Blessed Are The Persecuted For Jesus

If the world embraced all that Jesus taught,
It would be a kinder, gentler, more loving place;
But most rejected the future He brought,
Killing Him, and hating those saved by grace!
He hatched no plots; promoted no treason;
Broke no law; taught His disciples to love;
The world jailed and killed them, for no reason,
Except its hatred of their Lord above!
The more righteous God's supporters behave,
The more that persecution comes their way;
The worse they're treated, they become more brave;
They share with Jesus Crucifiction Day!
Rejoice, Jesus said, when you suffer the worst,
For so they slew prophets before you first!

"Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you." (Matthew 5:10-12)

The last Beatitude Jesus spoke of in the Sermon on the Mount was an encouragement to His followers to rejoice when persecution from the world came upon them for His sake. Everything Jesus spoke was true, and this prediction of future suffering for Christians was no exception. Beginning with the very first church in Jerusalem, there has never been a time in world history when Christianity was not under terrible persecution in some parts of the world. Even in America, when the Puritans fled England to escape the horrible slayings and imprisonment of the Church of England (other Christians themselves), they immediately set about harassing and persecuting Baptists, Presbyterians, Quakers, and other protestants---even burning some at the stake for being so-called witches. Even now, the New York Times and other print and television media are publishing vicious articles of libel against Catholics and other Christians who oppose the upcoming Health Care Reform bill for including government funds to pay for legal abortions. Coming soon, as well, is the period called The Tribulation, when Christians will be hunted down in America and beheaded for refusing to reject Christianity in favor of Islam.

Under Roman Emperors from Nero to Diocletian, Christians were hunted down, jailed, and killed by the thousands. Nero had them covered alive with tar and set afire on poles in palace grounds to provide light for wild parties. Babies were sewn into fresh animal skins and scattered about the floor of the Coliseum for lions to tear apart and consume. For 300 years this terrible persecution continued, until in 325 A.D. Emperor Constantine made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire; ironically, the persecuted Christians "conquered" their persecutors! Through the Dark Ages and the Reformation periods, the Roman Catholic Church were the greatest persecutors of other Christians, killing several hundred thousand in the war against Martin Luther and other ecclesiastical efforts to stifle competition.

In the twentieth century there were more Christians killed for their faith than in any other century. This occurred mostly in the Soviet Union and other Communist countries; China; North Korea; Indonesia; Pakistan, and in a number of Islamic counrries. History has shown that Christianity flourishes most during times of persecution. In China today the central government tries to pervert Christianity by controlling it---churches have to register with the government and follow orders in the doctrines they teach. Simultaneously millions of new converts are being made, meeting in clandestine home churches, smuggling Bibles, and trying to remain undercover. Imprisonment and execution on a gigantic scale haven't slowed the growth of Christianity. An American missionary asked the undercover churches if they wanted America to pray that the Chinese government free the Christian religion. The answer was, No; if we were free, we would get lukewarm like Christianity in the West. Maybe the increasing persecution of Christians in the United States will set the faith on fire, and we will see growth in this country, too!