What is Jesus saying to His church? (3)

Faithful in persecution

Today as we look at the second church in Revelation 2:8-11, Jesus is speaking to their persecution. Persecution is not our favourite topic of discussion, and yet roughly 2/3’s Christians are persecuted.

There are many that will say that our rights were infringed upon over the last two years, and I’m not here to debate that this morning. Very few of us know what it must be like to have to sneak around in Communist countries so that they can corporately worship Christ. We aren’t forced to renounce the name of Jesus or be beheaded.

Sometimes persecution can be subtle. Sometimes laws can lead to more severe punishment, but let’s know that God is with us and He calls us to be faithful.

Let’s read

Revelation 2:8–11 NLT

“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: “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. 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. “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.

How does Jesus describe Himself?

Revelation 2:8 NLT

“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:

The First and the Last

This speaks to the eternality of God.

Genesis 1:1 NLT

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

Psalm 90:2 NIV

Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the whole world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.

The are winds of teaching that are going around that question the divinity or the question as to whether Jesus is God.

Some will say that He is a god. Others will say that he was only a man. Still others will say that he is the son of God or the son of Elohim.

John 1:1-5

John 1:1–5 NIV

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

John 1:14–18 NIV

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John testified concerning him. He cried out, saying, “This is the one I spoke about when I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’ ”) Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.

The Apostle Paul said in

Colossians 1:15–17 NLT

Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see— such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him. He existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together.

A couple of weeks ago, I was given a business card and also a book. I had heard of this group, but had never seen any of their materials.

They are called “Iglesia Ni Christo” or in English Church of Christ. By no means are they the Church of Christ. It is a church that has spread to many countries of the world. They started in the Philippines, and since there are many Filipinos around, they are out to evangelize.

I want to read something from their own words. “If Christ is not God, who is he?

According to Jesus Christ Himself, He’s a man. He said in John 8:40, “But now you seek to kill Me, a Man who has told you the truth which I heard from God.” (NKJV)

Here the Lord Jesus Christ, again, clearly distinguished Himself from God from whom He heard the truth He told. Hence, Christ is not God.”

If Jesus was only a man, and called Himself the Son of Man, He is not able to die for our sins. He would not be our Lord and Saviour, but He would be a fraud. In fact, He would still be in a tomb.

That’s not what Jesus said to the church in Smyrna.

He who was dead but is now alive

Revelation 2:8 NLT

“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:

Before we look at the fact that He was dead but is now alive, because Jesus is eternal, because He is the First and the Last, He knows the beginning from the end.

He is not only omniscient which means that He knows everything, because He created all things, He is omnipotent, which means all-powerful, and being He has sent the Holy Spirit, He is omni-present which means that there is no place that He is not. That gives us hope.

He was dead, but is now alive

If Jesus is still dead, if His body is in a tomb, we have no hope. There would be no salvation in His name. He would not be our Coming King.

In 1 Corinthians 15:12-23

1 Corinthians 15:12–23 NLT

But tell me this—since we preach that Christ rose from the dead, why are some of you saying there will be no resurrection of the dead? For if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, then all our preaching is useless, and your faith is useless. And we apostles would all be lying about God—for we have said that God raised Christ from the grave. But that can’t be true if there is no resurrection of the dead. And if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless and you are still guilty of your sins. In that case, all who have died believing in Christ are lost! And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world. But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead. He is the first of a great harvest of all who have died. So you see, just as death came into the world through a man, now the resurrection from the dead has begun through another man. Just as everyone dies because we all belong to Adam, everyone who belongs to Christ will be given new life. But there is an order to this resurrection: Christ was raised as the first of the harvest; then all who belong to Christ will be raised when he comes back.

He is alive forever and ever, and He is coming back some glorious day!

The Compliment

Revelation 2:9 NLT

“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.

Jesus saw the suffering and the poverty of those in the church in Smyrna.

Smyrna was a rich seaport city that was about 60 kms north of Ephesus. It is the only city of the seven cities mentioned in the book of Revelation that exists today. It is called Izmir(LANTC)

Christians in Smyrna were being persecuted on three sides: Gentiles, Jews, and Satan.

Gentiles

This city was a city where there was a temple that was dedicated to Emperor worship.

