aintained 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 many 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."(99) "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.

Among the leading causes that had led to the separation of the true church
from Rome, was the 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 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 den