Letter to Smyrna

Revelation 2:7c NKJV

“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.” ’

Revelation 2:7c NKJV

“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.” ’

I will grant to eat of the tree of life which is in the Paradise of God.

Revelation 2:7 NKJV

“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.” ’

What is the tree of life?

Jesus is the Tree of Life who sustains those who feed on him.

Who eats of the Tree of Life?

The believer. Those who wash their robes in the blood of the Lamb have the right to eat of the Tree of Life ().

When Jesus tells the Ephesians that only overcomers get the right to eat of the tree of life, he is not trying to threaten them.

He is giving them a wonderful affirmation of their position in Christ.

It’s a mistake to think of overcoming as some sort of admissions test.

Wherever Jesus is.

Jesus is talking about himself, for he is the Tree of Life in the Paradise of God.

He is our refuge and the fortress of our salvation. He is our resting place and our longing fulfilled.

What was Christ’s message for the Ephesians?

“I’ve seen how hard you guys are working and how you don’t put up with bad teachers.

But you’re so busy that you don’t have any have time for me.

I offer you rest, but you prefer labor.

You have put yourselves under all this pressure and have forgotten how much I love and desire your company.

This is not good. You’re falling apart and heading for burnout.

Turn around and go back to the beginning when everything was simple—just you and me enjoying each other’s company. Good times!

“I’ve seen how hard you guys are working and how you don’t put up with bad teachers. But you’re so busy that you don’t have any have time for me. I offer you rest, but you prefer labor. You have put yourselves under all this pressure and have forgotten how much I love and desire your company. This is not good. You’re falling apart and heading for burnout. Turn around and go back to the beginning when everything was simple—just you and me enjoying each other’s company. Good times! Let’s do that again. I am the Tree of Life. Allow me to nourish and sustain you. Make my love your resting place. When you’re in Paradise why would you ever leave?”

Let’s do that again. I am the Tree of Life. Allow me to nourish and sustain you. Make my love your resting place.

Make yourself at home in God’s love and never leave.

If you are worn out from doing the Lord’s work, you can probably relate to the Ephesians. They were a hard-working bunch of believers, but they were dying on the inside. They were busy building, but their labor was in vain.

Why do we push ourselves past breaking point? It can happen because we’ve forgotten how much God loves us. We think we have to prove ourselves or come up with the goods, but none of this pressure is from the Lord.

You were made to receive your Father’s love. Lose sight of your Father’s love for you and you will lose your way. You’ll fall from the secure place of grace into the realm of dead works. You’ll become restless, insecure, and empty on the inside. You’ll try to replace his love with lesser things.

If the Ephesians could leave the love of God, anyone can.

If the Ephesians could leave the love of God, anyone can. But the good news is those who wander can come home again. If you have lost your first love, Jesus shows us the way back: Remember, repent (change your thinking), and do what you did at first. Go back to the place of your first love, when Jesus was your everything. Make every effort to enter his rest and let nothing move you.

But the good news is those who wander can come home again.

If you have lost your first love, Jesus shows us the way back:

Remember, repent (change your thinking), and do what you did at first. Go back to the place of your first love, when Jesus was your everything. Make every effort to enter his rest and let nothing move you.

Ephesians 3:17–19 TEV

and I pray that Christ will make his home in your hearts through faith. I pray that you may have your roots and foundation in love, so that you, together with all God’s people, may have the power to understand how broad and long, how high and deep, is Christ’s love. Yes, may you come to know his love—although it can never be fully known—and so be completely filled with the very nature of God.

GNB)

Revelation 2:8–11 NKJV

“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: “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. 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. “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 located thirty-five miles up the coast from Ephesus

While Ephesus was known as the Gateway to Asia, Smyrna was the Ornament of Asia.

Revelation 2:8a NKJV

“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:

See .

Who was the angel at Smyrna?

A young man called Polycarp (69—155). Polycarp was trained and ordained by the Apostle John. Polycarp would have been around 26 years old when he received this letter from Jesus.

About 60 years later, he was burned at the stake.

