... the element of the wine was converted into Jesus’ blood, drink it... cannibal! Cannibaal... feast of baal... it’s a Babylonian custom, that’s what the church was, was doing... that’s what the church was teaching, and it became a mystical, hocus pocus ceremony... John Wycliffe... denied it... others had denied it... but he was the first one... to get away with it, because of his power, because of his prestige.”

At the Christmas season... in 1384... John Wycliffe, suffered a stroke... preaching in his church, here at Lutterworth... the lullard preacher boys, took his body and... placed it in this chair... carried him out his door in the south side of the sanctuary, and... John

Wycliffe died a few days later... the Word of God went free... and over the next 150 years, the secret society... that he had fuelled... was... going to make it possible for the Great Reformation to come to pass...

In late 1384, in the final hours of his life, Wycliffe finished the entire Bible, from Genesis to Revelation... he didn’t have knowledge of Hebrew... or Greek... and

was only able to translate from Jerome’s Latin Vulgate... since the printing press had not yet been invented, it took 10 months to transcribe a whole Bible by hand... in 1408... the Archbishop of York, gathered the church hierarchy at Oxford... to discredit, and ban Wycliffe’s Bible... “We therefore decree and ordain, that from hence forth no unauthorized person, shall translate any part of the Holy Scripture into English, or any other language, under any form of book or treatise.” (Archbishop of York, 1408)... this would be the first authorized prohibition, of the English scriptures... and it formed the basis of many subsequent persecutions...

It was an instrument of terror... suspended over the heads of all Englishmen... who dared to read for themselves... the Word of God... in their own language...

even after Wycliffe’s death, the hatred against him continued among the church hierarchy... in 1428... 44 years after his death... pope Martin the 5th, ordered the bones of Wycliffe to be dug up, and burned... the ashes were then thrown... into the river Swift... near his church...

In Czechoslovakia... John Hus... had become a disciple... of the teachings of John Wycliffe... he would rise up and promote reforms like Wycliffe had done in England... in 1416... he would be tried... and burned at the stake... actual manuscripts of Wycliffe’s students were used... as

kindling to start the fire... his last words were that, in 100 years... a man would be raised up, whose calls for reforms and changes, could not be suppressed... it was a prophetic utterance... because 100 years later, on All-saints day... Halloween eve, October 31st 1517... Martin Luther would nail 95 theses of contention... to the Wittenberg door... calling for reforms.

“Within a stone’s throw... of this very spot (in Mainz, Germany)... John Gutenberg invented... the printing press... in 1455... it was a 10year effort... and, with the help of John Faust... a resident... a very wealthy resident of Mainz... and a manservant by the name of Peter Schaeffer, movable type... and the first printed book came off the presses... that book was, the Gutenberg Bible... the Bible in Latin... simply the most beautiful book that has ever been printed...

that book today... in the hundred greatest books... the list of those books, it still ranks number one... it ranks above even the King James Bible, in its beauty... and its typography...

In the late 15th century, the early part of the 1490s... a professor... named Lynecker... at Oxford... went down to Italy... to study... the Greek language, in one of these Greek refugee camps... and he read the gospels in Greek... and as he read them... an incredible feeling... of frustration... came over him, and that night in his diary...

Lynecker wrote, “...either this is not the gospel... or we are not Christians...” ...the Latin text was corrupt... it was totally corrupt from the meaning, that God wanted communicated... simultaneously, with Lynecker’s experience in Italy, John Colette had visited a church... a great church in Florence that was pastored by a man named Servano Rolla... and... the reason... that... John Colette was so overwhelmed... by the

ministry of Servano Rolla... is that he would try... to get to the church on a Sunday morning... and there would be more people outside trying to get in, than the church could contain, which was already full to the rafters... John Colette learned what Servano Rolla was saying... he was allowing... the apostle Paul to speak... in the language of the people... from these... Greek texts... and the response... was... revival...

