The Church at Smyrna

Commentary on the Book of Revelation

By: Tom Lowe Date: 4-30-2015

Topic # II. Letters to the Seven Churches of Asia (2:1-3:22)

Lesson: II.B: The Church at Smyrna (Revelation 2:8-11)

Revelation 2:8-11 (NIV)

8 “To the angel of the church in Smyrna write: These are the words of him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again.

9 I know your afflictions and your poverty—yet you are rich! I know about the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.

10 Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor’s crown.

11 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who is victorious will not be hurt at all by the second death.

Introduction

When John wrote this letter to the church at Smyrna, the Roman emperor Nero had come and gone. Another Caesar, Domitian, was on the throne. He was a suspicious and blasphemous tyrant. The time had come for the second round of official persecution to begin. In his second letter, John addressed the church which was soon to taste the bitter hatred of the world. The church at Smyrna became the embodiment of the church under fire. It was one of the two churches that received no rebukes from Christ.

The terrible persecution lasted about two hundred and fifty years. It was very, very fierce at times, and at other times grew lighter. During this time of imperial and pagan persecution, the Church went through a terrible bloodbath; but not without the knowledge of Him who stands in the midst of the golden candlesticks.

The Lord begins the letter by introducing Himself as the One who has already conquered death, “the First and the Last, who died and came to life again.” Death has been robbed of its sting, the grave stripped of its power.

Commentary

8 “To the angel of the church in Smyrna write: These are the words of him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again.

9 I know your afflictions and your poverty—yet you are rich! I know about the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.

Jesus addresses this church from His role as the resurrected One; the One “who died and came to life again,” which enabled Him to sympathize and help them. This persecuted people needed to know that their blessed and glorified Head had defeated death and was now master over it (Hebrews 2:18[1], NIV). Having been tempted and tried in all points as they were, He was now their great high priest (Hebrews 4:15-16[2], NIV). He identifies them by the distresses they had experienced—suffering, “poverty”[3], and slander. Christianity was outlawed at the time John was writing this letter and was particularly held in contempt in “Smyrna,” in a place known for its loyalty and worship of the emperor.

The description of Christ given to this small church on the verge of being snuffed out by persecution isn’t that Christ is the “First and the Last, who died and came to life again” (1:17-18[4]). The reference is to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Risen Christ is He who experienced death in the triumphant event, the resurrection, and is alive for evermore. Although this church was almost dead due to persecution, Christ was reminding them that He was sovereign and eternal. No matter what they faced, Christ already knew about it; as the “First and the Last,” nothing could take Him by surprise. Christ identified Himself has the One “who died and came back to life again.” Even if believers had to suffer to the point of death, Christ, the One who “came to life again,” would raise them to eternal life with Him.

Much of the persecution seems to have been coming from the Jews who were actively opposing Christianity. Christ identified them as “those who say they are Jews and are not.” They may have claimed to have descended from Abraham, but the Jews (God’s people) are those who had accepted Jesus as Messiah and Savior. Paul had written to the Christians in Galatia, “And now that you belong to Christ, you are the true children of Abraham. You are his heirs, and God’s promise to Abraham belongs to you” (Galatians 3:29, NLT). Because these Jews had rejected the Messiah, they were, in reality, no more than a synagogue of Satan (read John 8:31-47). The phrase “synagogue of Satan” means that these Jews we’re serving Satan’s purposes, not God’s, when they gathered to worship, because they hated and persecuted the true people of God, the Christians. To be a Christian was against the law, but persecution was not continuous. The Christians might be left in peace for a long time, but at any moment a governor might acquire a fit of administrative energy or the mob might set up a shout to find the Christians—and then the storm burst. The terror of being a Christian was the uncertainty.

The port city of “Smyrna” lay thirty-five miles up the coast, north of Ephesus. It was a beautiful city with a well-protected harbor on the Aegean Sea and rivaled Ephesus in the export business. It also had earned the right to be self-governing. It had a large library, stadium, and the largest public theater in Asia. The famous “Golden Street” traversed the city with a temple to “Zeus” at one end and the temple of a local goddess Sipylene (Cybele) at the other. Other Temples to Apollo, Asclepius, and Aphrodite lined the way. The city had been destroyed and rebuilt before 200 B.C. After that, it was rebuilt according to a plan, much as a planned community today. Most likely, the church in “Smyrna” was a product of Paul’s Ephesian ministry (Acts 19:10[5]) and was founded by the apostle himself or one of his converts. At the end of the first century, life was difficult and dangerous for Christians in Smyrna. As a loyal Roman ally, the city was a key center for emperor worship. So any other religious loyalties could easily be perceived as political threats. A large Jewish community also thrived in Smyrna. The Jews, of course, did not have to patronize the imperial cult since their religion was accepted by Rome. This is the only one of the seven cities that is still in existence; its modern name is Izmir.

