The

Persecuted
Church
History of Christianity - The Beginning of the Church
The church began 50 days after Jesus resurrection (c. A.D. 35).
Jesus had promised that He would build His church (Matthew 16:18),
and with the coming of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost (Acts
2:1-4), the churchekklesia (the called-out assembly)officially
began. Three thousand people responded to Peters sermon that day
and chose to follow Christ.

The initial converts to Christianity were Jews or proselytes to Judaism,

and the church was centered in Jerusalem. Because of this,
Christianity was seen at first as a Jewish sect, akin to the Pharisees,
the Sadducees, or the Essenes. However, what the apostles preached
was radically different from what other Jewish groups were teaching.
Jesus was the Jewish Messiah (the anointed King) who had come to
fulfill the Law (Matthew 5:17) and institute a new covenant based on
His death (Mark 14:24). This message, with its charge that they had
killed their own Messiah, infuriated many Jewish leaders, and some,
like Saul of Tarsus, took action to stamp out the Way (Acts 9:1-2).
It is quite proper to say that Christianity has its
roots in Judaism. The Old Testament laid the
groundwork for the New, and it is impossible to
fully understand Christianity without a working
knowledge of the Old Testament (see the books
of Matthew and Hebrews). The Old Testament
explains the necessity of a Messiah, contains the
history of the Messiahs people, and predicts the
Messiahs coming. The New Testament, then, is
all about the coming of Messiah and His work to
save us from sin. In His life, Jesus fulfilled over
300 specific prophecies, proving that He was the
One the Old Testament had anticipated.
History of Christianity - The Growth of the Early Church
Not long after Pentecost, the doors to the church were opened to non-
Jews. The evangelist Philip preached to the Samaritans (Acts 8:5), and
many of them believed in Christ. The apostle Peter preached to the
Gentile household of Cornelius (Acts 10), and they, too, received the
Holy Spirit. The apostle Paul (the former persecutor of the church)
spread the gospel all over the Greco-Roman world, reaching as far as
Rome itself (Acts 28:16) and possibly all the way to Spain.

By A.D. 70, the year Jerusalem was destroyed, most of the books of the
New Testament had been completed and were circulating among the
churches. For the next 240 years, Christians were persecuted by
Romesometimes at random, sometimes by government edict.

In the 2nd and 3rd centuries, the church leadership became more and
more hierarchical as numbers increased. Several heresies were
exposed and refuted during this time, and the New Testament canon
was agreed upon. Persecution continued to intensify.
 Kill us, torture us,
condemn us, grind us to
dust; your injustice is
the proof that we are
innocent... The more we
are hewn down by you,
the more numerous do
we become. The blood
of Christians is seed.
(Tertullian, Apology
50:13).
 John 15:20
Remember the word that I said to
you, A slave is not greater than his
master. If they persecuted Me, they
will also persecute you; if they kept My
word, they will keep yours also.
 2 Timothy 3:10-12
Now you followed my teaching,
conduct, purpose, faith, patience, love,
perseverance, 11 persecutions, and
sufferings, such as happened to me at
Antioch, at Iconium and at Lystra;
what persecutions I endured, and out
of them all the Lord rescued me! 12
Indeed, all who desire to live godly in
Christ Jesus will be persecuted.
 What should be the attitude of
Christians when we are attacked by
an unbelieving world?
 Jewish Persecutions
Reasons for Jewish Persecution
Perceived charge of blasphemy
The stumbling block of the cross
Jealousy for popularity of the people
Gamaliels reasoned defense
Initially limited to Judea and the
surrounding regions
And on that day a
great persecution
began against the
church in
Jerusalem, and
they were all
scattered
throughout the
regions of Judea
and Samaria,
except the
apostles. (Acts
8:1b).
 Jewish Persecutions
Reasons for Jewish Persecution
Perceived charge of blasphemy
The stumbling block of the cross
Jealousy for popularity of the people
Gamaliels reasoned defense
Initially limited to Judea and the
surrounding regions
Capital punishment was initially
unauthorized by Rome
 Christianity versus Rome
A Conflict of Culture
Roman schools taught pagan religion.
Roman cemeteries offered up prayers to
false idols.
 Christianity versus Rome
A Conflict of Culture
Roman schools taught pagan religion.
Roman cemeteries offered up prayers to
false idols.
Roman marketplaces sold food that had
been offered to Roman gods.
The Roman military personnel were
required to swear oaths to the emperor,
worshiping him.
 Christianity versus Rome
A Conflict of Culture
Tertullian said that attendance at the
Roman circus and theater was the
equivalent to sacrificing to false gods.

