Polycarp: Conquering Through Death

If you would, this morning, take your Bibles and turn to Revelation chapter 12. Revelation 12, you follow as I read verses 7 through 12. Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But he was defeated and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. And the great dragon was thrown down.

That ancient serpent who was called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world, he was thrown down to the earth and his angels were thrown down with him. And I heard a loud voice in heaven saying, Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come. For the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down who accuses them day and night before our God.

And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony. For they loved not their lives even unto death. Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them. But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath because he knows that his time is short. Let's pray. Father, now as we consider your word and a saint that went before us, we pray again that you would impress upon us this word.

You'd impress upon us this truth so that we might live for you even unto death in a way that honors you. Help us now to see the glories of Christ in Jesus name amen have you ever felt the pressure to remain silent about the Lord Jesus maybe all your co-workers and even your bosses ridicule you for your ignorant know-nothing ridiculous faith and a fictitious character but you do not remain silent they heap abuse on you and finally find a pretext to actually fire you are you a winner or a loser now imagine you stand before a judge who has the authority to sentence you to death and you're not in a courtroom this time with a few spectators you're in a stadium filled with a raging mass of people demanding your death. If you remain loyal to Jesus, you will die.

But if you renounce Him, you'll live. You'll go on with your life, enjoying food and drink, enjoying the spouse of your life, enjoying your children, and enjoying working at a fulfilling job. Which is the path to defeat? And which is the path to victory? Well, I want you to, I want to draw your attention today to Revelation chapter 12, verse 11. The Bible's not silent on that question.

And I want to turn your attention to this one verse this morning. chapter 12 verse 11 and they have conquered him that is satan by the blood of the lamb and by the word of their testimony for they loved not their lives even unto death i want you to consider the conquerors this morning remember that the apostle john writes to seven churches and to us about the world in which we live, a world that tries to turn us away from Christ through seduction and suffering. Some will lose their lives for Jesus in the suffering of persecution. And soon after these words, believers will die because they refuse to confess that Caesar is Lord.

They refuse to renounce their faith. They look like they've been vanquished, that they are losers in the contest of faith. You stay true to your faith and what happens? You lose all your possessions, confiscated at your death, leaving your family destitute and alone. You will no longer spend your days and your months and your years with the one person that is the love of your life.

You will have to say goodbye to your children, God's gifts to you of great joy and delight, if you remain faithful to Jesus. All because you refuse to take a pinch of incense, throw it in the fire, and say three simple words, Caesar is Lord. All because you remain loyal to an obscure preacher who actually was condemned as a criminal and died a criminal's death on the cross.

You lose all that is treasured and valuable in life. You are conquered. You are losers. You are vanquished. But this book was written to give you heaven's perspective on your suffering. And God says you are not the vanquished.

You are not the losers. Rather, you are the victors. You are the conquerors In reality the text tells us by your faithful death you will conquer our great adversary Satan Now Satan stands behind and energizes the instruments that seek your destruction God has told us that we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. he stood behind the Roman Empire in its desire in its attempts to eradicate and eliminate the Christian faith he stands behind the oppressive regimes like that of North Korea and Iran who seek to eradicate the name of Christ he stands behind the forces even in our own country who seek to undo the efforts we have made for Christ he seeks to conquer and eliminate.

But, he says, you conquer your rival by the blood of the Lamb. By his death, Jesus has released us from the guilt of our sin. And we beat the devil by trusting in the death of Jesus. You can say to the accuser, Satan, yes, your accusations are true. I am guilty and I deserve death. but then you turn to your Savior and you say, Lord Jesus, the death you died frees me from the death I deserve.

I rest in you. Then you turn again to Satan and say, you have no grounds to accuse me any further. Leave. By his death, Jesus has transferred you from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light where Satan can no longer rule and tyrannize you. He says you conquer Satan by your testimony. We overcome not by taking the sword, not by wielding political power, but by bearing witness to the gospel.

We vanquish the devil by witnessing to the gospel, whether it's in these massive campaigns or even in a little house church. Whatever it is, as we witness to the gospel, we conquer Satan. You conquer Satan by the simple willingness to die. There are things worse than death. Shame, dishonor, disobedience, faithlessness. I think about the fact that even at my advanced age, there's still time for me to sin in such a way that it destroys everything I've ever said or done.

