Participants:
Series Code: V
Program Code: V000011
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00:51 The superstitions practiced by the Roman church
00:54 kept men's consciences bound to her false doctrines. 00:58 People were taught to trust in their own good works 01:01 to save themselves. 01:03 God, and even Christ, were depicted as stern and sullen; 01:09 only through the priests and the saints could they come to Christ 01:18 This altar: , 01:23 depicts Mary booting 2 reformers out of heaven, 01:27 they are Martin Luther and John Huss. 01:30 Below the altar a little angel is tearing pages 01:34 out of a book, the Holy Word of God, the Bible. 01:39 Although this was sculpted in the early 1700s 01:42 it represents the defiant attitude of the Catholic church 01:46 during the 1260 years of spiritual darkness. 01:58 The Waldenses understood the teachings of Rome, 02:01 and the bondage in which the people lived. 02:04 These faithful missionaries longed to point these people 02:08 to the loving Jesus, who died that they might obtain 02:12 true liberty. 02:16 Searching out the honest in heart, they taught them 02:20 that Jesus was their true priest, that to Jesus alone 02:23 they must confess their sins, and that Jesus was faithful 02:27 to forgive them and to cleanse them from sin. 02:31 Thus, the light of truth came into many a darkened mind. 02:37 The Son of Righteousness shone into their heart with healing 02:41 in His beams. 02:43 Now the fear of death was banished, and they were able 02:46 to look up and accept Christ fully. 02:51 Although these new converts faced persecution, 02:54 they were filled with joy and courage, 02:58 and they, like all true followers of Christ, 03:01 told others about their newfound faith, 03:04 and many joined the Waldensian believers. 03:09 In the year 1488 Pope Innocent VllI decreed 03:14 that all the Waldensian people of the Cottian Alps 03:17 were to be put to death. 03:20 A papal sword was to be unsheathed, to be used against 03:24 God's commandment keeping people and was not to be returned 03:28 to it's scabbard while a single confessor of the faith 03:31 remained alive. 03:39 Rome insisted that the Waldenses should submit 03:42 to her power. 03:44 Church officials were sent out with a decree in hand 03:47 and informed them thus: that if they would come 03:51 to the bosom of the church of Rome, and embrace 03:54 the Roman Catholic religion, they should enjoy their houses, 03:58 properties and lands, and live with their families 04:02 without the least molestation, but if they refuse 04:06 to comply with these propositions, 04:09 persecution should ensue, and certain death be their portion. 04:16 To each of the propositions declared, the Waldenses 04:19 nobly replied that no considerations, whatever, 04:22 should make them renounce their religion. 04:26 Because of their refusal to submit to Rome 04:30 the papacy chose Albert Cataneo 04:32 to lead on a daring attack against the Waldenses. 04:36 The plan of attack was designed to strike 04:38 a deadly blow in the center of the Waldensian territory: 04:42 the Valley of Angrogna. 04:45 Cataneo's army was to be separated into 2 divisions. 04:49 1 division, led by Cataneo himself, moved toward 04:53 the Pra del Tor via the Valley of Angrogna, 04:58 destroying everything on their way. 05:01 The cruel La Palud led the other division up the Alps 05:05 of Dauphiny, and entered the Veil of Louise, 05:09 a deep gorge overhung by towering mountains. 05:13 Waldensian scouts observed the papal forces invading 05:17 their territory; hastily placing their goods in carts 05:21 and gathering their flocks and herds, the Waldenses began 05:25 to climb the rugged slopes of Mont Pelvoux 05:28 rising 6,000 feet above the valley. 05:32 Songs of praise to God rose from their lips, 05:35 dispelling their terror. 05:40 About half way up, at the top of an immense precipice, 05:44 they came upon a platform of rock leading into 05:48 a large cavern. 05:50 The roof of the cave formed a magnificent arch, 05:53 which gradually narrowed into a small passage way, 05:56 then widened into a roomy hall. 05:59 The herds were distributed along the side cavities 06:03 of the cave; mothers, fathers and children 06:06 found room inside, and the entrance was barricaded 06:09 with huge stones. 06:12 Then, able bodied men posted themselves to watch. 06:18 The enemy, knowing their prey was in the cave, 06:21 approached from above. 06:23 Soldiers were let down by ropes from the precipice 06:25 overhanging the entrance to the grotto. 06:29 The platform in front of the cave was secured 06:31 by La Palud's men. 06:33 The Waldenses retreated deeper into their hiding place, 06:37 rather than sending his troops into the cave, 06:40 La Palud ordered his men to collect all the wood 06:43 they could find and piling it up at the entrance 06:46 of the cave, set it on fire. 06:50 A huge volume of black smoke rolled into the cave, 06:54 one can only imagine the feelings of God's people 06:58 in that cave when the smoke filled the cavern, 07:01 suffocating all its inhabitants. 