Participants:
Series Code: V
Program Code: V000010
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02:30 Among the mountain solitudes of Northern Italy, a people exiled
02:35 to the wilderness kept the light of truth burning throughout the 02:38 darkness of the Middle Ages. 02:41 God had provided for his people a sanctuary of awful grandeur 02:45 befitting the mighty truths committed to their trust. 02:49 To those faithful exiles, the mountains were an emblem of the 02:53 immutable righteousness of Jehovah. 02:56 They were a constant witness to God's creative power 02:59 and a never failing assurance of his protecting care. 03:03 God, who had set fast the mountains and girded them 03:07 with strength, so that no arm, but that of infinite power, 03:11 could move them out of their place. 03:13 In like manner, had established his law 03:26 amid the gloom that settled upon the earth. 03:29 During the long period of papal supremacy, 03:32 the light of truth could not be wholly extinguished. 03:35 In every age, there are witnesses for God. 03:39 Men who cherished faith in Christ as the only mediator 03:42 between God and man, 03:45 who held the Bible as the only rule of life, 03:48 and who hallowed the true Sabbath. 03:50 How much the world owes to these men. 03:53 Posterity will never know. 03:55 They were branded as heretics, their motives impugned, 03:59 their characters maligned, their writings suppressed, 04:03 misrepresented or mutilated. 04:06 Yet they stood firm, and from age to age maintained 04:11 their faith in its purity as a sacred heritage 04:14 for the generations to come. 04:27 One group of these faithful witnesses for God 04:30 was the Waldenses. 04:31 Their doctrine stood out like the majestic mountains. 04:40 Their religious belief was founded upon the written word 04:44 of God, the true system of Christianity. 04:47 But those humble peasants and their obscure retreats, 04:51 shut away from the world and bound to daily toil among 04:54 their flocks and vineyards had not by themselves 04:58 arrived at the truth which opposed the dogmas and heresies 05:02 of the apostate church. 05:04 Theirs was not a faith newly received. 05:08 Their religion was passed down as an inheritance 05:43 Italy is a land of contrast. 05:46 In the north there are snow-capped mountains 05:49 and alpine meadows. 05:51 Toward the south we find a mild Mediterranean climate, 05:55 and in the heart of this country is Rome. 05:59 Sitting as it were, a queen in the midst of the seas. 06:03 In the north dwelt the church of the Alps, 06:06 the land of the Walden sees. 06:08 As if carved from the mountains, the Piedmont valley spread like 06:13 spokes in a giant wheel. 06:19 The origin of the Waldenses, is lost in the night of centuries. 06:24 Their tradition declares that they were driven 06:27 from southern Italy to the Alpine valleys 06:30 during the second and third centuries. 06:39 Let us go back in time to the early Christian era 06:43 of Pagan Rome. 06:44 Paul, a gray-haired old man was taken to Rome as a prisoner. 06:49 While in Rome, Paul, though chained to a soldier, 06:53 was allowed to witness in his own rented house for two years. 06:58 In less than two years, the Gospel found its way 07:01 to Nero's imperial halls and throughout Italy. 07:08 Nero, the emperor of Rome, bore the impress of Satan. 07:14 He was fierce, debased, and corrupt. 07:18 Under his reign, Paul was confined to a dark 07:21 and dismal prison awaiting execution. 07:24 Nero ordered the beheading of Paul. 07:28 Thus silencing one of Christ's greatest witnesses, 07:32 but his influence and written word live on. 07:37 The persecution of Christians, beginning under Nero 07:41 about the time of the martyrdom of Paul, continued 07:44 with greater or lesser fury for centuries. 07:47 Many gave their lives to follow Christ. 07:50 They were the objects of popular hatred and suspicion. 07:54 They were condemned as rebels against the empire, 07:57 As foes of the government and pests to society. 08:01 Great numbers were sentenced to death because they would not 08:04 worship false deities and acknowledge the emperor 08:08 as god on earth. 08:11 Their punishment was often made the chief entertainment 08:15 to public festivities. 08:17 Vast multitudes assembled to enjoy the sight of Christians 08:21 sentenced to death. 08:22 Placed in the coliseum to be torn apart by wild beasts. 08:26 Under the fiercest persecutions, these witnesses for Jesus 08:31 kept their faith unsullied. 08:39 At the beginning of the 4th century, during the time of 08:42 Diocletian, many of these persecuted Christians 08:45 fled to Northern Italy. 08:47 These forerunners of the Waldenses, 08:49 settled in the valleys of the Piedmont and became known 08:52 as the peoples of the valley or the Voudoi. 08:59 As the persecution of the Christians became more furious, 09:03 the violence in pagan Rome also increased. 