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conquest of the island in AD 43.” Vos makes some important points about why the Imperial Cult
matters to early Christian backgrounds:

First, emperor worship dominated local public life. The calendar of the cult tended to bring an
order to public affairs with the special observances of days, months, and seasons. The chief
citizens filled the priesthoods of the imperial cult. As priests they sought to gain social and
political prestige by means of service to the emperor. So they wound up building temples and
other buildings, staging games and festivals and gladiatorial shows for public entertainment in
his name. Commonly the games and festivals held in a community were jointly sponsored by the
imperial cult and one of the other deities (e.g., Diana). The cult priests also made numerous
benefactions in terms of distribution of grain and oil and feasts and banquets for the less
fortunate.

What cities could offer their inhabitants commonly came as a result of the imperial cult. The
wealthy and ambitious could find through the imperial cult a means of impressing their
communities and achieving power and authority. (They were not really interested in public
welfare.) And in this way the emperor could gain and maintain the loyalty of his subjects and
guarantee the stability of the government and society.

Second, emperor worship erected one of the chief deterrents to the advance of Christianity. As
noted, the calendar revolved around the worship of the emperor and the promotion of his
affairs. The birthday of Augustus was a holiday. All festivals and games were held in honor of
Roma, the divine emperor and/or one of the pagan gods. The sacrifices in honor of the emperor
or one of the other gods provided the chief source of meat which the Council of Jerusalem
forbade Christians to eat (“abstain from things offered to idols,” Acts 15:29). The feasts held in
the dining rooms located in temple gardens (see discussion of Diana following) had as a main
feature the serving of meat and other foods offered to idols.

The whole of society was wrapped up in the ruler cult. Those who tried to live as consistent
Christians stayed away from festivals, games, dramas, and other social events with religious
connections. They came to be known as antisocial and even against the good of society. As they
withdrew from a wide variety of social interaction, Christians could not conceal their beliefs and
practices from other citizens of the country. They could not hide, and periodically mob action
targeted them. The mob Demetrius the silversmith incited in Ephesus is a case in point (Acts
19:23–41).

A large part of the persecution of early Christians had nothing to do with the actions or wishes
of the ruling emperor but arose from local conditions. And when the day came that the emperor
tried to pressure everyone in the empire to engage in worship of the Goddess Roma and the
emperor or suffer the consequences, local antipathy to Christians was already strong. Public
pressure proved to be a real deterrent to acceptance of the gospel.
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159 Vos, H. F. (1999). Nelson’s new illustrated Bible manners & customs: how the people of the Bible really lived (p.
515). Nashville, TN: T. Nelson Publishers.

160 Vos, H. F. (1999). Nelson’s new illustrated Bible manners & customs: how the people of the Bible really lived.
Nashville, TN: T. Nelson Publishers. 516.

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