Jesus during His ministry here on earth choose twelve men who along with him, and also following his death shared the good news with unbelievers; these men were called ‘Disciples’ and their names were: Simon, James, John, Andrew, Phillip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alpheus, Thaddeus (or Judas the son of James), Simon (the Zealot), and Judas (Iscariot). It was out of these twelve that the explosion of a great Christian movement occurred. In addition to those converted during the ministry of Jesus, following Peter’s message (Acts 2:41) there were three thousand converted to Christianity. Day by day new converts were being added to the Christian movement (Acts 2:47). After Peter’s second sermon, the number of converts (men) grew to five thousand. The number is believed to have been significantly more, as the mention is made specifically of men.

The first sign of persecution took place in Jerusalem (Acts 4) following a miracle by Peter and Paul who healed a cripple. The authorities could not refute the miracle, nor were they able to keep it a secret. Peter and Paul found themselves in a vulnerable position; in an attempt to keep the report from spreading, the council threatened them and asked them not to speak to any man in the name of Jesus. It is revealed in Acts 5:17 that one of the motives of the officials to persecute Christians was that of jealousy. The officials did not possess such authority therefore Peter and Paul were flogged and sent on their way. After being flogged they rejoiced having had the opportunity to suffer as Jesus did. The unjust acts against Peter and Paul marked the beginning of Christian persecution.

In the center of the rapid growth of the Christian movement, certain Spiritual needs of the Church were being overlooked, as certain widows were being neglected. Stephen a new convert along with six other men was appointed to manage this aspect of the ministry. Stephen was a man who was filled with great wisdom and the Word of God abide in him, because of the high regard fellow believers had of him he was chooses as overseer. Unable to cope with Stephen’s wisdom, the leaders of the day in a jealous rage secretly induced men to say, “We have heard him spoke blasphemous words against Moses and against God” (Acts 6:11). They motivated the people under false pretense to disregard Stephen’s true character and had him brought before the council. Following a long speech by Stephen which revealed the suspicion and insecurities of the Officials they became irate and drove him out, and stoned him to death while he called upon the name of the Lord. Following the martyrdom of Stephen, because of persecution, the Christians scattered throughout Phoenicia Cyprus and Antioch. These Christians went on to preaching and winning souls to Christ. The stoning of Stephen marked the beginning of Christian martyrdom.

Rome at the time was saturated in paganism with all sorts of corruption taking place. This way of life filtered into other Roman dominated regions where the worship of false gods was a common and accepted practice, and sexual immorality was prevalent. The beliefs and practices of Christianity went against the accepted norms of the Roman Society. There were various cults present and all these debaucheries created a difficult battle for the Christians, as it was their task to challenge this type of lifestyle and make the love Christ known to all. In becoming a Christian, one was putting their very life in danger. Christians suffered emotionally as their possessions were confiscated and burned, including valuable writings and Bibles, and soon their very places of worship. These crimes against Christians became more brutal as time went by. The reason for this was because Christians possessed an authority that the Roman government could not understand. Intimidated, the government viewed them as a threat to the culture, and indeed the very structure of Roman Society. Ironically, instead of putting an end to this movement, without any logical explanation, the movement experienced phenomenal growth.

Eventually, under the reign of Emperor Nero the State begun to viciously inflict physical torture against Christians employing various means, sometimes even death. Nero, being the ‘master of disaster’ that he was, desired to see the destruction of the world prior to his death; he gave orders that the city of Rome be set on fire. This fire which lasted for nine days claimed the lives of thousands, numerous infrastructure was lost, including what was known as the circus. It is said that while the city burned, Nero set on a high tower and amuse himself by playing his fiddle and singing the song pertaining to destruction of Troy. When Nero realized that he was about to be ousted by the Romans, he deceitfully blamed the whole fiasco on the Christians, thus conveying hatred and resentment against this group.

Paul who under the name Saul had single-handedly persecuted many Christians following the martyrdom of Stephen but having been converted, traveled the region preaching and bringing men to Christ. He had his share of confrontations with the authorities, and his demise was close at hand. Paul was seized by the authorities and brought before the council; he appeared before Governor Felix, and also two years later before Festus who succeeded Felix, and finally before Agrippa. Agrippa found no fault in Paul; therefore, he was shackled and transported to Rome. He was delivered as a prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans. In Rome the Officials could not find any grounds on which to condemn Paul, therefore, they had to release him. Paul called together the leading men of the Jews and begun witnessing to them, winning some souls to Christ, but was later captured and beheaded under the instruction of Nero.

James the son of Zebedee who was a fisherman when called by Jesus was the first of Jesus’ disciple to be martyred. After being captured by Herod, because of his spreading of the gospel, James was beheaded along with a convert who had come to faith in Christ. All the other disciples of Jesus were martyred accept for John who suffered persecution as well but did not suffered a violent death; eventually he died of old age. Simon (Peter) one of the early Church leaders ended up in Rome and was crucified; because he did not thought himself worthy to die a death similar to that Jesus, he requested to be crucified up-side-down. Also crucified were his brother Andrew, Phillip, James, Bartholomew (also beaten), Jude and Simon (the Zealot). Matthew was killed by a halberd, James the just was beaten to death after being crucified, and stoned, Matthias was stoned and beheaded, and Thomas was killed by a spare. Numerous other Christians were condemned to die for their faith in Jesus Christ.

tyle="text-align:justify;">The early Christians had implemented a standard that was not typical; it was sure to be the cause of a society revolutionized by a people eager to perform the will of God . Because of the standard they maintained, government was disturbed, as Christians were able to evaluate the actions of the State. Fearlessly, they refused to participate in pagan ceremonies held by the State; they remained committed to the standard implemented. As a means of attempting to rid society of this new religion, the State imposed grievous persecution against Christians, utilizing numerous demeaning and terrorizing measures. Christians were tortured and asked to recant; those who refused were often burnt alive, beheaded, fed to wild animals, sewn up in the skin of animals and thrown to wild dogs, forced to wear clothing made of wax and put in the garden where they were set on fire to provide light for pagans, etc. Despite the persecution, the world witnessed a religious ignition that left authorities baffled; Christianity had rapidly spread throughout the Roman Empire. When Emperor Constantine came to power, and following his conversion, he thought of a way to deal with the clash of culture between pagans and Christians. Because of the awesome growth and authority that Christians possessed, Constantine’s desire was that of becoming a recipient of the blessings that the they were beneficiaries of; therefore, he orchestrated a plan that united the State with Christianity, thus legalizing Christianity and making it the preferred religion of the Roman Empire. Soon Rome was known as the holy Roman Empire, as Christianity gained numerous converts, most of whose motives was that of an end fulfilling a means. From this point on, the Christian movement that was so vibrant and true to its calling seemed to have been desecrated, as everything went downhill from here on.