Michael Servetus Martyred by John Calvin (3)
July 9th, 2012 by Guest Author
by Kenneth Westby
In previous installments we presented the uncontested historical evidence that John Calvin had Michael Servetus burned at the stake. The charge against him, unproved, was heresy. What was Servetus’ heresy?
The Spanish theologian and physician taught against infant baptism and the doctrine of the Trinity. He engaged Calvin in spirited scholarly discussion by letter for over a decade. Servetus maintained that neither doctrine was rooted in Scripture; in fact, he provided detailed evidence that both doctrines were contrary to the scriptures and to biblical principles.
His scholarly book, Errors of the Trinity, was a frontal attack against the Catholic and Protestant doctrine of the nature of God and his Son. He said they “contrive three Gods or one threefold one,†a concept foreign to Scripture. Speaking of the Trinity doctrine, established in the fourth century, he said, “this plague of philosophy was brought upon us by the Greeks…they never understood the passages of the Scriptures which they adduced with regard to this matter.â€
He also observed that, “The Jews also shrink from giving adherence to this [“Christianâ€] fancy of ours, and laugh at our foolishness about the Trinity, and on account of its blasphemies, they do not believe that this is the Messiah promised in their Law.†Servetus was quite familiar with Jewish thought as his native Spain was heavily influenced by centuries of Jewish culture. Servetus found Jews who would secretly tutor him in biblical Hebrew, its teaching having been forbidden by the Catholic Church.
Finally Caught
Through a strange twist of fate Servetus finally came face to face with John Calvin, the great reformer, theologian, and founder of what would become the Presbyterian Church. Servetus had escaped from prison and was fleeing the long arm of the French Inquisition when he stopped in Geneva on his way to safe sanctuary in northern Italy.
It should be noted that it was Calvin who alerted the French Inquisition to Servetus’ whereabouts and true name (he was using an alias in France as he had a death sentence upon him from the Catholic Spanish Inquisition) which resulted in his imprisonment. Catholics had also labeled him a heretic for his anti-Trinity, anti-infant baptism beliefs.
Geneva was Calvin’s base and he ruled it with a rod of iron. All citizens were required to attend church. The fleeing Servetus, not wanting to be conspicuous, went to a church in Geneva. The preacher that Sunday was none other than The Reformer. Servetus was recognized by one of Calvin’s men, and when told his protagonist was in attendance, Calvin ordered him arrested on that Sunday, August 13, 1553, and tossed in prison.
Previous installments described Calvin’s prosecution and Servetus’ defense before a stacked court acting without legal jurisdiction (Servetus was not a citizen of Geneva, had committed no crime, and was just passing through town). The outcome was determined before any arguments were heard. During the entire proceedings, which lasted months, Servetus was kept in a filthy vermin filled cell and not allowed a change of clothes.
At one point in the trial the debate moved from the Trinity to other issues. Servetus went on the attack against Calvin’s doctrine of predestination which was the center of Calvin’s theology. He imputed to Calvin that he followed Simon Magus whom Servetus believed to be the father of that hateful doctrine.
Further, he said Calvin’s doctrine of original sin, total depravity and determinism, reduced man to a “log†and a “stone.†He would not yield to Calvin’s insistence that he confess to the eternal existence of the Son, maintaining that Jesus Christ was the Son of God but didn’t become so until he was begotten on earth as documented in the Gospel accounts.
Burned Without Mercy
When Servetus knew Calvin was going to have him killed regardless of the merits of his arguments (all of which Calvin could not refute), he asked for mercy. He pleaded with Calvin to just quickly cut off his head by sword rather than burning him at the stake, fearing he might not remain faithful under the anticipated pain.
Ignoring pleas for mercy, Calvin ordered Servetus to be burned with green wood so the suffering would be prolonged. He ordered sulfur be placed atop his head so when the flames finally reached high enough to ignite the sulfur an even more intense heat would burn his head.
Throughout the ordeal Michael Servetus did not recant his deeply held beliefs or his innocence. On October 26 the official Council of Two Hundred ordered Servetus “to be led to Champel and burned there alive on the next day together with his books.†Only two charges were mentioned in his sentencing – anti-trinitarianism and anti-pedobaptism.
The law under which Servetus was condemned was the Codex of Justinian that prescribed the death penalty for the denial of the Trinity. This law was instituted by the totalitarian ecclesiastical state, whose morality was defined by the interests of the ecclesiastical state.
