The Bishop Who Knew the Eyewitness

In 155 AD, the Roman proconsul gave the elderly bishop Polycarp one final chance. "Swear by Caesar and I will release you," he demanded. "Revile Christ." The old man, now eighty-six years old, stood unmoved in the arena at Smyrna and replied, "How can I blaspheme my King who has saved me?" What gave Polycarp such unshakable certainty? He had sat at the feet of the Apostle John — the very John who had stood on the Mount of Transfiguration and witnessed the glory of Christ with his own eyes.…