Smyrna - The Persecuted Church - Revelation 2:8-11
INTRODUCTION:
Two weeks ago, we started the second division of the Revelation of Jesus Christ, the second division as outlined for us by Jesus in chapter 1, verse 19. There John was commanded to write those things which are, and the things which are were the personal letters from the Lord Jesus Christ to each of the seven churches that the book was to be sent to in Asia Minor. Two weeks ago, we looked at the first letter to the first church, and it was the church in Ephesus. The first letter set the form for all the letters to follow. Each of the following letters have some if not all the following characteristics: introduction of the author, the church that was to receive the letter, and the city where that church was found, then a commendation, a condemnation, a command, and finally a promise. The church that we will be looking at today has no condemnation and we will be looking at why they remained pure in their faith and had nothing for which to be condemned. Let’s pray and then we will get into our passage for this morning.
--PRAY--
SCRIPTURE:
Turn in your Bibles this morning to Revelation 2:8-11. This is a short letter, but it is filled with lots of information for us. Please stand for the reading of God’s Word and follow along as I read.
Revelation 2:8-11,
“And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: The first and the last, who was dead, and has come to life, says this: ‘I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich), and the blasphemy by those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison, so that you will be tested, and you will have tribulation for ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes will not be hurt by the second death.’” (Revelation 2:8–11, NASB95)[1]
THE AUTHOR, THE RECEIVING CHURCH, THE CITY (Revelation 2:8)
This letter opens as each of the seven letters open, stating that the letter was to go to the angel of the church in Smyrna, and we have already discussed that this word translated “angel” refers to the leader of the church, or the lead elder of the church, and not to an actual angel, even though this is the word used in the New Testament to describe angels, it is also the Greek word for messenger and does not always refer to a heavenly being and since nowhere in Scripture do we read of angels being in charge of churches, it makes sense to translate this as the earthly messenger who was to receive the letter and then read its message to the church.
We will come back to the church and the city where it is located, but first let’s look at how the author identifies himself. Again, the author is not named but identified by a description. The author is “The first and the last, who was dead, and has come to life…” (Revelation 2:8b, NASB95)[2] We have already seen these words in this book, they are similar to the words that Jesus used to describe Himself to John in the first chapter. In verse 17-18 Jesus Christ said to John, “Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore” (Revelation 1:17b–18a, NASB95)[3] So again the author of this letter is the risen, glorified, exalted Lord Jesus Christ. By describing Himself as the first and the last He is identifying Himself as the eternal God, this is a description that is used to describe God in the Old Testament. God speaking of Himself says in Isaiah 44:12, “Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts: ‘I am the first and I am the last, And there is no God besides Me.’” (Isaiah 44:6, NASB95)[4] God says that He alone is God, so by using this description here John MacArthur says that Jesus Christ “…affirms His equality of nature with God. He is the eternal, infinite God, who already existed when all things were created, and who will continue to exist after they are destroyed.”[5]
But Jesus goes on to say about Himself “who was dead, and has come to life…” (Revelation 2:8b, NASB95)[6] Jesus describes Himself first as the infinite, eternal God, then second, He describes His incarnation, the fact that as God He became Man, He took on human flesh that He might suffer and die in mankind’s place, paying the penalty for sin. In the Greek it literally says, “who became dead” referring to His death on the cross. He died in His human body as the perfect sacrifice for sin, and has come to life, or literally who lives, referring to His resurrection as the eternal, and resurrected One. Jesus Christ is not only the eternal God in relation to time, but He is the resurrected One in relation to life. As we will see this description of Jesus Christ was to bring comfort and encouragement to the church to whom it was written.
The recipient of this letter was the church at Smyrna. Scripture does not record the founding of this church, or even mention this church except for here in Revelation. It was probably founded during the three years that Paul was at Ephesus by Paul or by members of the Ephesian church. All that we know about this church comes from church history, we do know that Polycarp who was a disciple of John became the pastor of this church. As we will learn this was a persecuted church. The Greek word translated “Smyrna” is the word for “myrrh” a substance used as a perfume for the living and to anoint the dead to help mask the smell of decay. Nicodemus brought myrrh and aloes to anoint the body of Jesus when Joseph of Arimathea had received permission to take the body and bury it. It is interesting that this is the name of the city where we find the persecuted church because as myrrh was associated with death this perfectly pictures this suffering church. Myrrh is made by crushing a fragrant plant, just as the church at Smyrna was crushed by persecution, it gave off a fragrant aroma of faithfulness to God.
