The Bishop Who Knew the Apostle's Voice

In 155 AD, the aged bishop Polycarp of Smyrna stood before a Roman proconsul who demanded he renounce Christ. Polycarp replied with words that still echo across the centuries: "Eighty-six years I have served Him, and He has done me no wrong. How can I blaspheme my King who saved me?"

What gave Polycarp such unshakeable certainty? He had sat at the feet of the Apostle John. He had heard John describe, in his own weathered voice, what it was like to see the glory of Christ on the mountaintop, to touch the risen Lord's hands, to watch Him ascend. Polycarp's faith was not built on speculation or secondhand rumor. It was anchored to the testimony of a man who had been there.

This is precisely the claim Peter makes in his second letter. "We did not follow cleverly devised stories," he insists. "We were eyewitnesses of His majesty." Peter had stood on that holy mountain. He had heard the voice of the Almighty thundering from heaven: "This is my Son, whom I love." And he passed that testimony forward like a lamp handed from one watchman to the next.

Every generation of believers holds that same lamp — the prophetic word made sure by those who saw and heard. We carry it through the remaining darkness, confident that the Morning Star will soon rise in fullness.