When Persecution Reveals True Riches
Church at Smyrna – Part 2
Revelation 2:8-11
There is much confusion in today’s church culture as to what truly makes a church rich and on track with what Jesus believes concerning the local church. Pre Covid-19, if you listened closely, you would hear talk of facilities…attendance size…location…personality of the pastor…quality of the children’s or student ministries…series preaching focused, etc. While those things are parts of church life, they do not determine whether or not a church is on track with what Jesus values.
Sadly, what you did not hear much of were things of this nature…is the church faithful to the Gospel…does it teach the whole counsel of God…is the church embracing the call to make disciples by having a going mindset…does the church call people to die to self…emphasis on teaching through the books of the Bible…etc.
A quick comparison of the two lists is enough to know what one Jesus is going to affirm more. This subject brings us to the details of the church in Smyrna and what Jesus said about them, so let’s begin to examine this important church.
What churches need most…
Christ-centered Comforting Words – Revelation 2:8
Revelation 2:8 “And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: ‘The words of the first and the last, who died and came to life.
Jesus has direct words to the pastor and to the church in Smyrna. This is what churches need more than anything – the revelation of Christ found in the written text. Jesus is having John write these words down. This is what Christ desires and commands for every church no matter what they are dealing with – they need the “the words of the first and the last, who died and came to life.
The churches that were walking right and the ones struggling needed the exact same thing – The Words of Jesus!
**Don’t miss this, Jesus wants John to send written Holy Words to the pastor and the churches.**
Jesus wants John to give them His words written on paper – this was His plan then.
Nothing has changed with His plan!
As the words arrived at Smyrna, they were to embrace them and equip them to know more about Christ.
Based on the instruction here, what should the local church be focused upon as a great priority? The focus is just what I’m doing in this blog piece and what the faithful church has been doing for 2,000 years now - peering deeply, slowly, and intentionally at the Scriptures so we can see Jesus more and more.
The fact He does speak to us is comforting. God chose to speak not only to our world, but the primary way He speaks in the church is through His Word. The fact we are discussing this is the best activity we can be a part of, for He loves to speak in the church as He stands her midst.
Q: What then, are the greatest words that He can speak to us?
Words about Himself. The first thing He reveals to Smyrna is something about Who He is and honestly we should want nothing less than this!
· Who He Is – Three Things Revealed to Smyrna
o Eternal God ‘The words of the first and the last,
Jesus is eternal - He existed before time began and He will through all of eternity. We are shown that he is the first and last in the OT from Isaiah…
Isaiah 44:6 Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts: “I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god.
Isaiah 48:12 “Listen to me, O Jacob, and Israel, whom I called! I am he; I am the first, and I am the last. 13 My hand laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand spread out the heavens; when I call to them, they stand forth together.
The exclusive meaning of these 2 places in Isaiah is that God is the First and Last, so the fact that Jesus says He is the first and last means that Jesus is equating His nature equal to the Father. Being “the First”, He is before all things and “As the last” – He is beyond everything. He is the end all of everything, period.
As this church was dealing with severe persecution, they were trusting in a God who is greater than all things, including time and He saw the richness of their faith and would give them all they needed in the midst trials they were walking through.
The people in the church at Smyrna might have thought things were so out of control as they faced such extreme persecution and the fact they were a church with little resources, the truth of the matter is they secure in the hand of Christ. Jesus was sovereign in their midst and they could rest in that reality.
o The Cross, the one who bled for us – He died
Next, Jesus reminds them of the cross. His death was the Father’s plan for Him, and it was a death of such extreme pain and hatred. As this church was dealing with extreme persecution, Jesus reminds them here that He faced persecution that cost Him his life. Jesus understood being the recipients of the hatred of religious people. In light of what they are going through, He draws their attention to His death, as they are facing the same thing as Jesus. He calls their attention to His death, as some of them were about to be facing death.
Since He went all the way through the cross, He is a high priest who can help…
Hebrews 4:15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
o Resurrection – “and who came to life”.
Death had no power over Him for He robbed death of its power. Jesus references here that He is the great Victor.
1 Peter 3:18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit,
***All 3 of these affirm that He is the God-Man who came to rescue us.***
These Words of Christ came to a faithful church, as Smyrna is the kind of church I would have loved being a member. Jesus has much to say not only to churches has that embrace sin, but He also has much to say to the faithful.
I want to go back for a moment and look at the word Myrrh from which the word Smyrna comes from. In studying the Bible, we are to always look at things in the proper context.
