The Earliest Persecutions of Christianity

2,000 years ago Christianity was considered nothing more than a “sect” of Judaism referred to in Paul’s day as “The Way.” But Jesus’ apostles boldly testified for Jesus despite the many negative rumors that had spread about them. They began in Jerusalem but quickly spread as far as Europe and Asia. St. Andrew carried the gospel as far as Scythia (Ukraine and southern Russia) and was crucified in Achaia (southern Greece). Phillip evangelized as far as modern day Turkey and Asia minor before being martyred there at Hieropolis. Simon (the Zealot) went as far as North Africa and Persia (Assyriean empire which is modern day Iraq) where he was killed along with Jude(Thaddaeus).

Peter Evangelized even in Prison

During the final days of Peter in Rome, he was cast into a horrible prison called the Mamertine for nine months, in absolute darkness; he endured monstrous torture manacled to a post. In spite of all the suffering Peter was subjected to, he converted his jailers, Processus, Martinianus, and forty-seven others.

They preached Jesus’ words with unflinching conviction and courage in the face of severe persecution by the Roman state. Their legacy remains and continues through the faithful actions of those who continue to evangelize in the face of great obstacles. Here is a brief mention of more recent examples.

Heroic Examples of Faith in Modern Times

Lives of Exemplary Faith

A. W. Milns sold everything he had, placed it in a coffin, and then went to missionize a tribe of head hunters from which no missionary had ever come out alive. 35 years later (they didn’t kill him) when he died the tribe burried him and wrote this as his epitaph, “When he came there was no light. Now that he leaves there is no darkness.”

When the experts told pastor Joshua Jung Myung Seok, the founding pastor of Providence church, that the rock landscape God wanted him to build could never be built with such huge rocks, he decided to direct the construction himself. After months of intense labor the rock landscape collapsed like a set of dominoes. And so they rebuilt it again. It crumbled again. They rebuilt it again and again each time learning how to get the work done properly. After what they thought was the final construction it collapsed yet a fourth time. Many lost hope. Pastor Joshua himself wouldn’t eat or speak. Finally in the morning he said, “Because it is God’s will, we will rebuild it 1,000 times if we have to. Though the rock stadium crumbled, my heart hasn’t crumbled.” The fifth rock stadium still stands to this day.

By their fierce mentality, devotion to the Lord’s will, and by the grace of the Holy Spirit the heroes of faith accomplished great things for the kingdom of Heaven in the face of huge persecutions. But now that the message has reached nearly every tribe of the earth the work has not stopped. Even today we are preaching the gospel despite many persecutions.

Today Jesus’ message is more important than ever as his second coming approaches. As he said in the Mathew 24, the greatest persecutions will take place in these end times.

Rev 2:10 Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life.

Today’s Persecutions

One should not be surprised to see that those who preach about the Lord’s Second Coming the most passionately are persecuted to this degree even in the 21st century. In the following article I will describe one such case in more detail.

Christians on Trial: Pastor Joshua Jeong Myung Seok

Persecution takes many forms. Some forms of persecution are new, but in reality we are still walking the same painful path Jesus told us we would have to endure 2,000 years ago. Jesus Christ himself preached the gospel to a believing nation, and was judged as guilty and given capital punishment even though he never broke any laws.

In a day and age where broadcasts dictate the public perception, a person is deemed guilty long before any court ever rules. In this article Providence church addresses the false accusations and reveals what is really taught by laying out all the facts and letting you read the sermons preached from the pulpits for yourself.

This article will address the false impressions that have dominated the public perception. To learn more read the full article…

Providence Church Responds to the Question of Cults

Pastor Joshua Jeong Myung Seok is one of the most publicized Christians in Asia. He founded Providence Church which quickly became one of the fastest growing churches of the 20th century. The church has grown fastest in Korea (known as Sumni Church) and in Japan (known as Setsuri church). The church has grown to 50 nations and continues to spread through the world.

But in May 2007 while evangelizing in China [where Christianity is illegal] he was arrested and thrown into prison. While he was suffering the inhumane conditions of the Chinese prison, accusations against him spread throughout public broadcasts. The church was labeled a cult in Japan, Korea, and Taiwan and members of the church all over the world began experiencing extreme persecution from friends, family, and each by their own nation.

After a year of imprisonment and interrogations China found him innocent of all charges and released him. Before his release he was asked if he would like to stay in China or face charges in Korea. He chose to go to trial, but his trial was far from fair. To hear first hand accounts of the trial and the final decision read the full article,

Christians on Trial: Pastor Joshua Jeong Myung Seok

The following is a news article titled, “Why is JMS’ President Jung Myung Seok carrying the cross?” by a monthly magazine in Korea called, Civil Government.

President Jung Myung Seok, founder of Christian Gospel Mission (CGM), is currently in prison. His ten-year sentence was the decision of the Supreme Court which upheld the decision of the lower court.

Now there are voices that Mr. Jung’s trial was unfair and should be retried.

A monthly magazine, Civil Government, published an article in its February issue, under the title, “Why is JMS (CGM)’s President Jung Myung Seok carrying the cross?” and listed the problems of his trials, item by item.

The reporter, Cha Jin Soo, is an active journalist who has been following this case for the past eleven years and has been frequenting police stations since 1995.Cha reports the following…

Read the Full Article…
JMS in the News: Full Report Reveals All