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DECEMBER 31, 1384 DEATH OF JOHN WYCLIF When John Wyclif died of a stroke on December 31, 1384, there would be no rest for his bones. Almost thirty years later the Church Council of Constance condemned Wyclif's teachings and ordered his bones dug up and burned. But the burning of his bones would not end John Wyclif's influence. Wyclif had been a leading scholar at Oxford and a chaplain to the King of England. He boldly spoke out against the pope, the organizational hierarchy of the Roman Church, and the corruption of the clergy. He criticized not only the organization of the medieval church but its theology as well. He believed the church should return to the Scriptures. Pastors should live lives of simplicity and holiness, shepherding the flock the Lord had given them. If the people in England were to know the truth, they must have the Word of God accessible for them to read in their own language. Under Wyclif's direction, the entire Bible was translated into English for the first time. The translation was completed by Wyclif's associates in 1395, eleven years after Wyclif's death. Though repeatedly condemned and burned by the authorities, copies of Wyclif's Bible continued to bring the truth to England for over a century. It greatly influenced William Tyndale and the translators of the King James Version. Five hundred years after it was originally completed, Wyclif's translation of John 3:36 still sounds familiar: He that believeth in the son: hath everlasting life - but he that is unbelieveful to the same: shall not see everlasting life - but the wrath of God dwelleth on him. John Foxe in his book of martyrs well described Wyclif's influence when he said, "though they digged up his body, burnt his bones, and drowned his ashes, yet the Word of God and the truth of his doctrine, with the fruit and success thereof, they could not burn; which yet to this day...doth remain."

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