Smyrna
The Book or Revelation • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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, Welcome Spanish listeners
Plug Casa De Gracia and Pastor Mike Ortiz and Lily Amaya
Every time I hear of this name, I think of this memory.
PREACHING TIMER!
Every time I hear of this name, I think of this memory.
I was asked to drive someone to work at a restaurant on the far north side of Chicago one evening.
On the way there we were having trouble locating the place.
The person I was giving a ride to, called several times and spoke to someone with terribly broken English.
She kept asking him, “I have the general idea where it is but, could you tell me the name of the place please?”
I heard her say, “Yes I know, It’s your restaurant, but I need to know the name please.”
To which he kept repeating, By now, annoyed, “It’s My Restaurant”
We found out as we were pulling up to the supposed address, The poor restaurant owner was trying to say,
“Izmir Restaurant.”
You see, it was a Turkish restaurant, named after the bustling Turkish City, of “Izmir”
Why bring this up?
Well, you see, Izmir is the Modern name for what used to be the faithful Roman city of Smyrna.
Smyrna, this faithful Roman city, was the second church to have letter sent personally by our Lord Jesus.
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 which 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.” ’
Smyrna was a faithful city to the Roman Empire.
Slide of Smyrna
It even competed with other capable cities and won, in a contest to have the honor of erecting a huge statue to the Emperor Tiberius in 26 AD.
And for the title of “First City of Asia”
(https://www.google.com/search?q=statue+of+tiberius+in+smyrna&oq=statue+of+tiberius+in+smyrna&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIHCAEQIRigATIHCAIQIRigATIHCAMQIRigATIHCAQQIRigATIHCAUQIRigAdIBCjE4NTg3ajBqMTWoAgiwAgE&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#vhid=EoE9GzPIFeYItM&vssid=l)
Tiberius was the Roman Emperor from (14 AD -37 AD.)
And he was the Emperor of the Roman Empire when Our Lord Jesus gave up His life on the cross for you and I.
Smyrna was established by Aeolian Greek settlers around 1000 BC.
It is held that Homer, of Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey was born there in around 850 BC.
Among the many shrines, there stood one dedicated to Homer, or so says the Greek Historian Herodotus.
(https://drivethruhistory.com/ancient-smyrna/)
Among these statues and shrines was one dedicated to the Greek god of Medicine, Asclepius.
The Medical field is known by his symbol of a Serpent around a staff.
Slide Serpent and Staff
According to an Internet article:
“Asclepius was originally a mortal and later became the god of medicine and healing, according to the ancient Greeks. The myth of Asclepius is connected to the origins of medical science and the healing arts. His cult was particularly popular all over Greece and people from all Mediterranean countries used to come to his temples, named Asclepieion, to be cured. Remains these temples can be seen till today.”
(https://www.greeka.com/greece-myths/asclepius/#:~:text=Asclepius%20was%20originally%20a%20mortal,science%20and%20the%20healing%20arts.)
Many Bibles and commentaries label the church at Smyrna, the Persecuted Church.
Many Bibles and commentaries label the church at Smyrna, the Persecuted Church.
When you break it down, it is fitting that Jesus used this church to define the time of persecution that was to come on the church during this age.
It is interesting to note, that the word Smyrna means = “Aromatic”
With the Hebrew root Myrrh, representing death, and burial having been used for centuries during embalming and burial preparations.
When the wisemen came from the East, and presented gift to Baby Jesus, this Myrrh was among the three famous gifts of Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh.
Myrrh is a type of aromatic gum, that is very bitter that seeps from the African Commiphora tree.
Found mostly in Ethiopia.
In Isaiah chapter 60, speaking about the Messiah he leaves out the gift of myrrh.
6 The multitude of camels shall cover your land, The dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; All those from Sheba shall come; They shall bring gold and incense, And they shall proclaim the praises of the
Smyrna fits the Church age of when persecution began.
They have pointed out that Myrrh is most symbolic of the funeral pyre of which Jesus the Messiah, had already suffered and was victorious over death,
Therefore, there would no longer be a need for funeral ingredients. Amen to that.
Did you hear that?
Thats because He conquered Death, and not just for Himself, but for you and I as well.
But before he died, they brought him these three gifts, of Gold signifying His Royalty, Frankincense signifying his Priesthood, and lastly his Myrrh, signifying his impending death and funeral.
I always understood the value of Gold defining itself, as for royalty, and We understand that God enjoys the aroma of Frankincense,
But why this bitter gum from scattered trees of Africa?
Well, there is a process many of us do not know about how the aroma is released from this bitter gum.
You see, this bitter gum only releases its signature scent after its been crushed and polverized,
Similar to grapes giving up it’s juice by crushing, for it to be made into wine.
So, it is fitting after that understanding that the Messiah couldn’t be released to us, until after the crushing on the cross.
Amen!
In that sense, The letter to Smyrna fits the Church age of persecution that began, right after the Apostolic age wound down.
The First church addressed was Ephesus.
They were the apostolic aged church, the first ones on the scene, so-to-speak
They were warned to stop being so complacent and get back to the work they were called to.
After the Apostolic church age began to spread like wild fire,
The powers of the day sought to put a stop to this spreading of the Gospel, and began to hunt believers down, and
When they caught them, they make a mockery and an example out of them,
Some they dragged through the streets, others they burned alive while hung above to light the streets as they carried on in their moral debauchery.
It’s also interesting to note: Nothing negative was said about it; just basically to “hang in there.”
It’s also interesting to note: Nothing negative was said about Smyrna; just basically to “hang in there.”
The persecuted church.
But before he gets to the warning of persecution, he tells them that he knows about their tribulation and poverty.
