Persecutions of the Saints
The Spirit says that all who “will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution” (2 Tim. 3:12). Some may bring unnecessary troubles upon their own heads by rash and reckless words and deeds as they seek to serve. Others consider any rebuke of their false ways and words to be a sign that they are “suffering for the cause,” when, in reality, they are being simply being corrected as the Bible teaches (2 Tim. 3:16, 17; 4:2; Tit. 1:9-13; Heb. 12:5-12).
None of us has suffered as did the Lord and “his holy apostles and prophets” (Acts 7:54-60; 12:1, 2; 1 Cor. 4:9-13). Next time you are tempted to feel sorry for yourself, read those passages, along with Hebrews 11:32-40. Too, you might consider the following horrors endured by those of the second century.
(I)mmense numbers of men, women, and children, despising this transient life, faced death in all its forms for the sake of the Savior’s teaching. Some were scraped, racked, mercilessly flogged, subjected to . . . other torments too terrible to describe . . . and finally given to the flames. . . . Some died under torture; others were starved to death; others were crucified . . . some with still greater cruelty (were) nailed . . . head down, and kept alive till they starved to death on the . . . cross.
But words cannot describe the outrageous agonies (which were) endured. . . . They were torn to bits from head to foot with potsherds like claws till death released them. Women were tied by one foot and hoisted high in the air, head downwards, their bodies completely naked. . . . Others . . . were tied to trees and stumps and died horribly; for with the aid of machinery they drew together the very stoutest boughs, fastened one of the martyr’s legs to each, and then let the boughs fly back to their normal position; thus they managed to tear apart the limbs of their victims in a moment.
I was in these places and saw some of the executions for myself. Some of the victims suffered death by beheading, others . . . by fire. So many were killed on a single day, that the axe, blunted and worn out by the slaughter, was broken in pieces, while the exhausted executioners had to be periodically relieved. All the time I observed a most wonderful eagerness and a truly divine power . . . in those who had put their trust in the Christ of God. No sooner had the first batch been sentenced, than others from every side would jump on to the platform in front of the judge and proclaim themselves Christians. They paid no heed to torture in all its terrifying forms, but, undaunted, spoke boldly of their devotion to the God of the universe and with joy . . . received the final sentence of death (Eusebius, History Of The Church, 264, 265).
Truth
Magazine Vol. XLV: 9 p5
May 3,
2001