When I was researching for my series on Puritan Wives entry on Margaret Winthrop, I read this in a footnote and followed it up to the source. “In 1640, Margaret Winthrop was deeded 3,000 acres of land at the mouth of the Concord River, which was later sold for establishing Wamesit, an Indian Praying Town.” Source
Wait, wut?! An Indian Praying Town? I need to know more about this please. It all starts with Puritan John Eliot.
“Eliot left England, the land of his birth, in 1631 as a young Puritan pastor. He worked in Boston for a year, then established a church five miles away in Roxbury, where he remained for 58 years, until his death. From the beginning he established an excellent relationship with the Narragansett Indians in the area and gradually also with other peoples speaking related languages.” Source
It seems that shortly after settling in Massachusetts, the Puritans recognized the need to evangelize the Native Americans. The language barrier was a difficulty, though. John Eliot was particularly burdened for these souls, and attempted a sermon in 1646 which was a failure, mainly due to the butchered language. Nevertheless, Eliot continued to meet with the leader (sachem) of the Massachusetts tribe, Cutshamekin, and soon he converted.
But the language barrier bothered Eliot, and he decided to do something about it. The Pequot Cockenoe, who had been captured in the 1637 Pequot War between the colonists and the Indians, served Eliot as translator and teacher. In return, Eliot taught Cockenoe how to write. The first things Eliot transliterated was the Lord’s Prayer and the Ten Commandments, plus some other prayers. By the late 1640s, Eliot was preaching to the Indians in their language. The earliest converts were from Eliot having conducted sermons and visited Native American homes, these were the earliest ways of propagating the gospel. But it was slow and cumbersome, and there was only one of Eliot.
Eliot wrote to England for help. In 1649, the government in England chartered the “Corporation for the Promoting and Propagating the Gospel of Jesus Christ in New England”. The Act endowed the parties with an official Corporation, complete with President and Treasurer. It was allowed to collect and send money to the Puritans in New England for the purpose of missions to the indigenous peoples on this side of the Atlantic. They raised 12,000 English pounds! That is equivalent to 2million dollars in today’s currency (according to one history calculator).
As converts increased, Eliot then set about finding acreage for these newly converted Indians to live, called “praying Indians”. He wanted to separate them from their tribal obligations and mode of dress, and reduce temptations. He also wanted to have the Native Americans and Colonists mix more.
This is where the acreage mentioned at the top of this essay comes in. The Winthrop acreage established an “Indian Praying Town”. It was and to this day is called Natick, Massachusetts. Eliot taught them how to establish a Christian community.
Eliot then ramped up his commitment to translate the Bible into their language, Algonquin. No easy task, there was no Algonquian alphabet! Eliot had to devise one, and thus became a lexicographer and grammarian in their language. He spent the next 14 years doing this but eventually in 1663, published “Mamusse Wunneetupanatamwe Up-Biblum God”.
The Eliot Indian Bible, published in 1663 as the first Bible printed in North America, was published with the support of the Society
Three years later, The Indian Grammar Begun was published also.
Now that it was translated, the Bible needed to be printed. Eliot wrote to the Corporation-
“I shall not trouble you with anything at present save this one business of moment, the printing of the Bible in the Indian language, which business sundry of the elders did petition unto the Commissioners, moving them to further it, as a principal means of promoting religion among them. … [Please send a printer] to New-England at the press in Harvard College, and work under the College printer, in impressing the Bible in the Indian language and with him send a convenient stock of paper“. (Source- The early Massachusetts press, 1638-1711, by George Emery Littlefield)
And the Corporation did just that, sending professional printer Marmaduke Johnson, 100 reams of paper, and 80 pounds of new type for the printer.
“Eliot was the only missionary to devise a new alphabet from an unwritten language for the purpose of teaching and preaching the scriptures“, we read in The American Puritans by Benge and Pickowicz. Eliot helped found the first missionary society in the New World, printed the first Bible in the New World, and was known as ‘Apostle to the Indians.’
Meanwhile, the “Indian Praying Towns” were multiplying. Eliot’s son John Jr. was now helping, then his son-in-law came to serve as well. There were 14 Indian Praying Towns in Massachusetts and 3 in Connecticut at the height. Eliot also established schools for the Christian Indians, established churches, and encouraged commerce between the Natives and the Puritan colonists. All was going well until…
Metacomet (English name: King Philip, 1638 – 1676) was chief of the Wampanoag people. The King Philip War – the most devastating war (1675 – 1676) between the colonists and the Native Americans in New England – is named according to him. Wood engraving, published in 1884. Source
King Philips War ended things abruptly. King Philip was actually a Native American called Metacom who started a war in 1675 until 1676 between a group of Indians and the English Colonists & their Native allies. Metacom’s father was Massasoit, you may remember, the Native American who helped the earliest Pilgrims who landed at Plymouth. Massasoit helped them avoid starvation. After Massasoit passed away, Metacom was not as friendly, claiming violations of the English in the treaties, and encouraged raiding parties. Eventually as tensions increased, war broke out.
Praying Indians offered to aid the Colonists in this war but were rejected. Many were either confined to their towns or relocated to Deer Isle. When the war was concluded relations among any and all Native Americans’ including the Praying Indians, was permanently damaged. It was said that it was a violation to even speak well of an Indian.
In 1675, when Philip’s war broke out, the English inhabitants generally were jealous of the praying Indians, and would have destroyed them, had not General Gookin and Mr Eliot stepped forth in their defence.Source, “History of the town of Natick, Mass. : from the days of the apostolic Eliot, MDCL, to the present time” by William Bigelow, 1830.
Things never got back to the height of the well-thought-of Praying Town. Ten of the original fourteen MA towns were disbanded. A few stragglers filtered back to Natick, the original Praying Indian Town, but it was closely supervised by the colonists.
John Eliot poured out his life for the Native Americans in his sphere. He was earnest for these souls and in return was beloved by the people he helped convert. Tokkohwompait was one of these men. At the end of Eliot’s life, he wrote to John Eliot,
“God hath made you to us and our nation a spiritual father, we are inexpressibly engaged to you for your faithful indefatigable labors, and love, to us and for us, you have always manifested the same to us as well in our adversity or prosperity, for about forty years making known to us the glad tidings of salvation of Jesus Christ.”
What a testimony for the name of Jesus Christ. What a well-done life poured out on behalf of pagan souls. Many do not know of John Eliot’s missionary endeavors, but I encourage you to search further and read up on this inspiring man.
If people would simply stop accepting at face value the proclamations of celebrity pastors and lady ‘Bible’ teachers, that they are Christians, the faith would be stronger.
When a megapastor, such as the types like Mr Furtick, Mr Driscoll, or Mr Stanley, or a lady ‘Bible’ teacher like Beth Moore or Jennie Allen or Joyce Meyer teach something that isn’t in the Bible, or otherwise make an outrageous statement, the thinking goes something like this:
“What?! How could Pastor So-and-So say that? He says s/he’s a Christian, so how can s/he not know that isn’t the truth?! Since s/he says they are a Christian, we have to find out what s/he really meant. It must be a mistake, or s/he said it because s/he must be temporarily under the influence of NyQuil. Of course s/he is a Christian (because Pastor So-and-So says he is) and Christians would know better than to teach that.”
Complex rhetorical pretzel-logic ensues.
You know, most people who say they’re saved, are not saved. Am I pessimistic? Am I “judging the heart”? Am I “judging their motives”? No. Jesus said that many go on the broad way to destruction and few find the way to salvation. (Matthew 7:14). Jesus followed that statement immediately in the next verse, saying
Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. (Matthew 7:15). Further on we read the devastating verses in Matthew 7:21-23 where many are unveiled to not have been a Christian all along. Jesus says ‘Depart from me, yu worker of iniquity, I never knew you.’
In the New Testament ‘false prophets’ are pastors, a word we’re more familiar with today. Or they are teachers.
If someone in real life says to me that they are saved, I don’t dismiss their statement, of course. But I do not accept it at face value, either. I listen to testimony, I watch for fruit, I reserve comment or opinion on their self-proclamation until I see one way or another which way their wind blows. That takes time.
