London is a must visit city, with iconic sites and incredible experiences, it’s easy to see why. There are endless recommendations and reviews of things to do, sites to see, and places to visit. However, there is a dearth of information regarding things pertaining to Biblical and Church history. There are many artifacts and sites relating to Church history that have significant relevance to the Christian. If you’re like me and don’t want to spend the money on, or be constrained by a tour, then it can be difficult to appreciate the things you see or sites you visit. I compiled a list of the things relating to Church history and an explanation of their significance as a city guide so you can appreciate the Church history as you visit this amazing city!
British Museum
How to get there – tube stations Tottenham Court Road, or Holburn on either the Piccadilly, Northern, or Central lines
Cost – Free
Objects of Interest – Rosetta Stone, Parthenon sculptures from Athens, Egyptian collection
You have probably heard the phrase, “The sun never sets on the British Empire.” With the British Empire’s territorial expansion coinciding with the development of archaeology, ancient sites throughout the world were excavated with significant findings brought back to England. After the breakup of the Ottoman empire after World War I, Britain had claims to modern day Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, and Israel. All of those places have history relating to the Bible. Thus the British Museum houses some very interesting artifacts relating to Biblical history.
You have probably heard the phrase, “The sun never sets on the British Empire.” With the British Empire’s territorial expansion coinciding with the development of archaeology, ancient sites throughout the world were excavated with significant findings brought back to England. After the breakup of the Ottoman empire after World War I, Britain had claims to modern day Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, and Israel. All of those places have history relating to the Bible. Thus the British Museum houses some very interesting artifacts relating to Biblical history.
Lachish Relief from Sennacherib – room 10b
Around 800 BC Assyria is the world’s dominant empire which in that day, the mantra is expand and conquer. In 722 BC the Northern kingdom of Israel, AKA Samaria, falls. This is recounted in 2 Kings 17:6 which says “In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria, and he carried the Israelites away to Assyria”. 2 Kings 18 begins as Hezekiah becomes king of Judah, the southern kingdom, and Sennacherib as king of Assyria. Sennacherib loses interest in simply collecting tribute from Judah, so he goes through Judah in order to conquer it. The last city he destroys is Lachish before he sends his messengers up to Jerusalem and threaten to destroy it. He defies the God of Israel and tells the people of Judah that they cannot trust in their God. Hezekiah is terrified and prays an amazing prayer of faith to God as he says in 2 Kings 19:17-19, “Truly, O Lord, the kings of Assyria have laid waste the nations and their lands and have cast their gods into the fire, for they were not gods, but the work of men’s hands, wood and stone. Therefore they were destroyed. So now, O Lord our God, save us, please, from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you, O Lord, are God alone.” God hears Hezekiah’s prayer and promises deliverance and in one night, the angel of the Lord comes and slaughters 185,000 Assyrian troops. Sennacherib is devastated so he leaves and returns to Nineveh.
The Lachish relief, or panels carved on the walls, was discovered in Nineveh in Sennacherib’s palace. They depict his capture of the city of Lachish and leading away prisoners back to Assyria. This historical evidence aligns perfectly with the biblical account. Sennacherib successfully defeats most of the cities in Judah and Lachish is the last one he destroys. He fails to capture the capital, Jerusalem, so he puts up all this artwork commemorating his defeat of Lachish, no doubt to reassure his ego after his failure to finish Judah off in Jerusalem.
Artifacts from Lachish – rooms 57-59
In these rooms there are more artifacts from Lachish, some from the very same time of the siege of Lachish by Sennacherib. There are arrowheads from the siege, and letters written by an Israelite at the time recounting the movements of Sennacherib before he destroys the city of Lachish.
Ivory from Samaria – rooms 57-59
There is ivory from the house of Ahab which is mentioned in 1 Kings 22:39 “Now the rest of the acts of Ahab and all that he did, and the ivory house that he built and all the cities that he built, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?”. This ivory was discovered in Samaria and fits right in with the Biblical time period as belonging to Ahab’s palace.