But then Jesus goes on saying in verse
9 ; and I know the blasphemy of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.
He calls those who claim to be Jews and aren’t blasphemy.
What’s all that about?
37 “I know that you are Abraham’s descendants, but you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you. 38 I speak what I have seen with My Father, and you do what you have seen with your father.” 39 They answered and said to Him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would do the works of Abraham. 40 But now you seek to kill Me, a Man who has told you the truth which I heard from God. Abraham did not do this. 41 You do the deeds of your father.”
Here in John’s gospel, they are claiming to be Jews, born of Abraham.
Here in John’s gospel, they are claiming to be Jews, born of Abraham.
But Jesus calls them out on their hypocrisy, saying, “No, you are of your father the Devil.”
There were many in that church that acted like they were really dedicated Christians believers, but weren’t.
So, to the persecuted Church, Jesus continues to encourage them telling them to holdfast to their faith despite what sufferings were to come.
10 Do not fear any of those things which 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.
And indeed they did suffer those things just as Jesus said they would by dragging them around and burning them alive, and also feeding them to the lions, while they were tested.
Jesus also gave them a time frame, saying this would last a period of ten days.
Ten Days?
We in the here and now have the benefit of history.
Meaning we have the ability to look into the past into history.
Those in Smyrna didn’t have that ability to see what was coming.
In todays time, when we try to make sense of what Jesus was explaining about the 10 days,
We can surmise with some pretty strong correlation what was meant the term 10 days of tribulation that the church in Smyrna was about to endure.
If we look back into the history of those who were enforcing this persecution a the time, we interestingly find 10 Roman Emperors that make it they mission to destroy and persecute the new Christian Church.
10 days Slide
Starting with
Nero- who reigned from 64-68 AD. He burned Rome to the ground and blamed the Christians for it.
a. He fed people to the lions, and killed Paul and possibly Peter by crucifying him upside down, so says the legend.
2. Domitian- who reigned from 90-96 AD. He killed thousands in Rome and demanded to be worshipped as a god.
a. He also is the one that sent the Apostle John to the island of Patmos where he wrote the words to this very book.
After Him came
3. Trajan- who reigned from 104-117 AD. He outlawed Christianity, and was the one who had early church father Ignatius burned at the stake.
Then came
4. Marcus Aurelius- who reigned from 161-180 AD. He tortured and beheaded Christians with abject cruelty. A far cry from the image we get of him in the recent movie made about his reign, called the Gladiator, with Russel Crowe.
5. Severus- Reigned from 200-211 AD. He killed, beheaded, and burned Christians at the stake, and even crucified some.
6. Maximus- who reigned from 235-237 AD. Was known to execute Christians.
7. Decius- reigned from 250-253 AD. Tried his best to exterminate Christians by killing all he could find.
Then came
8. Valerian- who reigned from 257-260 AD. He like wise tried his best to exterminate believers, and was the one who killed the Bishop of Carthage.
9. Aurelian- reigned from 270-275 AD. He also never failed to persecute any Christians he could find.
Then at last, the tenth and worst of them all.
10. Diocletian- who reigned from 303-312 AD. He outlawed the faith and even went so far as burn the Scriptures with fire.
Return Slides
When we look at it from this lens, its pretty easy understand what the ten days were like.
It was not easy to be a Christian in those days.
Yet, many were coming into the faith.
As much as they tried so hard to stop it, they all went to their sinister pagan graves failures.
Because even after two thousand years, the Gospel is still being preached, and many are coming into the faith all over the world.
Amen!
But their failures haven’t stop those enemies of the Word to continue to persecute believers any chance they get.
And trust me when I say this,
They would still be
killing us,
cutting off our heads,
throwing us to the lions,
burning us at the stake,
and even crucifying us
Today if it weren’t for the Grace of God, and the men and women in military all over the world protecting us from this persecution every day, since then.
Like our Son Jacob, who was just deployed over seas this weekend.
But, as dark and gloomy as that may look, Jesus told them that persecution was coming so they could prepare their hearts for the coming trials.
Jesus is also speaking to you and I, here today, and those watching on live stream,
Persecution is coming again, will you be ready?
Take courage from these Words He spoke at the end of verse 10
Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.
He will give you the crown of life.
Did you know we are all going to receive crowns when we get to heaven?
There’s good reason to suspect there are more hidden in Scripture to be found, but here is a list of Five Crowns, the Bible mentions to the overcomer.
The Incorruptible Crown 1 Corinthians 9.24-twenty seven
The Crown of Rejoicing 1 Thess. 2.19-twenty
The Crown of Life James 1.twelve & Revelation 2.ten
The Crown of Righteousness 2 Tim. 4.eight
The Crown of Glory 1 Peter 5.2-four
Lastly, to the church of Smyrna, Jesus tells them in verse 11
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.” ’
Here is another term that we must be careful not brush over.
The last thing he says to them is If you overcome, the second death won’t hurt you.
The second death is this;
To be clear, if you die before you have recieved this free grace from Jesus to save your soul from damnation, you will suffer a second death.
The first death is your natural death, however that comes to you.
The second is the death of your reconciliation of your spirit with the Lord.
Meaning, if you die before accepting Jesus into your hearts, you will suffer eternity in hell, separated from God Almighty forever, burning in a lake of fire.
But, if you do accept Him into your heart before natural death comes to you, You will receive not only the Crowns mentioned, but will have gained eternity with the Lord.
You see it’s really simple Mathematics.
If you are born only once, you WILL die Twice
But,
If you are born Twice, was born naturally, then reborn Spiritually,
You’ll only die Once.
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