I have been thinking a lot about martyrdom, persecution, and out right hatred toward the church of Jesus Christ. I am often asking myself, is my faith strong enough to endure persecution? And not only persecution but, possibly a tortuous death. My prayer is that if such a time comes in my life that the Holy Spirit will strengthen my faith and my resolve to be a witness until my very last breath. Why do I think about such things? Because Jesus said this in the 24th chapter of Matthew:
And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all [these things] must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
All these [are] the beginning of sorrows.
Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake.(Matthew 24:6-9)
I have been a Christian for over 20 years. In many ways my faith has been tested. Sometimes I have past those test. Other times I have failed miserably, only to be tested again. Our faith will always be tested and tried. This is what causes it to grow. I mean when circumstances in our lives become difficult and trying, what we believe (actually), will determine how we respond in those situations. We discover in many situations whether or not we believe God and His word. Do you let go of your faith and do what you have done in the past or, do you continue to hold on to God and His word and wait for His solution, whatever it may be? These are just a few questions to get you ready hear what many of the apostles and disciple endured because of their faith in Jesus Christ. These men truly trusted God and His promises.
The accounts following are from a book I am reading by Grant Jeffrey, The Signature of God. It is a historian’s account of the martyrdoms suffered by the apostles and disciples from the early church.
“The church historian Schumacher researched the lives of the apostles and recounted the history of their martyrdoms.
- Matthew suffered martyrdom in Ethiopia, killed by a sword wound.
- Mark died in Alexandria, Egypt, after being dragged by horses through the streets until he was dead.
- Luke was hanged in Greece as a result of his tremendous preaching to the lost.
- John face martyrdom when he was boiled in a huge basin of boiling oil during a wave of persecution in Rome. However, he was miraculously delivered from death. John was then sentenced to the mines on the prison island of Patmos. He wrote his prophetic book of Revelation on Patmos. The apostle John was later freed and returned to serve as Bishop of Edessa in modern Turkey. He died as an old man, the only apostle to die peacefully.
- Peter was crucified upside down on an x-shaped cross, according to church tradition because he told his tormentors that he felt unworthy to die in the same way that Jesus Christ had died.
- James the Just, the leader of the church in Jerusalem, was thrown over a hundred feet down from the southeast pinnacle of the Temple when he refused to deny his faith in Christ. When they discovered that he survived the fall his enemies beat James to death with a fuller’s club. This was the same pinnacle where Satan had taken Jesus during the Temptation.
- James the Greater, a son of Zebedee, was a fisherman by trade when Jesus called him to a lifetime of ministry. As a strong leader of the church, James was ultimately beheaded at Jerusalem. The Roman officer who guarded James watched amazed as James defended his faith at his trial. Later, the officer walked beside James to the place of execution. Overcome by conviction, he declared his new faith to the judge and knelt beside James to accept beheading as a Christian.
- Bartholomew, also known as Nathanael, was a missionary to Asia. He witnessed to our Lord in present day Turkey. Bartholomew was martyred for his preaching in Armenia when he was flayed to death by a whip.
- Andrew was crucified on an x-shaped cross in Patras, Greece. After being whipped severely by seven soldiers they tied his body to the cross with cords to prolong his agony. His followers reported that, when he was led toward the cross, Andrew saluted it in these words: “I have long desired and expected this happy hour. The cross has been consecrated by the body of Christ hanging on it.” He continued to preach to his tormentors for days until he expired.
- The Apostle Thomas was stabbed with a spear in India during one of his missionary trips to establish the church in the sub-continent.
- Jude, the brother of Jesus, was killed with arrows when he refused to deny his faith in Christ.
- Matthias, the apostle chosen to replace the traitor Judas Iscariot, was stoned and then beheaded.
- Barnabas, one of the group of seventy disciples, wrote the Epistle of Barnabas. He preached throughout Italy and Cyprus. Barnabas was stoned to death at Salonica.
- The Apostle Paul was tortured and then beheaded by the evil Emperor Nero at Rome in A.D. 67. Paul endured a lengthy imprisonment which allowed him to write his many epistles to the churches he had formed throughout the Roman Empire. These letters, which taught many of the foundational doctrines of Christianity, form a large portion of the New Testament.”
Until I am faced with such a time as these who went before me have faced, I pray that the testing of my faith continues and, that my faith is strengthened after each test. I pray the same for all believers. May your faith in God be strengthened with every trial you face.
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