07:04 Surely they hung on to the promises of God. 07:39 When the cavern was afterward examined, 07:42 there were found in it 400 infants suffocated 07:46 in their cradles, or in the arms of their dead mothers, 07:50 altogether, there perished in this cave 07:53 more than 3000 Waldenses. 07:56 What was the crime that deserved this frightful punishment? 08:01 It was dependence upon the Bible as the only rule of faith, 08:05 and rejection of the traditions and teachings 08:08 of the Roman Catholic church. 08:15 While La Palud was on his mission of destruction 08:18 on Mont Peloux, Cataneo was leading his army north 08:22 and west, to destroy the Waldenses 08:24 in the Valley of Angronga. 08:26 Into the narrow defiles he led his soldiers, 08:30 beyond where great rocks overhung the path. 08:34 But there was no resistance. 08:36 On into the valley of Angronga, Cataneo and his host marched. 08:41 The homes of the Waldenses were empty 08:43 and the valley was empty as well. 08:46 Cataneo surmised that the people of the valley 08:48 had fled to the Pra del Tor. 08:53 Between Cataneo and his prey rose a steep, 08:55 unscalable mountain, which runs like a wall across the valley. 09:00 It seemed that the advance of the papal legate, 09:02 and his army, would end before this great, 09:05 natural barricade. 09:07 They could see the white peaks of the high mountains 09:09 surrounding the Pra. 09:12 After much searching, Cataneo discovered the single path 09:15 that opens through the mountain. 09:18 Some convulsion of nature had rent the mountains, 09:21 forming a long, narrow, dark chasm. 09:24 Cataneo boldly ordered his men to enter and traverse 09:28 this frightful gorge, not knowing how few of them 09:31 he would ever lead back. 09:37 The only pathway through this chasm is a rocky ledge 09:40 on the side of the mountain, so narrow than no more 09:44 than 2 abreast could advance along it. 09:47 If assailed from in front, behind or above, 09:50 there is absolutely no retreat, 09:54 nor is there room for those attacked to fight. 09:57 The pathway is hung midway above the bottom of the gorge, 10:01 where torrents of water rage of the rocks. 10:04 It was into this terrible defile that the soldiers 10:08 of the papal legate now marched. 10:12 They advanced as best they could along the narrow ledge, 10:15 they were now nearing the Pra. 10:17 It seemed impossible for their prey to escape them, 10:21 but God was watching over His people. 10:26 As the enemy soldiers advanced along the narrow path, 10:30 a white cloud, no bigger than a man's hand, 10:33 unobserved by the invaders, but keenly watched 10:36 by the Waldenses, was seen to gather 10:38 on the mountain summit. 10:40 The cloud grew rapidly bigger and darker. 10:44 It came rolling down the mountainside, wave after wave, 10:49 like an ocean tumbling out of heaven, 10:52 a sea of murky vapor. 10:54 It fell right into the chasm in which the papal army 10:57 was situated, sealing it up and filling it 11:00 from top to bottom with a thick fog. 11:03 In a moment, the host were in night, 11:06 they were bewildered, stupefied, and could see 11:10 neither before, or behind, could neither advance 11:14 nor retreat, they halted in a state of terror. 11:21 The Waldenses interpreted this as interposition 11:24 of providence in their behalf. 11:27 The power to repel the invader had been given them. 11:31 They tore out huge stones and rocks, and sent them 11:35 thundering down into the ravine. 11:38 The papal soldiers were crushed where they stood, 11:41 nor was this all, some of the Waldenses boldly entered 11:45 the chasm, sword in hand, and attacked them in front. 11:49 Consternation seized the Piedmont's host, 11:53 panic impelled them to flee, but their effort 11:56 to escape was more fatal than the sword of the Vaudois, 12:00 or the rocks, that swift as arrow, came bounding down 12:03 the mountain. 12:05 They jostled one another, they threw each other down 12:09 in the struggle, some were trodden to death, 12:11 others rolled over the precipice, and were 12:14 crushed on the rocks below, or drowned in the torrent. 12:17 So perished, miserably, the enemies of God. 13:38 It was said that there were 3 missionaries 13:41 that traversed the south of Europe during the middle ages: 13:46 the troubadour, the barb, and the mightiest of all, the Bible. 13:51 The troubadours must have been a colorful sight 13:54 as they approached a medieval castle. 