The Great Controversy: Huss and Jerome

October 27, 2023

…a 10 minute read

The Great Controversy
~ the Reformation in Europe Begins ~

John Huss

“The gospel had been planted in Bohemia as early as the ninth century. The Bible was translated, and public worship was conducted, in the language of the people. But as the power of the pope increased, so the word of God was obscured. Gregory VII, who had taken it upon himself to humble the pride of kings, was no less intent upon enslaving the people, and accordingly a bull was issued forbidding public worship to be conducted in the Bohemian tongue. The pope declared that “it was pleasing to the Omnipotent that His worship should be celebrated in an unknown language, and that many evils and heresies had arisen from not observing this rule.”—Wylie, b. 3, ch. 1. Thus Rome decreed that the light of God’s word should be extinguished and the people should be shut up in darkness. But Heaven had provided other agencies for the preservation of the church. Many of the Waldenses and Albigenses, driven by persecution from their homes in France and Italy, came to Bohemia. Though they dared not teach openly, they labored zealously in secret. Thus the true faith was preserved from century to century”

~ before the days of Huss there were men in Bohemia who rose up to condemn openly the corruption in the church and the profligacy of the people
~  fears of the hierarchy were roused, and persecution was opened against the disciples of the gospel
~ driven to worship in the forests and the mountains, they were hunted by soldiers, and many were put to death
~ it was shortly decreed that all who departed from the Romish worship should be burned, but while the Christians yielded up their lives, they looked forward to the triumph of their cause
~ One who “taught that salvation was only to be found by faith in the crucified Saviour,” declared when dying: “The rage of the enemies of the truth now prevails against us, but it will not be forever; there shall arise one from among the common people, without sword or authority, and against him they shall not be able to prevail.”—Ibid

“John Huss was of humble birth, and was early left an orphan by the death of his father. His pious mother, regarding education and the fear of God as the most valuable of possessions, sought to secure this heritage for her son. Huss studied at the provincial school, and then repaired to the university at Prague, receiving admission as a charity scholar. He was accompanied on the journey to Prague by his mother; widowed and poor, she had no gifts of worldly wealth to bestow upon her son, but as they drew near to the great city, she kneeled down beside the fatherless youth and invoked for him the blessing of their Father in heaven. Little did that mother realize how her prayer was to be answered.”

~ was a sincere adherent (follower) of the Roman Church and an earnest seeker for the spiritual blessings which it professed to bestow
~ on the occasion of a jubilee he went to confession, paid the last few coins in his scanty store, and joined in the processions, that he might share in the absolution promised
~ he entered the priesthood after finishing his studies
~ soon became attached to the court of the king
~ several years after taking priest’s orders he was appointed preacher of the chapel of Bethlehem. The founder of this chapel had advocated, as a matter of great importance, the preaching of the Scriptures in the language of the people. Notwithstanding Rome’s opposition to this practice, it had not been wholly discontinued in Bohemia. But there was great ignorance of the Bible, and the worst vices prevailed among the people of all ranks. These evils Huss unsparingly denounced, appealing to the word of God to enforce the principles of truth and purity which he inculcated

~ Jerome, a citizen of Prague, who afterward became closely associated with Huss, had, on returning from England, brought with him the writings of Wycliffe
~ The queen of England, who had been a convert to Wycliffe’s teachings, was a Bohemian princess, and through her influence also the Reformer’s works were widely circulated in her native country. These works Huss read with interest; he believed their author to be a sincere Christian and was inclined to regard with favor the reforms which he advocated. Already, though he knew it not, Huss had entered upon a path which was to lead him far away from Rome
~ About this time there arrived in Prague two strangers from England, men of learning, who had received the light and had come to spread it in this distant land. Beginning with an open attack on the pope’s supremacy, they were soon silenced by the authorities; but being unwilling to relinquish their purpose, they had recourse to other measures. Being artists as well as preachers, they proceeded to exercise their skill. In a place open to the public they drew two pictures. One represented the entrance of Christ into Jerusalem, “meek, and sitting upon an ass” (Matthew 21:5), and followed by His disciples in travel-worn garments and with naked feet. The other picture portrayed a pontifical procession—the pope arrayed in his rich robes and triple crown, mounted upon a horse magnificently adorned, preceded by trumpeters and followed by cardinals and prelates in dazzling array.

