Pope Urban II Launches the First Crusade, AD 1095

TEACHING: AD 1095, Pope Urban II Launches the First Crusade
Crusade in Latin means "to mark with a cross" and in English is in direct reference to the attempts of the Western Church to dislodge Muslims from Palestine between 1095 and about 1291 when the last Crusader stronghold in Syria fell. The Crusaders wore a cross. Their theme: "God Wills It -- God Wills It." The Crusades were not just specific events, but wave upon wave of pilgrims, monks, knights, adventurers, and fortune-seekers who invaded what they felt were "Christian" sites, taking them by force from Muslims, Jews and even Orthodox Christians. The land was divided into four "Latin" territories and fortresses were built. And various memorials and churches were built over "holy sites." By the Fourth Crusade, the cross wearers pillaged the churches of Constantinople taking the gold, icons, and holy relics back to western Europe. Many can be seen in Venice today.

DOES GOD EXPECT CHRISTIANS TO CONQUER THE LAND?

Matt 28:19-20 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

In contemporary revival-speak, we hear the concept of taking back the land for Jesus -- claiming the land -- even stomping on the devil with our feet. Taking back what he has stolen from us. "God Wills It!" What is done in the physical is done in the heavenlies -- or is it, what is done in the heavenlies is done on earth. In the "Transfomation" videos and Silvosa’s book and other places, the concept exists that there are physical changes on earth related to spiritual changes and/or changes in the heavenlies. In Deborah’s Song about the defeat of Sisera, there is an interesting clue where the battle was actually fought.

Judges 7:20 "The stars fought from heaven, the stars in their courses fought against Sisera." This is not astrology. This is spiritual warfare because the stars are angelic or heavenly beings. Some of those spirits fell and battle against us now.

Today we have Crusades or "revival" meetings. These are spiritual invasions of the community -- or supposedly spiritual invasions. Much advertising. Much media. Much coordination between many people and diverse organizations such as denominations. A significant event is held and response is expected and usually received: cross-wearers at work. Are disciples made? Was the "crusade" fought in the heavenlies or was it only an event wearing crosses on earth?

Today we have television and high-production church programs for the purpose of making disciples. If entertaining enough, maybe the seekers will stay. If you can match a church program to their needs as a religious customer, they will stay. The whole thing is customer satisfaction -- as people shop for yet another church. No stars doing any fighting.

THE YEAR IS 1071

At the Battle of Manzikert, in 1071, the Seljuk Turks massacred the Byzantine Empire’s armies. The feared Turks overran Asia Minor and began to threaten even the capital of Constantinople. Meanwhile, they had also conquered Jerusalem, preventing Christian pilgrimages to the holy sites. Who? Muslims -- that new religion founded by Mohamed in Mecca in AD 610.

In 1074, Pope Gregory VII proposed leading fifty thousand volunteers to help the Christians in the East and possibly liberate the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. Finally, in 1095, in response to desperate appeals from Eastern Emperor Alexius Comnenus, the new pope, Urban II, preached a stirring sermon at Clermont:

"A horrible tale has gone forth," he said. "An accursed race utterly alienated from God … has invaded the lands of the Christians and depopulated them by the sword, plundering, and fire." Toward the end, he made his appeal: "Tear that land from the wicked race and subject it to yourselves."

The people were riled. They began shouting, "Deus vult! Deus vult!" ("God wills it!") Urban II made "Deus vult" the battle cry of the Crusades.

But is that how God has the land conquered? Is that how God does it? It sounds like the arguments to invade Iraq.

Why the Crusaders Went

The pope’s representatives then traversed Europe, recruiting people to go to Palestine. The list of the First Crusade’s leaders read like a medieval "Who’s Who," including the fabled Godfrey of Bouillon. Soon waves of people—probably over one hundred thousand, including about ten thousand—knights were headed for the Holy Land. Thus began over three hundred years of similar expeditions and pilgrimages, which gradually became known as crusades, because of the cross worn on the clothing of the crusaders.

Why did so many respond?

Some of the crusaders had visions and dreams. There is artwork of the crusades showing angels flying overhead. Some crusades started with people seeing and hearing Jesus tell them to do it. Apparently some people honestly went on crusade; it was a medieval thing to do. And we still go to the holy land. And take mission trips.

AND, they went because of... a spirit of adventure, for one thing. Pilgrimages to the Holy Land had become a feature of medieval piety, and now the pilgrimage was coupled with the prospect of fighting to recapture the pilgrimage sites, to avenge the dishonor their Lord Jesus had suffered.