What is the meaning of the name Smyrna?

Myrrh, which is also the name of a spice we associate with death. 3 (Myrrh was one of the spices used to prepare Christ’s body for burial (), and myrrh mixed with wine was also the last thing Jesus tasted before he died on the cross (, ).)

This connection with the spice of death is interesting because the letter to the Smyrneans is about death.

It’s the shortest of the seven letters, yet death is mentioned three times in four verses. The bad news is that some of the saints are going to be put to death.

The good news is that Jesus has been there, done that, and lived to tell the tale.

Revelation 2:8b NKJV

“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:

Jesus, the Lord of history. Three times in the Old Testament God describes himself as the first and the last (, , ). In the New Testament, Jesus does the same thing (, , ). Jesus is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. It is a title to inspire hope among those who are approaching the end of their lives.

Who was dead and has come to life?

According to the religious myths acted out on the stages of Smyrna, the god Dionysus was killed and brought back to life by his father Zeus.

Not Dionysus. According to the religious myths acted out on the stages of Smyrna, the god Dionysus was killed and brought back to life by his father Zeus.

Not Dionysus.

When Jesus introduces himself to the Smyrneans as the dead and resurrected One, he’s saying, “I’m the Reality that is being caricatured in your city.”

Who else died and came to life? The city of Smyrna.

Smyrna was destroyed and was city was rebuilt, better than ever.

The One who died and came to life is showing his knowledge of the local situation by making a direct and obvious connection with Smyrna’s past.

What is the significance of this introduction?

The saints in Smyrna were being persecuted, and some were about to be killed for their faith. This would have been a frightening prospect.

The One who was dead and has come to life writes to encourage them with the fact of his resurrection. “Death may bury you, but I am death’s foe. I have conquered the grave and I will raise you up.”

Revelation 2:9a NKJV

“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.

I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich)…

Tribulation means trouble or pressure in the sense of being oppressed or crushed.

They were being pushed around, bullied, and abused.

The church in Smyrna was afflicted with two kinds of trouble: extreme poverty and slander (as we will see).

Like John on Patmos, the Smyrneans were suffering for their faith in Christ.

Religious Jews.

Just as the Jews brought trouble to the apostles in Jerusalem and elsewhere, they agitated against the saints in Smyrna.

They had been mistreated and plundered.

Smyrna was a prosperous city, so why were the saints poor? The likely reason is they had been impoverished as a result of religious persecution.

Perhaps their property had been seized or they had been shut out of jobs or they had lost money in frivolous lawsuits. Maybe their homes had been pillaged (see ).

They were the poorest Christians in Asia.

Poor yet rich? The Smyrneans had no money, yet they were heirs of all things in Christ.

Poor yet rich?

The Smyrneans had no money, yet they were heirs of all things in Christ.

James 2:5 ESV

Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him?

(ESV)

If the gospel is good news for anyone, it’s good news for the poor and downtrodden. It’s not that Jesus has anything against the rich and comfortable, as we will see when we get to wealthy Laodicea.

(ESV)

5 Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him?

If the gospel is good news for anyone, it’s good news for the poor and downtrodden. It’s not that Jesus has anything against the rich and comfortable, as we will see when we get to wealthy Laodicea.

It’s just that the rich have a hard time receiving what the Lord wants to give them. Not so the poor. With empty hands they are more than ready to take what Jesus provides.

For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich. (

2 Corinthians 8:9 NKJV

For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.

For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich. ()

By being adopted into the family of God.

He who is a joint heir with Christ is the heir of all things (). The Smyrneans, although they had nothing, had Christ, and he who has Christ has everything ().

While they were poor in the eyes of the world, they were rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom.

Revelation 2:9b NKJV

“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.

…and the blasphemy by those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.

Religious Jews.

According to the Apostle Paul, a true Jew is anyone who has been circumcised in the heart by God (). A believer, in other words, regardless of their race (). “They are not all Israel who are descended from Israel” ().

According to this definition, the religious Jews who persecuted Jesus and the apostles were not true Jews.

