44 Bible Verses about Persecution, Nature Of

I looked, and a pale horse appeared, and its rider's name was Death, and Hades followed him. Power was given to them over one quarter of the earth, to kill the people with sword, famine, death, and the wild animals of the earth.

The locusts look like horses armed for battle; on their heads were what appeared to be crowns of gold; their faces were like human faces; they had hair that looked like women's hair; their teeth were like lions' teeth; they had breastplates that seemed to be made of steel; the noise of their wings was like the noise of vast numbers of chariots and horses rushing into battle;read more.
they had tails like scorpions with stings in them, so in their tails their power lay to injure men for five months.

But Satan entered into Judas, who is called Iscariot, who belonged to the circle of the Twelve. So he went off and discussed with the high priests and captains of the temple how he could betray Him to them.

Be calm and alert. Your opponent the devil is always prowling about like a roaring lion, trying to devour you.

Do not be so afraid of what you are to suffer. See! The devil is going to throw some of you into prison to be tested there and for ten days to suffer pressing troubles. Each one of you must prove to be faithful, even if you have to die, and I will give you the crown of life.

If the world continues to hate you, remember that it has first hated me.

You must not be surprised, brothers, if the world hates you.

But those tenants said among themselves, 'This is his heir; come on, let us kill him, and all that is coming to him will be ours.'

It was on account of this that the Jews tried all the harder to put Him to death, because He not only persisted in breaking the Sabbath, but also kept on saying that God was His Father, and so was making Himself equal to God.

If you belonged to the world, the world would love what is its own. But it is because you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, that the world hates you.

I have given them your message, and the world has hated them, because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to it.

strengthening the hearts of the disciples and encouraging them to continue in the faith, and warning them that it is through enduring many hardships that we must get into the kingdom of God.

For you, brothers, followed the example of God's churches in Judea that are in union with Christ Jesus, for you too have suffered the same sort of ill-treatment at the hands of your fellow-countrymen as they did at the hands of the Jews, who killed the Lord Jesus and persecuted the prophets and us; and who continue to displease God and show themselves in opposition to all mankind,

See what wonderful love the Father has bestowed on us in letting us be called God's children, and that is what we are! This is why the world does not know what we are, because it has never come to know Him.

So you must be on the lookout for yourselves; they will turn you over to courts, and to synagogues where you will be beaten, and you must appear before governors and kings for my sake, to testify to them.

Be on your guard against men, for they will turn you over to the courts and will flog you in their synagogues,

About that time Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, in order to do them violence. He had James the brother of John murdered with a sword, and when he saw that this was agreeable to the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter too -- it was at the time of the feast of Unleavened Bread.

For another reason too, we, as far as we are concerned, are constantly giving thanks to God; that is, when you received the message you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the message of men but as the message of God, as it really is, which keeps on working in you who believe. For you, brothers, followed the example of God's churches in Judea that are in union with Christ Jesus, for you too have suffered the same sort of ill-treatment at the hands of your fellow-countrymen as they did at the hands of the Jews, who killed the Lord Jesus and persecuted the prophets and us; and who continue to displease God and show themselves in opposition to all mankind,read more.
by trying to keep us from speaking to the heathen, so that they may be saved, so as always to fill to the brim the cup of their sins. But at last God's wrath has come upon them.

Therefore, I am going to send you prophets, wise men, and scribes, some of whom you will kill -- even crucify -- and some you will flog in your synagogues and chase from city to city, so that on you will come all the righteous blood shed on the earth from the blood of upright Abel to the blood of Zechariah, Barachiah's son, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar. I solemnly say to you, all this will come upon this age!read more.
"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem! The city that has kept on murdering the prophets, and stoning those who have been sent to her, how often I have yearned to gather your children around me, as a hen gathers her chickens under her wings, but you refused!

"For in this city they actually met against your holy Servant Jesus, whom you had consecrated -- Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the heathen and the peoples of Israel, to do all that your hand and will had predetermined to take place. And now, Lord, give attention to their threats and help your slaves with perfect courage to continue to speak your message,

Now the high priest took a stand, and all his friends, the party of the Sadducees; and being filled with jealousy, they had the apostles arrested and put into the common jail.