Cyrus Cylinder – room 55
The Cyrus Cylinder is a barrel shaped object with text carved in it that was discovered in Babylon. The cylinder talks about Cyrus, who was king of Persia, allowing people who he had conquered to return to their lands to rebuild their own temples and altars and worship their own gods’. Many of the Israelites were dispersed throughout Persia at this time and this event is simultaneous with the book of Ezra and his return to Israel to rebuild the Temple. This event was prophesied 70 years earlier by Jeremiah which says in 2 Chronicles 36:22 “Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom”
Ashurbanipal’s flood tablet – room 55
This tablet recounts a part of the Epic of Gilgamesh which has similarities to the flood story in Genesis 7 and 8. Although we know the Bible gives a true account from a right perspective of the flood. It is interesting that a story of a great flood existed in the ancient pagan world, suggesting that their story was influenced by actual historical events.
Hinton St. Mary Mosaic – room 49
Now here is something that i didn’t see while I was in London but I discovered it’s existence and significance later during research. Hopefully I can spare you the regret I have of missing this biblical historical object. The Hinton St. Mary Mosaic was found in Great Britain and is dated to the early 4th century AD. This mosaic has the earliest image of Christ that has been discovered in archaeology. Although this image doesn’t give a genuine authentic portrayal of Jesus’ features, we’re talking 300 years difference and a couple thousand miles, it certainly teaches something about Church history. Christ is at the center of the Mosaic; a physical representation of a spiritual reality. We know this is Christ because it contains the ancient Christian symbol of the Greek letters of chi and rho, or Xp, which denotes Christ. On the outer corners are the pictures of four men, thought to be the four gospel writers, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. they are on the outside all on the periphery with Christ at the center. It is through the Word of God and the Gospels that we learn of Jesus Christ and they teach us that Christ is indeed at the center.
British Library
How to get there – a short walk from the British Museum or the tube station Kings Cross St. Pancras on the Victoria, Piccadilly, and Northern lines
Cost – Free
Other Objects of interest – the Magna Carta
Within the British Library’s vast collection of millions of works, there is a collection in a room called the Sir John Riblat Treasures which houses the most iconic and exclusive books and writings from Shakespeare to the Beatles. In the Treasures room, there is a section of religion which houses some of the most precious books and texts relating to the history of Christianity.
Gutenberg Bible
In 1445 Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press and for the first time in western civilization, books were printed using moveable type; arguably the most significant invention in history. The very first book he printed was the Bible. Only 48 copies of his original work has survived and two of them are are display here in the British Library. One of the Bibles was printed on paper and the other on vellum. After they were printed artwork was hand drawn on opening pages as decoration.
Tyndale New Testament
Right next to the Gutenberg Bibles is a book which gives English speaking Christians immense reason to be thankful. William Tyndale was born in the midst of the reformation and was a linguistic genius. Although there had been some translations of the bible already into the common languages, there had yet to be a translation from the original Greek into English. Tyndale, using the original Biblical Greek texts compiled by Erasmus, set forth to translate them into English. Yet before he could even print one entire New Testament, his offices were stormed by authorities and he had to move his operation. Tyndale moved his operation and printed many New Testaments that were instrumental in Church History to spread the Word of God. That very first New Testament that he printed survived and sits right now in the British Library. William Tyndale’s efforts to translate the Bible into English would be paid for with his life. Whoever holds a Bible in the English language has to thank William Tyndale for his efforts to bring the truth of the Gospel to their language.
Codex Sinaiticus
The Codex Sinaiticus translated simply means Sinai Book and it is a Bible that was produced in the middle of the 4th century. This makes it the second earliest Bible to survive today and the earliest surviving copy of the complete New Testament. Written in Greek and Hebrew, this Bible is spread throughout the world at various institutions but the portion that is preserved at the British Library contains the entire New Testament.
Westminster Abbey
How To get there – Westminster tube station on Jubilee District and Circle lines
What to See – graves of multiple persons of interest including Henry VIII, Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin
Westminster Abbey is a very famous church being the location for the royal weddings and coronations and also the final resting place of famous individuals throughout history. The Gothic architecture is intricate and beautiful from the outside and the towering ceiling from the inside is spectacular. However, I was disappointed with the rooms and chapels inside of the abbey which were very gaudy as haphazard arrangements of the hundreds of memorials and tombstones give the rooms an eerie feel to them. Of the numerous people buried there, there doesn’t appear to be any rhyme or reason as to their inclusion. Nonetheless, there is a lot of history that has taken place in that cathedral. A few things of interest I would point out are the pulpit dedicated to William Carey and the recent addition of the sculptures dedicated to 10 Martyrs from the 20th century.
