Revelation Study Week 6: Chapter 2:8-11

The Persecuted Church

Revelation 2:8-11

8 “Write this letter to the angel of the church in Smyrna. This is the message from the one who is the First and the Last, who was dead but is now alive:9 “I know about your suffering and your poverty—but you are rich! I know the blasphemy of those opposing you. They say they are Jews, but they are not, because their synagogue belongs to Satan. 10 Don’t be afraid of what you are about to suffer. The devil will throw some of you into prison to test you. You will suffer for ten days. But if you remain faithful even when facing death, I will give you the crown of life.11 “Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches. Whoever is victorious will not be harmed by the second death.

Literal Meaning

Vs. 8 “Write this letter to the angel of the church in Smyrna. This is the message from the one who is the First and the Last, who was dead but is now alive:

Vs. 8 Life and death is a major theme in this letter to Smyrna. Jesus being the one who was death and is now alive shows them that he has the ultimate say in life after death.

Vs. 9  “I know about your suffering and your poverty—but you are rich! I know the blasphemy of those opposing you. They say they are Jews, but they are not, because their synagogue belongs to Satan.

This verse is a Great testimony of God’s currency, and how ours should be. True riches, according to God is not about situation. or possessions but something deeper.

It is interesting that the ones opposing them is saying false things about them but in reality they are the one living in falsehood. They think they are God’s people but they are Satans.

Vs. 10 Don’t be afraid of what you are about to suffer. The devil will throw some of you into prison to test you. You will suffer for ten days. But if you remain faithful even when facing death, I will give you the crown of life

There are two types of fear in the Bible, one is the fear of the LORD and we are told to have this type of fear. The other is the fear of anything else. The fear of the LORD, challenges us and calls us into action. The fear of anything else, causes us to be paralyzed or to be motivated by evil.

The fact that the testing if from the devil means they should not fear. the idea of suffering for 10 days was literal in that they would often be put in prison for 10 days, but also 10 is the number in the Bible for testimony, so I could also mean that they would be suffering for their testimony of Jesus.

He then gives them the reason for not fearing, if they remain faithful even when facing death, they will receive life. They can be sure of this because of what we read in vs. 8 about who was dead but now is alive.

To understand the issue of faithfulness we have to understand what they were facing.

Persecution from the Romans, participation in the trade guilds.

Persecution from the Jews...

Vs. 11 “Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches. Whoever is victorious will not be harmed by the second death.

The words of this letter is for anyone with ears to hear…being victorious (or remaining faithful) will not be harmed by the second death. Notice it says nothing about physical death.

Universal Understanding

There is a lot that we could include in the universal understanding

What does being rich truly look like?

What does hypocrisy look like?

Suffering is not something to fear.

Suffering when facing death brings the crown of life.

Prophetic Nature

We looked last week at the idea that the church in Ephesus could represent the apostolic age and maybe a little after the 1st century. There was a complete devotion that turned into a loss of their first love.

The church in Smyrna was one that suffered persecution but remained faithful. We see this in history from just after the first century until 313 AD and there was something specific that happened in that year that was very specific and it would change the church forever…but we will talk about that next week.

The ten days of suffering is often related to 10 emperors that severely persecuted the church, many trying to eliminate the church altogether.

Personal Application

By what measure do you consider someone rich?

Does your life prove you are will be faithful even when farthing death?

Does fear paralyze you and drive you to evil things or does it challenge us and call us to godly action?

In the first century a.D., it was easy for the general populace to believe Nero when he accused Christians of causing the Great Fire in Rome, because Christians were thought of as haters of the human race (odium generis humani). Theologian harold o. J. Brown sees similarities between that attitude, and the attitude of people toward Christians today in america. So, for example, objections to homosexuality draw charges of hate mongering. When a homosexual is murdered, the finger of blame is pointed at Christians for creating a “climate of hate.” attempts at saving the lives of the unborn are portrayed as attempts to make life difficult for women in crisis. of course, over-zealous Christians don’t help any when they blow up an abortion clinic, or shoot an abortionist.

Rick Wade https://www.cru.org/content/dam/cru/legacy/2012/04/wadepersecutionintheearlychurch.pdf