The Martyrs of Jesus
By Jim Hopkins
Witness (Gr. MARTUS) is a word that has also been translated martyr in three verses. It is found in the following places:
Acts 22:20 And when the blood of thy MARTYR Stephen was shed, I also was standing by, and consenting unto his death, and kept the raiment of them that slew him. (KJV)
Rev. 2:13 I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satan’s seat is: and thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful MARTYR, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth.
Rev. 17:6 And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the MARTYRS of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration.
The dictionary definition of martyr is: 1a) any of those persons who choose to suffer or die rather than give up their faith or principles 1b) any person tortured or killed because of his or her beliefs 2) a person who suffers great pain or misery for a long time 3) a person who assumes an attitude of self-sacrifice or suffering in order to arouse felling of pity, guilt, etc. in others.
Vine’s Expository Dictionary gives: “Martyr: see Witness.” Under Witness he gives: MARTUS or MARTUR (whence Eng., martyr, one who bears witness by his death) denotes one who can or does aver what he has seen or heard or know; Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon under MARTUS gives: (Aeolic MARTUR, a form not found in the N.T…. a WITNESS (one who avers, or can aver, what he himself has seen or heard or knows by any other means); a. in a legal sense: Mt.18:16; Mt.26:65; Mk.14:63; Ac.6:13; 7:58; 2Co.13:1; 1Ti.5:19; Heb.10:28. b. in a historic sense: Ac.10:41; 1Ti.6:12; [2Ti.2:2]; one who is a spectator of anything, i.e., a contest, Heb.12:1; w. a gen. of the obj., Lk.24:28; Ac.1:22; 2:32; 3:15; 5:32; G L T Tr WH; 10:39; 26:16; 1Pe.5:1; w. a gen. of the possessor ‘one who testifies for one’, Acts 1:8 L T Tr WH; 13:31; w. a gen. of the possessor and of the obj., Ac.5:32 Rec.; MARTURA EINAI TINI, to be a witness for one, serve him by testimony, Ac.1:8 R G; 22;15; [Lk.11:48 T Tr WH]. He is said to be a witness, to whose attestation appeal is made; hence the formulas MARTUS MOU ESTIN O THEOS Rom.1:9; Phil.1:8; THEOS MARTUS, 1Th.2:5; MARTURA THEON EPIKALOUMAI, 2Co.1:23; HUMEIS MARTURES K. O THEOS, 1Th.2:10; the faithful interpreters of God’s counsels are called GOD’S WITNESSES; Rev.11:3; Christ is reckoned among them, Rev.1:5; 3:14. c. in an ethical sense: those are called MARTURES ‘JESOU who after his example have proved the strength and genuineness of their faith in Christ by undergoing a violent death [cf B. D. Am. ed. and Dict. of Chris. Antiq. s. v. Martyr]: Ac.22:20; Rev.2:13; 17:6.*
A. Definitions given by the New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology for the words, “Witness, Testimony”:
1. “In classical use the noun martyria means making an active appearance and statements as a witness (martys). Also found are the nouns martyrion for the evidence, the proof… and martys for the witness himself.
2. “In OT use martyrion has a sense which accords with its later usage in classical Greek, namely, that of the piece of evidence which calls to mind a particular event, or of the deeds. The thought of suffering involved in bearing witness to one’s faith even to the point of death and the high esteem paid to martyrdom were widespread in Judaism. Nevertheless, one must still note that terms like martys, martyria or martyreo and even martyrion were manifestly never used for such heroes of faith. In his detailed and careful analysis, N. Brox has demonstrated conclusively that “the Old Testament and later Judaism are excluded as the place of origin of the title of “martyr”, as it developed in the early history of Christianity, and also that no real equivalence between martyrs and prophets…can be found” (Zeuge und Martyrer, 1961, 172).