But if someone is a pastor or teacher at the highest levels with a following or influence, and thus a body of work to examine and compare to the Bible (Acts 17:11), and they say something incontrovertibly against a foundational doctrine, (like when Billy Graham says we can go to heaven without knowing Jesus; or the wild abuses against the Spirit of Benny Hinn or Joyce Meyer, or the greed with which a Joel Osteen bows to Mammon), then it’s understood in my mind that someone with the Holy Spirit in them would never teach that or behave that way. Ever.
There are some simple items to help people begin to understand whether to call someone a brother. Here are a few-
1. True believers will understand, confess, and defend the true Gospel of Jesus Christ. (See Corinthians 15:1-5.)
2. Actual Christians will discerningly spot counterfeit gospels and conclusively reject all of them. (See Galatians 1:6-9).
3. Believers, while not morally perfect until glorification, will care about holiness and will strive to live according to God’s commands. If pointed out to be teaching falsity or to be in sin, they will hasten to correct (See I Corinthians 6:9-11).
Remember, the Holy Spirit indwells a true believer. He will not allow decades of falsity to spew from the pastor’s or teacher’s mouth. He will not allow decades of behavioral abuse to continue. If an actual believer teaching something falls into sin, after a short while it will be resolved through repentance, or even in the case of the Corinthians they were disciplined with sickness or even death for abusing the Lord’s Table, or the Thyatirans who followed metaphorical Jezebel, Jesus threatened to kill them. The Spirit’s ministry is to point to Jesus, not allow falsity from one of His sheep to confuse the unwary and pollute the faith. We must see Jesus with clear eyes. Many, believe it or not, do not profess the true Jesus, but sadly, many do not know that the foundation of their faith is sand and not the Rock. (see Matthew 7:21-23).
How goes the Gospel in the world at the end of the twentieth century? There is no way of getting full or accurate statistics (though there are many useful attempts). One can only make educated guesses. Mine is that the vast majority—maybe 90 percent—of professing Christendom does not profess Christianity. Or rather, it does not understand the Christianity it professes.
Most of the people who profess Christ do not believe the essential doctrines that set one apart as a regenerated, saved Christian. I have seen this up close. A Southern Baptist Convention Sunday School Teacher/Director laughingly said to me once, “Oh, I just take most of the Old Testament with a grain of salt.”
Here is John MacArthur with an essay on “What kind of things do and do not prove the genuineness of saving faith?” Do not be caught by the conditions observed in a person that do not prove OR disprove genuine saving faith, such as: Visible Morality, Intellectual Knowledge, Religious Involvement, Active Ministry, Conviction of Sin, The Feeling of Assurance, A Time of Decision. Then MacArthur continues in showing Nine conditions that DO prove genuine saving faith. Here is the link.
Ever since the beginning of my walk with the Lord, I have been concerned with the notion of false professions, false Christians, and polluted faith. I work at not contributing to the problem by examining myself, confessing sin when necessary, and keeping my eyes on “This Same Jesus” who departed in Acts 1:11 and will return the same way.
I dread the day when Matthew 7:21-23 comes true, when many (hopefully not me!) will be unmasked as false believers and sent to hell. However, that will be one way that Jesus’ glory will be shown to be even more glorious than we ever could imagine. These things must be pondered.
Angels are mentioned almost three hundred times in the Bible. Let’s look at who these created beings are and what they do for God. This essay will be divided into three sections. First, we’ll have a very brief overview in looking at what angels do and who they are, from scripture. I say very brief because the subject is so deep that one essay, or even a dozen essays, can’t do it justice.
In the second section there will be some fast facts and trivia.
In the third section at the end I’ll look at some weighty matters concerning angels.
Section 1: Overview
The Bible says that “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1) Since God has always existed, ‘the beginning means’ the beginning of what He wants to reveal to us. Job 38:4-7 says that when God did that work, the angels praised Him by shouting with joy. So the angels already were created by God when God created the worlds. We do not know how long before, but they were blessed spectators to the Creation.
“Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding. Who determined its measurements—surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it? On what were its bases sunk, or who laid its cornerstone, when the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy?” (Job 38:4-7)
“Sons of God” is a term sometimes used to describe angels. (Job 1:6, Genesis 6:2). Angels then, were created before the foundation of the world was laid, but the point is, they are created beings. They have intellect, will, and emotions. They are a higher order than humans. (Hebrews 2:7). They are spirit beings that sometimes take on a body likeness when they come to earth. And they do come to earth. (Genesis 32:24, Hebrews 13:2).
In Genesis 18:2, Abraham saw three ‘men’ approaching him but in the next verse Abraham immediately bowed and called one of them Lord. Though they were in the form of men, Abraham knew they were not of this world. One of them was a pre-incarnate visitation of Jesus, of course. Sometimes an angel appears and they do not look like men but they do look like they are from glory. (Matthew 28:2-4). Usually in those cases where even their full stature and countenance is hidden, the men and women viewing them still fall down.
They serve us by obeying God. They praise and honor God in His temple (Revelation 4:8; Hebrews 12:22) bring messages, (Luke 1:19, Daniel 10:11), minister to us, (Hebrews 1:14), fight for God against the forces of evil, (2 Kings 6:17).
Or not, as the case may be. Angels rebelled in heaven and a third of the angels sided with satan. (Revelation 12:4). These became the demons. They attempt to thwart God and His people. They may seem to be temporarily successful but of course they are not in any sense victorious over God. His plan reigns supreme. All that happens to those who love God He turns to the good for His glory.
“But its distinctive application is to certain heavenly intelligences whom God employs in carrying on his government of the world. The name does not denote their nature but their office as messengers. (1.) The existence and orders of angelic beings can only be discovered from the Scriptures. Although the Bible does not treat of this subject specially, yet there are numerous incidental details that furnish us with ample information. Their personal existence is plainly implied in such passages as Genesis 16:7, 10, 11; Judges 13:1-21; Matthew 28:2-5; Hebrews 1:4, etc. These superior beings are very numerous. “Thousand thousands,” etc. (Dan. 7:10; Matthew 26:53; Luke 2:13; Hebrews 12:22, 23). They are also spoken of as of different ranks in dignity and power (Zechariah 1:9, 11; Dan. 10:13; 12:1; 1 Thessalonians 4:16; Jude 1:9; Ephesians 1:21; Colossians 1:16). (2.) As to their nature, they are spirits (Hebrews 1:14), like the soul of man, but not incorporeal. Such expressions as “like the angels” (Luke 20:36), and the fact that whenever angels appeared to man it was always in a human form (Genesis 18:2; 19:1, 10; Luke 24:4; Acts 1:10), and the titles that are applied to them (“sons of God, ” Job 1:6; 38:7; Dan. 3:25; Comp. 28) and to men (Luke 3:38), seem all to indicate some resemblance between them and the human race. Imperfection is ascribed to them as creatures (Job 4:18; Matthew 24:36; 1 Peter 1:12). As finite creatures they may fall under temptation; and accordingly we read of “fallen angels.”
FMI: Sermon by Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Common and Special Grace, Ephesians 6:10-13, “examples of special grace in Scripture; the ministry of angels.“
Note: Even though the audio to MLJ’s part 2 on angels is lost, for now at least, the companion lecture to Good Angels, titled “‘The Devil and the Fallen Angels'” can be read at this link. (start on p 78).
Trivia question: Who are the only named angels in the Bible? Answer below.
Fast Fact: Angels that rebelled will not be redeemed. Their condemnation is fixed. (Matthew 25:41)
Fast Fact: Humans do not turn into angels when we get to heaven. Angels and humans are separate orders of beings in creation. Angels are angels and humans are humans. Forever.