The city of Smyrna is located about 35-40 miles north of Ephesus, it too was a seaport, they had a natural harbor that was on the gulf of the Aegean Sea. This port connected to the Roman road that ran through the rich Hermus River valley. The city was said to be the most beautiful in Asia and had numerous temples to various gods. The city was so loyal to Rome that they built a temple devoted to the worship of the Roman emperor, it was built during the reign of Tiberius and under the reign of Domitian it became a capital offense refuse to offer a yearly sacrifice to the emperor. Smyrna was also noted as a center of science and medicine. The city of Smyrna still exists today, it is the Turkish city of Izmir and has a population of over 4 million people. There still exists a Christian witness in this city after all these years.
THE COMMENDATION (Revelation 2:9)
As the infinite, eternal sovereign Lord of the universe, and the One who became man and suffered rejection and persecution even to the point of death, but triumphed over death to become the Living One this description of Jesus Christ would have brought encouragement to the church who was suffering great trial and affliction. Like Jesus Christ triumphed over death, the believers at Smyrna should anticipate ultimate victory. Just as the grave could not hold their Savior, so they too would one day triumph over their persecutors even if it was in death, because death of this body just brings us into the presence of God where they would live forever.
Jesus Christ, the glorious Lord of the church of Smyrna knows all the details about His churches and He assures the believers that He knows and understands their tribulation. This word translated “tribulation” is a word that literally means “pressure or to be under pressure” and is the common word in the New Testament to describe persecution, affliction, and tribulation. The church in Smyrna was facing this intense persecution for three reasons.
First, is Smyrna’s devotion to Rome. As already noted they worshiped the Roman emperor and it was a capital offense to not offer a yearly sacrifice to him. The believers in Smyrna were willing to submit to the civil authority of the emperor, but they refused to worship him as a god. Because of this they were branded rebels and faced the wrath of the Roman government.
Second, the believers in Smyrna refused to participate in any of the city’s pagan religions. Because they rejected the pagan idols and worshiped an invisible God they were denounced as atheists. Much of the social life of the city revolved around their pagan religions and Christians were considered antisocial for refusing to participate.
Third, it was not only the pagan religious citizens that persecuted them, but also from the Jewish community they were blasphemed. Jesus says He knows the blasphemy of those who say they are Jews and are not. These were Jews because ethnically they were children of Israel and they were outwardly circumcised. But Paul makes a distinction between Jews that were outwardly Jews and those that were inwardly Jews. He wrote in Romans 2:28-29, “For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh. But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God.” (Romans 2:28–29, NASB95)[7] Jesus says these who are blaspheming you are not Jews inwardly and they belong to the synagogue of the greatest blasphemer, Satan. This statement by Jesus shows that Jewish people who hated and rejected Jesus Christ are just as much followers of Satan as any other idol worshipper. Jesus’ use of the word “blasphemy” indicates that these Jew’s slander was intense and severe. These Jews accused the Smyrna Christians of cannibalism because they misunderstood the Lord’s Supper, they accused them of immorality because of their greeting with a holy kiss, they called them atheists because they rejected the pagan pantheon of gods and goddess, and they claimed they were disloyal to Rome for refusing to offer the yearly sacrifice which says that these Jews had compromised their belief in one God to avoid persecution. In a hope of stamping out Christianity, some of Smyrna’s wealthy, influential Jews reported these blasphemous, false allegations to the Romans. This was nothing new, the Jews were in opposition to Christianity from the start, read through the book of Acts and see how the Jews opposed Paul and the spread of Gospel.
Not only was the Lord aware of the persecution of this church, but He says that He knows their poverty. The Greek word used here and translated “poverty” is a word that means “extreme poverty” to the point that you are out on the street begging. It is possible that the church was made up of slaves and those of the poorer class, but it is more probable that this extreme poverty was due to their persecution, they had been robbed of their possessions, they could not find employment because they were discriminated against, no one wanted to be known as hiring rebels of the Roman government. Jesus says to them, “I know your poverty (but you are rich.)” True riches are not the possession of gold and lots of things, to be truly rich is to be rich in faith. James said in James 2:5, “Listen, my beloved brethren: did not God choose the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?” (James 2:5, NASB95)[8] The church at Smyrna had every human reason to collapse, but they remained faithful to God and they had true riches: salvation, holiness, grace, peace, fellowship, a loving, caring Savior and Comforter, and the promise of heaven and eternal life. The Smyrna church was rich spiritually. Often persecution brings about greater faithfulness, it purifies the church and removes those who are not truly in a relationship with the Lord Jesus, they will not stay in face of persecution, but will fall away, and the church becomes purer and more faithful because those who remain are truly resolved to stand by their commitment to live for the Lord Jesus because He died for their salvation.