3. “In the NT the legal use of the word, common to classical Greek and the LXX, dominates the few examples in the Synoptics, of which, as well as the instances of katamartyreo already mentioned, the 4 occurrences of martyria and the 2 passages with martys also occur in the account of the trial of Jesus, and each time are related to the (false) evidence produced there. The quotations from Deut. 19:15 and 17:6 are to be understood in the same sense; similarly the mention of witnesses in the proceedings against Stephen.
a. “Paul’s use of the words is also closely linked to the LXX usage.
b. “Paul is probably the first to give the noun martyrion a new meaning and content, when he says in I Cor. 1:6: “Even as the testimony [martyrion] of Christ was confirmed among you.” It can no longer here be a matter of a document, or a piece of evidence or recollection giving encouragement or warning; the word is used in the sense of the gospel, the proclaimed message of salvation in Christ.
c. “In the Synoptic Gospels a further expansion of the conceptual area of witness over and above the legal usage can be recognized. While according to Mk 1:44, the sacrifice of the healed man is offered eis martyrion, for a testimony, i.e., in recognition and as proof that the healing had taken place (according to Moses’ regulations), the same formulation in Mt. 10:18 (the sending out of the twelve) – the arrest and the trial of the disciples would be eis martyrion’ to the Jews and Gentiles – can scarcely be understood only in the sense of an accusation. It can include the point that such tribunals would provide opportunities for testifying to Christ in public. Tangible evidence for the prosecution (for a place in God’s judgment) is provided by the dust which the rejected messengers of Jesus are to shake from their feet and to leave behind.
d. “A new aspect of the concept of being a witness is revealed by Luke in Acts. …martyresai occurs for the first time in Acts 23:11 without an object, meaning “to bear witness” in the sense of proclaiming Christ. Paul is to continue in Rome to bear witness to his Lord. This corresponds exactly with the meaning of martyrion in Acts 4:33 (“with great power the apostles gave their testimony”) and takes up that conception of martys, witness, which is found for the first time in Lk 24:48. It is repeated almost immediately in Acts 1:8 in the commission by Jesus with the proclamation of the message of the kingdom, who are witnesses. They are more precisely defined in Acts 1:22 as witnesses of the resurrection of Jesus and of his deeds. Thus Luke is no longer using the word witness for witnesses of facts, but specifically for the witnesses of the risen Lord, who by this very qualification are authorized and legitimated as his witnesses among the nations. From this two things become clear: first, that their way, the way of a witness, is a way of rejection, suffering, and possibly also of death; second, that it is distinguished not by the later understanding of martyrdom, i.e., of one who bears witness to the point of death, but by the full proclamation of the message of Christ.
e. “One may not cite the martyr’s death as the characteristic of witnesses, particularly as in Rev. 17:6 saints are mentioned with the martyres’ as having been similarly put to death on account of their faith.”
Now, I quoted all that to show that Vine and Thayer concede that Martyr is not a form found in the NT yet acknowledge its use in 3 places without a concession statement. But the Theological Dictionary says “that one may not cite the martyr’s death as the characteristic of witnesses” and gives Rev. 17:6 as reason. For if the saints are put to death for their faith, why are they not called martyrs along with the martyrs of Jesus?
From this finding can we not conclude that the term MARTUS O JESOU really applies to the witnesses of Jesus who were sought out because of their testimony of having seen the resurrected Jesus? Paul mentions that Jesus appeared to more than 500 brethren at the same time, most of whom were still living, though some had fallen asleep. (1Co.15:6). So Stephen, Antipas, and those of Rev.17:6 were those who had seen Jesus after his resurrection and where known as the “witnesses of Jesus.” The existence of these witnesses also does something else; it gives credibility to the early date of the book of Revelation. The persecution that befell the witnesses was all about their having seen Jesus and they were still alive to tell it.
May the Lord bless you in your study of God’s Word.
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Date: 03 Nov 2007
Time: 16:49:41
Comments:
Greetings, this post will talk about a jewish custom called hatafat dam brit or brit milah which in english means the law of moses malachi 4:4!
my email is v.mikelash@fuse.net
Hello to all that read this memo. My name is Victor Michael Lashewitz and you can call me by my middle name Michael. I am a citizen of the United States of America the state of Ohio. I am a resident of a nursing home in Cincinnati, Ohio called Glen Care. How I arrived at these circumstances is not important or the direction, reason, and focus of this letter and its subject matter
I would like to mention in this memo first off that Jesus Christ return is soon for his church meaning in the next several years or so. I would like to announce to the world starting on Tuesday October 9, 2007 that what I call angels of the lord came to me while waking up from a dream around 7:45 am Eastern Standard Time and they told me we are more then messengers to tell the world that Christ Jesus return is soon for his church.. No I was not given the day or hour of the rapture. The spirit of truth just told me soon it will take place. this matter. Please do not judge me on this matter according to what the bible says because I still do not know the exact date of his return or the date of the rapture. The spirit of truth angel said to me will waking up from a dream soon these things shall take place. .