Under the emperor Domitian (who ruled from a.d. 81 to 96), emperor worship was required for all Roman citizens. Those who refused could receive the death penalty. Once a year, all citizens were required to burn incense on an altar to Caesar, after which they would receive a certificate proving that they had done their civil duty. While this was more an act of political loyalty than a religious act, the citizen had to say, while burning the incense, “Caesar is lord.” Many Christians considered this act blasphemous and refused to do it.

Barton, B., Comfort, P., Osborne, G., Taylor, L. K., & Veerman, D. (2001). Life Application New Testament Commentary (p. 1211). Tyndale.

Jews

Just as we do our best to stay true to the gospel, imagine somebody coming in with a new theology.

The Jews believed that Messiah was coming. They believed in keeping the law, and this was the means to their salvation.

We as Christians stand firm that Jesus is God incarnate. He was fully God, and yet He was fully man.

We don’t persecute people for teaching other doctrines, but we stand firm if somebody comes into the church teaching something that we believe to be false.

One of the customs of the early church, the apostles, was to go to the synagogue and bring the message about Jesus to the Jews first and then later to the Gentiles. This brought much persecution from Jews not wanting Judaism to become tainted.

Satan

He was ultimately behind all the persecution, and his goal was to do whatever possible to destroy what God wanted to do. Ultimately, the Jews were being used by Satan by opposing God.

Revelation 2:9 NLT

“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.

So they were suffering persecution and because of this persecution, they had much poverty. Jesus saw this. He knew what they were going through. Even though there was great poverty, they were rich.

2 Corinthians 6:3–10 NLT

We live in such a way that no one will stumble because of us, and no one will find fault with our ministry. In everything we do, we show that we are true ministers of God. We patiently endure troubles and hardships and calamities of every kind. We have been beaten, been put in prison, faced angry mobs, worked to exhaustion, endured sleepless nights, and gone without food. We prove ourselves by our purity, our understanding, our patience, our kindness, by the Holy Spirit within us, and by our sincere love. We faithfully preach the truth. God’s power is working in us. We use the weapons of righteousness in the right hand for attack and the left hand for defense. We serve God whether people honor us or despise us, whether they slander us or praise us. We are honest, but they call us impostors. We are ignored, even though we are well known. We live close to death, but we are still alive. We have been beaten, but we have not been killed. Our hearts ache, but we always have joy. We are poor, but we give spiritual riches to others. We own nothing, and yet we have everything.

Matthew 16:24–26 NIV

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?

Jesus’ rebuke

This was only one of two churches where there was no rebuke.

Jesus’ encouragement

Revelation 2:10–11 NLT

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. “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.

Don’t be afraid

2 Timothy 1:7 NKJV

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

I don’t know if or what kind of persecution you face or have faced, but God is with you. One day, persecution could lead to prison or even death, but it will come to an end.

Jesus said, “You will suffer for ten days.” I don’t think that this is a literal ten days, but it would be temporary.

Even if our persecution ends in our death, it will only be temporary. The hardships of this life will pale in comparison to knowing Christ Jesus our Lord.

Jesus calls us to remain faithful even when faced with death. I’m sure that it was difficult when these followers of Jesus were facing persecution, but Jesus power is made perfect in our weakness.

He will strengthen us to do what we need to. He will empower us to overcome.

Crown of Life

Jesus said, “I will give your the Crown of Life.”

James 1:12 NIV

Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.

Second Death

Revelation 2:11 NLT

“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.

What is the Second Death?

Revelation 20:14 NLT

Then death and the grave were thrown into the lake of fire. This lake of fire is the second death.

Revelation 21:8 NLT

“But cowards, unbelievers, the corrupt, murderers, the immoral, those who practice witchcraft, idol worshipers, and all liars—their fate is in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”

Revelation 21:27 NLT

Nothing evil will be allowed to enter, nor anyone who practices shameful idolatry and dishonesty—but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.

Jesus’ promise is that if we are victorious, the Second Death will not hurt them. Being victorious doesn’t mean that we won’t face trial, persecution, or even death. It means that are faithful and that we persevere even to the end.

Revelation 12:11 NLT

And they have defeated him by the blood of the Lamb and by their testimony. And they did not love their lives so much that they were afraid to die.

Let’s hold on to the hope that we have!

Hebrews 10:23–25 NLT

Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.

Amen!