The Last Disciple
Return From Patmos
After Domitian had reigned fifteen years, and Nerva had succeeded to the empire, the Roman Senate, according to the writers that record the history of those days, voted that Domitian's honors should be cancelled and that those who had been unjustly banished should return to their homes and have their property restored to them. According to an ancient Christian tradition, it was at this time that the Apostle John returned from his banishment on the island [of Patmos] and took up his residence at Ephesus. (Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History 3.20.8-9)
John the son of Zebedee was not the only person Domitian banished to an island. The emperor also banished Roman noblemen on the basis of false accusations brought against them by their slaves and by the lower classes. He seized their property, assets, and wealth and used them to balance out the large government deficits he had incurred. Most vulnerable to his rapine were those wealthy Romans who had adopted a Jewish mode of life, i.e., God-fearing Gentile believers. In the last years of Domitian's reign, informers and slanderers accused many Roman aristocrats of secretly adopting Jewish ways. Most of those accused actually had nothing to do with Judaism or the believers. Dishonorable men simply took advantage of the current hysteria to denounce their enemies, and Domitian took advantage of the accusations by seizing wealth and property.
When Nerva took power, he reversed many of Domitian's unjust policies. He made it illegal to charge anyone with being a secret Jew liable to the Fiscus Judaicus: "No persons were permitted to accuse anybody of majesty-crimes or of adopting the Jewish mode of life." Domitian had exiled many citizens of Rome on trumped-up charges. Nerva immediately "released everyone who was on trial for majesty-crimes, and he restored the exiles."
Eusebius says, "It was at this time that the Apostle John returned from his banishment on the island and took up his residence at Ephesus."
John probably spent only a year or, at the most, two years on Patmos. Nerva came to power in the fall of 96 CE. John must have left Patmos no later than the spring of 97 CE. When he returned from Patmos, he was already well into his eighties or nineties and in the last years of his life. Irenaeus says that "John remained in Ephesus until the time of Trajan as a faithful witness of the apostolic tradition" (Against Heresies 2.33). Trajan took power in January 98 CE.
References
This lesson is adapted from Daniel Lancaster's teachings in The Sent Ones, as presented by First Fruits of Zion for the Torah Club.
The Last of the Twelve
After all the Apostles had finished their work, and had gone forth from this world-now Peter had been crucified in the city of Rome, and they had cut off the head of Paul in the same city, and Mark they had flayed alive in the city of Alexandria and it was two days before he died, and in this wise each of the Apostles in the country which he had gone to convert, and they all had contended with tribulations and with abundant punishments, each according to his own way-the blessed John still continued to live in the world for many years, and he lived until the reign of Domitian, and he lived seventy years after the Resurrection of our Lord. And he became an exceedingly old man, and he tasted death neither by the sword nor by any violence whatsoever, for God loved him exceedingly because of his purity, even as it is written in his Gospel that he was the friend of the Lord who was worthy to rest upon the breast of the Son, the One Who sitteth in the bosom of His Father in the heavens, by reason of the purity of his soul and body. And after he had written his divine Gospel which exalteth all hearts, and the Apocalypse which he saw in Patmos, and which full of the mysteries of God, God Almighty —may His Name be blessed!-wished to deliver him from the fatigue of this world which he had endured patiently for His Name's sake, for the blessed John was rejoicing exceedingly in God. Now there were multitudes of the brethren who were dwelling with him in Ephesus, and they were glad and rejoiced in the sight of him even as if they had seen God, our Lord Jesus Christ. (The History of the Death of Saint John the Evangelist)
In the year 97 CE, the Apostle John returned to Ephesus. By then, he knew that he was the last survivor of the twelve disciples and one of the last surviving apostles. So did everyone else.
The Golden Legend says that, as John disembarked at Ephesus, the believers came down to the harbor to greet him, singing and saying, "Blessed is he that comes in the name of the LORD."
They marveled over the stories of how the LORD had delivered him from the hand of Domitian. Neither poison nor boiling oil had prevailed against John. He seemed indestructible.
A rumor began to circulate among the disciples of John that the LORD was keeping him alive until the second coming of the Master. John's disciples remarked to one another, "Surely John will not taste death, for our Master said to him, 'Some of those who are standing here will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom. Now the other eleven who stood before the Master have all tasted death; only John remains!" (Matthew 16:28; Mark 9:1; Luke 9:27).
Other disciples confirmed the theory. They replied, "When our Master spoke to Simon Peter about the kind of death by which he was to glorify God, Peter asked Him about our teacher John, 'Master, what about this man?' And what did the Master reply? He said, If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you?'" (John 21:22). Therefore, this saying went out among the brethren that the disciple John would not die before the Master came.
For his part, John could neither confirm nor deny the matter. He hoped it was true, not for his own sake but for the sake of all Israel. He knew that his years quickly drew to a close. Why should the Messiah tarry longer?