Cherubim is a class of angel who guarded the way back to the tree of life with a flaming sword. (Genesis 3:24)
Peter was freed from prison by an angel. Even locks and prison bars cannot stop angels from ministering to us, when God sends them! (Acts 12:4-8)
An angel announced the birth of Samson. (Judges 13:1-7,24)
Food for thought: If sometimes we entertain angels unaware, and a third of them sided with Lucifer and turned into unholy demons, then there is a 1-in-3 chance that when an angel visits us he is an unholy demon. (Genesis 6:1-2). However the good news is that they obey God and do His bidding within limits. (Job 1:12, 2 Chronicles 18:21)
Do angels marry? Not in heaven. (Mark 12:25). But the rebellious ones did on earth. (Genesis 6:1). That’s why they are in chains awaiting judgment. (Jude 1:6; 2 Peter 2:4)
Trivia answer: The named angels in the Bible are Gabriel, Michael, Lucifer, and perhaps also Apollyon/Abaddon of Revelation 9:11.
The Renaissance was a period of renewal and discovery. So much beautiful art, architecture, and advanced thought came out of that period between the 14th and 17th century that we have much to be grateful for. However, not all that came from the Renaissance was good. We have our current view of angels as chubby munchkins with tiny wings shooting love darts into people insidiously placed in our minds thanks to the Italian painters.
Wikipedia explains the difference between putti and cherubs (as opposed to the biblical cherubim).
“A putto (plural putti) is a figure in a work of art depicted as a chubby male child, usually nude and sometimes winged. Putti are commonly confused with, yet are completely unrelated to, cherubim. In the plural, “the Cherubim” refers to the biblical angels, which have four heads of different species and several pairs of wings. While “cherubs” represent the second order of angels, putti are secular and present a non-religious passion. However, in the Baroque period of art, the putto came to represent the omnipresence of God. A putto representing a cupid is also called an amorino (plural amorini). During the Middle Ages, the putto disappeared and was revived during the 15th century. The revival of the figure of the putto is generally attributed to Donatello, in Florence in the 1420s”
At least at the end of the Gothic age as the Renaissance dawned, Giotto, the era’s most famous painter, was depicting angels as full grown men. Below is his “Nativity” from the Arena Chapel, Late Gothic/Early Italian Renaissance 1305-1306. The angels are engaged in full-blown worship of God. They had wings, unfortunately, but at least they were fully grown. By the beginning of the Renaissance around 1420, they had been reduced to putti/cherubs.
Here is an example. Though the putti were meant to be secular, their similarity to cherubs in vastly reduced in size and position contributed to the false imagery about angels that persists to this day. They are constantly shown as mischievous sprites chasing love and napping, not full the grown, powerful created holy beings who serve Almighty God that they are. I’m harping on this for a reason.
Here is a piece of art called “The Cherub Harvesters,” Francis Boucher, ca. 1733-34
Angels in the Bible are potent beings with incredible power. Did you know that the Law was given to Moses by angels?
“you who received the law as delivered by angels and did not keep it.” (Acts 7:53),
“Why then the law? It was added because of transgressions, until the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made, and it was put in place through angels by an intermediary.“(Galatians 3:19)
Deuteronomy 33:2 mentions that He came to give the Law with myriads and ten thousands of His holy ones. Angels by the side of God as He delivered the Law! Incredible!
How powerful are angels? This was astounding to me when I read it. I studied the book of Revelation. It becomes terribly obvious that angels are the means that God uses to deliver judgment.
Begin with Chapter 5:2,
“Then I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne a scroll written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals. And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?”
The word loud in this verse is from megas, meaning ‘in the widest sense’, large, great. It’s where we get ‘mega’ from. Mighty is from a word meaning powerful in the physical sense.
“Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, 12saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!” (Revelation 5:11-12)
Angels hold back the wind and rise with the sun. They proclaim praise, render judgment, and fulfill God’s wishes.
“After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, that no wind might blow on earth or sea or against any tree. Then I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, with the seal of the living God, and he called with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm earth and sea, 3saying, “Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.” (Revelation 7:1-3)
How about this powerful scene with angels from Revelation 8:1-5
When the Lamb opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. 2Then I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them. 3And another angel came and stood at the altar with a golden censer, and he was given much incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar before the throne, 4and the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, rose before God from the hand of the angel. 5Then the angel took the censer and filled it with fire from the altar and threw it on the earth, and there were peals of thunder, rumblings,a flashes of lightning, and an earthquake.”
Cherubs? NO! Flying babies? Never! They are holy and powerful! Skim through Revelation to see the massive amount of angelic intercession in the affairs of men during the Tribulation. I could quote many more instances but if I did, I’d essentially be repeating the entire book of Revelation. John MacArthur sums it up
“Angels, you know, have played very prominent roles already in Revelation. The four horsemen that we saw in chapter 6 were called by angels, the seven trumpets were blown by angels, Satan and demons were defeated by angels, the seven bowls will be poured out by angels, Armageddon is announced by an angel, Satan and demons are bound by an angel, and here is another angel. And this angel comes out of the temple in heaven and he also has a sharp sickle.” This is the angel that reaps the earth.
Matthew 13:39 says that angels reap at the end of the age:
“and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels.” (Matthew 13:39)
Once you’ve read through, then ask the Spirit to heighten your awareness of the holy work of angels in the Bible. They are mentioned quite often, and as you read through the book you’re reading through, you will notice their works. Even the demons are powerful. The fallen ones are still called majesties and those false teachers who unwisely mock and deride them are themselves awaiting judgment. (2 Peter 2:10-11). Even Archangel Michael dare not bring an accusation against satan but instead said simply, “The Lord rebuke you!” (Jude 1:9).
Not that we worship angels, (Revelation 22:9) but be aware of their powerful work for our Holy God. Just as we are instruments of His plan used to bring Him glory, so are angels. Yet they have supernatural powers and dwell in the very temple of heaven. Refuse to allow this image to stay with you-
and instead remember that even this image won’t do them justice.
Chris Koelle
They are majestic, intelligent, powerful and we are not to revile even the fallen ones. Our God is amazing in His creation of all the universe, the worlds, the animals, stars, humans … and angels.
Further Reading:
Angels, a 2-part free lecture series from RC Sproul
This is a common comment from women responding to discernment issues: “I don’t agree with everything she says, but let’s not attack her”. Also, “I don’t agree with all that she teaches, but she’s a sister so let’s treat her like one.”
Both of these comments indicate that the person needs a deeper understanding of what discernment is. They also need more fully to understand the words attack and agree.
The REAL attack
What these women don’t know, or refuse to see, is that the false teacher is actually the attacker. She is attacking the faith either overtly as a ravenous wolf, or covertly as a moth chews in the dark and only when exposed to light we see the garment is full of holes. The discernment people are the ones shining the light and saying, ‘she’s a wolf, devouring the unwary!’ or, ‘she’s a moth, destroying the fabric of someone’s faith!’
False teachers are spoken of in every New Testament book (except Philemon). Thus, the Holy Spirit obviously spent much time advising, warning, and teaching about the dangers of these wolves and moths.
“The word “moth” occurs 7 times in the Old Testament, in Job, Psalms, Isaiah and Hosea, always in figurative expressions, typifying either that which is destructive (Job 13:28; Psalms 39:11; Isaiah 50:9; 51:8; Hosea 5:12) or that which is frail (Job 4:19; 27:18).” The mother moth lays the eggs, but “the adult is only indirectly harmful, as it is only in the larval stage that the insect injures clothing.” Source Bible Study Tools
So that means at first you don’t see the damage. It’s done invisibly. By the time you see the adult moth, the damage has been done. This is why the Spirit dispensed a spiritual gift of discernment to some, who can see the larvae before they do the damage. They can see the wolves lined up in the shadows of the tree line before they devour the faithful.
It’s why you should listen to your discernment people. Not blindly, but take heed.
We are all familiar with the verse in Matthew 7:15, “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.” The false ones come in sheep’s clothing. They say and do things that attempt to make them blend in. But so did Judas. They will say they love Jesus- repeatedly. They will appear to be godly- consistently. They spout scripture. So did satan when tempting Christ.
They do things that on the surface seem appropriate for a sheep. But if you look carefully, they have dregs of meat in their teeth. Do sheep eat meat? No. If you listen to their utterances, there will be a howl behind that bleat, it doesn’t sound like a normal bleat. This is what sheep’s clothing means.