In rejecting the faith of their father Abraham, as well as the testimony of the law and the prophets, they proved themselves false.

Does Jesus hate the Jews?

Far from it. Jesus loves all Jews! And so does John, the Jewish writer of these letters.

Jesus is not talking about Jewish people in general. He’s describing fanatics who torture and kill in the name of religion.

Think of the Pharisees who bayed for his crucifixion. Or the Sanhedrin who flogged the apostles and stoned Stephen (, ). Or the Jews who conspired with the chief priests and elders to kill Paul ().

These extremists were religious terrorists, the al-Qaeda of their day.

Who are the synagogue of Satan?

Religious Jews who embraced a satanic agenda of violence and murder.

He was not referring to God-fearing Jews who revered the law, but religious fanatics who hated him and killed those who got in their way.

“You are of your father the devil,” said Jesus to the relgious leaders (), and he’s saying something similar here.

Because Jesus doesn’t want you to hate the Jews.

The religious Jews were on the wrong side of Jesus, but they were not the enemy.

The true enemy is the one who has been opposed to all that is good and godly from the beginning.

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. ()

When we are mistreated, the temptation is to take up arms against our oppressors. Instead of loving and praying for our enemies, we are inclined to smite them, perpetuating the cycle of violence.

Jesus interrupts this destructive cycle by exposing our true enemy, which is Satan. He does not do this to elevate the devil as much as to save you from becoming his unwitting tool.

In these letters from Jesus, we encounter some wicked people.

Jesus wants us to see past these misguided souls to the satanic origins of all attacks.

We are not in a battle against people, but principalities and powers.

It is not the Jewish synagogue that is crushing the church in Smyrna but the synagogue of Satan. It’s not the Romans who are imprisoning the saints but the devil.

The saints in Smyrna had been slandered by the religious Jews.

To blaspheme means to slander or falsely accuse.

When Paul preached the gospel, religious Jews slandered him and his message (, ), and something similar was happening in Smyrna. The Jews were spreading lies about the church. They were saying things like, “Christians are opposed to Caesar. They’re godless heretics who stir up trouble all over the world” (see , ).

When Paul preached the gospel, religious Jews slandered him and his message (, ), and something similar was happening in Smyrna. The Jews were spreading lies about the church. They were saying things like, “Christians are opposed to Caesar. They’re godless heretics who stir up trouble all over the world” (see , ). 8

These lies were more serious than you might imagine, for they could draw the unwanted attention of the state. Indeed, this was the Jews’ intent.

To kill or imprison a Christian, all the religious Jews needed to do was spread slander or stir up civil unrest. Then they would stand aside and let the heavy-handed Romans deal with it.

The Jews weren’t the only ones who spread lies about the Christians. The pagan idolworshippers, whose businesses were perpetually threatened by the liberating gospel of Jesus, also slandered the church. John Foxe, who compiled Foxes’ Book of Martyrs, describes how the early Christians were slandered:

Such was the infatuation of the pagans, that, if famine, pestilence, or earthquakes afflicted any of the Roman provinces, it was laid upon the Christians.

Why were the Jews hostile towards the Christians? Because some of the Jews had become Christians, and those who hadn’t often hated those who did.

The religious Jews would not have cared if converts had come from the pagan population, but to see “renegade Jews” turning to Christ aroused their hatred.

Revelation 2:10a NKJV

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.

Do not fear what you are about to suffer.

Imprisonment and death.

The Jesus of the Gospels warned his disciples that they would be handed over to the courts and hauled before officials for the sake of his Name (), and it’s the same warning here.

The saints in Smyrna were already suffering, but their troubles were about to get worse.

Do not fear?!

Do not fear?! How is it possible to not fear death?

Because the Risen Lord has conquered the grave.

All die, but not all fear death. Death is inevitable, but fear is a choice. When you see Jesus who was dead but has come to life, faith rises and fear diminishes.

Revelation 1:17b–18 NIV

When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.

Is “Do not fear” a command that must be obeyed?

It’s an invitation to walk by faith.