Why should He not come and set the world aright? How long must Zion lie in ruins? How long should the flock be scattered over the mountains?
During his first year back in Ephesus, John supervised all the teaching in the assembly, holding many meetings and reminding them of what the Master had said to them and the duty He assigned to each person. He faithfully wrote out the vision he had seen on Patmos and distributed the messages of the Master to the seven assemblies. He turned his attention back to the composition of his gospel and made more progress in that effort, but the years weighed heavily on him. He no longer had the bodily strength to carry on the work.
After his return from Patmos, John did not leave Ephesus to travel to the other assemblies in Asia Minor as he once did. The strength of his youth had left his body, and his health declined rapidly. His disciples from Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, Laodicea, and even further traveled to Ephesus to see their beloved teacher and ask for his blessings. Believers everywhere realized that John was their last living link to the Master, and they traveled to Ephesus to see him.
If they came seeking deep insights or stirring discourses, they were disappointed. In his last years, John could hardly string together a complete sentence, much less compose or deliver a discourse on Torah or the secrets of the kingdom of heaven. He could scarcely walk the short distance from his home to the house of assembly, and at times, his disciples carried him in their hands or on a litter. As they carried him through the streets, disciples and pilgrims who had come to Ephesus to see the holy apostle crowded around him and reached out for him. He blessed them from his litter and said, over and over, "Little children, love one another."
This happened week after week, and all he would say, in one form or another, was, "Little children, love one another." His disciples grew weary of the repetition. They said, "Teacher, why do you always say this?"
John replied, "It was the Master's commandment, and if it is done, it is enough."
The same sentiment finds frequent repetition in the writings of the apostle.
The blessed gospel writer John, when he delayed at Ephesus up to the highest old age and could scarcely be carried to the assembly in the hands of disciples and was not able to put together a statement of several words, used to offer in different sayings nothing but, "Little children, love one another." At last the disciples and brethren who were present, tired of the fact that they always heard the same thing, said, "Teacher, why do you always say this?" John made a worthy response: "Because it was the Master's commandment, and if it alone is done, it is enough." (Jerome, Commentary on Galatians 6:I0)
References
This lesson is adapted from Daniel Lancaster's teachings in The Sent Ones, as presented by First Fruits of Zion for the Torah Club.
The Death of Yochanan
John returned to Ephesus under Nerva Pertinax and continuing there until the time of Trajan, founded and built churches throughout all Asia, and, worn out by old age, died in the sixty-eighth year after our Master's passion and was buried near the same city. (Jerome, Lives of Illustrious Men 9)
Early sources report that John lived past the age of ninety. The Golden Legend says that sixty-eight years after the resurrection of the Master, when John was ninety-nine years old, he saw a vision of Yeshua. The Master seemed to appear before John, reclining, as it were, at a great banqueting table. The other eleven disciples reclined with him. John saw Simon Peter, his brother James, and the whole fellowship of the disciples at that table, or so it seemed. John thought he could discern a vacant spot at the table. The Master turned to him and beckoned, "Come to me, my friend, for it is time for you to come, eat, and be fed at my table with your brethren."
John rose to his feet and reached out. He stammered, "Master! Long have I desired it." Even then, his soul began to leave his body, but the Master stopped him and bade him to wait a few more days. He said, "On the first day of the week, you will come to me."
An apocryphal story about the departure of John in Ephesus exists in several versions. Christian churches reproduced the story for public reading on the Feast of Saint John. Versions appear in Latin, Syriac, Armenian, Coptic, Ethiopic, Slavonic, and Greek. Versions of it appear in Acts of John, Acts of John by Prochorus, The History of the Death of Saint John the Evangelist, and several other collections of apostolic legend, but they all stem from the same apocryphal source. The basic details are in agreement. According to the story, John left this life as follows.
After the Sabbath, John gathered the assembly at Ephesus together and spoke to them long into the night. He prayed with them and broke bread with them. He blessed God, broke the bread, and after first partaking of it himself, he distributed it to those who were gathered together in that place. Then he bade most of the brethren to depart from him. He blessed them with peace, and he sent them to their homes. He took aside seven of his disciples (some say three disciples). Some versions name Prochorus, others name Verus, and another names Eutyches. He told the seven disciples to take up shovels and follow him. They followed him out of the house with shovels in hand. He led them through the streets of Ephesus and out through the gates. We may presume that the Jewish community of Ephesus had designated a certain burial place outside the city's walls. When John and the disciples had come to the tomb of a certain brother in the Master, he said to the men, "Dig, my children."
And as they dug, he withdrew from them a short distance and prayed. When he returned, he urged them on, insisting, "Let the trench be deeper." As they dug, he spoke to them about the kingdom, and he prayed for them.