Matthew 21:5 (NKJV)
“Tell the daughter of Zion,
‘Behold, your King is coming to you,
Lowly, and sitting on a donkey,
A colt, the foal of a donkey.’”

~ crowds came to gaze upon the drawings
~ none could fail to read the moral, and many were deeply impressed by the contrast between the meekness and humility of Christ the Master and the pride and arrogance of the pope
~ there was great commotion in Prague, and the strangers after a time found it necessary to leave for their own safety
~ the lesson they had taught was not forgotten
~ the pictures made a deep impression on the mind of Huss and led him to a closer study of the Bible and of Wycliffe’s writings
~ though not yet prepared to accept all the reforms advocated by Wycliffe, he saw more clearly the true character of the papacy, and with greater zeal denounced the pride, the ambition, and the corruption of the hierarchy
~ from Bohemia the light extended to Germany
~ disturbances in the University of Prague caused the withdrawal of hundreds of German students; many of them had received from Huss their first knowledge of the Bible, and on their return they spread the gospel in their fatherland
~ Tidings of the work at Prague were carried to Rome, and Huss was soon summoned to appear before the pope. To obey would be to expose himself to certain death. The king and queen of Bohemia, the university, members of the nobility, and officers of the government united in an appeal to the pontiff that Huss be permitted to remain at Prague and to answer at Rome by deputy. Instead of granting this request, the pope proceeded to the trial and condemnation of Huss, and then declared the city of Prague to be under interdict.
~ The city of Prague was filled with tumult.
~ a large class denounced Huss as the cause of all their calamities and demanded that he be given up to the vengeance of Rome
~ to quiet the storm, the Reformer withdrew for a time to his native village
~ “The mind of Huss, at this stage of his career, would seem to have been the scene of a painful conflict. Although the church was seeking to overwhelm him by her thunderbolts, he had not renounced her authority. The Roman Church was still to him the spouse of Christ, and the pope was the representative and vicar of God. What Huss was warring against was the abuse of authority, not the principle itself. This brought on a terrible conflict between the convictions of his understanding and the claims of his conscience. If the authority was just and infallible, as he believed it to be, how came it that he felt compelled to disobey it? To obey, he saw, was to sin; but why should obedience to an infallible church lead to such an issue? This was the problem he could not solve; this was the doubt that tortured him hour by hour. The nearest approximation to a solution which he was able to make was that it had happened again, as once before in the days of the Saviour, that the priests of the church had become wicked persons and were using their lawful authority for unlawful ends. This led him to adopt for his own guidance, and to preach to others for theirs, the maxim that the precepts of Scripture, conveyed through the understanding, are to rule the conscience; in other words, that God speaking in the Bible, and not the church speaking through the priesthood, is the one infallible guide.”—Wylie, b. 3, ch. 2.
~ after a time, Huss returned to his chapel of Bethlehem
~ Huss had stood alone in his labors; but now Jerome, who while in England had accepted the teachings of Wycliffe, joined in the work of reform
~ God permitted great light to shine upon the minds of these chosen men, revealing to them many of the errors of Rome
~ through His servants, God was leading the people out of the darkness of Romanism
~ they were not prepared to receive all the light at once
~ God revealed His light to the leaders little by little, as it could be received by the people
~ from century to century, other faithful workers were to follow, to lead the people on still further in the path of reform

The schism in the church still continued. Three popes were now contending for the supremacy, and their strife filled Christendom with crime and tumult. Not content with hurling anathemas, they resorted to temporal weapons. Each cast about him to purchase arms and to obtain soldiers. Of course money must be had; and to procure this, the gifts, offices, and blessings of the church were offered for sale.

~ with daily increasing boldness Huss thundered against the abominations which were tolerated in the name of religion; and the people openly accused the Romish leaders as the cause of the miseries that overwhelmed Christendom
~ war, conflict, and imprisonment, and death followed

source: The Great Controversy by EG White (there is much more, at the link provided)

events covered in this timeline:

• The Cross (timeline)
• The Apostles (timeline)
• Jerusalem destroyed
• Persecution (first centuries)
• An era of spiritual darkness begins
• Reformation in Europe begins
• The Mayflower

Bible Timelines: The Great Controversy: BibleTimeLines.com…

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