This weekend we celebrate Memorial Day. This is the day that we remember all of those men and women who have died for our nation during wars against our nation’s enemies. They sacrificed and gave their lives for the freedoms we have in this nation. May we never forget what they have done for us and always be willing to continue the fight for those freedoms even at the expense of our lives. Veteran’s Day honors all of those who have served in our military. May we also remember all of those who have served in the Lord’s army, especially those who were martyred. June 29 is the day that is set aside to remember the martyr of the apostles Peter and Paul. May we remember all of those martyred for Jesus on this day just as we do our military dead. Jesus said (John 15:13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.) Our military war dead and Christian martyrs gave their lives for their enemies. May our enemies become our friends as we win them for Jesus. Jesus of his own free will died for all sinners, which is everyone who ever lived, so that all may have eternal life. The world hated Jesus yet he still died for all people.
God has an army. When Jesus returns at his second coming after the tribulation, he will come with his armies riding on white horses. Both angels and all saved people in heaven will ride those horses. (Revelation 19:14 And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.)Saved people have fought against alien armies who were enemies of the LORD. (Hebrews 11:34 Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.) God has in his army people, angels, and animals. God used his army of locusts and caterpillars to destroy his enemy. (Joel 2:25 And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpiller, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you.) Holy angels fight a constant spiritual war against Satan’s angels. Archangel Michael is the warrior angel who helped the angel Gabriel reach Daniel. (Daniel 10:13 But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia.) Gabriel had to fight on the way back as well. (Daniel 10:20 Then said he, Knowest thou wherefore I come unto thee? and now will I return to fight with the prince of Persia: and when I am gone forth, lo, the prince of Grecia shall come.) When Elijah was in Dothan, the Syrian army surrounded the city. Elijah’s servant was afraid, but Elijah asked God to open his eyes and see the heavenly army of angels that were with them and outnumbered the Syrians. (II Kings 15-17 15 And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host compassed the city both with horses and chariots. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! how shall we do?
16 And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.
17 And Elisha prayed, and said, LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.)
Not only do Christians fight in the Lord’s army against God’s earthly enemies, but they also fight a spiritual battle with Satan and his devils every day. We are told to put on the whole armour of God in order to fight this battle. (Ephesians 6:11-18 11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;) Staying in the word of God daily, confessing your sins daily to Jesus, not to a priest and daily prayer will keep you in the fight. Prayer is a strong weapon against Satan. Satan hates prayer warriors. Praying is something all Christians can do.
Just as it is a privilege to serve in your nations military as I did and if necessary to die, it should be the desire of every person to serve and fight in the Lord’s army and if necessary to die for our Lord Jesus Christ. Just as some die in our nation’s military, some who fight in the Lord’s army will be martyred. Scripture mentions some of the people who were martyred for God. During the tribulation which is not far away, most of those who get saved will be martyred for Jesus. Most will be beheaded for Jesus. They wondered in heaven how long they would have to wait before Jesus avenged their deaths. (Revelation 6:9-11 9 And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held:
10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?
11 And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.) (Revelation 20:4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.) These people and all who have been martyred for Jesus will be greatly rewarded by God. They will reign with Jesus during the literal thousand years Millennium when Jesus rules here on earth. John the Baptist preached repentance and for people to turn to God. He also preached against king Herod who had sinned by marrying his brother’s wife even though his brother was still alive. For this he was put in prison where he was later beheaded. (Matthew 14:10 And he sent, and beheaded John in the prison.)
Abel was the first person martyred for serving God when he was murdered by his brother Cain. (Genesis 4:8 And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.) Jesus spoke of the martyr of Abel and all of those to Zacharias. (Matthew 23:35 That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar.) Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest was martyred after speaking against Joash the king of Judah for his sins. (II Chronicles 24:20-21 20 And the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest, which stood above the people, and said unto them, Thus saith God, Why transgress ye the commandments of the LORD, that ye cannot prosper? because ye have forsaken the LORD, he hath also forsaken you.
