🔥 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
When Diocletian launched the final and fiercest wave of persecution in 303 AD, one of his first acts was to order the destruction of all Christian writings. This was not just about buildings or people—it was a targeted strike on the teachings of Yeshua and the Hebrew scrolls treasured by the early assemblies.

🔥 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 were raided, and scrolls were torn apart and burned in public squares.

Roman soldiers forced believers to hand over their sacred writings—the Torah, the Gospels, letters, and teachings.

Those who refused to surrender their scrolls were tortured and executed.

Believers who gave them up were labeled "traditores" (traitors)—a word that later influenced our word “traitor.”

📜 2. What Was Burned?
These weren’t just Greek copies. In the East (especially among Hebrew and Aramaic-speaking assemblies), what was destroyed included:

Scrolls of the Torah (especially in Jewish-Christian assemblies)

Writings of the Prophets

Hebrew and Aramaic teachings of Yeshua

Early records kept by Nazarene communities (written in Hebrew script)

Collections of teachings and sayings (some like the Gospel of the Hebrews or other lost gospels)

In areas like Syria, Judea, Edessa, and Egypt, many of these early non-Greek scrolls were lost forever during these purges.

🩸 3. Guardians of the Scrolls – At the Risk of Death
Many believers hid sacred scrolls in caves, homes, and underground chambers. Some even buried them in clay jars, similar to how the Dead Sea Scrolls were hidden.

A few were copied in secret, and others were smuggled to remote assemblies across Armenia, Persia, and Ethiopia.

Elders taught their students to memorize large portions of Scripture, knowing the written words might be lost.

In many cases, even children were taught by heart the Psalms and teachings of Yeshua in Hebrew and Aramaic.

⚔️ 4. More Than Just Martyrs — It Was Cultural Erasure
This wasn’t just about killing believers. It was about erasing the Hebrew roots of the faith. The Roman system, rooted in Greek philosophy and imperial control, saw the Torah-honoring followers of Yeshua as rebels.

Their refusal to worship the emperor was viewed as treason.

Their scriptures spoke of one God—YHWH—not Caesar, and taught people to fear God alone.

Their assembly structure, based on humility and service, stood in contrast to Roman hierarchy and power.

The scrolls and books were more dangerous to the empire than swords.

🕊️ 5. How It Ended – But Not Forgotten
In 311 AD, as Galerius lay dying from a horrible disease, he reversed course. He issued the Edict of Toleration, confessing that persecution had failed and asking Christians to pray for him.

“Let them pray to their God for our safety and for the good of the state…”

But the damage was done. Countless believers had died. Scrolls had been burned. And the Church that survived was forever changed.

❗️What We Lost
Many of the Hebrew-based scrolls used by the earliest followers of Yeshua vanished during this time. What rose afterward, especially under Constantine, was a Church reshaped with Greek philosophy, Roman power structures, and a break from its Hebrew foundation.