Roman Christianitys
Religious Exclusive
Tolerance Claims
 Persecuted
Church

1 500 1000 1500 2000

The The The

Ancient Medieval Reformed
Church Church Church
Neros Persecutions
Great Fire of Rome:
64 A.D.
Christians charged
with atheism
Forms of torture
Crucifixion
Torn by animals
Burning
Dragged to death
Neros Persecutions
They were clad in the
hides of beasts and
torn to death by dogs;
others were crucified,
others set on fire to
serve to illuminate the
night when daylight
failed.
Tacitus
Tacitus
What is his attitude
about Neros
persecution of
Christians?
What is his opinion
about Christianity?
Why does he accuse
Christians of hatred
of the human race?
Domitians Persecutions
Domitian, too, a man of
Neros type in cruelty,
tried his hand at
persecution; but as he
had something of the
human in him, he soon
put an end to what he
had begun, even
restoring again those
whom he had banished
(Tertullian, Apology 5).
Trajan & Christianity
Became emperor 98
A.D.
Letters from Pliny the
Younger, governor of
Pontus/Bithynia

What does Trajan

recommend to Pliny about
how to handle Christians?
Governor Plinys report to Trajan
Meanwhile, in the case of
those who were denounced to
me as Christians, I have
observed the following
procedure: I interrogated
these as to whether they were
Christians; those who
confessed I interrogated a
second and a third time,
threatening them with
punishment; those who
persisted I ordered executed.
Governor Plinys report to Trajan
Those who denied that they
were or had been Christians,
when they invoked the gods in
words dictated by me, offered
prayer with incense and wine to
your image, which I had ordered
to be brought for this purpose
together with statues of the
gods, and moreover cursed
Christ--none of which those who
are really Christians, it is said,
can be forced to do--these I
thought should be discharged.
Trajans Reply
They are not to be sought
out; if they are denounced
and proved guilty, they are
to be punished, with this
reservation, that whoever
denies that he is a Christian
and really proves it--that is,
by worshiping our gods--
even though he was under
suspicion
 Hadrian
(117-138)

Those bringing false

witness against Christians
were themselves to be
punished
Built a temple to Jupiter in
Jerusalem
Bar-Kochba Revolt
Polycarp
155 A.D.

Bishop of Smyrna
Arrested in home;
invited soldiers to eat
Taken before Roman
proconsul
Ordered to say, Away
with the atheists!
Polycarp
155 A.D.

Eighty-six years
have I been His
servant, and He
hath done me no
wrong. How then
can I blaspheme
my King who
saved me?
Felicitas & Perpetua
203 A.D.

Christian woman and her

slave
Carthage
Refused to apostatize
Torn apart by animals
Felicitas & Perpetua
203 A.D.

What do the
martyrdoms of
Polycarp,
Perpetua, &
Felicitas tell us
about the
early church?
 What was it about
Christianity that
Roman society found
objectionable?
 Decius
(249-251)

His predecessor, Philip the

Arabian, was friendly
toward Christianity
Decius wanted to return
Rome to her pagan roots
When plague broke out,
the Christians were blamed
All citizens of Rome required to offer
incense with oath that Caesar is Lord
Diocletian
(284-311)

Rose from slavery to

become emperor
Appointed three co-regents
to rule alongside him
Initially tolerated all
religious groups
In 303 he instituted a
persecution against
Christianity
 Diocletian
(284-311)

Churches destroyed and

properties confiscated
All copies of Bible ordered
to be destroyed
Civil rights of Christians
suspended
Christians in public office deposed
Food in marketplaces sprinkled with
wine that had been sacrificed to idols
Constantine

Edict of Toleration
 Period of
Roman Persecutions

1 50 100 150 200 250 300 350

Ignatius
Marcus Decius
John
Aurelius Diocletian
Peter
Pliny
Justin
Paul Martyr
Polycarp Constantine
 What were the
Results of the Persecutions?
The Church was Purified
The New Testament was
Recognized
God was glorified