When the trench reached the depth he desired, he took off his sandals and his belt and his cloak and laid them on the bottom. Standing only in his tunic, he lifted his hands heavenward and prayed again and with great eloquence. Then he laid himself in the trench atop his cloak and said to the seven brothers, "Peace be with you, brethren." And he gave up his spirit. The disciples wept bitterly and kissed his hands. In some versions of the story, they left the grave unclosed and returned to the city. In some versions, they covered his body with earth. One telling of the story was reluctant to let the apostle truly die. In that tradition, the disciples buried John alive, and he remains alive. In some versions, a bright light enveloped John, and he vanished before the eyes of the disciples.
The disciples returned to the city, but when they returned without John, the brethren demanded, "What have you done with our teacher?" They brought them outside to see the grave.
When they came to the place where they had left him, they discovered that the body was gone. Only the sandals remained, but some say the other garments were there, too. Some say that manna had appeared where his body had lain. Others say that a fountain sprang up, filled the trench with water and that the water of that fountain had healing properties. Another version says that the trench had filled with a miraculous dust that rose from below.
References
This lesson is adapted from Daniel Lancaster's teachings in The Sent Ones, as presented by First Fruits of Zion for the Torah Club.
Asleep in the Dust
The believers in Ephesus remembered John's tomb and resting place for several generations. One important reference to John's tomb at Ephesus appears in a letter written by Polycrates, the bishop of Ephesus.
In the mid-second century, Bishop Anicetus of Rome (bishop 157-168 CE) attempted to force the assemblies of Asia Minor to abandon their observance of Passover on the fourteenth of Nisan. He wanted them to adopt the Roman custom of celebrating Passover and the resurrection of the Master on the following Sunday. Anicetus tried to impose the Roman Christian custom of fasting from Friday until Saturday night during the week of Passover and then celebrating the Lord's Supper together in place of the Passover meal on the first day of the week. Many believers refused to adopt the new custom. They wanted to keep Passover on the fourteenth of Nisan, as the Torah commands and as the apostles taught them. They also objected to the notion of fasting on the holy day and the Sabbath. The Christians who refused to accept the Roman custom were called "Fourteeners" (Quartodecimans) because they insisted on keeping Passover on the fourteenth of Nisan (actually the fifteenth by Jewish reckoning, since the day ends at sunset). Polycarp (69-155 CE), the disciple of John, traveled to Rome to challenge Anicetus on this matter and to defend the rights of the Fourteeners. Anicetus gave in to Polycarp's arguments and no longer pressured the bishops to change their observance of Passover, but that did not settle the issue.
A generation later, Victor (bishop of Rome 189-199 CE) warned the bishops of Asia Minor that if they did not cooperate with the new custom, he would cut them off from the assembly. Polycrates (130-196 CE), the bishop of Ephesus, wrote a letter explaining why he and the Christians of Asia Minor must refuse to cooperate. Polycrates objected, "Seven of my relatives were bishops; and l am the eighth. And my relatives always observed the day when the people put away the leaven" (Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History 5.24.6). He explained that they could not abandon the tradition they had received from the apostles. He presented the apostolic credentials behind the tradition of the Fourteeners:
For in Asia [Minor] also great luminaries have fallen asleep, and they shall rise again on the last day, at the coming of the Master, when he shall come with glory from heaven and shall seek out all the saints. Among these are Philip, one of the twelve apostles, who sleeps in Hierapolis, and his two aged, virgin daughters, and another daughter who lived in the Holy Spirit and now rests at Ephesus. Moreover John, who was both a witness and a teacher, who reclined at the side of the Master, and being a priest wore the sacred plate. He also sleeps at Ephesus. (Polycrates, Letter to Victor in Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History 3.31.2-3; also in 5.24.2-3)
Polycrates said that John "sleeps at Ephesus," a common euphemism for death. He would have known the location of the tomb. He also mentions that one of Philip's four daughters had also been entombed at Ephesus.
Early Christian pilgrims to Ephesus came to visit the tomb of Saint John. They believed that the dust of the grave of Saint John could heal, and they referred to it as manna. In the fifth century, Augustine reported a legend that John was not dead but merely asleep in his tomb, where he would remain sleeping until the coming of Christ. According to some pilgrim reports, the ground above John's tomb rose and fell with the breathing of the sleeper. Augustine wrote about "the bubbling up of the dust, which is believed to be forced by the breath of the sleeper to ascend from the depths to the surface of the grave" (Lectures or Tractates on the Gospel of John, Tractate 124.2).
References
This lesson is adapted from Daniel Lancaster's teachings in The Sent Ones, as presented by First Fruits of Zion for the Torah Club.
Trajan
Nerva died only a year after taking office. Before his death, he adopted the celebrated general Marcus Ulpius Nerva Traianus Augustus, i.e., Trajan, as his heir and successor. Trajan succeeded Nerva in January of 98 CE. He ruled the empire until his death in 117 CE.
