persecutors to embody a larger purpose—an evil purpose that they might not even understand themselves. Scripture is quick to identify an Evil One who opposes the purposes of God. Whether or not persecutors can articulate the spiritual dimension of their attacks, it is clear that this Evil One ultimately desires to use persecution to silence witness and to deny people access to Jesus. And the Evil One can use the actions of the persecutors for that purpose even if they do not fully understand the