John Colette went back (to Oxford University)... starting holding chapel services... on the University campus... all he did was read the epistles of Paul... in the Greek, and translate... that reading... into English to the students that were sitting in the pew... and within a month... the chapel... couldn’t hold all the... young people that wanted to hear this... and... John Colette began... to do the same thing in London, at St. Paul’s Cathedral, that he had done at the chapel up at Oxford... and the results were overwhelming... within 6 months... there were 15 to 20,000 people trying to get into St. Paul’s Cathedral... Erasmus determined... that he had to master this language... he had to... fuel... these changes... today... we... know the name Erasmus because he was... simply one of the most brilliant people that ever lived... it’s kind of interesting... he was probably the last man on earth to know everything... at least everything from a book learning standpoint... because, he had read and translated in his life-time... every single piece of literature that was accessible... Erasmus naturally said, well we need to translate... this Bible... and print it, in Greek, and in English and in other languages... he made that... announcement to a couple of scholar friends and... they were his friends, and they said well you’ll not do it here... and you’ll not do it anywhere in England in fact... Erasmus was frustrated, he said ok, if I can’t do it here, I’ll go to the continent and do it... Erasmus with... manuscripts borrowed from Thomas Moore and from John Colette, and from... friends at the University of Paris, took enough Greek manuscripts to basically make up a complete New Testament, and... went to Basel in Switzerland... and there in 1514 and 1515, sat down and began... to... assemble... a Greek text... for... the printing press.

Erasmus died in this house... in 1536... the house today is an antiquarian book shop, and it’s the place where John Froeburn... had his presses... and in a period of 20years from 1516 until 1536 produced over 25,000 perhaps as many as 35,000 of Erasmus’ greatest contribution to scholarship... and to the study of the Bible, which was his Greek-Latin text, first printed in 1516.

The Archbishop of Mainz, with a copy of Erasmus’ Greek-Latin text in his hands... made the declaration... that first of all in truth, he did not know what this book was... but he was convinced... that what it contained condemned him... the following exhortation,

in the preface of the Erasmus New Testament demonstrates his courage... “I utterly dissent from those... who are unwilling that the sacred scriptures should be read... by the unlearned... translated into their own vulgar tongue... I wish... that even the weakest woman should read the gospels, and the epistles of St. Paul... I long... that the farmer should sing some portion of them... to himself... as he follows the plough...” Erasmus’ translation... became a primary source for Martin Luther’s German translation... 6 years later... and William Tyndale’s English translation, 3 years after that...

Chains of Freedom

The first English convert to the reformation was burned at the stake in 1531... his name was Thomas Bilney... a pioneer... of the English reformation... in 1517... Bilney was training for the priesthood in Cambridge University... he left his dormitory room one evening... and made his way to a bookshop... were forbidden books were sold... he purchased a copy... of Erasmus’ Greek-Latin New Testament... hiding that night, under a cover with his illegal purchase and flickering candle... he felt the strong Light of God... pour... into his soul... he read in Timothy 1:15... where Paul

stated that he was the chiefest of sinners... and that Jesus Christ came into the world... to seek... and save those who were lost... Bilney... cried out... no... I’m the chiefest of sinners... he became so enthusiastic about faith... and about

acting on the promises of God... that hundreds of young men were converted to Christianity... on the Cambridge campus... one night he confessed his sins... to professor Hugh Latimer... during his confession... he proclaimed the gospel of Jesus Christ... in his diary... Latimer wrote that he had learnt more about God... and more about salvation from Bilney’s confession... than his previous ten years at Cambridge university... in 1519... Bilney was ordained a priest... and received his licence to preach... he became a powerful force in distributing Tyndale’s new English Bible, and other forbidden literature throughout England... he eventually... was arrested... tried... and sentenced to be burned at the stake... through his faith... Thomas Bilney believed that God would not allow him to feel the heat of the flames... he comforted his friends the night before his burning... and told them... that he would not feel the heat of the flames... he said...

