World History

The movement of the heavenly bodies has long been a fascinating object of mankind’s attention. Ancient astronomers, such as the magi of the East, charted the courses of the sun, moon, stars, and even the comets. Some civilizations, such as the Mayans of South America or the Egyptians of North Africa, were able to accurately predict eclipses and the summer and winter solstice.

Valentinus was a very common name in the days of the Roman Empire. The root of that name comes from valens, meaning “strong, powerful.” Another word with the same root is valor. The name was so common that there are actually several men named “Valentine.” Their stories and legends were intermingled to form the tradition behind Saint Valentine the person or Valentine’s Day that remains to this day.

Leaving their wives and children in the care of friends in Switzerland, the 800 mighty men had set out to reconquer their valleys. The march had taken them over narrow mountain trails, across dangerous precipices, and through narrow passages called defiles. Avoiding the main roads, the determined group sought to catch their enemies by surprise. Up to this point, they had not encountered any major force.

The heroic priest, clad in the garments of his Aaronic priesthood, stood as still as a statue, his long beard flowing in the wind as he looked defiantly at the Greek officer who had called upon him to deny his God. Mattathias’s five sons, all young men in the prime of youthful strength, stood quietly by their father’s side. One of the Jewish men in the village, a Hellenist (Greek sympathizer) who had long urged Mattathias to compromise just a bit, stepped forward to perform the sacrifice instead.

On New Year’s Day, 1484, a boy was born to a family of shepherds in the Wildhaus Valley in the Swiss Alps. In a small chalet on a mountain side, this infant boy was born into a world in transition. The superstitions of popery, which had held the world entranced for so long, were beginning to lose their charms. The people of Europe, sickened by the debauchery of monastic life, tired of the pomp of the papacy, and weary of unintelligible Latin chants, began to hunger and thirst after the Word of God.

Zizka gained military experience at the Battle of Grunwald in 1410 and gradually became a recognized leader of the Hussites. When Jan Hus was burned to death at the stake for refusing to recant, Zizka realized that the authorities in church and state hated the simplicity of the truth advocated and preached by Hus. Jan Hus was a meek and submissive servant of Christ. But God calls different men for different tasks. While some are called upon to submit and die, others are called upon to stand and fight. Zizka knew that if someone did not rise as the champion of the Hussites, they would all meet a similar fate as that of Hus.

The mother lovingly stroked the blond hair of her son. Slowly and carefully, she spoke to her son in a serious tone, “You must learn to be strong. From now on you are no longer my child—you are a man.” With this solemn parting, Ruth Weichert pulled her son, Henryk, to her heart. A quiver ran through her as she embraced her ten-year-old boy for what she knew might be the last time.

The Icelandic waters look icy and lifeless, but those freezing waters teem with krill, which is the main food for the great whales that find their food in these polar oceans near the ice caps. Iceland is cold! But also the land is hot and desolate, harsh, yet fruitful. The country welcomes the seaman who takes refuge there. These contrasts are seen not only in the landscape of Iceland but also in its interesting history.

Traveling chess players from Germany and France would call upon Ridley in London to test their skills against his sharp, active mind. After reading and studying the Scriptures, Ridley usually spent an hour in the morning and an hour in the evening conversing with guests and playing chess. His mastery of chess matched his mastery of the Word of God, and his skill was attested by his opponents.

When he was just 11 years old, he not only killed his first lion, but he also took part in the bloody Battle of Vegkop. The political history of the South African Republic is a complicated one, but one fact is clear: Paul Kruger became the dominant figure of Boer history for half a century.

In 1655, Stephen Charnock took a bold step into the public sphere. He went to Ireland with Henry Cromwell, son of Oliver Cromwell, who was recently appointed Governor of Ireland, and became the court chaplain.

God’s call to His people to be “set apart” from uncleanness was applied by Dr. Joseph Lister in many practical ways. The revolutionary surgical procedures of sterilization that he developed saved thousands of lives over the years.

The word eclipse is not found in Scripture, nor is there any record of an eclipse occurring anywhere in the Bible, but a Biblical commentary on anything, or a theology of anything, starts at one place: Creation.

It was a risky, daring mission. B-25s had never taken off from an aircraft carrier before. But high command deemed it important to show the people of Japan and Emperor Hirohito that Japan was not too far away for the United States to give payback for attacking Pearl Harbor! Knowing that it would be impossible to return to their carrier and land, the one-way mission would bomb targets inside Japan, fly over Japan and beyond, in hope of having enough fuel to make it to friendly airfields in China.

“Jesus, lover of my soul, let me to thy bosom fly . . . .” So begins one of the most beloved hymns ever written in the English language. The hymn gives utterance to some of the deepest feelings of the human heart, yet it expresses them in a way that even a child can understand. For example, stanza three ends with “Vile and full of sin I am, Thou art full of truth and grace.” Note that this couplet of fourteen words uses only single syllables.

John Williams would be the instrument of God to open the islands of the South Pacific to mission work. The first island upon which Williams and his wife labored was the beautiful island of Tahiti, in what is now French Polynesia. A small mission work had already been founded there, and the young couple learned how to operate a mission station among cannibals.

The sheep grazed quietly as the sun slowly sank behind the Scottish hills. The sixteen-year old shepherd boy named John gazed at the sunset. His eyes brightened as he thought about the mission that lay before him that night. He would leave his flock in the care of a friend so he could embark on his mission. The lad slipped his hand into his homespun knapsack and felt his hard-earned money. With his funds that had been carefully saved up for a long time, soon he would set out on his long overnight hike.

Have you ever felt that you were the only one standing for truth? Has it ever seemed that the pull of error was stronger than the pull of truth? There was a time in early Christian history when the doctrine of the eternal divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ was under tremendous attack throughout the world. In that day of error and compromise, one man, a faithful pastor from Alexandria, stood boldly against heresy to defend the cause of truth. His name was Athanasius.

The Book of Revelation has variously intrigued, baffled, alarmed, and comforted millions of Christians over the centuries since it was written by John the Apostle on the Isle of Patmos. It has been interpreted in many different ways from many different perspectives. For some, the prophecy is disturbing, containing terrifying visions of armed horsemen, winged scorpions, a dragon, and beasts. For others, the words are comforting, for they assure us of Christ’s final victory, His presence with His people, and the day when God Himself will wipe the tears from every eye.

Rare are the men of history that are able to rise above their own time and generation and see their own battle in the context of the grand scheme of eternity. The Lion of the North was such a man. Although he himself was a king, his ultimate allegiance was to the King of kings and Lord of lords, and he dedicated himself to advancing the everlasting Kingdom of Jesus Christ.