In the last part, we considered the Church located at
Smyrna. We found that this church was a church that
is represented by persecutions. When Jesus had John
to write to this church, He informed them that they
would have tribulations for ten days. In our study of
these scriptures, we saw that Jesus was referring to ten
different time periods. This is one reason why that we
think that this church represented a certain time
period, 100 – 312 A.D. We considered a few of these
martyrs in a previous part, but before continuing on
with our study from the Trail of Blood, I want to take
a closer look at the persecution that arose from the
beginning of the Church at Jerusalem through these
time periods.
In my opinion, I look at three periods of persecutions:
the first beginning with the stoning of Deacon Steven,
the second being during the Dark Ages, and the third
being in the beginning of the new colonies being
founded in the “new world” that later became known
as the United States of America.
This will be a look at the first period of persecution
while the other two will be considered at a later time.
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For this, I have consulted the following historical
records:
1. The Bloody Theater or Martyrs Mirror of the
Defenseless Christians, Thieleman J. van Braght,
translated from the Dutch language by Joseph F.
Sohm, illustrated by Jan Luyken
2. A History of the Baptists, John T. Christian
3. Baptist Succession: A Hand-Book of Baptist History,
D. B. Ray
4. A Concise History of Foreign Baptists, G. H. Orchard
5. A General History of the Baptist Denomination,
David Benedict
6. A History of the Baptists, Thomas Armitage
7. Compendium of Baptist History, J. A. Shackelford
8. Fox’s Book of Martyrs, John Foxe
9. Mosheim’s Church History
Beginning with the Church at Jerusalem
Some historians believe that the persecution began
with the Roman Empire while others believe that it
actually started with the Jews with the members of the
Church at Jerusalem. Still others believe that
persecution started with the death of John the Baptist.
Regardless, this first period of persecution was started
by the Jews and then continued by the Roman Empire.
It continued until the time of Constantine in 313 A.D.
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• John the Baptist, Son of Zacharias, and Elisabeth,
beheaded in the castle of Machaerus, at the command
of Herod Antipas, A.D. 32
• Stephen, one of the seven deacons of the church at
Jerusalem, stoned without the gate of the city, by the
Libertines, A.D. 34, shortly after the death of Christ
• James, the son of Zebedee, put to death with the
sword, by Herod Agrippa, in Jerusalem, A.D. 45 (He
was the brother of John, and the first Apostle
martyred.)
• Philip, bound with his head to a pillar, and stoned, at
Hierapolis, in Phyrgia, A.D. 54
• James, the son of Alpheus, or brother of the Lord, cast
down from the temple, stoned, and then beaten to
death with a club, A.D. 63 (He was reportedly the
Pastor of the Church at Jerusalem at the time, and the
one who was said to have knees like as of a camel
because he was on them so often in prayer. He was
supposedly 96 years old at his death. He was also the
one who wrote the Book of James.)
• Barnabas, companion of the Apostle Paul, dragged
out of the city and burned, at Salamina in Cyprus,
A.D. 64 (It is believed by some historians that
Barnabas was one of the seventy that Jesus sent out.
He was originally from Cyprus and then died there.)
• Mark, dragged to the stake at Alexandria, died on the
way, April 21st, A.D. 64 (Mark wrote the book of the
Bible that carries his name.)
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• In A.D. 66, the Roman persecution began with the
Emperor Nero. Nero had ordered the city of Rome to
be set fire. When he began to receive the blame, he,
instead, blamed the Christians. Thieleman J. van
Braght writes: “For this reason there were proclaimed
immediately, in the name of the emperor, throughout
the whole known world (then under the monarchy of
the Romans), bloody decrees against the Christians,
that they should everywhere be put to death. The
contents of these decrees were as follows: ‘If any one
confesses that he is a Christian, he shall be put to
death, without further trial, as a convicted enemy of
mankind.’”
• Thieleman J. van Braght again writes: “Touching the
manner in which the Christians were tortured and
killed at the time of Nero, A. Mellinus gives the
following account from Tacitus and other Roman
writers: namely, that four extremely cruel and
unnatural kinds of torture were employed against the
Christians:
“Firstly, that they dressed them in the skins of tame
and wild beasts, that they might be torn to pieces by
dogs or other wild animals.
“Secondly, that they, according to the example of
their Saviour, were fastened alive on crosses and that
in many different ways.
“Thirdly, that the innocent Christians were burned
and smoked by the Romans, with torches and lamps,
under the shoulders and on other tender parts of their
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naked bodies, after these had been cruelly lacerated
with scourges or rods. This burning was done also
with shavings and fagots, they (the Christians) being
tied to stakes worth half a stiver (about one cent).
Therefore, they called the Christians sarmenticii, that
is, fagot people, and semissii, that is half stiver people;
because they stood fastened to half stiver stakes and
were thus burned with the slow fire of fagots.
