Revelation 6:9 "When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held."
Revelation 20:4 "And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years."
As John received his vision and was instructed to write the things which he had seen, the things which are, and things which shall be hereafter (Revelation 1:18), he saw God's prophetic program unfolding before his eyes throughout all generations. One thing that marks true Christianity is its ability to endure intense persecution. In fact, the greater the persecution, the greater the spread of its message and the greater the growth in number of its converts. This has been true throughout Church history.
Whenever one makes this point, atheists and agnostics immediately protest that it was the Christian Church doing the persecuting throughout much of History. The reason for this is that Jesus said there would be tares growing among the wheat until the time of the harvest, which is at the end of the age, when the angels finally gather out all who offend and cast them into the fire (Matthew 13:30). Much of the atrocities done in the name of Christ were done by a corrupt church that was not a true reflection of Christianity or Christ, and all true believers who would separate themselves from the harlot and come out of Babylon (Revelation 18:4-8) were persecuted and many put to death by said "church." However, in every age since Christ, there has always been a remnant of true believers who would come out from among them and be separate unto the Lord.
One such group that came out and was persecuted were the Anabaptists of the 16th Century. They were known by many names such as Hutterites, Mennonites, Swiss and German Brethren, and River brethren to name a few. They were called Anabaptist because of their beliefs about baptism. "Ana" meant (re), and they would rebaptize those who had been baptized as infants but had later shown evidence of genuine conversion. In other words, baptism should come after salvation, as is the New Testament pattern. They preached some other radical doctrines at the time which was freedom of conscience, that religion should not be coerced, and the church should be separate from the state. They believed in a simple faith that adhered to trying to live out the teachings of Christ in the Sermon on the Mount. While there is not a direct link between the two groups, their beliefs, particularly about baptism and soul liberty (priesthood of every believer), would give rise to the Baptists of the 17th Century, which are your Baptist churches in America today.
The thing about this group that stands out historically is their rapid growth in the midst of being persecuted and many being martyred. The historical record is replete with accounts of "church" leaders and civil authorities not knowing what to do with them. They were persecuted by Reformers and Catholics alike. The Swiss reformer Zwingli said that his struggle with the Catholic party was "but child's play" compared with the conflict with the Anabaptists (Harold S. Bender, The Anabaptist Vision, p. 5). The Diet of Spires in 1529 ordered that "every Anabaptist or rebaptized person of either sex be put to death by fire, sword, or some other way (Harold S. Bender, The Anabaptist Vision, p. 5)." But the more they killed, the greater the number became of those joining them. When 350 were put to death in the Palatinate, the Count of Alzey was overheard saying, "What shall I do? The more I kill, the greater becomes their number (Harold S. Bender, The Anabaptist Vision, p. 6)!" The Church father Tertullian, whose views on baptism were similar to what the Anabaptists taught, had it right when he said, "The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church (Apologeticus, L. 13)."
Anabaptists were not the first group to experience this, and they will not be the last. Paul said that everyone who desires to live godly in this present age will suffer persecution. The church of the First Century shook the world with the gospel while being torn apart by lions, wild horses, perishing by the sword, crucifixion, and beheading. Throughout the Middle Ages and even before, groups like the Montanists, Novationists, Donatists, Paulicians, Albigenses, and Waldenses to name a few were similarly persecuted. Subsequent groups of believers behind the Iron Curtain and Islamic Curtain have suffered similar fates, such as the Armenian Christians were slaughtered by the Ottoman Turks during WWI, and this trend will continue until the time of the end.
Regardless, of one's views on when the Rapture will take place, the fact remains that God's true people must resist unto blood until Christ returns loving not our lives even unto death. Here in America, we have been relatively free from mass persecution and martyrdom. That may not always be the case as the radical secularists and Marxists continue to make inroads into our educational, religious, and government institutions. But let us always remember that our hope is not found in those institutions but in a man hanging on a cross, an empty tomb, and a Heavenly City upon Mt. Zion! May we take heart from our persecuted brethren in ages past and around the world today! And may we walk worthy of our calling even if it costs us our lives! Friends, we already know how the story ends! It ends with God's true people standing with the Lamb on Mt. Zion!
I leave you with encouragement from Revelation 14.
1. Then I looked, and behold, a Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand, having His Father’s name written on their foreheads.
