Early in the fourth century, the last and worst persecution broke out. Diocletian was the reigning emperor at the time and wanted to bring stability to Rome by reorganizing the empire and placing the government on the shoulders of four emperors. The emperors appointed were Galerius, Diocletian, Maximian and Constantius Cholorus. Diocletian hoped that this division would avert the frequent civil wars that were taking place.Several of these leaders, like those in the third century, felt as if Christians were hindering the reestablishment of a strong and stable government. Galerius was one of the strongest supporters of this reasoning. His way of thinking was based upon their attitude toward military service. He condemned many believers to death for either refusing to join or for trying to leave the military. Galarius saw this refusal to serve as a serious danger for Rome because it made their armed forces appear unstable. As a result, Galerius convinced Diocletian to remove all Christians from the military.
This removal was not peaceful. Many officers, who removed Christians from service, also took it upon themselves to force believers to denounce their faith and executed those who did not. Galarius also saw to it that Christians were removed from government positions and had their meeting places and literature destroyed. Those who resisted were put to death.
Diocletian also became convinced, probably with the help of Galarius, that Christians were conspiring against him. This resulted in severe persecution against the church. Diocletian demanded that Christians abandon their convictions and make sacrifices to his gods. Those who refused were killed in a variety of horrible ways.
This persecution and push for the restoration of paganism, however, would soon come to an end. The first change came when Galerius became ill with a painful disease. Sources say he was convinced that he was being punished for his treatment of Christians. Whatever the reason, he put an end to one of the worst persecutions in Christian History. Galerius would die only five days after changing this policy.
The second change came when the Empire was divided amongst a new group of leaders. Constantine, who was the son of Constantius Chlorus (one of the four originally appointed emperors), was one of the newly appointed emperors. Unbeknownst to the rest of the leaders, Constantine had a hidden longing for absolute power. Shortly after being appointed to this group, he began a campaign that would make him the sole ruler of the Empire. When least expected, he gathered his army and crossed the Alps to invade Rome. On the eve of battle sources say that Constantine received a vision from God and responded by putting a Christian symbol on the shield of his soldiers. He then went out and defeated Maxentius. Because of this victory, Constantine became ruler of the entire western half of the Empire.
Constantine continued to act under the banner of Christianity. When he took Milan, he forced an agreement that ended persecution and said that Christian churches and other properties were to be returned. This agreement is known as the Edict of Milan.
The question of whether this was a great victory for Christianity or the beginning of greater difficulties to come will be discussed in later lessons. The one thing that is clear, however, is that the Roman persecution of Christians was over.
Diocletian and Galerius failed to realize that God is at work in the world and no matter the amount of force; his purposes will prevail. All those in power eventually lose it and empires rise and fall, but God’s message and mission continues and his purposes never fail.
Nebuchadnezzar, who also misunderstood God’s power, was restored to his throne when he finally acknowledged God’s sovereignty. He rightly confesses about God in Daniel 4:35, “All the peoples of the earth are regarded as nothing. (God) does as he pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth. No one can hold back his hand.” Daniel 4:35
