🔥 The Great Persecutions (250–311 AD)
A War Against the Followers of Yeshua — and Their Scriptures
For 61 years, the Roman Empire waged a brutal and calculated war — not just on the lives of early believers, but on their faith, their gatherings, their leaders, and most importantly, their sacred writings.
1. The Attack on the Word of God
303 AD: Diocletian’s Edict targeted Scripture itself.
Diocletian’s Edict (Feb 23, 303 AD):
“All Scriptures are to be burned, churches to be demolished, and all Christian worship to be stopped.”
- Churches raided, scrolls torn apart and burned in public squares.
- Roman soldiers forced believers to hand over their sacred writings—the Torah, Gospels, letters, and teachings.
- Refusal meant torture and execution; compliance meant being branded "traditor" (“traitor”).
2. What Was Burned?
- Not just Greek copies—Hebrew and Aramaic scrolls of the Torah, Prophets, and Yeshua’s teachings were destroyed.
- Early Nazarene and Jewish-Christian writings, especially in Syria, Judea, Edessa, and Egypt, lost forever.
- Collections of teachings and sayings (Gospel of the Hebrews, lost gospels, etc.) targeted for erasure.
3. Guardians of the Scrolls — At the Risk of Death
- Many hid sacred scrolls in caves, homes, and clay jars (like the Dead Sea Scrolls).
- Some copied in secret; others smuggled 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.
- Torah-honoring Yeshua followers viewed as rebels; their refusal to worship the emperor = 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 believers died, and many irreplaceable scrolls were lost.
- The Church that survived was forever changed, its scriptural heritage nearly wiped out.
311 AD marked the end of Rome’s war against the original followers of Yeshua and their Hebrew scrolls — but the loss of sacred writings would shape the future of the faith forever.