On . . .
Young men went from city to city
selling the precious Word. Some paid
dearly with their lives for this crime.
ness of time and life for his work. Today in Britain there is
a major alert at ports of entry for drugs. The alert in 1526
was for BIBLES. The East Coast ports, London, Yarmouth,
King's Lynn and Hull, were all being watched for the com-
ing of the objectionable book.
pies had been busy for a long season. It became
necessary to change the type, size and style of the
book in order to outwit the authorities. Bibles were
hidden in wrappings, cases and crates of all kinds. The
S A page from William Tyndale's New Testament
dangerous project saw wonderful success. The people of
England were eager to read and Tyndale's Scriptures filtered
out to the population.
Young men went from city to city selling the precious
Word. Some paid dearly with their lives for this crime. In
desperation the Bishop of London embarked on a scheme
to “buy up” all the incoming Bibles and then destroy them.
A shipper, who favored Tyndale, cooperated with the plan.
Tyndale received enough money from the sale to print twice
as many Bibles as the Bishop received. God moves in mys-
terious ways His wonders to perform. The Bishop of London
was financing the very book he wanted most to destroy!
t was on the 11th of February in the year 1526 that the
great public burning of Bibles took place. The pile con-
sisted mostly of Tyndale's works, but included some
of Wycliffe's Bibles and Luther's works. Nevertheless, the
translator pressed ahead with his life's work. He was a man
with one idea in life—to do the will of God and to publish
His Word.
Tyndale had made the statement about the year 1520 to
a clergyman, “If God spare my life, ere many years I will
cause that a boy that driveth the plough to know more of the
Scriptures than thou dost.” Some mere 15 years later he had
translated the entire New Testament and portions of the old.
Thousands of copies were being smuggled into England.
illiam Tyndale was arrested in Belgium in
midsummer of 1534 and on October 6, 1536,
he was executed and burned at the Stake.
His great crime was that he placed God's Word in
English into the hands of the English-speaking world.
It was all over . . . or was it? William Tyndale's last words as
I W
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