After World War 3
Martyrs of the Old Testament
Mat 23:34-35 Therefore, indeed, I send you prophets, wise men, and scribes: some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city, that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.
Abel was killed by his elder brother Cain. Prophet Isaiah was believed to have been sawn into two upside down.
John the Baptist was beheaded by Herod. God allowed them to be martyred so that they will receive better resurrections or rewards.
Heb 11:35-37 Women received their dead raised to life again. Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented—
Resurrection of OT Saints
Mat 27:51-53 Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split, and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many.
At the death of our Lord Jesus (Lamb of God), who replaced the sacrifices (lambs, sheep, oxen, birds) offered by them in the OT, released the saints of old, who immediately rose from their graves.
However, New Testament saints in Christ Jesus, will receive greater rewards than the saints of the OT.
Mat 11:11 “Assuredly, I say to you, among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he."
Jesus' Grace and Truth
John 1:17 For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
Jesus out of His grace and love for mankind, fulfilled the Law and made it obsolete. Christians who keep His words will know the truth. His grace and truth, which can perfect their love for God and for one another, will enable them to receive better resurrections and rewards.
Martyrdom of Apostles
1. Matthew - killed by a sword wound in Ethiopia.
2. Mark - dragged by horses through the streets of Alexandria, Egypt.
3. Luke - hanged in Greece.
4. John - though lowered into boiling oil he was miraculously delivered. John was sentenced to the mines on Patmos Island, where he wrote the Book of Revelation. Our Lord Jesus prophesied that he will be alive in the last days.
5. Peter - was crucified upside down on an x-shaped cross.
6. James - the leader of the church in Jerusalem, was thrown over a hundred feet down from the southeast pinnacle of the Temple.
7. James, the Son of Zebedee - a strong leader of the church, was beheaded in Jerusalem.
8. Bartholomew (Nathaniel) - was flayed to death in Armenia
9. Andrew - was crucified on an x-shaped cross in Patras, Greece.
10. Thomas - was stabbed with a spear in India.
11. Jude - was killed with arrows.
12. Matthias - the apostle chosen to replace the traitor Judas Iscariot, was stoned and then beheaded.
13. Paul - was tortured and then beheaded by the evil Emperor Nero at Rome in A.D. 67. Paul endured a lengthy imprisonment, which allowed him to record down the direct teachings of our Lord Jesus. These letters, along with the other Apostles' epistles and the 4 Gospels, forms the Doctrines of Christianity.
Stephen was the first Christian martyr. Many Christians were martyred during the Roman Empire. During these two millennia, many devout Christians were martyred for their faith and the fulfillment of the Great Commission.