tuesday martyr: the thundering legion

The "Thundering Legion" is a name attributed to a part of the Roman army. The name is under some suspicion about whether it came from a battle or was used a hundred years previously. The story of the battle is most certainly true, but the name Thundering Legion being given in tribute to the soldiers is uncertain. I'm not debating the origin of the name, I'm simply telling the story of a group of a couple of groups of Christian soldiers who have been called the Thundering Legion.

Around 174 AD a Roman army was surrounded by enemies and trapped without water. There was little hope for survival. A group of Christians among the soldiers began praying earnestly to God for help. God answered with rain to quench the thirst of the Romans and hailstones and lightning to kill their enemy. Whether they were part of the Thundering Legion or were named after the event, it was the same battalion that was to be martyred nearly 175 years later.

Around the time that Constantine declared Christianity to be legal, a governor named Licinius increased his persecution and declared that all soldiers must make an offering to the Roman gods. Forty men from the Thundering Legion refused.

After many attempts to persuade them, by threat and promise of reward, a man named Camdidus spoke, "You offer us money that remains behind and glory that fades away. You seek to make us friends of the Emperor, but alienate us from the true King. We desire one gift, the crown of righteousness. We are anxious for one glory, the glory of the heavenly kingdom. We love honors, those of heaven. You threaten fearful torments and call our godliness a crime, but you will not find us fainthearted or attached to this life or easily stricken with terror. For the love of God, we are prepared to endure any kind of torture."

After this, Licinius ordered that the men be stripped naked and placed in the middle of a frozen lake to suffer hypothermia and die slowly. For hours they stood and encouraged one another. After a time, one of the men succumb to the torture and ran to one of the warm places the governor had set up to tempt the men.

Seeing the one man abandon the group, a soldier who was set guard to watch the troop threw off his clothes and joined the men on the ice declaring "I am a Christian."

By morning all the forty were dead.

May we live such lives as those 39 that even facing death our lives bear testimony to Christ and some might be saved.

-joe

Info gathered from Jesus Freaks, Tactical Athlete, and The New York Times. Picture from Roman Officer Art.

tuesday martyr: missionaries to the aucas

Many of you know their story (or at least heard their names): Nate Saint, Jim Elliot, Ed McCully, Peter Fleming and Rojer Youderian.

In the mid 1950's they attempted to reach out to the Auca indians of Ecuador and were killed by the tribe. You can buy the book Through Gates of Splendor here and the movie, made a few years ago, End of the Spear here.

Here, instead of the story of these men, I will give you a taste of their passion for Christ and the unreached people of the world. (Taken from Through Gates of Splendor.)

Jim Elliot wrote

"'He makes His ministers a flame of fire.' Am I ignitable? God deliver me from the dread asbestos of 'other things.' Saturate me with the oil of the Spirit that I may be a flame. But flame is transient, often short-lived. Canst thou bear this, my soul--short life? In me there dwells the Spirit of the Great Short-Lived, whose zeal for God's house consumed Him. 'Make me Thy Fuel, Flame of God'"

From Pete Fleming:

"I am longing now to reach the Aucas if God gives me the honor of proclaiming the Name among them...I would gladly give my life for that tribe if only to see an assembly of those proud, clever, smart people gathering around a table to honor the Son--gladly, gladly, gladly! What more could be given to a life?"

And (thanks to Adrian Warnock) a challenging quote to put your faith into practice from D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones:

". . . The secret of the early Christians, the early Protestants, Puritans and Methodists was that they were taught about the love of Christ, and they became filled with a knowledge of it. Once a man has the love of Christ in his heart you need not train him to witness; he will do it. He will know the power, the constraint, the motive; everything is already there. It is a plain lie to suggest that people who regard this knowledge of the love of Christ as the supreme thing are useless, unhealthy mystics. The servants of God who have most adorned the life and the history of the Christian Church have always been men who have realized that this is the most important thing of all, and they have spent hours in prayer seeking His face and enjoying His love. The man who knows the love of Christ in his heart can do more in one hour than the busy type of man can do in a century. God forbid that we should ever make of activity an end in itself. Let us realize that the motive must come first, and that the motive must ever be the love of Christ."