The lengthy text of charges were formally read in his presence. The principle charge read: “Who [Servetus] is first accused to have printed about 23 to 24 years ago a book in Hagenau in Germany against the Holy and indivisible Trinity, containing several and great blasphemies against it in the churches of Germany.â€
Two hours before his execution he requested an audience with Calvin who agreed and came with two of his lieutenants. We have only Calvin’s account of the meeting. He wrote of Servetus, “I reminded him gently that for more than 16 years I did not spare anything in order to gain him for our Lord.†Calvin’s self-righteous justifications were shameless. He acknowledged that Servetus became “irritated against my good and saintly admonishings…. Seeing that I do not accomplish anything by exhortations, I did not want to be wiser than my Master would permit me. Therefore following the rule of Saint Paul I separated myself from the heretic.â€
Servetus was led to his place of martyrdom by a cortege of archers upon horses. People lined the way, some of whom taunted him to recant. Two witnesses wrote that Servetus responded that he was being unjustly killed and he would pray for his accusers. One notable accuser was the theologian Farel who traveled to Geneva from Neuchatel. Walking along he urged Servetus to the last moment to acknowledge errors and confess. Servetus answered him by asking for a single biblical passage showing the eternal sonship of Christ. For Farel and Calvin, Servetus was not a martyr for truth as were those Protestants burned by French Catholics, he was a martyr for error.
Calvin’s burning of “heretics†was moral; Catholic’s burning of Protestant “heretics†was immoral. Such was the religious wisdom and morality of sixteenth century Christianity.
Marian Hillar in his book on Servetus describes the martyrdom. “No cruelty was spared on Servetus as his state was made of bundles of the fresh wood of live oak still green, mixed with the branches still bearing leaves. On his head a straw crown was placed sprayed with sulfur. He was seated on a log with his body chained to a post with an iron chain, his neck was bound with four or five turns of a thick rope. This way Servetus was being fried at a slow fire for about half an hour before he died. At his side were attached copies of his book which he sent ‘confidentially’ to Calvin for ‘his fraternal opinion.’â€
His last words were, “O God, save my soul; O Jesus of the eternal God, have mercy on me.â€
A Counter-revolution Begun
Calvin succeeded in burning to death his innocent challenger, but in doing so ignited a greater fire of protest against both his doctrine and his intolerance of a free religious conscience.
Word of Servetus’ martyrdom spread and Calvin came under attack from several worthies who chastened him for so ruthless an act.
Servetus’ martyrdom became the spark and impetus for men to begin to cry out for the right to have freedom of conscience. What we now take for granted, a free religious conscience to openly believe what we choose, was a foreign concept to the religious world of Popes and Protestants.
The spark became a flame as the notion of religious freedom, often allied with antitrinitarianism, began to spread. It flamed brightest in Poland where a Catholic Polish King, Sigismund II, allowed Lutherans and Calvinists to live and pray unmolested, noting that he “wished to be king of both sheep and goats.†Even Jews were allowed to live and worship openly in Poland.
Italian reformers, Bernardino Ochino, Georgio Blandrata, and Laelius and Faustus Socinus fled persecution in Italy for the safer climes of Poland. They had embraced both the antitrinitarian doctrine of Servetus and his call for a new humanism that allowed freedom of religion. Under the leadership of Faustus Socinus the movement thrived in Poland and became known as Socinianism. The Unitarian movement would evolve from it.
King John II of Transylvania, a bright young monarch who spoke eight languages and read widely, met one of the Italian reformers and converted, becoming history’s first and only Unitarian king. In 1558 the king issued the Act of Religious Tolerance and Freedom of Conscience. In their history of Servetus, Lawrence and Nancy Goldstone comment that the king’s Act, “in light of what was going on everywhere else in the world (and has in large part gone on since), was astonishing for its perspicacity, intelligence, and sophistication.†It reads:
In every place the preachers shall preach and explain the Gospel each according to his understanding of it, and if the congregation like, well, if not, no one shall compel them for their souls would not be satisfied, but they shall be permitted to keep a preacher whose teaching they approve. Therefore none of the superintendents or others shall abuse the preachers, no one shall be reviled for his religion by anyone, according to the precious statutes, and it is not permitted that anyone should threaten anyone else by imprisonment or by removal from his post for his teaching. For faith is the gift of God, this comes from hearing, which hearing is by the word of God.
In the next century oppression returned and Unitarians in Poland and Transylvania were officially suppressed. Most were forced to flee to Western Europe, England, and to America. They brought with them both their Unitarian beliefs and their burning quest for religious freedom. Some of the great thinkers of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries embraced Servetus’ plea for freedom of conscience, even if all did not embrace his doctrine. Some, like John Milton, Isaac Newton, Robert Boyle, John Locke, and Montesquieu embraced both.
The great Voltaire (born Francois-Marie Arouet) made Servetus one of his favorite subjects and devoted an entire chapter in one of his books to him calling him “a very learned doctor†and rightly crediting him with the discovery of the circulation of blood and its function. He became the conscience of Europe and forced the entire Christian world to examine the foundations of its faith. He brought on the period called Enlightenment – for better or worse. His better acts were those where he threw himself into the defense of people under religious persecution.
