The Revelation of Jesus Christ - The Herald

seemingly been crushed in their conflict with the powers of darkness, so largely in control
of the anti-Christian systems?
We have now reached in our exposition what is quite generally understood to be the
Philadelphia period of the Church's history, when a "door" was to be opened that no
human power could shut, when those who had a "little strength" would be called out and
enlightened and be specially clothed with the power from Christ to remove the Papal
rubbish from the foundation truth of God's sanctuary, and to protest loudly against great
Babylon's abominations. This we believe is the period when this vision we are considering
began to have its fulfillment. The mighty symbolic angel represents Christ appearing, not
in person, but in the form of certain courageous champions of the truth; thus by His own
spirit through the Word of Truth, He raised up agencies to give the Bible to every people,
tongue, and nation, etc., and thus prepared the way for the closing testimony of the
Harvest time. The Word of God had long been buried in the sackcloth of a dead language;
and the sacred manuscripts in which it was enclosed were hidden away in monasteries,
convents, and theological universities. Indeed, it has been truly said:
"So long had the Bible been buried in Latin, so long withheld from the people, so long
made void by the traditions of men, that it was as a new book, given afresh to the Church,
when it was as it were rediscovered, restudied, and republished by the Reformers."
Luther's part in the Reformation
The Reformation began in Germany with the discovery of the Bible. At the age of twenty,
Martin Luther discovered a Bible in the University of Erfurth, where he was a student. The
historian tells us that he was astonished, amazed. We cite the account of this most
interesting occurrence:
"One day he opened several books of the library one after another to see who the authors
were. One of the volumes which he opens attracts his attention. He has never seen one like
it. He reads the title. . . . It is a Bible! a rare book, at that time unknown. His interest is
strongly excited. He is perfectly astonished to find in this volume anything more than
those fragments of gospels and epistles which the Church has selected to be read publicly
in the churches every Sabbath day. Hitherto he had believed that these formed the whole
Word of God. But here are so many pages, chapters, and books of which he had no idea.
His heart beats as he holds in his hand all this divinely inspired Scripture, and he turns
over all the leaves with feelings that cannot be described. The first page on which he fixes
his attention tells him the history of Hannah and young Samuel. He reads and his heart is
filled with joy to overflowing. The child whom his parents lend to Jehovah for all the days
of his life; the song of Hannah, in which she declares that the Lord lifts up the poor from
the dust, and the needy from the dunghill, that He may set him with princes; young
Samuel growing up in the presence of the Lord: the whole of this history, the whole of the
volume which he has discovered made him feel in a way he has never felt before. He
returns home, his heart is full. 'O!' thinks he, 'would it please God one day to give me such
a book for my own!' Luther as yet did not know either Greek or Hebrew, for it is not