Lawrence DeMetrius

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Eusebius’s Ecclesiastical History
An Intimate Review
Pt 4
By Lawrence DeMetrius

In Book 7 Eusebius touches on the heretical teaching of Nepos, which fosters an erroneous perception of a Christian Kingdom to be established on earth. He emphasizes that Christians must be well equipped in proper knowledge and understanding of the Holy Scriptures, in order to effectively guard their minds from false Christian doctrines. He notes that worshipping false gods was considered natural for paganists. There was a system in place that even deified mortals, who were then expected to be worshipped as gods by Roman citizens. Persecution was the direct result of not doing so. In First Century Rome, persecution was used as opportunity to minister to those who were predestinated to become sons of GOD. This is likely one reason why Christ admonished His brethren to love their enemies. Some of them are indeed predestined to become sons of GOD. [Mt 5:44-48; Rm 8:29, 30] In early Christendom, persecution was geared at all Christians regardless, of their ethnicity, gender, age, political, familial or aristocratic status. Eusebius writes about prayer that disabled open manifestations of demonic powers, especially those appearing as good to deceive masses of people. While it was not favored of Jesus Christ, there were some who created drawings and figurines of His physical likeness and that of His Original Apostles. Eusebius expounds upon the effort of early Christian Fathers to expose and eradicate false allegories of Christ’s teachings. They believed it was their responsibility to do so, and that of all who are seasoned in proper knowledge and understanding of the Holy Scriptures. Divine insight enables one to rightly guide born again believers, who could be easily swayed into pagan and erroneous Christian teachings. Eusebius, as did Apostle Paul, notes the importance of communicating one’s personal perception of the Holy Scriptures, so as to give opportunity for proper correction when needed. Indeed, courteous open-minded discussion is necessary amongst Christian brethren who differ in opinion about certain topics. Concerning the epistle of Revelation, it was long understood to be a book of mystery that is deserving of diligent observation, but more so in faith than in literal understanding. This is likely so because its content coincides with ancient prophecy concerning the fate of Israel.
Namely, the changes that were to occur as a result of the former religious system being upgraded by the New Testament system, that would be established per the finished work of Christ at Calvary. [Rm 10:1-4] As time has revealed, most prophecies directly related to Israel, were fulfilled during the first 300 years following Christ’s ascension. During early Christendom, the epistle of Revelation, for valid reasons, was not accepted by many to be written by John the disciple that Jesus loved. It was likely because fuller understanding thereof was purposed for believers of latter generations. This is similar to the work of Prophet Daniel. [Dan 12:3, 10]. Eusebius tells of the excommunication of Bishop Paul, who’s gross lifestyle and conduct was like many apostate Christian leaders of today. He expounds upon the evil of man worship, which is also prevalent in many Christian Assemblies of today. He reiterates that The Book of Enoch I was embraced as a book bearing the stamp of divine inspiration. It was indeed passionately studied by early Christian Fathers. Eusebius notes a man by the name of Dorotheus, who was a born eunuch from his mother’s womb, likely the kind mentioned by Christ in Apostle Matthew’s epistle. [Mt 19:12; Isa 50:3-5] Dorotheus was a highly educated man, who was honored as a presbyter in the city of Antioch.

Book 8 is entitled The Great Persecution. It covers the reigning periods of Roman emperors Diocletian to Galerius and is the period in which Eusebius actually lived. It is yet another account that tells of the horrifying persecutions that happened during Early Christendom. Ironically, the greatest of persecutions came when Christians were at ease in Zion, and more concerned about status and position than true piety and divine ministry. Christians having this carnal mindset were in need of correction due to their gross misconduct and ill treatment toward one another. Excessive benefits allotted to The Church by the secular government caused too much ease in Zion. In fact, the behavior of many Christians became so degraded, that many who once praised them, began to detest them to the point of tearing down Christian Cathedrals and burning Bibles in the streets. As it was in times past, so it is today that many despise Christianity due to misrepresentations of Christ by the gross misconduct of carnal minded and false Christians. Just because a Christian Assembly has grown wealthy in material things, does not mean they have not fallen out of favor with THE LORD. Yet, some were deceived in this manner during Eusebius’s time as some are today. The Church of Laodicea mentioned in the epistle of Revelation is an example of such Christians. [Rev 3:13-19]
The Holy Scriptures declare that Yahweh, as a loving PARENT, will chastise HIS children when they need it. History has proven this to be true. [I Pet 4:17-19; Heb 12:6] During these times, persecution for not paying homage to idols was so severe that people were sentenced to be…

• axed to death
• have their limbs fractured
• be suspended by their feet and raised a little from the ground with their heads downward and suffocated with ascending smoke
• mutilated by having their noses, ears, and hands cut off and the rest of their limbs and body cut into pieces
• roasted on gates of fire
• eaten alive by wild beasts in open arenas, and if by divine intervention the animals did not attack and eat their victims, mortals carried out the killings
• have their ankles and sinews of their left legs seared off with a red-hot iron
• have their left eyes cut out together with the lid and pupils, then seared with a red-hot iron
• scourged then raised high on a rack, lacerated and then galled in the sides, as was the torture inflicted upon highly elect Christian women, who refused sexual advances from superiors due to their devotion to Christ

Christians endured such torments because of their genuine devotion to THE LORD and HIS Christ. They wholeheartedly believed that it was better to endure such affliction, than to lose their eternal inheritance in Christ. Eusebius made it clear that their bodies were fully equipped with divine power to endure such persecution. As noted by Apostle Paul, the Holy Ghost literally quickened their mortal bodies. [Rm 8:11] In these times, social consciousness was so badly seared, that paganist rulers held competitions and awarded prizes to whoever created a torture that would make a professed Christian openly denounce their faith. As prophesied by Christ, some Christians were given over to authorities by their own idolatrous relatives. [Mt 10:36] To reiterate, one’s rank and social status did not exempt them from persecution, if they openly confessed the Christian Faith. Eusebius also writes about the son of Roman Emperor Maximian, who practiced magic and resorted to the darkest of blood rituals. He did so to invoke evil spirits for direction in government. The worst of persecutions ended by divine intervention, and became outlawed per the decree of Emperor Constantine. This was beginning of Freedom of Religion for all.
Thus, it was no longer lawful to persecute someone because of their choice of faith, whether it was Christianity or any other Creed. Nonetheless, the last 10 years of legal persecution against Christians were the worst of all times. Ironically, they were not invoked by the cunning of sinners, but by the misconduct of carnal minded Christians.

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