His most famous case, the Calas affair, involved a hapless Huguenot who didn’t flee France, was falsely accused of crimes he didn’t commit. The innocent Jean Calas was strangled to death by Catholic authorities, tied to a stake and burned. His two daughters were forced into a convent. A son escaped and came to Voltaire for help. Voltaire began a defense fund among whose contributors were Catherine the Great of Russia, Caroline, wife of King George II of England, and Augustus III, king of Poland. Voltaire won the case resulting in Calas exoneration, the release of his daughters from the nunnery, and a large compensation for the Calas family.
The antitrinitarian movement that grew from the martyrdom of Servetus had spread to England where they were accepted buy called “dissenters.†They began their own schools which encouraged free inquiry in religion, science, history, politics, and other academic disciplines. “The result.†Writes the Goldstones, “was a disproportionate number of Dissenters who became leading scientific minds of the time. One man in particular embodied this quest to reconcile science and the spirit: the great English chemist Joseph Priestly. Born in 1733 and by the time he was sixteen had mastered Greek, Latin, and Hebrew in addition to French, Italian, and Dutch. Priestley followed Servetus’ path of tracing the roots of the Trinity to the Council of Nicea, rejecting the corrupt traditions outside Scripture, and believing in Christ as a man who was made divine by the One God.
While he is remembered for his brilliant scientific discoveries (he once met Benjamin Franklin in London in 1766 who encouraged him to write a history of electricity), he considered himself a theologian first. He opposed the lucrative slave trade and was an outspoken supporter of the American Revolution. Because he was the most famous Dissenter in England, an angry mob one night burned down his house including his extensive library and notebooks of all his unpublished scientific research. Chased by mobs, he and his family fled the area and later crossed the Atlantic to America.
Priestly founded a Unitarian Society in Philadelphia and was offered a professorship of chemistry at the University of Pennsylvania and the presidency of the American Philosophical society.
Priestly and Thomas Jefferson met in 1797 and Jefferson became something of a mentor to him. They shared keen scientific interests and Priestley’s religious views also affected Jefferson’s own. Jefferson had always been antitrinitarian and had read of Servetus’ martyrdom, all of Voltaire’s works, and shared Priestley’s views on religious freedom.
Jefferson viewed John Calvin as one of history’s worst offenders, a tyrant who bred other tyrants in his name. The event that exposed Calvin for what he was, that most epitomized his hypocrisy, was the trial and execution of Michael Servetus.
One of the three things Jefferson wanted on his tombstone’s epitaph what he wanted to be remembered for was as “Author of the Statute of Virginia for religious freedom.†The other two were “Author of the Declaration of American Independence†and the “Father of the University of Virginia.†He didn’t include his presidency or his role in drafting the Bill of Rights to the Constitution.
Jefferson once wrote, “I confidently expect that the present generation will see Unitarianism become the general religion of the United States.†By 1822, all but one of Boston’s churches were Unitarian and the movement was growing. Many famous Americans like Samuel F.B Morse, inventor of the telegraph, and poet and orator Ralph Waldo Emerson were Unitarians. But it peaked in the 1840s and ‘50s, but the spirit of inclusion and free inquiry lives on, thanks in part to Michael Servetus. No thanks to John Calvin.
Exceptional ending to an exceptional series of articles. I especially appreciate how you traced Servetus’ influence right up to the founding of America. His story would make a very powerful and eye-opening movie, wouldn’t it?
Sarah,
I searched and searched and found two gems for you.
Here is the first:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLf8B3kWBqI&feature=related
Timothy
Sarah,
Here is the second:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XcOejV_hfjQ
Timothy
Timothy,
Thanks! I really liked the second video in particular. I can just imagine this as a major motion picture. I do have a question about one point in Ken’s article for anyone who may know. Ken wrote:
However, the video biography in post #3 said that John Calvin was the one who requested that Servetus be beheaded as an “act of mercy”, but the council insisted on the stake.
Which version is correct?
Sarah,
I caught that too!
I am sure the video version is false and typical of how the truth is altered by: 2 Corinthians 2:11 Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.
Your last post to 1 Corinthians 15:…..is perfection.
Timothy
Sarah,
John Calvin, supposedly such a man of GOD was not imitating GOD as a dear child.
This is our GODs mercy/loving kindness:(teaching by Sean’s dad)
http://lhim.org/sunday/teaching_notes.php?id=57&mode=audio&page=0&find_me=loving%20kindness
Timothy
I wonder why the Unitarians seemed to peak in the 1840’s – 50’s???
You would think that it would have just continued to expand and expand???
Persecution follows the doctrines of antichrist. Satan is distorting the character of God and he is trying to do away with anything that has to do with God in His creation. Follow the persecutions and you will identify the false doctrines.
http://www.looking4jesus.com/-Endtimepersecution.html
Hi Doubting Thomas,
There is a 2300 year prophecy in Daniel that ends with the cleansing of the sanctuary. If we are the temple of God’s Spirit then the sanctuary is the mid of God’s people. When God cleanses His people He does so by washing us with words. In other words, He is correcting our thinking.
