[Adapted from William J. Bennett’s TRIED BY FIRE: The Story of Christianity’s First Thousand Years]
In the middle of the first century, the apostle Peter wrote
to a church suffering persecution. He
wanted them to understand that it was not for nothing. He urged that “the trial of your faith (much
more precious than gold which is tried by the fire) may be found unto praise
and glory and honor at the appearing of Jesus Christ” [I Peter 1:7 DRB].
The emperor at the time was a twenty-seven-year-old named
Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus.
According to the Roman historian Suetonius, Nero was known for his
insatiable lust, avarice, and brutality.
For fun he would have innocent men and women bound to a stake. Nero himself, clad in the skin of some wild
animal, then would spring forth from a cage and attack them.
On the night of July 18, AD 64, a great fire erupted in the
south-eastern end of the Circus Maximus, a popular area in the city for
commerce and entertainment. It quickly
swept through the city, incinerating three districts and severely damaging seven
others. The fire raged for six days! The Roman historian Tacitus vividly described
the damage the fire inflicted on the city and the panic experienced by its
inhabitants. He uses terms such as:
o
Terror-stricken women
o
Those feeble in age
o
Helpless children
o
Dragging out the infirm
o
Aggravating confusion
On this night, claimed Suetonius, Nero dressed in stage
costume and sang a popular song about the burning of the mythical city of
Troy. He later built a palace on the
site where the fire began. Rumors spread
that he had engineered the setting of the fire.
He looked for a scapegoat and found it in a group that had nothing to do
with it – “a class of men given to anew and mischievous superstition.”
Nero targeted the fledgling Christian community in Rome. His vindictive purge was the first
state-sponsored persecution of Christians in history. Tacitus paints a sickening portrait of Nero’s
persecutions. Christians were arrested
and forced – under threat of death – to confess to starting the fire. Many were sentenced to death. In the words of Tertullian:
Mockery of every sort was added to their deaths. Covered with the skins of beasts, they were
torn by dogs and perished, or were nailed to crosses, or were doomed to the
flames and burnt, to serve as a nightly illumination, when daylight had
expired. Nero offered his gardens for
the spectacle, and was exhibiting a show in the circus, while he mingled with
the people in the dress of a charioteer.
Few Roman citizens
loudly objected to the persecutions.
But eventually Nero’s outrageous and unjust administration eventually
incited a rebellion and earned him the title of public enemy. As his enemies closed in on his hideout in
68, he ordered one of his attendants to stab him to death.
But even such violence against Christianity did not – could not
– stamp out the Christians. Tertullian,
writing in the third century, praised the Neronian persecution for causing the
significant growth of the Christian movement!
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Lord of the Church,
Strengthen Your people in the present persecution and in the greater
persecution on the horizon!
Grant us the courage and faith to stand strong in the face of
opposition!
Give us the determination to hold fast the confession of our faith – EVEN IF IT COSTS US OUR VERY LIVES!
Renew our hope of Heaven and our persistence in the knowledge that it
is real and will be our eternal home – if we stand strong in You!
And may the sacrifices made fuel a great revival of faith and
consecration to the things of God!
For the Kingdom’s sake. Amen!
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