Did Domitian Persecute Christians? - BibleWorld

1 Did DomitianPersecute Christians? An InvestigationArthur M. OgdenFerrell JenkinsInternet Edition jointly published byOgden s Biblical ResourcesandBibleWorld by Ferrell JenkinsMarch, 1999 PrefaceDid the Roman emperor Domitian ( 81 96) Persecute Chris-tians? The answer has some bearing on the date of writing of the bookof Revelation. This, in turn, has a direct bearing on the interpretationof the Apocalypse. To answer the question requires an investigationof many ancient sources. Arthur M. Ogden and Ferrell Jenkins haveexamined these materials, but have reached different now have the opportunity to study their findings and proceedwith your own Ogden published a small tract,The Domitian Persecution,inwhich he stated that he had changed his mind about the he had thought that Domitian had persecuted Christians, but,on the basis of further study, had changed his mind. Connie W. Ad-ams, editor ofSearching the Scriptures, suggested an exchange on theissue between Arthur Ogden and Ferrell Jenkins to be published in hispaper.

2 The articles appeared in the June and July, 1989 (VolumeXXX, Numbers 6 and 7), issues of that journal. The articles are pub-lished in this form with the kind permission of the Ogden and Ferrell Jenkins have been friends since collegedays at Florida Christian College (now Florida College) in the early1950 s. Both men have devoted a considerable amount of time andstudy to the book of M. Ogden preaches for the Southside Church of Christ, inSomerset, Kentucky. He is author ofThe Avenging of the Apostles andProphets, a commentary on the book of Revelation. His address is212 Cherokee Trail, Somerset, KY Jenkins preaches for the Church of Christ at Carrollwood,Tampa, Florida. He is author ofThe Old Testament in the Book of Rev-elation,Studies in the Book of Revelation, andEmperor Worship inthe Book of Revelation. He taught the course in the book of Revelationduring the time he was a member of the Bible faculty at Florida Col-lege.

3 His address is 9211 Hollyridge Place, Tampa, FL 33637. Arthur M. Ogden and Ferrell Jenkins, photograph of the coin bearing the head of Domitian is publishedthrough the courtesy of the American Numismatic Domitian Persecute Christians? An InvestigationThe Domitian PersecutionBy Arthur M. OgdenElsewhere in this issue of Searching the Scriptures you will find anarticle by Ferrell Jenkins in response to this article. I ask that you readand carefully consider the material he has am sure this study of THE Domitian PERSECUTION comes asa surprise, especially since Domitian has been billed as a great perse-cutor of Christians, both in print and in the pulpit, by students of thebook of Revelation. This has been proclaimed as a proven fact and forsomeone now to question whether it ever occurred must be facts shall evolve from this study to seize your interest. First,you will learn there is no evidence, from sources contemporary withDomitian, documenting a persecution directed by him in any wayagainst Christians much less that he slew many thousands, bathingthe empire in their blood, as taught by many zealous students of thebook of Revelation today.

4 Second, you will learn that the strongestcase that can be made for a Domitian persecution is that there MAYhave been PositionMy position in this exchange should not be misunderstood. It is notmy place to prove that Domitian did not Persecute Christians. The ob-ligation of proof is upon those who advocate the Great Domitian Per-secution. I readily admit that he MAY have persecuted someChristians, however, neither you nor I have the right to charge himwith slaying many thousands and bathing the empire in their bloodupon the premise of what he MAY have done. It is admitted that the si-lence of history does not prove Domitian did not Persecute Christiansbut, at the same time, it must be recognized that the silence of historydoes not prove he persecuted them either. We have no right to build acase against him without discussing what MAY have been, we must be careful not topresumptuously assert as fact what MAY have occurred.

5 One canreadily relate to this problem by considering the headline of a recentnewspaper article. The headline stated, BLACK HOLES MAY1 FORM CORE OF 2 NEIGHBORING GALAXIES. This statementnecessarily implies three things: (1) That scientists do not knowwhether black holes form the core for the neighboring galaxies; (2)that scientists only deem their conclusions theoretically possiblewhile at the same time admitting (3) the possibility there is anotherplausible explanation. However, if the word MAY is dropped fromthe headline, that which was stated as a possibility has been made afact. This is precisely what has been done in reference to have looked at Domitian s nature, his self-deification and the re-corded cruelty directed toward those who opposed him and have con-cluded that, since Christians would surely have been in conflict withall of this, he must have persecuted them. Without question, the timewould have been ripe for a persecution during the last two years of hisreign, but this does not mean a persecution took place.

