GC: Chap. 4 Amid the gloom that settled. In every age there were witnesses for. God- -men who cherished faith in Christ as the only mediator between God and. Bible as the only rule of life, and who hallowed the true. Sabbath. How much the world owes to these men, posterity will never know. They. were branded as heretics, their motives impugned, their characters maligned. Yet they stood firm. The history of. God's people during the ages of darkness that followed upon Rome's supremacy is. Few traces of. their existence can be found, except in the accusations of their persecutors. It was the policy of Rome to obliterate every trace of dissent from her. Everything heretical, whether persons or writings, she. Expressions of doubt, or questions as to the authority of. The sufferings which they endured brought Christians nearer to one another and to their Redeemer. Their living example and dying testimony were a constant witness for. Video created by https://www.youtube.com/user/mynewname777 The words are from 'The Great Controversy', Ch.35. (One of the most important books for our time. The Great Controvery is war over love and hatred. God is love, but his kingdom was challenged by his own creation. The Almighty God had plan to meet this. Chapter 2. Persecution in the First Centuries. WHEN Jesus revealed to His disciples the fate of Jerusalem and the scenes of the second advent, He foretold also the.Rome endeavored also to destroy every record of her cruelty toward dissenters. Papal councils decreed that books and writings containing such records should. Before the invention of printing, books were few in number, and in a. Romanists from carrying out their purpose. No church within. Romish jurisdiction was long left undisturbed in the enjoyment of. No sooner had the papacy obtained power than she. In Great Britain.
Christianity had very early taken root. The gospel received by the. Britons in the first centuries was then uncorrupted by Romish apostasy. Persecution from pagan emperors, which extended even to these far- off shores. Britain received from Rome. Many. of the Christians, fleeing from persecution in England, found refuge in. Scotland; thence the truth was carried to Ireland, and in all these countries. When the Saxons. invaded Britain, heathenism gained control. The conquerors disdained to be. Christians were forced to retreat to the. Yet the light, hidden for a time, continued to. In Scotland, a century later, it shone out with a brightness that. From Ireland came the pious Columba and his. Iona, made this the center of their missionary labors. Among these. evangelists was an observer of the Bible Sabbath, and thus this truth was. A school was established at Iona, from which. Scotland and England, but to Germany. Switzerland, and even Italy. But Rome had fixed. Britain, and resolved to bring it under her supremacy. In the sixth. century her missionaries undertook the conversion of the heathen Saxons. They were received. Romish faith. As the work progressed, the papal leaders and their converts. Christians. A striking contrast was presented. The. latter were simple, humble, and Scriptural in character, doctrine, and manners. The emissary of Rome demanded that these Christian churches acknowledge the. The Britons meekly replied that they. Christ. Repeated attempts were made to secure their. Rome; but these humble Christians, amazed at the pride displayed. 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. If you will not unite with us in showing the. Saxons the way of life, you shall receive from them the stroke of death."- -J. H. Merle D'Aubigne, History of the Reformation of the Sixteenth Century, b. These were no idle threats. War, intrigue, and deception were employed. Bible faith, until the churches of Britain were. In lands beyond the. Rome there existed for many centuries bodies of Christians who. They were surrounded by. Bible as the only rule of faith and adhered to many of. These Christians believed in the perpetuity of the law of God and. Sabbath of the fourth commandment. Churches that held to this. Central Africa and among the Armenians of Asia. But of those who. Waldenses stood foremost. In. the very land where popery had fixed its seat, there its falsehood and. For centuries the churches of. Piedmont maintained their independence; but the time came at last when Rome. After ineffectual struggles against her. There were some. however, who 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. A separation took place. Those who adhered to the. Alps, raised the. God. The faith which for. Waldensian Christians was in marked. Rome. Their religious belief was. God, the true system of Christianity. But. those humble peasants, in their obscure retreats, shut away from the world, and. Theirs was not a faith newly received. Their religious belief. They contended for the faith of the. Jude. 3. "The church in the wilderness," and not the proud hierarchy enthroned in the. Christ, the guardian of the. God has committed to His people to be given to the. Among the leading. Rome was the. hatred of the latter toward the Bible Sabbath. As foretold by prophecy, the. The law of God was trampled in. The churches. that were under the rule of the papacy were early compelled to honor the Sunday. Amid the prevailing error and superstition, many, even