19 JULY 1,962 YEARS BACK… AND IT STILL CONTINUES

The hatred for Christians is not normal. The hatred for Christians is unlike any other hatred. The hatred for Christians is not from the human hearts, even though it is human face that we see. The hatred for Christians is from the very pits of hell. The hatred for Christians is from the darkest and evilest recesses of Satan himself.
– “10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy…” – John 10:10a

Dr. Willis C. Newman, answering a question about “Why does Satan hate Christians?” responds in the following words.
– “There are about 40 descriptive names of Satan in the Bible. One of those names is, “Apollyon,” which means destroyer (Cf. Revelation 9:11). He is also referred to as the evil one (1 John 5:18, 19). Peter warned us, “Your adversary, the devil, prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8). Paul told us our opposition is against Satan and his followers who indulge in wickedness (Ephesians 6:12). / From this brief look in the Bible, we can determine that Satan is by nature a wicked, murderous, devious, evil, deceiving liar who seeks our destruction. That is just the way he is. It’s his nature. That is why he hates.” – Dr. Willis C. Newman

When we look into the history of the Church we find all kinds of people, working as the agents of the Devil, persecuting Christians with all kinds of persecution. The persecution of the disciples of the LORD Jesus Christ begins in Jerusalem, by the religious Jews. Saul of Tarsus is the poster boy of Jewish persecution of Christians.
– “​1 Now as they spoke to the people, the priests, the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees came upon them, 2 being greatly disturbed that they taught the people and preached in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. 3 And they laid hands on them, and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening.” – Acts 4:1-3
– “​1 Now Saul was consenting to his death. At that time a great persecution arose against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. 2 And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him. 3 As for Saul, he made havoc of the church, entering every house, and dragging off men and women, committing them to prison.” – Acts 8:1-3

The persecution of the followers of the LORD Jesus is also taken up by the Roman empire for its own political and religious reasons.
– 19 July 64 – Fire breaks out among the shops lining the Circus Maximus, Rome’s chariot stadium. Nero is blamed and tries to deflect blame from himself onto Jews and Christians, soon conducting a full scale persecution of Christians, notorious for the cruelty with which it is carried on.

Bruce Eastwood, writing in his article, “Christians Were Persecuted by the Romans” in History Today, comments thus about Christian persecution by Roman empire…
– “Under Nero (54-68) occurred the first persecution of a ‘new and mischievous superstition’, as Suetonius described it. Christians were not necessarily culpable for the fire of AD 64 in Rome, according to Tacitus, but they were viewed with high suspicion as a group with ‘degraded and shameful practices’, holding to ‘a foreign and deadly superstition’; certainly they evidenced ‘antisocial tendencies’.” – Bruce Eastwood

The “church” too was not behind in persecuting true disciples of the LORD Jesus. Just like the religious Jews, whom our LORD Jesus called the “children of devil” [John 8:44] the custodians of the “church” and its traditions did kill faithful Christians, over a period of many centuries. 
– “Historically, the church has at times persecuted its own due to a dangerous mix of political power, fear of dissent, and dogmatic strictness. When institutional power merged with religious authority, protecting the established social and theological order often took precedence over grace and love.” – Google Gemini

Here under are a few incidents that happened today the 19th of July, between 1300 to 1600. Sadly and tragically the list is not exhaustive, but rather a mere sample of the religious malaise.
– 19 July 1393 – Martin of Mayence is burned as a heretic at Cologne because he belongs to a sect known as “Friends of God” and refuses to observe the days and hours of prayer and worship commanded by the church, regards all Christians as priests, maintains that outward works have no merit before God, and preaches that the Lord Jesus suffered more in bearing the judgment of God than in enduring the pain of the cross.
– 19 July 1597 – Annaken van den Hove becomes the last Anabaptist martyr in Flanders, Southern Netherlands. Catholic theologians determine she deserves death as a heretic and hand her over to the civil authorities who bury her alive.
– 19 July 1692 – Puritan magistrates in Salem, Massachusetts, convicted and hanged five women (Sarah Good, Elizabeth Howe, Susannah Martin, Rebecca Nurse, and Sarah Wildes) for witchcraft—a dark chapter of religious and social hysteria.

Persecution of Christians by the world is understandable. However, persecution of Christians by the “church” is clearly evil to say the very least. 
– “If we look back into history for the character of present sects in Christianity, we shall find few that have not in their turns been persecutors, and complainers of persecution. The primitive Christians thought persecution extremely wrong in the Pagans, but practised it on one another. The first Protestants of the Church of England, blamed persecution in the Roman church, but practised it against the Puritans: these [Puritans] found it wrong in the Bishops, but fell into the same practice themselves both here and in New England.” – Benjamin Franklin [Letter to the London Packet, 3 June 1772]

What a tragedy dear brothers and sister that the “church” which is to be the place of God’s love, grace, mercy and truth, has been replaced by the counterfeit Christianity, where we seem to process and propagate hate fuelled murder, because someone differed in their opinions about interpretations and traditions of men? Where is the love, kindness, generosity and the forgiveness that our LORD Jesus demands from all His followers? Beware the counterfeit Christianity. It is coming much stronger than ever. The best ever poster boy for the devil is the counterfeit Christianity.