The Letter To Smyrna
- And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive; I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan. Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death. (Revelation 2:8-11) -
The word Smyrna is "smurnaios," which is a Greek word with a Hebrew root. It basically means myrrh, which is a fragrant plant gum. It comes from certain trees or shrubs in Arabia or Ethiopia, and is highly valued for a number of reasons. It's used in perfumes, holy anointing oil for priests, the purification of women... but the primary use of myrrh is for pain relief and embalming. It gives off it's characteristic scent by being crushed. So the very theme here is going to turn out to be very description of the church in Smyrna. Those who celebrate the Christmas season often remember the three gifts given to Jesus by the magi. Gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Spiritually speaking, these represented king, priest, and prophet. Gold was a gift for a king. Frankincense was an aromatic incense used in the priesthood. Myrrh spoke prophetically of His suffering and death. However, I think it interesting that when we look ahead to the millennial reign, we see Jesus will be given gifts of gold and frankincense, but no myrrh.
- The multitude of camels shall cover thee, the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; all they from Sheba shall come: they shall bring gold and incense; and they shall shew forth the praises of the Lord. (Isaiah 60:6) -
This is because His death is behind Him and He is now alive forevermore. Smyrna was about forty-two miles north of Ephesus. Today it's a thriving city in Turkey known as Izmir, which is a Turkish rendering of Smyrna. It's the third largest city in the region with a population of around three hundred thousand. In the New Covenant period it probably had a population close to one hundred thousand. This would have been a large city for that time period. Smyrna had a double harbor which was meant lots of shipping. The caused it to become a major trading port. It was in a very key location, resting, resting at the entrance of a fertile valley with a sheltered gulf. In fact, its very location caused it to rival other cities as the connection between Europe and Asia. This was a very beautiful, prosperous, and bustling city. Even today, some refer to Izmir as the Paris of the Levant. However, ancient Smyrna was a hot bed of pagan worship. If you were to walk along a road known as the Golden Street, you would notice many different shrines to gods that were recognized and worshiped by the people back then. Apollo, the sun god. Aphrodite, goddess of love and beauty. Aesculapius, god of medicine. Cybele, a Phrygian nature goddess. At the Agora (a commercial and political center) you would find statues of Poseidon, the god of the seas, and Demeter goddess of corn. Continuing along this road you would also come to the Temple of Zeus who was known as the god of the sky, rain, clouds, and thunder... he was also the father of the gods.
Smyrna was also one of the first places to accept Caesar worship. In 196 B.C. the Smyrneans erected a temple to Dea Roma, the goddess of Rome and subsequently built one to Tiberius in 26 A.D. By then the worship of the emperor was compulsory. And for most Romans this was just a token gesture... but every year they had to burn a pinch of incense on an altar, and acknowledge publicly that Caesar was Supreme Lord. When the citizens complied with this they received a formal document stating that they had done so. Politically, this was a very important document. However this act of worship presented a vital test for the Christian. There were many Christians that would go ahead with it just to avoid trouble... but there were also many that were serious about Jesus Christ and refused. This caused them to be put to death by being burned at the stake, or torn apart by wild beasts in an arena.
- And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive; (Revelation 2:8) -
These are the elements of the identity of Christ that are presented to this church. You will see this concept of death all throughout this letter, as these Christians were facing martyrdom on a daily basis.
- I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan. (Revelation 2:9) -
This is the commendation. Jesus says that He knows your works. And not only that, but He knows the motivation behind the works... (were they for Him, or public affirmation?) The word "tribulation" should not be confused with the period of time known as "The Great Tribulation." Here the word is used in the sense of severe persecution, distress, troubles... and every one of us is going to experience this. Why? Because Jesus promises it.
- These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. (John 16:33) -
He also speaks of our poverty. He knows of the poverty but assures that they are rich. This is in vivid contrast to those at the church at Laodicea who believe they are rich, but are actually poor. And who are these that say they are Jews and are not, but are of the synagogue of Satan? First off, I think we need to acknowledge that the early persecution of the Christians began with the Jews, not with the Romans. Luke emphases this in the book of Acts... the fires of persecution were always being fanned by the local Jewish community. It's no secret that they regarded the Christians as a heretical sect.
