Episode 1

I am writing this paper to debase some lies and claims coupled with deception being spread by some set of people from other religion. I am going to explain based in historical landmarks and facts which was in time past recorded by historians; the persecutions of Christians from the days of Christ. Each account is going to be based on facts and figures gathered and it promises to educative and informative. if you are with me on this, kindly follow, and your contributions are also welcomed. I promise to update every 3 days. Thanks.

The Church

The church is the body of Christ; this does not necessarily mean the building and construction of the physical church. This means, that the church is a body of Christ. Those who have been brought from Satan’s bondage of sin and redeemed by the blood of Christ are members of this body of Christ. From the onset, the church has suffered a lot of blows and attacks from the persecutions, heresies, wars and quarrels and no century has passed without it being troubled by enemies inspired of the devil. It is quite remarkable to know that, founding fathers of the Christian faith laid down their precious lives in the face of persecution and hotness of hatred from the world leaders as at that time. Some were tortured, jailed and martyred all because they could not deny their faith in the one true gospel of Christ. Killings were in hundreds (in the early church) despite the persecution, the church survived this terrible onslaught, increased in strength and by the fourth century, the church was firmly established throughout the Mediterranean.

The Beginning of Persecutions

Though already written and prophesied of how Jesus Christ would be persecuted and made to be killed for the sins He never committed; it all started with Him. The Jewish rejected Him and He was in turn crucified and put to death by the Roman authority. The Jewish rejected Him as the Messiah despite His signs and wonders amongst them. After Christ’s death, the disciples were taken in turns and killed in the name of not denying their faith. The disciples couldn’t deny the name of Christ, they couldn’t dent their faith, for they had the image of Christ instilled on them, hence they were executed.

Paul who was once a persecutor of the Christians encountered Christ on his way to Damascus; his latter was filled with persecutions and rejections from his fellow men. The persecutors expect a decrease in the number of believers but instead there was increment - The blood of the early Christians served as seeds that spread on a fertilized ground.

At first Christianity was referred to as a Jewish by the Roman authority. The reigning Roman authority was never aware of the differences between Judaism and Christianity. The roman policy as at that time allowed freedom of worship to the national religion of the peoples they conquered, and for a while Christians were granted the same right and privilege as the Jews. In fact there were several cases where the Romans gave legal rights to believers and saved them from impending harm.

As there was a greater penetration of the Gospel among the Gentiles causing a great number of conversions amongst them; points of differences between Christianity and Judaism began to emerge. The church was no longer classified as Jewish ethnic group, and the process of separation between synagogue and church was accelerating. Awareness of these developments caught Nero’s (Roman Emperor at the time) attention, which was a result of Paul’s trial in Rome. As a result, the Romans classed Christians as atheists because they had no gods- they did not display any idols, and they refused to worship the Roman’s gods. The believers came under increasing suspicion from the populace as they tended to keep themselves separate. They refused to attend the games at the circus (because they started with a procession of the gods) it was difficult to do trade with them and they often withdrew from the normal round of society.

As at this time, they have been categorized under Religion Illicita (an Illegal religion) and Christians became outlaws. Each week never passed by without them holding secret meetings at which they spoke of another kingdom; they partook of a communal meal at which they were said to drinking blood and eating flesh- a practise that led them being charged with cannibalism and witchcraft. To cap it all, they refused to offer incense on an altar to the divine emperor or to address him as ‘Lord’; they were regarded as traitors of Rome.

Emperor Nero
The account of persecution of early Christians would never be complete if Nero is never mentioned. Nero was a roman emperor who reigned from AD54 – 68, and was the first of a line of emperors who tried to destroy the church. Having gained power at the age of eighteen and for the first five years of his reign ruled with plain justice and leniency. Nero could also be referred to as the mad emperor- in his quest and thirst for powers and political dominion; he arranged for his mother to be clubbed to death and his brother, wife and other members of his family killed as well; in AD65 he forced his own tutor and aide, Seneca to commit suicide.

Nero was a ‘playboy’ who enjoyed all kinds of pleasures. As an accomplished musician and poet, he wrote his own compositions, he was also keen on chariots racing and had his own private hippodrome next to the palace gardens in the Vatican valley.

In July AD64, a great fire was said to have destroyed two thirds of Rome. Rumours had it was he who had started the blaze in order to provide a scenic background for the recitation of his poems about the burning of Troy, though there is no evidence to this effect. Surprisingly, he showed concern for the people who had lost their homes during the fire; he even started a relieve program and opened up his gardens as a place for refuges for the homeless.