If we die at the hands of those who persecute us, we gain the victory because death has been defeated in the death and the resurrection of Jesus. And he has promised us that what happened to him will happen with us. Someone has said, the world should be left saying, you can't beat that crowd. What are we going to do? Kill them? Now I want you to consider this particular conqueror.

His name is Polycarp. This verse, Revelation 12 verse 11, anticipates the real deaths of real people who will conquer Satan by their deaths. As did Polycarp. now Polycarp was the bishop or if you will the chief elder of the church in Smyrna Smyrna was a city on the western coast of the province of Asia which we now call Turkey you recognize the name because one of the seven letters addressed to churches is found in this book Smyrna if you look at Revelation chapter 2, here's what God said, here's what the Lord Jesus said to the church in Smyrna.

And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write the words of the first and the last who died and came to life. I know your tribulation and your poverty, but you are rich. And the slander of those who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. Do not fear what you are about to suffer behold the devil is about to throw some of you into prison that you may be tested and for 10 days you will have tribulation be faithful unto death and i will give you the crown of life he who has an ear let him hear what the spirit says to the churches the one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death how interesting to read this knowing that one of the leaders of that very church was going to give his life for the testimony of Jesus.

It's believed that Polycarp was a disciple of the Apostle John himself and spent 20 years of friendship with that Apostle. Polycarp was born about the year 69 AD, the year before the temple was destroyed in Jerusalem and he died in 155 AD at the age of 86. At one point in his pastoral ministry he wrote the Philippian church. He wrote the church in Philippi because they'd asked him some questions and he wrote to them to encourage them to give them some advice on pastoral matters and to warn them against some malicious doctrines that were coming that were rising in that time.

But he is best known he is best known for refusing to renounce his faith in the Lord Jesus and losing his life on that account. He died at the hand of Statius Quadratus, pro-council of the province of Asia. We know about his death because a member of the church in Smyrna wrote an eyewitness account of all that happened related that story which was then circulated among a number of the congregations in that area in order to encourage them in their stand for Christ Now there was one called Germanicus, another member of the church in Smyrna who during a festival was brought before a crowd of spectators to be torn apart by the beasts. the pro-council had tried to encourage him to renounce his faith because he was so young why waste your life but Germanicus refused and seeing that this amazed the crowd of spectators cried out down with the I'm sorry the crowd screamed down with the atheists.

Now you have to understand something here. Christians were known as atheists. You say, what? They were known as atheists because they did not believe in the Roman gods. And therefore they were characterized as atheists. And so the crowd screams, down with the atheists, get Polycarp.

So Germanicus was killed and they went hunting for Polycarp. now Polycarp hearing of this refused to leave the city until some people persuaded him to leave of course this is what Jesus had said he says in Matthew chapter 10 if they persecute you in one town flee to the next and so he left town he withdrew to a farm not too far from the city staying with some of his companions and devoting himself to prayer for the churches The search continued, and so he left for another farmhouse. Not finding him in the first place, they found two slaves, one of them who betrayed Polycarp under torture, and soon the pursuers arrived at the second house that evening. They found him lying down in the upper room of a cottage.

He could have escaped, but he refused, saying, God's will be done. when he heard that they had come he went down and spoke with them they were amazed at his age and his steadfastness and some of them said why did we go to so much trouble to capture a man like this immediately what did he do he called for food and drink and fed them and then he asked them would you please give me one hour for praying and the account says he was so full of the grace of God that he prayed for two hours. He prayed for two hours and then he went with his captors to the city. The men were astounded and many of them regretted coming to arrest such a godly and venerable old man.

He was brought into the city and there the chief of police who happened to be named Herod and his father Nesetes tried to persuade him to save himself. They said to him, why what harm is there in saying Caesar is Lord and offering incense and save yourself and when they persisted he replied I am not going to take your counsel and so he was taken to the stadium where the crowds heard that polycarp had been brought and our eyewitness account says there arose such a tumult that no man's voice could be heard. The witness says that Polycarp was walking into the stadium.

He heard a voice from heaven which said to him, Be strong, Polycarp, and play the man. He's brought before the procouncil who asked him whether he was Polycarp, and on hearing that he was, tried to persuade him to renounce Christ, saying, Have respect for your old age. swear by the fortune of Caesar repent and say down with the atheists well Polycarp responded that by waving at the crowd and saying down with the atheists swear said the procouncil reproach Christ and I will set you free and he said these memorable words 86 years have I served him and he has done me no wrong how can I blaspheme my king and my savior the conversation continued I have wild animals here the pro-council said I will throw you to them if you do not repent call them polycarp replied it is unthinkable for me to repent from what is good to turn to what is evil I will be glad though to be changed from evil to righteousness. Said the proconsul, If you despise the animals, I will have you burned.

And then these words, these are the words that stick out most to me when it comes to Polycarp. He says, he's standing there, and he says to the proconsul, Threaten me with fire which burns for an hour and is then extinguished. But you know nothing of the fire of the coming judgment and eternal punishment reserved for the ungodly. Why are you waiting? Bring on whatever you want.

Can you imagine saying that to someone as the power of life and death over you? It is said that Polycarp's countenance was filled with grace for nothing that was threatened caused any dismay. Procouncil is astounded And so he sent his herald out to the crowds to proclaim three times Polycarp has confessed himself to be a Christian. And when the spectators heard that they flew into a rage demanding his death And so the wood was prepared And when they went to fix him to the stake with nails he said Leave me as I am for he that gives me strength to endure the fire will enable me not to struggle without the help of your nails So they bound him with his hands behind him like a distinguished ram chosen from a great flock for sacrifice. and then he prayed O Lord God Almighty I give you thanks that you count me worthy to be numbered among your martyrs sharing the cup of Christ and the resurrection to eternal life both of soul and body through the immortality of the Holy Spirit may I be received this day as an acceptable sacrifice I praise you for all these things I praise you and glorify you along with the everlasting Jesus Christ, your beloved Son, to you with him through the great Holy Spirit be glory both now and forever.

Amen. So it is said they lit the fire. Now here, you know, we're caught between a rock and a hard place because the account says the fire didn't touch him. The fire just didn't touch him. Nevertheless, whether that's true or not, the fire did not kill him and so the executioner was given the authority to stab him to death. After that the authorities refused to give his body to the believers in Smyrna but burned it instead.

And the unknown writer of this account concludes with these words. This is the story of the blessed Polycarp, the twelfth martyr in Smyrna. though he has a unique place in the memory of all people being remembered even by all the heathen he was not merely an illustrious teacher but also a preeminent martyr whose death all desire to imitate being altogether consistent with the gospel of Christ having overcome the unjust governor with patience and acquired the crown of immortality he now with the apostles and all the righteous glorifies God the Father with joy and blesses our Lord Jesus Christ, the Savior of our souls, the ruler of our bodies, and the shepherd of the church throughout the world. Now, if I was sitting here and that for the first time, I would ask this question.

He overcame the unjust governor? He overcame him? He lost his life. He overcame the unjust governor? And he goes on to say that we should imitate him. Imitate him.

Imitate someone who by all perspectives looked like the vanquished, not the victor. Well, because Polycarp is one who conquered Satan by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of his testimony, because he loved not his life. That's what the Bible says. I want you to consider the victories of the conquerors and the defeat of Satan how does this conquer Satan? that's the question I ask how does this conquer Satan? can I give you a few suggestions this morning a few, if you will, victories of conquerors you see first of all the victory of faith the victory of faith God says in Hebrews 11, faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

Polycarp had never seen glory. Polycarp had never seen Jesus. But he was convinced that on that day he would be in heaven rejoicing with and seeing Jesus. and he was convinced that the pro-council would face judgment although he had not seen that either I am always taken by these words you threaten me with fire which burns for an hour and is then extinguished but you know nothing of the fire of the coming judgment and eternal punishment reserved for the ungodly why are you waiting? bring on whatever you want he believed that there was a judgment coming he believed in the justice of God it reminds me of how the apostle Paul encouraged the Thessalonians when they were facing persecution and I want you to think about this for a moment because this is this is something that that we kind of shy away from today but here's what the apostle Paul said to encourage the Thessalonians God is just This is 2 Thessalonians chapter 1.

God is just. He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you and give relief to you who are troubled and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with His powerful angels. He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His might on the day He comes to be glorified in His holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed.

This includes you, because you believed our testimony to you. You see that? What are some of the promises we can hang on to? What can we believe? We can believe that God is just, and even though it seems like injustice is going to conquer, It says, God is just. And for his people, they can count on the fact that God will trouble those who trouble you.

Satan was defeated by the faith of this man. Victory of faith. Someone did not renounce the Lord Jesus. Why? Because he believed what God had said. What he believed about what God had said would come that he had never seen.

That belief was as strong as the reality in which he lived. His faith was that way. This is the victory of faith. You also see the victory of love. How is it that Polycarp stood firm against the rage of the mob and the power of that procouncil? Because he was convinced that Jesus loved him.

His words again, 86 years I have served him and he has done me no wrong. How can I blaspheme my King and my Savior? He was absolutely convinced that Jesus loved him. Jesus loved him and there was no way he could turn his back on the one who loved him Satan was defeated that day and will always face defeat when you are convinced of the love of Christ for you Jesus loves you so that you do not love your life even to death and then one more I would say you see the victory of example satan is defeated by the victory of faith he's defeated by the victory of love he's defeated by the victory of example now i've always loved these words i used i used to think these words from the apostle paul in first corinthians chapter four i used to think boy that sure sounds proud but it can't be because the holy spirit put it there but what we have to understand is Paul is using the language of discipleship You know what discipleship is It show and tell It not just learning it seeing it in action And the Apostle Paul wrote this in 1 Corinthians 4 I am writing this not to shame you, but to warn you as my dear children.

Even if you had 10,000 guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers. For in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel. Therefore, I urge you to imitate me. For this reason I've sent to you Timothy, my son, whom I love, who is faithful in the Lord. He will remind you of my way of life in Christ Jesus, which agrees with what I teach everywhere in every church.

The Apostle Paul was showing what obedience looked like. He says, my life agrees with what I teach. And in discipleship, there's show and tell. There is, here are the commands of God, here's what they look like in everyday life, right? Here's what Jesus says we ought to do. What does that look like?

Look at my life. Here are ways that I've obeyed that command. Jesus commands us to hold fast, that we must not renounce him. in Polycarp we see what that looks like we see how that is done this is how it's done we see his faith we see his experience of Christ's love we can say that is what endurance and loyalty looks like and in Polycarp we can see what that looks like and say we can do this.

He did it, we can do it. You see, the example, and you know what, because of his example, innumerable Christians have faced persecution boldly Satan will always face defeat when God people see and follow the example of believers who have gone before them Of course, all of this is possible for us because of the death of the Lord Jesus. Jesus was humiliated and crucified on the cross. and it looked it looked like Satan had won the battle did it not? the only man who is perfect in every way is condemned as a criminal and nailed on a cross the worst death possible because that's the way you deal with criminals it looked like he lost the day but you know what?

At that point, at the point of his greatest disgrace, Satan was cast down. Satan was cast down. He won the victory at the point of his greatest humiliation. Now let me say something to some of you who have heard this, and you see how Polycarp was one who believed in and trusted in God through Jesus. Maybe you've never done that. Maybe you've never done that.

Can I say this to you? Please hear me. I want to say it as graciously as I can. When death overtakes you, you will be the loser. For then you will face the judgment of God. There would be no hope left.

You see? only in believing you can have all the great things of this life you can have what everything would qualify you as a winner but if you die without Christ you will be the loser None of that will count for anything before the judgment seat of God. The only escape is through believing in the one who was humiliated, who didn't have all those things. And by believing in him, you're reconciled to this God so that you will never face that judgment.

Christian, always remember this. You will look like a loser to the world. You will look like a victim of Satan's intrigues. But you will have defeated the prince of darkness as you vanquish him by the blood of the Lord Jesus, by the word of your testimony, and because you don't love life that much. may God help us to be that kind you know what I think unless God intervenes that things are going to get a little bit more difficult for us as Christians and this is the way we need to be we need to have the victors mentality and to realize that what the world calls the vanquished are actually the victors Father, thank you for your word.

And we are thankful for those who have gone before us, who have taught us what your word means, not merely by their writings, but by their lives. So God, help us to be the kind of believers who will stand boldly for Jesus. Thank you for your word to us today. Thank you for the example of this man of ancient times. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.