DECLARATION OF AN EMPEROR

Rulers of this world, have all through the history, persecuted Christians. The ways of the world and the ways of the LORD, don’t meet. Hence, the powers of this world, wish to subjugate Christians. The same trait is obvious in the Garden of Eden…in fact, it flows from there. Satan, couldn’t do anything against the LORD, hence, he attempted to take his petty revenge against the LORD, by attacking His creation…now the Church. Satan being the ruler of the world, continues to do the same through his proxies…the rulers of this world.

Like many rulers before him, Diocletian was a traditional believer in the Roman gods, and he staunchly believed that Christians were the reason for strife throughout the empire. He thought that Christians were disloyal, disrupted social unity, and displeased the ancestral gods. Hence, put an end to this menace called Christians, one and for all.

Beginning in 301 AD up untill 304 AD., the Roman Emperor Diocletian, commanded that, all the Bibles in the entire empire, be confiscated and destroyed. He burnt thousands of copies of the Bible, and decreed that any home with a Bible in it, should be burned down. After, this ‘cleansing’ exercise, he even built a monument, over what he thought was, the last surviving Bible. Diocletian, then proudly proclaimed, “The Christian name has been extinguished!”

What pride and what arrogance of an emperor. Well, the very next Roman Emperor, Constantine, made Christianity the state religion of Rome. The Emperor issued the Edict of Milan, in 313 AD, which accepted Christianity: ten years later, in 324 AD, Christianity had become, the official religion of the Roman Empire.

The story does not end with that. Five hundred years after Diocletian’s death, his grave (a huge mausoleum by then) is turned into a Christian church. What a turn around for Diocletian!!!

Whatever persecution we may be facing today…even if it increases in the days to come…we need not be disturbed and worried. The LORD will take care of His sheep, and we need to continue to walk in all His ways faithfully and obediently. “10 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
“11 Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. 12 Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” – Matthew 5:10-12