A. Heavenly rewards for enduring persecution:

MAT 5:10. Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

ROM 8:17. And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.

ROM 8:18. For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

2COR 4:17. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;

2TIM 2:12. If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us:

HEB 11:25. Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;

HEB 11:26. Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward.

HEB 11:35. Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection:

1PE 4:12. Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:

1PE 4:13. But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.

B. The Lord is with & helps those in persecution:

PSA 37:32. The wicked watcheth the righteous, and seeketh to slay him.

PSA 37:33. The LORD will not leave him in his hand, nor condemn him when he is judged.

PSA 46:1. God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

ISA 50:7. For the Lord GOD will help me; therefore shall I not be confounded: therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed.

ISA 50:8. He is near that justifieth me; who will contend with me? let us stand together: who is mine adversary? let him come near to me.

ISA 50:9. Behold, the Lord GOD will help me; who is he that shall condemn me? lo, they all shall wax old as a garment; the moth shall eat them up.

MAT 10:18. And ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles.

MAT 10:19. But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak.

MAT 10:20. For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you.

ACT 7:55. But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God,

ROM 8:35. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

ROM 8:36. As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.

ROM 8:37. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.

ROM 8:38. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,

ROM 8:39. Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

2COR 4:8. We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair;

2COR 4:9. Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;

2COR 4:10. Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.

2COR 4:11. For we which live are alway delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh.

HEB 13:5. Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

HEB 13:6. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.

1PE 4:14. If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified.

C. God allows it to spread His message & messengers:

MAT 10:23. But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another: for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come.

ACT 8:1. And Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles.

ACT 8:4. Therefore they that were scattered abroad went every where preaching the word.

ACT 11:19. Now they which were scattered abroad upon the persecution that arose about Stephen travelled as far as Phenice, and Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word to none but unto the Jews only.

D. When condemning God's messengers enemies often broadcast God's message thus arousing interest in it:

JOH 19:4. Pilate therefore went forth again, and saith unto them, Behold, I bring him forth to you, that ye may know that I find no fault in him.

JOH 19:5. Then came Jesus forth, wearing the crown of thorns, and the purple robe. And Pilate saith unto them, Behold the man!

JOH 19:6. When the chief priests therefore and officers saw him, they cried out, saying, Crucify him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Take ye him, and crucify him: for I find no fault in him.

JOH 19:7. The Jews answered him, We have a law, and by our law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God.

JOH 19:8. When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he was the more afraid;

ACT 17:5. But the Jews which believed not, moved with envy, took unto them certain lewd fellows of the baser sort, and gathered a company, and set all the city on an uproar, and assaulted the house of Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people.

ACT 17:6. And when they found them not, they drew Jason and certain brethren unto the rulers of the city, crying, These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also;

ACT 17:7. Whom Jason hath received: and these all do contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, one Jesus.

ACT 19:23. And the same time there arose no small stir about that way.

ACT 19:24. For a certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith, which made silver shrines for Diana, brought no small gain unto the craftsmen;

ACT 19:25. Whom he called together with the workmen of like occupation, and said, Sirs, ye know that by this craft we have our wealth.

ACT 19:26. Moreover ye see and hear, that not alone at Ephesus, but almost throughout all Asia, this Paul hath persuaded and turned away much people, saying that they be no gods, which are made with hands:

ACT 24:14. But this I confess unto thee, that after the way which they call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets:

ACT 25:18. Against whom when the accusers stood up, they brought none accusation of such things as I supposed:

ACT 25:19. But had certain questions against him of their own superstition, and of one Jesus, which was dead, whom Paul affirmed to be alive.

ACT 28:22. But we desire to hear of thee what thou thinkest: for as concerning this sect, we know that every where it is spoken against.

PHI 1:15. Some indeed preach Christ even of envy and strife; and some also of good will:

PHI 1:16. The one preach Christ of contention, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my bonds:

PHI 1:17. But the other of love, knowing that I am set for the defence of the gospel.

PHI 1:18. What then? notwithstanding, every way, whether in pretence, or in truth, Christ is preached; and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice.

E. It sifts out those who are not whole-hearted:

MAT 13:21. Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.

F. The Word preached even in imprisonment:

JER 38:13. So they drew up Jeremiah with cords, and took him up out of the dungeon: and Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison.

JER 38:14. Then Zedekiah the king sent, and took Jeremiah the prophet unto him into the third entry that is in the house of the LORD: and the king said unto Jeremiah, I will ask thee a thing; hide nothing from me.

JER 38:15. Then Jeremiah said unto Zedekiah, If I declare it unto thee, wilt thou not surely put me to death? and if I give thee counsel, wilt thou not hearken unto me?