“Smyrna” received its name from one of its principle commercial products, namely, myrrh. The Greek word Smurna is actually a word of Semitic origin, the Hebrew root meaning “bitter.” It was a gum resin taken from a shrubby tree and had a bitter taste. It was used as an ingredient in making perfume (Psalm 45:8); as one of the ingredients of the holy anointing oil for the priests (Exodus 30:23); for the purification of women (Esther 2:12); and for embalming (John 19:39). It is most significant that our Lord spoke as He did to the assembly at Smyrna, for this church was in the midst of bitter sorrow and suffering.

As usual, the Lord begins by accenting the positive. “I know your afflictions and your poverty,” He says. First, He underscores the persecution at Smyrna and brings comfort with the words “I know!” The Lord Jesus, our Savior, knows every heartache. He knows every pain, every tear, and every burden. It is encouraging, to say the least, when facing some dark hour of trial, to have a friend in a position of high authority to take you by the hand and say, “I know, I sympathize, I understand, I’m standing by you in this. You can count on me.” There is no sob, no tear, no heartache, pain, or fear that the Lord does not share. He has faced life to the full, drunk its sorrows to the dregs. He knows!

WE FLOURISH BEST AND ARE THE RICHEST WHEN WE SUFFER. When the church is persecuted it spreads like wildfire. When the church is at ease, God’s work suffers sorely! Paul was given a “thorn in the flesh.” He prayed for God to remove the thorn, but God did not remove it. God promised and gave grace sufficient to bear it—and Paul was the richer for it (2 Corinthians 12:7[6]). The Hebrew Christians rejoiced in the plundering of their goods (Hebrews 10:34[7]). The three Hebrew children knew Jehovah from the historical standpoint; but when they met Him in the midst of the fiery furnace they knew Him as they could never have known Him had they not stood when the king commanded them to bow (Read about it in Daniel 3:1-25).

The “church in Smyrna” was suffering because of persecution, and believers faced “poverty” even in this wealthy city. This probably refers to material poverty because Christ immediately assured them that despite their “poverty,” they were “rich”—referring to their heavenly riches (James 2:5[8]). These Christians’ “poverty” may have been due to a number of things:

It may have come from sanctions against them as part of the persecution they faced.
It could have been due to the fact that most of them belonged to the lower classes of society. The gulf between the top and the bottom of the social scale was very wide. We know, for instance, that in Rome the poor classes literally starved because contrary winds delayed the corn ships from Alexandria and the corn Dole[9] could not be distributed.
Sometimes Christians suffered from being robbed of their goods (Hebrews 10:4). There were times when the heathen mob would suddenly attack the Christians and wreck their homes and take what they wanted. Life was not easy for a Christian in Smyrna or anywhere else in the ancient world.

At “Smyrna” there was a congregation of believers who “quenched the violence of fire . . . had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth” (Hebrews 11:34-38, KJV). The Lord says, “I know.” He was born in a borrowed stable, and early in His ministry He said, “The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay His head” (Matthew 8:20). Those poor saints in “Smyrna” were comforted by His words.

The next thing the Lord does is to underline the “poverty” at “Smyrna.” He says, “I know your afflictions and your poverty—yet you are rich!” (2:9; also see 2 Corinthians 8:9) These Christians had literally suffered the loss of all things for Christ’s sake. They had lost their possessions, their social prestige and the possibility of working to earn an honest living, but in the sight of the Lord they were wealthy. They had invested their treasures “in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal” (Matthew 6:20). They knew that “a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth” (Luke 12:15).

The church at “Smyrna” was tolerating false doctrine. The Lord says, “I know about the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.” What He means is that, in light of the revelation of Jesus, being a Jew has more to do with how a person lives than with his heritage or bloodline. This is key to one’s interpretation of John’s writing in Revelation. One who understands John’s use of the Jewish nation to mean the new nation of faith—the church—will interpret passages relating to the “Jews” as symbolically to be about the church as a whole. How one chooses to interpret this affects many portions of this book. The basic error at the core of such a misunderstanding of this truth is the error of failing to distinguish between Israel and the church. From earliest times in church history, attempts have been made to graft various forms of Judaism onto Christianity. The two systems are mutually exclusive, as Paul clearly recognized even before his conversion. That is why he persecuted the church. Yet in doctrine and in practice, the church has tolerated the alien Judaistic graft. Some wish to graft on lawkeeping; others are fascinated by ritualism and by the sacerdotalism[10] of the Old Testament; others wish to deny any factual distinction between Israel and the church and seek to make the one an extension of the other.

