Early Christians you should know

[Dingleberry]

So many heroes of the faith have been largely forgotten over time. These people should not ever be forgotten.

I'll start with Polycarp. He was a disciple of John and as an old man was the leader of the church in Smyrna. The details below are taken from an account written by the Christians in Smyrna following his martyrdom. Polycarp had balls of steel and unshakable faith. WORTH THE QUICK READ!



Polycarp was a personal disciple of the Apostle John. As an old man, he was the bishop of the Church at Smyrna in Asia Minor (present-day Turkey). Persecution against the Christians broke out there and believers were being fed to the wild beasts in the arena. The crowd began to call for the Christians' leader Polycarp. So the authorities sent out a search party to bring him in. They tortured two slave boys to reveal where Polycarp was being hidden.

It was a Friday afternoon. Polycarp was resting upstairs in a country home. They came in like a posse, fully armed as if they were arresting a dangerous criminal. Polycarp's friends wanted to sneak him out, but he refused, saying, "God's will be done." (The Christians there taught that a believer was not to make oneself available for martyrdom and should not seek it out, but neither should he/she avoid it when there was no choice.)

In one of the most touching instances of Christian grace imaginable, Polycarp welcomed his captors as if they were friends, talked with them and ordered that food and drink be served to them. Then Polycarp made one request: one hour to pray before they took him away. The officers overhearing his prayers (that went on for two hours) began to have second thoughts. What were they doing arresting an old man like this?

Despite the cries of the crowd, the Roman authorities saw the senselessness of making this aged man a martyr. So when Polycarp was brought into the arena, the proconsul pled with him: "Curse Christ and I will release you."

REPLY: "Eighty-six years I have served Him. He had never done me wrong. How then can I blaspheme my King who has saved me?"

The proconsul reached for an acceptable way out: "Then do this, old man. Just swear by the genius of the emperor and that will be sufficient." (The "genius" was sort of the "spirit" of the emperor. To do this would be a recognition of the pagan gods and religion.)

REPLY: "If you imagine for a moment that I would do that, then I think you pretend that you don't know who I am. Hear it plainly. I am a Christian."

The proconsul threatened him with the wild beasts.

REPLY: "Bring them forth. I would change my mind if it meant going from the worse to the better, but not to change from the right to the wrong."

The proconsul's patience was gone: "I will have you burned alive."

REPLY: "You threaten fire that burns for an hour and is over. But the judgment on the ungodly is forever."

The fire was prepared. Polycarp lifted his eyes to heaven and prayed: "Father, I bless you that you have deemed me worthy of this day and hour, that I might take a portion of the martyrs in the cup of Christ. . . Among these may I today be welcome before thy face as a rich and acceptable sacrifice."

As the fire engulfed him, the believers noted that it smelled not so much like flesh burning as a loaf baking. He was finished off with the stab of a dagger. His followers gathered his remains like precious jewels and buried them on February 22, a day they set aside to be remembered. The year was probably 155. In the strange way known to the eyes of faith, it was as much a day of triumph as it was a day of tragedy.

 

[Dingleberry]

William Tyndale (1494-1536)

Hero. We owe our ability to read the Bible to him. Bullet point version of his story:

- In 1525 he translated the New Testament from Greek to English. Rome wasn't happy and sought to arrest and kill him.

- Tyndale fled England for Germany and began mass printing copies and smuggled them into England. Rome wasn't happy and sought to arrest and kill him.

- In 1535 he translated large portions of the Old Testament from Hebrew to English. Rome wasn't happy and sought to arrest and kill him.

- In 1536, Tyndale was caught and arrested for heresy. The accusations? "For believing in the forgiveness of sins and mercy offered in the gospel was enough for salvation."

- Tyndale was strangled and then burned at the stake.

- By teaching what the Word of God says that forgiveness of sins and salvation were by God's mercy thru Jesus Christ, Tyndale had infringed on the papacy's lies that salvation was thru THEM!

- By printing the Word of God in a language people could read for themselves, Tyndale infringed on the papacy's racket of keeping its sheep ignorant of what the Word REALLY says.


There are no shortage of righteous men killed by the demons in Rome. Tyndale is just one. His work led directly to the King James Bible. No more would people be forced to rely on a predator in a collar to tell them what the Scriptures said.

 

[Dingleberry]

Justin Martyr (@100 - 160 A.D.) was a philosopher who converted as an adult and spent the rest of his life spreading the word thru writings and speaking. With a last name like Martyr, he really should have seen his fate coming.