The crusaders also took on an arduous journey in dismal conditions for spiritual reward. This was a holy undertaking, so participants could receive an indulgence remission of sins allowing for direct entry to heaven or reduced time in purgatory. Finally laypeople could do something that was nearly as spiritually noble as entering the monastery.

Further, many of the crusaders hoped to acquire land in the East, to plunder and grow rich.

Progress of the First Crusade

The first crusaders ventured for Constantinople, slaughtering Jews throughout Germany and occasionally skirmishing with local peoples over food and foraging rights. By late 1096, Emperor Alexius found his city of Constantinople overrun with fifty thousand unruly visitors. In exchange for the crusaders’ oaths of fealty, he provided them with supplies and sent them on. The Muslims were divided into rival factions at this time, so the crusaders advanced fairly rapidly, capturing Antioch in 1098 and Jerusalem by the following July. The crusaders followed a "take no prisoners" line; an observer at the time wrote that the soldiers "rode in blood up to their bridle reins." Following their conquest, the crusaders set up four Latin states, including the Kingdom of Jerusalem under the rule of Godfrey of Bouillon. They built numerous structures, especially at the holy sites, and some still stand.

The First Crusade was the most successful. The Second, preached by Bernard of Clairvaux, was a stunning failure, and later ones did little to regain territory. The infamous Children’s Crusade disintegrated before it reached the Holy Land, with most of the children dying or being sold into slavery. The last Christian stronghold in Syria fell in 1291 when the Muslims captured the city of Acre. The major waves of the Crusades had ended.

Crusades’ Consequences

We find it hard to sympathize with the crusaders. Their holy wars seem like an incredibly unchristian waste of energy and time. The medieval mind, however, easily accepted the idea of fighting for—and dying for—a holy cause. Some crusaders were truly pious, while admittedly, others were just violently adventurous.

The Crusades deeply damaged Western Christians’ relations with others. When, in 1204, the knights of the Fourth Crusade sacked Constantinople, the breach between Eastern and Western Christians became wide and lasting. The major calls to crusade invariably sparked pogroms against the Jews. And the crusaders’ brutality worked only to make the Muslims more militant.

On an economic level, however, the Crusades increased trade and stepped up Europe’s economic growth. They also led to a greater interest in travel, map making, and exploration.

Modern cynics point to the Crusades as an example of Christians’ fanaticism and intolerance. In the 1990s Christians are still living down a reputation created by bands of medieval pilgrims and soldiers intent on liberating the Holy Land.

The 100 Most Important Events in Church History: Christian History, Issue 28, (Carol Stream, IL: Christianity Today, Inc.) 1997.

COMPARE WITH JOSHUA

Under the leadership of Joshua, the land that was promised to Abraham was conquered. This is the same land that the Crusaders were trying to conquer to be "Christian" land.

Josh 23:5-11 The LORD your God himself will drive them out of your way. He will push them out before you, and you will take possession of their land, as the LORD your God promised you.

6 "Be very strong; be careful to obey all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, without turning aside to the right or to the left. 7 Do not associate with these nations that remain among you; do not invoke the names of their gods or swear by them. You must not serve them or bow down to them. 8 But you are to hold fast to the LORD your God, as you have until now.

9 "The LORD has driven out before you great and powerful nations; to this day no one has been able to withstand you. 10 One of you routs a thousand, because the LORD your God fights for you, just as he promised. 11 So be very careful to love the LORD your God.

Josh 24:11-13 "'Then you crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho. The citizens of Jericho fought against you, as did also the Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites and Jebusites, but I gave them into your hands. 12 I sent the hornet ahead of you, which drove them out before you-also the two Amorite kings. You did not do it with your own sword and bow. 13 So I gave you a land on which you did not toil and cities you did not build; and you live in them and eat from vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant.'

Moses presented a plan, a pattern, a template, a format, a method for conquering the land. This was God’s way. We are to go and make disciples, but we cannot force people to be disciples. If we are to conquer the land for Christ, it must be done in the way that God tells us to do it.

THE PROMISE IS FOR A THOUSAND GENERATIONS

That means at least 32,000 years -- and we are now only at 6000.

Deut 7:9-10 Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands.

FOLLOW THE COMMANDMENTS

Deut 7:11 Therefore, take care to follow the commands, decrees and laws I give you today.