Another verse that spells it our further is that one from 2 Corinthians 11:14-15, No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose end will be according to their deeds.
They masquerade. Their show of godliness is only a put-on. It’s a show. No matter how effective the mask and costume, there are always hints that it’s not real. Look for those hints, eventually they grow into flags and then you can unmask the deceiver.
Too many women accept a false teacher’s profession of faith on the face of it, putting more weight on the profession from the false teacher than they put in the scriptures that show how to discern the wolf from the sheep, the moth from the butterfly.
The deceiver, the false teacher is ATTACKING you. She is ATTACKING the faith. Wolves like Lori Alexander, Beth Moore, Jennie Allen of IF:Gathering and so on, are the attackers. They are attacking Jesus.
The seem gentle and nice and helpful, but they are among those “who will secretly bring in destructive heresies.” (2 Peter 2:1b).
See? They operate secret agendas that are in fact destructive to the faith because they are heresies.
If anyone advocates a different doctrine and does not agree with sound words, those of our Lord Jesus Christ, and with the doctrine conforming to godliness, 4he is conceited and understands nothing; but he has a sick craving for controversial questions and disputes about words, from which come envy, strife, abusive language, evil suspicions, 5and constant friction between people of depraved mind and deprived of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain... (1 Timothy 6:3-8)
See? These women are conceited, puffed up, they love quarrels and strife, they’re ignorant (understands nothing), and are actually sick, nosōn, in craving strife.
They are attackers, destroyers, assaulters. When discerning people point out their destructiveness, we are not attacking them. We are defending the faith, protecting the sheep, warning the sisterhood that there is danger. It must be said, if you defend a false teacher for any reason, please examine where your real allegiance lies.
This is important: 2 Timothy 4:3 says that false teachers don’t just appear out of nowhere for no reason. They appear and stay because the undiscerning with diverse lusts prop them up. If you defend a false teacher, you’re part of the problem.
For the time will come when they will not tolerate sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance with their own desires,
The real ‘agreeing’
It’s not a matter of “agreeing”. It’s a matter of submitting.
First of all, no one at any time or anywhere in any sphere agrees with “everything they say.” Do you agree with everything your boss says? Your mother? The President? No, of course not. You likely don’t even agree with everything your pastor says or does. Uniformity of content is a phantom. So stop prefacing a defense of a false teacher by saying, “I don’t agree with everything she says but…” You have failed even before you get to the ‘but’.
But what? You are willing to taste her meal even though there’s poison in it? If there was a pan of brownies served to you and the baker said, ‘I mixed a little poop in here but you should be all right to eat from this corner.’ Would you? No! You throw the WHOLE PAN out because the whole pan is polluted. ‘A little leaven spoils the whole lump’.
Did Paul accept the true words from the demon-possessed slave girl? “She followed Paul and us and cried out repeatedly, saying, “These men are bond-servants of the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you a way of salvation.” (Acts 16:17)
No! Why not? The words are true but Jesus doesn’t need truth to come from lying lips. So whatever parts you may “agree” with the false teacher just remember it comes from polluted lips.
Many people say “I don’t agree with what they teach but she’s a sister…” This is backward. It is not a matter of agree or not agreeing with the teacher. Its a matter of submitting to what the word of God says.
The agreement part should be “I don’t follow this teacher because what she teaches does not AGREE with the Bible.”
Now here’s an interesting notion: Even IF a teacher teaches all that is correct in the Bible, if she lives a life at odds with behavioral standards, she is a false teacher. She must be humble, teachable, living in peace and harmony with others, or good character. Numerous verses attest to this. The primary one is that anyone who is not these things cannot “teach what is good” because they are living bad.
If someone is preaching heaven but living like hell, avoid her. Doctrine matters, and so does behavior.
Ladies, a false teacher who won’t see her error and won’t repent is not a sister. There are ONLY sheep and goats. If a teacher has been teaching something that is pointed out to her as error, the Holy Spirit inside them will prick their conscience and illuminate the scriptures to them. She will correct it. She will hasten to correct it – because Jesus is too precious to her.
If it’s a false teacher, there is no Holy Spirit in her and she will continue teaching falsely. Do you suppose that a teacher who has the Spirit in her can or would resist Him and continue to teach falsely for decades? No. Not possible. Holy Spirit absolutely would not allow this.
If there is a teacher who refuses correction, is unteachable, proud, she is false, not a sister.
Peacemakers
Women tend to be peacemakers, nurturers, and relational. Many women are hesitant to engage in something controversial. Women like to look for the good in someone. In discernment, we have to overcome these natural tendencies sometimes, and engage in warfare, which is always uncomfortable.
Discernment is spiritual warfare. Not against people, and many times not even against external philosophies (though it is, says Ephesians 6:12), but warfare is to suppress our own tendency to overlook sin and to paper over what should remain a schism. We gird ourselves with the truth that offends.
Discernment means wrestling and striving, resisting any philosophies, concepts, or traditions that oppose Jesus. If a person resists delving into why so many people are saying this women or that women is false, then sadly, you might have an idol. NOTHING should come between you and your Savior. If you do delve and notice more than a few errors, but still support the false teacher, sadly, you may have an idol. Do you love the false teacher more than Jesus? Examine yourself.
For most women, discernment simply means working toward consuming meat and training one’s self in distinguishing the healthy from the unhealthy. Most women don’t need to wade into controversies online or raise issues at their home church. Romans 16:17 says of the false teacher to turn away from them. Just don’t consume their output, don’t follow them online, don’t attend parachurch meetings where they’re taught, leave Facebook groups that promote them. 2 Thessalonians 3:6 says to keep away from the undisciplined brother (and sister).
Pray for discernment, stay in the word of God, fellowship with wise saints, and all this will become easier over time. Then finally, heaven! No false teachers will be there and nothing will impugn the good Name of Jesus ever again!
It started as a partnership between Anchor and Spotify. Then Spotify nudged Anchor out. All my podcast drafts went away. Spotify provided a recording platform, for a while, but then got absorbed by Riverside. All my podcasts went away.
Now in June the podcast platform is changing. AGAIN. Spotify quit the podcast recording biz and it will be ONLY Riverside. Their recording platform is complicated and only allows 2 (free) hours a month. So that’s out. I’m not looking forward to another change, which means I have to re-learn another whole podcast platform AGAIN.
Apparently all my old podcasts on Spotify with the button at the top of the blog are moot. If you press it, it will take you to Spotify but not to the episode. Maybe. Sigh. Technology is great, except when it’s not.
I hear good things about Audacity, which is free. I have tried hard not to spend money on hosting platforms or equipment. I have only an older laptop and its internal microphone, and whatever recording platform is freely available to post The End Time Blog podcast.
At least it’s a grace that when Spotify quits I’ll be home on summer break and will have time to search for and learn a new platform.
All that to say, I’m sorry for the blog’s podcast button not being reliable. You can still listen to the podcast (which is just me, reading the bog) at your usual outlets. Amazon music, iTunes, Spotify, etc.
I do want to keep the podcast up because ladies in real life (RL) tell me that they appreciate the alternative to reading, since they are either busy commuting to work or busy at home with the kids. This is why I do it. My commitment is to get solid content out there, connect people with credible ministries, and share thoughts from past people on missions or women of the historical faith, as well as doctrine and encouragement.
So as technology evolves I will too. Keep on truckin’!
I love to linger in thoughts of the supernatural. God is supernatural, of course. He is above us here in the natural world. The Trinity is supernatural. Who can understand it? The creation in 6 days is supernatural, and amazing too. His omnipotence is surely on display right from the first verses of Genesis.
Angels are supernatural. Sometimes invisible hordes are all around us (2 Kings 6:17). And demons (unholy angels) are supernatural. They are real, led by satan, formerly the highest angel. The Bible depicts demon possession. Jesus spent quite a bit of time casting them out. Just because 2000 years have gone by does not mean the demons are gone. They are still around, and will make an even more prevalent appearance during the Tribulation. (Rev 9:3, Rev 16:14, Rev 18:2, Matthew 24:37).
