The Obelisk And The Reformation

Does anyone see how the obelisk in St. Peter's Square led to the Reformation? Image from Google Earth.

The trouble with history is that it has a way of repeating itself. We sometimes purposely repeat history but more often without realizing it. The presence of the obelisk, brought to Rome by Caligula, caused the history of ancient Egypt, as described in the Bible, to repeat itself in the Catholic Church.

The Egyptians had the Hebrews as slaves, to make bricks for the incessant building that the Egyptians were doing. The Catholic Church copied this with the building of St. Peter's Basilica. Instead of having slaves making bricks the Church had people buying certificates, known as Indulgences, that their sins were forgiven. The money being taken in was used to build the Basilica.

Many people, especially in northern Europe, considered this as blasphemous, that salvation could be purchased. Moses had emerged, in the Book of Exodus, as a leader to demand that the Pharaoh let the people go. In exactly the same way Martin Luther emerged as a leader to demand that the Church reform. People were always being pressed to give money to the Church, but the money was being used to build this magnificent new basilica in Rome and so that Cardinals could live in palaces.

Instead of the Ten Commandments, on stone tablets, Martin Luther had the Ninety-Five Theses, nailed to the door of the church in Wittenberg. The presence of the obelisk had caused history to repeat itself, with the Pope falling into the role of Pharaoh.

After Pharaoh had let the Hebrews go he changed his mind and sent a force to bring them back, which was destroyed in the Red Sea. History repeated itself in the Catholic Church, with the Spanish Armada being the sent to bring the Protestants back.

After reaching their Promised Land, the Hebrews divided the land among the Twelve Tribes. Likewise, instead of having one church like the Catholics, the Protestants divided into a number of denominations.

Martin Luther, and other Reformation leaders, finally got the reforms in the Catholic Church that they wanted, but only by dividing the Church. The loss of northern Europe prompted the Catholics to implement what is known as the Counter-Reformation. What I find to be so interesting, but cannot see it pointed out anywhere, is that Egypt made a very surprising move toward Monotheism like the Hebrews had, following the debacle of losing their Hebrew slaves, and this history was inadvertently repeated by the Counter-Reformation.

I have described this in "The Exodus And Egypt". Here is a link to it.

www.markmeeksideas.blogspot.com/2022/10/the-exodus-and-egypt.html?m=0