May we all be filled with the holy zeal of evangelism because we are so enraptured with Christ and His call on our lives that we cannot help but comply.

-joe

tuesday martyr: nicolas ridley

Nicolas Ridley was a reformer in England and was considered to be among the most learned and well-taught of the group. He, for a long period, considered transubstantiation to be a viable teaching, but later in life after more careful study of both Scripture and the ancient fathers of the faith concluded it to be false. After this, he spent much time, along with Thomas Cranmer, teaching the people of England about the false nature of the doctrine.

I found this line of his short biography most challenging for myself (I am one to put forth radical change with short bursts of teaching rather than a long-haul approach.):

"But this opinion of the real presence having been so generally received in England for three hundred years [referring to transubstantiation], these eminent reformers went to work with great caution, and by gradually proceeding in their public discussions, afforded time for the people to consider the subject more leisurely, and of course more effectually."

All accounts of Ridley show him to be a kind, gentle and noble man who took care to correct false doctrines in a loving manner. He was not the brute force of Luther, but he (along with Cranmer) convinced the Church of England that the body and blood of Christ was not contained in the sacraments. The bishops of the Church then drew up a 5-point document to show this to be the case.

After the death of King Edward, the terrible Queen Mary came to power. She quickly stole back all that the reformers had worked for and had many of them put to death. Ridley was among the first, supposed to be an example in order to stamp out the reformer movement. He died along with another man, Latimer, and the protestant movement grew immensely under her persecution.

May God grant us the patience to correct in order to properly build the church.

-joe

(Most of this was taken from A Puritan's Mind)

tuesday martyr: john frith

John Frith was one of the first in England to preach against the ideas of transubstantiation (that Jesus is physically in the Lord's supper) and purgatory. He wrote a few books on the subjects and argued that neither were found in the Scriptures or among the early church fathers and that the monks of later years added them so that they could gain power of the people.

He wrote against a man named Thomas More and quickly found himself in trouble. He had, before this, been under surveillance for some time, but his writings against More caused the roman church to go after him with more diligence.

One of his supposed friends, William Holt, turned him over to More and Frith was taken to be tried and finally, burnt for his teachings. When the two archbishops came to take him, they wanted nothing more than to help him escape because they believed him to be a righteous man and knew that he would be killed for what he taught. Frith, however, said that it would do an injustice to God's truth to stand aside and not proclaim it before the council and the world, so he cheerfully went and was cheerful even in the flames of his fire. He called for the forgiveness of those who burned him and did not seem at all to be pained by the flames until he was finally consumed by them.

He died in 1533 and was a student of William Tyndale.

(Much of this was taken from a Puritan's Mind.

-joe

tuesday martyr: john hooper

In the wake of Zwingli, John Hooper came up and began making himself "obnoxious" in the eyes of the Queen and others.

He did, however, find some favor in the King who wished him to become bishop of Gloucester. The presiding bishop disagree and, at one point, imprisoned him for over a year for not wearing the proper clothing to be consecrated. Hooper finally decided to give over to the demands and wore what he claimed were "useless garments."

After the death of King Edward, things took a quick downturn because Queen Mary despised the reformed church and quickly had Hooper (and others) imprisoned. Hooper was held from 1553 to 1555, at which point he was burned at the stake.

During his time in prison he wrote 24 books and numerous short articles and treatises. At the time of his death he continued to pray and preach as he was being burned. The flames blew sideways much of the time, so he lived for nearly an hour amidst the flames and not once called out in pain, but continually shouted praises until his tongue became too swollen to talk.

It is these men that have continued to build on the foundation of the prophets and apostles...hopefully we'll continue to add to the gold and jewels of the building in our lifetime.

-joe

tuesday martyr: john huss

One hundred years before the 95 theses came a man from Bohemia, on whose shoulders stood Martin Luther. That man was John Huss.

Huss relied heavily on the teachings of John Wycliffe and for it, was imprisoned and finally burned at the stake.

He fought against the idea that the Pope is the final authority of the church and when asked to recant this idea, he demanded that he be shown from Scripture his error.

He was charged formally on 40 accounts (taken from his writings) and he responded to every one of those charges that he had indeed said them and still defended them...continually demanding to be shown from Scripture his errors in the matter.