Heaven is absolutely a real place, it has physical properties, inhabitants, and activities within it. Bible verses say that it is above the earth, or people are called to ‘come up here.’ Or that they ‘went down’ from heaven to earth. But that could be language indicating that its heights are gloriously high because of the One who dwells there.
Do you ever wonder where heaven is? Is it right there, in a nearby dimension we can reach out and touch? The unseen gathering chariots at Elisha’s battle were there and became visible after Elisha prayed and God graciously opened his servant’s eyes. (2 Kings 6:17-20).
On the Mount of Transfiguration, Jesus was changed as His glory shone out, and ‘suddenly’ He was speaking with Moses and Elijah personally and bodily at the same time He was speaking with Peter and John. Is heaven parallel with us, alongside with us the whole time? After all, Jesus is omnipresent, and always ‘near.’ As Daniel was praying, before he even finished his request, Gabriel appeared. (Daniel 9:21). Is heaven that close?
I love the old story of the rich man who, on his death bed, negotiated with God to allow him to bring his earthly treasures with him when he came to heaven. God’s reaction was that this was a most unusual request, but since this man had been exceptionally faithful, permission was granted to bring along just one suitcase. The time arrived, the man presented himself at the pearly gates, suitcase in hand – BOTH hands, actually, since he had stuffed it with as many bars of gold bullion as would fit. St. Peter said, “Sorry, you know the rules – you can’t take it with you.” But the man protested that God said he could…one suitcase. St. Peter checked, found out that this one would be an exception, prepared to let the man enter, then said, “OK, but I will have to examine the contents before you pass.” He took the suitcase, opened it, saw the gold bars and asked quizzically, “You brought PAVEMENT?”
Certainly this cute story makes the point to us that what we value here on earth will not be what we value in heaven, wherever heaven may be now or in the future. We will value Jesus above all, His glory, His ways, His nail-scarred hands and riven side. We will value each other as HIS trophies of grace, having no pride, love and care for our brethren as Jesus cares for us. We will value past salvations borne from His grace, the cross, His plans and ways.
The most precious commodity currently on earth, gold, will then be just dusty matter under our feet, our eyes not upon its glitter any longer, but upon the glorious Light shining from every corner of the Universe, Jesus.
These are fun things to ponder. One of our Elders always says ‘Think Eternally!’ and, “We’re almost home!”
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Further reading
My essay was just a few thoughts, not an exhaustive or scholarly treatment of the location of heaven. Others have written aobut that, in the following links that may be of interest to you:
You know how some people jokingly say he or she ‘broke the internet’? Well, Anne Hutchinson broke the colony.
History hasn’t been that balanced to Puritan wife Anne Hutchinson. She is either portrayed as an religiously oppressed early feminist denied her identity, or a screeching harridan who deserved what she got. She has been called a heroine, an American Jezebel, an instrument of satan, poison, and a great imposter (the negative ones were all from Massachusetts Governor John Winthrop).
Of course the truth is somewhere in the middle.
This is the fourth entry in my Puritan Wife series. I’d written:
Sometimes we think of our historical brethren as backward or uneducated, but in fact Puritan Massachusetts was populated with highly literate people, and that included the women, unusual for the time. The 1600s was an era when women were mainly quiet at home, revered, but out of the public eye. We only know of Anne Bradstreet because her brother-in-law copied her poems and published them in London without her knowing. We only know of Margaret Winthrop because her letters between her and her husband were preserved. And we know of Anne Hutchinson because of the trial transcripts! The two years she stirred up controversy reverberate to this day, I am not kidding.
In her religious outworkings and domestic life, Hutchinson was loud and active. An intelligent, complex, wayward mother of 15 children, she was tried and banished from the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Exiled at age 47 in 1638 and left with nowhere to go, she traipsed to Rhode Island where she was welcomed by that colony’s founder, the also-exiled Roger Williams.
That was the end of the end of the Antinomian controversy but not the end of Anne Hutchinson.
Anne was born Anne Marbury in 1591 in Alford, England. Her father was an Anglican cleric. Being literate himself and a teacher, he educated Anne to the fullest.
The family moved to London and lived there a while, but when Anne married childhood friend William Hutchinson she moved back to Alford. There, they enjoyed John Cotton’s sermons. Cotton was an outstanding theologian and a dynamic preacher, a combination not often found. Cotton was extremely well thought of.
Cotton was an Anglican preacher who had served for 20 years by the time the Hutchinsons met up with him. He peached much on grace in justification as well as the usual works being the fruit of it. Anne liked the grace part.
He believed the Church needed reforms, such as divesting itself of ritual and ceremony, but did not want to separate from it. He wanted to change it from within, or, “purify” it. Hence the moniker Puritans. As time went on, though, his consistent attitude against the framework of the Anglican church and his continual speaking against it eventually exceeded the leniency his overseers gave him, and pressure forced him out. He sailed for Massachusetts in 1633.
Devastated, Anne prompted her husband to follow Cotton. In 1634, the Hutchinsons packed up their 14 children and decided to follow Cotton to the new Colony that had been established just 13 years prior.
The Hutchinsons and William’s brother-in-law, John Wheelwright, were quickly accepted into the life of the colony. Anne was a midwife, and she met and discipled many women on her normal rounds. Being articulate and a deep thinker, many women sought her commentary on the Bible. Anne soon began holding weekly meetings for women at her home, repeating and commenting on Cotton’s sermons.
So far, so good. A woman ministering to her fellow sisters in body and soul is what the Bible tells us ladies to do. (Titus 2:3-4). Mothering in midwifery and ministering spiritually to sisters in the colony is a good thing.
However, it wasn’t long before Hutchinson expanded the discussions of the week’s sermon into her own exposition on them. Notoriety and interest caused men to attend her meetings, which were ever-expanding. Anne’s commentary was insightful, but a woman leading men in preaching and teaching, even in the privacy of a home, is a dangerous endeavor spiritually. (1 Timothy 2:12). The tendency to usurp is great, and that is what Anne did when she taught and preached to men. Some say that up to 60 people flooded her home to listen to Anne’s opinions and expositions. And it was definitely Anne they came for, not her husband John. (the sin of passive Adam, Genesis 3:6).
Does sin ever only get worse? Yes. Eventually, Anne did not restrict her home meetings’ topics solely to dissecting/discussing her pastor’s sermons, she strayed into dissecting other ministers’ sermons, too, usually negatively. Believing only she and her small circle of supporters were the only ones in the right, she criticized heavily, violating Titus 2:3 not to be slanders and Colossians 4:6 to let your conversation be gracious.
Remember, these were emigrants defying death in England for their views, defying death aboard the ships that brought them, surviving the first winters of privation and starvation. The one thing they needed was trust in their leaders’ stances and that is the very thing Anne destroyed.
More men began showing up, women too. Her ‘talks’ gravitated to mainly criticism of everyone else besides her favorite, John Cotton. She began to call names, and impugn character.
A soothing tongue is a tree of life, But perversion in it crushes the spirit. (Proverbs 15:4)
She hinted that some were antichrists and not saved. She said that these other pastors were preaching a covenant of works, while the only true pastor, Cotton, was preaching rightly, the covenant of grace. Anne over-focused on grace and was against Law. She was an antinomian.
Definition Antinomian: Anti means against, nomos is law. It’s “relating to the view that Christians are released by grace from the obligation of observing the moral law.” Oxford Dictionary
In looking at the two sides of the theological debate, it seems to me that both sides were right and both sides were wrong. Anne thought that the Holy Spirit indwelled, which is true, but, she taught that a person could live as they pleased under grace because assurance of salvation was known to the individual, therefore no external moral proof was necessary to evidence justification. Anne took this as far as it could go- where Cotton had been careful to link the Spirit with the Word, Anne decided that the mystical union with the Spirit was so close, one did not need the word, and could rely on “immediate revelations” from Him.
John Winthrop’s reply to a person receiving personal revelation from God was that it is “the most desperate enthusiasm in the world.”
