If in
your lifetime you have been blessed with a visit to Geneva, Switzerland you may
have seen this monument:
Built in 1909 this is
the International Monument to the Reformation or as it is more commonly known,
Reformation Wall. Depicted at the center of this structure, from left to right,
are:
William Farel (1489–1565) Farel was the founder of the Reformed
Church in Neuchâtel, Berne, Geneva, and Vaud in Switzerland. Together with John
Calvin, they worked to train missionaries across Europe.
John Calvin (1509–1564) It was in honor of John Calvin’s 400th
birthday that this monument was commissioned. Calvin heavily influenced
Presbyterian Church doctrine and Reformed theology. He began “Systematic
Theology” with his book “Institutes of the Christian Religion.” John Calvin
wrote one of the largest set of Bible commentaries during his time. He trained
and sent missionaries across Europe.
Theodore Beza (1519–1605) Beza was a disciple of John Calvin. He
would later became John Calvin’s successor in Geneva. By his continuing efforts
the Reformed theology continued to be spread in France.
John Knox (c.1513–1572) Knox studied under John Calvin after
being declared an outlaw in England by Queen “Bloody” Mary. He would later found
the Presbyterian Church in Scotland.[1]
Along the wall on both
sides of the central statues, the motto of both the Reformation and Geneva can
be found engraved on the stone: Post
Tenebras Lux (Latin for “After Darkness, Light”). On the central statues'
pedestal is engraved a Christogram: ΙΗΣ.
The four statues were strong
men of God whom He used to establish biblical churches which in turn changed
the world. Through a combination of
Godly preaching of the Gospel and the systematic teaching of the Bible verse by
verse these men introduced the world to a Bible that had been withheld from
them for centuries. That Reformation continues to this day and needs again the
renewed vigor of such men as memorialized there for so many in the world today
so despise what these men preached and taught.
This is not the first attack on
Reformation Wall, in March, feminist activists wrote a graffiti on the wall
reading, “Where are the women?”
The great Protestant Reformers labored to
end idolatry and superstition. Many felt their greatest calling was to bring
the Word of God to their fellow countrymen in their own language. The Reformed battle cries: Scripture Alone,
Christ Alone, Grace Alone, Faith Alone, Glory to God Alone stand in stark
opposition to those who would usher in an age of Perversion Alone.
Maybe it is time the Latin phrase be
changed to reflect the current culture: “Post
Lux Tenebras”: After Light, Darkness.