At one point he was urged by King Wenceslas (nope, not the one the song is about, though he was from Bohemia as well) and another duke to recant and to stop his arrogance of going against the entire council (for at the time there were 3 popes...that's right...3) Huss responded that if even the weakest of the men of the council were to show him his error that he would immediately withdraw whatever statement was in error and recant of his sin...and yet none were able to do so.

Since it was against the papal law to have a defense if you were being tried as a heretic, Huss was condemned without ever having stood trial. His charges were read aloud and he had the opportunity to recant, but not the opportunity to defend.

Just before his execution he was reported to have said, (quoted from CCEL copy of Foxe's book of Martyrs):

"You are now going to burn a goose, (Huss signifying goose in the Bohemian language:) but in a century you will have a swan which you can neither roast nor boil." If he were prophetic, he must have meant Martin Luther, who shone about a hundred years after, and who had a swan for his arms.

tuesday martyr: davou bulle

On December 29, 2004, Davou Bulle was fatally shot and killed in Nigeria. His son, Gyan, in an attempt to protect his father, took 14 bullets and, thankfully, lived.

Davou's wife, Mary, was also shot and survived.

You can read more about Davou, here and here.

Be sure to be in prayer for those around the world who are persecuted daily for their faith in Christ. If you'd like to get involved, visit Voice of the Martyrs.

-joe

tuesday martyr: modern martyrs in turkey

Last year, three men: Tilman Geske, Necati Aydin and Ugur Yuksel gave their lives as witnesses to the grace of God in Malatya, Turkey. They were holding a Bible study for several men who were interested in hearing the Gospel.

These "interested" men, however, came to the study with guns, knives, ropes and towels after preparing themselves for a slaughter. They were members of an elite group in Turkey called tarakit.

Shortly after the Bible study began the three men listed above had their throats slit and died. It took police force to get into the room where the attack happened.

The families of the martyrs plead for forgiveness, citing Jesus' (and Steven's) words, "Father forgive them, for they know not what they do."

What a powerful testimony in the face often violent outbreaks against Christians in Turkey. Pray for the churches and believers over there, that they might be strong and courageous in the faith and that their testimony would be used as a means to bring many to salvation.

For a much more in-depth story on these men, go here.

-joe

tuesday martyr

This account of the start of the Moravian mission movement is found here.

I first heard of these men in the sermon 10 shekels and a shirt by Paris Reidhead. I am certain that you will likely never forget these men.

Nicolaus Ludwig Von Zinzendorf is known for the famous life-motto he chose as a young boy: "I have one passion; it is Jesus, Jesus only."

He was (born in 1700), and became the leader of The Moravian Christians-a Christian community that is best known for its unparalleled missionary zeal. In 1727, the Moravians began a prayer program called, "Hourly Intercession" in which people committed to pray for an hour in each of the 24 hours in a day. This prayer effort lasted unbroken for a hundred years. After 65 years of prayer (by 1792), the little church had sent out 300 missionaries to unreached people groups all over the world. The Moravians, designed their own logo to glorify God. It was an emblem composed of a lamb on a blood-red ground, with the resurrection cross and a banner of triumph. It had this motto; "Our Lamb has conquered, let us follow Him."

Early in Nicolaus's life, the painting of Christ (by Domenico Feti), titled "Behold the Man." changed his life. It portrays Jesus with the crown of thorns pushed into his head; blood running down his head; and a cut and bruised body. He's looking outward, as if looking at whoever is gazing into the painting. Beneath the portrait are the words; "I have done this for you; what have you done for me?" Viewing that painting Nicolaus said to himself; "I have loved Him for a long time, but I have never actually done anything for Him. From now on I will do whatever He leads me to do." For the rest of his life, those words reverberated in his zeal to follow Christ.