Several of the named pastors naturally took a dim view of her preaching, and there was a meeting held to discuss what to do. John Winthrop, the Governor and spiritual leader of the Puritans at that time, was equally, if not more angered. Anne refused to listen.
And the sin deepened. Soon Hutchinson began to encourage women to rise up and walk out of sermons that preached doctrines with which she did not agree. Walking out is a disdainful, rebellious act. Elders deserved double honor. (1 Timothy 5:17). But many women did it. Men too.
The meetings continued, only growing in number. Anne’s dissections of others’ sermons, were not God-glorifying nor encouraging to pastors. Nor did they focus on educating the attendees and enlighten them as to Jesus as Savior. Nor did they prompt the people to good works and moral restraint. They were simply to point out the pastor’s errors and to cement her own position which she believed to be righteous. Think of the worst discernment ministries running today, who lack love, and who never lift up but only tear down, and that was the situation between 1636-1638 with Anne.
Anne was spurred on by people who should know better. A male admirer put it this way-
“I’ll bring you to a woman who preaches better gospel than any of your black-coats who have been at the ninnyversity, a woman of another kind of spirit who has had many revelations of things to come….I had rather such a one who speaks from the mere notion of the Spirit without any study at all than any of your learned scholars.” (Source)
See how personal revelations take a person AWAY from the word of God as it did this admirer?
Left, the statue of Hutchinson on the Massachusetts State House at 24 Beacon Street, Boston, MA. Still so controversial 375 years after death, and almost 100 years after the statue was commissioned, the original recipient, the Public Library, refused it and the Legislature ignored it for 2 years. It was finally installed in 2005. Story here: A heretic’s overdue honor
And Anne’s sin just deepened and deepened. It wasn’t long before Hutchinson began spouting personal revelations and prophecies. The apex of this was at her trial for sedition and heresy. Anne’s behavior had spawned a schism, had encouraged women to rebel, and caused a region-wide argument on the finer points of works v. grace. It also exiled her brother-in-law, John Wheelwright. It damaged Cotton’s reputation for years to come. The colony itself was suffering over this to the point of collapse. Winthrop’s “city on a hill” was only after a few years mired in petty bickering and politically unstable, caused by Anne. She had to be stopped.
Hutchinson was put on trial, after various attempts to get her to stop, recant, and repent. Hutchinson held firm. In her trial, she bested every single man in a theological debate, including Winthrop, who never forgave her, as we’ll see later.
It might have gone her way, except at the last, she overstepped, and claimed that God Himself had told her these things, and worse, that He told her He put a curse on them all. The initial charge of sedition was not met with a preponderance of evidence, due to her skill in theological combat. However when Hutchinson insisted God spoke to her personally, she was charged with blasphemy and exiled. In the spring, she moved to nearby Rhode Island and founded Portsmouth. Her husband and many of her children were already there.
Anne Hutchinson is noted as “a woman of conscience who yielded to no authority”, as quoted in this book about fellow Puritan preacher William Wentworth. Today’s feminists laud Hutchinson’s stance, but Christians know that is not the way. Of course we yield to authority.
Hutchinson rebelled against the scriptures, namely 1 Timothy 2:12 by teaching men. She and was unconcerned and unrepentant about it. She also failed to submit to her leaders, as Hebrews 13:17 says to do. Open and constant criticism of your leaders by disparaging them and encouraging walk-outs, is sin. (Also 1 Thessalonians 5:12, 1 Corinthians 16:16). Anne seems to have been unconcerned about the rift she was causing, and the word submit didn’t seem to be in her vocabulary. When she knew she was causing a problem, she did not repent, but persisted. This violated Romans 12:16, as she did not live in harmony with one another and failed to be humble. See also 1 Peter 3:8.
Above, John Cotton by John Smibert
How many Proverbs did Anne Hutchinson violate? She was not the meek, kind, quiet woman Proverbs calls us to be. She did not tend to her house (Proverbs 14:1). She was contentious, quarrelsome, and loud. She was overly proud of her own theological positions AND her ability to not only express them but to defend them.
The woman of folly is boisterous, She is naive and knows nothing. (Proverbs 9:13).
Men are supposed to lead the household. John Winthrop wrote of Anne’s husband William,
a man of very mild temper and weak parts, and wholly guided by his wife,
Anne’s positive influence could have been great. She was mother of 15 children, many of them boys. Her insights and strong theological knowledge could have raised up a new generation of founding fathers for our nation. If Anne had remained in her mid-wifery and women’s Bible study sphere, and tended to her home, who knows what might have come of it.
As it was, there were a few positives from the negatives of the Anne Hutchinson Antinomian controversy. Winthrop sought a colonial confederation to unite the colonies. The men banded together and established Harvard College, initially a seminary to train up the generation of men, as this quote indicates,
To provide a bulwark against remnants of Hutchinson’s free-grace theology, just two weeks after she was banished the General Court of Massachusetts finally released funds in November 1637 to establish the “College at Newtowne” (renamed Harvard in 1639)
Third, it spurred Roger Williams to deepen his conviction that there should be a “wall of separation” between church and state. Hutchinson was tried as a seditionist and a heretic, and eventually convicted of blasphemy. Williams thought that-
the magistrate should not punish religious infractions—that the civil authority should not be the same as the ecclesiastical authority. The second idea—that people should have freedom of opinion on religious matters—he called “soul-liberty.” It is one of the foundations for the religion clauses of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. Williams’ use of the phrase “wall of separation” in describing his preferred relationship between religion and other matters is credited as the first use of that phrase, and Thomas Jefferson’s source in later writing of the wall of separation between church and state in a letter to the Danbury Baptist Association in 1802.
In addition, the controversy illuminated the fact that there was no perfect uniformity of doctrine among the men, which caught the leading Puritans off-guard. Winthrop thought that “The society must not only function as a unit, but in order to do so, must remain narrowly exclusive in content.” (Emery Battis, Saints and Sectaries). Whether this is ever possible, only God knows…
Debating whether to bring Anne to trial and during the trial, it became clear that there was no uniformity of content.
Banishment from Mass. Bay Colony. Wikimedia. It took 6 days to walk to RI
Hutchinson was not the only bad actor in this debacle. John Winthrop behaved badly too. (Among others). Anne was in her mid-forties when the trial occurred. She was either pregnant during the trial or shortly after. She emigrated to Rhode Island the spring after the trial ended and shortly afterward, gave birth. The issue from the birth was not a baby but what is believed to have been a hydatidiform mole, or molar pregnancy. It was a mass of tumors, not a baby. Knowing what would happen if it became publicly known, the Hutchinsons had it quickly and secretly buried. However, Winthrop heard about it, sought the grave, got it exhumed, and used the tragedy as ‘proof’ that his stance was right. He wrote of it widely: ‘see how the wisdom of God fitted this judgment to her sin every way, for look—as she had vented misshapen opinions, so she must bring forth deformed monsters.” Not cool.
This to me, is a total lack of charity and speaks ill of his own character.
Yet, William Coddington quoted a friend reminiscing about the controversy: “We were in a heate, and chafed, and were all of us to blame. In our strife, we had forgotten we were brethren.“
Later, when it appeared that Massachusetts was set to annex Rhode Island (it never happened), fearing reprisals, Anne and her children (her husband had passed away by then) moved out of Winthrop’s reach and into New York, the Netherlands’ territory. A year later, Anne and all but one of her children were killed in an Indian massacre. Many New England pastors wrote gloating reports of her death. Winthrop called her upon her death “An American Jezebel.”
Anne Hutchinson was an amazing colonialist who had much to offer the colony and her church. Unfortunately, she went outside the bounds of the ordained spheres for a woman and she caused upset, schism, and was a negative role model that reverberates 387 years later!! There’s no doubt though, she was formidable and earned a place in American history. As a wife, though, the more negative Proverbs speak of her and women like her than do the positive ones.
Unlike the positive example of Anne Bradstreet and Margaret Winthrop, whose excellence as wives and contributors to their family and community are noted to this day, Anne Hutchinson is the anti-wife whose contentious spirit and pride caused much harm to all those around her.
