Thematic Bible: Who shall face persecution
Thematic Bible
Persecution » Who shall face persecution
Yes, and all who aim at living a religious life in union with Christ Jesus will have to suffer persecution;
For, as it seems to me, God has exhibited us, the Apostles, last of all, as men doomed to death. We are made a spectacle to the universe, both to angels and to men! We, for Christ's sake, are 'fools,' but you, by your union with Christ, are men of discernment. We are weak, but you are strong. You are honored, but we are despised. To this very hour we go hungry, thirsty, and naked; we are beaten; we are homeless; read more.
We work hard, toiling with our own hands. We meet abuse with blessings, we meet persecution with endurance, We meet slander with gentle appeals. We have been treated as the scum of the earth, the vilest of the vile, to this very hour.
We work hard, toiling with our own hands. We meet abuse with blessings, we meet persecution with endurance, We meet slander with gentle appeals. We have been treated as the scum of the earth, the vilest of the vile, to this very hour.
As Jesus was walking out of the Temple Courts, one of his disciples said to him: "Teacher, look what fine stones and buildings these are!" "Do you see these great buildings?" asked Jesus. "Not a single stone will be left here upon another, which shall not be thrown down." When Jesus had sat down on the Mount of Olives, facing the Temple, Peter, James, John and Andrew questioned him privately: read more.
"Tell us when this will be, and what will be the sign when all this is drawing to its close." Then Jesus began: "See that no one leads you astray. Many will take my name, and come saying 'I am He', and will lead many astray. And, when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed; such things must occur; but the end is not yet. For 'nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom'; there will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. This will be but the beginning of the birth-pangs. See to yourselves! They will betray you to courts of law; and you will be taken to Synagogues and beaten; and you will be brought up before governors and kings for my sake, that you may bear witness before them. But the Good News must first be proclaimed to every nation. Whenever they betray you and hand you over for trial, do not be anxious beforehand as to what you shall say, but say whatever is given you at the moment; for it will not be you who speak, but the Holy Spirit. Brother will betray brother to death, and the father his child; and children will turn against their parents, and cause them to be put to death; And you will be hated by every one on account of my Name. Yet the man that endures to the end shall be saved.
"Tell us when this will be, and what will be the sign when all this is drawing to its close." Then Jesus began: "See that no one leads you astray. Many will take my name, and come saying 'I am He', and will lead many astray. And, when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed; such things must occur; but the end is not yet. For 'nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom'; there will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. This will be but the beginning of the birth-pangs. See to yourselves! They will betray you to courts of law; and you will be taken to Synagogues and beaten; and you will be brought up before governors and kings for my sake, that you may bear witness before them. But the Good News must first be proclaimed to every nation. Whenever they betray you and hand you over for trial, do not be anxious beforehand as to what you shall say, but say whatever is given you at the moment; for it will not be you who speak, but the Holy Spirit. Brother will betray brother to death, and the father his child; and children will turn against their parents, and cause them to be put to death; And you will be hated by every one on account of my Name. Yet the man that endures to the end shall be saved.
Remember, I am sending you out as my Messengers like sheep among wolves. So be as wise as serpents, and as blameless as doves. Be on your guard against your fellow men, for they will betray you to courts of law, and scourge you in their Synagogues; And you will be brought before governors and kings for my sake, that you may witness for me before them and the nations. read more.
Whenever they betray you, do not be anxious as to how you shall speak or what you shall say, for what you shall say will be given you at the moment; For it will not be you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father that speaks within you. Brother will betray brother to death, and the father his child; and children will turn against their parents, and cause them to be put to death; And you will be hated by every one on account of my Name. Yet the man that endures to the end shall be saved. But, when they persecute you in one town, escape to the next; for, I tell you, you will not have come to the end of the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes. A scholar is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for a scholar to be treated like his teacher, and a servant like his master. If the head of the house has been called Baal-zebub, how much more the members of his household!
Whenever they betray you, do not be anxious as to how you shall speak or what you shall say, for what you shall say will be given you at the moment; For it will not be you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father that speaks within you. Brother will betray brother to death, and the father his child; and children will turn against their parents, and cause them to be put to death; And you will be hated by every one on account of my Name. Yet the man that endures to the end shall be saved. But, when they persecute you in one town, escape to the next; for, I tell you, you will not have come to the end of the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes. A scholar is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for a scholar to be treated like his teacher, and a servant like his master. If the head of the house has been called Baal-zebub, how much more the members of his household!
Leaving the Temple Courts, Jesus was walking away, when his disciples came up to draw his attention to the Temple buildings. "Do you see all these things?" was his answer. "I tell you, not a single stone will be left here upon another, which will not be throne down," So, while Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, his disciples came up to him privately and said: "Tell us when this will be, and what will be the sign of your Coming, and of the close of the age." read more.
Jesus replied to them as follows: "See that no one leads you astray; for, many will take my name, and come saying 'I am the Christ,' and will lead many astray. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars; take care not to be alarmed, for such things must occur; but the end is not yet here. For 'nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom,' and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All this, however, will be but the beginning of the birth pangs! When that time comes, they will give you up to persecution, and will put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations on account of my Name. And then many will fall away, and will betray one another, and hate one another.
Jesus replied to them as follows: "See that no one leads you astray; for, many will take my name, and come saying 'I am the Christ,' and will lead many astray. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars; take care not to be alarmed, for such things must occur; but the end is not yet here. For 'nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom,' and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All this, however, will be but the beginning of the birth pangs! When that time comes, they will give you up to persecution, and will put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations on account of my Name. And then many will fall away, and will betray one another, and hate one another.