Smyrna was famous for myrrh, and as the leaves were picked from the bush, they would crush them, and in the crushing of the leaves, a great fragrance come forth. The church at Smyrna was going through the same process that brought forth myrrh as they were being pressed & crushed under the pressure of persecution. In their crushing, the beautiful fragrance of Christ was being released in love in the midst of a deeply pagan and evil city.
Psalm 45:6 Your throne, O God, is forever and ever. The scepter of your kingdom is a scepter of uprightness; 7 you have loved righteousness and hated wickedness. Therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions; 8 your robes are all fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia.
The word myrrh can also means “bitter”, and it came to be associated with suffering and death.
I find it fascinating that in a city whose name means bitter and fragrance is also where you find a 1st Century church where a great persecution was taking place where believers were being crushed and giving out the aroma of Christ.
Let’s see this NT verse from Paul…
2 Corinthians 2:14 But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. 15 For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, 16 to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things?
Jesus Knows What we are Going through Revelation 2:10
“I know”…Jesus is never out of touch to anything in our lives, which comforts us to know that we will never suffer without it serving a purpose in our lives. As Jesus walked among this church, He knew exactly what they were going through as well as what they would need to make it through it all.
Think of this with me for a moment on the day when this letter got to the church in Smyrna. Maybe they are meeting in secret, in the dark with just a little amount of light and the pastor begins to read Revelation to them and as they read through chapter one, they hear that the letter was especially addressed to them. In the room is a gathering of outcasts meeting in a city that was dangerous and when the pastor read Revelation 2 and they hear “to the angel of the church in Smyrna write”…When they got to the words “I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich) and the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan…”, there must have been some of them tear up as they realized that Jesus understood. Jesus spoke Words directly to them. They immediately knew they weren’t alone nor abandoned, the Son of God had walked in the midst of their church in Smyrna and He knew them and the pressure against their faith. What Words these must have been to them.
Someone may have even smiled when Jesus called those Jews a “synagogue of Satan”.
We Are not Alone, as He is always aware!
Tribulation / Deep Persecution – ‘your tribulation’
Jesus knew how bad things were for them and how they were being mistreated.
The word tribulation means “pressure”. It was used in that day to refer to crushing an object under the weight of very heavy stones. It refers to the stone wheels that were used to crush wheat for the purpose of separating the kernel from the shell. This church was paying the price for their allegiance to Jesus. The pressure was on and they were suffering.
The Believers faithfulness made them a target and the object of much hatred. Because all Romans citizens once a year had to go into the temple and acknowledge that Domitian was Lord, so it is likely that some of the persecution came from their refusal to acknowledge the Emperor.
Poverty - “poverty”
It is a word that means extreme poverty, not just being poor. It highlights the reality that this group of believers had lost everything and had likely had to become beggars to get by in the city. They lived in a prosperous city and at the same time they were in great poverty that came from their love of Christ.
Hebrews 10:32 But recall the former days when, after you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings, 33 sometimes being publicly exposed to reproach and affliction, and sometimes being partners with those so treated. 34 For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one. 35 Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. 36 For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised. 37 For, “Yet a little while, and the coming one will come and will not delay; 38 but my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.”
Jesus though, has a word for them - But You are Rich
Whatever the reason for the persecution, Jesus reminds them that they were actually rich. His new Words echoed what James and Paul had written to 2 other congregations…
James 2:5 Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him?
2 Corinthians 8:9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.
Jesus affirms that to those who love Him and His kingdom, godly riches are always better.
In spite of it all, they kept their faith. When faith remains alive and active, then that faith makes us so rich. The Smyrnans embraced the things that lasted, things that were of heaven. They were poor here, but they were rich in heaven and while the world may have taken everything they had on earth - they had treasures in heaven that were safe from the hands of any enemy:
Matthew 6:19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
No amount of money is worth the riches we have in Christ. Paul understood this:
Philippians 3:7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.
They were a Slandered People - and the slander of those who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.
The word here is “blasphemia” or blasphemy or slander. Slander refers to abusive speech about someone, whether you are in the right or in the wrong.
Synagogue of Satan
You are not a great synagogue when Jesus calls you a “Synagogue of Satan”. The Jews who refused to worship Jesus as Messiah are just like pagans worshiping idols, even though they are Jews. The fact that Jesus calls them this, confirms it. A synagogue of satan gathers to focus on destroying the church of Jesus
o satan
He is mentioned 2x in this piece to Smyrna, once as “satan” and the other the “devil” indicating that he was the one who was behind all of the persecution. His aim was to crush this church as his kingdom had been dealt a blow in Paul’s ministry in Smyrna. Since the Garden of Eden, his aim has been to destroy God’s people with lies attacking Who God is and His Word.
