The Hundredfold Ecclesia & Persecution
October 16, 2006
Dear Friends
The first-century Jerusalem ecclesia, which we believe Scriptures holds up as an example of a “hundredfold ecclesia,†endured much persecution. What is interesting is that this ecclesia not only survived this persecution, but thrived in those circumstances. Even when they were forced to flee for their lives, this only gave opportunity for new ecclesias to spring forth. Let us take a look at a few examples:
- “They [the priests] arrested them [Peter and John], and, as it was already late, they kept them in prison till the next day. But many of those who had listened to their message became believers; the total number of men had now risen to something like five thousand.†(Acts 4:3–4 NJB)
- “Filled with jealousy, they arrested the apostles and had them put in the public gaol . . . and they had the apostles called in, gave orders for them to be flogged, warned them not to speak in the name of Jesus and released them. Every day they went on ceaselessly teaching and proclaiming the good news of Christ Jesus, both in the temple and in private houses.†(Acts 5:17–18, 40, 42)
- “They took Stephen by surprise, and arrested him and brought him before the Sanhedrin.†(Acts 6:12)
- “Saul then began doing great harm to the church; he went from house to house arresting both men and women and sending them to prison. Once they had scattered, they went from place to place preaching the good news.†(Acts 8:3, 4)
- “The churches throughout Judaea, Galilee and Samaria were now left in peace, building themselves up and living in the fear of the Lord; encouraged by the Holy Spirit, they continued to grow.†(Acts 9:31)
- “It was about this time that King Herod started persecuting certain members of the church. He had James the brother of John beheaded, and when he saw that this pleased the Jews he went on to arrest Peter as well.. The word of God continued to spread and to gain followers.†(Acts 12:1–3, 24)
- “Having preached the good news in that town and made a considerable number of disciples, they went back through Lystra, Iconium and Antioch.†(Acts 14:21)
- “So the churches grew strong in the faith, as well as growing daily in numbers.†(Acts 16:5)
Despite organized and determined persecution, the hundredfold ecclesia grew. This characteristic was so well known that people such as Tertullian made comments such as “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.†What Acts hints at and Tertullian states are very different than we might suspect. We would think that they thrived in spite of persecution, while there are indications here that it grew because of persecution. Why is it that Africa and hard-line Muslim countries are bearing such fruit in new baptisms for Christ presently while so-called “first-world†countries in North America and Western Europe are shrinking? Is there a connection between difficult times and a need for God? Is there a connection in wealth and spiritual apathy? It seems a religion not worth dying for is not worth living for either.
Next week, we will start wrapping things up by looking at the hundredfold ecclesia’s ability to handle problems.
Have a great week,
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