His contemporaries called Scotsman George Wishart a prophet,

 and recorded his key prophecies. John Howie wrote a short biography

of Wishart’s life in 1775, using John Knox’s writings and other sources,

 some of which came from people who lived at the same time as Wishart.

In the 1775 edition of his book, “Scots Worthies,” Howie wrote of Wishart:

“He possessed the ‘spirit of prophecy’ to an extraordinary degree.”

John Husse [John Hus], Wickeliefe [Wycliffe] and Luther foretold things to come.

 They certainly happened. In Scotland M George Wishart foretold that

 Cardinal Beaton would not come out alive from the Gates of the Castle of St Andrews,

but that he would die a shameful death. He was hanged over the window that he looked out of when he saw the man of God burnt. Knox prophesied the hanging of the Lord of Grange M Ioh Davidson uttered prophecies made known to many in the kingdom. Diverse Holy and mortified preachers in England have done the like…

George Wishart [1513-1546 “Reformation”]
1513—1546, Prophet Of God, George Wishart Early Scottish Reformer And A Mentor Of John Knox; Powerful Evangelist & Teacher Of The Bible; Died the same year, 1546, as Martin Luther — George Wishart [c. 1513—1546] was one of the early Scottish Reformers, and a mentor of John Knox. He was a powerful evangelist and teacher of the Bible. Knox regarded Wishart as a prophet. What kind of a prophet?

“Wishart was not only singularly learned as well in godly knowledge as in all honest humane science, but also he was so clearly illuminated with the spirit of prophecy, that he saw not only things pertaining to himself, but also such things as some towns, and the whole realm afterward felt, which he forespake, not in secret, but in the audience of many…” [John Knox, History of the Reformation, vol. 1, ed. William Croft Dickinson (New York: Philosophical Library, 1950), 60.]

Wishart’s Protestant doctrines, prophetic power, and popularity with the people earned him the implacable hatred of David Beaton, Cardinal and Archbishop of St. Andrews, Scotland. Cardinal Beaton hated the Reformers, not so much because they threatened the doctrine of the Catholic Church, but because he viewed them as a threat to international political alliances he valued. [Dictionary of Scottish Church History and Theology, ed. Nigel M. de S. Cameron (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1993), 65—66.]

Wishart’s public lectures on the book of Romans were so well attended in Dundee that Beaton used his influences to have the local magistrate forbid Wishart to preach again in that city.
[Scots Worthies, John Howie, ed. William McGavin (Glasgow: W.R. McPhun, 1846; orig. ed. 1775), contains a short biography of Wishart (pp. 27—38), as well as Knox’s History (pp.60ff.), from which the account above is drawn…]

Magistrate Robert Mill delivered the charge in public at the conclusion of one of Wishart’s lectures. The preacher looked toward heaven and remained silent for a while. No one moved. Then at last he said:
“God is my witness, I never desired your trouble, but your comfort;… but I am sure, to reject the word of God and drive away his messengers, is not the way to save you from trouble, but to bring you into it… When I am gone… if it be I am not led by the Spirit of truth; but if unexpected trouble comes upon you, remember that this is the cause, and turn to God by repentance, for he is merciful.”
[Scots Worthies, 28] Wishart then left town and went elsewhere to preach.

Four days after Wishart left Dundee, a severe plague broke out there. A month later, news of the plague reached Wishart, who was then in western Scotland. He immediately returned to Dundee to comfort the sufferers. When he arrived, he stood at the east gate and preached a sermon on Psalm 107:20, “He sent forth his word and healed them; he rescued them from the grave.” At the risk of his life, Wishart stayed with the infected people, caring for them until the plague abated.

Wishart escaped two public attempts on his life through supernatural revelation. He also prophesied in 1545 that the town of Haddington would be judged with a severe plague, followed by bondage to foreigners.

This was fulfilled in 1548—49, when the town was destroyed by the English. The plague was so severe it hindered even the burial of the dead.

Earlier, having escaped one of Cardinal Beaton’s attempts on his life, Wishart predicted the Cardinal would ultimately be successful in his quest to kill the Reformer. When the time drew near, God revealed to Wishart his impending martyrdom. This revelation saved the life of John Knox.

When Wishart was leaving Haddington, Knox begged him to let him go along with him to Ormiston. Wishart declined saying,
“One is sufficient for one sacrifice.” At Ormiston, Cardinal Beaton had Wishart arrested, and through a series of political intrigues, and an illegal trial, had him condemned to be burned at the stake for heresy.

