THE PURITAN ARMY TAKES UP ARMS
AGAINST THE KING IN THE ENGLISH CIVIL WAR.

The Puritan Army goes to war against the king. This image is from the video "Cromwell". It reveals America forming within the womb of England 130 years before the actual birth of the nation in 1776. Here the Puritan Army goes to the Battle of Naseby singing hymns. John Bunyan, writer of Pilgrim's Progress, was with the Puritans in this decisive battle against the king. Note the the cavalry officers in the Puritan Army wearing yellow ribbons and yellow sashes and the banner 'In God We Trust'. Is this heraldry of the Puritans still with us today?

By Gavin Finley MD - endtimepilgrim.org


1. Puritan History, Past, Present and Future. An Introduction to this study.
2. John Winthrop and the Puritan dream of a shining 'city upon a hill'.
3. 'Manifest Destiny' is rooted in the Puritan dream of a 'nation under God'.
4. The Puritan belief in a 'Nation Under God' goes back to ancient Israel.
5. Gutenberg, Bibles and the Reformation bring in the Pilgrims and Puritans.
6. The Puritans rise up in the 1600's to dominate English Parliament.
7. The Puritan Army goes to battle against the king in the English Civil War.
8. The Puritan Army wears yellow ribbons and sashes in the English Civil War.
9. The Puritan Religion supports Parliament in the English Civil War.
10. Puritans vs. Pilgrims. Similarities and differences.
11. The Puritans in the New World and the signing of the Mayflower Compact.
12. Puritan belief and the American Revolution vs. the French Revolution.
13. America's Puritans today and the 'Religious Right'
14. The abortion issue and America's Puritans today
15. Today's Puritans and the expansion of America's global peacemaking role.
16. Today's American Puritans and the rise of Dominion Theology
17. Puritan belief and the future history of America.

THE PURITAN ARMY GOES
TO WAR AGAINST THE KING.

The bitter feud between King Charles 1 and the Puritan leaders in Parliament got progressively worse. Finally it erupted into the awful English Civil War. See the video below.

The player below contains a short 8 minute video for broadband users.
May it serve as a trailer for the movie "Cromwell" .
This excellent film is available at Vision Video.



Left-click to launch in external player
Right-click "save link as" to download video for your PC or WMA player.

The war went on for some years eventually ending in the defeat of the royalists at the Battle of Marston Moor in 1644 and then at the Battle of Naseby in 1645. Parliament having defeated King Charles on the field of battle then tried to make a deal with him over issues of sovereignty. All their efforts of persuasion were to no avail. The king would merely look at the Puritan leaders in Parliament and calmly ask,
"By what authority do you bring me here?"

Finally matters came to a head. During the war King Charles had sought to enlist help from foreign nations abroad. Seizing on this infraction, Parliament, under Oliver Cromwell, finally had the king arrested. He was confined at St James' Palace for the duration of his trial which took place in 1649. The charge was nothing less than high treason against the English people. Condemned by Parliament as a traitor King Charles was taken to the Banqueting House on Whitehall for his execution. He walked from a window onto a specially constructed Scaffold to face the axeman Upon his execution the crowd uttered a cry of mixed exultation and deep groaning.

The Puritans had triumphed in the political arena. Oliver Cromwell, became a virtual Puritan dictator over England. He ruled as 'Lord Protector' until his death in 1658. England prospered greatly during those years.

So as we can see, the Puritans back then meant business! They were totally and absolutely committed to establishing a Christian nation with a representative government elected by and subject to a Christian people.
And so they remain today.

In the years following the English Civil War the Puritans were somewhat subdued in their political activity. England reverted back to the monarchy again after Cromwell's death. Many Puritans in fact had given up on seeing their dreams fulfilled in England. Many were now on their way to America hoping to see their dreams fulfilled there.

Meanwhile, the evangelical zeal among the separatists in England was just as strong as ever. After the English Civil War the Non-Conformist John Bunyan even went out preaching openly in the streets. He preached the Gospel without proper ordination and authority from the Church of England. This was something that was highly improper. It just wasn't done. But John Bunyan with the fire of the Gospel in his heart did it anyway. He paid the price for this by being imprisoned for many years at Bedford Gaol. During his imprisonments John Bunyan wrote that classic piece of literature, 'Pilgrim's Progress'.

In the 1600’s Non-Conformist churches, such as those of the Congregational, Baptist, and Brethren Church traditions, were changing the spiritual climate of England. The seeds of the Great Awakening were sown during that time and England and America both saw a series of revivals. This would really pick up steam during the following century, the 1700's, which saw preaching of John Wesley and George Whitefield.

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