Those living in America may know that many of the earliest settlers came to America to escape persecution and practise their religion in freedom. America is also one of the few countries in the world where there has not been widespread persecution of Christians. In this day there are many countries where Christians face persecution. Just today I heard of a Catholic priest who was murdered in India, earlier this year a western missionary was burned alive in his car in India. Watchman Nee was incarcerated in prison in China for twenty years.
Persecution is easy to recognise, false teachers are more difficult to spot.
Satan does not need to use persecution to destroy the church he can weaken it gradually by introducing subtle errors from within and eventually it just withers away and dies. Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. We all tend to have a morbid fascination about the future and we comfort ourselves with the thought that we will be raptured out of the way when difficult times come. However church history testifies to persecution from the time of the prophets through to Stephen and until today. One of the subtle errors of the pre tribulation rapture doctrine is that during the great tribulation 144,000 Jews and the two witnesses will preach the gospel.