13:57 Foremost in their minds was to the burden present God's truth 14:00 as it is written in His holy word. 14:04 As a troubadour entered through the castle gate with his lute, 14:08 the people anxiously gathered to hear any news 14:11 of the outside world, and to hear the minstrel 14:13 play and sing for their entertainment. 14:17 The common minstrels sang the provincial love songs 14:19 of the period, 14:21 but the Waldensian missionaries sang portions of songs 14:24 which taught virtue, and hatred a vice. 14:28 As the people listened, some were moved to hear more 14:32 from the singing evangelist. 14:34 In this way the Waldensian minstrels taught the people 14:37 that God was the only object of worship, 14:41 the Bible, the only rule of faith, 14:45 and Christ, the only means of salvation. 14:49 From castle to castle, these dedicated servants 14:52 of Christ witnessed by singing their songs and teaching 14:56 the precious truths found in God's word. 15:03 The Waldenses were among the first of the people of Europe 15:06 to obtain a translation of the Holy Scriptures. 15:11 Hundreds of years before the reformation, 15:13 they possessed manuscripts of the Bible in their 15:16 native tongue. 15:18 They had maintained the apostolic faith, 15:21 pure and unadulterated. 15:24 This rendered them the special objects of hatred 15:27 and the persecution. 15:30 They declared the church of Rome to be the apostate 15:34 Babylon of the Apocalypse, and at the peril of their lives 15:38 they stood up to resist her corruptions. 15:42 As a result of long, continued persecution, 15:45 some compromised their faith, 15:48 little by little yielding its distinctive principles. 15:52 Yet, other held fast the truth. 15:55 Through ages of darkness and apostasy, there were always 15:59 Waldenses who denied the supremacy of Rome, 16:03 who rejected image worship as idolatry, 16:06 and who kept the true Bible Sabbath. 16:09 Under the fiercest tempest of opposition 16:12 they maintained their faith. 16:15 Though gashed by the Savoyard spear, 16:18 and scorched by the Romish faggot, 16:20 the Waldenses stood unflinchingly for God's word, 16:23 and His honor. 16:25 They were accused by their enemies of every crime 16:28 and base practice - they were called sorcerers, 16:31 and charged with worshipping Lucifer in the form 16:34 of a black cat. 16:36 The children of these Vaudois were always born, 16:39 it was said, with hairy throats, 16:41 with 4 rows of black teeth and with single eye 16:45 in the middle of their forehead. 16:49 On one occasion the Duke of Savoy visited 16:52 his Waldensian subjects after a time of persecution 16:56 and asked to see those monstrous children, 17:00 but was convinced of the deceptive calumny 17:03 when beautiful, rosy cheeked children, with pearly teeth, 17:07 and 2 eyes, were brought before him. 17:13 Long before the German Reformation, 17:16 the Waldenses were an evangelistic people, 17:19 loving the Bible above all things, 17:22 making translation of it into the common tongue, 17:25 spreading it abroad in Bohemia, in Germany, 17:29 in France and in Italy. 17:32 The missionary zeal of the Waldenses and their great 17:34 success in spreading Bible truths 17:37 resulted in the terrible persecutions which they endured, 17:41 yet the blood of these martyrs watered the seeds 17:45 of the gospel. 17:49 From earliest childhood the Waldensian youth 17:52 were instructed in the scriptures and taught 17:55 to sacredly regard the claims of the law of God. 17:59 The children memorized whole chapters of the Bible 18:02 so that whatever might befall the written copies 18:05 of the Bible, large portions of it might be secure 18:09 in the memories of their young men and maidens. 18:15 In the darkness of night, at secret gatherings 18:18 in their homes, they went barefoot, or with shoes 18:21 bound in rags, that they might not be heard in passing. 18:26 It was their custom to listen to the gospels recited 18:29 in turn by the young, each one repeating a certain portion. 18:35 "And to the woman were given 2 wings of a great eagle" 18:39 "as she might fly into the wilderness, into a place" 18:43 "where she is nourished for a time, a times," 18:46 "and half a time, from the face of the serpent. " 18:49 "And the dragon was wroth with the woman" 18:51 "and went to make war with the remnant of her seed," 18:55 "which keep the commandments of God," 18:58 "and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. " 19:05 Every barb, or pastor, learned a manual trade or profession, 19:10 all knew how to cultivate the fields and care 19:12 for the flocks and herds. 19:15 Before the invention of printing, 19:17 they copied large portions of the Scriptures 19:20 for use by their scholars, to whom they also taught 19:23 the languages, and instructed them in piety and good works. 