Pulpit in honor of William Carey
William Carey was a missionary from England to India and considered to have begun the modern missionary movement. A pulpit was given to the Westminster Abbey by the Baptist Missionary Society in honor of William Carey. Although it doesn’t have direct connection to William Carey’s life or ministry, it is a neat object to see while visiting the Abbey and to consider the impact Carey has had all over the world.
Modern Martyrs
Secondly, in 1990 the Abbey unveiled a new addition to the architecture of the building. Above the West entrance (which is actually the exit if you choose to visit), are ten statues of martyrs in the 20th century. They did include figures across all religions which seems counter intuitive considering it’s a Christian Church. However, they did include Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a true Christian who was martyred at the hands of the Nazi’s in World War 2, and also Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. whom I’m sure you are well acquainted.
Tower of London
How to get there – tube station tower
Cost – $30 USD
Things of interest – the crown jewels, white tower
The Tower of London was built in 1078 and is famous for being both a prison and also a palace. During the reign of Bloody Mary, many protestant Christians were imprisoned here and shortly thereafter, executed when they refused to recant their faith. After Henry VIII founded the Church of England and severed the connection with Rome, his son Edward VI advanced the Church of England in a more protestant direction. However, once Edward died and Queen Mary took the throne, she quickly returned England to Roman Catholicism. Many who advanced into leadership roles in the Church during Edward’s reign, found themselves with a target on their backs. Those who refused to recant of their protestant beliefs were imprisoned, some were tortured, and many died a painful death. It is an impactful experience to contemplate their sacrifice and faith.
Chaplain Bradford
Chaplain John Bradford was one of those who was imprisoned at the Tower of London. He was born in Manchester, England and studied to become a minister of the Word of God at Cambridge. He preached for three years and Foxe states in his Book of Martyrs “Sharply he reproved sin, sweetly he preached Christ crucified, ably he disproved heresies and errors, earnestly he persuaded to godly life”. He continued to preach into the reign of bloody Mary until she summoned him to appear to the council at the Tower of London. When he appeared he was charged with sedition and confronted for his preaching. Consequently he was imprisoned in the Tower of London until he was brought to Smithfield. In July 1555 he has condemned to die and executed.
Bishop Hooper
During the same time Bishop John Hooper was held in the Tower of London. Sometime while studying in Cambridge, and then Oxford, Hooper developed a love for the scriptures as his theology fell in line with the Protestant Reformation. However due to conflict with king Henry VIII, he left England for Paris. Hooper made his way through France and Germany studying until he arrived in Zurich, Switzerland where he befriended the reformers there as he continued to study. Once Edward VI ascended the throne, Hooper returned to his countrymen to restore Protestantism in his home country. He confronted the Bishops not committed to the Reformation and continued to preach for over two years. Once Edward died and Mary became Queen and re-established Catholicism, Hooper was imprisoned in the notorious Tower from 1553 to 1555. On multiple occasions he was brought before the council to recant his faith yet he refused. He was finally condemned to die and on February 9th, 1555 he was burned at the stake.
Cuthbert Simpson
Cuthbert Simpson was a deacon in a small church in England. On December 13th, 1557 he appeared before the council at the Tower of London. He was ordered to give up the names of those in his church and when he refused he was summarily tortured. He was repeatedly tortured in the Tower as he continued to hold out on giving up the names of those in his church. Finally, he was condemned to die and his last words were a prayer that all people would come to Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins.
John Bunyan’s Grave
Just South of Shoreditch there lies a very old cemetery called Bunhill Fields. Starting around 1660, this cemetery was used to bury nonconformists, those who did not conform to the Church of England. Those who are buried here include Daniel Defoe, the author of Robinson Crusoe, William Blake, the poet, and the puritan John Owen. The most famous person buried here though would be John Bunyan, the author of Pilgrim’s Progress. A monument was erected over his grave which portrays a man lying down holding a book. On either side of the monument two scenes are portrayed from Pilgrim’s Progress. On one side a man, Christian, is shown with a heavy burden on his back which represents his sin. On the other side, Christian is shown with his burden gone, kneeling at the foot of the cross. Going to someone’s grave is a somber, perhaps morose thing to do, but it is a tangible reminder of their work in life and gives us a chance to be thankful of God’s work through them; in this case, the writing of a book that has influenced so many people.