All Articles For Cloud of Witnesses

Prof. Hanko is professor of Church History and New Testament in the Protestant Reformed Seminary. Introduction In our last article, we left Samuel Rutherford busy with his work in the Chair of Divinity at St. Andrews College. Although he remained in that college the rest of his life, his work soon took him to London as a representative of the Scottish Churches on the Westminster Assembly. Work at Westminster When the Puritans in England gained the ascendancy in Parliament in England, they determined to bring true Presbyterianism to the entire realm. In order to accomplish this noble goal they called...

Prof. Hanko is professor of Church History and New Testament in the Protestant Reformed Seminary. Introduction Though it does not happen often, there are times when God is pleased to raise up in His church men of such outstanding ability and conviction that their work leaves an indelible mark on subsequent history. It is as if, by them, God alters significantly the course of events. Augustine was such a man. So was Martin Luther, and so was John Calvin. One hesitates somewhat to put Abraham Kuyper in such lofty company, and there are reasons why he does not completely fit....

Prof. Hanko is professor of Church History and New Testament in the Protestant Reformed Seminary. The civil war, between the army raised by Parliament, and the forces loyal to the king of England, can be divided into four separate phases. The first phase involved skirmishes chiefly around the area of Cromwell’s home. When Parliament decided, partly at Cromwell’s urging, that the time had come to raise an army under its direction to oppose Royalist forces, Cromwell immediately proceeded to do so by forming a troop of 60 men from his own home area to fight the king’s armies. It was...

Prof. Hanko is professor of Church History and New Testament in the Protestant Reformed Seminary The Journalist and Writer It is largely through Kuyper’s writings that his influence has continued over the years. Article after article and volume after volume poured from his pen. It is almost impossible to imagine that Kuyper, as busy as he was, could write as much as he did. The only reason he did succeed in writing so much was his highly structured and disciplined life. Not only those who loved him, but also his enemies, wondered if he ever slept. He himself wrote out...

rof. Hanko is professor of Church History and New Testament in the Protestant Reformed Seminary. *A recent and excellent biography of William III is the trilogy written by Marjorie Bouwen published by Inheritance Publishers. Introduction There was a time in the history of the church of our Lord Jesus Christ when the fortunes of the church in the Netherlands were inextricably tied to fortunes of the church in Great Britain. This was the time of William III of the House of Orange. The times were extremely perilous for countries which had become Calvinistic. Through the efforts of the Roman Catholic...

Prof. Hanko is professor of Church History and New Testament in the Protestant Reformed Seminary. Introduction The Lord has promised the church, purchased with His own blood, that the gates of hell shall never prevail against it. To accomplish this, Christ raises men in the church who are strong and passionate defenders of the faith. These men, qualified by Christ, placed at crucial times in the church, and equipped spiritually for the task, do battle with heresies that threaten the church’s welfare. After all, one crucial means used by Satan to destroy the church is the introduction of heresy into...

Prof. Hanko is professor of Church History and New Testament in the Protestant Reformed Seminary.

Prof. Hanko is professor of Church History and New Testament in the Protestant Reformed Seminary. Introduction In previous articles we have noticed how a bitter struggle went on in Scotland after the Reformation to preserve the truth of Scripture and the biblical way of worshiping God. The Stuart kings were determined to impose prelacy’ on the realm; the Presbyterians were determined to resist it. With only a brief respite during the days of Oliver Cromwell, the struggle went on from the time of James I to Charles II. Our present story begins during the reign of Charles II. While we...

Introduction God has raised men in the history of the church who, though not orthodox in all their views, nevertheless have fashioned the thinking of subsequent generations. Such a man was John Bunyan, teacher of the doctrines of grace but a Baptist in his covenant theology. His influence is due to the one book for which he is known by millions: Pilgrim’s Progress. Children and adults in succeeding generations who have read this fascinating allegory of the Christian life have come to appreciate and cherish it; people of God who have not read it do well to do so. A brief...

Prof. Hanko is professor of Church History and New Testament in the Protestant Reformed Seminary. Introduction Almost from the beginning of the history of the Reformation in the Netherlands a Puritan strain could be found in the Dutch Reformed Churches. This Puritan influence was to continue for many years and it made an indelible mark on Dutch thought. Some even speak of “Dutch Puritanism.” The reason why a Puritan influence could be found among the Dutch was the close contact, throughout the centuries, between the Dutch and the English. The English came to the help of the Dutch in the...