Watch out, for there will be those who will arrest you and take you to court, and they will whip you in the synagogues.

When they bring you to trial, do not worry about what you are going to say or how you will say it; when the time comes, you will be given what you will say.

"People will hand over their own brothers to be put to death, and fathers will do the same to their children; children will turn against their parents and have them put to death.

while others grabbed the servants, beat them, and killed them.

And so I tell you that I will send you prophets and wise men and teachers; you will kill some of them, crucify others, and whip others in the synagogues and chase them from town to town.

"You yourselves must watch out. You will be arrested and taken to court. You will be beaten in the synagogues; you will stand before rulers and kings for my sake to tell them the Good News.

And when you are arrested and taken to court, do not worry ahead of time about what you are going to say; when the time comes, say whatever is then given to you. For the words you speak will not be yours; they will come from the Holy Spirit.

Everyone will hate you because of me. But whoever holds out to the end will be saved.

For this reason the Wisdom of God said, 'I will send them prophets and messengers; they will kill some of them and persecute others.'

Before all these things take place, however, you will be arrested and persecuted; you will be handed over to be tried in synagogues and be put in prison; you will be brought before kings and rulers for my sake.

You will be handed over by your parents, your brothers, your relatives, and your friends; and some of you will be put to death.

Everyone will hate you because of me.

If you belonged to the world, then the world would love you as its own. But I chose you from this world, and you do not belong to it; that is why the world hates you.

Remember what I told you: 'Slaves are not greater than their master.' If people persecuted me, they will persecute you too; if they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours too.

You will be expelled from the synagogues, and the time will come when those who kill you will think that by doing this they are serving God.

They were annoyed because the two apostles were teaching the people that Jesus had risen from death, which proved that the dead will rise to life.

So they arrested them and put them in jail until the next day, since it was already late.

They called the apostles in, had them whipped, and ordered them never again to speak in the name of Jesus; and then they set them free.

As the apostles left the Council, they were happy, because God had considered them worthy to suffer disgrace for the sake of Jesus.

They kept on stoning Stephen as he called out to the Lord, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!"

About this time King Herod began to persecute some members of the church.

He had James, the brother of John, put to death by the sword.

After his arrest Peter was put in jail, where he was handed over to be guarded by four groups of four soldiers each. Herod planned to put him on trial in public after Passover.

The mob was trying to kill Paul, when a report was sent up to the commander of the Roman troops that all of Jerusalem was rioting.

At once the commander took some officers and soldiers and rushed down to the crowd. When the people saw him with the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul.

'Lord,' I answered, 'they know very well that I went to the synagogues and arrested and beat those who believe in you.

'Go,' the Lord said to me, 'for I will send you far away to the Gentiles.' "

But we would like to hear your ideas, because we know that everywhere people speak against this party to which you belong."

Our friends, the same things happened to you that happened to the churches of God in Judea, to the people there who belong to Christ Jesus. You suffered the same persecutions from your own people that they suffered from the Jews,

They even tried to stop us from preaching to the Gentiles the message that would bring them salvation. In this way they have brought to completion all the sins they have always committed. And now God's anger has at last come down on them!

However, if you suffer because you are a Christian, don't be ashamed of it, but thank God that you bear Christ's name.

Don't be afraid of anything you are about to suffer. Listen! The Devil will put you to the test by having some of you thrown into prison, and your troubles will last ten days. Be faithful to me, even if it means death, and I will give you life as your prize of victory.

I know where you live, there where Satan has his throne. You are true to me, and you did not abandon your faith in me even during the time when Antipas, my faithful witness, was killed there where Satan lives.

Then the Lamb broke open the fifth seal. I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been killed because they had proclaimed God's word and had been faithful in their witnessing.

Each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to rest a little while longer, until the complete number of other servants and believers were killed, as they had been.

"I don't know, sir. You do," I answered. He said to me, "These are the people who have come safely through the terrible persecution. They have washed their robes and made them white with the blood of the Lamb.