[Fagots=a bundle of sticks, twigs, or branches bound together
and used as fuel, a fascine, a torch, etc.]
“Fourthly, that these miserable, accused Christian
martyrs were used as candles, torches, or lanterns, to
see by them at night.
“Of those who were burned, some were tied or
nailed to stakes, and held still by a hook driven
through the throat, so that they could not move the
head when the pitch, wax, tallow, and other
inflammable substances were poured boiling over
their heads, and set on fire, so that all the unctuous
matter of the human body flowing down made long,
wide furrows in the sand of the theatre. And thus
human beings were lighted as torches, and burned as
lights for the wicked Romans at night.
“Juvenal and Martial, both Roman poets, and
Tertullian, state this in a different manner, namely,
that the Romans wrapped them in a panful or burning
mantle, which they wound around their hands and
feet, in order to melt the very marrow in their bones.
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“Furthermore, it is stated by A. Mellinus (from the
aforementioned authors), concerning those mantles,
that they were made of paper or linen, and, having
been thickly coated with oil, pitch, wax, rosin, tallow,
and sulphur, were wrapped around their whole body,
and then set on fire.
“For this spectacle Nero gave the use of his
gardens, and appeared himself among the people in
the garb of a charioteer, taking an active part in the
Circusian games; himself stand in the circus, and, as
charioteer, guiding a chariot.
“These proceedings, according to the testimony of
Tacitus, although it had the appearance that the
Christians were punished as malefactors who had
deserved the extremist penalty, nevertheless moved
the people to compassion; for they understood well
enough that the Christians were not exterminated for
the good of the common weal, but simply to gratify
the cruelty of one man, Nero.”
• Simon Peter crucified with his head downward, under
Emperor Nero, A.D. 69 (It is believed that Peter was
seventy years old when he died.)
• Paul, sorely persecuted, and finally beheaded, at
Rome, under the Emperor Nero, A.D. 69 (It is
believed that from the record of the Scriptures and
history, Paul, during the time of thirty years, traveled
in Judea, Syria, Asia, Macedonia, Greece, Italy,
Spain, France, and Germany.)
• The Martyrdom of some of Paul’s friends and
brethren who were imprisoned with him shortly after
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he was offered up; besides others who were slain
afterwards (It is related that shortly after the death of
the
Apostle
Paul,
his
brethren
and
fellowprisoners…followed in his footsteps in
suffering for the name of Christ.)
• Aristarchus, a traveling companion of Paul, slain at
Rome, under Nero, about A.D. 70
• Epaphras, a fellow prisoner of Paul, slain under Nero,
about A.D. 70
• Four fellow laborers and relatives of Paul, namely,
Prisca, Aquila, Andronicus, and Junia, martyred at
Rome, under Nero, about A.D. 70
• Silas, or Silvanus, scourged at Philippi, in Macedonia,
and died a martyr, about A.D. 70
• Onesiphorus, a friend of Paul, and Porphyrius, his
companion, tied to wild horses, and dragged, or torn,
to death, at Hellespontus, through the edict of Nero,
about A.D. 70 (Hellespontus is a region on the coasts
of the Black Sea.)
• Andrew, crucified at Patras, in Achaia, about A.D. 70
(Andrew was Peter’s older brother.)
• Bartholomew, first greatly tortured, then flayed alive,
and finally beheaded, in Armenia, by King Astyages,
about A.D. 70
• Thomas, tormented with red-hot plates, cast into a
furnace, and his side pierced with spears by the
savages, at Calamina, about A.D. 70 (Calamina was a
city in the East Indies.)
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• Matthew, nailed to the ground, and beheaded at Nad-
Davar, under King Hytacus, about A.D. 70 (Nad-
Davar was the capital city of Ethiopia.)
• Simon Zelotes and his brother Judas Thaddeus, both
slain for the truth of Christ; the one crucified, and the
other beaten to death with sticks, about A.D. 70
• Matthias, tied to a cross upon a rock, stoned, and then
beheaded, A.D. 70 (John Foxe writes that this took
place in Jerusalem.)
• Some of the seventy disciples that Jesus had sent out
and several fellow travelers of the Apostles, slain,
towards the close of the persecution by Nero, about
A.D. 70 (These include: Prochorus, one of the seven
deacons at Jerusalem, believed to be a nephew of
Deacon Stephen; Nicanor, also one of the seven
deacons; Parmenas, one of the seven deacons;
Olympus, imprisoned at Rome with Paul; Carpus,
servant of Paul and afterwards the pastor of the church
at Troas, put to death at Troas; Trophimus, Paul’s
companion, beheaded; Maternus and Egystus, two of
the seventy disciples, along with Marianum, a deacon,
were put to death in Germany; Hermagoras, pastor of
the church at Aquileia, killed by Nero. (Aquileia is in
Italy.)