I persecuted this Way even to the death, and kept on binding both men and women and putting them in jail,

Permission was given to him to make war on God's people and to conquer them; authority was given to him over every tribe, people, language, and nation.

I saw the woman drinking herself drunk with the blood of God's people and the blood of the martyred witnesses to Jesus. When I saw her, I was utterly astonished,

and a man's enemies will be members of his own family.

One brother will turn another over to death, and a father his child, and children will take a stand against their parents, and will have them put to death.

His kinsmen heard of it and came over to get hold of Him, for they kept saying, "He has gone crazy."

But just as then the child born in the ordinary course of nature persecuted the one born by the power of the Spirit, so it is today.

So I most happily boast about my weaknesses, so that the strength of Christ may overshadow me. That is why I take such pleasure in weaknesses, insults, distresses, persecution, and difficulties, which I endure for Christ's sake, for it is when I am consciously weak that I am really strong.

On every side I am ever hard-pressed, but never hemmed in; always perplexed, but never to the point of despair; always being persecuted, but not deserted; always getting a knockdown, but never a knockout; always being exposed to death as Jesus was, so that in my body the life of Jesus may be clearly shown.read more.
For all the time I continue to live I am being given up to death for Jesus' sake, so that in my mortal lower nature the life of Jesus may be clearly shown. So it is death that works in me, but it is life that works in you.

Are they ministers of Christ? So am I. I am talking like a man that has gone crazy -- as such I am superior! -- serving Him with labors greater by far, with far more imprisonments, with floggings vastly worse, and often at the point of death. Five times I have taken thirty-nine lashes from the Jews, three times I have been beaten by the Romans, once I was pelted with stones; three times I have been shipwrecked, and once I have spent a day and a night adrift at sea.read more.
I have served Him on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my own people, dangers from the heathen, dangers in the city, dangers in the desert, dangers at sea, dangers from false brothers,

And why should I continue to mention more? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets, who by their faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, received new promises, shut the mouths of lions, stopped the force of fire, escaped from dying by the sword, out of weakness found great strength, grew mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight.read more.
Women by a resurrection received their dead again; others endured tortures, because they would not accept release, that they might rise to a better life. Still others stood the test of taunts and tortures, and even chains and prisons. They were stoned to death, they were tortured to death, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. With nothing on their bodies but skins of sheep or goats they wandered here and there, destitute, oppressed, mistreated -- men of whom the world was not worthy, though wandering in deserts, mountains, caves, and holes in the ground.

Yes, indeed, everyone who wants to live a godly life as a follower of Christ Jesus will be persecuted.

but it takes no real root in him, and he lasts only a little while, and just as soon as suffering and persecution come for the truth's sake, he at once yields and falls.

Jesus said, "I solemnly say to you, there is no one who has given up home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or farm for me and for the good news, who will not receive now in this life a hundred times as much in houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and farms, but along with them persecution, and in the world to come eternal life.

for when we were with you, we told you beforehand that we were going to be pressed with difficulties, and it took place, as you know.

For nation will go to war with nation, and kingdom with kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in many places. But all this is but the beginning of the agonies. At that time they will turn you over to torture, and will murder you, and you will be hated by all the heathen, because you bear my name.read more.
Then many will fall by the way, and will betray one another and hate one another.

Do not let anybody at all deceive you about this, because that cannot take place until the great revolt occurs and the representative of lawlessness is uncovered, the one who is doomed to destruction, the one who keeps up his opposition and so far exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, that he actually takes his seat in the sanctuary of God, proclaiming himself to be God.

Then a white robe was given to each of them, and they were told to keep quiet a little while longer, until the number of their fellow-slaves and brothers, who were killed as they had been, was complete.

This is why the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because He persisted in doing such things on the Sabbath.

who will not receive now in this life a hundred times as much in houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and farms, but along with them persecution, and in the world to come eternal life.

But before all this takes place, people will arrest you and persecute you, and turn you over to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for my name's sake.

Remember what I once told you: No slave is greater than his master. If they have persecuted me, they will persecute you too. If they have observed my teaching, they will observe yours too.

He dropped to the ground; then he heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?" He asked, "Who are you, sir?" And He said, "I am Jesus whom you are persecuting.