of the. God, became so bewildered that while they observed the Sabbath. Sunday. But this did not satisfy the. They demanded not only that Sunday be hallowed, but that the. Sabbath be profaned; and they denounced in the strongest language those who. It was only by fleeing from the power of Rome that any. God's law in peace. See Appendix.) The Waldenses were. Europe to obtain a translation of the Holy. Scriptures. (See Appendix.) Hundreds of years before the Reformation they. Bible in manuscript in their native tongue. They had the truth. They declared the Church of Rome to be the apostate Babylon of the. Apocalypse, and at the peril of their lives they stood up to resist her. While, under the pressure of long- continued persecution, some. Through ages of darkness and apostasy there were. Waldenses who denied the supremacy of Rome, who rejected image worship as. Sabbath. Under the fiercest tempests of. Though gashed by the Savoyard spear. Romish fagot, they stood unflinchingly for God's word and. His honor. Behind the lofty. Waldenses 6. 6 found a hiding. Here the light of truth was kept burning amid the darkness of the Middle. Ages. Here, for a thousand years, witnesses for the truth maintained the. God had provided. His people a sanctuary of awful grandeur, befitting the mighty truths. To those faithful exiles the mountains were an emblem. Jehovah. They pointed their children to the. Him. with whom there is no variableness nor shadow of turning, whose word is as. God had set fast the mountains and girded. Infinite Power could move them out of. In like manner He had established His law, the foundation of His. The arm of man might reach his fellow men. Jehovah, or blot out one of His promises to those who do. His will. In their fidelity to His law, God's servants should be as firm as the. The mountains that. God's creative power, and. His protecting care. Those pilgrims learned to. Jehovah's presence. They indulged no repining. They thanked God that He had provided for them an asylum from the. They rejoiced in their freedom to worship before Him. Often when pursued by their enemies, the strength of the hills proved a sure. From many a lofty cliff they chanted the praise of God, and the armies. Rome could not silence their songs of thanksgiving. Pure, simple, and. Christ. The principles of truth. These. principles they earnestly sought to impress upon the hearts of the young. From. earliest childhood the youth were instructed in the Scriptures and taught to. God. Copies of the Bible were rare. Many were able to repeat. Old and the New Testament. Thoughts of God were. Little children learned to look with gratitude to God. Parents, tender and. Before them was a life of trial and hardship, perhaps a. They were educated from childhood to endure hardness, to submit. Very early they were. One indiscreet word let fall in the hearing of their enemies. The Waldenses had. Every spot of tillable land among the. Economy and severe self- denial formed a part. They were. taught that God designs life to be a discipline, and that their wants could be. The process. was laborious and wearisome, but it was 6. God has provided for his. While the youth were inured to toil and hardship, the. They were taught that all their. God, and that all were to be improved and developed for His. The Vaudois. churches, in their purity and simplicity, resembled the church of apostolic. Rejecting the supremacy of the pope and prelate, they held the Bible as. Their pastors, unlike the lordly. Rome, followed the example of their Master, who "came not to be. They fed the flock of God, leading them to. His holy word. Far from the. Alpine valleys, or, in time of danger, in some rocky stronghold, to listen to. Christ. The pastors not only preached. In times of peace they were sustained by the freewill offerings of the people. Paul the tentmaker, each learned some trade or profession by which. From their pastors. While attention was given to branches of. Bible was made the chief study. The Gospels of Matthew. John were committed to memory, with many of the Epistles. They were. employed also in copying the Scriptures. Some manuscripts contained the whole. Bible, others only brief selections, to which some simple explanations of the. Scriptures. Thus were. God. By patient. untiring labor, sometimes in the deep, dark caverns of the earth, by the light. Sacred Scriptures were written out, verse by verse, chapter by. Thus the work went on, the revealed will of God shining out like pure. Angels from heaven surrounded these faithful workers. Satan had urged on. It bore not the stamp. God. Men have been unwearied in their efforts to. Scriptures, and to make them. God outrides the storms that threaten it with destruction. As the mine. has rich veins of gold and silver hidden beneath the surface, so that all must. Holy Scriptures have. God designed the Bible to be a lessonbook to all mankind, in childhood. He gave His word to men. Himself. Every new truth discerned is a fresh disclosure of. Author. The study of the Scriptures is the means divinely. Creator and to give. His will. It is the medium of communication between. God and man. While the Waldenses. Lord as the beginning of wisdom, they were not blind. From their schools in the.
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