Today's promise: God protects His people
How have our spiritual
ancestors suffered?
Another beast…ordered
the people of the world to make a great statue of the first beast, who was
fatally wounded and then came back to life. He was permitted to give life to
this statue so that it could speak. Then the statue commanded that anyone
refusing to worship it must die.
Revelation 13:11, 14-15 NLT
The Great Persecution
When Diocletian became
emperor of the Roman Empire in 284, Christians were encouraged because of
rumors that his wife and daughter were believers. And, in fact, during the
first nineteen years of his reign, Christians lived in relative peace and
prosperity.
Gradually, life became
more difficult for Christians. Deciding that religious unity would strengthen
his empire, Diocletian published three edicts to guarantee the supremacy of the
Roman state religion.
On February 23, 303,
the day of the Roman feat Terminalia, an edict was posted that ordered
all copies of Scripture to be burned, all churches destroyed, their property
confiscated, and Christian worship forbidden. The Great Persecution had begun.
In early 304 another
edict insisted that everyone in the Roman Empire sacrifice to the Roman gods.
Every Christian was in jeopardy. Finally, the years of the Great Persecution
ended with an edict of toleration by Constantine in 313. It granted religion
liberty to Christians and pagans alike.
"…we decree still
further in regard to the Christians, that their places, in which they were formerly
accustomed to assemble…shall be restored to the said Christians, without
demanding money or any other equivalent, with no delay or hesitation… For by
this means… the divine favor toward us which we have already experienced in
many matters will continue sure through all time."
adapted from The One Year® Book of Christian History by E.
Michael and Sharon Rusten, Tyndale House Publishers (2003), pp 108-9
Content is derived
from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation and other publications of Tyndale
Publishing House
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