6 The strongestcase that can be made for a persecution without presumption is to saythere MAY have been one. Recognizing this problem many histori-ans simply say, Domitian MAY have persecuted Christians. 1 The EvidenceI have observed the statement more than once in publications and inthe pulpit that persecution against Christians reached its zenith dur-ing Domitian s reign. Until three years ago, I never questioned far as I was concerned it was true but I tell you now, without fear ofcontradiction, this statement is false. Even IF Domitian was guilty ofpersecuting Christians the statement is false. The persecution againstChristians reached its height under Diocletian (284-305 AD) twohundred years carefully the following statements often quoted which are alsofalse. Domitian instituted a persecution against Christians on thecharge of atheism, that is perhaps, refusal to participate in emperorworship. It was short, but extremely violent.

7 Many thousands wereslain in Rome and Italy, among them Flavius Clemens, a cousin of theEmperor, and his wife, Flavia Domitilla banished. 2 WhileSeutonius, the Roman historian, has recorded the death of Clemensand the banishment of Domitilla by Domitian , he does not record thatthey suffered because they were Christians, nor does he record thedeath of any others because of their being Christians. The quotedstatement is without historical substance. Domitian (c. 81-96) is the emperor who has gone down in historyas the one who bathed the empire in the blood of the Christians. 3 While it is true historians centuries after the fact have billed Domitian2 Did Domitian Persecute Christians? An Investigation3 Did Domitian Persecute Christians? An Investigationas a bloody persecutor of Christians, there is no evidence from thehistorians contemporary with his reign that would convict him of di-recting a persecution against them.

8 There was no persecution before, or after him to compare to that ofhis Nero s persecution was confined mainly to Rome, whileDomitian s persecution was expanded to the whole of Asia Minor. 4 There is no historical evidence of any truth in these fact there is no literary record to substantiate a persecution of anykind by Domitian against Tacitus, Suetonius norPliny, all of whom resided in Rome (Tacitus and Pliny were membersof the Roman Senate during Domitian s reign),6leave any record ofany kind of campaign against Christians. This would appear strangesince Tacitus and Suetonius both left a record of Nero s persecutionagainst Christians. Would not a persecution directed against Chris-tians of the magnitude described above demand a place in the histori-cal records of these and other writers? And why was Pliny, who was amember of the Senate during the reign of Domitian ,7ignorant of theprecise crimes Christians were guilty of and how they were to be con-victed and punished since such trials of Christians would have takenplace in the Senate?

9 He wrote Trajan, his emperor, I have nevertaken part in trials (cognitiones) of Christians; consequently I do notknow the precedents regarding the question of punishment or the na-ture of the inquisition. 8 How could a man of his political backgroundhave been so ignorant of what to do to Christians if there had been asustained persecution directed against them during the reign ofDomitian?The Earliest Historical RecordThe earliest historical record of a persecution under Domitian by ei-ther secular or church historian is 75 years after the order todate the record that soon after Domitian s reign, we must give credi-bility to Melito and Hegesippus, the two sources cited by eusebius inhis Ecclesiastical history . Using these two men as sources, eusebius (264- 340 AD) said of Domitian , He was the second thatraised a persecution against us. 10He said this at least 200 years afterthe reign of Domitian .

10 While eusebius speaks of martyrdoms dur-ing the reign of Domitian ,11he does not cite a single case of a Chris-tian dying as a result of such a persecution. This is remarkable sinceOrigen (185-254 AD) relates that only a few, whose number couldbe easily enumerated, 12had died for the sake of Christianity up tohis time. He recorded this a good 50 years before eusebius penned hishistory. Surely, if their number could be easily enumerated, Eusebiuscould have named one Christian who died for the cause of Christ un-der Domitian . His failure to name Christian martyrs tends to argueagainst a persecution under Roman history of Cassius Dio, composed between the years210 and 229 AD,13is often relied upon as a source for documenting apersecution by Domitian against Christians. He wrote, And the sameyear Domitian slew among many others Flavius Clemens the consul,though he was a cousin and had to wife Flavia Domitilla, who wasalso a relative of the emperor.