When some of them spoke about the Temple being decorated with beautiful stones and offerings, Jesus said: "As for these things that you are looking at, a time is coming when not one stone will be left upon another here, which will not be thrown down." So the disciples questioned Jesus: "But, Teacher, when will this be? and what sign will there be when this is near?" read more.
And Jesus said: "See that you are not led astray; for many will take my name, and come saying 'I am He,' and 'The time is close at hand.' Do not follow them. And, when you hear of wars and disturbances, do not be terrified, for these things must occur first; but the end will not be at once." Then he said to them: "'Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom,' And there will be great earthquakes, and plagues and famines in various places, and there will be terrible appearances and signs in the heavens. Before all this, they will lay hands on you and persecute you, and they will betray you to Synagogues and put you in prison, when you will be brought before kings and governors for the sake of my Name. Then will be your opportunity of witnessing for me. Make up your minds, therefore, not to prepare your defense; For I will myself give you words, and a wisdom which all your opponents together will be unable to resist or defy. You will be betrayed even by your parents and brothers and relations and friends, and they will cause some of you to be put to death, And you will be hated by every one on account of my Name. Yet not a single hair of your heads shall be lost! By your endurance you shall win yourselves Life.
And Jesus said: "See that you are not led astray; for many will take my name, and come saying 'I am He,' and 'The time is close at hand.' Do not follow them. And, when you hear of wars and disturbances, do not be terrified, for these things must occur first; but the end will not be at once." Then he said to them: "'Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom,' And there will be great earthquakes, and plagues and famines in various places, and there will be terrible appearances and signs in the heavens. Before all this, they will lay hands on you and persecute you, and they will betray you to Synagogues and put you in prison, when you will be brought before kings and governors for the sake of my Name. Then will be your opportunity of witnessing for me. Make up your minds, therefore, not to prepare your defense; For I will myself give you words, and a wisdom which all your opponents together will be unable to resist or defy. You will be betrayed even by your parents and brothers and relations and friends, and they will cause some of you to be put to death, And you will be hated by every one on account of my Name. Yet not a single hair of your heads shall be lost! By your endurance you shall win yourselves Life.
I am the True Vine, and my Father is the Vine-grower. Any unfruitful branch in me he takes away, and he cleanses every fruitful branch, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the Message that I have given you. read more.
Remain united to me, and I will remain united to you. As a branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it remains united to the vine; no more can you, unless you remain united to me. I am the Vine, you are the branches. He that remains united to me, while I remain united to him--he bears fruit plentifully; for you can do nothing apart from me. If any one does not remain united to me, he is thrown away, as a branch would be, and withers up. Such branches are collected and thrown into the fire, and are burnt. If you remain united to me, and my teaching remains in your hearts, ask whatever you wish, and it shall be yours. It is by your bearing fruit plentifully, and so showing yourselves my disciples, that my Father is honored. As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you; remain in my love. If you lay my commands to heart, you will remain in my love; just as I have laid the Father's commands to heart and remain in his love. I have told you all this so that my own joy may be yours, and that your joy may be complete. This is my command--Love one another, as I have loved you. No one can give greater proof of love than by laying down his life for his friends. And you are my friends, if you do what I command you. I no longer call you 'servants,' because a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have given you the name of 'friends,' because I made known to you everything that I learned from my Father. It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you, and I appointed you to go and bear fruit--fruit that should remain, so that the Father might grant you whatever you ask in my Name. I am giving you these commands that you may love one another. If the world hates you, you know that it has first hated me. If you belonged to the world, the world would love its own. Because you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world--that is why the world hates you. Remember what I said to you--'A servant is not greater than his master.' If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have laid my Message to heart, they will lay yours to heart also.
Remain united to me, and I will remain united to you. As a branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it remains united to the vine; no more can you, unless you remain united to me. I am the Vine, you are the branches. He that remains united to me, while I remain united to him--he bears fruit plentifully; for you can do nothing apart from me. If any one does not remain united to me, he is thrown away, as a branch would be, and withers up. Such branches are collected and thrown into the fire, and are burnt. If you remain united to me, and my teaching remains in your hearts, ask whatever you wish, and it shall be yours. It is by your bearing fruit plentifully, and so showing yourselves my disciples, that my Father is honored. As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you; remain in my love. If you lay my commands to heart, you will remain in my love; just as I have laid the Father's commands to heart and remain in his love. I have told you all this so that my own joy may be yours, and that your joy may be complete. This is my command--Love one another, as I have loved you. No one can give greater proof of love than by laying down his life for his friends. And you are my friends, if you do what I command you. I no longer call you 'servants,' because a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have given you the name of 'friends,' because I made known to you everything that I learned from my Father. It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you, and I appointed you to go and bear fruit--fruit that should remain, so that the Father might grant you whatever you ask in my Name. I am giving you these commands that you may love one another. If the world hates you, you know that it has first hated me. If you belonged to the world, the world would love its own. Because you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world--that is why the world hates you. Remember what I said to you--'A servant is not greater than his master.' If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have laid my Message to heart, they will lay yours to heart also.
I have spoken to you in this way so that you may not falter. They will expel you from their Synagogues; indeed the time is coming when any one who kills you will think that he is making an offering to God. They will do this, because they have not learned to know the Father, or even me. read more.
But I have spoken to you of these things that, when the time for them comes, you may remember that I told you about them myself.
But I have spoken to you of these things that, when the time for them comes, you may remember that I told you about them myself.