them with gifts and graces for the exercise of their ministry. The same day were added to them, as the first-fruits of extended conversion, about three thousand souls. Every thing occurred agreeably to the predictions of our Lord;—Jerusalem was destroyed, and the disciples scattered in different parts, where churches were planted, and the work advanced and gained ground every where. Still, from mistaken views and prejudices, Christianity underwent long persecution, Ten Emperors, from Nero to Dioclesian, employed all the power of the sword to extirpate it, till at length, under Constantine[1], it flourished and became the established religion of the Roman empire. From that period, though the causes of its success may be regarded as of a more mixed description, still it may be affirmed that its merits were better appreciated: it invited investigation and the strictest scru-
- ↑ A.D. 325.
