Męczeństwo chrześcijan w wybranych fragmentach Apokalipsy św. Jana
Martyrdom of Christians in selected passages from the Apocalypse of St John

Summary/Abstract: The martyrs play a key role in the Apocalypse of St John. They affirm the primacy of God in the ecclesial community. Their clear attitude knows no compromise, therefore they are hated by Satan, the beast and the inhabitants of the earth. Their hatred takes concrete form in the way of inflicting brutal death on them. Martyrs live in the glory of heaven. The blood they shed is a cry for justice. God responds with judgment to the suffering they endured for His sake. This judgement is already taking place at the present time, in the form of misfortunes that fall on the inhabitants of the earth, that is, the enemies of God and Christians. Various types of disasters and cataclysms are a cry for their conversion. During the final judgement, the punishment of innocent blood will take its final form if all the earlier attempts inviting them to transform their lives are rejected. Martyrdom spreads throughout the whole history of salvation until the number of martyrs reaches its fullness. For the time of struggle and fight for the faith the Apocalypse has one essential message: “be faithful to the point of death, and I will give you the wreath [crown] of life” (2, 10). In this spirit, Eusebius of Caesarea wrote: “You must fear sin more than the sword. To gain life, you must love righteousness more than life. Keep the faith and the fear of God which we have kept in the midst of tribulation and battle, so that you do not lose it the time of peace” (The Eusebius Gallicanus, Sermon 55, 6).

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