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30. The Apostle Peter
The Apostle Peter being crucified upside down in Rome on orders of Nero, AD 69 Simon Peter, the Holy Apostles, Crucified with His Head Downward, Under Emperor Nero, A.D. 69 Simon Jona, afterwards called Cephas in Syriac, but Petros or Petrus in Greek, was the brother of Andrew, a native of Bethsaida in Galilee, and a fisherman by occupation. He had his abode at Capernaum, with his wife's mother. His brother Andrew, who was a disciple of John, first brought him to Christ, and shortly afterwards he and his brother were called away from the fishery, to become fishers of men. Matt. 16:17; Mark 3:16: John 1:42; Matt. 4:18; John 1:44; Luke 4:31, 38; John 1:41, 42; Matt. 4:18, 19. He was diligently instructed by…
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29. Nero’s Cruelties Against the Christians
Of the Unheard of Cruelties Nero Practiced in Slaying the Pious Christians Touching the manner in which the Christians were tortured and killed at the time of Nero, A. Mellinus gives the following account from Tacitus and other Roman writers: namely, that four extremely cruel and unnatural kinds of torture were employed against the Christians: Firstly, that they dressed them in the skins of tame and wild beasts, that they might be torn to pieces by dogs or other wild animals. Secondly, that they, according to the example of their Saviour, were fastened alive on crosses, and that in many different ways. Thirdly, that the innocent Christians were burned and smoked by the Romans, with torches and lamps, under the shoulders and on other tender…
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28. Ten Bloody Persecutions
Of the Ten Bloody Persecutions which the Christians Suffered under the Heathen Emperors of Rome; the First of which Began in the Reign of Nero, A. D. 66 The First Persecution of the Christians, under Nero, Anno 66 When the Jews were deprived of their power, by the heathen, and their time was past, in which they had persecuted and slain the saints of God, the Lord God nevertheless suffered His church to be visited by the refining fire of persecution, namely, through the power of the heathen; of whom the Emperor Nero was the first tyrant. Introduction to the Mirror of the Anabaptist Martyrs, printed Anno 1631. p. 35. col 2. This Nero, according to the testimony of Emperor Trajan, governed the monarchy of…
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27. Mark, the Evangelist
Mark the Evangelist dies on the way while being dragged to the site of his burning, Alexandria, A. D. 64 How Mark, the Holy Evangelist, Dragged to the Stake at Alexandria, Died on the Way, A.D. 64 The holy evangelist Mark is supposed by most to have been that Mark whose surname in Holy Scripture is John. He was of the circumcision, and a nephew of Barnabas, whose mother was called Mary, a very godly woman, who gave her house in Jerusalem for the assembling of Christians. Acts 12:12; Col. 4:10. Niceph. lib. 2. cap. 33. He was first appointed a servant of Paul and Barnabas, but on a journey to Pamphylia he returned to Jerusalem. Acts 12:25; 13:13. Afterwards the apostle Paul recommended him…
Further Study
The Gospel According To Mark
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26. Barnabas, Companion of Paul
Barnabas burned at Salamanca on Cyprus, A.D. 64 Barnabas, a Companion of the Apostle Paul, Dragged out of the City and Burned, at Salamina in Cyprus, A.D. 64. Barnabas, also called Barsabas, and surnamed Joseph, Joses, or Justus, was a Levite from Cyprus, full of the Holy Ghost. He was called the son of consolation, and such a one he indeed proved himself to the poor saints. Acts 11:24; 1:23; 4:36; Euseb. hist. Eccl. lib. 2. cap. 1. It is maintained that he was one of the seventy disciples of Christ, and from the multiplicity of his names we can see his renown and eminence; which latter he gained by his zeal and piety; for he brought Paul, after his conversion, to the apostles; and…
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25. The Apostle James, the Less
The Apostle James (the Lesser) stoned and clubbed to death, Jerusalem, A.D. 63 James, the Son of Alpheus, or Brother of the Lord, Cast Down from the Temple, Stoned, and Beaten to Death with a Club, A.D. 63. James the Lesser was the son of Alpheus, and Mary Cleophas, sister to the mother of Christ; he is called the Lord's brother. Matt. 10:3; Gal. 1:19. After proper instruction he was ordained an apostle by Christ, and sent out to minister to the Jews; wherein he acquitted himself well, until Christ's death. After that, he, with others, was sent out to preach the Gospel, which he did in the Jewish church. Matt. 28:19; Mark 16:15. And although Peter, and James and his brother John, of whom…
Further Study
The Letter Of James To The Churches Of Jerusalem