If we are going to invade the land, we need to have a history of obeying the laws of God. If we are going to keep the land we have invaded, we need to keep the law of God. This means we need to know what the laws of God are. Reading the Bible once won’t cut it.

DO NOT SERVE THEIR GODS

Deut 7:16 You must destroy all the peoples the LORD your God gives over to you. Do not look on them with pity and do not serve their gods, for that will be a snare to you.

In the land we are invading there are gods that the people worship. We must destroy them so that they cannot ensnare us. What gods? What practices of the people you are trying to reach get in the way of God? What do your "unsaved" neighbors worship? Is it lifestyle? Is it materialism? Is it drunkenness and debauchery? Don’t emulate them. If others cannot see a difference between you and non-professing Christians, maybe there isn’t a difference. That means you have bowed down to their gods. You are ensnared.

DO NOT BE AFRAID, BUT REMEMBER

Deut 7:18 But do not be afraid of them; remember well what the LORD your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt.

The greatest fear amongst adults is public speaking. In our conquests, frequently the final weapon we actually use is words. The greatest weapon against that fear of speaking is remembering previous successes. And it is usually easier to talk about and act upon what you have experienced. If it has happened to you or if you have seen it happen, you know what it was; you are a witness. Remember what God has done that you have seen and experienced and tell that -- not theoretically what God could possibly do. This means applying to ourselves, believing, trusting, and even acting upon what that great cloud of witnesses have left us. Yes, we can believe the Word of God. But if we have not applied the Word and seen it work, fear can come.

LET THE HORNET DO THE WORK

Deut 7:20 Moreover, the LORD your God will send the hornet among them until even the survivors who hide from you have perished.

What is the hornet? What is the plague? What is the panic that goes ahead in the battle? All I know for sure is that it is not you or me. And it doesn’t seem to be something we do or set up to do. It doesn’t seem to be some kind of a program. It is something that God does.

EXPECT LITTLE-BY-LITTLE

Deut 7:22-23 The LORD your God will drive out those nations before you, little-by-little. You will not be allowed to eliminate them all at once, or the wild animals will multiply around you.

But it doesn’t all happen at once because wild animals will take over. Is there a similarity to the wolves that deceive the church? Are they the wild animals? If something is not done little by little, does it not survive? What about the 3000 at Pentecost? But that was one geographic area. Or is this simply patience? Maybe we must wait.

ABHOR WHAT THEY WORSHIP

Deut 7:25-26 The images of their gods you are to burn in the fire. Do not covet the silver and gold on them, and do not take it for yourselves, or you will be ensnared by it, for it is detestable to the LORD your God. 26 Do not bring a detestable thing into your house or you, like it, will be set apart for destruction. Utterly abhor and detest it, for it is set apart for destruction.

This is a repeat -- it must be important -- do not covet their silver and gold. Silver and gold have something to do with little-"g"-gods both then and now. "Where your gold is..."

JOSHUA REMINDED THE ISRAELITES

It was God, not the Israelites who conquered the land. Can we say that about any of our most recent religious crusades? "It was God, not us." The crusades -- people wearing crosses fighting -- pretty much failed. Out of them came the Inquisition. Out of them came the murder of Jews in medieval times and maybe even into modern times.

Let’s look at Joshua’s list in Joshua 24 of WHAT WAS and the list of TO-DO when conquering the land.

WHAT WAS

This is what the Lord says (Josh 24):

- I took Abraham; gave Isaac; gave Jacob and Esau.

- I sent Moses and Aaron

- I afflicted Egypt

- I brought you out of Egypt

- I brought you through the sea and not them

- Amorites -- I destroyed them before you

- I delivered you out of Balaam’s hand

- Across the Jordan, I gave them into your hands

- I sent the hornet / plague / panic ahead of you

- "You did not do it with your own sword and bow"

- I gave you a land with cities, vineyards, and olive groves

The key word seems to be "I" and he is the LORD.

TO DO

- Fear the LORD

- Serve him with all faithfulness

- Throw away the gods of your forefathers;

- Choose this day;

- Yield your hearts to the LORD

Joshua 23:15 But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD."

ONE MORE THING

If you are going to conquer the land, you will make a covenant with the land:

- Your covenant with the land is written down

- Your covenant with the land is witnessed in stone

- Your covenant with the land is indicated by where you bury your heritage: the location of your resurrection

Have you made the investment of yourself into the land you want to conquer?.