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Bible Dictionaries
Persecution
Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible
or PERSECUTION. Jesus Christ frequently warned His disciples that persecution would be the lot of all who followed Him ( John 15:18; John 15:20 ). So far from being dismayed at this, it should be a cause of rejoicing ( Matthew 5:11-12 ). The early Church had not long to wait for the fulfilment of these words. The martyrdom of Stephen was the signal for a fierce outburst of persecution against the Christians of Jerusalem, by which they were scattered in all directions. Saul of Tarsus was the moving spirit in this matter, until, on his road to Damascus to proceed against the Christians there, ‘Christ’s foe became His soldier.’ The conversion of Saul seems to have stayed the persecution. The attempt of Caligula to set up his statue in the Temple at Jerusalem also diverted the attention of the Jews from all else. Hence ‘the churches had rest’ ( Acts 9:31 ).
The next persecution was begun by Herod, who put to death the Apostle St. James, and would have done the same to St. Peter had he not been delivered. Herod’s motive was probably to gain a cheap popularity, but the persecution was ended by his own sudden and terrible death.
After this the history of persecution becomes more the history of the sufferings of certain individuals, such as St. Paul, though passages in the Epistles show us that the spirit of persecution was alive even if the details of what took place are hidden from us (1 Thessalonians 2:14 , Hebrews 10:32-33 , 1 Peter 2:19-25 ). Finally, in the Revelation of St. John, the seer makes frequent reference to the persecution and martyrdom of the saints as the lot of the Church in all ages.
Morley Stevenson.
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Hastings, James. Entry for 'Persecution'. Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/hdb/p/persecution.html. 1909.
