It may be promoted by religious authorities (Mr 3:6; Ac 24:1, 27), or it may be carried out by uninformed persons (Ge 21:8, 9; Ga 4:29) and ignorant ones (1Ti 1:13) or by unreasoning, fanatical mobs. (Lu 4:28, 29; Ac 14:19; 17:5) But often these parties are only the agents of more powerful and sinister instigators​—unseen wicked spirit forces.​—Eph 6:11, 12.

In the original prophecy at Genesis 3:14, 15, Jehovah God foretold enmity between “the serpent” and “the woman” and between their respective ‘seeds.’ The Bible as a whole bears witness to the fulfillment of this prophecy. Jesus clearly identified the serpent as Satan the Devil and at the same time told those persecuting him that they were ‘from their father the Devil,’ hence of his “seed.” (Joh 8:37-59) The book of Revelation shows that such persecution continues down to the time of Christ’s taking power to reign and even thereafter for a period, for when Satan and his angels are cast down to the earth, the dragon ‘persecutes the woman, waging war with the remaining ones of her seed who obey God and bear witness to Jesus.’ (Re 12:7-17) A prominent agent used throughout history by Satan is the “wild beast,” a symbolic figure explained in the article BEASTS, SYMBOLIC (Re 13:1, 7); another is “Babylon the Great,” discussed under the article bearing that heading. (Re 17:5, 6) The Satanic enmity toward those seeking to do God’s will in righteousness and his use of the above-mentioned agencies can be traced throughout all Biblical periods, as the following history shows.

The principal human instigators of religious persecution, however, have been the promoters of false religion. This was true in Jeremiah’s case. (Jer 26:11) It was also the experience of the apostle Paul. (Ac 13:6-8; 19:23-29) In the case of Jesus we read that “the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered the Sanhedrin together and . . . Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them: ‘ . . . you do not reason out that it is to your benefit for one man to die in behalf of the people and not for the whole nation to be destroyed.’ . . . Therefore from that day on they took counsel to kill him [Jesus].” (Joh 11:47-53) Before Jesus finally died on the torture stake, he suffered severe persecution in other ways at the hands of ungodly men​—supporters of the religious leaders bent on doing away with him.​—Mt 26:67; 27:1, 2, 26-31, 38-44.