History remembers Trajan as one of the few good emperors of Rome. When Trajan took power, he sent a letter to the senate, written in his own hand, in which he declared on oath that he would not slay nor distran-chise any good man. He kept that promise and did his best to redress the injustices committed during the reign of Domitian. He did not let envy and greed dictate his actions. He did not conduct unjust murders, and he did not take the money of other men. He refused to entertain baseless accusations lodged against his citizens. He honored and exalted good men and, therefore, did not need to fear them as rivals. He conducted ambitious campaigns to expand the borders of the empire. He made urgently needed repairs to Roman infrastructure, such as harbors, roads, and public buildings. He conducted himself humbly, and he remained affable in his relationships with people.
Jewish history remembers Trajan less enthusiastically. A second Jewish revolt erupted during the reign of Trajan. The believers also suffered under Trajan. Trajan carried on Domitian's official policy of putting believers to death:
In the ninth year of his reign (107 CE), being lifted up with pride after the victory he had gained over the Scythians and Dacians and many other nations, Trajan realized that the religion of the Christians still needed to be subjugated. He thereupon threatened them with persecution unless they would agree to worship demons in accordance with all other nations. He forced all those who were living godly lives to either sacrifice to idols or die. (Martyrdom of Ignatius 2)
Trajan also published an edict forbidding unapproved meetings and political societies of any type. This ban included secret meetings like the assemblies of the Christians. Trajan believed that no good could possibly come out of such associations. He did not even allow civil groups, such as a firefighters' brigade, lest such organizations become politically subversive.
References
This lesson is adapted from Daniel Lancaster's teachings in The Sent Ones, as presented by First Fruits of Zion for the Torah Club.
Pliny’s Epistle to Trajan
In many places, the persecution unleashed upon us at that time was so great that Plinius Secundus (i.e., Pliny the Younger), one of the most prominent of governors, was disturbed by the great number of martyrs. He corresponded with the emperor concerning the multitude of those that were put to death for their faith. (Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History 3.33.1)
Gaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus, better known as Pliny the Younger, was a lawyer and author who rose to become a senator and statesman under the administrations of Domitian, Nerva, and Trajan. Pliny's uncle, Pliny the Elder, educated him. Both Plinys witnessed the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 CE, and Pliny the Elder died while conducting rescue operations during the eruption.
History remembers Pliny the Younger for his hundreds of surviving letters, which provide an invaluable source of information about the late first-century and early second-century Roman world. Pliny was well-connected. Under Domitian, he rose to the rank of Prefect over the military treasury. Under Trajan, he served as Consul, presided as a member of Trajan's judicial court, and finally received a posting as governor over the province of Bithynia. Pliny the Younger was a friend of the historian Tacitus, and the biographer Suetonius worked for him.
In the year 112 CE, Trajan sent Pliny the Younger to serve as the governor over the Roman province of Bithynia (modern-day Turkey), a territory adjacent to Pontus on the southern shore of the Black Sea. Prior to Pliny's arrival, Bithynia had been unlucky in its governors. Six of them and one procurator returned to Rome after their terms in office, facing prosecution for corruption. Pliny arrived in Nicomedia, the capital of the province, and began to clean up the mess of corruption left behind by previous administrators. He tried to restore order to the chaos created by factional feuds within the cities. He worked to sort through class warfare, bribery, and political malfeasance.
Half a century earlier, Bithynia and Pontus had been under the apostolate of Simon Peter. Peter left behind a community of believers that continued to thrive over the next fifty years, despite repeated persecutions. Simon Peter's brother Andrew also spent time in the capital city of Nicomedia. Some of the believers in the days of Pliny may have remembered Andrew's visit. Pliny the Younger had the unpleasant job of prosecuting them and putting them to death for the crime of being Christians. When Pliny's tribunal began to process a large number of Bithynian Christians, he wrote to Trajan for advice on how to conduct the proceedings. The short epistle, coupled with the reply from Emperor Trajan, provides an important glimpse of early second-century Christianity.
References
This lesson is adapted from Daniel Lancaster's teachings in The Sent Ones, as presented by First Fruits of Zion for the Torah Club.
A Matter of Uncertainty
Sir. Whenever I am in doubt about how to proceed, it is my rule to look to you for advice. For who can better correct my inefficiencies or instruct my ignorance? I have never been present at a trial where Christians were examined, and because of that, I am unacquainted with what methods of inquiry to employ, and with what they should be punished, or how far they should be punished [in the interrogation]. (Pliny the Younger, Letters I0.96)
Pliny's campaign against the Christians in Nicomedia and Bithynia probably began at the behest of the local temple priesthoods. For several years, they had noted a steady decline in the number of patrons participating in the temples. Those who sold sacrifices also reported that, with each passing year, demand for sacrificial animals continued to decline. The priesthoods of Bithynia blamed the problem on the foreign superstition of the Christians, which continued to spread like a contagion. They appealed to the new governor to enforce the Roman ban on the superstition, and they provided him with the names of several known Christians. The law to which they referred seems to have been instituted by Domitian, confirmed by Nerva, and never repealed. As noted above, Trajan had his own reasons for enforcing the law against the Christians.