21 And they conspired against him, and stoned him with stones at the commandment of the king in the court of the house of the LORD.) This may be the Zacharias mentioned by Jesus, but there was probably another Zacharias as Jesus said he was the son of Barachias whereas II Chronicles 24 says this was the son of Jehoiada. If so there were two men named Zacharias martyred for Jesus. Stephen was stoned to death while preaching about Jesus. (Acts 7:58-60 58 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.
59 And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.
60And 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.) Stephen asked God to forgive his killers. This is hard to do, but God commands us to love our enemies. This man of God and others who have been martyred have obeyed this command as have many surviving family members. (Matthew 5:44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;) The apostle James, the brother of John, was martyred by king Herod when he was killed with a sword. (Acts 12:1-2 1 Now about that time Herod the king stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church.
2 And he killed James the brother of John with the sword.) Antipas was martyred for Jesus. Scripture does not say how, but tradition says he was burned in a brass bull shaped chamber that was used to roast the person inside. (Revelation 2:13 I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where 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.) The two witnesses, most likely Moses and Elijah, will be martyred during the tribulation. (Revelation 11:7 And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them.) Hebrews 11 mentions some that were sawn asunder and stoned. (Hebrews 11:37 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;) According to tradition, the prophet Isaiah was sawn in half. Tradition also says all of the apostles except John were martyred. Jesus told Peter he would be crucified on a cross for preaching about him. (John 21:18-19 18 Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not.
19This spake he, signifying by what death he should glorify God. And when he had spoken this, he saith unto him, Follow me.)
Many people are still martyred for Jesus today especially in other nations such as Muslim nations, communist nations such as China and North Korea, and in India by the Hindus. The ministry Voice of the Martyrs tracks these deaths and issues a monthly magazine with some of their stories. The book Foxe’s Book of Martyrs tells of many stories of Christians martyred for Jesus including many by the Roman Catholic Church who burnt people at the stake as well as pulled some bodies apart on torture rack machines. Other torture devices were also used. The woman in Revelation 17 is speaking of the Roman Catholic Church and how she has martyred many true Christians. (Revelation 17:6 And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration.) There are those today and in the past that think by killing true Christians they are doing God service. This includes Roman Catholics, Muslims, and Hindus as well as others such as the Jewish leaders of Jesus’ day. Jesus warned of this. (John 16:2 They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.) (Matthew 24:9 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.) Jim Elliot is a modern martyr who was willing to give his life for Jesus to try and reach the Waodani or Huaorani people, a tribal people of Ecuador. Jim along with four other men were killed by the tribe for preaching Jesus. Jim’s wife Elizabeth and Rachel, the sister of Nate Saint who was among the martyred, became missionaries and went back to the tribe willing to risk their lives and remember what they did to their family in order to try and win them for the Lord. They succeeded in winning many for the Lord including some of those who had martyred Jim and Nate. May we all be willing to stand and fight for Jesus this way as well as forgiving our enemies.
May we all be willing to fight and die for Jesus. Whether preaching, passing out tracts, using radio, television, websites, or social media, or trying to reach the lost on the streets and homes or however else you try to lead people to the Lord, be prepared for persecution and possible death if you are sincere in trying to win souls. God said he who wins souls is wise. (Proverbs 11:30 The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise.) Soul winners will also get a crown in heaven. (I Thessalonians 2:19 For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming?) Fighting for the Lord is hard, but will always be worth it even if it means your life here on earth. Jesus said those who lose their lives for him will find it. (Matthew 16:25 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.) Those who are martyred for Jesus will receive a martyr’s crown. (Revelation 2:10 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.) Jesus says all who die for him will not have died in vain. Let us all fight for Jesus today and try and win as many souls for him as we can before it is too late. We are fast losing our rights here in the United States and the day will come that we will not be allowed to openly serve Jesus unless we fight for him today. May God bless all of those who have fought the good fight as the apostle Paul said he had and especially all of those who have been martyred for Jesus. As we celebrate Memorial Day tomorrow, may we remember those who died for our earthly freedom as a nation, but may we also remember all of those Christians who have been martyred throughout history and around the world for Jesus in the fight against Satan.
