SMYRNA

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. 9 “ ‘I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich) and the slander of those who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. 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, 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. The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death.’

Smyrna

A port city founded after Alexander the Great,

Smyrna was located at the end of the road that stretched through Asia Minor.

The road brought various commercial goods to the port of Smyrna, which were then sent and distributed throughout the Roman Empire.

Jesus Is Bigger than Death.

Revelation 2:8 (ESV)

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.

helps us know how to think

The death and resurrection of Jesus mean that death has no power over him.

He is bigger than death itself,

and given what the church in Smyrna faces, that reality is one they must keep in their minds if they are to be faithful.

When you think about the end of your life, do you apply to your contemplation the fact that Jesus has conquered death?

When you think about dangerous situations you might face—the noise in the night that means an intruder might be in your home, the thought that someone you love could fall into a rushing river or be in some other situation that, if you try to help, might end your own life—

When you think of life-threatening danger, do you apply to your thinking the triumph of Jesus over death? My friends, this is what it means to

make connections between the good news of Jesus Christ, crucified and risen,

and all of life.

Applying to our fears the knowledge that Jesus is bigger than death will make us courageous.[1]

Courage is a great thing but courage is not our ultimate goal. Our ultimate goal is to live in ways that show our confidence in Jesus.

you can be courageous for a lot of reasons

When we are courageous because we know that Jesus is bigger than death, we honor Jesus.

And when we put ourselves in harm’s way in order to protect others, or even to save their lives, because we love Jesus and know that he is in control and trust him to take care of us—even if we die—we are following Jesus. [2]

Jesus Knows His People in Their Suffering

Revelation 2:9 (ESV)

9 “ ‘I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich)

and the slander of those who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.

1. Jesus does not trivialize their suffering by telling them it isn’t really that bad.

He doesn’t demean them by telling them that if they were stronger it wouldn’t bother them so much. And he doesn’t cheapen their experience by offering unsympathetic advice.

Rather, Jesus ennobles their suffering with the simple and comforting words, “I know your tribulation.”

One of the most discouraging effects of suffering is that we feel alone.

When Jesus tells the church in Smyrna that he knows their tribulation, he is reminding them of his presence with them.

2. Jesus knows their “poverty.” The church was poor.

The tribulation probably resulted from the people of influence in Smyrna opposing Christianity because they perceived that this new religion was not going to appease the gods of the Greco-Roman pantheon,

it was not going to make Caesar happy,

and it was not going to raise the city of Smyrna to new heights of prominence in the Roman Empire.

In fact, the values of this new faith were at odds with the values of the Roman Empire. So

The little church in

Smyrna was opposed by the power structures in the Empire

and had no financial resources

and no influence in society. Or so it seemed.

(but you are rich)

We are rich because we have what will save life unto eternity.

When Jesus comes on that white horse, outdated clothes, beat-up cars, and houses where the appliances have not been updated will cease to be indications that we are not wealthy.

The only thing that will matter is whether or not you have the gospel.

And if you have the gospel, you are rich indeed. This wealth is yours if you will trust Christ.

But you should not trust him to have a paradoxical version of wealth; you should trust him so you can be reconciled to God, so you can treasure God.

3. Jesus knows “the slander of those who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.”

Jesus denies the status of “Jew” to those who do not serve the Jewish King, Jesus himself.

He identifies true allegiance: there are those who gather in synagogues to celebrate Satan’s kingdom, not God’s.

God’s kingdom is advancing with King Jesus at its head.

All who oppose King Jesus are allied with the dark power in service to a rebel kingdom whose lord is a liar and murderer who hates those who serve Jesus. Our Lord said that those who are not for him are against him (Matthew 12:30). [3]

Rome had good reasons to tolerate the Jewish religion.

First, it was a well-established religion with a long history.

Most important, Rome wanted to keep the people of Judea from revolting.

Neither of these reasons applied to Christianity.

This new offshoot of the Jewish religion had little support at first among the people of Judea. In fact, many Jews would have been pleased if Rome had suppressed it.

Jesus Calls His People to Be Faithful unto Death

Revelation 2:10 (ESV)

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, and I will give you

the crown of life.