A law mindset interprets Christ’s words as commands to be obeyed, but Jesus is dispensing grace.

He’s giving a timely word of encouragement.

Revelation 2:10b NKJV

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.

The devil, not the Jews, was ultimately responsible for this crime.

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.

The devil personally threw them in prison?

The devil, not the Jews, was ultimately responsible for this crime.

Those who do the devil’s work are but lost souls in need of salvation, just like the rest of us.

When we go through trials and tribulations, the accuser of our souls may whisper, “This is God’s judgment for your mistakes and failures.” But Jesus would say, “Don’t blame God for the devil’s work.

It is the thief who robs, steals, and kills.” We are supposed to resist the devil (), but we won’t if we think God is behind our suffering.

In what sense were they tested?

The devil’s intent was to test the saints’ allegiance to Christ and force them to renounce the Lord.

This test involved pressure from the state authorities, undeserved prison sentences, and in some cases torture and the threat of execution.

In Roman times, legal proceedings typically commenced with a loyalty oath. This oath was intended to test a citizen’s allegiance to the emperor. Loyalty oaths had been used in Rome for hundreds of years and, within certain limits, Christians were happy to take them. 11 But an ill wind began to blow in the late first century when the ruthless Domitian ascended to the throne and began referring to himself as lord and god. 12 It was soon apparent that this was the honor he demanded from his subjects, and it is likely this label was used in oaths. This oath made life very difficult for the Christians. “If they refused to take it,” said John Foxe, “death was pronounced against them; and if they confessed themselves Christians, the sentence was the same.” 13

Despite the threats imposed upon them, many Christians refused to take the oath. “I will not give the title of god to the emperor,” said the second-century Christian author Tertullian.

Neither would Polycarp. On the day of his execution, he was offered freedom if he would but declare Caesar to be lord. Polycarp refused and was martyred.

Trouble.

.

Revelation 2:9a NKJV

“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.

Revelation 2:10 NKJV

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.

Rev 2:10

What is the significance of ten days?

The time of testing will be short.

Jesus is giving the saints some perspective to help them endure what is coming.

Trials are temporary; eternity is forever. There will be trouble, but it will only be for a brief time.

Revelation 2:10c NKJV

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.

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

Who’s faithful?

Smyrna was faithful.

Among the Smyrneans, it was a matter of civic pride that their city had been among the first cities in the region to back an emerging power called Rome.

While their neighbors were still testing the waters, Smyrna threw its lot in with Rome and its loyalty to the republic was highly regarded.

Cicero the Roman statesman described Smyrna as “a city of our most faithful and most ancient allies.”

The Smyrneans literally worshipped Rome.

Telling a Smyrnean to be faithful was like telling a fish to be wet. They were famously faithful, but in an unhealthy direction.

Their loyalty was misplaced, for Rome would let them down. Their false god would minister persecution and death.

Far better to put their faith in Jesus who crowns the dead with resurrection life.

Is Jesus saying they’re going to be martyred?

Yes, some of them are going to be executed.

In Roman times criminals weren’t imprisoned except as a preliminary stage to trial (e.g., ). Jesus is saying, “After ten days of prison, some of you will be put to death.”

Jesus wants the saints at Smyrna to know that the coming trouble will last only a short time.

Those who get through it will endure on his account, while those who don’t survive will have the joy of meeting him face-to-face.

Smyrna was not the only church where the saints were persecuted for their faith, but no church suffered more.

The believers were bullied into poverty, their reputations were besmirched, and some of them were burned at the stake. They paid the ultimate price.

Jesus forewarned them to prepare them. He wanted them to know that he, not death, has the last word. “After death, life!”

What is the crown of life?

Resurrection life.

When Lazarus died, Jesus comforted his sister Martha with a hope-filled promise. “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in me will live even if he dies” ().

Jesus echoes that promise here, and he does so in the language of his readers. “The Crown of Smyrna” was a well-known phrase among the Smyrneans. It referred to Mount Pagos and the circlet of buildings that rose above the city, a crown that “had been before their eyes and minds from childhood.”