The 2300 year prophecy ended in the 1800’s. It was during this time that God began to clean house. A movement began in God’s people to correct what His people believed about the things of God. This was a huge spiritual battle between the teachings and practices of antichrist and the things of God. Some of the corrections that came out of the 1800’s is the state of the dead, the true Sabbath day as being the seventh day of creation (not the first), the nature of God, the reward of the righeous as being kingdom of God in a renewed earth and death for the wicked (not eternal burning).
The restoring of the true seventh day Sabbath was very important to God at this time because the seventh day of creation testifies of creation and its Creator. This truth, if accepted and obeyed by God’s people, would combat the false teaching of evolution that was rising up at the same time. People would be hard pressed to teach and believe in the theory of evolution if they were keeping the seventh day holy because the seventh day testifies of creation and its Creator. These very thoughts are written right within the fourth commandment itself. Jesus Himself was even made Lord of the Sabbath. Satan hates all this. He hates the fact that seventh day testifies of God and His love for mankind in how creation provides for all the needs of man and tesitifes of the majesty of God. Satan hates the fact that marriage between a man and a woman was instituded by God in refects the relationship He has with His church. If Satan can distort these two things, which were instituted by God as part of creation itself it would surely aide in his war against God.
Did Calvin Murder Servetus?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86r48x_fiF0&feature=plcp
John
Daniel 8:11 found its fulfillment in about 170BC and according to jewish historical writings Daniel 8:14 was fulfilled shortly after that when the temple was cleansed. Now whether or not if that was a forced fulfilment of Daniel 8:14 by those in those days it is without a doubt that Daniel 8:11 was fulfilled. There are other options for the fulfillment of Daniel 8:14 considering none of the other prophesies of the end days came in that time period or even present day as of yet.There are doubts that 2300 is even original because there are references of it being 2200 and 2400. So if this prophesy can be interpreted as a day for a year then its fulfillment wont come till either around 2030,2130 or 2230. As for me I dont think Daniel 8:14 refers to the temple being cleansed but refers to the set apart becoming holy at the resurrection of the dead at the first resurrection and believe the prophesy is originally 2200 years
Hi John,
Thanks for the response to my question. I am also a Sabbath keeper. There are very few of us on this site. I personally don’t try to push my beliefs onto others, but I enjoy sharing my beliefs with others that are interested. I hope you have a blessed and inspiring Sabbath… 🙂
Sweet! DT is a Sabbath keeper…Praise the Lord of the Sabbath.
Jas,
The 2300 year prophecy starts at the command to rebuild Jerusalem.
Daniel 9:25
The command was given in 457BC by King Artaxerxes.
Ezra 7:1-20
2300 years later you end up in the middle of the 1800s and the cleansing of the sanctuary.
Daniel 8:14
I believe the sanctuary is the mind of God’s people. God cleanses it with words by correcting what His church believes.
Ephesians 5:26 That He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word.
John
Daniel 8:14 does not refer to a sanctuary or cleansing it, that interpretation comes from those that claim it came in 164BC ,neither words are used within that verse. Daniel 9:25 is a whole different prophesy which predicts the time when the promised messiah would be annointed and does not set the stage for the other.
I myself have recently came to the blessing of the Sabbath being persuaded by a challenge to prove my former belief.I was unable to prove using the bible,history or extrabiblical sources .Your need to prove that some kind of awareness happened in mid 1800’s totally ignores the fact that there has been sabbatarian churches since the 1st century.While there were times when they had to keep a low profile they still flourished thru every century.Most of these groups were also unitarian which also caused persecution .
Here is a little of the history.
http://www.godward.org/archives/Special%20Articles/sabbatarian_history.htm
Jas
WOW! You see the Sabbath truth too? That is awesome…I’ve been trying to find a Sabbath keeping church that understands the same things taught here Kingdom Ready. It’s not easy…
Over the years of history there have been times when the people of God were moved and inspired by God to come back to the truth. The reformation is one such time. God’s truth is eternal but there are times when the people of God, as a whole, stray from the truth and need to be brought back. These times are called, movements. The 2300 year prophecy has several prophecies built in that have been misinterpreted by many people.
The command given in 457BC by King Artaxerxes to rebuild Jerusalem is the starting point that God gives us of the 2300 year prophecy. With in the 2300 years there are several sign posts.
Daniel 9:24-27
Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the command to restore and build Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince, There shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks.
7 weeks and 62 weeks = 483 years from the time of the command to rebuild Jerusalem. What happened at this time? In 27AD Jesus was anointed Messiah at His baptism.
Seventy weeks are determined for Daniel’s people, the Jews. In other words, God was reaching out to His chosen people.
70 weeks = 490 years from the time of the command to rebuild Jerusalem. What happened at this time? Stephen was stoned by the Jews so now God is turning to the Gentiles.
Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; but in the middle of the week He shall bring and end to sacrifice and offering.
From the time of Jesus’ baptism to the stoning of Stephen was 7 years or one week. In the middle of that week Jesus was crucified.
These were sign posts within the 2300 year prophecy by the actual 2300 years continued until the mid 1800s. In the 1800s there was a huge spiritual awakening or movement. Many Sabbath keeping denominations and true doctrines came out of the 1800s including the theory of evolution, which Satan used to reject the truth of creation and it’s Creator.
John
The 70 week prophesy has a short time frame and a long. If the Jews would of accepted Jesus during the sign of Jonah (40 years) and put way all sin then the kingdom of Israel would of been set up instead of the destruction but since they didnt the long time frame of 3430 years (70 x the longest week of 49 years) was left in effect. Seeing that both the 3430 years from about 1400BC when Israel entered th land and the 2200 years from when the abomination in about 170 BC ,both end up around the year 2030 is very important.
You seem to think that God gave up on his set apart people which can not be unless the universe ceases to exist.What you are seeing is the Ifs and the If in the 1st century was the sign of Jonah which gave Judah 40 years to repent which If they would of the Kingdom of Israel would have come instead of the destruction and Israel would of been kings and priest to the nations but they didnt so the long time frame is all that is left
Jas = You seem to think that God gave up on his set apart people which can not be unless the universe ceases to exist.
Matthew 8:11-12 And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.â€
Romans 9:27 Isaiah also cries out concerning Israel: “Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, The remnant will be saved.
Acts 28:17-28 And it came to pass after three days that Paul called the leaders of the Jews together. So when they had come together, he said to them: “Men and brethren, though I have done nothing against our people or the customs of our fathers, yet I was delivered as a prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans, who, when they had examined me, wanted to let me go, because there was no cause for putting me to death. But when the Jews spoke against it, I was compelled to appeal to Caesar, not that I had anything of which to accuse my nation. For this reason therefore I have called for you, to see you and speak with you, because for the hope of Israel I am bound with this chain.†Then they said to him, “We neither received letters from Judea concerning you, nor have any of the brethren who came reported or spoken any evil of you. But we desire to hear from you what you think; for concerning this sect, we know that it is spoken against everywhere.†So when they had appointed him a day, many came to him at his lodging, to whom he explained and solemnly testified of the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus from both the Law of Moses and the Prophets, from morning till evening. And some were persuaded by the things which were spoken, and some disbelieved. So when they did not agree among themselves, they departed after Paul had said one word: “The Holy Spirit spoke rightly through Isaiah the prophet to our fathers, saying, ‘Go to this people and say: “Hearing you will hear, and shall not understand; And seeing you will see, and not perceive; For the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, And their eyes they have closed, Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, So that I should heal them.â€â€™ “Therefore let it be known to you that the salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will hear it!â€
Luke 20:9-19 Then He began to tell the people this parable: “A certain man planted a vineyard, leased it to vinedressers, and went into a far country for a long time. Now at vintage-time he sent a servant to the vinedressers, that they might give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the vinedressers beat him and sent him away empty-handed. Again he sent another servant; and they beat him also, treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed. And again he sent a third; and they wounded him also and cast him out. “Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my beloved son. Probably they will respect him when they see him.’ But when the vinedressers saw him, they reasoned among themselves, saying, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, that the inheritance may be ours.’ So they cast him out of the vineyard and killed him. Therefore what will the owner of the vineyard do to them? He will come and destroy those vinedressers and give the vineyard to others.†And when they heard it they said, “Certainly not!†Then He looked at them and said, “What then is this that is written:The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone’? Whoever falls on that stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder.†And the chief priests and the scribes that very hour sought to lay hands on Him, but they feared the people—for they knew He had spoken this parable against them.
Matthew 21:43 “Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it.
English Standard Version (©2001)
Thus says the LORD: “If the heavens above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth below can be explored, then I will cast off all the offspring of Israel for all that they have done, declares the LORD.â€
John
The verse above says it is not possile for God to cast away. This a an unconditional promise.
Below are verses which state Israel and Judah were scattered amongst the gentiles(nations) and would be known by that name
Hosea 1:9 And the LORD said, “Name him Lo-ammi, for you are not My people and I am not your God.”
10 “Yet the Israelites will be like the sand on the seashore, which cannot be measured or counted. In the place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people’, they will be called ‘sons of the living God’.
The Predicted Dispersion and regathering of the Israelites:
Deuteronomy 30:1 –And it shall come to pass, when all these things are come upon thee, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before thee, and thou shalt call them to mind among all the nations, to which the LORD thy God hath driven thee, :2 –And shalt return unto the LORD thy God, and shalt obey his voice according to all that I command thee this day, thou and thy children, with all thine heart, and with all thy soul;
:3 –That then the LORD thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the nations, whither the LORD thy God hath scattered thee.
