under the protection, ^^^^^^^ o^^'l'^t^^^'Zch a^e the hostility, of the powers that be, which are
°^Bt?ot?^it%etoftheKevelation_apassionate hater (2«) as well as lover-this doctrine is detest- able and against its time-serving exponents he dedar'ope'nwarCv.-). H-alls them^icola^tans i e Balaamites hiKO-Xaos being the rough Ureek equivalent to the Heb. cyySa), for their compromise L^a new and more subtly dangerous form of e notorious teaching and practice of Balaam H the rhurch comes to terms with idolatry, if she yieiQs S demands of a blasphemous Ca^sarisni, she wUl be unfaithful to her Lord, disWonoured and dehled. In the Imperial temple of Pergamus no C u^tian must ever bow down and worship. Contormity is he"e deadly sin. The Imperial power, as wielded by Domitian and inextricably bound up with his worship, is so far from being 'ordained by God ?I Dl ra^e used by St. Paul a generation before Ro^l3^^ that it is without hesitation denounced LsSatliTic, and thereafter branded all through the Revelation, as the power of the Beast The Ohurch of Per-amus must learn to say with her Lord 'Get thee behind me, Satan ! ' Let her realize that the weapons of His warfare are other and mightier tbnn those of CKsar. With the sword (,5oM*aIa) of His mouth He comes to make war not only against oers"utin- foes without but against treacherous Friends w-fhin His Church (v.-). Pf S^'^^^ ™»t at all costs, hold fast His name and not deny His faith Only thus can she keep her soul alive.
The site of the ancient city has been thoroughly excavated and the sculptures found, especially the ^elirfs m the frieze of the G;.'7-j<'--^Mno w
j:iti^-SL«^^=|i5S:
little interest
connexion with His life. But the trail does "ot cease at the tragedy of the Cross. It is obvious that our Lord often warne.l His disciples in regard t the attitude of Jerusalem and Kome to those 4o would remain faithful to Him and His teaching. He could see the blood-stained track in connexion with tl e hTstorv of the Church. We must consider our su iect in the light of this three-fold reference 80 that we may see°to what degree, and mjhat sense, the tern, ' persecution is app icaUe to the attitude of the nation through its rulers (1) to he religious teachers, (2) to Christ and (.?) to His to lowers When we deal with Jesus Chr st and H s fo lowers we shall lind Jerusalem allying herself wi h RomeTn her effort to crush the N'ew Teacher rndffisTeaehing, and finally Rome tak,nj,„,attei^^
into her own hands, and devoting her whole entrt,y to the extrmination of what one of her historians
L,™ATmtE.-Strabo, xnr iv 1-3: M^ Frankel, I)^
PERSECUTION.-l. Introduction.-' For so per- secuted they the prophets which were befoe you
SoftKSs liioo'l Uiroughout the 1^^^^^^^
S rh 24-" ^^ Lk 11=>). He Himself was in the sue- cessionof martyrs, for the trail is deeply marked in
to the extermination oi "imv- ^..v- ^^ ^
described as a pestilent superstition.
If we define • persecution ' provisionally as the inaictlon of sufll-ing, -1-ther it be temporary discomfort or death, ^pon individuals foiholdin or advocating religious views, .and adopting or nroDa"atin"rlli"ioSs practices, which are obnoxious r?l^e° commu fty, or to those in authority, we halhaTa definition sufficiently broad and com- p ehensive to cover the cases in connexion with which the term has been used. It may not be necessary for the persecuted persons to be active "n the propagation of their tenets, a hough the steon^ con^viction, which has generally inspired men to endure persecution rather than abandon their views, produces the missionary spirit. Those Snflict punishment on religious offenders may ^„l nTlnnt- the chart'e of persecution, as, according to them ' he whofe Ufe of^he individual is subject to the control of the State, and any and every activity comes under the law of the land. In the Ssense of the terra, the infliction of suHerin" on account of religious opinions is persecution, f the adoption of such views on the part of individuals is not incompatible with loyalty to the throne or The secular i^ower, and with the due discharge of their duties as citizens of the realm._ From the point of view of the State, such punishment de- serves to be described as persecution if the secular fuWior ties admit the contention that there is a sphere within which the secular authority has no iSiction, and if nevertheless it punish those who use their freedom within this sphere But he°adv:car;s of punishment in the case of religious rerusancv deny the existence of such a sphere m the ife of the^individual, and therefore they do not Ulead -uilty to the charge of persecution. In shor the^vho^le problem is concerned with the a sertion on the part of the individual and the denial on t"ie part of the State., that there is a sphere within which the subject is free, and must be permitted to follow the promptings of his conscience When we consider, in its histonca aspects the relationship between the individual an'd th^ State, and when we trace the struggle on the part of tie former to secure that measure of reedom which individuality presupposes, t be- comes clear that there is a region which the ind vidua! claims as his own peculiar territory For the^nexation of this territory, and af terv^ ds for the defence of it, Hebrew Prophet and Christian mnrt-vr have laid down their lives, and the struggle has been continued throughout the centuries in nany lands. It is being increasingly recosmzed that the individual has demonstrated the justice of his claim to the sole possession oj this territory Within this limited sphere he is f«^-., \° f ^ f^^ the fi.'ure whilst the individual admits the ngnt S tll^^State to enter the Outer Court and even th^ Holy Place, there is a Holy of Holies wmcn is * Tacitus, Ann. xv. 44.