From the Moravian movement came two young men (the first Moravian missionaries), who heard of an island in the West Indies where an atheist slave owner had over 2000 slaves. The owner declared that no preacher would be allowed to stay on the island, or come and talk about God. Leonard Dober, a potter, and David Nitschman, a carpenter, both in their early twenties, had heard about the island; the slaves, and what the slave owner had said. So, they came up with a self-sacrificial plan to take the gospel to that island. They sold themselves as slaves to the atheist. On October 8, 1732, Moravians came to the pier in Hamburg to say goodbye to the two men. This was a permanent goodbye because Leonard and David had sold themselves into lifetime slavery to share the gospel of Christ. Families were on shore weeping because they knew they would never see the two again. This was the scene as they were drifting off and one of the missionaries raised his hand and shouted across the water the last words that were heard from the two men--words that have resounded throughout history, and on into the heavens: "May the Lamb that was slain receive the reward of His suffering."

Those words became the rallying call for the Moravians where 20 out of the first 29 missionaries to follow Leonard and David, died in the first few years. "May the Lamb that was slain receive the reward of His suffering."

Amen,

-joe

tuesday martyr (a day late)

I would have never thought that a modern day martyr would be found in a place like Mexico. I know that Mexico has quite a bit of corruption, but I did not think that Christians would be the point of some of that violence.

This is from Voice of the Martyrs:

On August 23, three Christians in Chiapas, Mexico, were brutally killed by their neighbor after he blamed them for his daughter’s stomach ailment. Antonio Gomez blamed his Christian neighbor, Pedro Gomez Diaz and his family, for his 11-year-old daughter's stomach ailment and accused the Christian family of practicing witchcraft, Compass Direct News reported.

Gomez and seven of his friends entered the Christian family’s home and attacked them with machetes. Pedro, his wife, Marcela, and their oldest son, Rene, were hacked to death. Six of the other Diaz children were seriously wounded. At last report, the eight men involved in the attack were being held in a jail, Compass Direct News added.

The Voice of the Martyrs actively supports persecuted Christians in Chiapas, Mexico, with literature and other resources following incidents of persecution. VOM encourages you to pray for their protection and courage during challenging times. Pray for the surviving Diaz family as they mourn their parents and oldest sibling. Ask God to give them comfort in knowing that Christ is victorious over death.

May God grant peace and courage to those who face persecution in Chiapas.

-joe

tuesday martyr (a day late)

I found this in a copy of Foxe's book of martyrs that I have and it took me awhile to find it elsewhere (it seems it is not in most modern editions of the book.)

I did find it in the Acts and Monuments of the Church. So, below is the story of Romanus. Within it is also the mention of a young boy and his mother. What courage for Christ is displayed. (It is a bit long...)

Pitiless Galerius, with his grand captain Asclepiades, violently invaded the city of Antioch, in tending by force of arms to drive all Christians to renounce utterly their pure religion. The Christians, as God would, were at that time ongregated together, to whom Romanus hastily ran, declaring that the wolves were at hand which would devour the Christian flock; but fear not, said he, neither let this imminent peril disturb you, my brethren. Brought was it to pass, by the great grace of God working in Romanus, that old men and matrons, fathers and mothers, young men and maidens, were all of one will and mind, most ready to shed their blood in defence of their Christian profession. Word was brought unto the captain, that the band of armed soldiers was not able to wrest the staff of faith out of the hand of the armed congregation, and all by reason that one Romanus so mightily did encourage them, that they stick not to offer their naked throats, wishing gloriously to die for the name of their Christ. Seek out that rebel, (quoth the captain,) and bring him to me, that he may answer for the whole sect. Apprehended he was, and, bound as a sheep appointed to the slaughterhouse, was presented to the emperor, who with wrathful countenance beholding him, said, What! art thou the author of this sedition? Art thou the cause why so many shall lose their lives? By the gods I swear thou shalt smart for it, and first in thy flesh shalt thou suffer the pains whereunto thou hast encouraged the hearts of thy fellows. Romanus answered, Thy sentence, O emperor, I joyfully embrace; I refuse not to be sacrificed for my brethren, and that by as cruel means as thou mayest invent; and whereas thy soldiers were repelled from the Christian congregation, that so happened, because it lay not in idolaters and worshippers of devils to enter into the holy house of God, and to pollute the place of true prayer. Then Asclepiades, wholly inflamed with this stout answer, commanded him to be trussed up, and his bowels drawn out. The executioners themselves, more pitiful in heart than the captain, said, Not so, sir; this man is of noble parentage, unlawful it is to put a nobleman to so unnoble a death. Scourge him then with whips (quoth the captain) with pieces of lead at the ends. Instead of tears, sighs, and groans, Romanus sung psalms all the time of his whipping, requiring them not to favour him for nobility's sake; Not the blood of my progenitors, (saith he,) but Christian profession, maketh me noble. Then with great power of spirit he inveighed against the captain, laughing to scorn the false gods of the heathen, with the idolatrous worshipping of them, affirming the God of the Christians to be the true God that created heaven and earth, before whose judicial seat all nations shall appear. But the wholesome words of the martyr were as oil to the fire of the captain's fury. The more the martyr spake, the madder was he, insomuch that he commanded the martyr's sides to be lanced with knives, until the bones appeared white again. Sorry am I, O captain, (quoth the martyr,) not for that my flesh shall be thus cut and mangled, but for thy cause am I sorrowful, who, being corrupted with damnable errors, seducest others. The second time he preached at large the living God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, his well-beloved Son, eternal life through faith in his blood, expressing therewith the abomination of idolatry, with a vehement exhortation to worship and adore the living God. At these words Asclepiades commanded the tormentors to strike Romanus on the mouth, that his teeth being stricken out, his pronunciation at leastwise might be impaired. The commandment was obeyed, his face buffeted, his eyelids torn with their nails, his cheeks scotched with knives, the skin of his beard was plucked by little and little from the flesh; finally, his seemly face was wholly defaced. The meek martyr said, I thank thee, O captain, that thou hast opened unto me many mouths, whereby I may preach my Lord and Saviour Christ. Look how many wounds I have, so many mouths I have lauding and praising God. The captain, astonished with this singular constancy, commanded them to cease from the tortures. He threateneth cruel fire, he revileth the noble martyr, he blasphemeth God, saying, Thy crucified Christ is but a yesterday's God, the gods of the Gentiles are of most antiquity.