In addition to the persecution and “poverty” they suffered, the Lord recognized how they had suffered from the spread of false reports. He said: “I know about the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan” (2:9). This church was surrounded by foes; and there was a group within the church who claimed to be Jews, but who were not really Jews. They were in the church for what they could get out of it—not for what they could give to the Christ in the midst of the golden candlesticks. They could rightfully say they were descendants of Abraham, but the people of God are those who had accepted Jesus as Messiah as Savior. “And now that you belong to Christ, you are the true children of Abraham. You are his heirs, and God’s promise to Abraham belongs to you” (Galatians 3:29, NLT). A true Jew is not one physically or racially, but spiritually (Romans 2:17-29). Any religious group, Jewish or Gentile, that does not acknowledge Jesus Christ as God’s Son is certainly acting contrary to God’s will. Thank God that people like them (false followers) will be left behind when the true Church is taken out! These false followers were tearing her reputation to pieces. They were “Jews” but they were not worthy of the name (Romans 2:28-29[11]). Rather than representing a true Jewish “synagogue,” they were a “synagogue of Satan” (2:9; John 8:44). The word “devil” means “slanderer.” He is the forger of lies and all manner of false accusations against God’s children (Revelation 12:10[12]). Six slanders were regularly leveled against the Christians.

On the basis of the words of the Sacrament—this is my body, and this is my blood—the story went about that the Christians were cannibals.
Because the Christians called their common meal the Agape, the Love Feast, it was said that their gatherings were orgies of lust.
Because Christianity did, in fact, often split families, when some members became Christians and some did not, the Christians were accused of “tampering with family relationships.”
The heathen accused the Christians of atheism because they could not understand the worship which had no images of the gods such as they themselves had.
The Christians were accused of being politically disloyal because they would not say: “Caesar is Lord.”
The Christians were accused of being incendiaries because they foretold the end of the world in flames.

It was not difficult for maliciously-minded people to spread dangerous slanders about the Christian Church.

None of us can tell what it might cost to remain true to Christ. It seems inevitable that America will eventually suffer as the early church did. None can deny that there is at present many indications of what is coming—liberal churches preaching a social message, a drop in church attendance, increasing atheism, sex, violence, and homosexuality, government inroads into religion, etc. Both our Lord and the Apostle Paul spoke of impending tribulation that would arise during the Church Age (John 16:33; 2 Timothy 3:12). Such a time will separate the true believer from the mere professor (Matthew 13:5-6, 20-21).

The “church in Smyrna” was harboring some form of extreme Judaistic error. Those propagating the heresy are said to belong to the “synagogue of Satan.” Just as God has His followers (devotees) in the world, so does “Satan.” The enemy was active along two lines at “Smyrna.” Within the Christian assembly, he was “Satan,” the adversary, the one who sets up radical teachings in opposition to the gospel. Outside the assembly, he was the devil, the accuser, the forger of the lies and innuendos which inspired the pagan persecutions.

The Lord never minimizes the seriousness of “error.” Some of His strongest language was directed against false religious teachers. They are called “children of the devil,” “wolves in sheep’s clothing,” “a generation of vipers.” At “Smyrna,” He describes their clique within the assembly as the “synagogue of Satan.” He says that the spreaders of the error are blasphemers. This is strong language. We must not dilute it, for error is a serious matter.

The fiery trial soon to be intensified at Smyrna is viewed in three ways: from the human, the satanic, and the divine perspectives. Each perspective emphasizes a different aspect of human suffering—its “misery”, its “mystery,” and its “ministry.”

The Human Level of the Trial—Its Misery. The Lord says, “Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer.” There is a natural withdrawal from suffering. The Lord encourages His own to boldly face the hatred and the violent opposition of the world. History tells us how the saints of God in those far-off days of the church responded boldly to the challenge.

The long history of the church has been one of constant “persecution.” Many of those whose names have become household words in the family of God have had to “suffer” severely for their faith. Even the 20th century has not been without its martyrs. The church in all ages has suffered intense “persecution” and fiery trials. Who can calculate on the human level the misery of it? “Do not be afraid,” says the Lord. The Lord has promised grace sufficient for every need, but He does not give “martyr grace” until it is “martyr time.”

