44 Bible Verses about Persecution, Nature Of

So I liked, and lo, a pale horse; and he who sat on him was named Death; and Hades was following after him. To them was given authority over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with the sword, and with famine, and with death, and with the wild beasts of the earth.

The appearance of the locusts was like horses equipped for battle. On their heads there was something like crowns of gold, and their faces were like men's faces, and they had hair like the hair of women, and their teeth were like lion's teeth, and they had breastplates something like breastplates of iron; and the noise of their wings was like the noise of chariots, of many horses rushing into battle.read more.
And they have tails like scorpions, and stings, and their power to torture men five months was in their tails.

Satan however, entered into Judas (the man called Iscariot), who was one of the twelve. And he went out and conferred with the chief priests and commanders

Be temperate, be vigilant; because your enemy, the devil, is prowling about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.

Fear not what you are about to suffer! Behold, the devil is indeed going to put some of you in prison, that you may be tested, and you will have persecution for ten days. Be faithful even unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.

"do not forget that it hated me first.

Do not wonder, brothers, if the world continues to hate you.

"But those tenants said to themselves. 'Here is the heir! Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.'

For this reason the Jews continued to seek the more eagerly to put him to death, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was actually speaking of God as his own Father, thus making himself of God's equal.

"If you belonged to the world, the world would love its own; but because you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, for that reason the world hates you.

I have given them thy word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

Everywhere they strengthened the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to hold to the faith. "It is through many tribulations," they said, "that we must enter into the kingdom of God."

For you, brothers, began to follow the example of the churches of God in Judea, which are in Christ Jesus; and you in your turn suffered at the hands of your fellow citizens persecutions like to those which they endured from the Jews??15 The men who killed both the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and drove us out??hey are displeasing to God, and are the enemies of all mankind.

Behold what manner of love the Father has given us in allowing us to be called "Children of God!" And that is what we are. For this reason the world does not recognize us, because it did not know him.

"You yourselves must be on your guard. They will hand you over to the courts, and you will be flogged on the synagogues; and you will stand before rulers and kings for my sake, to witness to them for me.

"But beware of men! For they will give you up to the Sanhedrin, and flog you in their synagogues.

Now, at about that time, Herod the king put forth his hands to ill-treat certain members of the church; and beheaded James, the brother of John, with the sword. And when he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. (This was during the days of unleavened bread.)

For this reason also I am giving continual thanks to God, because when you heard from me the spoken word of God, you received it not as the word of men, but as the word of God (which in truth it is), who himself is effectually at work in you believe. For you, brothers, began to follow the example of the churches of God in Judea, which are in Christ Jesus; and you in your turn suffered at the hands of your fellow citizens persecutions like to those which they endured from the Jews??15 The men who killed both the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and drove us out??hey are displeasing to God, and are the enemies of all mankind. They forbid me to speak to the Gentiles with a view to their salvation. They continue always to fill up the measure of their sins; but the wrath of God is come upon them to the full!

"For this cause, behold! I am sending you prophets and wise men and scribes. Some of them you will kill and crucify; some of them you will scourge in your synagogues, and pursue from city to city; "that upon your heads may come every drop of innocent blood spilt upon the earth, from the blood of Abel, the just, to the blood of Zechariah the son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the Sanctuary and the altar. "In solemn truth I tell you that all these things will come upon this generation.read more.
"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, murdering the prophets, and stoning those who have been sent to you! How often would I have gathered your children together, as a hen gathers her chickens under her wings, and you would not!

"In this very city they did gather together against thy holy Servant, Jesus whom thou hast anointed??erod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and also the tribes of Israel??28 "to do all that thy power and thy will had predetermined should be done. "And now Lord, listen to their threats, and grant to thy slaves to proclaim thy message with all boldness,

This aroused bitter indignation among the high priest and his followers who were of the sect of the Sadducees, and they apprehended the apostles, and threw them into the public prison.

"I persecuted to the death this way, continually binding and delivering up to prisons both men and women.

The beast was allowed to wage war upon the saints, and to conquer them; and there was given him authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation;

And I saw the woman drunk with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus, and I wondered with a great wonder.

"and a man's own household will be his enemies.

"And brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against their parents and put them to death.

When his relatives heard of it, they came to take possession of him, for they said, "He is out of his mind."

but just as in old times the son born by the flesh used to persecute the son born by the power of the Spirit, so also it is now.

Most gladly therefore will I boast rather of my weakness, that over me like a tent may be pitched the power of Christ. That is why I rejoice in weakness, in ill-treatment, in troubles, in persecutions and calamities for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then am I strong.

On every side I am hard pressed, yet not hemmed in; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed. Wherever I go, I am always carrying about in my body the dying of Jesus, in order that the life also of Jesus may be made manifest in this body of mine.read more.
For, alive though I am, I am always given over to death for the sake of Jesus, that the life also of Jesus may shine forth in my dying flesh. So while death is working in me, life is working in you.

Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as though I were beside myself), such, far, more, am I; in labors more abundant, in imprisonments also more abundant, in floggings beyond measure, in deaths often. Five times at the hands of the Jews, I have received one short of forty lashes. Three times I have been scourged by the Romans; once I have been stoned; three times have I been shipwrecked; a night and a day have I been adrift in the open sea.read more.
My journeys have been many; in perils of rivers, in perils of bandits; in perils from my countrymen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness; in perils on the sea, in perils among false brothers;

And what more shall I say? for time would fail me to tell of Gideon, of Barak, of Samson, and of Jeptha; of David and Samuel and the prophets, who through faith conquered kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, proved valiant in warfare, and routed armies of aliens.read more.
Woman received their dear ones alive from the dead; and others were broken on the wheel, not accepting the offered deliverance, in order that they might obtain a better resurrection. Others again bore trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, even of chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, they were tempted, they were slain with the sword, they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, persecuted, tormented??38 of whom the world was not worthy??andering in deserts and mountains and caves and holes in the ground.

Yes, and all who purpose to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.

"But he has no root in himself; he continues for a time, but when trouble arises, or persecutions, on account of the word, at once he stumbles and falls.

"I tell you solemnly," said Jesus, "that there is no man who has left house, or brothers, or sisters, or mother, or father, or children, or lands, for my sake and the gospel's, but shall receive a hundred times as much, now in this present world, houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, lands??nd persecutions with them??nd in the world to come eternal life.

For even when I was with you I used to tell you beforehand that I was to suffer affliction; and so it proved, as you know.

For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these things are the beginning of birth-pangs. Then they will deliver you up to suffer affliction, and will put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name's sake.read more.
And then many will stumble and fall, and will betray one another, and hate one another.

Let no one deceive you by any means. For it will not come until after the Great Apostasy, and the revealing of the Man of Sin, the son of perdition, the adversary, who opposes and exalts himself against all that is called God, or is an object of worship; so that he takes his seat in the Temple of God, and vaunts himself as God.

And there was given to each one of them a white robe; and they were told that they should rest for yet a little time, until the number should be completed by their fellow slaves and their brethren who were about to be put to death as they had been.

and because of this the Jews began to persecute Jesus, because he had done it on the Sabbath.

but shall receive a hundred times as much, now in this present world, houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, lands??nd persecutions with them??nd in the world to come eternal life.

"But before all these things happen, they will apprehend you and persecute you and deliver you to the synagogues and to prisons, and bring you before kings and governors for the sake of my name.

"Remember what I told you, 'A slave is not better than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will persecute you. If they have obeyed my word, they will obey yours also.

He fell to the ground, and heard a voice which said to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?" And he said, "Who are you Lord?"