REFORMATION: ...The Fire that Could Not Die! (2)

Truly, a mighty movement follows a tiny spark!

It only takes a spark to IGNITE the fire!

For the past few days in October, I had been drawn to see how amazing the church had made progress over the years, and learn from events that had transpired for the furtherance of the gospel. Hopefully you too will learn.

Over 500 years ago, the Modern Reformation that was ignited by the sparkles from the 95 theses nailed to the Church doors in Wittenberg, was a precursor and a fulfillment of prophecies sent ahead.
John Huss definitely had a sway on the move that was birthed by Luther. This is why we will glean a lil from a few pieces I gathered from johnpratt.com

1. John Huss

John Huss

John Huss (also known as Jan Hus) was born about 1369-1372 in Husinec ("Goose Town"), Bohemia, which town gave him his surname (Hus means "Goose"). In 1394, Anne of Bohemia, the wife of King Richard II of England returned to Prague after her husband's death. She and her attendants had been influenced by John Wycliffe's beginning the Reformation in England. Huss, in his early twenties, read Wycliffe's works, caught the vision and decided to reform the church in Bohemia. He became a scholar, receiving a master's degree in 1396. He was ordained to the priesthood, and became rector of the Bethlehem Chapel in 1402. There he began teaching his ideas to reform the Catholic Church to follow the Bible. He wrote a tractate called "Six Errors" and tacked it to the church door of the Bethlehem Chapel.

1.1 Root Problem

Martin Luther would later expand this list of six errors to 95 and follow Huss's lead by also tacking his list to his church door. That list would become one of the foundational documents of the Protestant Reformation. It might be worth a moment to consider just what the most important problem was.

Of the six errors Huss listed, perhaps the most fundamental was that church members were required to believe in the pope as the representative of God and obey his commandments. In contrast, Huss taught that we should believe in and obey only God (compare D&C 98:4). Note that there is a confirmation in modern scripture of this principle. Those people who only follow a man, even a true apostle or prophet such as Enoch, Moses, Isaiah, or Paul, are consigned to the lowest kingdom of heaven (D&C 76:100). The classic example is that there were Jews who believed in Moses, and yet they had the Son of God executed for heresy.

In 1405 Pope Innocent demanded that Huss stop teaching. But other events occurred such that he was promoted to rector of the entire university. His sermons drew huge crowds and his followers became known as Hussites. Some of Huss's writings were burned and the situation became more tense. Then the pope ordered indulgences to be sold in Prague, which Huss vehemently denounced. John then had to flee Prague, but while in exile he wrote his most important work Concerning the Church in which he claimed the Church was founded on Christ, not Peter.

Huss was excommunicated in 1412 for insubordination. That didn't slow him down much, so he was summoned to trial at Constance, Germany on the charge of heresy. He arrived in November, 1414. At his trial, when asked to deny his published statements, he agreed to only if they could be proven wrong by the Bible. He gave marvelous answers to the questions and was a valiant spokesman for the cause of truth. He was given many chances to recant but steadfastly refused.

1.2 The Prophecy

John Huss was judged guilty of heresy and sentenced to be immediately burned at the stake. As the fire was being lit that fateful day in July, 1415, John Huss gave an inspired prophecy. There are many versions of it, but the following appears to be the most authentic:

As the official executioner was about to light the pyre at the feet of the reformer, he said, "Now we will cook the goose." (Huss in Bohemian means goose.) "Yes", replied Huss, "but there will come an eagle in a hundred years that you will not reach."

That prophecy clearly points to Martin Luther, who depended heavily on Huss's work and who nailed his 95 Theses to his church door just over one hundred years later. Before we discuss Luther in more detail, let us look at the importance of the martyrdom date.

1.3 The Date of the Martyrdom

The martyrdom of John Huss occurred on Sat 6 July 1415. The day 6 July is a national holiday in the Czech Republic, honoring this amazing man. That was also the day this year in which I learned of this prophecy and began writing this article. Readers familiar with my writings know that my work deals with nine different sacred calendars, which the Lord seems to be using to time various events. Huss's martyrdom date was a holy day on five of them, which means there are five witnesses that the date was significant.

First, it was Passover on the Enoch Fixed calendar. The Savior Jesus Christ was crucified as the lambs were being sacrificed for Passover. Thus, there is much significance even in this one alignment because Huss was also being executed for heresy. In fact, several times at the end of his trial he compared himself to the Savior, for he was also mocked in a robe and given an ignominious crown to wear.

Second, on the Jubilee Fixed calendar, the date was the last day of Passover week, which is also a holy day. Moreover, on that calendar, the year is also significant, because it was the last year of a 49-year jubilee cycle. The first and last of every sacred cycle is holy.

Third, the day was also 13 Monkey on the Sacred Round calendar of the Native Americans. The number 13 represents the high point (it was the largest day number) and Monkey was associated with a priest (John the Baptist was born on 1 Monkey). Thus, 13 Monkey is something like a High Priest day. The Savior began his public ministry on Sat 6 Apr AD 30, which was 13 Monkey as well as Passover on the Hebrew calendar.

Fourth, the martyrdom day was also 0 Lord on the Mercury calendar. The day the Savior began his public ministry was 0 Lord on the Venus calendar. Thus, there are three similarities to the day that Jesus began his ministry (Passover, 13 Monkey, 0 Lord). It is as if John Huss was really beginning his ministry at his execution. There is much truth in that suggestion because Martin Luther was as impressed that the execution witnessed to the wickedness of the belief system Huss was denouncing.

Finally, the day was 1 Jehoiarib on the Priest Cycle. That is the first day of the 168-day Priest Cycle, and it is the most holy day on the cycle. That seems especially significant because John Huss was a priest. So it was an especially holy day that was rare indeed.

1.4 Total Solar Eclipse

One other point is that there was a total solar eclipse during the trial. It was total in Constance, Germany, where the trial was held, at about 7:06 a.m. on Fri 7 Jun 1415. 

Sometimes eclipses are spiritually significant, such as at the Crucifixion of the Savior.Total solar eclipses only occur at a given city about once in 300 years. When they do occur, the sky really goes dark so that stars appear. The light of day being snuffed out during the trial appears to have been an omen indeed. And the light would return after a period of darkness.

Thus we see that the date of the martyrdom of John Huss was significant indeed on the Lord's calendars. We might do well to follow the Czechs' example and celebrate John Huss Day every July 6th, as the day commemorating when the fire of the Reformation was lit. John Wycliffe had preceded him in death, but died of a stroke rather than being executed as a martyr. To the best of my knowledge, John Huss was the first of the reformers to be burned at the stake for his beliefs that the head of the church was not infallible and that the church must conform to the holy scriptures.