The church in Smyrna is urged to be faithful “even to the point of death” (2:10).

Resurrection life will be their crown of life. This crown alludes to the wreath given to the winner of an athletic event.

Shown here is Nike, the Greek goddess of victory, holding a wreath in one hand and a palm branch in the other, both symbols of victory.

Not only were the Christians in Smyrna persecuted for not worshipping the empower Nero, they were also unfairly targeted after Emperor Nero allegedly burned Rome and then blamed the Christians.

1. The only thing that will keep the Smyrnan Christians from fearing what they are about to suffer is their living on what Jesus has said to them thus far.

He has announced himself as “the first and the last, who died and came to life” (2:8),

and he has assured them that he knows what they suffer and knows who their enemies are (2:9).

Because of who he is,

and because he will be with them through the suffering, they can be free from fear.[4]

note what he promises and what he doesn’t promise

2. He identifies who is at work in their suffering—“the devil is about to throw some of you into prison” (2:10).

There is no question here about who is in the right and who is in the wrong.

There is no suggestion from Jesus that a change in strategy might palliate the adversaries of the church.

There is none of this namby-pamby nonsense suggesting that maybe if the Christians were less dogmatic,

or maybe if they were more open to the possibility of there being more than one right way, they would not be suffering.

None of that garbage from Jesus.

He recognizes who the enemy is, and it is clear that those who oppose his people are diabolical. The devil is about to have them arrested.

3. There is a purpose statement following the announcement that the opposition comes from Satan—“that you may be tested” (2:10).

I don’t think this is a satanic purpose. It seems that, like 17:17,

this is one of those texts in Revelation that indicates that

God is using Satan to accomplish his purposes.

God is using the devil’s persecution to test and prove his people.

And when his people come through the test, they make God look good, for only God could preserve them.

how long will the tribulation last?

4. Jesus tells them that “for ten days you will have tribulation” (2:10). “Ten days” points to a full but limited amount of time.

I don’t think we should read this as a literal reference to ten twenty-four-hour periods of time. What if they wind up imprisoned for longer than ten days? I don’t think that’s the point.

The point is to communicate to these Christians that Jesus knows how long their suffering is going to last.

and in comparison with other periods of time in Revelation—for instance, the thousand years we read of in chapter 20—the ten days of their suffering is relatively short.

They can hold on to the end because it is a relatively short period of time, and Jesus knows how long it will last.[5]

“Be faithful unto death”

Only Jesus could make this kind of demand.

Only Jesus has the authority necessary to place this kind of obligation upon people.

Only Jesus has the ability to recompense those who would obey this injunction.

The command to “be faithful unto death” proclaims that it is more important to be faithful to Jesus than it is to go on living.

Philip Doddridge (1702–1751) once wrote, “I am more afraid of doing what is wrong than of dying.”

“Jesus is worth dying for. And if he is worth dying for, then he is worth living for. Only those who are gripped by something worth more to them than life can be truly courageous.

And courage is precisely what Jesus calls the church in Smyrna to in this command.

He is proclaiming to them that he is better than life.” J. M. Hamilton

Those who experience his goodness, who know him this way, know the truth that Jesus spoke: “For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it” (Mark 8:35).

Jesus promises life to those who are faithful unto death. He says, “Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life” (2:10).

in other words

This is the only way to life: death. Death to self. Death to sin. Then you will be dead to the world and dead to fear. You will also be alive by the power of the Spirit and through faith in Jesus.[6]

Jesus Promises His People Life

Revelation 2:11 (ESV)

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.’

Though persecuted believers may suffer the first (physical) death, they will never experience the second death (which is not annihilation but conscious, eternal damnation in hell; Rev. 20:14; 21:8).

Not is the strongest negative the Greek language can express.

The persecuted, suffering, yet faithful church at Smyrna stands for all time as an example of those who “have heard the word in an honest and good heart,

and hold it fast,

and bear fruit with perseverance” (Luke 8:15).

Because they loyally confessed Him before men,

Jesus will confess them before the Father (Matt. 10:32).[7]

It is the promise that when Christians face trials, God offers an eternal reward to those who remain faithful, even unto death itself. The threat of persecution is ever before the church.