THE COMMAND (Revelation 2:10)
After assuring the believers in the church in Smyrna, the Lord Jesus Christ gives them an exhortation to not be afraid of what they are about to suffer. He does not promise that the suffering is going to come to an end, but in fact, it is going to become worse. Up to this point it seems that the persecution had mainly been their being ostracized by society, and the loss of employment and possessions, but none so far had been charged by the government. Jesus says that the persecution will become more severe, that Satan, or the devil in an attempt to put an end to the Christian witness in his domain would incite men to throw some of them into prison, so that you will be tested. Jesus had told His disciples in John 16:33, “These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33, NASB95)[9] In the midst of persecution, we do not need to fear, in Jesus Christ we can have peace because He has overcome the world. Often we ask why believers must suffer, God’s purpose in allowing this imprisonment was so they might be tested. By successfully enduring the trial, they would prove the reality of their faith, they would be strengthened and prove again that Satan cannot destroy genuine saving faith. Their faith and endurance would result in a better testimony of the gospel. The power of the Lord Jesus Christ would be made evident in the lives of these dear believers. Paul said it this way in 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 speaking of his own weakness in the face of trials or persecution, “And He has said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.’ Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:9–10, NASB95)[10] God does promise that this persecution will come to an end, Jesus says that they will have tribulation for ten days, this may speak of a literal ten days, but often the number ten in Scripture speaks of undetermined duration of time, but one that is not long and has a definite ending point. Jesus does go onto say that some of them will have to be faithful until death, or to be faithful to the Lord even if it resulted in death. Jesus promises that if they are faithful until death they will receive the crown of life. The word translated crown here is not the crown of a king, but the wreath of a victor, which could be made from a plant as it was in the Olympic games or it could be made of a precious metal, but often in the form to look like the plant used to make the wreaths of the Olympic games. James states this promise this way, “Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.” (James 1:12, NASB95)[11]
THE PROMISE (Revelation 2:11)
Like the letter to the church in Ephesus Jesus ends this letter to the church in Smyrna with a word of counsel and a promise to the one who overcomes. This final verse as in each letter brings the letter and what it says to the individual and each person must choose how they will respond. His word of counsel is the same as it is in all His letters, He says, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” (Revelation 2:11a, NASB95)[12] This phrase stresses the vital importance of what God says in Scripture, and emphasizes our responsibility to listen to it and obey it. How will you respond to Jesus counsel to listen and obey?
Jesus’ promise is again addressed to him who overcomes, and as I said last week an overcomer is one who has agreed with God that they are a sinner deserving His punishment, but have believed by faith that Jesus death on the cross paid the penalty for their sin, and that He was buried and three days later rose from the dead showing that sin was paid for and death was conquered. Jesus promises to those who have overcome that they will not be hurt by the second death. Did you know that if you are born twice you only die once, but if you are only born once you die twice? If you are born physically as an infant and then born again by faith in Jesus Christ you cannot be hurt by the second death which is the Lake of fire. Jesus is saying that though persecuted Christians may suffer the first, physical death, they will never experience the second death of hell. To make His point, the strongest negative in the Greek language is used here in the text to express the word translated “not.”
CONCLUSION:
The church of Smyrna represents for us the persecuted church. You and I do not understand persecution, we have not truly been persecuted for our faith. But in the world today there are those who are persecuted for their faith in Jesus Christ, even to the point of death. If you are interested in learning about the persecuted church in our world today you can sign up for the free newsletter from Voice of the Martyrs where you can read stories of Christians who are facing persecution today and not only learn about them, but pray for them.
Though we have the freedom today to worship the Lord free of persecution we are beginning to see the signs of persecution coming to our own nation. The day may come and it may be soon when we will have to make a stand for our faith that will result in persecution. We have already seen this in our country in the past few years in isolated incidents, but it is going to become more widely spread. God use persecution to refine and purify His church and I believe it will happen here before He returns to take us home. Will you be faithful to the Lord Jesus when your faith is tested? Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer.
[1]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. LaHabra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[2]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. LaHabra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[3]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. LaHabra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[4]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. LaHabra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[5]MacArthur, John, Because The Time Is Near. Chicago, IL : Moody Publishers, 2007
[6]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. LaHabra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[7]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. LaHabra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[8]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. LaHabra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[9]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. LaHabra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[10]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. LaHabra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[11]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. LaHabra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[12]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. LaHabra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995