“though the fire should be of great heat to my body... yet the comfort of God’s Spirit... should cool it to my everlasting refreshing”... the next morning... William Tyndale’s Bibles... were used as kindling to start the fire...

William Tyndale

Imagine an English-speaking world without Shakespeare... T.S. Elliot... and C.S. Lewis... they all had... one common influence... a man whose prose and creativity in designing the... English language... is one of the greatest contributions... to Western civilization... in the annals of modern history... the father of the English language... and the sole translator of the Bible into modern English must certainly be revered by every Christian... and every English-speaking man or woman wherever English is taught... surely... such a man would have died in honour... in wealth... and was respected by all... in fact... his life and work are scarcely known to the intellectual community... much less to the common masses... and he died in poverty... and in exile... from his native country of England... to the establishment... William Tyndale... was an outlaw... he had a price on his head, and was hunted relentlessly for 11 years by his king... and by his church... his only crime... was obedience to God... and thus resistance... to tyranny...

William Tyndale was born... in 1494... in Gloucestershire, England... he enrolled in Oxford in 1505... and literally grew up at the University... receiving his master’s degree in 1515... at age 23... he spoke 8 different languages fluently... one associate described him as so skilled in 8 tongues... that whichever he speaks, you might think it is his native tongue... he eventually moved on to Cambridge University... were he formed the White Horse Inn society... the society was composed... of about 25 young men... all of them, with the exception of Miles Coverdale... would be beheaded... or burned at the stake... thousands of others were martyred as well... in 1517... 5 men and 2 women were tried for heresy... their crime... teaching the Lord’s prayer to their children in English... they were found guilty, and burned at the stake... their martyrdom spoke clearly of the insanity that had possessed the church... England, and the entire continent... was a war-zone of upheaval... and widespread persecution...

William Tyndale... came under suspicion... for his views on... the authority of scripture... and... his views on... the interpretation of the Bible... in fact, in one of those... heated discussions one day, around the table... one of the local Bishops, a very powerful man said... that... he... revered the pope’s laws... more than he did scripture... and William Tyndale could not constrain himself... he looked that

Bishop in the eye, and he said... “I... defy... the pope... and all his laws... and if God would spare my life these many years... I... will make it possible for the boy that drives the plough... to know as much scripture as you do” ...he was called before... the most powerful Bishop in Bristol... and warned... that if he continued... to teach... in English... the things of God... that... he was going to have to suffer the consequences... and those consequences were not going to be easy... it became clear, he had to leave... his burden... had developed... to translate the Bible... into English... in 1524... with assistance from the secret society... and with a strategy... and a carefully laid plan... Tyndale... would go to

Wittenberg... visit with Martin Luther... and then... at a given point in time... show up in Cologne... on the Rhine river... to print the Bible in English... at least the New Testament for the first time... we know that... the word has been leaked to the inquisition... to bounty hunters that were in the employ of the church... as well as in the employ of the monarch... to track down... these dissidents... these men that want to violate... laws... regarding the translation of the Bible... the bounty hunter goes to the city of Thordies and gets the search warrant and the seizure warrant, and proceeds to the print shop... simultaneously, Tyndale is tipped off... he... gets to the print shop before the bounty hunter gets there, he seizes his manuscripts, he seizes... the text that is on the press... only the first few chapters of Matthew have been printed... in a beautiful... beautiful printing... and... he escapes... literally within minutes... of the bounty hunter coming through the front door, and they go up the river... in fact... they go up the river about 50 miles to a city called Worms... Peter Shaeffer... Junior... was now living in Worms, and was a Lutheran... had been converted to the Lutheran doctrine... and it was to this man... the... son of the printer of the first Bible, the Gutenberg Bible... that William Tyndale goes to... and... 6,000 copies... of that Bible... are printed... in Worms... loaded on to ships... and bound for England...

