D not fear what you are about to suffer… Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life… He who overcomes will not be hurt by the second death” (Rev. 2:10-11).

These words were spoken by Jesus especially for the believers in the city of Smyrna. A man named Polycarp was the leader of the church there. As a young man, Polycarp had talked with the Apostle John and others who had seen Jesus.

When the believers in Smyrna received their copy of John’s Revelation, they treasured the words written specially for them, and repeated them often. As the years passed, it became more and more clear just what those words meant. The Romans, who ruled Smyrna, began to insist that everyone say, “Caesar is Lord,” and offer incense to the Roman gods. When Christians refused, they were sometimes put in a big arena with wild, hungry animals, before crowds of bloodthirsty people.

One day, around 155 AD., when Polycarp was an old man, the crowds at the arena began chanting, “We want Polycarp!” They had just seen a young Christian killed, hut they wanted the well-known leader of the church. Soldiers were sent to bring him. When he arrived, the officer in charge told Polycarp to revile Christ, and he would be free. But Polycarp replied, “For 86 years I have served my King who has saved me, and He has done me no wrong. How do you think I can blaspheme Him?”

The crowd shouted that they wanted Polycarp burned alive, and hundreds of onlookers began gathering wood for the fire. After Polycarp had been tied in place, he looked up to heaven and said, “I give You thanks that You have counted me worthy of this day and hour…I praise You, I bless You, I glorify You through Jesus Christ.” Then the fire was lit. Polycarp was “faithful until death,” and we can be sure that his King gave him the crown of life, just as He had promised.