The Two Babylons 

Only days after replacing my copy of "Two Babylons" which I sold decades ago, I received a book list from a Christian who is a bookseller I have dealt with over the years. He is not identified with Brethren and the vast majority of the books he has for sale are not by Brethren authors. He is very honest, and his descriptions of the condition of the books he sells are always of a superior condition, a very pleasant contrast to the many who over-rate their books, and often fail to mention various defects.

Now to return to my reason for this "Post," thanking you for your patience. This seller whom I recommend for his honesty, and the comprehensive information he attaches to many of his book descriptions, often proving very enlightening, once again left some details which piqued my interest. I think it best to quote the Bookseller verbatim.

"Ralph Woodrow, author of "Babylon, Mystery Religion", based on this book, ("The Two Babylons" my insertion in brackets.) later came to the conclusion that Hislop was totally unreliable, as have others with no particular love for Roman Catholicism. Should be regarded as a curiosity rather than a source, at least only a source of questions rather than answers. Those who have come across any British Israel material (not that I'm suggesting a connection) will be familiar with the kind of leaps of logic used."

So, intrigued I searched for Ralph Woodrow to see if he manifested any spiritual insight or authority. I did not want to find I was mistaken in replacing my copy of Hislop's work.

It was not difficult to "locate" Woodrow. He has a website where he airs his foolish views and sells his books to gullible readers. Only a few minutes of reading his "blurb" on a number of his books, assured me he is very poorly instructed in the Word of God, and has a suspect view of the veracity of the Scriptures. I fear his so-called "ministry" is a means of acquiring wealth like many of the so-called Evangelists that flourish particularly in the U.S.A.

My advice would be to steer well clear of this man and his published works.   

The Pandemic: What Cost To The Testimony

An Account of Brethren in Hereford

A considerable number of years ago, I took it upon myself to seek out as many Halls and Rooms that were used by Brethren as suitable for their gatherings. My aspiration was to photograph them all for my personal record. I placed them in a sort of scrapbook, which sadly I have mislaid at present. I believe I began my endeavour by quite an extensive search in Devon, which had been a stronghold of the "Brethren Movement" for many years. It proved to be a rich harvest and encouraged me to continue my research.

I have never lost my desire to seek out places connected with that "movement." And quite some time ago when I was in gainful employment, my employment took me to Hereford. On a number of occasions, my wife and I searched for the meeting places utilised by Brethren there, but without success. (I don't know whether I possessed any of the Assembly listings back then). 

Just a few weeks ago I was delighted to locate and purchase a copy of "An Account of Brethren in Hereford" written by Dr. Langford with a foreword by W.R. Lewis. This little booklet appears to be somewhat rare. I believe it was printed in early 1959.

In such a brief sketch it was amazing to find it replete with wonderful instances of N.T. principles practiced in such humility. 

Significant mention is made of Captain Percy Francis Hall giving more details than can be found in "Chief Men Among the Brethren" compiled by Hy Pickering. 

Captain Hall resigned his commission in the Royal Navy at a considerable cost to himself on account of his Christian principles. Furthermore, he sold all his earthly possessions in order to share them with poorer believers.

In a tract, he described war as "authorised murder." In the same tract, he stated his scriptural view that "magistracy was an unfit office for a believer." 

There are references made to quite a number of well-known Brethren viz. J.N.Darby, William Kelly, Sir Edward Denny, Captain William Rhind R.N., and William Yapp among others.

The booklet also abounds with lovely anecdotes. The Lord's manifest help in obtaining a burial place for His own who "fell on sleep;" Sunday School work, meetings convened for young people, manifold instances of great and sacrificial generosity in giving and consistent and delightful hospitality; The tragic sorrow of a particular doctor in the local Assembly, who experienced the bereavement of a wife and their two young children, and three other children in his second marriage. The apparent "peculiar habit" of Dr. John Griffiths an esteemed surgeon, "having long devoted himself to the distribution of religious tracts." A man after my own mind, but not with whom I dare to compare I hastily add!

But I feel moved most of all by the sacrificial and determined efforts of some of the saints to attend the gatherings. "many came long distances (to Hereford,) from places as far away as Grosmont and Leominster. Two ladies coming from the country, able to obtain only one horse, rode it in turn to the meetings. One sister had to walk 10 miles to the meetings. Once when a continuous heavy rain had flooded the country and covered the road, she took off her shoes and stockings and waded through the water." A Christian gentleman arranged for her to be taken home in his horse-drawn carriage.

