The Way We Killed Tyndale Who Was Driven By A Strong Desire To Address The “Biblical Ignorance Of The Priests:
WILLIAM TYNDALE: For his ridiculously young age of forty-two, the man who translated the Bible into English was burned alive. (Search Foxe’s Book of Martyrs online.) *
This week, some 500 years ago, William Tyndale—fondly known as the “Father of the English Bible”—was burned at the stake and strangled after being found guilty of heresy and providing the impetus for the English translation of the Bible.
HIS CRIME! He translated the Bible from Greek to English.
His labours have yielded a Bible in a language you can read, and many of the very phrases you read in it still have the flavour of his interpretation of the Hebrew and Greek.
An Oxford and Cambridge graduate, Tyndale was driven by a strong desire to address the “biblical ignorance of the priests” by making the Bible available to everyone in England. At one point, Tyndale said to a priest, “I will cause a boy who drives the plough to know more of the Scriptures than thou dost, if God spares my life and many years pass.”
90% of the Holy Bible in the King James Version and 75% of the Revised Standard Version today come from Tyndale’s translation—a man you will always be indebted to.
*A lovely ambition, but how was Tyndale to complete his work, given that at the time, translating the Bible into English was illegal?
He travelled to London to request permission from Bishop Tunstall to translate the Bible into English, but the bishop declined.
Yet Tyndale persisted in doing what appeared to be unquestionably God’s plan, despite the criticism of others. Encouraged and supported by a few British merchants, he made the decision to finish his translation in Europe before having it printed and smuggled back into England.
In 1524, Tyndale set sail for Germany. He completed the New Testament while in Hamburg and located a printer in Cologne to print the manuscript. But news of Tyndale’s activities reached a Reformation opponent, who ordered a press swoop.
With the pages already printed, Tyndale himself was able to flee and travel to Worms, Germany, where the New Testament was soon published.
Six thousand printed copies were smuggled into England.
The bishops exerted every effort to have the Bibles destroyed. The copies that Bishop Tunstall had burned ceremoniously at St. Paul’s were purchased by the Archbishop of Canterbury with the intention of destroying them. Tyndale put the money into printing better editions!
While the King’s spies looked for Tyndale across England and Europe, he persisted in hiding among the Antwerp merchants and started translating the Old Testament.
Tyndale’s “The Obedience of a Christian Man” was discovered by Henry VIII, who used it as justification to split the English Church from the Roman Catholic Church in 1534.
Tyndale was detained and imprisoned in the Vilvoorde (Filford) fortress outside of Brussels in 1535 for more than a year.
Tyndale was charged with heresy, and his writings were criticized by Roman Catholic authorities.
At last, an Englishman posing as his buddy located the 42-year-old Tyndale and delivered him up to the police. Following a year and a half in jail, he was tried for heresy, specifically for believing that the grace given in the gospel was sufficient for salvation and that sins could be forgiven. He was found guilty in August 1536, and on October 6, 1536, he was publicly killed (burned alive at the stake) in a tiny Belgian village.
It is alleged that Tyndale said the words “Lord, open the king of England’s eyes” as he burned to death.
DID HIS PRAYER SUCCEED?
*Definitely! The prayer was partially met three years later, in 1539, when Henry VIII mandated that all parish churches in England provide their congregants with an English Bible copy. The King’s eyes have opened, Tyndale’s plea has been fully answered, and the Bible has become a worldwide tool.
Tyndale and the translations that came from him were major sources of inspiration for the 54 academics who created the King James Bible in 1611.
According to the BBC’s 2002 poll, Tyndale came in at number 26, but he would undoubtedly rank higher than the previous 25 in paradise.
A fascinating and significant historical segment that all believers should be aware of and appreciate.
*I pray that it will also inspire us to read this wonderful book thoroughly, which this great servant actually lost his life for.
It’s difficult to picture a world without an English Bible these days, and there may be up to 900 versions available, yet before Tyndale, this had never happened. Because Tyndale’s erudite and readable translations were a major component of the later, seminal King James Version of the Bible, he is referred to as the Father of the English Bible.
* Bible translation is still being done today since the English language, like knowledge in academia, is always changing.
But it might never have happened if not for the bravery and brilliance of individuals like Tyndale, who, before them, bravely opposed the status quo and lost their lives in the process. * Do you recall the fiery man of God, Bennett Idahosa, who said that the gathering of witches and wizards in Benin could not be held during his lifetime? * Individuals such as Katherine Kulhman, Billy Graham, Smith Wiggleswoth, and those outstanding men and women of God… *John Knox prayed: * “Lord, give me Scotland or I die”… If you ask those who witnessed the revival of the 1930s, 1970s, and 1980s, they will tell you why we are crying over this “fireless needlessness” we are witnessing in our generation of believers.
St. Patrick, a hardy Christian who raised dead animals and trees to life, said, “God, give me souls or give me nothing else.”
The Hebrides revival pleaded, “Lord, please kill us if you will not use us.”
“Lord, give us* men that will spread Your fire in the streets of England,” was the only prayer theme shared by the English brethren who delivered the Azusa Street revival. They gathered every day, despite the bitter winter.
Those who were hungry during the Indonesian Revival Hearts were seen Praying day and night: * “The crop is ready, Lord. If using us pleases you, please do so.”
During William Seymour’s lifetime, a popular prayer was, “Lord, this is another day that hell must lose men and women. *Please, we are here; use us.”
**Paul declared, **Woe is me if I proclaim not the gospel?”
“Give me children or I die,” Rachel exclaimed to her spouse, Jacob.
Sadly, today’s churches are full of people who don’t feel guilty about their lack of spirituality.
We pray, saying, “Please grant me money. God bless me with a husband.
*May God grant me a visa.”
When you listen to believers who are fasting and praying, you will hear them say things like, “Lord, let Your fire fall in my community, and let there be revival.” Where do we see believers again?
When Paul encountered Christ, he fell and rose. What He asked was:” Lord, what will You have me do”.*
Today’s churchgoers have not yet experienced a genuine encounter with the Man of Calvary, so when we are anointed, we begin to expect marriage offers, employment letters, and visas.
No age before us has carried Bibles without opening them.
*The majority of Christians in our day don’t even give a damn about how to evangelise their villages and cities or what will happen to their family members or relatives who have not accepted the Man of Calvary when they pass away.
We demand the country obey us, and no generation is driven by materialism like ours. If you try to preach or teach the truth in some churches today, you stand a high risk of being victimized or framed up and even becoming a back bencher.
Jesus said, Pray to the Father, and He will bring about His earthly kingdom.*
Please help us receive it on schedule. Amen.*
We should strengthen our spiritual lives since they are vital.
Hell cannot be missed if heaven is missed. Consider it. Hell is not a beautiful place.
And the Bible is actually essential to our existence.
“Amen, amen, amen!”
Thanks for reading. Be blessed mightily of God. Shalom and life to you.
#Reposting @Idea Champions Center by a servant of Christ.