I would ask that all would read this letter in full content and understand its explicit message and not disregard it as spam or its messenger as spam artist. If you need help understanding this message and why it needs to be listened to and obeyed please feel free to e-mail me and ask as many questions as you feel is needed to understand the contents of this letter and its message that I give to others freely. If you know you are a saved Christian going up in the rapture you do not need to perform this ritual on yourself because God will deliver you from this curse through the blood and sacrifice of Yeshua Christ. This oath is meant to be done by your 31st birthday to enter the covenant of the priesthood of God but you can still do it after your 31st birthday but God just will not consider you a priest.
This letter will talk about a Jewish custom called Hatafat Dam Brit and why it is needed to be done on all males. Those that will be raptured do not need to do this ritual on themselves. I am not proclaiming any religion or Judaism as the way to God either. This procedure will not be a proclamation to anyone’s salvation either. .The spirit of truth will bless the males who do this procedure I might add. That is all I can say for now without further feedback from the Holy Spirit.
The Jewish custom called Hatafat Dam Brit and why it is needed to be done on all males is because it rids all males of this curse mentioned in Genesis 3:15 by God himself. I feel the contents of this letter should be heeded and obeyed nevertheless. You do not need to do what this letter says to be saved but I feel it would be wise for all to know and that all males do this procedure ritual custom whether Jewish or not. Brit Milah is Hebrew and in English means the law of Moses. Malachi 4:4 states: “remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded him” Daniel 9:11 mentions this oath and so does these verses in Hebrew 8:6-13;
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Subject – Jewish custom called Brit Milah – Hatafat Dam Brit.
Hatafat Dam Brit: When a child is born as if circumcised, or has been circumcised before the eighth day in a hospital, a ritual called hatafat dam Brit is required. This symbolic circumcision involves drawing a drop of blood from the shaft of the penis. A dye is used on the needle when doing this procedure. This procedure should also be done if not on the 8th day of life or by his 31st birthday. Jeremiah 4:4, Daniel 9:11, Genesis 3:15, the gospel of Philip, Hebrews 8 and 9 and the Damascus covenant talk about this ritual.
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Foot notes…
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1. You do not need to be Jewish to do this custom. You can do hatafat dam brit on yourself at any age and in private if need be also. The spirit of truth will bless you if the male does this hatafat dam brit on himself. You do not need to circumcise yourself if you are not circumcised already and you do not need to circumcise yourself again once circumcised the first time. None of the Jewish rituals and customs need to be observed or obeyed to do this procedure hatafat dam brit on yourself.
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2. Bible verses that justify this ritual.
Jeremiah 4:4, Genesis 3:15, and Daniel 9:11! Jeremiah 4:4 –”4: Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, and take away the foreskins of your heart, ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem: lest my fury come forth like fire, and burn that none can quench it, because of the evil (error) of your doings. “Genesis 3:15 – “15: And I will put enmity (Mastema) between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” Daniel 9:11 -“11: Yea, all Israel have transgressed thy law, even by departing, that they might not obey thy voice; therefore the curse is poured upon us, and the oath that is written in the law of Moses (brit Milah) the messenger of God, because we have sinned (insinuated) against him.”
If you do hatafat dam brit on yourself the spirit of enmity will depart from your presence mentioned in Genesis 3:15. Yes Christ will deliver the saved Christians but I believe all Christians should know this ritual just incase they are not raptured because their beliefs were tainted. Jeremiah 22:1Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! saith the LORD.
How I found out about this custom ritual is because I use a catheter to urinate. Well a would be trainee urologist inserted the tube to far into me the wrong way one day when I had a doctor’s appointment to see the urologist in December 2000 and I was bleeding out of my penis afterwards slowly. I used iodine a dye instead of hydrogen-peroxide to clean the wound when I got home because the wound was still bleeding when I arrived home that day then the arch-angel Michael appeared to me and rebuked the spirit of enmity from my presence. This procedure hurts like the dickens for a moment anyway. Well I am paralyzed so I did not feel the pain. I am considered a incomplete quadriplegic because I broke my neck in a car wreck in August 12, 1996 around noon time. I have since healed of that wound the piercing of my penis but not my broken neck with help from the Holy Spirit and a female angel. How I found out about all this stuff that talks about what enmity is and brit milah and hatafat dam brit is because ministering angels guided me in what to study since December of 2000.
