Pray For The Peace of Jerusalem
The Names and Titles of God (The Faithful and True Witness)
Revelation 3:14
14 And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;
King James Version
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In the Gilbert & Sullivan comic opera "The Mikado" there is a hilarious scene in which three characters describe an execution that had been ordered by the Emperor of Japan. Since the execution had NOT taken place as ordered, the three "eyewitnesses" go into ridiculous detail in their lies, hoping to convince the Emperor that the beheading had indeed taken place. Here is an old recording of the song from the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company.
It is only after the three "witnesses" have given their elaborate and bloodcurdling "testimony" they are informed that the person they had executed was the Heir To The Throne of Japan. Now they had to either expose the lie or be executed themselves. Here's a pretty mess!
False Witnesses are known for providing salacious details and elaborate explanations to bolster up their lies. While details are important in eyewitness testimony, the False Witness will often get caught up in their story-telling to the point where the extraneous details detract from the narrative. That's when wise judges and juries should be on their guard. In modern-day parlance, this is known as "TMI" or "Too Much Information". While TMI does not always indicate a lie, it is a red flag to the examiner. TMI is often easy to refute upon cross-examination. It's hard to remember all those details if they aren't true to begin with.
In Revelation, Jesus calls Himself the "Faithful and True Witness". He doesn't contradict Himself. It is interesting that the Greek Word that is used for "Witness" in this context is μάρτυς (Martoos) Strongs 3144. This Greek word for "Eyewitness" has become the English word "Martyr". A martyr is someone who believes so strongly in his or her faith, that he or she will not back down, even to the point of torture or death. While some early Christians may have been actual eyewitnesses to The Resurrection, or walked with the Apostles, or heard Paul preach, most believed without seeing. Yet they were still "witnesses" through the eyes of Faith. These Christians would go to their deaths rather than refute their testimony.
Some people may say:
Why did they have to do that? Why not just throw a pinch of incense to the statue of Caesar and repent of it afterwards? We KNOW God is Faithful and Just to Forgive if we truly repent."
These were faithful and true witnesses to the ONE Faithful and True Witness. It was impossible for them to be otherwise. And so, they faced death knowing that, in an instant, they would be with Christ.
The word "Martyr" has developed some unfortunate meanings in recent years. The expression "Don't be such a martyr!", or saying somebody has a "Martyr Complex" are part of our language now. Radical islamists have used the word shaheed to mean a suicide bomber who kills for his god and sometimes dies in the process. THAT is not the original meaning of the word! All three of those are perversions of the word's original meaning of "True Witness".
Come and Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem, For Our FRiends in Need, For Persecuted Believers, and For Our Beloved Nation.
For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open. (Mark 4:22)
God Bless America.
Blessings To All Who Visit This Garden of Prayer.
Hallelujah and Amen
ML/LTOS