Dolomites, Alps and the Reformation
Posted by Roberto Battistuzzi on Aug 19 2005 | Tagged as: General | 
Dolomites, Alps and the Reformation
“Therefore, since we are justified by FAITH, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ “ Romans 5:1
What have these three words to do with each other ? Pretty much in a strange sort of way. When we arrived in Italy 8 years ago, we went about the business of sharing our testimonies and gospel with my countrymen. After a few minutes of telling them that we were born and grew up in Africa, the first question would be “What on earth made you come to this country ?” ( As I blog more and more, you will be reading stories about Italy that will, hopefully ,give some insight into the psyche of the Italians ).
This was the perfect opening to tell them “The Lord sent us here to look after my ageing dad and to evangelise”. This often led to more in depth discussion on faith, Christianity and Catholicism. Many times we would be told “I wish I had your faith !”, My reply would be “It is only by the grace of God, but you can also have it if you receive Jesus as Lord and Saviour”
“Oh but I am Catholic and Christian “would be the counter reply.
Catch 22. You want the faith, yet you claim to be Christian already . So back to square one.
We joined Serenissima Bible Church led by Pastor Rob Krause three years ago and have been sharing many things together. Pastor Rob came to Italy, called by God , to be a missionary in Italy. We have laughed and cried a lot together. But one comment made by an Italian friend of ours has shaped the way we pray for Italy. We had been praying many months for revival in Italy. Our folks in the church had been encouraged to do the same. Until this brother said “ Why are you praying for revival if Italy has never had a Reformation !”I will elaborate on this under a different title. Our prayer strategy now is for the Lord to open they eyes and the hearts of Catholics to the truth of the Gospel. We camped out on this thought for a long time, (still are ).We dedicated ourselves to studying in greater depth the history of the Roman Catholic Church and the Reformation. Did you know that there was a pre Luther “Protestant” church in the mountains north of Torino ?.We have been told by reliable sources that there was a small group in an area not far from where we live. Sadly both were wiped out at the time of the Counter Reformation and the Council of Trent. We have learnt that , for centuries , the Roman Church has done it’s utmost to prevent any form of evangelisation in this country. This has done untold damage to the country and it’s people. In the weeks to come you will be reading stories of this.
But back to the title. I believe that the Lord helped me understand a lot through one simple dream. If your theology teaches you that God does not speak through dreams, please bear with me on this one. I am extremely careful on some things, especially dreams. But Joel ch.2:28 gives scriptural backing for them,( I must be an old man !) and it is confirmed in Acts 2:17 by Peter on the Day of Pentecost when he quoted from Joel.
The dream I had was a map of Europe. As I was looking at it from above , Europe was brown and dry. All of a sudden there was a n incredible wave of crystal clear water rolling down from the north and flowing over the Alps. I woke up and thought ,”What a great , vivid dream” , and then put it out on my mind. However, during the day it came back again and again. As I thought about it, I believe the Lord showed me that the Alps , ( hence the picture of the Dolomite mountain), have been a physical barrier for Italy. The Reformation happened north of the Alps and never crossed over. The Alps representing religious pride and man’s continuous resistance to His Truth for the sake of retaining power over people in body, soul and spirit. Nevertheless, Jesus said regarding the rich young ruler in Mat. 19:25-26 : When the disciples heard this , they were greatly astonished and said” Who the can be saved ?” BUT JESUS ( here is the BUT GOD again that I love so much) , looked at them and said to them “With men this is impossible, BUT WITH GOD, all things are possible”.
So we have faith that Hashem will send His Spirit over the spiritual Alps and many will be saved.
Let me conclude with this : watch out those of you Evangelicals and members of traditional churches that are compromising with the Roman Catholic Church. When the Lord begins to Reform Italy and priests , bishops and others begin to realize the error of their ways , reject the teachings that have held them captive for centuries; beware that you are not embarrassed and have to repent yourselves for having sided with them.
Grace and shalom