I first met Polycarp in Foxes Book of Martyrs when I was a boy.
I honored him yesterday for his testimony: 86 years following Jesus!
He was fearless and bold, refusing to bow before Rome.
He heard what the Spirit said to the church at Smyrna:
"He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death. "
"
Polycarp of Smyrna 69 - 155 AD
Polycarp was a disciple of John the Apostle*(5-100) and bishop of Smyrna. An asterisk after a name means the person is in SPIRITUAL LIVES.
Some (F.B. Meyer) speculate that he was the “angel” mentioned by the Lord Jesus in
Revelation:
And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write;
These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive; I know thy works,
and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy
of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of
Satan.
Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil
shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have
tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a
crown of life.
He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto
the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death. –
Revelation 2:8-11
What a wonderful testimony of the church in Smyrna, and Polycarp
was certainly a contributor to this. He was a Syrian and a faithful “elder”
ministering not only to the church at Smyrna but to other churches as well.
He wrote a Letter to the Philippians, which shows him to be well
acquainted with the words of Jesus, whom he quotes, as well as with John
and Paul. One scholar thinks Polycarp gathered the books of the New
Testament as we now have them.
He is as important to us today as he was in his time, as a direct link to
John and others who had seen Jesus and made sure His Gospel was
followed faithfully. In John’s time, enemies had crept into the church and were corrupting the doctrine: So hast thou also them that holdthe doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which I hate. Revelation 2:15
Polycarp, too, hated false doctrine. One story in this regard is that
he refused to greet the Gnostic Maricon when he met him. Maricon
challenged him, “Do you know who I am?” to which Polycarp calmly
replied, “I know you; you are the firstborn of Satan.”
He learned to hate false teaching from the Apostle John, who, when he saw the Gnostic
Cerinthus fled from the bathhouse in Ephesus, crying, “Let us flee, lest the
bath house fall down! For Cerinthus the enemy of truth is within.”
Of Polycarp, Irenaeus says, I can bear witness before God that if that
blessed and apostolic elder had heard any such thing, he would have cried
out, stopped his ears, and exclaimed as he was wont to do, "O good God,
for what times have you reserved me, that I should endure these
things?" Then he would have fled from the very spot where sitting or
standing, he had heard such words.
I can even describe the place where the blessed Polycarp used to sit
and converse … his general way of life and personal appearance, even the
lectures he delivered to the people. I remember how he would speak of his
familiar interchange with John and with the rest of those who had seen the
Lord. He would call their words to remembrance, anything he had heard
from them concerning the Lord, both with regard to his miracles and his
teaching. What Polycarp received from the eyewitnesses of the Word of
life, he would recount in harmony with the Scriptures.
But in his 86th year, Polycarp was called up before the Roman
proconsul and condemned to die. The Romans tried to show him how to
avoid the punishment. When Polycarp refused, he threatened to throw
him to the wild beast, even though he was loose in the arena. However, Polycarp refused.
Then he threatened him with fire, to which the old man replied, “Since you
keep wasting your time urging me on … and pretend not to know who
and what I am, listen to me announce with boldness: "I am a Christian. If
you want to learn what the doctrines of Christianity are, appoint me a day,
and you shall hear them." By then the Roman was infuriated and ordered
him to be burned.
His last words: “Eighty and six years I have served Him, and He has
done me no wrong. You threaten me with a fire that burns for a season
and, after a little while, is quenched; but you are ignorant of the fire of
everlasting punishment that is prepared for the wicked." When tied to the
stake, he said, “I bless you, Father, for judging me worthy of this hour, so
that in the company of the martyrs I may share the cup of Christ."
******************************//
The Son of God goes forth to war,
A kingly crown to gain;
His blood red banner streams afar:
Who follows in His train?
Who best can drink his cup of woe,
Triumphant over pain,
Who patient bears his cross below,
He follows in His train.
That martyr first, whose eagle eye
Could pierce beyond the grave;
Who saw his Master in the sky,
And called on Him to save.
Like Him, with pardon on His tongue,
In midst of mortal pain,
He prayed for them that did the wrong:
Who follows in His train?
A glorious band, the chosen few
On whom the Spirit came;
Twelve valiant saints, their hope they knew,
And mocked the cross and flame.
They met the tyrant’s brandished steel,
The lion’s gory mane;
They bowed their heads the death to feel:
Who follows in their train?
A noble army, men and boys,
The matron and the maid,
Around the Savior’s throne rejoice,
In robes of light arrayed.
They climbed the steep ascent of Heav’n,
Through peril, toil and pain;
O God, to us may grace be given,
To follow in their train.
Words: Reginald Heber, 1812.
They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented;
(Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.
And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise:
God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.
Hebrews 11:37-40
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About the image::
English: Saint Polycarp | |
Date | 19 December 2006 (original upload date) (Original text : c. en:1685) |
Source | Transferred from en.wikipedia (Original text : The Life of S. Polycarp Bishop of Smyrna) |
Author | Original uploader was Alekjds at en.wikipedia |
This image is in the public domain; PD-US; PD-ART. | |
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