Text: Revelation 2:8-11
OPEN:
Smyrna was a beautiful city located on the coast about 40 miles north of Ephesus. It was one of the most prosperous cities of Asia. There was a hill named the Pagos back of the city, and around the crest of that hill a number of pagan temples, forming a rough circle, had been erected. Because it looked like a crown, Smyrna was called "the Crown of Asia."
The city was one of the major centers of emperor worship. As early as 26 A. D., during the reign of Tiberius Caesar, a temple had been erected to the emperor, and thus the Christians of Smyrna were confronted with the need annually to choose between saying, "Jesus is Lord," or, "Caesar is Lord." That was the test the Romans applied to all their citizens. It meant that a great deal of pressure and persecution came upon this church because of their unwillingness to say "Caesar is Lord." There was also a large community of Jews within the city who were hostile to the Christian faith, as we will see.
Christians will face hardships; the way we respond gives testimony to our faith and our Lord.
I. Christians Are Not Exempt From Trouble.
That is our Lord's appraisal of this church. It is obviously a church in trouble.
1. The name Smyrna means "myrrh."
It is a very fitting name because myrrh is a perfume, the fragrance of which is released by crushing. Here was a church that was being crushed through persecution.
It was tough to be a Christian in Smyrna because they had to live constantly between two extremes. There was within the church a rich and loving fellowship which must have greatly warmed their hearts and strengthened their faith, but outside, in the city, they faced continuous cruel and persistent hostility.
2. There is an ascending scale of troubles harassing the church:
1) The first thing the Lord says is, "I know your afflictions."
The Greek word means distresses. It is a picture of crushing, unending pressure upon them.
Illus: We can best understand what that would be like if we remember what we have read about the Holocaust in Germany, and the continual pressures that the Jews faced daily under the Nazi regime. Every day they were hounded and harassed on every side. They were humiliated and attacked without mercy. It is the kind of distress these Christians in Smyrna were enduring.
2) The second thing Jesus says is, I know your poverty: "I know your afflictions and your poverty -- yet you are rich."
We do not know exactly what made them poor. Smyrna was a prosperous city, but it was likely that their poverty was caused by the persecutions they were experiencing.
Work and patronage in business may have been withheld from the Christians; mobs may have looted their homes and shops. This was common in the early church in times of persecution. Perhaps they had to resort to menial work, and to eat cheap food to get by. Yet the Lord says their fellowship within the congregation and their families was rich indeed.
3) Thirdly, Jesus says, "I know the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan."
There was a smear campaign going on against these Christians. Lies were being told about them. We know from early literature that, because the Christians talked about eating and drinking the body and blood of Christ, they were accused of being cannibals.
Also, because they refused to visit the pagan temples, or to acknowledge the gods of the pagans, they were called atheists. Consequently they were treated with scorn in this world given over to idolatry.
Christians talked often about being members one of another and of loving one another, and so they were accused of sexual orgies. Lies were spread about them that when they met together it was to indulge in licentious and lascivious practices. This slander is what produced much of the persecution of the early Christians. It came, we are told here, from false Jews. These were physical descendants of Abraham and they had a synagogue there in Smyrna, but, like the Pharisees who harassed and hounded Jesus, they persecuted these believers, proving they did not have the spiritual insights of Abraham. They were, in effect, "a synagogue of Satan" and were far removed from being true children of Abraham. It is hard to bear up under slander.
3. It is significant to note that there is no word of rebuke given to this church.
Among these seven churches, the only other one to escape rebuke is the Church at Philadelphia.
II. Things May Go from Bad to Worse.
The worst was yet to come. Jesus says, "Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you."
The Lord acknowledges that he who is the First and the Last is going to allow this to happen. The devil will put some of them in prison. Those Roman prisons were terrible places where prisoners were faced with the threat of execution at any moment. But our Lord says three very encouraging things. If you ever have to face this kind of persecution here are three things to strengthen you:
1. First, "You are going to be put into prison to test you."
It is to test you that this hardship is given. It is to strip off the superficial supports that you have been leaning on and to show you how much you have truly learned to rely upon the grace and the strength of God.
2. Then, second, he says it will be only for a limited time.
He is going to test you "ten days."
We do not know when or how this took place though it undoubtedly did occur to this church at Smyrna, but the encouraging thing is that the Lord determined the limits. The test cannot go beyond it.
3. Third, he says, "Be faithful even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life."
That is intended as a contrast to the Crown of Asia, the pagan temple buildings that were built on the hill of Pagos. That was an earthly crown, a recognition of earthly status, and a source of great pride to this city. But our Lord says that he will give something much better -- a Crown of Life, of eternal life.
Looking back through church history, we can see that this church is a picture of the period in history from about 160 A. D. to 320 A. D. The whole period has been termed the "Age of the Martyrs." In this first period, Christians were persecuted in ways almost beyond belief. Their bodies were torn apart on racks. Their fingernails were pulled off. They were hung by their thumbs, oftentimes for days. They were wrapped in animal skins and thrown out for bulls to gore and to pitch around. They were covered with tar and set alight in the gardens to light the festivities of the pagans. If you want the gruesome details get a copy of Fox's Book of Martyrs and read what some of the early Christians went through.
One of the first was a man named Polycarp who was the bishop of this very church at Smyrna. His tomb is shown on the acropolis back of Smyrna. On February 23, 155 A. D., at the age of 86, he was sentenced to death by being burnt at the stake for his faith. He had refused to say, "Caesar is Lord." When he died he gave eloquent testimony to his love for Christ. The account of it has been preserved in Fox's Book of Martyrs. He was the disciple of the Apostle John, and had probably heard from his lips the truth recorded here in Revelation.
CLOSE:
Christians will face hardships; the way we respond gives testimony to our faith and our Lord.
“Never pray for an easier life–pray to be a stronger person! Never pray for tasks equal to your power–pray for power to be equal to your tasks. Then doing your work will be no miracle–you will be the miracle.”
~ Phillips Brooks
The role of suffering in the Christian life remains a mystery, yet holds enormous potential for molding a healthy response to human agony in the world, as well as our own upward climb. Sadly, many gravitate toward one of two opposing poles: asceticism that glorifies suffering as something good in itself, or the numbing approach to living that would eliminate suffering at all costs. Help is available to gain a grip on this slippery slope by revisiting a familiar and oft quoted Scripture passage in the New Testament Book of Romans, the eighth chapter and twenty eighth verse: “All things work together for the good of them who love God and are called according to His purpose.” Frequently invoked as a sort of Christian talisman, the interpretation follows that belonging to God insures me against extended suffering and disaster of any sort. That kind of thinking calls into question God’s character and my own faith every time I fail or fall or stub my toe. I remember hearing Henry Blackaby say that God’s primary concern for us is not our position, retirement benefits, or our comfort; instead, his ultimate goal for us is Christlikeness and will allow whatever is necessary into our lives so that we become like Jesus.
If not insurance against hardship, what does Romans 8:28 promise us? Regardless of how difficult and demanding our circumstances, by relying on God and responding toward rather than away from him, God will see to it that we emerge on the other side of our situation more like Christ. When we decide that Christlikeness is more important than momentary ease and comfort, we become the miracle rather than another casualty.
(Dr. Dane Fowlkes)
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