:4 –If any of thine be driven out unto the outmost parts of heaven, from thence will the LORD thy God gather thee, and from thence will he fetch thee:
:5 –And the LORD thy God will bring thee into the land which thy fathers possessed, and thou shalt possess it; and he will do thee good, and multiply thee above thy fathers.
:6 –And the LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live. (KJV)
2 Chronicles 7:19 –But if ye turn away, and forsake my statutes and my commandments, which I have set before you, and shall go and serve other gods, and worship them; (KJV)
2 Chronicles 7:20 –Then will I pluck them up by the roots out of my land which I have given them; and this house, which I have sanctified for my name, will I cast out of my sight, and will make it to be a proverb and a byword among all nations. (KJV)
2 Chronicles 7:21 –And this house, which is high, shall be an astonishment to every one that passeth by it; so that he shall say, Why hath the LORD done thus unto this land, and unto this house? (KJV)
The Regathering of the Israelites:
Jeremiah 16:15 –But, The LORD liveth, that brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north, and from all the lands whither he had driven them: and I will bring them again into their land that I gave unto their fathers. (KJV)
Nehemiah 1:8 –Remember, I beseech thee, the word that thou commandedst thy servant Moses, saying, If ye transgress, I will scatter you abroad among the nations: (KJV)
Neh 1:9 –But if ye turn unto me, and keep my commandments, and do them; though there were of you cast out unto the uttermost part of the heaven, yet will I gather them from thence, and will bring them unto the place that I have chosen to set my name there. (KJV)
Psalms 106:26-27 –Therefore he lifted up his hand against them, to overthrow them in the wilderness: To overthrow their seed also among the nations, and to scatter them in the lands. (KJV)
Isaiah 11:11 –And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. (KJV)
Isaiah 11:12 –And he shall set up an ensign for the nations,and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth. (KJV)
Isaiah 66:20 –And they shall bring all your brethren for an offering unto the LORD out of all nations upon horses, and in chariots, and in litters, and upon mules, and upon swift beasts, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, saith the LORD, as the children of Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel into the house of the LORD. (KJV)
Jeremiah 29:14 –And I will be found of you, saith the LORD: and I will turn away your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places whither I have driven you, saith the LORD; and I will bring you again into the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive. (KJV)
Jeremiah 31:10 –Hear the word of the LORD, O ye nations, and declare it in the isles afar off, and say, He that scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him, as a shepherd doth his flock. (KJV)
Jeremiah 46:28 –Fear thou not, O Jacob my servant, saith the LORD: for I am with thee; for I will make a full end of all the nations whither I have driven thee: but I will not make a full end of thee, but correct thee in measure; yet will I not leave thee wholly unpunished. (KJV)
Ezekiel 6:8 –Yet will I leave a remnant, that ye may have some that shall escape the sword among the nations, when ye shall be scattered through the countries. (KJV)
Ezekiel 6:9 –And they that escape of you shall remember me among the nations whither they shall be carried captives, because I am broken with their whorish heart, which hath departed from me, and with their eyes, which go a whoring after their idols: and they shall lothe themselves for the evils which they have committed in all their abominations. (KJV)
Ezekiel 12:15 –And they shall know that I am the LORD, when I shall scatter them among the nations, and disperse them in the countries. (KJV)
Ezekiel 32:9 –I will trouble the hearts of many peopleswhen I bring about your destruction among the nations, among lands you have not known. (NIV)
Ezekiel 36:15 –No longer will I make you hear the taunts of the nations, and no longer will you suffer the scorn of the peoples or cause your nation to fall, declares the Sovereign LORD.'” (NIV)
Ezekiel 38:8 –After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them. (KJV)
The last days Ezekiel 38:12 –To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land. (KJV)
Hosea 3:4-5 –For the Israelites will live many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred stones, without ephod or idol. Afterward the Israelites will return and seek the LORD their God and David their king. They will come trembling to the LORD and to his blessings in the last days. (NIV)
Hosea 6:1-2 –“Come, let us return to the LORD. He has torn us to pieces but he will heal us; he has injured us but he will bind up our wounds. After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will restore us, that we may live in his presence. (NIV)
Hosea 8:10 –Yea, though they have hired among the nations, now will I gather them, and they shall sorrow a little for the burden of the king of princes. (KJV)
Hosea 9:17 –My God will cast them away, because they did not hearken unto him: and they shall be wanderers among the nations. (KJV)
Joel 3:2 –I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land. (KJV)
Zechariah 7:14 –But I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations whom they knew not. Thus the land was desolate after them, that no man passed through nor returned: for they laid the pleasant land desolate. (KJV)
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More on the scattering:
Jeremiah 9:16 –I will scatter them also among the heathen, whom neither they nor their fathers have known: and I will send a sword after them, till I have consumed them. (KJV)
Hosea 9:17 –My God will cast them away, because they did not hearken unto him: and they shall be wanderers among the nations. (KJV)