The only explanation for Thomas Cranmer’s life and death is to be found in the words of Philippians 1:6, which he quoted on the morning of his death: “God, who began a good work … will bring it to completion.”

The Main Point

The knowledge of Jesus must be bigger than life to us.

• 1 Corinthians 1:9: “God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.”

• 2 Corinthians 1:9: “Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.”

• 1 Thessalonians 5:23, 24: “Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.”

• Revelation 12:11: “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.”

God gets the glory for martyrs because he is the one who has convinced them that his love is better than life (Psalm 63:3).

He is the one whose worth their deaths declare.

He is the one who has so satisfied their hearts that they cannot deny him—they are not able to do so—they do not want to do so because they want to be faithful to him.

God’s word is true. If we know Jesus we know he is bigger than life, better than life. God gets the glory as people who know him declare that it is better to die than to live without him.

(Church History Is Filled with Examples of Believers Whose Hope in Eternal Life Sustained Them through Terrible Trials and Even Death)

The account of his death, known as the Martyrdom of Polycarp, provides the oldest written account of a Christian martyrdom outside the New Testament:

Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna, was martyred in the second century AD, burned alive by the Romans.

But as Polycarp entered the stadium, there came a voice from heaven:

“Be strong, Polycarp, and act like a man.”

And no one saw the speaker, but those of our people who were present heard the voice. And then, as he was brought forward, there was a great tumult when they heard that Polycarp had been arrested.

Therefore, when he was brought before him, the proconsul asked if he were Polycarp. And when he confessed that he was, the proconsul tried to persuade him to recant, saying, “Have respect for your age,” and other such things as they are accustomed to say:

“Swear by the Genius of Caesar; repent; say, ‘Away with the atheists!’ ”

So Polycarp solemnly looked at the whole crowd of lawless heathen who were in the stadium, motioned toward them with his hand, and then (groaning as he looked up to heaven) said, “Away with the atheists!” But when the magistrate persisted and said,

“Swear the oath, and I will release you; revile Christ,”

Polycarp replied, “For eighty-six years I have been his servant, and he has done me no wrong. How can I blaspheme my King who saved me?”9

We need this. Not just because some of us might die as martyrs, but because all of us live.

The death of the martyrs points to the life worth living, to the life worth dying for—the life that is lived to and through and for God through Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit. 8]

Revelation 22:20 (ESV)

20 He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!

Revelation 2:10: Jesus Calls His People to Be Faithful unto Death[9]

[1]Hamilton, J. M., Jr. (2012). Preaching the Word: Revelation—The Spirit Speaks to the Churches (R. K. Hughes, Ed.; p. 76). Crossway. [2]Hamilton, J. M., Jr. (2012). Preaching the Word: Revelation—The Spirit Speaks to the Churches (R. K. Hughes, Ed.; pp. 76–77). Crossway. [3] Hamilton, J. M., Jr. (2012). Preaching the Word: Revelation—The Spirit Speaks to the Churches (R. K. Hughes, Ed.; p. 79). Crossway. [4]Hamilton, J. M., Jr. (2012). Preaching the Word: Revelation—The Spirit Speaks to the Churches (R. K. Hughes, Ed.; pp. 79–80). Crossway. [5]Hamilton, J. M., Jr. (2012). Preaching the Word: Revelation—The Spirit Speaks to the Churches (R. K. Hughes, Ed.; p. 80). Crossway. [6]Hamilton, J. M., Jr. (2012). Preaching the Word: Revelation—The Spirit Speaks to the Churches (R. K. Hughes, Ed.; pp. 80–81). Crossway. [7]MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (1999). Revelation 1–11 (p. 79). Moody Press. [8]Hamilton, J. M., Jr. (2012). Preaching the Word: Revelation—The Spirit Speaks to the Churches (R. K. Hughes, Ed.; pp. 83–84). Crossway. [9]Hamilton, J. M., Jr. (2012). Preaching the Word: Revelation—The Spirit Speaks to the Churches (R. K. Hughes, Ed.; p. 79). Crossway.

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