Blasphemous Pinch
"Every year, every citizen of Smyrna had to burn incense to Caesar. There was as great altar there – Caesar’s altar – and you had to go every year and burn incents to Caesar, and receive then a certificate that you had done that. Without a certificate, you would be persecuted because you were violating the highest law in Smyrna. To be without a certificate, as must have been the case for Christians who would not say Caesar is Lord, but only Jesus is Lord, was to risk discovery and death." Though this poem isn't about the Revelation church of Smyrna, this excerpt from John MacArthur serves as a reference point for this poem.