🔥 The Great Persecutions (250–311 AD)
A War Against the People of Yhwh — and Their Scriptures
For 61 years, the Roman Empire waged a brutal and calculated war — not just on the lives of believers, but on their assemblies, their leaders, and most importantly, their sacred writings.
1. The Attack on Yhwh’s Word
303 AD: Diocletian’s Edict targeted the scrolls themselves.
Diocletian’s Edict (Feb 23, 303 AD):
“All Scriptures are to be burned, meeting places to be demolished, and all worship to be stopped.”
- Assemblies raided, scrolls torn apart and burned in public squares.
- Roman soldiers forced people to hand over their sacred writings — Hebrew and Aramaic scrolls of Yhwh’s Word and the prophets.
- Refusal meant torture and execution; compliance meant being branded “traditor” (“traitor”).
2. What Was Burned?
- Hebrew and Aramaic scrolls of Yhwh’s Word, Prophets, and teachings were destroyed.
- Writings of the early assemblies in Syria, Judea, Edessa, and Egypt lost forever.
- Collections of sayings and teachings (such as the Gospel of the Hebrews and other early writings) targeted for erasure.
3. Guardians of the Scrolls — At the Risk of Death
- Many hid scrolls in caves, homes, and clay jars (like the Dead Sea Scrolls).
- Some copied in secret; others smuggled them to remote communities (Armenia, Persia, Ethiopia).
- Elders taught students to memorize large portions of Scripture, children included.
4. More Than Just Martyrs — It Was Cultural Erasure
- This was about erasing the Hebrew roots of the faith, not just killing people.
- Those who honored Yhwh’s Word were viewed as rebels; refusal to worship the emperor was seen as treason.
- Their scrolls and teachings were considered more dangerous than swords.
- Roman hierarchy and power clashed with the humility and service of the original assemblies.
5. How It Ended — But Not Forgotten
- 311 AD: Emperor Galerius, dying and desperate, issued the Edict of Toleration — persecution had failed.
“Let them pray to their God for our safety and for the good of the state…”
- But the damage was done: countless people died, and many irreplaceable scrolls were lost.
- The assemblies that survived were forever changed, their heritage nearly wiped out.
311 AD marked the end of Rome’s war against the people of Yhwh and their Hebrew scrolls — but the loss of sacred writings would shape history forever.