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Chapter 2—The First Christians—Loyal and True
Jesus revealed to His disciples the experience of His people
from the time when He should be taken from them, to His return in
power and glory. Penetrating deep into the future, His eye discerned
the fierce tempests that were to beat upon His followers in coming
ages of persecution. See
Matthew 24:9, 21, 22
. The followers of
Christ must tread the same path of reproach and suffering which
their Master trod. The enmity against the world’s Redeemer would
be manifested against all who should believe on His name.
Paganism foresaw that should the gospel triumph, her temples
and altars would be swept away; therefore the fires of persecution
were kindled. Christians were stripped of their possessions and
driven from their homes. Great numbers, noble and slave, rich and
poor, learned and ignorant, were slain without mercy.
Beginning under Nero, persecutions continued for centuries.
Christians were falsely declared to be the cause of famine, pesti-
lence, and earthquake. Informers stood ready, for gain, to betray the
innocent as rebels and pests to society. Great numbers were thrown
to wild beasts or burned alive in amphitheaters. Some were crucified;
others were covered with skins of wild animals and thrust into the
arena to be torn by dogs. At public fetes vast multitudes assembled
to enjoy the sight and greet their dying agonies with laughter and
applause.
The followers of Christ were forced to seek concealment in
solitary places. Beneath the hills outside the city of Rome, long
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galleries had been tunneled through earth and rock for miles beyond
the city walls. In these underground retreats the followers of Christ
buried their dead; here also, when proscribed, they found a home.
Many called to mind the words of their Master, that when persecuted
for Christ’s sake, they were to be exceeding glad. Great would be
their reward in heaven, for so the prophets had been persecuted
before them. See
Matthew 5:11, 12
.
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