Pliny began his campaign against believers by publishing Trajan's prohibition on secret meetings, clubs, and societies. Then, he authorized arrests and conducted some interrogations.
Just before the Neronian persecution began, Simon Peter had prepared the believers of Bithynia for such an eventuality. He told them not to be surprised when they faced persecution. He reminded them that, as disciples of the suftering Messiah, they could anticipate suffering (I Peter 4:12-13).
He told them that they might face persecution for a little while, but this was a necessary testing of their faith. Soon they would be recompensed for their endurance. He reminded them, "The end of all things is near" (I Peter 4:7).
During his years in the senate and as a member of Trajan's judicial court, Pliny had never presided over a trial involving Christians. He did his best to adhere to what he understood to be conventional Roman procedure for trying Christians, but certain questions left him uncertain. For example, he felt unsure about how much torture should be applied to a suspected Christian during the interrogation process.
As the trials proceeded, more and more names of suspected Christians came to light. They came from all classes and backgrounds. Some confessed the crime; others denied it. Pliny put the confessors to death and forced the deniers to prove that they were not Christians by publicly sacrificing to the gods and denouncing the Master. As this process went on, his misgivings grew. So did the list of names. He made more arrests, which led to more names. It seemed as if the whole country had fallen under the spell of the Jewish superstition. Pliny decided to write to Trajan for advice:
I also have serious questions about other matters: Whether or not I should distinguish between the ages and whether tender youth ought to share the same punishment as strong men? Is there room for pardon if they repent? What about a person who was formerly a Christian but has since forsaken Christianity? Is the mere name of "Christian" sufficient to merit punishment even if no other crimes have been committed aside from the crimes adhering to that name? (Pliny the Younger, Letters I0.96)
Putting so many people to death merely because they adhered to a foreign superstition dismayed Pliny. He was sending whole families to their deaths. The law made no allowances for minors and children. For Christians without the privileges of Roman citizenship, the executions probably varied between crucifixion, burning, or death in the arenas. Pliny disliked decreeing such horrid fates on women and little children. Moreover, the Christians impressed him with their virtue, their commitment to integrity, and their upstanding conduct. He found them to be good and loyal citizens. It bothered him to put them all to death for "the mere name of 'Christian.'"
Half a century earlier, Simon Peter had taught the believers of Bithynia to conduct themselves as model citizens and, thereby, silence the critics who claimed that the Christians were disloyal to the state. He said, "Submit yourselves for the Master's sake to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority, or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do right. For such is the will of God that by doing right you may silence the ignorance of foolish men" (I Peter 2:13-15). He told the believers of Bithynia to "honor all people, love the brotherhood, fear God, and honor the emperor" (I Peter 2:17).
References
This lesson is adapted from Daniel Lancaster's teachings in The Sent Ones, as presented by First Fruits of Zion for the Torah Club.
Before the Tribunal
In the meantime, I have used the following procedure for those who have been brought before me as Christians. I asked them whether they were Christians or not? If they confessed that they were Christians, I asked them again, and a third time, intermixing threats with the questions. If they persevered in their confession, I ordered them to be executed, for I did not doubt that, regardless of the manner of confession they made to the crime, their affirmative and inflexible obstinacy deserved to be punished. (Pliny the Younger, Letters 10.96)
Pliny described the methods he used to examine people charged with being Christians. First, he arrested them. Then he summoned them to stand before his tribunal, one at a time. He asked the person, "Are you a Christian?" If the accused answered affirmatively, Pliny would say something like, "You do realize that Caesar has decreed the superstition of the Christians to be illegal and punishable by extreme punishment, don't you? Are you sure you are a Christian?" If the accused still affirmed that he or she was a Christian, Pliny would say something to this effect: "The law requires me to put Christians to death in the arena or on the cross, so I will ask you one more time. Before you answer, think about your family and your loved ones, and answer more wisely this time. Are you a Christian?" If the defendant affirmed faith for a third time, Pliny sentenced him to death.
The three opportunities to deny the name "Christian" correspond remarkably to Simon Peter's three denials on the night the Master was betrayed. Some of the oldest Christians in Bithynia might have remembered Simon Peter telling the story about how he had denied Yeshua and how his conscience had smitten him. Simon Peter encouraged the people of Bithynia to stand firm. He told them, "If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you ... if anyone suffers as a Christian, he is not to be ashamed, but is to glorify God in this name" (I Peter 4:12-16).
