Mark 13:12 Now the brother shall betray the brother to death, and the father the son; and children shall rise up against their parents… As Christianity gives birth to and cherishes the most perfect love, so it calls forth the most bitter hatred. It calls forth a love which is above nature, because it makes men love their enemies. Contrariwise it calls forth a hatred which is unnatural, for it made, and yet makes, men hate and betray, and, if they can, destroy their own flesh and blood. Thus we read that the Emperor Domitian, in his hatred of the Christian name, slew Flavius Clemens and his niece, or near relation Flavia Domitilla; the Emperor Maximin martyred Artemis, his own sister; and Diocletian slew his own wife, and other relatives. St. Barbara also was killed by her own father; and if we had a full martyrology of obscure Christians, we should find multitudes of others similarly betrayed by their own flesh and blood. We are told by Indian missionaries, that as soon as converts are baptized, they become objects of hatred to their nearest relatives; even their wives often desert them. Now, if this be so in a country where Christianity is the religion of the rulers, what would it be if heathenism were unchecked in its power of persecution? (M. F. Sadler, M. A.) Parallel Verses KJV: Now the brother shall betray the brother to death, and the father the son; and children shall rise up against their parents, and shall cause them to be put to death. |
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