1. Roman Citizens in Smyrna
2. Jews living there
3. Satan himself
Jesus tells them they Courageously Committed – Revelation 2:10
Revelation 2:10 Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death,
As bad as it was for them already, Jesus now informs that it is going to get worse. Here is His counsel though:
1. Do Not Fear – Revelation 2:10a
Even though He tells them that what they are in right now will be less than what is about to come, He stills tells them to …
“Do not fear” – Greek – “stop being afraid”. The word “fear” also carries the idea of put to flight. Jesus addresses the potential issue of making sure that a lack of courage would not begin to take root in the church. Jesus encourages them to “hang in there and not give into the pressure”.
2. Tested – Revelation 2:10b
Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested
The new persecution would test them greatly and would reveal the authenticity of their faith. “Some” of them would go to prison, and it would have a huge effect on the rest of the church.
Hebrews 12:11 For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.
and for ten days you will have tribulation.
It would be for 10 days and I believe these are likely literal, not figurative days. It would be intense, but brief imprisonment. Even though this would happen, satan would not be able to rob them of what they had in Jesus for nothing can touch that ever.
3. Be Faithful Unto Death – Revelation 2:10c
They have been faithful in real trying times, but now He says, “become faithful even unto death” – that is the Greek meaning. It is possible no one had yet died, but they may now have to be faithful all the way to the last breath. Later in Revelation John writes this…
Revelation 12:10 And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. 11 And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.
4. Lack of Criticism is Powerful
The fact that He has nothing negative or corrective to the Christians in Smyrna indicates the depth & quality of their faith. Where there is persecution on the church, there is always a purity and a power in that church.Those who put their faith in God’s promises when they experience tribulation become unadulterated in doctrine and faith.
Peter know of this and wrote this…
1 Peter 1:6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, 9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
Crown of Life Awaited them – Revelation 2:10d Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.
If death came, guess what? The crown of life awaited. It makes you wonder what John must have thought as he heard these words on Patmos since he was there under persecution. They could have just given up, but instead they remained faithful for they knew something greater awaited them.
The “crown” here is the victor’s crown (stephanos). It was a wreath made of leaves/branches. At times it was made of precious metals that looked like leaves. It was always worn to symbolize honor and victory.It is mentioned in other passages like these: 1 Corinthians 9:25; 2 Timothy 4:8; 1 Peter 5:4.
As a Christ-follower, our prize ultimately consists of “life” – the “Crown of Life”. For all Christ-followers, we will each be given a crown consisting of life. Therefore, persecutors can take the physical lives of believers and even their stuff, but Jesus will give them life in the hereafter.
“Crown of Life” – ultimately, it means salvation in Christ.
James 1:12 Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.
John 11:25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”
1 Peter 5:10 And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. 11 To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.
We are longing for the reward of distinguished life of service for the Lord.
They are Truly Conquerors – Revelation 2:11
Revelation 2:11 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death.’
· Hear the Voice of the Spirit in the Scriptures
What then is the Spirit saying to the churches in regard to Smyrna? What do we learn from the Holy Spirit from Smyrna for my life?
Christians who die living for the Lord know a victory that others do not know because death releases them from the trial and pain of tribulation. We must embrace our victory in the present based on what we know to be true of the future – we will be with Jesus.
· Heart of a Conqueror (a bunch of losers)
Lifepointe, we might look like a bunch of sorry losers to the world, but we are actually men and women who are conquerors waging warfare and the shining light in the name of Jesus to our culture! The day will come when our faith will become sight and all that we have believed will be fully revealed and confirmed.
1 John 3:2 Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. 3 And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.
· Heaven
The Second Death
Daniel 12:1 “At that time shall arise Michael, the great prince who has charge of your people. And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never has been since there was a nation till that time. But at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone whose name shall be found written in the book. 2 And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.
John 14:1 “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. 2 In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.
We who die in Christ don’t need to fear the 2nd Death. The fact that we will be raised to life is to bring great encouragement to us.
Christ-followers may suffer badly in the 1st death (physical) but there will be no 2nd death.
2 Corinthians 4:16 So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. 17 For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 18 as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.
Our faith has purchased for us more than just a testimony here on the earth, but our faith will bring us life eternal with Christ.
What do we do with these words of Jesus to a faithful persecuted church?
As American Christians, we honestly don’t know what it is like to live under the stress and stretching like so many of our brothers and sister around the world. We actually live in a safe place.
I will put this forth though now that we are living in the midst of Covid-19. Governors and the media in these days have continued to put more and more scrutiny against the American church. Will this continue? Time will tell, but I would say that we ought to be ready for more pressure and even persecution in the future.
Here is a link if you are interested in regard to some of the false information about the church and Covid-19. We should keep ourselves informed.
No comments:
Post a Comment