On March 3rd, 1546, they came to Wishart’s cell, put a rope around his neck, tied his hands behind his back, fastened sacks of gunpowder about his body, and led him to a specially built scaffold just opposite the foretower of the Cardinal’s palace in St. Andrews. Cushions had been placed in the windows of the tower, so the Cardinal and his guests might watch the spectacle in comfort. When the executioner tied him to the stake, Wishart prayed for his accusers, asking God to forgive them.

The executioner was so moved by this he asked Wishart’s forgiveness. To which he replied, “Come hither.” When his executioner drew near, Wishart kissed his cheek, and said “I forgive you. Do your work.” The man turned and lit the fire. The gunpowder blew up, but Wishart was still alive.

When the captain of the castle guard saw this, he told the dying man to be of good courage. Wishart replied, “This flame has scorched my body yet it has not daunted my spirit.”

Then referring to Cardinal Beaton, he continued, “He who, from yonder place, looks upon me with such pride, shall, within a few days, lie in the same castle, as ignominiously as he is now seen proudly to rest himself.” These were the last words of George Wishart, the Stephen of the Scottish Reformed Church, the forerunner of revival and renewal.

On May 5th , 1546, less than three months after Wishart’s death, at 52 years of age, Cardinal David Beaton was murdered in the very palace from which he watched the prophetic martyr’s execution, fulfilling Wishart’s last prophecy.
From: Jack Deere’s book, “Surprised By The Voice Of God, pp. 71—72.

           Robert Fleming [1630—1694]

1630—1694, Historian During The 1600’s, Witness To God’s Miracles & Supernatural  — One of the early historians of this period, Robert Fleming (1630—1694), was a minister and theologian who was a contemporary of Peden.  In 1669, he wrote “The Fulfilling Of The Scripture,” in which he included an account of miraculous events during the Scottish Reformation.  In the book, he made the bold claim that it could not be denied that, during the time of the Reformation in Scotland, God poured out a prophetic and apostolic spirit on some of His servants that did not fall short of the outpouring of His Spirit in New Testament times.”  Why would he say such a thing?  Should be trust his account?

Fleming and his contemporaries should be considered credible because they saw many of these things with their own eyes.  Fleming’s spiritual fathers and other witnesses had passed on accounts of miracles before his time or the events were a matter of public record.  [Robert Fleming, The Fulfilling Of The Scripture (Rotterdam: no pub., 1671; orig. ed. 1669), 430, 473—74.]  Usually, these kinds of testimonies are considered as credible historical sources.  They are the kinds of sources Luke used to write his accounts of Jesus’ ministry [Luke 1:1—4].

Fleming should also be considered credible because he was not a gullible person.  He did not think prophetic revelations and miracles were the usual way of the Lord.  He thought the Lord had favored Scotland with miracles during the time of Reformation because of the church’s extreme need for supernatural power in overcoming the darkness that had spread across his country.  He criticized those who pursued miracles and those who would rather have the Spirit to work miracles than to see people saved.

As for Fleming’s own sincerity and character, he noted that he had been very cautious in recording these events because he judged it a “horrid” theology that would “make a lie for God.”  He claimed not to have knowingly set down anything false and to have carefully investigated each incident.  And he claimed he recorded only a few of the many miraculous stories that could be brought to light by anyone willing to make the same careful search.  He refused to put in his book some stories told to him by credible witnesses because he thought they were so strange people would have trouble believing them.  [Ibid., 430.]

Yet another reason to believe these stories is because the character of the people to whom miracles and prophetic utterances were attributed is beyond question.  Fleming notes that the supernatural element in their ministries never contradicted the Bible.  They never pressed people to believe their revelations.  They were cautious, humble, and sober people, many of whom suffered exile and imprisonment for their beliefs.  Many were tortured and killed because they refused to give up their Presbyterian convictions.  These people were neither flighty nor fraudulent. 

What were Fleming’s motives for writing down these stories?  What use did he make of them?  We might expect him to say that the prophecies and miracles proved Presbyterian doctrine, but he would have none of that… For his beliefs, he appealed to a higher authority than miracles—the Bible.  His motive in writing down miraculous stories was to glorify God:

“We judge it a grave and a concerning duty to observe the wondrous works of the Lord in our times, yea, to make a diligent search thereafter, that we may tell our posterity some of the great acts of our God…”  [Ibid., 474.]

Finally, we should remember that Fleming was imprisoned for his faith and died in exile from his beloved Scotland.  When all of these things are considered together, Fleming would seem to be a better authority on what was actually happening in his time than someone writing about these things two or three hundred years later, especially someone hindered with a bias against the supernatural.  But Fleming was not the only credible witness to these events.