In October 1526... Bishop Turnstall preached a sermon denouncing Tyndale’s New Testament in English... and copies were publicly burned... however, this backfired... because it created a public interest in the New Testament... the

mystery... of the forbidden book in English, created a demand... no amount of advertising could ever have accomplished... the Bishop then decided to disburse large sums of money for the purchase... of as many of the New Testaments as he could get his hands on... he stated... “I will gladly pay... whatever they cost... for the books are naughty, and I intend surely to destroy them all, and to burn them... at Paul’s cross...”

Tyndale’s life was that of a nomad... travelling... from place to place to avoid detection... translating... and revising as he could... finally... in exhaustion... he chose the English house at Antwerp... to oversee the transport... of his books to England... the year... was 1533... for 9 years he had managed... with the help of friends... to evade authorities as he revised his New Testament... and began translating the Old Testament... in the meantime... church officials were financing a bounty hunter... by the name of Henry Phillips... to track down Tyndale... Phillips... went to Antwerp... and managed to warm his way into Tyndale’s life... soon... Phillips became a guest of Tyndale’s... at meals... and was one of the few privileged... to look at his books... and papers... in May 1535, Phillips devised a plan... that would lure Tyndale away from the safety of his quarters... while slipping through a narrow alley... Tyndale walked into the arms of a band of soldiers... whom Phillips had posted... he was immediately arrested... and taken to the state prison, at the Castle of Vilvoorde... where he was accused... of heresy... he spent the last... 500 days of his life... in a cold, dark and lonely cell... deep inside the castle... the only record of this time... is contained in a letter he wrote to the Governor of the castle... in the winter months of 1535... “I beg your lordship, and that by the Lord Jesus that if I am to remain here through the winter, you will be kind enough to send me, from my goods... a warmer cap... for I suffer greatly from cold in the head... and I am afflicted by inflammation and congestion... a warmer coat also... for that which I have is very thin... and above all... I beg and beseech your clemency to... kindly permit me... to have my Hebrew Bible... Hebrew grammar... and Hebrew dictionary... that I may spend my time with that study... I shall be patient... abiding the will of God to the glory of the grace... of my Lord Jesus Christ... whose Spirit I pray... may ever direct your heart... amen... William Tyndale...” ...was Tyndale’s request allowed... we do not know... on October 6th 1536... William Tyndale... was led... to the public square... near a large beam... Tyndale... was given one last chance to recant... when he refused... he was given a moment to pray... he then cried out “Lord... open the king of England’s eyes...” ...he was then chained to the beam...and a rope was put around his neck... at the signal of the local official... the executioner tightened the noose... and strangled him... the executioner... then set the wood ablaze...

God answered William Tyndale’s last prayer... the prayer was Lord, open the eyes of the king of England... in... 1537, John Rogers... printed the first Bible in England, with a licence granted by Henry the 8th... the year preceding Tyndale’s death, after his incarceration, Miles Coverdale... would... print the first English Bible... from... Luther’s German Bible... but it’s the work, 95, 96, 97 percent the work of William Tyndale... Henry the 8th, took it one step further though... he authorized... by royal injunction... the printing of... 20,000 Bibles... called the Great Bible... to be distributed to every church in England... William Tyndale’s Bible...

What I want to try to do here is go through... and show... the viewer... how sincere... Luther and Tyndale were... in trying to get... the Words that they were translating, to form a picture... now... the book of the Revelation is probably the most difficult book of the whole Bible to understand, because its prophecy... that’s yet to be fulfilled... so, in the book of the revelation, woodcuts where used... in a very generous way... and marginal notes were used in the very generous way, to help... explain to the reader, the way the reformers back in the early 16th century... saw... the book of the Revelation unfolding... and the opening chapter... of the book of Revelation from this Tyndale New Testament, shows... Jesus Christ Himself, giving... the apostle John... this vision... and it’s very clear that the Lord Himself... is speaking to John... and John sitting... at the bottom of the picture, is writing down... every single word of this incredible vision, that the Lord is giving to him...

