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Before the invention of printing, books were few in number, and in
a form not favorable for preservation; therefore there was little to
prevent the Romanists from carrying out their purpose.
No church within the limits of Romish jurisdiction was long left
undisturbed in the enjoyment of freedom of conscience. No sooner
had the papacy obtained power than she stretched out her arms to
crush all that refused to acknowledge her sway, and one after another,
the churches submitted to her dominion.
In Great Britain a primitive Christianity had very early taken root.
Faithful men had preached the gospel in that country with great zeal
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and success. Among the leading evangelists was an observer of the
Bible Sabbath, and thus this truth found its way among the people for
whom he labored. Toward the close of the sixth century, missionaries
were sent from Rome to England to convert the barbarian Saxons.
They induced many thousands to profess the Romish faith, and as the
work progressed, the papal leaders and their converts encountered
the primitive Christians. A striking contrast was presented. The
latter were simple, humble, and scriptural in character, doctrine, and
ma
arrogance of popery. The emissary of Rome demanded that these
Christian churches acknowledge the supremacy of the sovereign
pontiff. The Britons meekly replied that they desired to love all men,
but that the pope was not entitled to supremacy in the church, and
they could render to him only that submission which was due to
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every follower of Christ. Repeated attempts were made to secure
their allegiance to Rome; but these humble Christians, amazed at the
pride displayed by her apostles, steadfastly replied that they knew
no other master than Christ. Now the true spirit of the papacy was
revealed. Said the Romish leader, “If you will not receive brethren
who bring you peace, you shall receive enemies who will bring you
war. If you will not unite with us in showing the Saxons the way of
life, you shall receive from them the stroke of death.” These were
no idle threats. War, intrigue, and deception were employed against
these witnesses for a Bible faith, until the churches of Britain were
destroyed, or forced to submit to the authority of the pope.
In lands beyond the jurisdiction of Rome, there existed for many
centuries bodies of Christians who remained almost wholly free
from papal corruption. They were surrounded by heathenism, and
in the lapse of ages were affected by its errors; but they continued to
regard the Bible as the only rule of faith, and adhered to many of its
truths. These Christians believed in the perpetuity of the law of God,
and observed the Sabbath of the fourth commandment. Churches
that held to this faith and practice, existed in Central Africa and
among the Armenians of Asia.
But of those who resisted the encroachments of the papal power,
the Waldenses stood foremost. For centuries the churches of Pied-
mont maintained their independence; but the time came at last when
Rome demanded their submission. After ineffectual struggles against
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The Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 4
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her tyra
the supremacy of the power to which the whole world seemed bow-
ing down. A considerable number, however, refused to yield to
the authority of pope or prelate. They were determined to maintain
their allegiance to God, and to preserve the purity and simplicity of
their faith. A separation took place. Some of the protesters crossed
the Alps, and raised the standard of truth in foreign lands. Others
retired into the more secluded valleys among the mountains, and
there maintained their freedom to worship God.
The religious belief of the Waldenses was founded upon the
written word of God, the true system of Christianity, and was in
marked contrast to the errors of Rome. But those herdsmen and
vine-dressers, in their obscure retreats, shut away from the world,
had not themselves arrived at the truth in opposition to the dogmas
and heresies of the apostate church. Theirs was not a faith newly
received. Their religious belief was their inheritance from their
fathers. They contended for the faith of the apostolic church,—“the
faith once delivered to the saints.”
Among the leading causes that had led to the separation of the
true church from Rome, was the inveterate hatred of the latter toward
the Bible Sabbath. As foretold by prophecy, the papal power cast
down the truth to the ground. The law of God was trampled in
the dust, while the traditions and customs of men were exalted.
The churches that were under the rule of the papacy were early
compelled to honor the Sunday as a holy day. Amid the prevailing
error and superstition, many even of the true people of God, became
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so bewildered that while they observed the Sabbath, they refrained
from labor also on the Sunday. But this did not satisfy the papal
leaders. They demanded not only that Sunday be hallowed, but
that the Sabbath be profaned; and they denounced in the strongest
language those who dared to show it honor. It was only by fleeing
from the power of Rome that any could obey God’s law in peace.
The Waldenses were the first of all the peoples of Europe to
obtain a translation of the Scriptures. Hundreds of years before the
Reformation, they possessed the entire Bible in manuscript in their
native tongue. They had the truth unadulterated, and this rendered
them the special objects of hatred and persecution. They declared
the Church of Rome to be the apostate Babylon of the Apocalypse,
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43
and at the peril of their lives they stood up to resist her corruptions.
While, under the pressure of long-continued persecution, some com-
promised their faith, little by little yielding its distinctive principles,
others held fast the truth. Through ages of darkness and apostasy,
there were Waldenses who denied the supremacy of Rome, who
rejected image worship as idolatry, and who kept the true Sabbath.
Under the fiercest tempests of opposition they maintained their faith.
Though gashed by the Savoyard spear, and scorched by the Romish
fagot, they stood unflinchingly for God’s word and his honor. They
would not yield one iota of the truth.
Behind the lofty bulwarks of the mountains,—in all ages the
refuge of the persecuted and oppressed,—the Waldenses found a
hiding-place. Here the lamp of truth was kept burning during the
long night that descended upon Christendom. Here for a thousand
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years they maintained their ancient faith.