The Holy Scripture - english version B.indd - Sabbat

Double Foreview of the Reformation.411The restoration from Babylon inaugurated a blessed era of civil and religiousliberty. The restored remnant were not without severe trials ; it was by no meanseasy for them to accomplish their task in face of the persistent and successfulopposition of Sanballat the Horonite and his confederates and companions. Againand again the work had to cease, and the people would have given up in despairbut for the encouraging and stimulating words of Haggai, Zechariah, and otherprophets. The joint ministry of Ezra and Nehemiah seems to have lasted abouthalf a century, and they were permitted to see the work accomplished, the Jewishpeople liberated from their long exile, and, better still, from all tendency toheathenism and idolatry. They never fell back into that sin after the return fromBabylon. The long suspended worship of God was restored ; magistrates, judges,and teachers of the law were appointed over the land. The people entered into asolemn covenant to separate themselves from all idolaters, and even, painful asit was, from the heathen wives some of them had taken ; and before Ezra andNehemia passed to their rest the people, the worship, the temple, and the city wereall restored, and the canon of Old Testament Scripture was arranged and closed.Many political and milititary troubles arose afterwards, but no such overthrowand restoration. Is was to that second temple that Christ came, thus making theglory of the latter house greater that that of the former.Need I interpret all this true and yet typical history? Does it not applyitself to the later antitypical history? Have you not seen the Reformation ofthe sixteenth century as I have described the return from Babylon? Is notJerusalem the true Church, and Babylon the false? and is not Babylon, Rom?Scripture distinctly states this. "The woman which you saw" (whosebrow was branded "Babylon") "is that great city which reignsover the kings of the earth." The angel said this to John. In John'sdays no other great city than Rome ruled over the kings of the earth. Babylonrepresents Rome. The captive Jews represent God's people oppressed inand by Rome. Their deliverance and restoration, under Ezra and Nehemiah,represent the Reformation under Luther and Calvin and other reformers.Their repentance and abandonment of idolatry, their reading of the word ofGod and re-establishment of the worship of God, all this had its parallel in themovement we have described. Their rebuilding of Jerusalem and reorganizationof Jewish polity and and national life foreshadowed the constitution of reformedProtestant communities and nations ; the duration of the two movements was thesame, about half a century ; the results of the two movements were similar, inspite of much bitter but futile opposition ; the proportion of the restored remnantwas the same, representatives of only two tribes out of the twelve returned toJerusalem. Protestantism is growing now with amazing rapidity ; but at the end ofthe sixteenth century it was small, compared with the hosts of Romanism. Bothmovements consisted of a spiritual work, an ecclesiastical work, and a politicalwork. Both are connected with a recovered Bible, and both "gave the sense" ofthe original documents to the common people, or made them understand the wordof God. Luther, Tyndale, and others translated the Bible into the vulgar tonguesof Europe. The close and wonderful parallel extends to many particulars, which Ihave no time to indicate. Both movements occur late in the stories to which they