Crowns or garlands of flowers were also worn in the ritual worship of local idols.

The Jesus who meets us where we are adopts yet another local reference to illustrate a gospel truth. “Let those fading crowns remind you of the lasting crown of life.”

To receive the crown of life is to be resurrected to new life. Jesus is promising resurrection to believers who are about to be condemned to die.

And since we are all condemned to die one way or another, this promise is for all of us. “If we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his” ().

What is the condition for a resurrection like Christ’s? It’s identifying with Christ’s death.

It’s believing, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me…” ().

Those who have died with Christ will be raised with Christ.

1 Corinthians 15:51–52 NKJV

Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed— in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

You became a brand new creation the moment you were placed in Christ, but your body is still subject to decay and death. You were made new, but your earth suit was not.

The good news is that Jesus is in the business of making all things new.

One day he will transform our lowly bodies “so that they will be like his glorious body” (). For those who die before the Lord returns, this is called a resurrection.

Who gets the crown of life?

Those who love Jesus.

James 1:12 NKJV

Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.

The crown of life is given to those who love the Lord, regardless of what trials we face and how well we face them.

Those who insist we must show ourselves approved to earn the crown, perhaps by putting on a brave face and saying positive things as our world crashes around us, forget that we have already been tested and approved in Christ ().

He whom the Lord approves has nothing to prove.

Near the end of his life, the Apostle Paul said, “I have kept the faith and there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness” ()

Paul did not earn this crown by being faithful.

Rather the crown is given to all who long for Christ’s appearing (see ).

The crown of life is for those who love the Author of Life. The crown is for the children of the King.

Jesus remains faithful; you still get a crown.

A mind untouched by grace twists the promises of Jesus into tests that must be passed and commands that must be obeyed. “Jesus was faithful unto death; you’d better be faithful too.”

“Be faithful and you’ll get a crown. Be unfaithful and you won’t.” This is surely bad news for the saint who stumbles at the eleventh hour.

The temptation to view life as a test comes naturally to those of us who have been raised in a world that glorifies achievement, but Jesus doesn’t speak that language.

He does not dispense gold stars or crowns for good performance, but he crowns the undeserving and justifies the sinner.

But what about this scripture that comes later in John’s book?

He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be my son. But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.

Revelation 21:7–8 NKJV

He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son. But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”

This scripture has been used to terrorize the saints. “If someone put a gun to your head and said, ‘Deny Jesus,’ would you prove cowardly? If so, you’re going to hell.”

Admissions made under duress carry no weight in a court of law, so why do we think a just God would take them seriously?

We may disown the Lord, but he will never disown us because he cannot disown himself.

Eternal life is a gift of grace (, ). It is not a reward given to those who pass the torture test.

So why be faithful?

It’s the life-giving choice.

Jesus is offering us a choice. You can be fearful or faithful, and faithful is better.

Fearful is what you get when you lean on your own resources; faithful is what you are when you hold on to Jesus.

Fix your eyes on the source of your suffering and you will fear.

But see the Savior who died but lives forevermore, and you will endure.

Polycarp made the latter choice and this is why he was able to endure a brutal death.

Letter to Smyrna

What is the Tree of Life?

Who Eats of the Tree of Life?

Where is the Paradise of God?

What was Christ’s Message for the Ephesians?

What is Christ’s message for us?

Smyrna

Who is the angel of the church? The Pastor

Who was the angel at Smyrna?

What is the meaning of the name Smyrna?

Who is the first and last?

Who was dead and has come to life?

What is the significance of this introduction?

What is tribulation?

What tribulation did they experience?

What was the cause of this trouble?

Why were they impoverished?

How do the poor become rich?

Who are the Jews that are not Jews?

Who are the synagogue of Satan?

Why bring Satan into this?

What blasphemy?

What were they about to suffer?

How is it possible to not fear death?

What is tribulation?

What is the significance of ten days?

Who’s faithful?

What is the crown of life?

Who gets the crown of life?

Those who love Jesus.

What if I’m not faithful until death?

So why be faithful?