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3. The shaft of the penis is the hole that urine come out of in males. When you prick the hole at the part where the hole meets the bladder this blood vessel leads directly to the heart and agrees with the verse in scripture Jeremiah 4:4, Daniel 9:11, and Genesis 3:15. Remember to use a dye on the needle or the procedure is a waste of time.
Excerpt from the gospel of Philip.
The Lord went into the dye works of Levi. He took seventy-two different colors and threw them into the vat. He took them out all white. And he said, “Even so has the Son of Man come as a dyer.
I believe the vat mentioned in the text gospel of Philip listed above might be considered the shaft of the male penis.
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4. This Jewish Document talks about this custom. This document is called the Damascus covenant and is found in ancient scrolls. This is an excerpt from that document,
19 Laws as to Oaths.
19 1 …(Shall not swe)ar either by Aleph Lamed or by Aleph Daleth, but by the oath (written) in the curses of the covenant. 2.But the Law of Moses he shall not mention, for…3 And if he swears and transgresses he profanes the Name. 4 And if by the curses of the covenant…the Judges. 5 And if he transgress he shall be held guilty but if he confess and make restitution he shall not bear (the penalty) of death. 6 And whosoever in all Israel shall enter into the covenant by a statute forever, together with their children who are (not of an age) to pass over into the number of those who are enrolled by the oath of the covenant, shall confirm it on their behalf. 7 And this is also the law throughout the entire period of the wickedness for every one who returns from his corrupt way. 8 On the day when he speaks with the Censor of the many they shall enrol him by the oath of the covenant that Moses established with Israel-10 the covenant to re(turn to the Law of M)oses…with all (his) heart…(and with all his) soul: as regards that which there is found to be done by them… 10 And no man shall make known to him the laws until he stand before the Censor (who) shall search out concerning him when he examines him. 11 And when he imposes it upon him to return to the Law of Moses with all his heart and all his soul …of him if… 12 And every thing that was revealed of the Law with regard to a suit… in him…the Censor him and shall command him…until…killed him…and the madman and all…(loss of five lines) 13 covenant with you and with the whole of Israel. 14 Therefore the man shall impose it upon himself to return to the Law of Moses; for in it everything is accurately treated.
20 1 Reference to the Book of Jubilees.
20 1 And as for the exact statement of their periods to put Israel in remembrance in regard to all these, behold, it is treated accurately in the Book of the Divisions of the Seasons according to their Jubilees and their Weeks.
20 2-12. Laws as to Oaths and Vows.
2 And on the day on which the man imposes it upon himself to return to the law of Moses the angel of Mastema(ENMITY) will depart from him if he make good his word. 3 Therefore Abraham was circumcised on the day of his knowing it. 4 As to what he said, ‘That which is gone forth from thy lips thou shalt keep’ to make it good- 5 No binding oath, which a man imposes upon himself with a view to perform a commandment of the law, shall he cancel even at the risk of death. 6 Nothing which a man (imposes) upon himself with a view to (frustrate the la)w shall he make good even at the risk of death. 7 (As for) the oath of the woman, whose oath Mos(es sa)id should be disallowed, no man shall disa1low an oath which no man knew. 8 It is to be confirmed. And whether it be to disallow or to transgress the covenant, he shall disallow it and not confirm it. 9 And so is also the law for her father. As to the law of the of(fer)ings no man shall vow anything for the altar under compulsion. 10 Nor shall the (pr)iests take anything from the Israelites… 11 (Nor) shall a man dedicate the food…this is what he said, ‘They hunt every man his brother with a net.’ 12 Nor shall de(vote)…of all…his possession…holy…shall be punished he…who takes a vow… to the judge…
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5. Author’s note. Do not e-mail me and waste my time if you do not believe me. You will find stuff on the internet about this ritual on web sites if you type into the search engine hatafat dam brit – brit milah. I do not know how to talk to others about this subject because of mans’ ego.
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6. I am sending this message out to as many people as I can. I come in peace. This custom is not a joke. You will find several internet sites that talk about this ancient ritual
Sincerely,
Victor Michael Lashewitz (3-31-71)
ps. I believe I am a Messenger for God and the branch mentioned in Isaiah 4:1-2..