The Martyrs

Outside of the Bible, Fox’s book of Martyrs was the most popular book of the 16th century... it was filled... with woodcuts... showing how the established

church, persecuted it’s dissidents... it wasn’t an evil monarch... or a wicked king... that would perpetuate crimes against God and man... it was the established church, that brought fear... and trembling... to freedom loving people... throughout Europe... Fox declared... that we must be a protesting, resisting people, in order to

maintain freedom... thus... resistance to tyranny is obedience to God... after the death... of Edward the 6th in 1553... Queen Mary came into power with the ambition of burning every protestant... who would not recant and submit to the established church in Rome...

John Rogers was burnt first... because he was the closest to William Tyndale... but Miles Coverdale... fled the country just days before they would have captured him... thousands of English Christians were driven out of England with

little hope of ever seeing their homeland again... those who did not leave... were rounded up like cattle... and burned at the stake... it would often take hours... for the person to die, depending on how the wind would blow on a particular day... in order for mercy to be exercised... their friends would often tie bags of gunpowder around their necks, hoping it would explode... and kill the poor victim... in a merciful manner... over 300 leading

protestant scholars in England... would be burned at the stake... during the 4 years of Queen Mary’s reign... most of the English refugees fled to the church in Geneva, Switzerland... which was one of the only few safe havens for them... they

knew that, if they acted on the promises... God would see them through... this horrible hour of persecution... several of these men, including Miles Coverdale...and John Knox... decided to reprint the Bible from William Tyndale’s text... but with thousands of explanatory notes... that promoted learning... and understanding of the text... the Geneva Bible... became a masterpiece of reformation literature... the notes were so thorough... and complete... it became... equivalent to a Bible school in a single volume... a man in Paris... Robert Stevens... had separated the text into verses... in 1515... making it the first Bible in history... to be printed... with verses... in 1560... the first printing of 150 Geneva Bibles came off the press... for the next 250 years... it would be... the Bible of choice for Protestants... later editions would print commentaries... that were critical of the established church in Rome... the 1595 edition added notes... that the beast coming out of the bottomless pit... in Revelation 11:7 is... “The pope which hath his power out of hell and cometh thence.” – Geneva Bible ...1595 edition... it was the Geneva Bible that William Shakespeare quotes from... over 5,000 times in his plays... it was the Geneva Bible... that came over on the Mayflower with the pilgrims... it was the Bible... of the Puritans... it was the Bible that John Smith... and John Roth... would bring to America in 1607... and was used to lead Pocahontas... and her people to Christ...

Martin Luther

Over a hundred years ago in the... 1880s... to honour the birth... the 400th anniversary of the birth... of Martin Luther... the city fathers built... behind us (in Worms, Germany)... this wonderful collection of statues... to men of faith... who prepared the way for Martin Luther... and prepared the way for the protestant reformed... reformation church... of the 16th century... in the middle of the... collection of wonderful statues... is Martin Luther... but also... there is the statue of Peter Waldo... the Waldensian... the man who.... epitomized... what the suffering persecution... of the inquisition... accomplished... by literally destroying a whole population of people... scripture was corrupt in the Latin... it had been made so by... a dishonest... church... by a church that would twist and pervert, even scripture... in order to accomplish their agenda... and it’s a wonderful... passionate story that each one of them brings... to the overall success that the reformation was able... to afford us all...