09:07 Constantine, an emperor of Rome in the fourth century, 09:11 observed that those Caesar's who had persecuted the Christians 09:15 usually came to a bad end, 09:18 while the number of Christians continued to grow. 09:25 Emperor Constantine, through a supernatural experience, 09:30 professed to accept Christianity. 09:33 On his way to battle he claimed to have heard a voice, 09:37 and upon looking up saw a cross in the sky and heard the words, 09:41 In this sign, conquer. 09:45 Yet he continued on in his pagan forms of worship. 09:51 This nominal conversion of Constantine caused 09:53 great rejoicing. 09:55 But, rather than converting the world to Christianity, 09:59 the world cloaked with a form of righteousness 10:02 walked into the church. 10:04 Christianity and paganism were now combined. 10:15 The sun universally celebrated as the invincible guide 10:20 and protector of the emperor of Rome, received more 10:23 of Constantine's devotion than did the Lord Jesus Christ. 10:28 This coin shows Constantine on one side and Apollo, 10:32 the sun god on the other. 10:35 When Constantine claimed to accept Christianity, 10:38 the sun god Apollo, often pictured with the rays 10:42 of the sun coming out of his head, became the image of 10:45 Christ for the Christian church. 10:51 The emblems of the sun are often found in the art 10:54 of the Roman Church, portraying paganism combined 10:58 with Christianity. 11:00 At the very heart of the Vatican complex in Rome 11:03 lies an immense solar wheel. 11:06 A cross within a cross. 11:09 In the center of this wheel is an obelisk, a symbol associated 11:14 with sun worship. 11:19 In pagan religions, the sun has always been a symbol for life. 11:23 The obelisk represented the male organ of reproduction. 11:27 The solar wheel also a fertility symbol represented the sun, 11:32 moon and stars. 11:34 These pagan symbols can be seen in temples all over the world, 11:38 and their origins can be traced back to ancient Babylon. 11:47 This oculus, in one of the great domes of St. Peters, 11:51 allows the rays of the sun to shine through. 11:54 Notice the solar wheel around the opening. 11:58 This dome and oculus symbolizing the sun 12:02 are part of the Pantheon, Rome's oldest pagan temple. 12:06 It was completed in 27 BC, and dedicated to all gods. 12:12 St. Peters, modeled after the Pantheon, copied much of 12:16 its symbolism in architecture, even to the point of duplicating 12:21 the obelisk placed in front of it. 12:23 At one time statues of the gods were placed at the base 12:27 of the dome inside the Pantheon. 12:31 People worship before this statue of Peter which was 12:35 originally the idol of Jupiter, a pagan god, taken from the 12:40 Pantheon and placed near the altar in St. Peters. 12:47 To the left of this magnificent altar, with its colossal 12:50 serpent columns, is a statue of Mary, entitled La Verita, 12:56 meaning the truth. 12:58 In the Roman church it is said of Mary, I am the way, 13:02 the truth and the life. 13:04 She has her foot on the world showing her power over it 13:08 and in her arms is a startling sight. 13:12 She is not holding the infant child Jesus, as we would expect, 13:16 but she is holding the sun, a golden sun disk. 13:22 The first queen of Babylon named Samarimus, was said 13:27 to have given birth to the sun god. 13:30 She was called the queen of heaven, just as Mary 13:33 is called the queen of heaven by the Roman Catholic church. 13:41 During the first few centuries after Christ's ascension, 13:45 the loyal followers of Jesus watched apostasy creeping into 13:50 the Christian church. 13:51 They saw the need to separate themselves from this apostasy, 13:56 as they observed church and state combining their powers 14:00 to enforce religious practices, to be followed by all 14:03 or suffer civil penalties. 14:09 On the 7th day of March, in 321, Constantine gave the first 14:14 public measure enforcing Sunday observance. 14:17 This edict required townspeople to rest on the venerable 14:21 day of the sun. 15:07 During the 1st centuries, most of the Christian world 15:11 worshipped God on the 7th day, as had the apostles. 15:15 When the edict of Constantine did not prove a sufficient 15:19 substitute for divine authority, Eusebius, a bishop of Rome, 15:24 who sought the favor of princes, advanced the claim that Christ 15:28 had transferred the sanctity of Sabbath to Sunday. 15:31 Those who continued to cherish the 7th day Sabbath 15:35 were made enemies of the state and of the church. 16:07 Justinian ascended the throne of Constantinople as the Emperor 16:10 of the East in 527. 16:13 He was a shrewd politician, and in an effort to extend his rule 16:19 over the whole of the Roman empire, he realized his need 16:22 of securing the cooperation of the Catholic church, 16:25 which by this time was highly organized. 16:29 In 538, a new order of popes began with vigilance. 16:34 Now the popes no longer belonged solely to the church, 16:39 but were men and rulers of the state. 16:41 Justinian had given the Pope of Rome the power to be the head 16:46 of all bishops, and the true and effective corrector of heretics. 16:51 Thus, by the 6th century, the papacy 16:54 had become firmly established. 