The close-up of this account seemed to drift almost palpably, into abject dismay. As if it were a portent of our sad demise today. The elation I felt at the commencement of my reading of this booklet, subsided into an inexplicable sadness and disheartenment. Unrelieved in discovering another account written in 2011 I believe, in which the author is bold to boast (as I see it), at the accounts' conclusion, in the obvious obliteration of everything those earlier saints in Hereford, held so dear!

Sadly it seems to "mirror" my own ongoing experience of demise among the Brethren My heart is broken! 

Trom: The Edge of a Cliff

A little while ago I became intrigued by the word "trom," I guessed it was Scandinavian in origin. Indeed, my best guess was that it was Danish. As I love words I sought their meaning and discovered it was in fact Faroese. I never knew that such a language existed, and I felt quite exhilarated. The translation is found in the heading of this "post," i.e. "the edge of a cliff." I next needed to learn as much as I possibly could about this language, and perhaps a little of the geography of the Faroe Islands too. My primary objective was to discover if there were any translations of the Scriptures in the Faroese tongue. I confess my knowledge of the Faroes was limited to listening to the Shipping Forecast broadcast on the "wireless" by the BBC back in the 1950s. And I had assumed, mistakenly, that the Islands "belonged" to Great Britain, when in fact they still remain a possession of Denmark.

My search however was not in vain, on the contrary, it was to prove wonderful to me. Much of the material I found is readily available to all who are interested, Wikipedia is especially helpful. Chapter 9 of Volume 8 in the series "That The World May Know," authored by F.A. Tatford although brief is rich in content.

I will desist from giving details about the geography, climate, and other aspects of the Islands, to concentrate on the Faroese translations of the Bible. 

Until recent years the Faroese people did not have a written language. The first dictionary was published in 1928, and so a Faroese translation of the Bible was not published until 1949 after he had re-edited the entire manuscript into a more contemporary Faroese language, The first manuscript for his translation was in fact ready in 1939 but the invasion of Norway by Hitler, where the Bible was to be printed, was on hold until the war was over.

This first translation was the faithful and diligent work of Victor Danielsen, (see photo), who was born in the settlement of Soldarfjarour on the Faroese Island of Eysturoy in 1894. In 1916 Victor quit the established Faroese People's Church and became identified with the Broorasamkoman, the Faroese (Plymouth) Brethren. He married in 1920, and he and his wife moved to Fuglafjorour where he worked full-time in the Siloa Assembly.

In 1930 the Assembly in Torshavn requested Danielsen to translate the Epistle to the Galatians into the Faroese language. His translation was enthusiastically received, and he was prevailed upon to translate the entire New Testament. This labour of love was completed in March 1937 just a few weeks before Jakob Dahl's translation which had been authorised by the Faroese People's Church.

Victor Danielsen had no knowledge of either Hebrew or Greek, but he was fluent in Faroese, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, Icelandic, German, and English. So he based his translation on every version available to him, using the Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, two German, two English, and Icelandic Bibles in creating his version.

A second translation of the Bible into Faroese was sponsored by the state church and was published in the 1960's. For this version, the translators worked from the original Hebrew and Greek manuscripts.

A statue honouring Victor Danielsen was erected on a small plaza on the main street entering Fuglafjorour around about 2008. Victor was "called home" there in 1961.

Another instance of the extraordinary debt the universal Assembly owes to this remarkable movement of the Holy Spirit. I feel humbled and elated at being privileged to be identified with "Brethren," 

SINGAPORE-Astonishing interest in my Blog

 Over a period of just a few weeks, I have had an astonishing number of "hits" on my Blog. I am both delighted and bemused at the same time, as I know of no explanation for such interest. The numbers are not high in comparison with "posts" on other platforms as Blogger doesn't have a huge following. But for my little Blog, the figures from Singapore are phenomenal!

I am truly grateful to any and all who find some interest in my poor effort in passing on anything associated with the Brethren Movement. The greatest deficiency attached to Blogger is the fact that no one is able to comment or enter into a discussion with me. 

So if anyone would like to contact me, whatever your view of anything I have written I would be happy to respond to you. To this end, I will append my email address below.

Thank you one and all for taking the time to read my "posts," I am sincerely grateful.

To all who love the Saviour in sincerity, I lovingly commend you to God and the word of His grace. In Him, Tom

Tom Wyatt   Bristol U.K. 

Gathered to the Name of the Lord Jesus with the saints at Corsham Gospel Hall Corsham Wiltshire U.K.

email address: tw007q5184@blueyonder.co.uk