Martin Luther came... to Wittenberg... in 1508... it wasn’t by accident... he was chosen by the secret society of Lullards... to come here and chair... the professorship of philosophy... as he developed... and matured in... his studies... in the 13 years that led up to the diet of Worms in... 1521... that event being preceded by Erasmus’ Greek-Latin Bible, printed in 1516... and the combination of events... that happened in this city... on Halloween in 1517... at which time... Luther... nailed... his 95 theses... to the Wittenberg door... of the castle church...

right behind me... Luther... was ready... in 1517, to proclaim the message of faith... you study... the scriptures... you

search the scriptures... Martin Luther said... in order to know God... and to know His promises... because you see, from... his study of the 11th chapter of Hebrews... and the 6th verse... without... acting on the promises, it is impossible to please God... Martin Luther’s conversion came... from a study of the book of Habakkuk... in an indirect way, from the 2nd chapter and the 4th verse... he remembered a passage... that... the just shall live by... his faith... in Martin Luther’s subsequent study of the book of Romans, the 1st

chapter and the 17th verse... he... read... the just shall live by faith... the just shall live by acting on the promises... From 1516... to 1546, Martin Luther only preached one message from this pulpit... in this church... Hebrews 11 verse 1...

Faith... that is acting on the promises... is defined as the sure confidence... the invisible reality... the ground of the heart... of things hoped for...

In the United States... we celebrate our declaration of independence... on the 4th of July... because on that day... in 1776... the founding fathers, risking everything put their signature to a document, proclaiming their liberty, and their freedom... On the 17th day of April... in 1521... as Christians... around the world... that is our declaration of independence day... because one man... stood against the emperor... and against his critics... and against those that would have him burned at the stake... in this building behind me... the Cathedral of Worms... in Germany... and Martin Luther... that man... that monk... stood before... his inquisitors... and stood before those who sought to slay him... he stood before them with the fullest... comprehension that... that was going to be his last day on earth... and

he declared... for you... and for me as Christians... our independence... as he stood in front of the court... he made one of the most remarkable speeches in

history... a speech... that would take only 10 seconds to deliver... “My conscience is my guide... scripture... is my authority... and I can do no other than abide by it’s teachings... here I stand... God... help me...” ...Luther was convinced... that he would be burned at the stake... but his friends... kidnapped him... and took him to prince Frederick’s castle in Wartburg... with the help of Erasmus’ Greek-Latin Bible, he translated the Bible into the German language in 90 days... the first copies came off the press... in September of 1522... the driving force in Martin Luther’s life... was the fear of God... with William Tyndale... it was the belief that God had

chosen him that possessed him... their love... and respect for God... overcame their personal fears... and persuaded them to undertake a work that... from a human perspective... was virtually impossible... Tyndale would have failed without Luther... and Luther... would have failed without Tyndale...

King James Bible

In 1604... the Puritan party would approach King James... with the idea... of a new translation of the Bible... King James agreed... on the condition... that it not have any notes... he then selected about 50 scholars... that were well acquainted with Hebrew, and Greek... they were divided into 6 groups... the text... including the apocrypha... was divided among the groups... and each group member was required to work on the whole of its portion... in practice... the translators made extensive use of the great English Bibles... including Tyndale’s Bible... the Geneva Bible... and the Bishop’s Bible... they also consulted the original languages... the Hebrew and Greek... over the next 6 years... they styled the English, so that it was easy... to memorize... in 1610... when they finished their work... over 90 percent... of William Tyndale’s words... had passed into the King James version... their thorough approach made the King James Bible... the most accurate that had ever been written... in 1611... the first printing of 20,000 King James Bibles, came off the press... one for each of the 20,000 churches in England...it would become the greatest single book... that has ever been printed in the history of man... the King James Bible... is a message of Faith... of Grace... Peace... and Hope... and

has saved millions of people from eternal damnation... it is revered... as God’s Book... His Story... His control over the millenniums of time... from Creation... to the present... and its influence, over the civilized world... wherever English-speaking people have travelled... is unparalleled...

Apocryphal Books

The King James Bible of 1611 was printed with 80 books, including the 14 apocrypha books... in fact... the daily reading guide in the front of the King James Bible... included the apocrypha as part of one’s daily reading... as you read through the Bible in a year... Arch-Bishop Abott... himself, a member of the original translation committee worried that some future publisher might exclude the apocrypha... in 1615... he warned of a fine... and penalty... of one year in prison... to anyone who printed the King James Bible, without the apocrypha... the fine was equal to 700,000 dollars... an enormous, sum of money... it was more than a warning... it was a threat... don’t... do it...