Here again Romanus, taking good occasion, made a long oration of the eternity of Christ, of his human nature, of the death and satisfaction of Christ for all mankind. Which done, he said, Give me a child, O captain, but seven years of age, which age is free from malice and other vices, wherewith riper age is commonly infected, and thou shalt hear what he will say His request was granted. A boy was called out of the multitude, and set before him. Tell me, my babe, (quoth the martyr,) whether thou think it reason that we worship one Christ, and in Christ one Father, or else that we worship infinite gods? Unto whom the babe answered, That certainly, whatsoever it be that men affirm to be God, must needs be one, which
with one, is one and the same; and inasmuch as this one is Christ, of necessity Christ must be the true God; for that there be many gods, we children cannot believe. The captain, hereat clean amazed, said, Thou young villain and traitor, where and of whom learnedst thou this lesson? Of my mother, (quoth the child,) with whose milk I sucked in this lesson, that I must believe in Christ. The mother was called, and she gladly appeared. The captain commanded the child to be horsed up and scourged. The pitiful beholders of this pitiless act could not temper themselves from tears; the joyful and glad mother alone stood by with dry cheeks; yea, she rebuked her sweet babe for craving a draught of cold water; she charged him to thirst after the cup that the infants of Bethlehem once drank of, forgetting their mothers' milk and paps; she willed him to remember little Isaac, who, beholding the sword wherewith, and the altar whereon, he should be sacrificed, willingly proffered his tender neck to the dint of his father's sword. Whilst this counsel was in giving, the butcherly torturer plucked the skin from the crown of his head, hair and all. The mother cried, Suffer, my child, anon thou shalt pass to Him that will adorn thy naked head with a crown of eternal glory. The mother counselleth, the child is counselled; the mother encourageth, the babe is encouraged, and received the stripes with smiling countenance. The captain, perceiving the child invincible, and himself vanquished, committeth the silly soul, the blessed babe, the child uncherished, to the stinking prison, commanding the torments of Romanus to be renewed and increased, as chief author of this evil.

Thus was Romanus brought forth again to new stripes, the punishments to be renewed and received upon his old sores, insomuch as the bare bones appeared, the flesh all torn away.

