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The Persecution of The Early Church

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47 views21 pages

The Persecution of The Early Church

Uploaded by

edceljaysibla102005
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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◾ Tella story about Stephens’

Martyrdom
◾
Discuss the spread of
Christianity and persecutions
of the Christians
◾ Be familiar the triumph and
expansion of Christianity
◾
Follow ways to stand firm in faith
even in the midst of trials
VALUES
FOCUS
◾ Befriend on
Suffering
◾ Courage
◾ Faith in God
◾ Celebrate
◾ During the missionary journeys of
Paul, in his aim to convert the
Gentiles to Christianity.
◾ Christianity opened its door to all
men.
◾ Undoubtedly, this led into a great
increase in membership.
◾ Christianity reached out to the
farthest corners of the Roman
Empire.
1. People were tired of the old pagan
religions, those which required the
worship of many gods and goddesses.
2. People were drawn to the teaching of
Christianity: One God, selfless love and
eternal deliverance.
3. Christian missionaries were free to
travel and preach their religion
throughout the Roman Empire.
4. Early Christian Leaders were men of
courage, dedication and capability.
◾ As the number of Christian
converts increased, the
Roman authorities became
alarmed and persecuted
them.
◾ To keep Christianity from
spreading, some emperors
launched cruel persecutions
Persecution- refers
to afflictions imposed
on people by their own
fellow beings with the
intention to injure or
◾ distress
As in the. case of the
Roman persecution of
Christians, it could go
to the extent of
killing.
◾ Christian suffered
persecution for 300
STEPH FIRST CHRISTIAN
EN MARTYR
◾ The first Christian Martyr
◾ Persecuted at around A.D. 34-35
◾ Roman would undertake to engage
Stephen in debate, but they proved
no match for the wisdom and spirit
with which he spoke.
◾ They[Romans] had heard him
speaking blasphemies against
Moses
him and God.
Blasphemy- insulting the name
◾ Then, of God
out they rush at him as one
or Religion.
◾ Presecution Under Nero (A.D. 54 –
68)

◾ Persecution Under Domitian ( A.D. 81


– 96)

◾ Persecution Under Marcus Aurelius


(A.D. 161
– 180)
◾ Christians
were thrown
to the lions
in the arena
◾ They were
even set on
fire to serve
as living
torches.
◾ He was the first
Roman Emperor
to persecute
Christians.

◾ Peter and Paul


died with a
prayer on their
lips and
forgiveness in
their hearts.
◾ Christians sought
refuge at the
catacombs,
subterranean
caves under the
city of Rome.
◾ They buried their
dead and held
their religious
services.
◾ The severest
persecution was
that under
Nero. He was
◾ The most
notorious of all
Roman emperors.
◾ Due to his
brutalities, he
was hated by his
people and was
◾ Domitian was a bad
emperor whose rule
was marked by
cruel severity.
◾ Like Nero, he
persecuted
Christians
◾ He persecuted his
own niece
Domitilla, a pretty
Christian maid.
◾ Because of his
◾ He regarded the
Christians as a
threat of the
state.

◾ He and his
successors
started empire-
wide actions
against
Christians.
◾ An energetic general,
who required all who
approached him in the
throne room to
prostrate themselves
on the floor.
◾ During his reign,
thousands of Christians
were ruthlessly thrown
to the wild beasts in the
amphitheater or burned
alive.
◾ Persecution failed to discourage the
Christians.
◾ The more the Christians were
persecuted, the stronger Christianity
became.
◾ In 313, Christianity was recognized and
accepted by the government authorities
during the reign of Constantine the Great
( A.D. 306 -337).
◾ Constantine was the first Christian
emperor of the Roman Empire.
◾ It is said that on his way to fight against
“ Many Christians preferred to die rather giving up
their faith”.

“The Church, amid the persecutions and troubles


of the world presses forward to bring a
message of hope for eternal peace and
salvation.”

“Blest are you when they insult you and persecute


you and utter every kind of slander against you
because of me. Be glad and rejoice, for your
reward is great in heaven.”(Mt. 5: 11 – 12)

“Afflictions, sufferings, or pains produces


endurance. Endurance
Shine, Jesus
LordShine!
the light of Your love is
shining In the midst of the
darkness shining Jesus, light of
the world shine upon us.
Set us free by the truth You now
bring us
Shine on me, shine on me.
Chorus:
Shine, Jesus shine!
Fill this land with the father’s glory
Blaze, Spirit blaze set our hearts on
fire.
Flow river flow, flood the nations with grace
◾ Jesus Himself also
experienced
humiliation, insult,
persecutions and trials
from people. He was
even nailed to the
cross just to save us
from sins. Draw a
cross and write a short
prayer of thanksgiving
for Jesus’ sacrifices
because of His love for

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