Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Persecution: What the Disciples of the Apostle Saint Paul Suffered and Endured in Rome
    Persecution: What the Disciples of the Apostle Saint Paul Suffered and Endured in Rome
    Persecution: What the Disciples of the Apostle Saint Paul Suffered and Endured in Rome
    Ebook107 pages1 hour

    Persecution: What the Disciples of the Apostle Saint Paul Suffered and Endured in Rome

    By Elpidio Espinoza

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    Its been a while that this book was planted in the authors heart due to the compassion and the great love he has seen in the Bible that God has for His persecuted children.

    From the Garden of Eden the devil has been dedicated to persecute the children of God. He uses all kinds of deceitfulness, lies and all kinds of possible traps to destroy the redeemed. Persecution is real today just like it always has been for the believers.

    The Bible says in 2nd Tim 3:12, Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.

    The Lord said that we will have afflictions in this world, non the less when we look around us it does not seem like there is persecution for many. Let me assure you that all of the redeemed are being persecuted one way or another this very moment.

    The devil is using all kinds of ways, he knows them all and works 24/7/365 and its like a shodow that is always behind the believers. Alot of christians without knowing have fallen in the tramp of the devil. Its sad to see defeat in so many people that should live in continual victory over whats wrong, and the flesh because of what the Lord did for us on the Cross of Calvery.

    His main purpose is that everyone who reads this book will be blessed and have a positive reaction.

    No matter where you are in any part of the world, even if you are in prison because of your faith in Jesus Christ.

    Today there are children of God in prison, and their only crime is to believe in their Lord and Savior Jesus Christ with all their heart.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherAuthorHouse
    Release dateSep 17, 2013
    ISBN9781491817704
    Persecution: What the Disciples of the Apostle Saint Paul Suffered and Endured in Rome
    Author

    Elpidio Espinoza

    Elpidio Espinoza is a sinner redeemed by the grace of Jesus and blessed to be married to Jodi, the most marvelous woman in the world. He also has a daughter, Banesa. He enjoys sharing his faith in the Lord with nonbelievers and in the same way enjoys exhorting and edifying believers in Christ. He believes the Gospel of the Kingdom of God should be preached unto the ends of the earth. His dream is that one day all the believers in Christ around the world will be able to freely worship God without being persecuted.

    Related to Persecution

    Related ebooks

    Short Stories For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      An Apex of Babble

      Mar 6, 2019

      An Apex of Babble
      13 min read

    • Article

      Sam’s Story From Prisoner To Preacher

      Apr 13, 2020

      Jesus is in the business of changing lives. The moment someone decides to follow Him is not only the end of their old life, but the beginning of a whole new life. And when someone really experiences that miracle regeneration, they can’t help but tell

      4 min read

    • Article

      Proclaiming The GOOD NEWS Laying Everything Down For The Sake Of The Gospel

      Apr 22, 2019

      In Romans 1, we read the story of Paul the apostle giving a message to the church in Rome. After the resurrection, Paul tells the church that their faith is being proclaimed to the whole world; that Jesus, their Messiah, was raised from the dead and

      3 min read

    • Article

      Blood Ritual

      Jun 5, 2023

      Blood Ritual
      20 min read

    • Article

      Why Study Church History?

      Jun 15, 2020

      Why Study Church History?
      3 min read

    • Article

      Letters To The Editor

      Oct 2, 2020

      Dear readers, we love to hear your thoughts on the stories that we publish, what is going on around the world, and what the Lord has placed on your heart! Email your letter through to editor@joymag.co.za for a chance to be featured – please try to ke

      8 min read

    • Article

      Once A Widow, Now A Bride Of Christ

      Mar 16, 2020

      “ I want to thank God for today. All my life I could never hear His voice, but today I heard the true message and it changed my life. From childhood, I followed the prophet Muhammad’s teachings and never knew how to find the right path to God. But no

      2 min read

    • Article

      Letters To The EDITOR

      Jul 21, 2023

      D ear readers, we love to hear your thoughts on the stories that we publish, what is going on around the world, and what the Lord has placed on your heart! Email your letter through to editor@joymag.co.za for a chance to be featured – please try to k

      6 min read

    • Article

      Letters To The Editor

      Nov 27, 2020

      I I believe b that we are living in the end times as we read about in all the books of the Gospel and listen to what Jesus had said. He warned of pestilences and famines. I believe that Covid-19 is one of the pestilences, as well as all the locusts t

      7 min read

    • Article

      A Burden On The Heart Of The Believer “I Charge You Therefore, Preach The Word!”

      Oct 21, 2019

      Most of us would recognise that the last words of a great and godly man or woman before their death would likely be words of great value. Words to consider and ponder. Jesus’ seven statements from the Cross are of that category and are thus recorded

      5 min read

    • Article

      Book of Uncommon Prayer

      May 3, 2023

      Book of Uncommon Prayer
      3 min read

    • Article

      Letters To The Editor

      Jul 30, 2021

      Dear readers, we love to hear your thoughts on the stories that we publish, what is going on around the world, and what the Lord has placed on your heart! Email your letter through to editor@joymag.co.za for a chance to be featured – please try to ke

      7 min read

    • Article

      Napoleon And The Church

      Nov 2, 2023

      Although Napoleon Bonaparte believed that the Roman Catholic Church favoured the Catholic monarchy of Austria over the revolutionary government of France, he never disavowed the institution and recognised its prominent role in the fabric of society.

      1 min read

    • Article

      Letter To The Editor

      Feb 10, 2020

      I refer to the “Old Age Homes Are Not Good Enough” letter in your January issue of JOY! Yes, old age homes in African and Eastern societies are not common, because the youth make up the larger part of these populations. In India for example, more tha

      5 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Persecution

    0 ratings

    0 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      Persecution - Elpidio Espinoza

      © 2013 Elpidio Espinoza. All rights reserved.

