Think about that for a second: “rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name.” How are you going to stop people like that? That was the problem with the government and the early church. They were saying, “How do we stop these guys? We kill them, and they’re happier. We torture them, and they walk away rejoicing. We can’t stop them. Are we just going to kill them all—just to not listen to them anymore? They’re rejoicing in this. They get stronger through persecution.”
