Revelation 2:13; My Faithful Martyr
Revelation 2:13 I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, evenwhere Satan’s seat is: and thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth.
Antipas was one who resisted the devil, refusing to deny his Christ, even unto death. He followed the train of faithful martyrs since the days of Stephen.
Scriptures testified the spirit of martyrdom of Stephen in Acts 7:55-60 But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God. Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord, And cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man’s feet, whose name was Saul. And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.
This was what Stephen was doing. By being faithful to the Word, the revelation of God concerning Jesus the Christ, the One that the Old Testament prophesied that will and has come whom he witnessed, now testifying as witness before the leaders of Israel and all men watching.
Stephen stood there not for his own interest. If his motive were selfish, for self-interest and self-preservation, he would not have stood as a witness because we shall see that the end of that testimony would have cost him his life.
Stephen understood at the cost of his life that coming to know the Saviour Jesus Christ is the greatest blessing any man could find!
When a man has a living relationship with Jesus Christ, He is connected with the source of life, the fountain of living waters that flows to everlasting life. Stephen has found it and he will trade it for anything else, not even in exchange for your life. He knows in his heart, by the truth of God’s Word, it will be a poor exchange, as Jesus Himself warned in Mark 8:36-38.
Mark 8:36-38 For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? 37 Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?38Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.
May God help this generation of believers to stand firm for the Lord Jesus Christ even in the face of death. The Lord grant His grace to His people. Amen.