"A Matter of Time"

In the New Testament, the word "witness" is derived from the various forms of the Greek word martus, which means "record," "report," "evidence given" or "testimony." It is someone who can testify or vouch for the parties in debate. As in English, it means one who bears testimony in a judicial sense or one who can testify to the truth of what he has seen or known. As in the Old Testament, the witnesses were the first executioners (Acts 7:58), and at least two witnesses were required to establish any charge (II Corinthians 13:1). Within the church, an accusation against a minister was only received if it was from two or three witnesses (I Timothy 5:19).

In the New Testament, a witness takes on the more personal form of "one who attests his belief in Christ and His teachings by personal suffering." The apostles frequently appear as witnesses of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus (Luke 24:46-48). The faithful are called "so great a cloud of witnesses" (Hebrews 12:1). Revelation 6:9 speaks of "those who had been slain for the testimony which they held."

From martus we get the English word "martyr," that is, one who, amidst great sufferings or by his death, bears witness to the truth. A martyr is one who is so confident of the truth, and so upright, that he would rather give his life than deny the truth of what he has seen and known. Paul mentions Stephen's witness and martyrdom in Acts 22:20 as an example of this kind of witness.

In the letter to the Laodiceans (Revelation 3:14), Jesus Himself is referred to as "the Faithful and True Witness" (martyr). None of the other letters to the seven churches uses this title. Christ emphasizes His own faithful and true character because the Laodiceans so completely lack these two qualities. Christ's example shows that to be a fitting witness of God, one must be faithful and true, that is, spiritually reliable and accurate. A true witness of God is a reflected example of the life of Jesus Christ in word and behavior.