Revelation - Lesson 5

Your Poverty brings Riches & Your Death brings Life

Prayer: God as we study today about Smyrna help us to learn from them about handling suffering, affliction, and resisting temptation to compromise.  Help us to value the riches we have in You over the riches the world has to offer.  Help us to do this as individuals, as a church body, and in the true Church - the body of believers in the world.  Amen!

Today we will be studying the 2nd church of the 7 who were specific recipients of letters in the book of Revelation.  Last time we studied Ephesus, this time we are studying Smyrna.

Only two of the seven cities that received letters have been continuously occupied to this day, Smyrna is one of those, though it now goes by the name of Izmir.  The church in Smyrna continues to this day; however, it is now a small underground church because of persecution. This city has been inhabited since it was founded by the Hittites in 2000 BC.  Today the city of Izmir is a commercial city with a population of around 2.8 million people (a little larger than Chicago), with around 3.4 million in the greater metropolitan area.  The current city of Izmir is considered one of the most beautiful cities of the world, at times called "Paris of the Levant" (Levant = Eastern Mediterranean).  Historically Smyrna has been a prosperous city - despite being devastated by conquest & earthquake it continues to come back & thrive.

In the First Century Smyrna was a thriving and beautiful Asian city of about 100,000 people, with strong ties to Rome.  It had an excellent double harbor, the outer of which was a deep water mooring ground, the inner was much smaller & has since filled with silt.  It was a major trading port, strategically located between Europe and Asia. 

Architecture:

• Wide boulevards
• Its Acropolis (fortification) was encircled with flowers, a hedge, and myrtle trees - it is because of this feature that Smyrna at that time was called a "flower" or "ornament" and the "crown of Asia" - one of three "Royal Cities" or "crown cities"
• Noble Buildings
• Theater
• Odeum (music center)
• Stadium
• Beautiful temples to: Zeus, Diana, Aphrodite, Apollo, and Asclepius.

Religion:

• Pagan city recognizing many deities.
• Enormous temple to Zeus
• An entire "golden street" of pagan shrines
• Primary worship was of Cybele, the "giver of wealth", and the worship is described as wild & unrestrained.

The people of Smyrna were eager to please Rome, as such they readily adopted Caesar worship, building their first temple to Dea Roma (goddess of Rome) in 196 BC.  Smyrna became an important center of the Roman Imperial Cult, worship was compulsory (required by law) for all but those of other formally recognized religions - Rome recognized Judaism but not Christianity.  Each year a Roman citizen had to burn a pinch of incense on the altar and to acknowledge publicly that Caesar was supreme lord, in return he received a formal certificate.  Anyone refusing to proclaim Caesar as Lord would be excluded from the guilds - resulting in unemployment and abject poverty.  This was an issue for Christians for two reasons: 

• there was the temptation to "go along" in order to be able to survive economically
• there was the threat of death for refusing to worship Caesar - many who refused died by being burned at the stake or torn apart by wild beasts in the arena

Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna (appointed by John) was one of Smyrna's most famous martyrs, put to death in 166 AD.

The following is an excerpt from Fox's Book Of Martyrs:

The Letter to Smyrna: read Revelation 2:8-11

Name of the city: Smyrna - its Hebrew root is Mur (or Myrrh) which means Death and carries the meaning of Suffering or Sorrow or Bitter.

Myrrh was 1 of the 3 gifts given by the Magi to the Christ child, it is a naturally occurring oleoresin (we might call it a sap) and has a variety of uses:

• Perfume
• Anointing Oil for Priests
• Purification product for Women
• Pain Reliever
• Primary use: Embalming

Myrrh is interesting in that it gives off its fragrance when crushed - there are symbolic implications that tie to Christ, but that's another study.

Title of Christ: The First and the Last, who died and came to life again.  Jesus is the First Word & will have the Last Word, He is in control!  The suffering they would face is for God's purposes and according to His perfect plan - as Christians in the U.S. we  find the persecutions they had to face appalling, how little we understand God's ways - how He uses persecution to purify & strengthen His Church, much like the refining and tempering of metal.  Jesus mentions His death and resurrection to this church of sorrows whose very name means death, this church experienced much martyrdom so reminding them of His resurrection would given them hope that they too would be resurrected.

Commendation: Jesus knows their afflictions and poverty, yet He tells them they are rich; also, Jesus recognized that they were being persecuted by some false-Jews that He called a "synagogue of Satan".

Having refused to worship Caesar Christians would be unemployed / unemployable and impoverished.  In Greek there are two words for Poverty, this is the stronger of the two: ptocheia (pronounced toe-chay-uh) - the state of having nothing at all, implies beggary.   Remember that poverty could have been alleviated by a pinch of incense offered to Caesar, but at what cost Spiritually?

Jesus tells them that though they are poor in this world they are Spiritually rich - rich in the things of God, riches stored up in heaven.  It's interesting that only in the book of Revelation is the city of Smyrna mentioned.  Jesus specifically recognized this struggling church, this church may not have had the approval of "man" or "the world", but they had the approval of the Lord.  Paul describes well what hardships did for his ministry - 2 Corinthians 6:3-10 - the church at Smyrna could be described in like manner.

