The beatings, the imprisonments, and the corrupt trials which lay ahead for Christians was no joke.  History records the rough and wicked treatment of more than just the apostles.  Christians in the early church had their families separated from them, homes and businesses confiscated, and years stolen from them as they sat in prisons awaiting trials.  The government conspired against them and their way of life at every turn, and their neighbors oftentimes gleefully cheered on the persecution and looked for opportunities to sell them out.

It was a bleak era for God’s people… and it led to more opportunities for the gospel than any era since.  Christianity was spoken of in every dark corner of the dungeons and in the highest courts of the land.  Neighbors, friends, and enemies alike had to hear about Jesus and His resurrection because Christ’s followers were a nuisance that had to be eradicated for the Roman good.

But they weren’t eradicated; they grew.  The Word did its job and took root within soil throughout the empire.  Rome eventually fell, but Christianity and the Christians who had so faithfully shared their testimony endured and thrived.

If the world chooses again to set its crosshairs upon the people of God, be prepared for another era of opportunity.

Matthew 4:4 #Biblebites