THE PERSECUTED CHURCH (3 OF 70)
by Jeff Schreve
Scripture: John16:1-7
This content is part of a series.
The Persecuted Church (3 of 70)
And The Word Became Flesh
John 16:1-7
Pastor Jeff Schreve
I don't know how many of you have ever been to Rome. Anybody here ever been to Rome? You know, one of the things you do when you go to Rome is going to see the Coliseum. The Coliseum is a structure that was finished in 80 A.D., and it was a very central point in Roman life. I think it had a lifespan of about 300 years, where they would have the games and the gladiators there. Here is a picture of the Coliseum, an artist's rendering of what it looked like. Obviously, it doesn't look like that today, but that's what it looked like back in the day. And it's an engineering wonder and a marvel how they could fill that thing with water and have boat battles and all sorts of other battles. And they would bring in wild animals, and they would hunt these animals. I was reading about that today. Sometimes the animals would jump into the stands and maul the people. But one of the things that you know about the Coliseum is, a number of Christians were brought there to be killed. And they would have them face the lions in the Coliseum. Here is a picture of the Coliseum today. If you go to Rome, this is what you'll see. This is all that's left of Coliseum. But underneath you had these tunnels. And when you go and visit the Coliseum, there's an interesting feeling that you get, because you know that so many people died here. And the people would gather to watch folks die there. You watch Gladiator, and you see how the people were just thirsty for blood, and that was their form of entertainment. And you think about all the Christians that were killed and what they faced. As one man said when he went to the Coliseum, "I bowed my head, and I asked the Lord could I be one of those who died for Him and be faithful and not deny Him?" You know, in the early days of Christianity during Roman persecution, the way you got out of being killed for your faith was to deny Christ. You would burn a pi ...
And The Word Became Flesh
John 16:1-7
Pastor Jeff Schreve
I don't know how many of you have ever been to Rome. Anybody here ever been to Rome? You know, one of the things you do when you go to Rome is going to see the Coliseum. The Coliseum is a structure that was finished in 80 A.D., and it was a very central point in Roman life. I think it had a lifespan of about 300 years, where they would have the games and the gladiators there. Here is a picture of the Coliseum, an artist's rendering of what it looked like. Obviously, it doesn't look like that today, but that's what it looked like back in the day. And it's an engineering wonder and a marvel how they could fill that thing with water and have boat battles and all sorts of other battles. And they would bring in wild animals, and they would hunt these animals. I was reading about that today. Sometimes the animals would jump into the stands and maul the people. But one of the things that you know about the Coliseum is, a number of Christians were brought there to be killed. And they would have them face the lions in the Coliseum. Here is a picture of the Coliseum today. If you go to Rome, this is what you'll see. This is all that's left of Coliseum. But underneath you had these tunnels. And when you go and visit the Coliseum, there's an interesting feeling that you get, because you know that so many people died here. And the people would gather to watch folks die there. You watch Gladiator, and you see how the people were just thirsty for blood, and that was their form of entertainment. And you think about all the Christians that were killed and what they faced. As one man said when he went to the Coliseum, "I bowed my head, and I asked the Lord could I be one of those who died for Him and be faithful and not deny Him?" You know, in the early days of Christianity during Roman persecution, the way you got out of being killed for your faith was to deny Christ. You would burn a pi ...
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