"In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted." (2 Timothy 3:12)

"If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, 'A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will persecute you; if they kept my word, they will keep yours also. But all this they will do to you on my account, because they do not know him who sent me." (John 15:19-19)

"All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved." (Mark 13:13)

When we review the reports of Roman historians we will see the fulfillment of Christ's prophecies:

"To calm the rumors, Nero accused and tortured some people who were hated on account of their evil deeds - the community popularly called "Christians". The founder of that sect, Christ, was killed at the order of Pontious Pilate, the ruler of Judea when Tiberius was the king. Their mortal superstition temporarily was pushed away but it began to awaken again - not only in Judea but in Rome itself, where various dirty and shameful things were accepted." (Tacitus, Annals 15,44)

"Since the Jews constantly created disturbances at the inducements of Christ, Claudious sent them away from Rome." (Svetonije, "The Lives of Kings", the year of 121)

Roman king Decius performed one of the biggest Christian persecutions (249-251). He tried to destroy the Christians by the Death Decree considering them responsible for moral decline of Rome. The heathen philosopher Celzus pointed earlier to the Christian internationalism as political danger for the Roman Empire, by which he started several edicts for their persecution.

As long as Christianity had its life force, it was persecuted. It was not hinder by the persecution but just gave it an opportunity for revealing its strength and its character. The cause of the persecution was in the reprimand which a Christian believer carried in his life against the sin and immorality.

"The world loves sin, and hates righteousness, and this was the cause of its hostility to Jesus. All who refuse His infinite love will find Christianity a disturbing element. The light of Christ sweeps away the darkness that covers their sins, and the need of reform is made manifest. While those who yield to the influence of the Holy Spirit begin war with themselves, those who cling to sin war against the truth and its representatives. Thus strife is created, and Christ's followers are accused as troublers of the people." (The Desire of Ages, 306)

Let us note that a heathen has definite action by which he tries to calm his conscience. He longs for peace. But instead to be calmed down so that he will coordinate his life with his conscience, he suffocates the voice of consciousness and lowers it to the level of his sinful life. The testimony of the Holy Spirit by which God wants to induce him to accept the salvation is proclaimed by him to be the voice of his enemy. As he merges with the sin, in the reprimand directed towards the sin he sees the reprimand directed towards him personally. So the aggressiveness which the truth has in the conflict with his self-deception is attributed by him to the represents of the truth and thus concludes that they are aggressive in their appearance. And, at the end of everything - a heathen reduces his contact with Christians to the personal conflict and enmity.

The reprimanded conscience often induces man to the defense by condemning and projection of his own sinful motives. Limited by his sinful motivation the heathen cannot understand the deeds of real love differently but looking at them through the principles of his own self-righteous conscience and sinful motivation. On account of his superficial access he is not in a state to see the difference between right and fanatic religious zeal. A true Christian is for him liberal because he does not undertake any religious efforts to be saved (on account of the justification by faith only), being for him at the same time a fanatic because he leads apparently very limiting life (because of the deeds of the law which are the consequence of the salvation).

For example, Jesus was reprimanded for "liberalism" because he associated with tax collectors and sinners, while John the Baptist was accused for "fanaticism" because of the moderation in food and drink (Luke 7,33-34).

The people are apt to laud the religious activities which someone invests to be saved (justification by works), because they flatter their personal attempts of salvation without Christ, while they are apt to call the fruits of real dedication a fanaticism, because they reprimand their conscience in front of their undedicated and fruitless life.

"On this basis an opinion about the Christians as about atheists primarily was created in the folk.

The accusation for atheism sprang in the most natural way. In the heathen religion, because of the emptiness of its inner contents, its ritual side was very much developed. The heathens had many beautiful temples, altars and images of various gods. In the temples abundant sacrifices were offered and various religious rituals were performed. At first, Christians did not have either temples or icons.

Considering that the essence of the religion is in rituals and not understanding Christian doctrine at all regarding the respect for God in spirit and truth, common people began to look at Christians as at atheists in the roughest sense of that word.

Christians were accused of killing children, eating their bodies and drinking their blood and giving themselves to perversion at such meetings.

Finally, the avoidance of the profane parties and theaters by Christians and their separated life in their own circles gave an opportunity for them being accused for the hatred towards mankind... As atheists and violators of the law, Christians were in the eyes of people hated by gods and culprits for all people's misfortunes. They should have been destroyed in order that the fury of gods be avoided."

(P. Malitski, "History of Christian Church", the Textbook of the Christian Orthodox University, Belgrade, 45-47)

In the fourth century the persecution was finished and soon a much greater enemy of Christianity replaced it - the compromise with heathens.