Chap. II.

In the latter days of the Emperor Tiberius, in the consulship of Ruberius Geminus and Fufius Geminus, and on the tenth of the kalends of April,3    23d of March.   as I find it written, Jesus Christ was crucified by the Jews.4    [Elucidation, p. 322.]   After He had risen again on the third day, He gathered together His apostles, whom fear, at the time of His being laid hold on, had put to flight; and while He sojourned with them forty days, He opened their hearts, interpreted to them the Scripture, which hitherto had been wrapped up in obscurity, ordained and fitted them for the preaching of His word and doctrine, and regulated all things concerning the institutions of the New Testament; and this having been accomplished, a cloud and whirlwind enveloped Him, and caught Him up from the sight of men unto heaven.  

His apostles were at that time eleven in number, to whom were added Matthias, in the room of the traitor Judas, and afterwards Paul. Then were they dispersed throughout all the earth to preach the Gospel, as the Lord their Master had commanded them; and during twenty-five years, and until the beginning of the reign of the Emperor Nero, they occupied themselves in laying the foundations of the Church in every province and city. And while Nero reigned, the Apostle Peter came to Rome, and, through the power of God committed unto him, wrought certain miracles, and, by turning many to the true religion, built up a faithful and stedfast temple unto the Lord. When Nero heard of those things, and observed that not only in Rome, but in every other place, a great multitude revolted daily from the worship of idols, and, condemning their old ways, went over to the new religion, he, an execrable and pernicious tyrant, sprung forward to raze the heavenly temple and destroy the true faith. He it was who first persecuted the servants of God; he crucified Peter, and slew Paul:5    [St. Peter, as a Jew, could be thus dealt with; St. Paul, as a Roman, was beheaded. See p. 120, note 7, supra.]   nor did he escape with impunity; for God looked on the affliction of His people; and therefore the tyrant, bereaved of authority, and precipitated from the height of empire, suddenly disappeared, and even the burial-place of that noxious wild beast was nowhere to be seen. This has led some persons of extravagant imagination to suppose that, having been conveyed to a distant region, he is still reserved alive; and to him they apply the Sibylline verses concerning  

as if he who was the first should also be the last persecutor, and thus prove the forerunner of Antichrist! But we ought not to believe those who, affirming that the two prophets Enoch and Elias have been translated into some remote place that they might attend our Lord when He shall come to judgment,6    [Note the incredulity of Lactantius. But see vol. iv. p. 219.]   also fancy that Nero is to appear hereafter as the forerunner of the devil, when he shall come to lay waste the earth and overthrow mankind.  

II. Extremis temporibus Tiberii Caesaris, ut scriptum 0194A legimus, Dominus noster Jesus Christus a Judaeis cruciatus est, post diem decimum Kalendarum Aprilium, duobus Geminis consulibus: cum resurrexisset die tertio, congregavit discipulos, quos metus comprehensionis ejus in fugam verterat; et diebus quadraginta cum his commoratus, aperuit corda eorum, et Scripturas interpretatus est, quae usque ad id tempus obscurae atque involutae fuerunt. Ordinavitque eos, et instruxit ad praedicationem dogmatis ac doctrinae suae, disponens Testamenti novi solemnem disciplinam. 0195A Quo officio repleto, circumvolvit eum procella nubis, et subtractum oculis hominum rapuit in coelum. Et inde discipuli, qui tunc erant undecim, assumptis in locum Judae proditoris Matthia et Paulo, dispersi sunt per omnem terram, ad Evangelium praedicandum, sicut illis magister Dominus imperaverat; et per annos quinque et viginti usque ad principium Neroniani imperii, per omnes provincias et civitates Ecclesiae fundamenta miserunt. Cumque jam Nero imperaret, Petrus Romam advenit; et 0196A editis quibusdam miraculis, quae virtute ipsius Dei, data sibi ab eo potestate, faciebat, convertit multos ad justitiam, Deoque templum fidele ac stabile collocavit. Qua re ad Neronem delata, cum animadverteret non modo Romae, sed ubique quotidie magnam multitudinem deficere a cultu idolorum, et ad religionem novam, damnata vetustate, transire; ut erat execrabilis ac nocens tyrannus, prosilivit ad excidendum coeleste templum, delendamque justitiam, et primus omnium persecutus Dei servos, Petrum 0197A cruci affixit, et Paulum interfecit. Nec tamen habuit impune; respexit enim Deus vexationem populi sui. Dejectus itaque fastigio imperii, ac devolutus a summo tyrannus impotens, nusquam repente comparuit; ut ne sepulturae quidem locus in terra tam malae bestiae appareret. Unde illum quidam deliri credunt esse translatum, ac vivum reservatum, Sibylla dicente matricidam profugum a finibus esse venturum; ut quia primus persecutus est, idem etiam novissimus persequatur, et Antichristi praecedat adventum. Itaque fas est credere, sicut 0198A duos Prophetas vivos esse translatos in ultima tempora, atque initium Christi sanctum ac sempiternum, cum descendere coeperit, quod Sibyllae futurum praenuntiant: eodem modo etiam Neronem venturum putant, ut praecursor diaboli ac praevius sit venientis ad vastationem terrae, et humani generis eversionem.