Feeling the Tension?

[440 words] It was the year 54 A.D. Rome, the most powerful nation on earth, coronated its new leader Nero, the adopted son of the previous ruler Claudius. The church was just over twenty years old. The movement that was small at first had spread throughout the Empire. These early Christians could not have imagined the evil this emperor was about to bring. They were too busy teaching the gospel anyway. Nero was a moral madman. He killed his mother and two wives and was rumored to have started the great fire in Rome. He was a shameless bisexual and a profligate. The Empire had seen its share of excess and immorality in the government, but the new emperor seemed determined to outdo them all. This perverted tyrant targeted Christians a decade after he took office. Nero blamed the fire of Rome on Christians and began to persecute the church….