Be peaceable, And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, (2 Timothy 2:24)
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A few resources I used for background, sources for you too-
The spring months are among my favorites of the year. The hot-hot-hot summer is not here yet. The skies display clarity, before summer haze sets in. The stars are bright at night. There is a new vigor and freshness of the days and a crispness to the evening where it feels just so good to draw up your blanket and cuddle.
The Lord ordained the seasons in their progressions since the very beginnings. The cycle is one that is both useful and beautiful. He could have made everything gray and rectangular. But He didn’t. The diversity of foods, lands, stars, trees, and seasonal changes is gloriously gorgeous. The display of leaves during fall, the harvest bounty, the stars glittering above in the clear night sky…all useful, yes, for signs and growing and timing … but beautiful too.
Our God is creative and His works are to be praised.
And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years, (Genesis 1:14)
EPrata photo
While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease.” (Genesis 8:22)
For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; (Ecclesiastes 3:1-2).
EPrata photo
He made the moon to mark the seasons; the sun knows its time for setting. (Psalm 104:19)
Six days you shall work, but on the seventh day you shall rest. In plowing time and in harvest you shall rest. (Exodus 34:21)
EPrata photo
He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. (Ecclesiastes 3:11)
How many muses were there? In classical Greek mythology, there were 9. They were daughters of Zeus, each one a muse, each one a goddess, each one presiding over a segment of the arts and sciences. Their function was to inspire devotees of that particular segment of the arts & sciences such as poetry, music, theater, and the like.
Of course, those Muses/goddesses were figments of Greek imaginations. They don’t exist. What does exist, 350 years later, is a body of poetry catalyzed by the God of all, the one true God, to whom its writer was devoted. Anne Bradstreet, wife, mother, emigrant to Massachusetts, wrote poetry and at a late stage in her life, her body of work was published by her brother-in-law in London with the title The Tenth Muse Lately Sprung Up in America.
This is # 4 in a series on Puritan Wives. I’ve written an introduction to this series on Puritan Wives, and an essay about Margaret Winthrop, wife of the first Governor of Massachusetts. I’ve also spent time acquainting readers with “American Jezebel” Anne Hutchinson, an essay I’ll repost following this one.
Anne Bradstreet was the first writer of poetry in the new world, man or woman, to be published. She hadn’t intended for her private thoughts to be published, but they were, and that was that. The rest is history.
Anne’s poetry was her outworking of her faith, and a satisfactory intellectual exercise. She processed the harsh realities of life and death in Massachusetts, with the hardships and joys of marriage, frailty in sickness, fears in childbirth, with the glories of heaven and a sovereign God. If Jacob dreamt of a ladder between heaven and earth with angels ascending and descending upon it, Anne’s quill pen scratching across the page with alternating thoughts of earthly life and heavenly promises is her ladder of connection ascending and descending between heaven and earth.
But let’s go back to the beginning.
Anne Dudley Bradstreet was born in 1612 and died in 1672. She was raised in wealth and comfort. Her father Thomas was a steward to the Earl of Lincoln. Anne had free access to the Earl’s entire library, and she devoured it. Well read and well educated at home, Anne had a sparkling intellect that her early life cultivated.
She married Simon Bradstreet at age 16, in 1628. Two years later, the persecution noose tightening against the Puritans in England, they departed for America with John Winthrop and his convoy aboard the Arbella. Anne admits that her heart rose up- against the idea. Not all wives accepted their husband’s decisions with equanimity. Bradstreet had wrestled with the concept:
She “came into this country, where I found a new world and new manners, at which my heart rose [in protest]. But after I was convinced it was the way of God, I submitted to it and joined the church at Boston.“
Pilgrim Fathers boarding the Mayflower, painting by Bernard Gribble.
Though none had died aboard their own boat the Arbella, 80 had died on the other ships in their convoy. So had most of the cows, horses, and goats. Arriving at the colony, they were shocked at the primitive conditions. The men they’d sent ahead to plant crops, store food, and build houses for them were either dead from illness to too sick to work. Two hundred emigrants died and another 200 soon departed that same winter back to England. Lady Arbella was the daughter of Thomas Clinton, 3rd Earl of Lincoln, for whom their ship was named. She, too, died shortly after arrival, and her husband died a month later.
Replicas of the 1636 church and house built by Reverend Thomas Hooker, the founder of Hartford. The replicas were constructed on the state capital grounds for the Connecticut Tercentenary Celebration, 1935 – Connecticut State Library
The Bradstreets bunked in a house with others in a communal living arrangement, where they had not even a table to work at or to eat. Quite a difference from the well-stocked quiet library in the Earl’s Estate where Anne grew up.
They also moved several times over the first ten years, from Salem to Boston to Cambridge to Ipswich to finally settling in Andover.
Anne had had smallpox as a child which left her weak, in pain and with a lifetime susceptibility to illness. The poor nutrition and privations of life in 1600’s Massachusetts exacerbated these susceptibilities. She contracted a fever after arriving in the New World, and at the end of her life, suffered from “consumption” AKA tuberculosis which was agonizing. In between was childbirth with its own pains and fears. The mortality rate for pregnant women in the 1600s was high and Anne frequently anticipated dying. In her poem “The Flesh and The Spirit,” we read of a debate between two sisters–one representing a flawed and frail earthly body and the other a transcendent spirit.
‘Puritans’ by George Henry Boughton, 1884
In 1666 a devastating fire burned their house to the ground. As was her practice, Anne fleshed out her feelings about this loss, yet another devastating loss. She’d lost three grandchildren and a daughter-in-law from which she never emotionally recovered. Of the fire, and perhaps thinking of the Bible’s Job, Anne wrote:
Then, coming out, behold a space The flame consume my dwelling place. And when I could no longer look, I blest His name that gave and took, That laid my goods now in the dust. Yea, so it was, and so ‘twas just. It was his own, it was not mine
Anne loved her husband thoroughly. Her poem To My Dear and Loving Husband is one of her most famous and also most endearing:
If ever two were one, then surely we. If ever man were loved by wife, then thee. If ever wife was happy in a man, Compare with me, ye women, if you can. I prize thy love more than whole mines of gold, Or all the riches that the East doth hold. My love is such that rivers cannot quench, Nor ought but love from thee give recompense.
Anne had 8 children over time. She oversaw the care of their 4 girls and 4 boys, tended the livestock, made soap and candles, sewed the bed linens and clothes, and cooked endless large meals over an open fire in a pot that could weigh up to 40 pounds.
re-enactment. A Puritan hearthstone, by Henry A. Loveloy, 1906
She was a good mother, writing later of the experience of motherhood,
I Had eight birds hatcht in one nest, Four Cocks there were, and Hens the rest, I nurst them up with pain and care, Nor cost, nor labour did I spare, Till at the last they felt their wing, Mounted the Trees, and learn’d to sing
Her husband was busy in politics and missions as diplomat out and about New England, and thus was absent from home for periods of time. In fact, Simon served as magistrate at the trial of Anne Hutchinson, and voted for Hutchinson’s expulsion from the colony. These times stressed Anne, for she missed Simon. Anne’s poem A Letter to her Husband, absent upon Publick employment’:
My head, my heart, mine Eyes, my life, nay more, My joy, my Magazine of earthly store, If two be one, as surely thou and I, How stayest thou there, whilst I at Ipswich lye? So many steps, head from the heart to sever If but a neck, soon should we be together:
Anne Bradstreet rejoiced in worship, served her husband, raised their children, fulfilled her duties as First Lady of the colony (her husband served as governor). She sighed and wrangled with her emotions of the privations of New England, of loss, of death, of illness, of faith. She held tightly to God and her faith was strong.
Not all wives have had their private thoughts so publicly preserved but we are grateful to Rev. John Woodbridge, who shared them. It is more than likely that Woodbridge secreted copies of Anne’s poems to London for publication without her knowledge. It was unusual for a woman to be published and Anne would receive criticism for her non-domestic endeavors. So much so that Woodbridge wrote a preface assuring readers that the author was not a wanton, but in fact a worthy Christian woman. His respect for her talent and her Puritan womanhood is obvious: (source)
I doubt not but the Reader will quickly find more than I can say, and the worst effect of his reading will be unbelief, which will make him question whether it be a woman’s work and aske, “Is it possible?”
If any do, take this as an answer from him that dares avow it: It is the Work of a Woman, honoured, and esteemed where she lives, for her gracious demeanour, her eminent parts, her pious conversation, her courteous disposition, her exact diligence in her place, and discreet managing of her Family occasions, and more than so, these Poems are the fruit but of some few houres, curtailed from her sleep and other refreshments.
“On September 16, 1672, Anne closed her eyes in Andover with her treasured husband by her side and opened them in eternal glory.” (Benge & Pickowicz: The American Puritans). Three years before her death, in pain and constant prayer for release from this life, she wrote,
Oh how I long to be at rest and soar on high among the blest. This body shall in silence sleep Mine eyes no more shall ever weep No fainting fits shall me assail nor grinding pains my body frail With cares and fears ne’r cumbred be Nor losses know, nor sorrows see What tho my flesh shall there consume it is the bed Christ did perfume And when a few years shall be gone this mortal shall be cloth’d upon A Corrupt Carcasse down it lies a glorious body it shall rise…
Any regular reader of this space knows I love the Puritans. I loved them at first historically, then after conversion, spiritually. They were an interesting group. It should be noted that God preserved a majority of their writings for us from which we are still benefiting.
John Winthrop & Puritans
The Puritans are often portrayed in secular culture as dour, joyless, strict men who suppressed their wives spiritually and emotionally. The wives in turn were usually portrayed as overtired, harried, and overworked from having so many children. Puritan wives are seen as scraggly haired, burdened women with so many children the Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe had nothing on them, with children sleeping in nooks and cupboards and an endless conveyor belt of household tasks that drove them into an early grave.
But it isn’t universally true. People are people, of course, so here and there were a few sour notes, just like in any generation. But the Puritans were an earnest group, dedicated to the ideals held in the Bible and when their efforts to purify the Church of England were met with persecution, they bravely set out to establish a society more closely aligned with God’s standards, in the New World.
Let’s take a look at one Puritan marriage, John Winthrop and his wife Margaret Tyndal Winthrop.
John Winthrop lived from 1588 to 1649. He was an English lawyer and a leading figure in the founding of the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1630. This was the settlement that followed the original founding of the Plymouth Colony by the Pilgrims in 1620. He then served as the settlement’s governor for 12 of the first 20 years. If you are familiar with the phrase “city upon a hill” that was John Winthrop’s vision for the colony, captured in his preserved writings. He delivered that sermon aboard the sailing ship Arbella, and it’s one of America’s most famous sermons.
John Winthrop married Margaret Tyndal in 1618. She was 27 years old. (John was 30, Margaret was his 3rd wife, the previous 2 had died). Margaret was an educated young lady who knew how to read and write. Her family was a leading Puritan family of the time, and Margaret had been raised in Puritan Christian fashion.
John was working as a lawyer in London, which was about 100 miles away, so after marriage she moved to John’s father’s estate at Groton Manor to help him manage the Manor during the work-periods John was away. She was exceptionally capable to do this.
They communicated frequently through letters, many of which were preserved. John’s letters to Margaret were mostly absent of local news, they expressed mundane household items to each other, discussed the children’s sicknesses and recoveries, servant issues, and the like. They also expressed warm endearments to each other, belying the joyless Puritan marriage so often depicted in secular media.
Here is one example of John to Margaret, with modernized spelling:
“And now, my sweet love, let me a while solace myself in the remembrance of our love, of which this springtime of our acquaintance can put forth as yet no more but the leaves and blossoms whilst the fruit lies wrapped up in the tender bud of hope. … Let it be our care and labor to preserve these hopeful buds from the beasts of the field, and from frosts and other injuries of the air, lest our fruit fall off ere it be ripe, or lose aught in the beauty and pleasantness of it.”
And Margaret to John:
What can be more pleasing to a wife, than to hear of the welfare of her best beloved, and how he is pleased with her poor endeavors. I blush to hear myself commended, knowing my own wants; but it is your love that conceives the best and makes all things seem better than they are. I wish that I may be always pleasing to thee, and that those comforts we have in each other may be daily increased as far as they be pleasing to God.
Margaret constantly prayed for her husband, unfailingly encouraged him, and always looked to her family and also the needy around her. She expressed many times how grateful she was for her husband’s counsel, and likewise John was appreciative to receive her genuine support and encouragement.
At one point, John had been taken very ill in London. He had advised Margaret not to come because winter travel was dangerous and harsh. Nevertheless, though Margaret was an obedient wife, signing her letters thus and her husband affirming it, she flew to him in haste anyway. After her return, she wrote a encouraging note to him (I modernized the spelling), reminding him of their mutual devotion to their great God:
I desire in this and all other things to submit unto his holy will; it is the Lord, let him do what seemeth good in his own eyes. He will do nothing but that shall be for our good if we had hearts to trust in him, & all shall be for the best what so ever it shall please him to exercise us withall. He wounds & he can heal. He hath never failed to do us good, & now he will not shake us off, but continue the same God still that he hath been heretofore.
Margaret’s faith was founded upon the Rock, and thus, so was her marriage.
Husband and wife continued to write constantly and with the same amount of dignity and respect for each other for the next 12 years. But then came the Puritan persecutions. John lost his position at court. He saw the handwriting on the wall. He wrote: “My dear wife, I am verily persuaded God will bring some heavy affliction upon this land, and that speedily.“
John decided to strike out for the New World. With John so often in London, Margaret had been competently handling the affairs at the manor with all it entailed: accounting and records, managing people, raising the family.
Emigrating to the New World with all its newness, dangers, and lack of comforts must have put Margaret into a tailspin. The Pilgrims had only landed there less than 10 years prior. But she handled it with godly aplomb.
On her saying she will ‘cheerfully’ leave Groton Manor, John replied, “My comfort is that thou art willing to be my companion in what place or condition soever, in weal or woe.”
Within one year of John’s losing his position at court, he’d gathered a willing group to emigrate with him, supplies, ships, and had sailed for nearly unknown shores.
Margaret stayed behind to handle the increasing pressures at Groton Manor. The Manor’s tenants knew the Master had gone and became reluctant payers of rent, and she was also pregnant, and looking after the younger children who did not go with their father to the new world. Also during this time Margaret prepared for their own journey to leave England for Massachusetts Bay Colony. With the help of John’s eldest son who stayed behind to chaperone Margaret when the time came, she arranged to sell Groton Manor.
Yet they both agreed though they will be separated, they would set aside Monday and Friday at 5 pm to spend an hour in spiritual communion with each other, praying for each other and meditating on their godly marriage.
The pair were separated a year. Margaret had given birth shortly after John departed but sadly on the way over the baby died. She was buried at sea.
LOL, when Margaret arrived John had arranged to have a military cannon salute and a ship parade around the bay as she was rowed in.
Once reunited, to their mutual joy, Margaret set about helping the needy, raising the family, and supporting her husband, now Governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony.
In 1647 Margaret succumbed to an epidemic sickness raging among the colonists and she died at age 56, an aged person for that time.
John wrote that Margaret, “left this world for a better, being about fifty-six years of age, a woman of singular virtue, prudence, modesty, and piety, and specially beloved and honored of all the country.”
The couple set their love of God as primary in life, even before their love of each other. Their marriage was one of love, mutual devotion, dignity, and godliness. If you, dear sister, are looking for a historical model of a good and godly wife, look to Margaret Tyndal Winthrop. The inscription in the book of her published letters reads,
In memory of the name she is privileged to bear, which will ever be associated with all that constitutes the grace of CHRISTIAN WOMANHOOD.
Epilogue: Margaret and John were close Boston neighbors with Anne Bradstreet & husband Simon, and Anne Hutchinson & husband William, which whom they all shared a well. I’ll re-post about Anne Hutchinson and write about Anne Bradstreet in my ‘Puritan Wives series’.
the-end-time.org 