      No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

      This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, incidents, organizations, and dialogue in this novel are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

      Published by AuthorHouse 09/13/2013

      ISBN: 978-1-4918-1777-3 (sc)

      ISBN: 978-1-4918-1769-8 (hc)

      ISBN: 978-1-4918-1770-4 (e)

      Library of Congress Control Number: 2013916920

      Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models,

      and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

      Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

      Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

      Contents

      Dedication

      Introduction

      Chapter 1

      Chapter 2

      Chapter 3

      Chapter 4

      Chapter 5

      Chapter 6

      Chapter 7

      Chapter 8

      Chapter 9

      About the Author

      About the Book

      Dedication

      T his book is dedicated especially to the love of the author’s life, his beloved wife Jodi L. Espinoza. The person that who inspires, motivates, and understands him. She is always by his side supporting him with her words, which are full of wisdom and faith. She is continuously contributing in a unique way to his work. For that and much more, he lives eternally grateful, and in love with her. From the bottom of his heart, he thanks her for everything she does.

      Introduction

      T his is part of the story of the saints who followed the teachings, doctrines, examples, and ways of life of the Apostle Paul, even at the expense of their own well-being and, in some cases, lives.

      A lot of them became martyrs at the hand of the powerful Roman emperor Nero. He had control of the political and sinful religious system at that time. Everything that the Christian faith stood for directly contradicted everything for which the emperor stood.

      The way the Christian community conducted itself in the empire was offensive to him. He couldn’t tolerate its presence, practices, belief system, or way of life.

      For this very reason, he had to get rid of the Christians, even if that meant killing them all, and that is what he intended to do. He nearly succeeded. He had to lie and invent an evil diabolical plan to accuse them of horrible deeds they had never even considered committing. The mad emperor came up with the idea of burning the city of Rome so that he could play the blame game with the Christian people.

      Nero couldn’t handle the fact that this particular group of believers was growing so fast and completely changing its belief system. This meant, of course, that he wasn’t getting the worship, praise, adoration, and sacrifices he wanted from his entire empire.

      That is how Satan works. He uses the systems in place in whatever time we are living. It was true then, and it is true now. He wanted to stop the growth of the Christian church against his kingdom of darkness, and the perfect instrument was available and willing to follow every single instruction to the letter.

      After ordering the city of Rome to be set on fire and then blaming the Christian believers for it, Nero went after them like a beast thirsty for human blood. He started with the Apostle Peter, who was crucified upside down because he said that he did not deserve to die the way his master did (the Lord Jesus Christ). After killing him and others, Nero went after the Apostle Paul. He was beheaded by the Roman emperor’s soldiers.

      After these two great apostles were dead, Nero tried to destroy the entire Christian community. He went after the rest of the disciples with all kinds of torture and inhumane treatment to scare them. He had them renounce their faith by using these types of intimidations. He had some success but not as much as he was expecting.

      At this point, a small group of disciples came to center stage to try to guide the rest of the brethren for the path described by the Apostle Paul. Guiding them was a major task because there were different reactions among the believers, including fear, doubt, sadness, anguish, pain, corruption, and apostasy.

      Despite the strong emotions and reactions, there was a group of faithful ones who did not get intimidated by Nero’s persecution, and they stood firm to their faith and convictions. They had been warned by their beloved pastor and teacher Paul that all these things were coming. Therefore, their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ was well-rooted and nourished, and nobody could change their minds or hearts.

      Sometimes, God lets some of His servants suffer for a season, but he never forsakes them.

      Some of these believers stood faithful, and because of this, many of them gave their lives for their faith. In those days, the fact that they might have to die for their faith wasn’t considered a remote idea, because the most important thing for them was to follow Christ and be faithful until the end.

      With these testimonies, many followed the gospel of salvation, knowing very well that perhaps they might have to pay the same price at any given moment.

      Chapter 1

      T here were seven leaders who had worked very closely with the Apostle Paul, and they had to come together to keep up the work of the ministry. Six days after Paul’s death, there was a meeting to discuss the way they would go forward. The responsibility to guide the church of the Lord unexpectedly fell on these leaders.

      Rufino was a faithful minister of Christ and a former Roman soldier. He was blind in his left eye, and his right leg had been severely hurt in battle, so he limped when he walked. He had a strong but likable personality and image.

      Justino was an elder of the church, full of faith, and had very strong and firm convictions. He was a middle-aged farmer who was humble and likable. He had a well-built physical image, but was completely dedicated to serving his Lord and Savior.

      Alfonso owned a bakery. He was an elderly family gentleman who was respected and beloved among the brethren. He was a faithful minister of the gospel of his Lord and savior Jesus Christ.

      Fausto was a faithful, dedicated elder and servant of the Lord Jesus. He was an elderly man who traveled from one end of the empire to the other because of his work.

      Claudia was a wealthy elderly widow who had her own clothing business. She was full of faith, hope, and the word of truth and had a Godly personality. She was respected, beloved, and revered. Her participation in the church was to help the younger women to be good Christians, mothers, and wives.

      Antonio was a rich, ambitious businessman. He didn’t like to be confronted by anybody, and he liked to be the first one in everything. He also liked to surround himself with weaker people. He was a corrupt minister and a traitor. As a result, nobody liked him.

      Silvio was an employee of Antonio, so he did whatever his boss told him. He was a weakly coward who was a compromising, unfaithful, and unreliable minister. Everybody knew that among the faithful brethren, he was not respected.

      These seven leaders each had their own opinions about how to keep guiding the

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1