Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Evangelical
Witness

Witness

Last updated on: July 28, 2015 at 8:11 am by Guest Contributor

Witness 2015-07-28T08:11:08-04:00 Guest Contributor

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

by Peter Leithart

The world has gone mad. Only yesterday everyone knew that marriage was “Molly and me and baby makes three.” Only yesterday there were only two boxes to tick in the sex category, and everyone knew which bathroom to use. Within the living memory of some Americans, the church was a respected institution and church leaders were trusted. Yesterday Ireland was so reliably Catholic that “Irish Catholic” was a redundancy.

The revolution we’re seeing isn’t as sudden as it seems, but the winds have shifted rapidly. And one of its effects is to put American Christians in the unfamiliar position of having to swim against the cultural current. Let the current carry you, and it will carry you far from anything resembling biblical orthodoxy. What were recently standard, simple, traditional statements of Christian faith and practice are now pilloried as dark, hateful, and bigoted.

Recent events have clarified the duty of martyrdom. The Greek word “martyr” means “witness.” It doesn’t necessarily refer to a believer who suffers for his witness. In this original sense, all Christians everywhere at all times are called to be martyrs. We have now entered a world where witness becomes costly, where one can be fined, lose a job, be marginalized as a hater for speaking and acting on Christian principle. Some already have, and there will be more.

In this context, the book of Revelation becomes directly relevant. It’s not relevant because John was prophesying about our times. He wasn’t. “The time is near” is a refrain at the beginning and end of the Apocalypse. The events John foresaw occurred many centuries ago. Yet the pattern of events in Revelation is repeated again and again in history, and today as in the first century, Revelation gives encouragement to martyrs. It is the Bible’s primary source for a theology of suffering witness.

It begins in Revelation 6. When the Lamb opens the fifth seal, John sees the souls of martyrs under the altar, crying out, like the blood of Abel, for vengeance. Their blood has been poured out, but God has done nothing to avenge or vindicate them. In response to their cries, they are given white robes, a pledge that they will one day join the white-robed hosts of heaven. Then, shockingly, they are told to wait: Instead of promising to avenge their blood immediately, the Lord tells them that more martyrs have to be made, more blood has to be shed. God won’t act until the sin of the Amorites is full.

Soon after (Revelation 7), John sees an angel with the seal of God, sealing the foreheads of 144,000 saints, 12,000 from each of the twelve tribes of Israel. As with Aaron, wearing the name of God on their forehead authorizes them to offer sacrifice. Like Jesus, the sacrifice they offer will be their own body and blood. They are sealed as both priest and sacrifice.

When we see the 144,000 again, they are standing on Mount Zion with the Lamb in their midst (Revelation 14). They are learning the new song of heaven, as they wait to be harvested as firstfruits to God and to the Lamb. At the end of that chapter, angels gather them up to take them through the firmament, so they can stand with the heavenly choir playing harps and singing the song of Moses and the Lamb (Revelation 15). The promise of Revelation 6 is fulfilled. God has made good on the pledge of the white robe. He has overthrown the harlot who drank their blood, and has elevated the martyrs. Their blood shed at the base of the altar was the beginning of a sacrificial ascent.

That’s assurance enough: In exchange for a brief period of torture, faithful witnesses will ascend to heaven to stand as priests in the presence of the angels. Not a bad deal.

But the story of the martyrs isn’t finished. They’re central to the millennial vision of Revelation 20. Now they are not simply in heaven; they are not simply vindicated. Now they are enthroned, headless kings who reign with Christ for a thousand years, joined by all those who have a share in what Revelation calls the “first resurrection.”

I believe that the millennium is the present age of the church. It began after the fall of “Babylon,” a coded name for Jerusalem. The martyrs reign now, and we who witness faithfully reign with them as they reign with the Lamb.

Whether or not that’s correct, the point remains: Ultimately, the future doesn’t belong to the persecutors or to the power of the sword. The future (and, I think, the present) belong to the martyrs. Faithful, suffering witness is the path to dominion. Martyrs constitute the ultimate Adamic human race. The thrones of heaven are reserved for those who follow the Lamb wherever He goes, and do not love life even to death.

Whatever the appearances and however long it may take, in the end the world belongs not to the madmen but to the martyrs. That is assurance indeed.

Peter_Leithart_opt

Photo by Mark LaMoreaux, courtesy of New Saint Andrews College

Peter Leithart is President of the Theopolis Institute in Birmingham, Alabama. To learn more about Theopolis, sign up for the e-newsletter In Medias Res.

Previous Post

July 14, 2015

How Christians Fight Anxiety

Next Post

August 3, 2015 Four Mentoring Truths

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Culture Slideshow Uncategorized

Select a Month April 2026 October 2025 July 2025 April 2025 February 2025 October 2024 August 2023 June 2023 March 2023 February 2023 November 2022 April 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 January 2020 December 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 January 2019 October 2018 August 2018 June 2018 May 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz