The Bishop Who Knew the Alpha and Omega

In 155 AD, the Roman proconsul in Smyrna — one of the very churches John addressed in Revelation — dragged an elderly bishop named Polycarp into the arena. The crowd roared for blood. The proconsul offered a simple bargain: curse Christ, and walk free. Polycarp had been a disciple of the Apostle John himself. He had likely heard Revelation read aloud in that very city, heard those words about the One "who is, and who was, and who is to come."…