And brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death. And you will be hated by all, for my name's sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. (Mark 13:12-13). This is much in line with the prophecy found in Micah 7:5-6.
The Epistle to Diognetus (140 A.D.) described Christians this way: They play their full role as citizens but labor under all the disabilities of aliens. Any country can be their homeland, but for them, their homeland, wherever it may be, is a foreign country. Like others, they marry and have children, but they do not expose them. They share their meals, but not their wives.
They live in the flesh, but they are not governed by the desires of the flesh. They pass their days upon the earth, but they are citizens of heaven. Obedient to the laws, they yet live on a level that transcends the law. Christians love all men, but all men persecute them. Condemned because they are not understood, they are put to death but raised to life again.
They live in poverty but enrich many; they are totally destitute but possess an abundance of everything. They suffer dishonor, but that is their glory. They are defamed but vindicated. A blessing is their answer to abuse, and deference is their response to insult. For the good they do, they receive the punishment of malefactors, but even then, they rejoice as though they are receiving the gift of life. They are attacked by the Jews as aliens, and they are persecuted by the Greeks, yet no one can explain the reason for this hatred.
- Pr. Will Weedon
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