William Tyndale had come to the realization that a spiritual reformation in England would never take place unless the Bible itself was translated into a language the people could read and understand for themselves. This had become Tyndale’s mission in life. Last time we ended with William Tyndale decision that he must leave England, never […]
Introduction: When we pick up our English Bibles and read them – whether it is at church in the worship service, or whether it is at home at the supper table or beside our beds at night – there are two things that we as English-speaking people probably take for granted every single time. First, […]
It was May of 1535. William Tyndale was brought to a damp, dark dungeon in an old medieval castle, complete with seven towers and a moat. There was no escaping Vilvorde. His faithful friend, Thomas Poyntz, tried desperately to rescue him by writing letters to the court, but was only finally imprisoned himself. Tyndale knew […]
Henry Phillips was an educated, tall young man living in London—or rather, trapped in London. He was in dire circumstances. He had squandered his father’s money with gambling, he was wanted by the authorities, and not one friend would own him. But he was just the kind of man the Church of Rome was looking […]
A very discouraged William Tyndale entered Hamburg in 1529. His manuscripts were lost in shipwreck. Months of hard work were gone. But a very helpful friend from Cambridge, Miles Coverdale, was there as well. He, too, would have a place in the history of the English Bible, but for now his place was to encourage […]
The king and his agents were hot on the trail of Tyndale and his companion. But in the providence of God, the king had other important things to do, too. Dealing with war and famine were chief. In the meantime, Tyndale and his helper, Roye, were able to travel safely to Worms and again attempt […]
Much work had been done, but much more was needed. The English New Testament was off to the printers, and shipments had already been smuggled into the steelyard of London. But England needed the whole text! And revisions were still a great necessity. Early in the work, William Tyndale knew he would never be able […]
The church, the pope, the cardinals, the bishops, the king of England—they all wanted one man. They wanted him stopped and they wanted him dead. Bibles and more Bibles were pouring into the hands of Englishmen. For centuries Rome had conducted her services in Latin—a language the people did not understand. Many priests understood it […]
In the days of Wycliffe, the Bible had been virtually a closed volume for hundreds of years. Wycliffe translated it into the common English tongue, but soon it became a banned book once again. Despite the official ban his manuscript version still circulated for about a hundred years. Then came the period of time in […]