ROME was depicted in Bible prophecy as a beast that was “fearsome and terrible and unusually strong,” with teeth of iron. (Da 7:7) It was this empire that Jehovah permitted to bring Jerusalem to ruin in 70 C.E.

Rome tolerated almost any sort of religious practice, as long as those who held to it would also share in worship of the emperor. Such emperor worship was viewed as an important factor in uniting the empire. So any who refused to share in it were considered to be enemies of the state. Christians did not join in such worship. Thus, although they were honest citizens, Christians often became the objects of vicious persecution. Among those who instigated such persecution were Emperors Nero, Domitian, Marcus Aurelius, and Diocletian. Pontius Pilate, a Roman governor of Judea, when pressured by religious leaders of the Jews, even ordered the execution of Jesus Christ, doing so as an act of political expediency.