Smyrna had a large and actively hostile Jewish population, which would have made being a Christian there particularly difficult.  Were these the ones Jesus called false-Jews and a "synagogue of Satan"?  We don't know for certain, but here are some possibilities:

• perhaps the Jews hostility caused them to "turn in" Christians to the Roman authorities, resulting in arrests / persecution / martyrdom - we know that in the 2nd Century the Jews in Smyrna were instrumental in persuading the Roman officials of the city to execute Polycarp & even went so far as to carry logs to the pyre on which he was burned.
• perhaps these were Jews in nationality only, who went along with the Caesar worship, but still claimed to be Jews (perhaps keeping them from being forced into Caesar worship themselves).
• perhaps these were Jews claiming to be "true Jews", claiming conversion to Christ but attempting to inject Jewish Legalism (circumcision party) - Acts 15:1-11
• perhaps these were Jews claiming to be converts but attempting to continue the priesthood (thus calling them a synagogue).
• perhaps these are not Jews by nationality, but claiming to be those who have "replaced" the Jews in inheritance (i.e. inheriting the promises of God given to the Jewish peoples).  These teachings are alive today, we call them "replacement theology"; these teachings are in error in that they assume the Church has replaced the Jews in God's plans.  They ignore the scriptures that show God is not finished with the Jews, we will see that later in the book of Revelation.

Concerns: None - which makes it interesting that the city (though renamed) and its church (though small & underground) are still in existence.

Exhortation:  They were encouraged not to be afraid of what they were about to suffer.  They were told that the devil would put some of them in prison to test them, that they would be persecuted 10 days.  They were encouraged to be faithful even to the point of death, that if they did so Jesus would give them a crown of life.

What is it Jesus is doing here?  He is encouraging them to continue in their faithfulness, but He is also telling them their sufferings are going to increase.  This sounds "wrong" in the minds of most of Western culture, since we are of the opinion that we get what we deserve - but these faithful ones didn't "deserve" more suffering, they hadn't done anything wrong!!  So in a way this sounds cruel, but in actuality the Lord is showing them kindness.  Part of the problem is that our thinking is based on the teachings of other religions prevalent in our culture - teachings about Karma and the like - but these teachings are pagan!  The truth of the matter is that if you belong to God you have very real enemies in the spiritual realms - Ephesians 6:12.  Jesus himself is pointing out that the devil is the source their suffering, this suffering is not chastisement for a wrong they have committed.  These spiritual forces of evil want you to believe that you get what you deserve; but the truth, God's truth, is that you get what you don't deserve - both in suffering John 15:18-19 and in grace  Romans 11:6.  He is warning them that suffering is going to come, allowing them to be prepared for the suffering they don't deserve; however, they are recipients of His grace, a reward that no man deserves.

Jesus reminds them not to be afraid to face the sufferings to come, the very title He used of Himself would remind them ultimately who was in control - the author of life who was victorious over death was the one speaking to them!  He also let them know that there were limits on their suffering of "10 days", limits He was enforcing.  I don't know about you, but as for me I am much more able to endure pain & suffering if I know that it will end.

What are these 10 days & when did they happen?  Ok, here's where there are differences of opinion.  Apparently the expression for "days" in Hebrew can be idiomatic for epochs, or short periods of time.  It may be that there was a specific literal 10 day period for which we don't have a historical record - it wouldn't be surprising for that to be the case.  If seen idiomatically there is a "10 day" record of persecutions - there are 10 Roman Emperors that specifically targeted Christians for persecution, starting in AD 54 with Nero and ending in AD 313 with Diocletian, with none of their reigns being consecutive (breaks between each era of persecution).

They were told to be faithful even unto death - and many were martyrs, they were promised a "crown of life".  This crown is not believed to be salvation - which cannot be earned by a work, even if that work is martyrdom - but a special reward stored up in heaven for those who suffer for Jesus sake.  The word for "crown" here is not a royal crown but a victor's crown - more like a trophy, a medal, or a blue ribbon of today. 

Closing Statement: "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches"

Promise to the Overcomer:  The overcomer will not be hurt at all by the second death.  The first death is physical death, the second is death of the soul and spirit - not a ceasing to exist but rather a permanent state of separation from God.  This is a continuation of the idea prevalent through this letter to Smyrna - they will face persecution to the point of death, but the one who is victorious over death has assured their victory over death as well.

Looking at overall church history Smyrna represents the Persecuted church or Martyr church, a time frame in church history of approximately AD 100-314.  Smyrna - Myrrh - Death & Sorrows - the name certainly fits.  Have persecutions stopped?  No!!  In fact persecutions are on the rise, in the last century more people have been martyred for the faith than in all the previous centuries combined.  It is costly to be dedicated to Christ, in some places more than in others.  As end-time pressures increase persecution will also increase, God's people need to be ready to face the fires of persecution.  Will we remain faithful?  To do so will we in America have to resort to becoming an underground church like the one that still exists in Smyrna (Izmir) today?

How is your life like the life of the church of Smyrna?  What sorts of persecutions do you face?  Are your persecutions increasing?  Are you standing firm & refusing to burn the incense that the world insists you burn?  If the time comes when faced with a choice to stand for Christ or loose everything will you be ready?

How is our church like the church of Smyrna?  What sorts of persecutions does our church face?  Where has society or government attempted to force our churches into compromise or silence?  Are you seeing an increase in persecutions?  Will our church stand firm?  Are we willing to go underground, loosing all of our wonderful buildings and programs in order to stay true to Christ?

Prayer:  God, thank you for your grace, we don't deserve it and can't earn it.  Help us Lord to be a people and a church that are prepared for persecution, the world hates Jesus & it will hate us too.  We've lived a well-cushioned & safe existence in this country, but things are changing - help us not to be afraid, help us to stand strong - even if it means imprisonment or death.  Help us as we face persecutions to focus not on our momentary struggles, but rather on an eternity in your presence when all sufferings will have ceased.  Amen!