References
This lesson is adapted from Daniel Lancaster's teachings in The Sent Ones, as presented by First Fruits of Zion for the Torah Club.
Roman Citizens
I noticed that some of those who belong to this mad sect are Roman citizens, and I set them aside so that they might be sent to that city to stand trial. (Pliny the Younger, Letters 10.96)
Pliny put all confessing Christians to death except for the Roman citizens. His tribunal did not have the authority to decide a capital case against a Roman citizen because the citizen could always appeal to Caesar. Pliny avoided the problem by putting Roman citizens in chains and sending them to the courts in Rome to stand trial.
The large number of believers with Roman citizenship indicates that the faith had successfully penetrated all social classes. Oftentimes, scholars and historians characterize Roman-era Christianity as a lower-class religion that appealed primarily to slaves and plebeians. On the contrary, Judaism and faith in Yeshua had better appeal among the literate and educated. Our faith is a literary religion based upon sacred writings. Illiterate slaves and plebeians would have found it difficult to access the foreign ideas, and the sacred texts were closed to them. Besides, the peasantry and economically disadvantaged typically retain more conservative religious values than the classes above them. Most of the common people remained loyal to old gods. The liberal-thinking bourgeois, however, had the leisure time, the literary erudition, and the philosophical sophistication to explore new ideas and new religions. It should be no surprise to learn that many members of the "mad sect" were Roman citizens.
References
This lesson is adapted from Daniel Lancaster's teachings in The Sent Ones, as presented by First Fruits of Zion for the Torah Club.
The Sacrifice Test
After some time, as typically happens in such examinations, the mere fact of my entertaining the question led to a multiplication of accusations and a variety of cases were brought before me. An anonymous pamphlet has been circulated that contained many names of persons accused. Among these I considered that I should dismiss any who denied that they were Christians now or ever had been Christians if they called upon the gods and worshiped your image (which I caused to be brought to me for that very purpose) with frankincense and wine and furthermore reviled the name of Christ. It is said that those that are genuine Christians can never be compelled to do any of those things, so I thought fit to let these go. (Pliny the Younger, Letters 10.96)
The prosecutions and interrogations led to more names. Pliny's investigations uncovered whole cells of Christians. Then, one day, he received a long list of names. The "libel" came anonymously. The list included the names of several prominent people. Pliny made the arrests and began conducting initial examinations. Several of those he arrested immediately denied being a Christian.
Whenever someone denied he was a Christian, even if he had previously admitted to being a Christian, Pliny accepted the denial, but he made the deniers prove that they were not Christians. He required them to offer incense and a wine libation before idols of the gods and an idol of Trajan. He told Trajan that he kept an image of him at his tribunal specifically for conducting the test. Pliny did not invent this litmus test. The Romans seem to have used the sacrifice requirement to discover Christians since the Neronian persecutions. Josephus reports that in 66 CE, the citizens of Syrian Antioch used the same test on fellow Antiochians suspected of collusion with the Jews. They put to death all those who would not consent to worship the idols (i.e., believers. See “War in Galilee”). Apparently, none of the accused Bithynian Christians were Jews. Roman law exempted Jews from sacrificing to idols. If there were Jewish believers among the accused, Pliny makes no mention of them.
Pliny also required the deniers to publicly curse the name of Christ. He explained his reasoning. He had heard that true Christians could not be compelled to curse the name of Christ or worship the gods.
Pliny found that many of the people named in the libel denied ever being associated with Christianity, and they readily made the sacrifice and cursed the name of Christ. He began to suspect that some malicious accuser had compiled a list of his enemies, hoping to get them executed.
References
This lesson is adapted from Daniel Lancaster's teachings in The Sent Ones, as presented by First Fruits of Zion for the Torah Club.
Apostates
Other people named by an informer admitted that they were Christians, but they quickly denied it again. Indeed, some said they had once been Christians but had ceased to be so two or more years previously, some many years longer. One said he had not been a Christian for the last twenty years. All these worshiped your image and the images of our gods in the same way as others. They also reviled the name of Christ. (Pliny the Younger, Letters 10.96)
Other names on the list did have some merit. They admitted that they had been Christians previously. Some had abandoned the superstition as long as two or more years ago. One of the accused had not identified himself with the superstition since Domitian's time. The apostates readily worshiped the idols and the image of Caesar. They consented to publicly pronounce a blasphemous curse on the name of Christ. They did not heed the Master's warning: "Whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven" (Matthew 10:33).
References
This lesson is adapted from Daniel Lancaster's teachings in The Sent Ones, as presented by First Fruits of Zion for the Torah Club.
