To the suffering church

INTRODUCTION

Tonight we are going to study the address to the second church in Revelation which is the church in Smyrna.

Let’s read it together. It is only 4 verses:

Revelation 2:8–11 ““And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: The first and the last, who was dead, and has come to life, says this: ‘I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich), and the blasphemy by those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. ‘Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison, so that you will be tested, and you will have tribulation for ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life. ‘He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes will not be hurt by the second death.’”

A little history about Smyrna To this church, Christ is described as the one ‘who was dead and came to life’ (Rev. 2:8). The city itself was destroyed in 600 bc and refounded in 300 bc, and its name means ‘myrrh’ which was used in burials (see John 19:39). Before the closing formula of the message is a promise of ‘the crown of life’ to the faithful (Rev. 2:10). Smyrna was famous for its games, in which the winners would be awarded a ‘crown’ in the form of a laurel wreath. As a city it was also known as ‘the crown of Asia’ and featured a crown on its coins. Along with Philadelphia, it receives no rebuke; it is the only city where the church has survived into modern times

Revelation 2:8 ““And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: The first and the last, who was dead, and has come to life, says this:”

In this letter, Jesus is: “the first and the last, who was dead, and has come to life”

QUESTION: What does this description of Jesus say to those who are in a place of suffering?

ANSWER:

No matter how much affliction we experience in this life, no matter the amount of present suffering, IT WILL ALL BE WORTH IT!

Listen to what Paul said:

Romans 8:16–18 “The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”

The sufferings (the cost of following Jesus) cannot even be compared to the reward we have waiting for us.

KEEP PRESSING ON

Jesus knows about our current situations

Revelation 2:9 “‘I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich), and the blasphemy by those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.”

This church is experiencing great suffering

Tribulation means affliction or hardships

This is written to a people who are living a very difficult life

The affliction is even as bad that they were likely facing martyrdom

One of the early church fathers Polycarp was a bishop at Smyrna who was martyred around 155 AD

This was serious affliction they were experiencing

Poverty (possibly financial hardships)

Most likely we are talking about material hardships

Not only were their lives in danger, but they were also living in poverty

Idk if you have ever really struggled financially, but it intensifies the suffering immensely

Verbal attacks from others who claim to be Jews

They were also being slandered by others

And the nature of this slander was most likely ChristIan truths

QUESTION: Jesus knows their affliction and poverty but then says they are rich. What does He mean?

Jesus reminds them/us that though we live in affliction, poverty, and opposition because of our convictions we are rich spiritually!

This is one of the great Christian paradoxes that there will be a great reversal at the end of this age!

Like the rich man and Lazarus. The rich man lived a great life of comport and spent eternity in great discomfort. Lazarus lived an earthly life of discomfort and poverty, but is in eternity in great comfort and riches.

Application:

Things will change

If we are experiencing these things now, we must remember that things will certainly change! Life will not always be the way it is, and when we die, it will be all worth it! The present sufferings of this time will be worth it by far! o would much rather have a hard life for 50 years and life in comfort and blessedness for eternity rather than live a life of comfort for to years and spend eternity in hell.

Jesus knows

Jesus told them “I know your tribulation and poverty”.

Jesus is the One who walks in the midst of the churches. He knows everything about them, the hard things, the good things.

QUESTION: Jesus knows everything that we experience in our lives (good and bad). Does this comfort you or disturb you?

MY ANSWER: Jesus is the sovereign Ruler of this universe and if we are experiencing difficulties, there is a reason for it. If Jesus wanted us to, He could take every hardship away, but then we would be so spiritually weak we would be unusable For the Kingdom of God. We need hardships like a small plant needs the wind. The stress and pressure stimulates growth and strength and deep roots that can withstand any storm.

Do not fear the suffering that awaits us

Revelation 2:10 “‘Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison, so that you will be tested, and you will have tribulation for ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.”

QUESTION: Who is the one who is causing the affliction in this verse?