The 14 apocrypha books were part of the Septuagint... which was a Greek translation of the 2nd century BC that Jesus... and the apostles... would later quote from... in fact... at the time of Christ... the book of Daniel contained 15 chapters... including 3 apocrypha books... Song of the three children... Bel and the dragon... and Susanna... in 382... Jerome... was commissioned to translate the Bible from the Greek into Latin... he put an asterisk, by the apocrypha books in AD390... he questioned their inspiration... because he could not find them, in the original Hebrew text... history proves... that the 14 apocrypha books, were part of God’s Word... for 2,000 years... until 1885AD... when the British and foreign Bible societies... excluded them from the revised version... thus... we are the first generation of Christians... that has had... the apocrypha... excluded from our Bibles...

The Bible’s Influence in America

The Power of God’s Word in English... has also been manifested over the centuries... in its influence on common law... and democratic government... finding expression in the Bill of Rights... the Declaration of Independence... and the US Constitution... in America... the Bible in English... was the textbook for liberty... thus, the courage to rebel from mother England... was undertaken from a conviction that resistance to tyranny... was obedience to God... during the

revolutionary war... the continental congress was nicknamed the Bible congress because of their constant effort in getting Bibles to the troops... and... the common people... by 1777... the British embargo had stopped almost all Bibles coming into the country... and there were not enough Bibles to go around... so congress authorized, the import of 20,000 Bibles from Holland, Scotland... or elsewhere into different ports of the States of the Union... we are looking at the frontice piece... in the Brown family Bible... which is one of the most important Bibles ever printed in America... in 1792... we have a depiction... of liberty... she has an Indian head-dress... and her subjects are presenting to her... the Holy Bible... on the great building behind her... is engraved the words... that best describes... the importance of the Bible... in America’s future... it states... “Sacred to liberty... justice... and peace...” ...in order to print a Bible this expensive... subscribers, first had to be enlisted... as we turn the page... we get an insight... into who... the families were... that could afford this beautiful Bible... the very first subscriber was George Washington, the first president... of the United States... it is a list of who’s who in America... names like John Jay, the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court... who later became president... of the American Bible society... as did... John Quincy Adams... in 1791... there was such a demand for Bibles... that two printers... Isaac Collins, and Isaiah Thomas... published the first family Bible... this would establish the Bible... in the 200 plus years to follow, as the bestselling book year in, and year out in America...

In the English-speaking world... the Bible has been the bestseller without exception, for over 350 years... Thomas and Collins Bibles... set the standard of excellence... that would see the Bible through 5,000 editions... over the next 110 years... as the Bible would establish America... as the great Light of the World... through the agency of Bible Societies... and missionaries... Luther and Tyndale rediscovered faith... the lost message of the church... an expression of the Power of God’s Word... can be found... in the works of those such as Shakespeare and Spencer... who plagiarised Tyndale’s English Bible in their writings... this elevates English literature, to a level of excellence, uniting people to a love of freedom... which is being realised as much today... as it was in the darkest hours... of the reformation...

“...The just shall live by faith....”

Romans 1:17/ Habakkuk 2:4/ Galatians 3:11/ Hebrews 10:38

“It is impossible to mentally or socially enslave a Bible-reading people.” ...Horace Greeley, 1852

Dr Craig & Molly Lampe

You can watch the feature-rich documentary of our heritage when you purchase the DVD titled `The Forbidden Book`, presented by Dr. Craig Lampe himself, as well as purchase a wide variety of centuries-old rare and antique Bibles, books, and Bible-leaves available @ http://www.greatsite.com/index.html

“...You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavour? Can you make it salty again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as

worthless. You are the light of the world-like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father...” – Jesus Christ (Matthew 5:13 – 16) New Living Translation