During these medieval persecutions, the true church withdrew from the apostate leadership and took refuge in “the place prepared for her in the desert.” Fortunately God’s faithful people had “a retreat prepared [for her] by God, in which she is to be fed and kept safe for one thousand two hundred and sixty days” (Revelation 12:6, Amplified New Testament, brackets in the original). This prediction was fulfilled during the 1260 years of persecution from A.D. 538 to 1798 (remember that a day often stands for a year in symbolic Bible prophecy, see Ezekiel 4:6).

During these dark centuries, faithful Bible-believing Christians found refuge wherever they could; for example, in the Waldensian valleys of western Italy and eastern France, and in the Celtic church of the British Isles. Men such as Patrick of Ireland, Columba of Iona, and Aidan of Lindisfarne preached the divine Word of God in secret centers of learning where they trained young men to share the pure gospel in a time of ignorance, superstition and intolerance.

Passing over century after century of church history, as outlined accurately in Revelation, we come right down to our own day—to the true church of Christ since 1798.