September 30, 2021
Because of transgression, an army was given over to the horn to oppose the daily sacrifices; and he cast truth to the ground. He did all this and prospered. Daniel 8:11
The Gospel had a firm footing in Bohemia (now called Czech) by the 800s, some 500 years prior to the birth of Jon Huss in 1369, whom we will study tomorrow. The Bible had been translated and public worship conducted in the Bohemian language. Midway of this period, Pope Gregory VII exercised the ever-growing power of the papacy to “humble the pride of kings” and to forbid worship in the language of the people. He issued a papal bull declaring: “It is pleasing to the Omnipotent that His worship should be celebrated in an unknown tongue. Many evils and heresies have arisen from not observing this rule.” Satan does not want people to understand God’s Word. But faithful Bohemians labored zealously—and quietly—to preserve their treasured faith from century to century. Often fleeing to forests and mountains to worship in peace, many of these unnamed faithful ones were hunted down by soldiers and put to death along with their families.
The Word of the Lord is a great treasure to those in whom the Holy Spirit dwells! It is called that “double-edged sword,” the “law and the testimony,” the “old and new testaments”, the “two witnesses,” the “two olive trees.” When the risen Jesus encountered the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, He referred to the Scriptures as Moses and all the Prophets (Luke 24:27) and proceeded to open their understanding . . . Oh, how blessed we are to have the Word of God in written form! Jesus Himself, in His weakest human state, waged successful battles against temptation as He faced Satan in the wilderness. How did He do it? By reliance upon the written Word: “It is written…” The Word is anointed with supernatural power by the Holy Spirit, symbolized by oil. It is by the power of God’s love and the light of His truth that the Holy Spirit draws the sin-stained heart of fallen man into a transforming relationship with Him. No amount of human power or might can enact the metamorphosis from sinner to saint!
And he [the angel] said to me, “What do you see?” So I said, “I am looking, and there is a lampstand of solid gold with a bowl on top of it, and on the stand seven lamps with seven pipes to the seven lamps. Two olive trees are by it, one at the right hand and the other at its left…what are these, my lord?” Then the angel who talked with me answered and said to me, “Do you not know what these are?” and I said, “No, my lord.” So he answered and said to me: “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the LORD of hosts.” Zechariah 4:2-6