Christian Practice
They assured me that the substance of their crime- or of their mistake-was simply this: On a fixed day, they met together before it was light to antiphonally chant verses of a hymn to Christ, as if to a god. And they bound themselves by an oath, not for any criminal purpose, but to abstain from theft, robbery, and adultery and that they would not break their promises or deny what was deposited with them when it was required back again. After this, it was their custom to depart, and to meet again later at a meal of ordinary, harmless food. They quit doing this after I published that edict, upon your command, in which I forbade any such meetings. (Pliny the Younger, Letters I0.96)
In those days, the Roman world maligned the believers as deviants. They slandered the believers, claiming that they carried out secret, shameful rituals involving cannibalism, ingesting blood, and vile, sexual indecencies shocking enough to embarrass even the most brazen Roman. Of course, no proof of such a thing existed, but slander of a salacious nature is always eagerly believed. Pliny wanted to get to the bottom of the matter. He asked the apostates to describe their participation in the superstition.
The apostates explained that, on a certain "fixed day," they used to gather with other Christians before dawn. They sang a hymn revering Christ. They took an oath not to commit theft, robbery, adultery, or breach of trust.
Scholars typically identify the "fixed day" as Sunday, but nothing in Pliny's description suggests that it was not the Sabbath. In fact, the description sounds very much like the basic rubrics of a synagogue liturgy. In synagogue liturgy, the singing of psalms and hymns (Pesukei DeZimrah) precedes the recitation of the Shema (Deuteronomy 6:4-9, etc.). The apostates told Pliny that they first sang a hymn revering Christ. That hymn was probably something similar to the messianic psalms in the Odes of Solomon or messianic, biblical psalms like Psalm 2, Psalm 8, Psalm 20, Psalm 110, or Psalm 118. In the Apostolic Era, Jews prayed the morning Shema and recited the Ten Commandments before dawn.
The apostates told Pliny that, after their morning prayers, they parted company and met again later for a meal of "harmless, ordinary food."
Pliny may have emphasized that the food was harmless and ordinary to counter popular rumors about Christians ingesting blood and eating human flesh. The meal was probably a meal for the going out of the Sabbath, either the third meal of the Sabbath, right before Havdalah, or more likely, a special sacred meal after the Sabbath on Saturday evening. Believers in nearby Troas used to assemble for a meal on Saturday nights (Acts 10:7).
The original celebration of "the Lord's day" seems to have been a Saturday night affair. At least as early as the Talmudic Era, this special, post-Sabbath meal was called Malaveh Malkah, the "meal of the queen," and celebrated in honor of King David overcoming death.
By Jewish reckoning, Saturday night marked the beginning of the first day of the week. By coming together for the Saturday night meal on the first day of the week, the believers in Bithynia kept the apostolic custom of remembering the Master's resurrection at that hour. The "harmless, ordinary food" they ate might have included bread and wine in memory of the Master. Pliny says that the Christian meetings and shared meals had disbanded after he published Trajan's edict forbidding all political societies and meetings.
References
This lesson is adapted from Daniel Lancaster's teachings in The Sent Ones, as presented by First Fruits of Zion for the Torah Club.
The Two Deaconesses
These examinations made me think it necessary to use torture to determine what the real truth was. I tortured two servant girls, who were called deaconesses, but I did not discover anything further except that they were addicted to a degenerate and extravagant superstition. (Pliny the Younger, Letters 10.96)
Pliny could not believe that the Christian superstition was so innocent. If the cult was really so innocuous, why did Roman Law severely censure the Christians and put them to death? Roman policy ordinarily granted religious freedom to its subjects.
Pliny assumed that the apostates must be withholding part of the truth, or that perhaps they had never been initiated into the abominable, secret ceremonies of the Christians. He decided to obtain the truth about the Christian superstition by torturing some of the condemned until they confessed. He selected two women who occupied positions of authority within the Christian community. They were called "deaconesses," that is, "servants" of the community. They held positions of administration and distribution, similar to the seven original deacons of the Jerusalem assembly. Pliny called them "servant girls."
Despite the generous application of torture, the women did not divulge any new secrets about their cult-no cannibalism, no blood drinking, no victims, no indecencies, no subversive plots against the government. They did, however, fill Pliny's ears with plenty of testimony for the Master. They told him about the one true God, the God of Israel, His only Son, whom He sent to die for the sake of love, who rose again on the third day, and in whose name forgiveness of sins could be attained. They beseeched Pliny to repent and turn to the crucified one for forgiveness and restoration. Pliny concluded that the Christians were guilty of no other crime than addiction to a deranged, complex superstition.
Pliny told this story to Trajan to try to influence him to soften his position against the Christians. Pliny did not want to put any more Christians to death than necessary, and he hoped that his descriptions of Christian practice might demystify the superstition and reveal its harmless nature to Caesar. He especially wanted Caesar to grant pardons to those who willingly renounced their faith in Christ and consented to return to the gods.
References
This lesson is adapted from Daniel Lancaster's teachings in The Sent Ones, as presented by First Fruits of Zion for the Torah Club.