Joel 3:6 –The children also of Judah and the children of Jerusalem have ye sold unto the Grecians, that ye might remove them far from their border. (KJV)
Joel 3:20 –But Judah shall dwell for ever, and Jerusalem from generation to generation. (KJV)
Amos 9:9 –For, lo, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all nations, like as corn is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth. (KJV)
Ezekiel 4:13 –And the LORD said, Even thus shall the children of Israel eat their defiled bread among the Gentiles, whither I will drive them. (KJV)
Ezekiel 5:10 –Therefore the fathers shall eat the sons in the midst of thee, and the sons shall eat their fathers; and I will execute judgments in thee, and the whole remnant of thee will I scatter into all the winds. (KJV)
Ezekiel 5:12 –A third part of thee shall die with the pestilence, and with famine shall they be consumed in the midst of thee: and a third part shall fall by the sword round about thee; and I will scatter a third part into all the winds, and I will draw out a sword after them. (KJV)
Ezekiel 20:23 –I lifted up mine hand unto them also in the wilderness, that I would scatter them among the heathen, and disperse them through the countries; (KJV)
Ezekiel 36:19 –And I scattered them among the heathen, and they were dispersed through the countries: according to their way and according to their doings I judged them. (KJV)
Daniel 9:7 –O Lord, righteousness belongeth unto thee, but unto us confusion of faces, as at this day; to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and unto all Israel,that are near, and that are far off, through all the countries whither thou hast driven them, because of their trespass that they have trespassed against thee. (KJV)
Jeremiah 24:9 –And I will deliver them to be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth for their hurt, to be a reproach and a proverb, a taunt and a curse, in all places whither I shall drive them. (KJV)
Deuteronomy 4:27 –And the LORD shall scatter you among the nations, and ye shall be left few in number among the heathen, whither the LORD shall lead you. (KJV)
Deuteronomy 28:36 –The LORD shall bring thee, and thy king which thou shalt set over thee, unto a nation which neither thou nor thy fathers have known; and there shalt thou serve other gods, wood and stone. (KJV)
Deuteronomy 28:37 –And thou shalt become an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword, among all nations whither the LORD shall lead thee. (KJV)
Deuteronomy 28:63 –And it shall come to pass, that as the LORD rejoiced over you to do you good, and to multiply you; so the LORD will rejoice over you to destroy you, and to bring you to nought; and ye shall be plucked from off the land whither thou goest to possess it. (KJV)
Deuteronomy 28:64 –And the LORD shall scatter thee among all people, from the one end of the earth even unto the other; and there thou shalt serve other gods, which neither thou nor thy fathers have known, even wood and stone. (KJV)
Deuteronomy 28:65 –And among these nations shalt thou find no ease, neither shall the sole of thy foot have rest: but the LORD shall give thee there a trembling heart, and failing of eyes, and sorrow of mind: (KJV)
Deuteronomy 28:66 –And thy life shall hang in doubt before thee; and thou shalt fear day and night, and shalt have none assurance of thy life:(KJV)
I believe the new covenant consists of spiritual Israel, not Israel of the flesh. When God speaks of the Israel of God in the New Testament He is not referring to literal Israel. The Israel of God are those who who have been born again through Jesus Christ.
Galatians 6:14-16 But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but a new creation.
Blessing and a Plea And as many as walk according to this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God.
Romans 9:6-8 But it is not that the word of God has taken no effect. For they are not all Israel who are of Israel, nor are they all children because they are the seed of Abraham; but, “In Isaac your seed shall be called.†That is, those who are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God; but the children of the promise are counted as the seed.
Galatians 3:29 And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
Romans 2:28-29 For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh; but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God.
Ephesians 2:11-13 Therefore remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh—who are called Uncircumcision by what is called the Circumcision made in the flesh by hands— that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
Ephesians 2:19 Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God.
John
I believe in a spiritual Israel but see that describes those of the Mosaic covenant who by the prescription of the law of sacrifice that was added because of transgressions of the commandments were counted righteous by the sacrifice that was made perfect by Jesus’ sacrifice whether they were an Israelite or not. This didnt change when the renewed covenant was ratified with a better sacrifice,a better priesthood, a better location of the temple and a better way of knowing the commandments. The promise never changed, nor did means of achieving being part of the land promise and nor the people it was promised to.
I would say you might need to remove your bias and truly reread the prophets and the NT.
I would start with Hosea , then read Jeremiah especially chapter 30 to understand what Paul was actually saying in Romans, then to understand the changes made to the covenant that caused it to be renewed then go to the book of Hebrews. The one thing you must understand is most of those that were called gentiles in the NT were actually the lost sheep from 2 exiles and most of the Jews were Edomites who were taught Judaism and only a few were from the remnant that returned 500 years earlier.
