8 “And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write,
‘These
things says the First and the Last, who was dead, and came to life: 9 “I know your works, tribulation, and poverty (but you are rich); and
I know the blasphemy of those who say
they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue
of Satan. 10 Do not fear any
of those things you are about to suffer. Indeed,
the devil is about to throw some of
you into prison, that you may be tested,
and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and
I will give you the crown of life.
11 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death.” ’[1]
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C. The
Message to Smyrna: The Church That Is Persecuted, 2:8–11 |
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1. The Recipients
a. The messenger of the church b. The Smyrna church DS1
2. The Speaker:
Jesus |
8 And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write, These things
saith the first and the last,
which was dead, and is alive;
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3. The
commendation a. For afflictions b. For bearing
poverty c. For spiritual
wealth d. For bearing
slander |
9 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. |
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4. The
counsel a. The devil will
persecute b. The persecution
will be limited c. The charge: Do
not fear, but be faithful, even to death 5. The
promise: To the overcomers a. The crown of
life |
10 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. |
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b. Deliverance from
the second death |
11 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.[3]
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B. THE DEPENDABLE CHURCH
The
Smyrna church was dependable. It stood fast in persecution. Smyrna is one of
the two churches that does not have any condemning things said of it. The
letter to Smyrna is the shortest of the letters to the seven churches.
1. The Church (Revelation2:8)
“Unto the angel of the church in Smyrna” (Revelation 2:8). Smyrna was located about forty
miles north of Ephesus. The Gospel was probably introduced there by Paul’s
effective ministry in Ephesus (Acts 19:10).
The word “Smyrna” comes from a Hebrew
word meaning “bitter” (Strauss). The meaning fits the experience of the
believers. Satan tried very hard to make the lives of the believers in Smyrna
bitter with much persecution.
2. The Christ (Revelation2:8)
“These things saith the first and the last, which was
dead, and is alive” (Revelation
2:8). The author is Jesus Christ. His attributes, spoken of in
Revelation 1, which are repeated here in the letter to Smyrna, are twofold.
• Christ is adequate. “First and the
last.” Christ is adequate, sufficient for our salvation and for all
that we need spiritually. This fact was stated in several ways in the first
chapter of Revelation. “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending … I am
Alpha and Omega, the first and the last” (Revelation
1:8, 11). Smyrna needed this reminder of Christ’s sufficiency because of
the trials the church was experiencing.
• Christ is alive. “Which was dead and is alive.” Christ is alive. This was stated in Revelation 1:18: “I am he that liveth, and was dead; and behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen.” This reference to Christ was very appropriate; for Smyrna needed help, they were experiencing great trials. Christ had experienced great trials which led to His death (Hebrews 4:15, 16), but He conquered the trials by rising from the grave. So, this description of Christ was especially good for Smyrna.[4]
C. The
Message to Smyrna: The Church That Is Persecuted, 2:8–11
(2:8–11) Introduction:
the church is sometimes called upon to suffer terrible persecution. This has
always been true down through history, and it was certainly true in Smyrna. The
church was under heavy attack from both the community and city officials. And
there was even more horrible persecution lying over the horizon (v.10). But note: the church was
faithful to Christ and His mission. The church was standing fast for the truth
against all attacks. It was a church in which nothing was wrong, that is,
nothing of any major significance. Therefore, it was one of the few churches
that Christ did not have to warn. Smyrna is the picture of just what a church
should be: a dynamic witness for Jesus Christ through all circumstances, no
matter the trial or temptation. It is the picture of a church that loves the
Lord enough to stand up for Him even when the community attacks its witness.
1. The Recipients (v.8).
2. The Speaker: Jesus (v.8).
3. The commendation (v.9).
4. The counsel (v.10).
5. The promise: to the overcomers (vv.10–11).
1 (2:8)
Church—Minister: There Are the
Recipients of The Letter. The letter is addressed to the minister of the
church. Remember: The Greek word for angel (Angelos) means both angel and
messenger; that is, it can mean an earthly messenger. In the case of the church,
the meaning is the messenger or minister of the church. This is significant,
for it means that the minister is held responsible for the church. In Smyrna’s
case—in the case of the persecuted church—the minister is to take the lead in
standing fast against persecution.