During a stroll along the seashore, he encountered a Christian who pointed him to the testimony of the Prophets “who imparted truth to men,” concerning Jesus Christ. He must have cited the miracles of Christ, convincing Justin of the Creator God, come to earth as man, and, through the power of the Holy Spirit, glorifying God in all He did. The apologist finally encouraged Justin to “pray above all things, the gates of light may be opened to you, for these things cannot be perceived or understood by all, but only by the man to whom God and His Christ have imparted wisdom.” Church tradition says he was converted to the Christian faith at Ephesus.

Justin founded a Christian school in Rome, where he carried on his teaching and testimony against all comers. He debated a cynic named Crescentius “who held that virtue alone was the goal of life.” Enraged at being bested by this Christian teacher, the Roman apparently reported Justin to the authorities charging atheism—not believing in the gods of the Romans. Under the authority of Emperor Marcus Aurelius, a number of Justin’s students and himself were seized, tried, flogged and beheaded on June 1, 166. From henceforth this early Christian father became known as Justin Martyr and his teaching spread far and wide in the Church.

 

[Dingleberry]

Blandina - young Christian woman

This is worth the read. The early Christians had balls of steel and faith we could only pretend to possess. And human beings are a sick species.

In 177 AD, a group of Christians in Lyon, Gaul (modern France) faced unimaginable torture and persecution, yet they remained steadfast in their faith, inspiring others with their courage. The story of Blandina, a young slave girl who endured extreme physical suffering and ultimately sacrificed herself for her faith, is a testament to the power of Christian devotion and the enduring legacy of these early martyrs.

The bloodthirsty mob in the amphitheater had never seen such courage. People were astonished at the slave girl's victorious cry even in the midst of her pain and suffering: "I am a Christian and there is nothing vile done by us." Even though the crowd detested these Christians, they had to admit that never had a woman endured so many and so terrible tortures.

August 1 was a holiday to celebrate the greatness of Rome and the emperor; the governor was expected to show his patriotism by sponsoring entertainment for the whole city. It was expensive to hire gladiators, boxers and wrestlers. It would be a lot cheaper to torture these Christians as part of the holiday entertainment!

The Christians were confined in the darkest and most awful part of the prison; many of them suffocated there. Some were placed in stocks; others were placed in a hot-iron seat where their flesh was burned. This was literally a human barbecue where the victim was chained onto a grate over burning coals. An example of this barbaric torture instrument can still be seen today at the archeological museum at Lyons

It seemed impossible that any could live, having been tortured so cruelly, yet they were strengthened by the Lord, and they exhorted and encouraged each other in the faith. Pothinus, the 92-year-old bishop of Lyons, died in his prison cell two days after his torture at the judgment seat. That cell too can still be visited today in Lyon. It is about the size of a home electric dishwasher, so cramped he could not have even stood up straight.

Sanctus, a deacon from Vienne stood firm in his faith, even after red hot plates were fastened to the most tender parts of his body and he was one complete wound and bruise. He was "an example for the others, showing that nothing is fearful where the love of the Father is, and nothing is painful where there is the glory of Christ."

After enduring torture, some of the Christians were taken to the amphitheater where wild beasts would devour them to "entertain" the crowd. Among the group was the slave girl Blandina, who had already endured every imaginable torture and cruelty. Blandina was suspended on a stake and exposed to the wild beasts. Because she appeared to be hanging on a cross and because of her intense prayers, she inspired the other Christians. When they looked at her they were reminded of Christ who was crucified for them and that everyone who suffered for the glory of Christ would enjoy eternal fellowship with the living God. None of the beasts touched Blandina at the time, and she was taken down from the stake and cast into prison. The Christians believed God had preserved her for other contests so her victory over the evil spiritual forces might be the greater.

On the last day of the contests in the amphitheater, Blandina was again brought in with Ponticus, a boy of about 15. Every day they had been brought to witness the sufferings of others and pressed to deny their faith and swear by idols. Ponticus died first, and Blandina remained the last. She had encouraged many others and saw them go on before her to Jesus. Now she was ready to hasten after them. She faced her death rejoicing-as if being called to a marriage feast rather than wild beasts. The report stated: After the scourging, after the wild beasts, after the roasting seat, she was finally enclosed in a net, and thrown before a bull. And having been tossed about by the animal, but feeling none of the things which were happening to her, on account of her hope and firm hold upon what had been entrusted to her, and her communion with Christ, she also was sacrificed.