Friday, November 28, 2025

Are Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) or the Protestants where the victims of persecution?

INTRODUCTION:

Here is the clear and historically accurate answer, based on early Christian history—not on denominational claims:

✅ When did the first persecution of Christians start?

The first persecution of Christians began around 64 A.D., during the reign of Emperor Nero of the Roman Empire.

This is shortly after the time of the Apostles and well over 1,400 years before Protestants or SDA even existed.

✅ Who were the victims of the earliest persecutions?

👉 1. The victims were simply called “Christians.”

They were the followers of Jesus Christ taught by the Apostles.
They were not divided into Catholics, Protestants, SDA, etc.
There was only one Christian Church at that time—the Church led by the Apostles and their successors.

👉 2. Historically, this early Christian community is the same group that is now known as the early “Catholic” Church.

(Not Catholic in the denominational sense yet, but the universal Church from which Catholicism traces continuity.)

👉 Therefore:

Protestants did not exist until the 1500s (Martin Luther, 1517).
Seventh-day Adventists (SDA) did not exist until 1863.

👉 So Protestants and SDA were not victims of the earliest persecutions because they did not exist for another 1,500–1,800 years.

✅ Who suffered the most from the early persecutions?

✔ The first Christians under the Apostles

These include:

Peter (martyred in Rome)
Paul (martyred in Rome)
James (martyred in Jerusalem)
Thousands of ordinary Christians

✔ The persecutions came from the Roman Empire, especially:

Nero (64 A.D.)
Domitian (81–96)
Trajan
Hadrian
Marcus Aurelius
Decius
Valerian
Diocletian (worst—303 A.D.)

These persecutions all targeted the early Apostolic Christian community, the same community historically connected to what later became known as the Catholic Church.

✔ So who were the most persecuted among the three options?

1. Catholic Christians – YES

They represent the historical continuation of the Apostolic Church, so they were the ones persecuted in the first centuries.

2. Protestants – NO

They did not exist until the 16th century.

3. SDA – NO

They did not exist until the 19th century.

📌 Simple summary

✅ 1. Why the early Christians are considered the ancestors of Catholics

A. The earliest Christians were led by the Apostles

After Jesus ascended into heaven, He left one united Church under the leadership of:

Peter (Matthew 16:18–19)
The other Apostles (Ephesians 2:20)

B. These Apostles appointed successors

These successors were called:

Bishops (Episcopoi)
Presbyters (Priests)
Deacons

History refers to this as the Apostolic Church, which existed before any denominations.

C. There was only ONE Christian Church for the first 1,000 years

From the time of the Apostles (33 A.D.) until 1054 A.D., Christianity was one united visible Church with:

One faith
One Eucharist (Mass)
One hierarchy (bishops)
One universal structure

This Church is what the early Christians simply called the “Church” or the “Catholic (Universal) Church.”

D. Protestantism and SDA came much later

Protestants → 16th century (1517)
SDA → 19th century (1863)

Therefore, the only Christian community existing during the persecutions (64–313 A.D.) is the same continuous Church that later became known formally as the Catholic Church.

✅ 2. When did the word “Catholic” first appear in history?

📌 The term “Catholic Church” appears around 107 A.D.

Used by St. Ignatius of Antioch, a disciple of the Apostle John.

He wrote in his letter to the Smyrnaeans:

“Wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church.”
— St. Ignatius of Antioch, 107 A.D.

Important notes:

St. Ignatius personally knew St. John the Apostle.
He was bishop of a major Christian community.
This shows that the word Catholic was already used by Christians just one generation after the Apostles.

📌 What did “Catholic” mean?

Universal, whole, complete, worldwide.

It did not mean “Roman Catholic” yet.
It simply distinguished:

the true, universal apostolic Church
from
groups that were breaking away (heretics).

Thus, the Church from the Apostles was already known as the Catholic Church in the 1st–2nd century.

✅ 3. Timeline: When did Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant & SDA begin?

Here is a clear historical timeline:

➡ 33 A.D. – Jesus establishes the Apostolic Church

Led by the Apostles
Continues under bishops

This is the single, original form of Christianity.

➡ 64–313 A.D. – Persecutions of Christians

The victims were:

The Apostles
Early Church Fathers
Ordinary Christians
These are the early Catholics (though not yet called Roman Catholic).

➡ 107 A.D. – First recorded use of “Catholic Church”

By St. Ignatius of Antioch.

➡ 325 A.D. – Council of Nicaea

The unified Church defines key doctrines (Trinity, divinity of Christ).

➡ 1054 A.D. – The Great Schism

Christianity splits into:

Catholic Church (West under Rome)
Orthodox Church (East)

Before 1054: ALL Christians were Catholic in structure and belief.

➡ 1517 A.D. – Protestant Reformation

Martin Luther and others break away from the Catholic Church and form:

Lutherans
Calvinists
Baptists
Anglicans
All Protestants originate from this.

There were no Protestants before the 1500s.

➡ 1863 A.D. – SDA (Seventh-day Adventist Church) begins

Founded by:

Ellen G. White
Joseph Bates
James White

This is 19 centuries after Jesus, and 1,800 years after the Apostles.

📌 Putting It All Together

✔ The Christians persecuted from 64–313 A.D. were the original Apostolic Christians
✔ These Christians are historically the same community today called the Catholic Church
✔ The name “Catholic” first appears in 107 A.D.
✔ Protestants and SDA came much, much later and were not part of early persecutions

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