⇒ He
is to stand forth for Christ and lead his people to stand for Christ.
⇒ He
is not to buckle under and deny Christ; he is to lead his people not to buckle
under and deny Christ.
No matter how severe the persecution may be, the minister of the church is to lead his people to hold the banner of Christ high. Even if it means martyrdom, the minister and his people are to do what Christ says to do in this letter.
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DEEPER
STUDY # 1 (2:8) Smyrna:
three historical facts seem to have a bearing upon the message to the church.
1. Smyrna
means bitter. It received its name from myrrh, one of its chief
commercial products. Myrrh was a gum-like resin taken from a shrub and was
very bitter. It was used in making perfume (Ps.
45:8), oil (Ex. 30:23), embalming (Jn. 19:39), for purification of women (Est. 2:12), and for relieving and dulling pain (Mk. 15:23). It should be noted that this church
was experiencing what its name said: bitter sorrow, affliction, and
persecution (Re. 2:9–10). 2 Smyrna
was a proud city—proud of its culture, its beauty, its commercial wealth,
and its social life. Its citizens called it the first city in Asia. There was municipal vanity among the people.
Everyone tried to climb the social ladder a step further than his neighbor.
Everyone wanted first place, the highest seat, and the most recognition. To
these, Christ proclaims loudly and clearly, “I am the first and last” (v.8);
“I am the one who has the crown of
life” (v.10). 3. Smyrna
was persecuting the church severely. The city had a large number of Jews
who were influential in city politics. Jews were, of course, steeped in the
Old Testament and the prophecies of the Messiah. Many of the early converts
to Christ were Jews. Here in Smyrna, the reaction of the Jews was severe.
They reacted severely and did all they could to influence the city officials
to stamp out the church. The Christian believer knew God personally and
intimately; therefore, he could not worship or participate in the festivals of
the god and goddesses of his day. He was marked. In some cases, jobs were
lost, and in all cases, social life within the city was severed. Mockery,
abuse, scorn, and persecution were applied. When Jesus says He is the first
and the last, it is a promise that He is with the believer through it
all—from the very first to the very last (v.11).
He knows what the believer is going through, for He has suffered not only the
threat of death but death itself (v.8).
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2 (2:8) Jesus Christ—Church: There Is the Speaker, Jesus Christ Himself. Christ has a very special message for the church suffering trouble and persecution, and His message is wrapped up in two titles.
1.
Christ says that He is the first and the last. He is the One supreme
authority and ruler over life. Persecutors—government officials and some
citizens who persecute and cause trouble for other people—may think they hold
authority over life, but they do not. They may claim to be the first and the
last to have the final word and authority, but they are deceived. There is only
one first and last, only one supreme authority, and that is the Lord Jesus
Christ, the Son of God Himself.
a. This means that all persecutors, all
those who afflict and cause trouble for others, had better take heed. They
shall be judged if they usurp and take the authority over human life into their
own hands. There is only one authority over life, and that is the Lord Jesus
Christ. Therefore, all people are to look to Him. Any person who persecutes and
causes trouble for other people shall face His judgment.
“And as it is appointed unto men once
to die, but after this the judgment” (He. 9:27).
b. This means that believers always have
the presence of Christ with them through all the troubles and persecutions of
life. Jesus Christ is the first and the last; He is always there. He is there
with the believer …
• when the trouble first begins
• when the trouble is going on
• when the trouble ends
Jesus
Christ is the first and the last; He spans time, all the minutes and hours of
time. His presence covers all the problems, circumstances, and troubles of
human life. Jesus Christ is always in charge of what happens to us. He controls
the circumstances and troubles no matter what happens. Therefore, He will work
all things out for our good.
“Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily,
I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am” (Jn. 8:58).
“Father, I will that they also, whom
thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which
thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world” (Jn. 17:24).
“And we know that all things work
together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according
to his purpose” (Ro. 8:28).
“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, distress, or persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, or sword? … Nay, in all these things, we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Ro. 8:35, 37–39).
2.
Christ says He is the One who was dead and is alive again. The word “was”
(genomenos) really means became. Christ
became dead. His death was only a
passing phase, an episode He had to go through. He experienced death, but death
was only a passing thing for Him. He triumphed over it. Alive is aorist tense in Greek, a once-for-all act. Once it is
done, it is done—completed, finished. Jesus came
to life again. He arose. Therefore, the message to the church at Smyrna is
that no matter what they experience, it is a passing episode. Even if they
experience death, it has been conquered. Christ has personally been there and
triumphed over both pain and death. Therefore, the believer shall live forever
even if he is martyred.
“For God so loved the world, that he
gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish,
but have everlasting life” (Jn. 3:16).
“Verily, verily, I say unto you, He
that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life,
and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life” (Jn. 5:24).
“And this is the will of him that sent
me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth in him, may have
everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day” (Jn. 6:40).
“There hath no temptation [trial] taken
you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you
to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a
way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it” (1
Co. 10:13).
“And the Lord shall deliver me from
every evil work and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be
glory forever and ever” (2 Tim. 4:18).
“Forasmuch then as the children are
partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same;
that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is,
the devil; and deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime
subject to bondage” (He. 2:14–15).
“Blessed be the God and Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again
unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead to an
inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in
heaven for you” (1 Pe. 1:3–4).
“The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished” (2 Pe. 2:9).[5]
THE PERSECUTED
CHURCH / 2:8–11 [6]
The port city of Smyrna lay
thirty-five miles up the coast, north of Ephesus. It also had an excellent
harbor on the Aegean Sea and rivaled Ephesus in the export business. This is
the only one of the seven cities still in existence; its modern name is Izmir.
The church in Smyrna was one of the two churches that received no rebukes from
Christ.
“To
the angel of the church in Smyrna write: These
are the words of him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again.” 2:8 NIV
Smyrna, like Ephesus, was a proud and beautiful city. Smyrna also had earned
the right to be self-governing. It had a large library, stadium, and the
largest public theater in Asia. Mount Pagus rose above the harbor with an
acropolis built on it that was considered the city’s “crown.” A famous “Golden
Street” traversed the city with a temple to Zeus at one end and a temple to a
local goddess, Sipylene (Cybele), at the other. Other temples to Apollo,
Asclepius, and Aphrodite lined the way.
Perhaps even more important, the
city had become a center for the cult of emperor worship. Smyrna received
permission (over several other cities who requested) to build a temple to the
emperor Tiberius in 23 b.c.. Under
the emperor Domitian (who ruled from a.d.
81 to 96), emperor worship was required for all Roman citizens. Those who
refused could receive the death penalty. Once a year, all citizens were
required to burn incense on an altar to Caesar, after which they would receive
a certificate proving that they had done their civic duty. While this was more
an act of political loyalty than a religious act, the citizen had to say, while
burning the incense, “Caesar is lord.” Many Christians considered this act
blasphemous and refused to do it.
In addition to being a center
for the imperial cult, Smyrna also had a large Jewish population that actively
opposed the Christians. Thus, the church in this city struggled against two
hostile forces: a Gentile population loyal to Rome and supported emperor
worship, and a large Jewish population strongly opposed to Christianity.
Persecution and suffering were inevitable in that kind of environment. Years
later, in a.d. 156, the
eighty-six-year-old church father, Polycarp, was burned alive as “the twelfth
martyr of Smyrna.” Obviously, the church in Smyrna was persecuted.
