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"And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, inter her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent." Revelation 12:14.

A woman in Bible prophecy refers to a church--God's people on earth. The serpent is the devil, or any agency he works through. The "time, times, and half a time" referred to is a span of time covering 1,260 years.

The 1,260 years refer specifically to the Dark Ages. During this time, God's truth was suppressed and hidden from the people. In order to be able to preach the gospel, they had to hide in the wilderness. In no instance is this exemplified so wonderfully as in the case of the Waldenses.

The Waldenses are a people who lived in the Cottian Alps on the border of Italy and France. They lived in a number of valleys that I will refer to as the Waldensian Valleys. These valleys provided a fortress in the wilderness, a place where they could live and worship God as they chose.

Before printing presses had been invented, copies of the Bible were rare and prized. However, the devil knew that if everyone had the Bible, they would be able to study it for themselves, and would come to know the Lord and His power in their lives. So he made owning the Bible illegal and tried to destroy all copies of it that he could. (Incidentally, today he couldn't possibly destroy all of the copies of the Bible, so he just gets people to ignore it!)

During this time, the Waldenses devoted their lives to copying the Bible and spreading the gospel with the world. Because copies of the Bible were written out by hand, they memorized large portions of it in order to keep it with them always.

If you were to visit their valleys, you would be impressed with their grandure and beauty. I have been there, and I will never forget the many lessons I learned there.

One of the things that impressed me the most was that the Waldenses were willing to die for their faith. They would rather die than give up the truth of the Bible. And they would share God's Word with others at the cost of their lives.

I wish I could share with you all the wonderful things I learned there, but that would take a whole website! Instead, I would encourage you to get the book History of the Waldenses by J. A. Wylie. If you cannot find it in the library, or would like to buy one of your own, contact me.

At the entrance of one of the main valleys stands the moutain Castelluzzo (cas-tell-LOOT-zo). When I get a chance, I'll put in some pictures of this mountain. However, I cannot describe this mountain better than Wylie: [Castelluzzo] stands at the entrance of the valleys, its feet swathed in fethery woods; above which is a mass of debris and fallen rocks, which countless tempests have gathered like a girdle round its middle. From amidst these the supreme column shoots up, pillar-like, and touches that white cloud which floats past in midheaven. This mountain is a silent monument to what could very well be the most horrendous massacre in human history, known as Bloody Easter. On that fateful day in 1655, many of the Waldenses ran up this mountain in an effort ot escape the murderers that would have crushed out their lives. But alas! thither the perecutor tracked them, and . . . rolled them down the awful precipice. -- History of the Waldenses, page 147.

I stood on the edge of that mountain and looked over the precipice. And I thought, What if someone were to come up and threaten to throw me over the edge if I did not give up my faith? What would I do? standing on the edge of Castelluzzo, that thought has gripping power! I can know my Bible front and back; but if I do not know how to live it, when the crunch comes, I will not be ready to stand. I would give up my faith to save my life.

But of the Waldenses, it can well be said, "They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death." Revelation 12:11.

I challenge you to not only learn the truth, but also to live that truth!