Contagion
At this point, I have put off any further examinations and have turned to you, for the affair seems to merit consultation, especially on account of the large number of those that are in jeopardy. There are many of every age, of every rank, and of both genders, who are now or, after this, likely to be charged and to be in jeopardy. This superstition has spread like a contagion, not only in the cities and towns but also in rural villages. There is yet reason to hope that it may be stopped and corrected. (Pliny the Younger, Letters 10.96)
After torturing the two deaconesses and discovering no evidence of secret ritual abominations or any other crimes, Pliny felt even more uncertain about pursuing the Christians and putting them to death. He began to feel that it might be better for everyone if his administration opted to ignore the Christians altogether. He decided to consult Caesar and composed his epistle.
In his epistle, he reminded Trajan that a large number of people awaited trial, and more arrests were pending. The accused belonged to all social classes and every age. Both men and women were implicated and faced the threat of crucifixion or other forms of the death penalty. He compared the superstition to a contagious disease that does not respect class, rank, age, or gender, nor is it confined only to one place, but spreads even to the distant cities, towns, and villages. He implied that a significant portion of the whole population had been infected by the malady, even as far as outlying towns and rural villages. He implied that the infected people needed to be cured, not killed.
References
This lesson is adapted from Daniel Lancaster's teachings in The Sent Ones, as presented by First Fruits of Zion for the Torah Club.
Idolatry Flourishing Again
Indeed, the temples, which were almost forsaken, are already becoming crowded again, and the holy ceremonies which had long been suspended are being revived. Sacrificial animals are beginning to sell well everywhere. Prior to this, very few purchasers appeared. Therefore, it is reasonable to suppose that a great multitude of men may be reformed if room for repentance is made. (Pliny the Younger, Letters 10.96)
Pliny assured Trajan that, thanks to the measures he had already taken, the infectious superstition had been stopped and reversed. Prior to the arrests and public executions of confessing Christians, attendance at the local temples had fallen so sharply that the Bithynian priesthoods found it necessary to cancel many of their ceremonial functions. Pliny was happy to report that, ever since his persecution against the Christians, people were returning to the temples. The temples were "already becoming crowded again." Sales of sacrificial animals had begun to rise again, too. Things seemed to be returning to normal.
Pliny told all these things to Trajan to convince him that Christian apostates should not be punished so long as they agreed to renounce Christianity, sacrifice to the gods, and publicly denounce the name of Christ. He also hoped that Trajan might cancel any further investigations and prosecutions.
References
This lesson is adapted from Daniel Lancaster's teachings in The Sent Ones, as presented by First Fruits of Zion for the Torah Club.
Trajan’s Reply to Pliny
You have applied the proper method, my dear Pliny, for examining those that have been accused as Christians. Indeed, one cannot ordain a single, standardized procedure for judging the wide diversity of these cases. These people should not be sought out, but if they are brought before you and convicted, they must be punished, but with this exception, that one who denies being a Christian and proves that he is not so by worshiping our gods, even if he was a Christian formerly, may be pardoned if he repents. As for anonymous libels, they should not have any place in any prosecutions whatsoever. For that would be a bad precedent and not agreeable to the spirit of the age. (Pliny the Younger, Letters I0.96)
Trajan's reply approved of Pliny's judicial proceedings against the Christians. Trajan explained that, other than the sacrifice test, the courts had not developed a standard protocol for dealing with Christians because each case was unique and required judgment on its own merit. He insisted that legitimate cases be heard and stand trial. Those found guilty deserved execution, but he also told Pliny, "These people should not be sought out." This was good news to Pliny. He did not want to pursue the Christians further. He knew that if he had to hunt down and investigate every potential Christian, he would find no end to the matter, and many people would ultimately suffer conviction.
To Pliny's relief, Trajan ruled that anyone who renounced Christ and proved it by sacrificing to the gods of Rome could be pardoned. Trajan warned Pliny not to accept any accusations lodged by anonymous sources. That was the type of slanderous libel that had so tarnished Domitian's reign.
Under Emperor Domitian, many unscrupulous characters took advantage of the law by accusing their enemies of being secret Jews or Christian atheists who had drifted into Jewish ways. Nerva and Trajan had both sworn to put an end to the informers. Trajan refused to entertain slanderous libel or allow misuse of the court system for personal vendettas.
Caesar's reply to Pliny is consistent with what history tells us about Trajan's unusual sense of fairness, moderation, and upstanding governance. Nevertheless, he did not retract the laws against Christians. His campaigns against the believers continued throughout his whole reign. Under the persecutions imposed by Emperor Trajan, both Simeon son of Clopas and Ignatius of Antioch sanctified the name of the LORD.
References
This lesson is adapted from Daniel Lancaster's teachings in The Sent Ones, as presented by First Fruits of Zion for the Torah Club.