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 ...