The European Union in Prophecy The EU in Prophecy I | Page 43

The European Union in Prophecy
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. In the very land where popery had fixed its seat, there its falsehood
and corruption were most steadfastly resisted. For centuries the churches of Piedmont
maintained their independence; but the time came at last when Rome insisted upon
their submission. After ineffectual struggles against her tyranny, the leaders of these
churches reluctantly acknowledged the supremacy of the power to which the whole
world seemed to pay homage. 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 simplicity of their faith. A separation took place.
Those who adhered to the ancient faith now withdrew; some, forsaking their native
Alps, raised the banner of truth in foreign lands; others retreated to the secluded glens
and rocky fastnesses of the mountains, and there preserved their freedom to worship
God.
The faith which for centuries was held and taught by the Waldensian Christians
was in marked contrast to the false doctrines put forth from Rome. Their religious
belief was founded upon the written word of God, the true system of Christianity. But
those humble peasants, in their obscure retreats, shut away from the world, and
bound to daily toil among their flocks and their vineyards, had not by 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
which was once delivered unto the saints." Jude 3. "The church in the wilderness,"
and not the proud hierarchy enthroned in the world's great capital, was the true
church of Christ, the guardian of the treasures of truth which God has committed to
His people to be given to the world.
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