34
The Great Controversy 1888
They were condemned as rebels against the empire, as foes of religion,
and pests to society. Great numbers were thrown to wild beasts or
burned alive in the amphitheaters. Some were crucified; others were
covered with the skins of wild animals, and thrust into the arena to be
torn by dogs. Their punishment was often made the chief entertain-
ment at public fetes. Vast multitudes assembled to enjoy the sight, and
greeted their dying agonies with laughter and applause.
Wherever they sought refuge, the followers of Christ were hunted
like beasts of prey. They were forced to seek concealment in desolate
and solitary places. “Destitute, afflicted, tormented; of whom the
world was not worthy; they wandered in deserts, and in mountains,
and in dens and caves of the earth.” [
Hebrews 11:36, 37, 38
.] The
catacombs afforded shelter for thousands. Beneath the hills outside
the city of Rome, long galleries had been tunneled through earth and
rock; the dark and intricate network of passages extended for miles
beyond the city walls. In these underground retreats, the followers of
Christ buried their dead; and here also, when suspected and proscribed,
they found a home. When the Lifegiver shall awaken those who have
fought the good fight, many a martyr for Christ’s sake will come forth
from those gloomy caverns.
[41]
Under the fiercest persecution, these witnesses for Jesus kept their
faith unsullied. Though deprived of every comfort, shut away from the
light of the sun, making their home in the dark but friendly bosom of
the earth, they uttered no complaint. With words of faith, patience, and
hope, they encouraged one another to endure privation and distress.
The loss of every earthly blessing could not force them to renounce
their belief in Christ. Trials and persecution were but steps bringing
them nearer their rest and their reward.
Like God’s servants of old, many were “tortured, not accepting
deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection.” [
Hebrews
11:35
.] These called to mind the words of their Master, that when
persecuted for Christ’s sake they were to be exceeding glad; for great
would be their reward in Heaven; for so the prophets had been per-
secuted before them. They rejoiced that they were accounted worthy
to suffer for the truth, and songs of triumph ascended from the midst
of crackling flames. Looking upward by faith, they saw Christ and
angels leaning over the battlements of Heaven, gazing upon them with
the deepest interest, and regarding their steadfastness with approval.