19:29 Each was required to memorize the books of Matthew 19:32 and John, but many of them memorized the entire 19:36 New Testament, and much of the Old. 19:40 They placed it in their minds and in their hearts 19:42 to share with those with whom they would come 19:45 in contact as they went out on their missionary journeys 19:49 for the Lord, Jesus Christ. 19:55 The 16th century dawned as the Waldenses were still recovering 19:59 from the persecutions led out by generals La Palud 20:03 and Cataneo. 20:04 The Duke of Savoy had promised them security in their valleys, 20:09 but it was not all together in his power 20:11 to make his promise good. 20:13 He could take care that such armies of crusaders, 20:17 as that which mustered under the standard of Cataneo, 20:20 should not invade their valleys, but he could not guard them 20:24 from the secret conspiracies of the priesthood. 20:27 In the absence of the duke's armed solider, 20:31 the inquisitors and priests of Rome, acting as missionaries, 20:35 seduced the people with their sophistries 20:38 and kidnapped others, carrying them off to the holy office. 20:44 To these annoyances was added the yet greater evil 20:47 of a decaying piety. 20:49 A desire for repose made many conform outwardly 20:53 to the Romish church. 20:55 In order to be shielded from all interruption in their 20:58 journeys on business, they obtained from the priests 21:02 who were settled in the valleys, certificates or testimonials 21:06 of their being papists. 21:08 To obtain this credential it was necessary to attend 21:11 the Romish chapel, to confess, to go to mass, 21:15 and to have their children baptized by the priests. 21:19 At the same time, they continued to attend the preaching 21:22 of the Vaudois pastors, and to submit themselves 21:26 to their censures. 21:28 Beyond all question, the men who practiced these deciets, 21:33 and the church that tolerated them 21:35 had greatly declined. 21:37 That old vine seemed to be dying. 21:41 A little while, and it would disappear from off 21:44 those mountains, which had had so long covered 21:47 with the shadow of its bows. 22:00 At this very time, the Protestant Reformation 22:02 was breaking forth over Europe. 22:05 The Waldenses, eager to know to what extent 22:08 the yoke of Rome had been cast off by the nations 22:11 of Europe, sent some of their pastors to Switzerland 22:14 and Germany, on a mission of enquiry. 22:18 They desired to make known their beliefs and practices, 22:21 and see how they compared to what these new 22:24 reformers believed. 22:30 A synod was called forth and representatives from various 22:35 parts of Europe came to meet with the Waldenses 22:37 of Italy and France. 22:40 The representatives assembled together 22:42 on the 12th of October 1532, at the town of Chanforan 22:47 in the heart of the Valley of Angrongna. 22:52 At the conclusion of this assembly the findings 22:55 were embodied in a short confession of faith 22:58 in which the Waldenses and the Reformers agreed upon: 23:02 The moral inability of man. 23:05 Election to eternal life. 23:07 The will of God, as made known in the Bible. 23:10 The only rule of duty. 23:12 And the doctrine of 2 sacraments only: 23:16 baptism and the Lord's supper. 23:20 In their eagerness and joy to join with others 23:23 who opposed the errors of Rome and cherished the word of God, 23:28 the Waldenses gave up the last vestiges of the Bible Sabbath 23:32 for the Sunday worship of the Reformers. 23:35 The remnant Sabbath keepers still among them were silenced, 23:40 and the majority of the Waldenses joined the Reformers 23:44 to become part of a greater movement to protest 23:46 against papal oppression. 23:51 The lamp which had been on the point of expiring 23:54 began to burn with its former brightness. 23:58 The spirit of the Waldenses revived, 24:01 they no longer practiced those dissimulations and cowardly 24:04 concealments to which they had had recourse 24:07 to avoid persecution. 24:10 They no longer feared to confess their faith. 24:13 From here on they were never seen at mass, 24:17 or in the popish churches. 24:19 They refused to recognize the priests of Rome 24:21 as ministers of Christ, and under no circumstances 24:25 would they receive any spiritual benefit or service 24:29 at their hands. 24:33 Into the hands of the Reformers the Waldenses placed 24:36 a most appropriate and noble gift, that book - the Bible, 24:42 which their fathers had preserved with their blood, 24:46 which their barbs had laboriously transcribed 24:49 and circulated. 24:51 They now translated into the French language 24:53 and printed at their own expense for the churches 24:57 of the Reformation. 25:00 Strengthened by the fellowship of their Protestant brethren, 25:04 the Waldenses rebuilt their churches 25:07 and reinstituted worship services. 25:10 Pastors were multiplied and crowds flocked 25:13 to their preaching, 25:15 to drink of these living waters again, flowing freely, 25:19 in their land. |
Revised 2014-12-17