But the rumour never stopped spreading. So, for him to divert this suspicion he made a scapegoat of the Christians, who are already a target, of public disgust and hatred, and he Nero, accused them of being the culprits. A large number of believers were arrested and charged, not on religious grounds but with arson. They were instead accused wrongly of what they know nothing about.

The charges against Christians were gradually changed to that of ‘hatred of mankind’ meaning disloyalty to the Emperor. Soon, anyone who acknowledged the name of Christ was accepted guilty and hundreds more were sentenced to a more barbaric death. Many Christians died as martyrs.

Nero, in his madness turned the occasion into a show. And in order to provide amusement, the emperor would dress himself as a charioteer and mounted in his chariot, mingled with the crowds who had gathered to witness the spectacle. Christians were said to have been covered in skins of wild animals and were then torn to pieces by dogs. While some were crucified, others were nailed, some were covered with tar and set alight, so that when darkness fell they burned as human torches. And on and on Christians were persecuted.

***to be continued****
Source: http://understandingsgod..com/2015/02/persecution-persecuted-and-persecutors.html
Thanks for reading.

EPISODE 2

In the previous episode-e, I explained from the history of the early church which testified to the fulfilment of Saviour’s words. The powers of hell and earth arrayed themselves against the will of Christ in the person of His followers. Even paganism foresaw that should the gospel triumph, her temples and altars would be swept away; therefore she summoned and called on her evil forces to destroy and eliminate Christianity. The early Christians endured a great hardship and fight of afflictions – Hebrews 10:32. The fires of persecutions were kindled, Christians stripped and denied of their possessions. They ‘had trial of cruel mocking and scourging, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment’ –Hebrews 11:36. Great numbers sealed the testimony of their salvation with their pure blood, not minding Noble and slave, rich and poor, learned and ignorant, black or fair were all slain without mercy.

Apostles of Rome; Peter and Paul (Died AD65-68)

Founding fathers of martyrdom at Rome are apostles Peter and Paul, though no clear and direct evidence to prove it. Little was recorded about Peter’s movement after his divine escape from prison under Herod’s hot persecution in Jerusalem, except that it was recorded that he eventually reached Rome. There are claims from different set of historians and early theologians that Peter founded the church in Rome which though cannot be supported, though he was present there for ministerial works. It was also recorded that peter visited Rome at the request of Paul, in the quest to heal a breach among the Christians there.

Both Apostles Paul and Peter wrote several stirring and inspiring epistles all inspired by God whilst in Rome. Peter wrote in first epistle in which he spoke of the possibility of persecution and called on his readers not to be ashamed of suffering for the name of Christ. He was later joined by mark, who in turn wrote down Peter’s recollections of what Jesus had said and done. Woven into the fabric of the Gospel of Mark is the theme of Christ’s sufferings, possibly written to encourage roman believers under attack.
At the height of Emperor Nero’s persecution, Peter was arrested and crucified, though the circumstances surrounding his death are shrouded in mystery. He was crucified downwards because he did not believe he was worthy of suffering as his Master, Jesus had done. According to tradition, he was buried on Vatican hill and a chapel was erected over his tomb, which was later replaced by a basilica, which would be pulled down in the sixteenth century to make way for the new basilica of St. Peter that we all know today.

Paul was arrested in Jerusalem and following his appeal to the Emperor, reached Rome around AD 59-60. He was in custody for two years until his trial before Emperor Nero. During that period he lived in a rented accommodation under heavy guards; just similar to house arrest, but he was given freedom to receive visitors. Paul was later acquitted in AD62 and he probably travelled to Spain and later visited churches at Asia Minor. He was at some point re-arrested by which time the tide of opinion had turned against Christians and being a non-denial follower of Christ Jesus now earned the death penalty.

When Paul was arrested and brought to trial the second time he had no illusions about being set free, and this he wrote to Timothy, ‘the time had come for his departure’. As a Roman citizen he would have been beheaded rather than crucified, and the place of his execution was quite likely to be outside the city walls on the road to Ostia. The date of his execution is unknown but kit was sometime between the years AD65-68. In the fourth century the Emperor Constantine had a basilica erected over his burial place, where the church of St. Paul’s outside the walls now stands.

The attacks on the church continued up to the death of Nero, when the emperor was declared a public enemy by the senate and was forced to commit suicide. Such was the end of the mad Emperor. For the next 30 years, the church enjoyed a comparative peace until the reign of the Emperor Domitian (next episode), when in AD65 a great surge of second wave of persecution arose.
The martyrdom of these early believers proved a testimony to Christians throughout the Empire and the Church of Rome, which continued to flourish and grow, became a church worthy of God, worthy of honour and worthy of congratulations.

Thanks for reading
Source: http://understandingsgod..com/2015/02/persecution-persecuted-and-persecutors.html
*****to be continued*****