Ever heard of Diocletian? He was the emperor of Rome from 284 to 305. What was his claim to fame? He sent an edict around the Roman empire in 303 that all Christian scriptures were to be gathered up and burned.1
Then, over a burned and extinguished Bible, Diocletian built a monument on which he wrote these triumphant words: Extincto nomene Christianorum (“The name Christian is extinguished”). He also fashioned a medal with the engraving: “The Christian religion is destroyed and the worship of the gods restored.” 2
Guess what! His celebration was premature. Not too long afterwards he died, and the next emperor reversed course and wanted to place a New Testament in every church in the empire. But hadn’t they all been burned up? He offered a sizable reward for a copy of the New Testament from which he could make duplicates. Within 24 hours he was presented with 50 copies! 3
Eighteen centuries later most people don’t even know who Diocletian was. Yet the Bible is the most published and preached-from book in the world, has been translated into more languages than any other volume, and has been sent into more regions of the earth than any other book. In the United States alone, 168,000 new Bibles are sold, given away, or otherwise distributed per day! 4
“The grass withers, the flower fades; but the word of our God shall stand forever” (Isa. 40:8). “Heaven and earth will pass away,” said Jesus, “but My words shall not pass away” (Matt. 24:35).
So that’s why we preach the unassailable, Living Word unashamedly. That’s why we live its message openly: Jesus Christ and Him crucified. And with the Lord’s help, we’ll not surrender the Scriptures to the authorities, even if we must pay with our lives.
May the Lord grant courage and resolve to our Afghan brothers and sisters who are making these choices even as we speak.
1 For more info, see Fox’s Book of Martyrs on Diocletian here.
2 From Phillip Schaff, History of the Christian Church, Vol II.
3 Willis, Cecil. The Indestructibility of the Bible.
4 Amazing Bible Timeline with World History.