JER 38:16. So Zedekiah the king sware secretly unto Jeremiah, saying, As the LORD liveth, that made us this soul, I will not put thee to death, neither will I give thee into the hand of these men that seek thy life.

JER 38:17. Then said Jeremiah unto Zedekiah, Thus saith the LORD, the God of hosts, the God of Israel; If thou wilt assuredly go forth unto the king of Babylon's princes, then thy soul shall live, and this city shall not be burned with fire; and thou shalt live, and thine house:

JER 38:18. But if thou wilt not go forth to the king of Babylon's princes, then shall this city be given into the hand of the Chaldeans, and they shall burn it with fire, and thou shalt not escape out of their hand.

MAT 10:18. And ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles.

MAT 10:19. But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak.

MAT 10:20. For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you.

ACT 16:23. And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailor to keep them safely:

ACT 16:24. Who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks.

ACT 16:25. And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.

ACT 16:26. And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one's bands were loosed.

ACT 16:27. And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled.

ACT 16:28. But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here.

ACT 16:29. Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas,

ACT 16:30. And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?

ACT 16:31. And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.

ACT 28:16. And when we came to Rome, the centurion delivered the prisoners to the captain of the guard: but Paul was suffered to dwell by himself with a soldier that kept him.

ACT 28:30. And Paul dwelt two whole years in his own hired house, and received all that came in unto him,

PHI 1:12. But I would ye should understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel;

PHI 1:13. So that my bonds in Christ are manifest in all the palace, and in all other places;

PHI 1:14. And many of the brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.

PHI 4:22. All the saints salute you, chiefly they that are of Caesar's household.

G. God gets good out of seeming bad:

GEN 50:20. But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.

EXO 14:1. And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

EXO 14:2. Speak unto the children of Israel, that they turn and encamp before Pihahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, over against Baalzephon: before it shall ye encamp by the sea.

EXO 14:3. For Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, They are entangled in the land, the wilderness hath shut them in.

EXO 14:4. And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, that he shall follow after them; and I will be honoured upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host; that the Egyptians may know that I am the LORD. And they did so.

EXO 14:5. And it was told the king of Egypt that the people fled: and the heart of Pharaoh and of his servants was turned against the people, and they said, Why have we done this, that we have let Israel go from serving us?

EXO 14:6. And he made ready his chariot, and took his people with him:

EXO 14:7. And he took six hundred chosen chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt, and captains over every one of them.

EXO 14:8. And the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued after the children of Israel: and the children of Israel went out with an high hand.

EXO 14:9. But the Egyptians pursued after them, all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, and his horsemen, and his army, and overtook them encamping by the sea, beside Pihahiroth, before Baalzephon.

EXO 14:10. And when Pharaoh drew nigh, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and, behold, the Egyptians marched after them; and they were sore afraid: and the children of Israel cried out unto the LORD.

EXO 14:11. And they said unto Moses, Because there were no graves in Egypt, hast thou taken us away to die in the wilderness? wherefore hast thou dealt thus with us, to carry us forth out of Egypt?

EXO 14:12. Is not this the word that we did tell thee in Egypt, saying, Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? For it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness.

EXO 14:13. And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever.

EXO 14:14. The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.

EXO 14:15. And the LORD said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward:

EXO 14:16. But lift thou up thy rod, and stretch out thine hand over the sea, and divide it: and the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea.

EXO 14:17. And I, behold, I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall follow them: and I will get me honour upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen.

EXO 14:18. And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I have gotten me honour upon Pharaoh, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen.

EXO 14:19. And the angel of God, which went before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind them; and the pillar of the cloud went from before their face, and stood behind them:

EXO 14:20. And it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel; and it was a cloud and darkness to them, but it gave light by night to these: so that the one came not near the other all the night.

EXO 14:21. And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the LORD caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided.

EXO 14:22. And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground: and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left.

EXO 14:23. And the Egyptians pursued, and went in after them to the midst of the sea, even all Pharaoh's horses, his chariots, and his horsemen.

EXO 14:24. And it came to pass, that in the morning watch the LORD looked unto the host of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and of the cloud, and troubled the host of the Egyptians,

EXO 14:25. And took off their chariot wheels, that they drave them heavily: so that the Egyptians said, Let us flee from the face of Israel; for the LORD fighteth for them against the Egyptians.

EXO 14:26. And the LORD said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand over the sea, that the waters may come again upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen.

EXO 14:27. And Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to his strength when the morning appeared; and the Egyptians fled against it; and the LORD overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea.

EXO 14:28. And the waters returned, and covered the chariots, and the horsemen, and all the host of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them; there remained not so much as one of them.