Persevering to the End Pages 439–452 Acts ends with Paul’s release from prison (AD 62/63). Initially, Rome considered Christianity a Jewish sect. Judaism was an authorized Roman religion and exempt from the otherwise universal mandate to worship the emperor. Rome tolerated Judaism’s monotheism partly because Jews seldom converted Gentiles. But Christians preached the gospel to Gentiles everywhere. Many Gentiles converted, causing social upheaval as shrines lost supporters and idol makers lost income. Idol worshippers detested the Christians’ insistence that manmade gods were not gods at all. They bristled over hearing lifestyles considered sinful. By the 60s, Jews and Gentiles throughout the Roman Empire despised the Christians. Jewish leaders convinced Rome Christianity wasn’t a Jewish sect, and Rome declared Christianity a new, unauthorized religion that called an executed criminal Lord instead of the emperor. In AD 64, the Great Fire of Rome burned much of the city, and rumors quickly spread that Emperor Nero had started the fire to facilitate a building project. Needing a scapegoat, he blamed the now reviled Christians. Imprisonments and grisly executions quickly followed for anyone bearing the name of Christ. Some he burned on posts to light the night sky; others he covered in animal skins and threw to dogs; and still others he crucified—including the Apostle Peter. In AD 66/67, Paul sat chained in a damp, dark dungeon in Rome. Knowing his execution neared, he wrote a letter to strengthen Timothy, a pastor whom he’d mentored. What stands out to you the most from Paul’s letter known as 2 Timothy (pages 456–458 in The Why? Story)? Paul persevered to the end. The testimony of the man who once persecuted the church, and then claimed to have encountered the living Jesus Christ, stands through the ages, for he boldly testified to having seen the resurrected Lord, no matter what it cost him in this life, for he looked forward to the life to come.
Persevering to the End Pages 439–452 Acts ends with Paul’s release from prison (AD 62/63). Initially, Rome considered Christianity a Jewish sect. Judaism was an authorized Roman religion and exempt from the otherwise universal mandate to worship the emperor. Rome tolerated Judaism’s monotheism partly because Jews seldom converted Gentiles. But Christians preached the gospel to Gentiles everywhere. Many Gentiles converted, causing social upheaval as shrines lost supporters and idol makers lost income. Idol worshippers detested the Christians’ insistence that manmade gods were not gods at all. They bristled over hearing lifestyles considered sinful. By the 60s, Jews and Gentiles throughout the Roman Empire despised the Christians. Jewish leaders convinced Rome Christianity wasn’t a Jewish sect, and Rome declared Christianity a new, unauthorized religion that called an executed criminal Lord instead of the emperor. In AD 64, the Great Fire of Rome burned much of the city, and rumors quickly spread that Emperor Nero had started the fire to facilitate a building project. Needing a scapegoat, he blamed the now reviled Christians. Imprisonments and grisly executions quickly followed for anyone bearing the name of Christ. Some he burned on posts to light the night sky; others he covered in animal skins and threw to dogs; and still others he crucified—including the Apostle Peter. In AD 66/67, Paul sat chained in a damp, dark dungeon in Rome. Knowing his execution neared, he wrote a letter to strengthen Timothy, a pastor whom he’d mentored. What stands out to you the most from Paul’s letter known as 2 Timothy (pages 456–458 in The Story)? Why? Paul persevered to the end. The testimony of the man who once persecuted the church, and then claimed to have encountered the living Jesus Christ, stands through the ages, for he boldly testified to having seen the resurrected Lord, no matter what it cost him in this life, for he looked forward to the life to come.
287302_PersonalJournalandDiscussionGuide.docx