Nero’s Hand in Church Suffering

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At the beginning of Revelations, there are letters to seven churches. While there was suffering from the Jewish people, Rome’s hand in the church sufferings was just as harsh, especially Nero.

                The Great Fire of Rome, where Nero is said to have fiddled on stage out of town while Rome burned, happened in 64AD. Tacitus, a historian, said the fire started on July 18 among the shops clusters around the Circus Maximus. During that time, Romans lived in wooden houses without masonry so the fire spread quickly through the areas. After almost being contained after five days, the fire regained it’s strength. Suetonius, another historian, claimed it burned for six days and seven nights. It destroyed three of the fourteen Roman districts and severely damaged seven. This only left four undamaged. Also destroyed in the first were Nero’s palace, the Temple of Jupiter Stator, and the hearth in the Temple of Vesta.

                It is claimed that Nero wanted a new town and some thought he was responsible for having the fire started, but Nero blamed the Christians for it. By blaming the Christians, Nero hopes to overcome his two major problems, to remove the heat from his own reputation and to get rid of his largest group of critics. It is said that he had the Christians tossed to the dogs as well as crucified and burned.

                Tacitus reported a lot of weird occurrences during that time. Nero made himself a natural target for the blame of ill omens and conspiracies began to mount against him. One failed assassination plot drove Nero’s carefully cultivated paranoia and the result was the death of several Roman officials. Included in these suspicions was Nero’s childhood teacher and political counselor, Seneca. Seneca knew that Nero had killed his mother and brother to secure his crown, so nothing would stop him from killing Seneca too. So to avoid the death, Seneca slit his wrist and veins in his legs and laid in a pool of warm water to die.

                There is a letter which is thought to have been written by Seneca to Paul which describes the times well. By this letter, it appears that Seneca began a Christian which would explain is falling out with Nero. Seneca could also be one of the saints who belonged to Caesar’s household that Paul refers to at the end of his epistle to the Philippians (Philippians 4:22.) Given Nero’s extreme hatred of Christians, Paul would have been careful not to mention people by name just in case one of the letters would fall into the wrong hands. It was about this time, as Eusebius recorded, that Nero had Paul beheaded and Peter crucified upside down, so the letter possibility written by Seneca might not have made it. Although it is not for certain that Nero was the cause of Paul and Peter begin crucified. It is also said that Nero might have been the cause of John’s exile to Patmos, but that is not certain either.