- But the Jews stirred up the devout and honourable women, and the chief men of the city, and raised persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them out of their coasts. (Acts 13:50) -
- And it came to pass in Iconium, that they went both together into the synagogue of the Jews, and so spake, that a great multitude both of the Jews and also of the Greeks believed. But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles, and made their minds evil affected against the brethren. (Acts 14:1,2) -
- And there came thither certain Jews from Antioch and Iconium, who persuaded the people, and having stoned Paul, drew him out of the city, supposing he had been dead. (Acts 14:19) -
- And some of them believed, and consorted with Paul and Silas; and of the devout Greeks a great multitude, and of the chief women not a few. But the Jews which believed not, moved with envy, took unto them certain lewd fellows of the baser sort, and gathered a company, and set all the city on an uproar, and assaulted the house of Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people. (Acts 17:4,5) -
Polycarp, an early church father trained by the apostle John, was appointed to be the bishop of Smyrna. In 166 A.D. he refused to recant and was burned at the stake. He stated as he was being tied to be publicly burned... "Eighty and six years have I served Him, and He never did me wrong. How can I now blaspheme my King who has loved me so?" He was burned on the Sabbath day... an object of Jewish hatred in addition to the Roman persecution. There were three main tares that were sown into the early church... three main avenues by which the early Christian had to face adversity.
1. Legalism, which is a denial of Christ's completed work.
2. Gnosticism, which denies Christ's humanity.
3. Caesar Worship, which denies Christ's Lordship.
- Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.(Revelation 2:10,11) -
I think it interesting that the first category of individuals named who will be cast into the Lake of Fire are the fearful. What many do not realize is that fear is the opposite of faith. Who is going to cast these into prison? The devil... he is the one behind this. During the different periods of persecution under the various Caesars of Rome, Fox's book of Martyrs estimates that around five million believers died for Christ. If you think that's bad, during the twentieth century has murdered more Christian than all other previous centuries combined! So while this is indeed bloody and dark, we should keep in mind that this doesn't even compare to today. Stalin himself murdered between thirty and forty million of his own people. The estimates are that at least fifty percent of that number were Christians.
There are crowns promised to those who are worthy to be called overcomers. Here are just a few.
1. The Crown of Life - For those who suffered for His sake.
2. The Crown of Righteousness - For those that loved His appearing.
3. The Crown of Glory - For those that fed the flock
4. The Crown Incorruptible - For those that pressed on steadfastly.
5. The Crown of Rejoicing - For those who win souls.
So how many crowns will be given out? I believe that there will be many, many different crowns in addition to these that have been alluded to.
So how does this apply to us? I would say that the key here is not to confuse persecution with the tribulation. Always be mindful that just because we believe that we can prove that we the church, will not enter into the time period known as the great tribulation does not give us the right to become arrogant or lazy. Where do we get the arrogance to presume that we will somehow be exempt from what most of the body of Christ, in most of the world, for most of the past nineteen hundred years has had to endure? It's called persecution. I also join with many others that believe the true church in America will be driven underground. And in touching on the subject of those who say they are Jews and are not... is it possible that Jesus is referring to those who claim that Israel's forfeited promises now fall upon the church? There are those that believe because Israel rejected her messiah, all of the promises to Israel now apply to the Church. This is called replacement theology... and it's taught in the majority of churches here in America. But it's blasphemy and makes God a liar. Paul hammers away for three chapters in the book of Romans about how God is not finished with Israel. The origin and destiny of the Church and Israel are different yet connected. We need to understand this. And I would add that this replacement theology is one of the root causes of antisemitism... as well as the silence of all of the churches in Europe during the Holocaust.
- Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. (2 Timothy 3:12) -
If you are living godly in Christ you will suffer persecution. If you're a believer and you feel you haven't been persecuted yet I've got good news for you. Just wait... However, this raises the question, why do believers suffer trials to begin with? Well there are several reasons...To glorify God, to discipline for known sin (not always but sometimes), to prevent us from falling into sin, to keep us from pride... Sometimes we have trials to build our faith, to cause growth, to teach obedience and discipline, or to equip us to comfort others. One reason you may find yourself placed in the fire or down in a valley of despair and darkness, is that you may be equipped to minister to others that will eventually have the same trials as you. Another reason for trials is to prove the reality of Christ in us... and also to testify to the angels. In any case, this all points us to James 1:2-4.
- My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.(James 1:2-4) -
And finally, on our prophetic timeline we see that Ephesus is the Apostolic Church. This would make Smyrna the Persecuted Church. However, there is something much worse than persecution that is coming, and we'll take a look at that in the next letter. But there is something you may not have caught here... what were Christ's concerns with this church? The answer is none... He had no concerns. This just another something to keep in mind as we continue on.
TO BE CONTINUED...
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