"The very existence of this people, holding the faith of the ancient church, was a constant testimony to Rome's apostasy, and therefore excited the most bitter hatred and persecution. Their refusal to surrender the Scriptures was also an offense that Rome could not tolerate. She determined to blot them from the earth. Now began the most terrible crusades against God's people in their mountain homes. Inquisitors were put upon their track, and the scene of innocent Abel falling before the murderous Cain was often repeated. GC 76.2"
"And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him."
The EGW passage explicitly uses the Cain and Abel story as a parallel to the persecution of God's people by Rome. The reference to Abel's murder by Cain directly illustrates the violence and injustice inflicted upon the faithful.
"Again and again were their fertile lands laid waste, their dwellings and chapels swept away, so that where once were flourishing fields and the homes of an innocent, industrious people, there remained only a desert. As the ravenous beast is rendered more furious by the taste of blood, so the rage of the papists was kindled to greater intensity by the sufferings of their victims. Many of these witnesses for a pure faith were pursued across the mountains and hunted down in the valleys where they were hidden, shut in by mighty forests and pinnacles of rock. GC 76.3"
"They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented;"
The EGW passage describes the persecution of a religious group, including the destruction of their homes and the relentless pursuit of its members. Hebrews 11:37 lists various forms of persecution suffered by faithful individuals, including being slain, wandering, and being afflicted. The shared theme of persecution and suffering makes this a valid thematic parallel.
"No charge could be brought against the moral character of this proscribed class. Even their enemies declared them to be a peaceable, quiet, pious people. Their grand offense was that they would not worship God according to the will of the pope. For this crime every humiliation, insult, and torture that men or devils could invent was heaped upon them. GC 76.4"
"Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men."
The EGW passage describes a group persecuted for prioritizing obedience to God over human authority, directly echoing the principle articulated in Acts 5:29.