We learn of the first thirteen popes from Irenaeus of Lyons, who documented their colorful mythology from Peter to Eleutherius. This was a time of great paranoia for Christians following the Great Fire in Rome and the subsequent Neronian nightmare as well as a resurgence of violent persecutions under Emperor Domitian (AD 81-96) who promoted a delusional form of self-deification, dominus et deus or “master and god,” and began torturing the new religion once again. This was the context in which the fevered Book of Revelation was likely written –a text which gleefully celebrates the downfall of Rome and subversively refers to Jesus as a “King” in contrast to the Roman Emperor. The Emperors Trajan, Hadrian, and Antoninus Pius are generally remembered as more tolerant rulers, however the crowds in Rome still raged for more bodies to fill the ongoing circus festivals. Two of the most important Christian leaders were…
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Utopia, you are standing in it! 
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