• The next persecution of the Christians was under
Domitian, which started in A.D. 93
• Luke, hanged on a green olive tree, in Greece, A.D.
93
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Church History Through the Trail of Blood
• Antipas, burned at Pergamos in a red-hot brazen ox,
A.D. 95
• John, banished to the isle of Patmos, by Emperor
Domitian, A.D. 97 (From what can be determined
from historical records, John was on Patmos from 97
to 99, thus the Book of Revelation was written
sometime between 97 and A.D. 99. Domitian, who
had banished John to Patmos, had died and Nerva
became ruler in his place. John was delivered and
brought back to Ephesus, where he had previously
been pastor of the church. He died a natural death
there at the age of 80. He was the only Apostle to die
a natural death.)
• Timothy, stoned to death by the heathen idolaters at
Ephesus, about A.D. 98
• Urticinus, a pious Christian, beheaded with the ax, at
Revenna, Italy, A.D. 99
• Vitalus, buried alive at Ravenna, and his wife beaten
to death with sticks at Milan, about A.D. 99
Beginning A.D. 100
• Of different other persons who were slain for the
name of Christ about A.D. 100 (van Braght writes:
“According to ancient history there were also slain for
the testimony of the Son of God; In France, Lucianus,
bishop of the church of Bellovaco; Maximianus and
Julianus, elders; Nicasius, bishop of the church of
Rouen; Quirinus, an elder; Scubiculus, a deacon;
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Pascientia, a virgin. In Italy, Romulus, bishop of the
church of Fesula, and others in different places.”)
• Simon Cleophas, one of the seventy disciples,
crucified by Atticus, under Trajan, A.D. 109
(Historians record that Simon Cleophas was 125 years
of age when he died. He was the son of the brother of
Joseph, Jesus’ stepfather. After the death of James,
the Apostle and pastor of the Church at Jerusalem, he
became the pastor.)
• Rufus and Zosimus, beheaded at Philippi in
Macedonia, A.D. 109 (Paul mentions Rufus in
Romans 16:13, Salute Rufus chosen in the Lord, and
his mother and mine…
• The Ethiopian Eunuch of Queen Candace, who was
baptized by Philip, put to death for the name of Christ,
in the island of Caprobano, A.D. 110 (Thieleman J.
van Braght writes: “It is stated of him, from Jerome,
that he preached the Gospel of our Lord in Arabia
Felia, and also in a certain island of the Red Sea,
called Caprobano (some call it Ceylon), where, it is
supposed, he suffered death for the testimony of the
truth.”)
• Ignatius, a disciple of the Apostle John, devoured by
wild beasts in a circus at Rome, A.D. 111
• Onesimus, a friend of the Apostle Paul, brought from
Rome to Ephesus and there stoned to death, A.D. 111,
shortly after the death of Ignatius
• Dionysius Areopagita, who was converted by Paul,
martyred for confessing Jesus, about the year 112
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(Thieleman J. van Braght writes: “We read in the Acts
of the Apostles, chap. 17 verse 34, that among those
who clave unto the doctrine of Paul, there was also
Dionysius, one of the Athenian councils, and a
woman named Damaris.” Paul supposedly appointed
him the pastor of the Church at Athens.)
• Publius, Barsimaeus, Barbelius, and his sister Barba,
slain about 112 (Publius was the pastor of the Church
at
Athens,
apparently succeeding
Dionysius.
Barsimaeus was the pastor of the Church at Edessa
and was slain with him and Barbelius and his sister
Barba who apparently were of the Church at Edessa.
Edessa is located in Turkey, and is now called Urfa, a
city of 80,000 in population today.)
• Phocas, pastor of Pontus, put to death in a limekiln,
and in boiling water, at Sinope, about 118 (Sinope is
located in Northern Turkey on the coast of the Black
Sea.)
• Faustina and Jacobita put to death at Brescia in Italy,
and Elentherus with his mother Anthia, and others, at
Messina in Sicily 120
• Severe persecutions of untold number of believers
about 130
• Getulicus, a teacher at Frivoli in Italy, Symphorosa
with her sons and Cerialus and Amantius were put to
death in that city. Also, Sapphira, a maiden from
Antioch, and Sabina, the widow of Valentinus, were
slain in Rome, 136
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• Ptolomeus and his impromptu defender, Lucius, put
to death at Alexandria, Egypt, about 144 (Lucius, at
the trial of Ptolomeus, protested to the judge
concerning the sentence and execution that had been
rendered to him. As a result, Lucius was also killed
under the same sentence.)
• Felicitas, a Christian widow at Rome, and her seven
sons, put to death at Rome, 164
Conclusion for Chapter Seven
We will continue with the Roman Persecutions in our
next chapter eight. Marcus Aurelius and Lucius
Verus continued the persecution of the Christians
around the year 166.
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Church History Through the Trail of Blood
Church History Through the Trail of Blood
Chapter Eight