The description of Christ given to this small church on the verge of being snuffed out by persecution is that Christ is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again (1:17–18). Although this church was almost dead due to persecution, Christ was reminding them that he was sovereign and eternal. No matter what they faced, Christ already knew about it; as the “First and the Last,” nothing could take him by surprise. Christ identified himself as the one who died and came back to life again. Even if believers must suffer to the point of death, Christ, the one who “came to life again,” would raise them to eternal life with him.[7]
Depend (Need, Rely, Trust)
What does it mean to depend on
God?
bible
reading: 1 Chronicles 29:10–25
key
bible verse: Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, the power, the
glory, the victory, and the majesty. Everything in the heavens and on earth is
yours, O Lord, and this is your
kingdom. We adore you as the one who is over all things. (1 Chronicles 29:11)
Dependence
on God means counting on his control. David acknowledged God’s
greatness. Our constantly changing world is controlled by a constant and
unchanging God. As we see life come and go, materials decay and friends change,
the only thing on which we can truly depend is God’s control. His love and
purpose for us never change. Only when we understand this can we have real
peace and security.
bible
reading: 2 Corinthians 1:3–11
key
bible verse: We expected to die.
But as a result, we learned not to rely on ourselves, but on God who can raise
the dead. (2 Corinthians 1:9)
Dependence
on God means counting on him for our daily needs. Paul
does not give details about their hardships in Asia, although his accounts of
all three missionary journeys record many difficult trials he faced (Acts 13:2–14:28; Acts 15:40–21:17). He does write
that they felt doomed to die and realized that they could do nothing to help
themselves—they simply had to trust in God.
We often depend on our own
skills and abilities when life seems easy, but we turn to God when we feel
unable to help ourselves. Depending on God is not defeat or weakness but a
realization of our own powerlessness without him and our need for his constant
contact. God is our source of power, and we receive his help by keeping in
touch with him. With this attitude, problems will drive us to God rather than
away from him. Learn how to rely on God daily.
bible
reading: Mark 9:14–29
key
bible verse: Jesus replied, “This
kind can be cast out only by prayer.” (Mark
9:29)
Dependence
on God means counting on the power of prayer. The disciples would often face
difficult situations that could be resolved only through prayer. Prayer is the
key that unlocks faith in our life. Effective prayer needs both an
attitude—complete dependence—and an action—asking. Prayer demonstrates our
reliance on God as we humbly invite him to fill us with faith and power. There
is no substitute for prayer, especially in circumstances that seem impossible.
Related Topics: Faith, Prayer, Trust [8]
Revelation 2:8 Smyrna, The Dependable Persecuted Church: Dependence on God Means Counting on His Control
All Pics Provided by Relentless Jess Anchorage, AK Thanks for being a brave trooper in the freezing cold of Alaska. :-)
[1] The New King James Version. 1982. Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
[2] Leadership Ministries Worldwide. 1996. Revelation. The Preacher’s Outline & Sermon Bible. Chattanooga, TN: Leadership Ministries Worldwide.
DS
Deeper Study
[3] Leadership Ministries Worldwide. 1996. Revelation.
The Preacher’s Outline & Sermon Bible. Chattanooga, TN: Leadership
Ministries Worldwide.
[4] Butler, John G. 2010. Analytical Bible
Expositor: Revelation. Clinton, IA: LBC Publications.
[5] Leadership Ministries Worldwide. 1996. Revelation. The Preacher’s Outline & Sermon Bible. Chattanooga, TN: Leadership Ministries Worldwide.
[6] Barton, Bruce B. 2000. Revelation.
Edited by Grant R. Osborne. Life Application Bible Commentary. Wheaton, IL:
Tyndale House Publishers.
NIV
Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. NIV®.
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission
of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.
[7] Barton, Bruce B. 2000. Revelation.
Edited by Grant R. Osborne. Life Application Bible Commentary. Wheaton, IL:
Tyndale House Publishers.
[8] Wilson, Neil S. 2000. In The Handbook of
Bible Application, 144. Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House
Publishers, Inc.
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