16:57 Its seat of power was fixed in the imperial city, 17:00 and the bishop of Rome was declared to be the head over 17:03 the entire church. 17:06 Paganism had given place to the papacy. 17:09 From 538 to 1798, Europe lapsed into the Dark Ages 17:14 and the atrocities committed under papal rule revealed 17:19 one of the greatest persecuting powers in history. 17:39 Now began the 1260 years of papal oppression foretold 17:44 in the prophecies of Daniel and the Revelation. 19:04 Behind the lofty bulwarks of the mountains, the Walden sees 19:09 found a hiding place. 19:11 Here for a thousand years, witnesses for the truth 19:14 maintained the ancient faith. 19:17 Deprived for centuries of a visible church and forced 19:22 to worship in caves and dens, the Waldenses strength 19:26 was in the word of God. 19:28 This intimate knowledge of God's word was their only light. 19:36 The Waldensian ministers were trained as missionaries. 19:41 Their school was in the almost inaccessible solitude 19:45 of the deep mountain gorge of the Pra del Tor. 19:49 Their studies were severe and long continued, 19:53 embracing the Latin, Roman and Italian languages. 19:56 After several years of study and retirement they were consecrated 20:02 to God's work by the laying on of hands. 20:05 Everyone desiring to enter the ministry was first required to 20:09 gain an experience as an evangelist. 20:15 Every year in September, the barbs or uncles, 20:18 as their pastors were called, held a general counsel 20:22 to review the work of each student, to examine and ordain 20:25 young ministers, and to select the missionaries who were to 20:29 visit the distant churches in Italy and other countries. 20:33 Each was to serve three years in some mission field before 20:37 taking charge of a church at home. 20:40 This service requiring at the outset self-denial and sacrifice 20:44 was a fitting introduction to the pastor's life in those times 20:48 that tried men's souls. 20:51 The youth who received ordination to the sacred office, 20:55 saw before them not the prospect of earthly wealth and glory, 21:00 but a life of toil and danger and possibly a martyr's fate. 21:09 The missionaries went out two by two as Jesus sent forth 21:13 his disciples. 21:15 With each young man was usually associated a man of age 21:19 and experience, who was held responsible for the training 21:23 of his young companion, and whose instruction the youth 21:27 was required to heed. 21:29 These co-laborers were not always together, 21:33 but often met for prayer and counsel and thus strengthened 21:37 each other in the faith. 21:41 To have made known the object of their mission would have 21:44 ensured its defeat. 21:46 Therefore, they carefully concealed their real character. 21:50 Every minister possessed a knowledge of some trade or 21:53 profession and the missionaries carried out their work under 21:57 cover of a secular calling. 22:00 Usually they chose that of merchant or peddler. 22:37 All the while, their hearts were lifted up to God for wisdom to 22:41 present a treasure more precious than gold or gems. 22:45 They secretly carried about with them their hand-written copies 22:50 of the Bible, in whole or part, and whenever an opportunity 22:54 was presented they called the attention of their customers 22:58 to these manuscripts. 23:00 If an interest to read God's word was thus awakened 23:04 some portion was gladly left with those who desired 23:07 to receive it. 23:09 Often the missionary would say these words to those 23:12 that showed a genuine interest in the truth. 23:17 Friends, we have treasures far more valuable 23:22 than the ones we have shown you. 23:24 If you will protect us from the priests 23:29 I will tell you about them. 23:32 I have a brilliant gem from God himself, for through it 23:40 comes true knowledge of God, and I have another, 23:44 that lights the fire of God's love in the heart of the one 23:48 who owns it. 24:03 At the end of each day, the two missionaries would return 24:06 to their room and ask the Lord's blessing on their day's work. 24:11 These pious men were great prayer warriors. 24:15 Our rule of conduct should be the work of Jesus. 24:20 He who will confess Me on the earth, I will confess in heaven. 24:25 And I will deny him in heaven who has denied me on earth. 24:29 We prefer to be repulsed by the papacy, 24:32 rather than by our Savior. 24:39 At times they were caught and thrown in dismal prisons. 24:43 or they suffered great agony for the word of God, 24:46 and for the testimony they bore. 24:48 Many were tortured and placed on the horrible rack. 24:52 It was during this time that the Waldenses claimed 24:55 the promises of God. 24:57 They kept a pure faith in spite of torture, cold, destitution, 25:02 and loss of life in the Alpine mountains. 25:06 They refused to give up the Bible, to confess to priests, 25:11 to bow down to the wafer, and believe it to be 25:14 the body of Christ, or to acknowledge the Roman pontiff 25:18 as the Vicker of Christ. |
Revised 2014-12-17