Yea, no longer could the tyrant forbear, but needs he must draw nearer to the sentence of death. Is it painful to thee (saith he) to tarry so long alive? A flaming fire, doubt thou not, shall be prepared for thee by and by, wherein thou and that boy, thy fellow of rebellion, shall be consumed into ashes. Romanus and the babe were led to the place of execution. As they laid hands on Romanus, he looked back, saying, I appeal from this thy tyranny, O judge unjust, unto the righteous throne of Christ, that upright Judge, not because I fear thy cruel torments and merciless handlings, but that thy judgments may be known to be cruel and bloody. Now when they welcome to the place, the tormentor required the child of the mother, for she had taken it up in her arms; and she, only kissing it, delivered the babe; Farewell, she said, my sweet child. And as the hangman applied his sword to the babe's neck, she sang on this manner:

All laud and praise with heart and voice,
O Lord, we yield to thee,
To whom the death of all thy saints
We know most dear to be.

The innocent's head being cut off, the mother wrapped it up in her garment, and laid it to her breast. On the other side a mighty fire was made, whereinto Romanus was cast, who said that he should not burn; wherewith a great storm arose (if it be true) and quenched the fire. The captain gave in commandment that his tongue should be cut out. Out was it plucked by the hard roots and cut off: nevertheless he spake, saying, He that speaketh Christ shall never want a tongue; think not that the voice that uttereth Christ hath need of the tongue to be the minister. The captain at this, half out of his wits, bare in hand that the hangman deceived the sight of the people by some subtle sleight and crafty conveyance. Not so, (quoth the hangman,) if you suspect my deed, open his mouth, and diligently search the roots of his tongue. The captain at length, being confounded with the fortitude and courage of the martyr, straitly commandeth him to be brought back into the prison, and there to be strangled; where, his sorrowful life and pains being ended, he now enjoyeth quiet rest in the Lord, with perpetual hope of his miserable body to be restored
again with his soul into a better life, where no tyrant shall have any power.

-joe

tuesday martyr

This week I thought I'd give you a glimpse into what is going on in India. Below is a brief outline of the martyrdom of 3 Christian men in India several years ago. You can find a more detailed story here.
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Graham Staines and his two sons traveled deep into a very remote part of India in January of 1999 to proclaim the Gospel and to help with medical and other physical needs of the village.

As they were sleeping in their vehicle one night a mob of about 100 gathered around their jeep and soaked it in gasoline. They lit it on fire and danced around the 3 men who were burnt alive. His sons were 9 and 7.

They then held off authorities for more than an hour to make sure of their death.

Graham's wife and daughter were not with them when the act occurred and later his wife plead for clemency for the main man incarcerated for the murders.
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Here are some links to other stories of murder and violence against Christians in recent months:
The Christianity Today Blog
Persecuted Church Blog
Pyromaniacs Blog

May the God who keeps us let us live and die for His glory and for the spread of the good news of Jesus Christ.

-joe

tuesday martyr

From now on, Tuesdays will be dedicated to the story of a martyr for Christ. Below is the short synopsis of Ignatius found in Foxe's Book of Martyrs.

In this persecution suffered the blessed martyr, Ignatius, who is held in famous reverence among very many. This Ignatius was appointed to the bishopric of Antioch next after Peter in succession. Some do say, that he, being sent from Syria to Rome, because he professed Christ, was given to the wild beasts to be devoured. It is also said of him, that when he passed through Asia, being under the most strict custody of his keepers, he strengthened and confirmed the churches through all the cities as he went, both with his exhortations and preaching of the Word of God. Accordingly, having come to Smyrna, he wrote to the Church at Rome, exhorting them not to use means for his deliverance from martyrdom, lest they should deprive him of that which he most longed and hoped for. "Now I begin to be a disciple. I care for nothing, of visible or invisible things, so that I may but win Christ. Let fire and the cross, let the companies of wild beasts, let breaking of bones and tearing of limbs, let the grinding of the whole body, and all the malice of the devil, come upon me; be it so, only may I win Christ Jesus!" And even when he was sentenced to be thrown to the beasts, such as the burning desire that he had to suffer, that he spake, what time he heard the lions roaring, saying: "I am the wheat of Christ: I am going to be ground with the teeth of wild beasts, that I may be found pure bread."

For a more in-depth look at Ignatius try looking here, although I'd beware of the idea that he appeared in a vision (it could've happened, but still...a little leery.)

-joe