The Home Bible Study Library Lives of Power & Glory (Biographies of Great Christian Leaders) Edited By Dr Terry W. Preslar Copyright (C) 2007. Terry W. Preslar All rights reserved. “...when thou comest, bring with thee...the books, but especially the parchments. (2 Tim. 4:13) Psalms 107:2 S É S Romans 12:1-2 P.O. Box 388 Mineral Springs, N.C. 28108 1(704)843-3858 E-Mail: [email protected] The Home Bible Study Library Lives of Power & Glory (Biographies of Great Christian Leaders) Abbreviations of the names of the books of the Bible used in this book and many other reference books in the Fresh Waters Digital Library. Genesis .................................... Gen. Nahum ................................... Nahum Exodus ...................................... Ex. Habakkuk .................................. Hab. Leviticus ................................... Lev. Zephaniah ................................. Zeph. Numbers .................................. Num. Haggai ..................................... Hag. Deuteronomy ............................... Deut. Zechariah ................................... Zec. Joshua .....................................Josh. Malachi .................................... Mal. Judges .................................... Judg. Matthew ................................... Matt. Ruth ....................................... Ruth Mark ..................................... Mark 1 Samuel ................................. 1 Sam. Luke ......................................Luke 2 Samuel ................................. 2 Sam. John ....................................... John 1 Kings ..................................1 Kings Acts ....................................... Acts 2 Kings ..................................2 Kings Romans ................................... Rom. 1 Chronicles ............................. 1 Chron. 1 Corinthians ...............................1 Cor. 2 Chronicles ............................. 2 Chron. 2 Corinthians ...............................2 Cor. Ezra ....................................... Ezra Galatians ................................... Gal. Nehemiah .................................. Neh. Ephesians ................................... Eph. Esther ......................................Est. Philippians .................................. Phil. Job ......................................... Job Colossians .................................. Col. Psalms ..................................... Psa. 1 Thessalonians ............................ 1 Thes. Proverbs .................................. Prov. 2 Thessalonians ............................ 2 Thes. Ecclesiastes .................................Eccl. 1 Timothy ................................ 1 Tim. Song of Solomon ....................... Song of Sol. 2 Timothy ................................ 2 Tim. Isaiah ....................................... Isa. Titus ......................................Titus Jeremiah .................................... Jer. Philemon ...................................Phm. Lamentations ................................Lam. Hebrews .................................... Heb. Ezekiel .................................... Ezek. James ..................................... James Daniel ..................................... Dan. 1 Peter ................................... 1 Peter Hosea ...................................... Hos. 2 Peter ................................... 2 Peter Joel ........................................Joel 1 John ................................... 1 John Amos ..................................... Amos 2 John ................................... 2 John Obadiah .................................... Oba. 3 John ................................... 3 John Jonah ..................................... Jonah Jude ....................................... Jude Micah ..................................... Mic. Revelation .................................. Rev. Copyright (C) 2003 Terry W. Preslar All rights reserved. No part of this publication (in the printed form or the electronic form) may be reproduced in any form, by Photostat, microfilm, xerography, or any other means, which are now known, or to be invented, or incorporated into any information retrieval system, electronic or mechanical, without the written permission of the copyright owner. Terry W. Preslar – PO Box 388 – Mineral Springs, NC 28108-0388 – USA The Home Bible Study Library Lives of Power & Glory (Biographies of Great Christian Leaders) The Editor disclaims originality in this book. Other men have labored, I have but entered into their labors. Some of these Christian characters were heretics, scoundrels and cult leaders but some of these were the greatest leaders the church has ever produced. Most of these are deceased and have no way to defend themselves; therefore I have been careful to be kind in my reports of each. You may read these articles and say that you know more about these than is here; but remember, someone else will also write your biography too. The Editor has only proposed to himself the modest task of summarizing, arranging and condensing this mass of material into a convenient form. This book is dedicated to servant-hood and it is hoped that these names listed here will not be construed as the only ones who served God. (See the article on the Unknown Christian) TWP (9:50 AM, 8/24/05) At Home in Mineral Springs, NC Allen, Richard (1760-1831) — Richard Allen was born a slave boy to Benjamin Chew of Philadelphia, in February 14, 1760. His mother and father, and four children were sold to Delaware state near Cover. He lived there until he was twenty. He was saved and accepted Christ at that time. He and his brother joined the Methodist Society and started going to their classes with John Gray (their class leader) in the style of the Methodist Church. They were blessed to have a master that let them attend these meetings. Some of their neighbors were saying that religion would make the slaves worse servants. So he, and his brother worked hard to ensure that all the field work was completed to prove them wrong. His master allowed them to hold meetings at their house, and he converted to Christianity. He felt it was wrong to own slaves, so he proposed to them, freedom for $2,000 continental money. Richard bought his and his brother’s freedom in 1783. Richard Allen was a man of sublime courage and indestructible and passionate faith. Equipped with these two spiritual weapons he could not be beaten down. In 1787 when he and others of African descent were denied the freedom to worship God in the St. George Methodist Episcopal Church (now known as the United Methodist Church) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania he politely walked out. The movement which was begun as a result of the walk out blossomed into the African Methodist Espiscopal (A.M.E.) Church. Richard Allen felt that he had a special duty to spread the gospel among Africans and people of African descent as well as those of all ethnic, racial and cultural backgrounds. These were the people, who, because of segregation and discrimination in church and state, were being dehumanized, ostracized, exploited, robbed, by-passed and otherwise mistreated. They needed to be organized and needed to have a Christian guiding principle of action. With these high goals and noble purposes in mind, he proceeded to take the ugly social situation which made his movement necessary, and, like Joseph of old, used it as a channel of blessing which stirred up in the African a burning determination to be first class Christians and first class Americans. Between 1815 and 1830 Richard Allen was often recognized as a leader of free Blacks in the north. In 1816 Richard Allen was consecrated the first bishop of this new denomination. In 1817 his Bethel A.M.E. Church hosted the first general mass meeting by Blacks to protest the deportation policies made by the American Colonization Society. After this was over he continued his career of preaching and organizing. He died in 1831. Arminius, Jacobus, (1560-1609) — Dutch theologian. He tried to liberalize severe Calvinist views on predestination, which stated that God unconditionally chooses some people to be saved and others to be -1- damned (see Predestination). Arminius denied absolute predestination. He taught that predestination was based on God’s knowing in advance who would believe in Jesus. But people can still resist the Holy Spirit’s call to grace and even lose salvation. Thus, complete assurance of final salvation is impossible. Arminius’ doctrines were called Arminianism. Arminius’ followers published a Remonstrance in l610 that summarized his views. Orthodox Calvinists claimed that Arminianism would weaken Dutch national unity by dividing Calvinism, the national religion. A council called the Reformed Synod of Dort (1618-1619) condemned Arminianism. The doctrines still spread to England and the English colonies in America. Arminianism influenced other Protestant denominations, especially Methodism. (From The World Book Ency. 1996) Armstrong, Herbert W. — Herbert W. Armstrong was born July 31, 1892. He did not get involved in religion until 1926, when his wife “discovered” that Christians were keeping the wrong day of the week as the Sabbath. Angered at her “religious fanaticism”, Armstrong threatened divorce. But rather than divorcing her, he developed an interest in the Bible himself, and as his business failed, he spent more time reading the Bible. This study, Armstrong claimed, led to his conversion to sabbatarianism, the belief that God’s