Hi,
as for the section in Dan 8:11-14, I understand that in the immediate context as having been fulfilled in the times of Antiochus. ca. 170BC (similar to what Jas mentioned above)
As regards the mention of “2300 evening and morning” in v. 14, I would make no jump to a prophetic time thousands of years later, especially since the context continues!
Jessie E. Mills wrote in a study of the book of Daniel the following regarding the passage in Dan 8:14:
…
Verse 14. “And he said to me, for 2,300 evenings and mornings, then the holy place will be restored.” The question of the angel is here answered, as the other angel refers the statement to Daniel. Respecting the period that the “host of heaven” would be given into the hands of Antiochus, the angel says that 2,300 evenings and mornings will pass before the holy place will be restored. Each of the “evenings and mornings” here must be considered as a twenty-four hour day. Thus the whole period of time would be near seven years, and this time would pass be¬fore God would allow the holy place to be restored.
We are not to confuse this event with that of Daniel 7:25, where the scripture speaks of the saints being given into the hands of the eleventh horn which came up from the fourth beast, or the kingdom seen by Daniel. In Daniel ch. 7 he makes it very clear that he is much depressed about the fourth beast and the eleventh horn. Therefore, chapter 8 does not deal with the fourth beast, which is the empire of Rome. Again, if we applied Dan. 7:25 to the period of Antiochus IV, then we would have Christ coming in about 168 B.C., and the kingdom established in that period. This would not fit either Biblical or secular history.
Some have understood this text to mean that after the 2,300 days, the Jews would return to the temple to worship. If this is true, then it would mean that Christ came in the period of restoration, and instead of establishing the kingdom, He established or restored the physical temple, and this would make the scriptures of the New Testament dealing with the Spiritual kingdom ineffective and void. That would mean that we are still under the Law of Moses, awaiting the final return of Christ when he will establish the kingdom! Absurd.
…
_____________________________________
Daniel – Fulfilled Prophecy by Jessie E. Mills, Jr.
© Copyright 2003 by Jessie E. Mills, Jr.
First Published Edition, 2003 Printed in the United States of America
ISBN 0-9621311-9-9
All rights reserved by the publisher.</blockquote
Hi,
as for the section in Dan 8:11-14, I understand that in the immediate context as having been fulfilled in the times of Antiochus. ca. 170BC (similar to what Jas mentioned above)
As regards the mention of “2300 evening and morning†in v. 14, I would make no jump to a prophetic time thousands of years later, especially since the context continues!
Jessie E. Mills wrote in a study of the book of Daniel the following regarding the passage in Dan 8:14:
hi
could on of the moderators delete the post where the “blockquote” didn’t come out correctly …. as well as this post with the request for correction ?
Thanks !
Wolfgang
While I agree the action describe in verse 11 was fulfillled in the events around 170BC which would start the count spoken about in verse 14. But the fulfillment of verse 14 could very welll have been a forced fulfillment out of knowledge of the prophesies. The writer of Daniel or the giver of the prophesies puts almost always a starting point to a count towards a point in the last days of an age. The only age that ended in 170BC was the true priesthood and temple worship. These people were the start of the synagogue of satan when they sold the office of the high priesthood to the highest bidder to non-Israelites , this same transgression continued till the temple was destroyed in 70AD. Even though it seems verse 14 was fulfilled in that time period this is because they twisted the words of verse 14 to mean cleansing the sanctuary when it can not mean that because the word used for sanctuary in verse 11 was the uasge of the writer and the word for cleanse is not in that verses. The literal of verse 14 would be the “set apart justified” .
I see no reason to find verse 14 fulfilled anywhere in the people of that time so the timeframe as to mean years. the question is whether its 2300 of the MT and some greek, 2400 of the pldest greek or 2200 as testified by Jerome that the earliest hebrew MSS had 2200.It is very suspicious that all 8 of the MSS of Dan 8 in the DSS are missing this verse. Could it be that they refused the claim it was fulfilled by the synagogue of satan who had taken over priesthood
From the upcoming One God conference prez I’m doing. Quotes from Did Calvin Murder Servetus?:
Calvin’s other crimes:
* Jacques Gruet (d. 1547): tortured/beheaded.
* Witch Hunter: torture/quartered/burned (1545).
* Took part in the Libertine uprising executions of 1555.
Xavier
You may not want to accept this but considering that the unitarian church in the early 16th century were almost all Sabbath Keepers it would be a high probability Servetus was. One other thing to consider is Sabbatarians were tortured,quartered and burn , the fact is the persecutions after the decision in 325 ad to change the christian day of worship from Saturday morning at first light to the day the pagans called the day of the sun god were the actual tribulations of the Saints who kept the Commandments of God and the testimony of Jesus. Before the decision most christians held the feast of the Sabbath at first light of the morning of the Sabbath and many also held a feast on friday evening along with the morning feast which was called the Lord’s Day
Could you sight where you got this information from I have never heard this story told this way before. Are these orginal sources or secondary sources.
Thank you,
K-dawg