Our enemy is the devil “The devil is about to cast some of you into prison”

Notice Jesus does not say the Jews were about to thrown them in prison or the Roman’s were

Satan has his sights set on the followers of Jesus

He will do ANYTHING that he can to get them to turn away from the Lord, and turn back to the world, including hardships and suffering, slander, and even death.

And Satan has his sights set on us too. He will use everything at his disposal to get us to turn from the faith or fall away from the church which spurs us on, or from reading the Bible, or praying, or any kind of spiritual strength that we can draw from to continue on.

One of my common prayers for us and myself is that God would make us wise as serpents and innocent as doves.

And part of being wise as a serpent is knowing when the serpent is attacking us. It is rarely black and white, but mostly in deception.

Our call is to draw even more to every aspect of our faith: don’t stop praying, don’t stop reading the Bible, and don’t let your fellowship with the church be hindered.

If the devil can remove any of these from our lives, then he is one step closer to our fall

God allows Satan to test us, but it is always limited “and you will have tribulation for ten days”

QUESTION: Do you remember what the number 10 represented in Scripture?

ANSWER: 10 represents completeness.

QUESTION: What does that mean “10 days” say to us about our present sufferings?

Testing is vital for believers. It is necessary for our growth, for our sanctification, and is a result of turning from the enemy to God.

Anyone who begins to follow Jesus and does not experience hardships, I wonder if they have truly started following Him at all?

Most is us, if not all of us are sent into a wilderness, a place of testing when we get serious about Jesus.

In fact as soon as Jesus began His ministry, the first place the Spirit of God took Him was the wilderness to be tested by the devil.

But all of Satan’s testing is limited to God’s rule. in other words when God says it’s enough, it’s enough.

And God will say it’s enough, when it’s purpose has been accomplished.

James 1:2–4 “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”

Application: Let God determine the length of your present suffering. If you are presently in a season of suffering because you are following Jesus, STAY THERE!

Trust that God will deliver you in the right time!

Think of Job

Think of Joseph

God delivers instantly when the time is right!

But God is far more concerned about timing than time!

God will do far more in your spirtual life in that place of difficulty than He will do any other time! It is essential for us!

All of us experience suffering, but some more than others: “the devil is about to cast some of you into prison”

Notice that not all of them would be thrown into prison, but some.

All ChristIan’s will face tribulation in this life; but some will experience it more than others.

Satan will attack some more than others.

We must not let this discourage us, and cause us to turn away. We are not the only ones suffering to that degree, even though it may seem that way looking at the church sometimes.

From my experience, those that suffer in greater ways, are often pairEd with others who have been through that same suffering. Look around you at others in the Christian community who have been through what you have and take heart and be encouraged by their testimony.

And if you have been through difficult suffering, look around and encourage those who are in that place you have been.

Be faithful unto death “Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.”

QUESTION: Does Jesus mean this literally? What do you think He is referring to?

This is the call of us: never ending faithfulness

A constant, everlasting following of Jesus even if it means our physical life (as it certainly did for some in this church, for Polycarp who was a pastor at Smyrna, and for us today)

There must never be any level of affliction or suffering that causes us to fall away from Jesus, or we forfeit eternal life who is infinitely more than this life.

What is the crown of life? It is eternal life with God. It is heaven, it is eternity in unending blessedness where the manifest presence of God dwells with men.

(v 11) “‘He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes will not be hurt by the second death.’”

As bad as we hate to hear about death, it does not help to learn that there are two deaths. And the second death is much worse than the first death.

The first death is that which all mankind must face. It is a result of sin That has entered into the world. All die physically.

But the second death is a spiritual death that comes after God judges the world. This is when all those will be brought before God (both on earth and under the earth) and will be judged according to their deeds.

And He will cast them into the lake of fire, along with the devil, his angels, and hell.

It is a place of permanent punishment of the wicked.

To the one who hears this message, will not be hurt by the second death. Why? Because they will never lose their faithfulness to Jesus Christ no matter how difficult the difficulties of this life may be.

The reward for steadfast faithfulness is life.