The problem of human suffering, even for a limited time, has always perplexed faithful Christians. Suffering can be expected for the ungodly, but why should the godly suffer? The Scriptures give a number of reasons. Suffering may be (1) disciplinary (1 Corinthians 11:30-32; Hebrews 12:3-13), (2) preventive (as Paul’s thorn in the flesh, 2 Corinthians 12:7), (3) the learning of obedience (as Christ’s suffering, Hebrews 5:8; Romans 5:3-5), or (4) the providing of a better testimony for Christ (as in Acts 9:16).

The Satanic Level of the Trial—Its Mystery. Satan detests the church and has been its persistent enemy since the moment it burst upon his startled sight at Pentecost. He was not prepared for that. The church was a secret concealed in the heart of God from eternity past. The church has been the object of Satan’s persistent attacks from the very beginning. Saints at Smyrna were about to bear the brunt of one of his attacks. “The devil will put some of you in prison,” says the Lord. More suffering was coming, yet they should remember that although the Jews and Roman authorities were carrying out the “persecution,” behind any actions against them was the “devil” himself. Satan would cause some of the believers to be thrown into “prison” and even killed. He would put the believers to the “test”—that is, he would “test” their faith. Jesus had told His disciples, “Don’t be afraid of those who want to kill you. They can only kill your body; they cannot touch your souls!” (Matthew 10:28, NLT). The “persecution” would continue for “ten days[13]”—probably symbolizing that although “persecution” would be intense, it would be relatively short in duration and had a definite beginning and end. God was in complete control. In the true sense of the word, “There is no power but of God” (Romans 13:1). All power is permitted by Almighty God, and the “devil” cannot make one move against God’s child without God’s permission (read 1 Corinthians 10:13, and Hebrews 13:5). God’s purpose in permitting “persecution” to come upon the assembly at Smyrna was to cause the saints to repent and return to Him. Thus God’s saints were purified. Their love, faith and courage were strengthened. The Lord then challenged the church to remain “faithful” to Christ even when facing “death.”

Satan knows well enough the high dignity and the high destiny of the church. He sees it enthroned in heavenly places with Christ, far above all principalities and powers and every name which his named. When he is hurled from heaven to earth, from earth to the abyss, and from the abyss to the lake of fire, the church will still be enthroned on the dizzy Heights from which he fell. “The devil will put some of you in prison,” says the Lord. There is no mystery about that. The mystery is that He who of holds the universe, who holds the seven stars in His right hand, who controls all the factors of time and space that He permits it! That is the mystery of it.

In light of the “persecution” of the day, the reference to “prison” may infer more than simple containment. It may be a reference to a type of holding cell where a detainee awaits execution. The mention of “ten days” would have been understood by John’s original readers as an allusion to Daniels request to be tested “for ten days” in order to show that God’s commands regarding food would make him and his cohorts stronger than the rest of the men taken to Babylon (Daniel 1:12-15). This was a “test” that proved God “faithful,” as would the “test” of the Smyrnaeans prove they were “faithful.”

The Divine Level of the Trial—its Ministry. God never permits the saints to “suffer” without a cause. In this case there are two comforting factors which showed that God is sovereign even in Satan’s permitted onslaught on the saints. First we note the divine reason for this fiery trial. It is simply “to test you.” The church is to be tested, the chaff to be separated from the wheat. Next we note there is a divine restriction to it. “You will suffer persecution for ten days.” The exact period is marked for the fiery trial to start and for it to stop. On the other side of the trial, the church would be stronger than ever. Tertullian, who lived in the midst of “persecution,” said, “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.” It has been an axiom from that day to this. When Saul of Tarsus made havoc of the Jerusalem church, the saints fled far and wide, taking the gospel with them and spreading it abroad. “The devil,” in his blind rage against the infant church at Jerusalem, simply took the precious gospel seed, stored in the Jerusalem granary, and cast it to the four winds of heaven. Wherever it came to rest, it took root and sprang up in a mighty harvest. That is one of the ministries of persecution.

The Lord reminded this church that He Himself was once dead when he described himself as One “who died and came to life again” (2:8) Now He says, “Be faithful, even to the point of death.” But an easy life and prosperity are nowhere promised the Christian as a reward for his faith. On the contrary, he is warned to expect “persecution” in this hostile world. Most of us have wondered if, faced with the prospect of a speedy or a lingering death as a reward for faithfulness to Christ, would we have the strength to endure to the end. We turn the pages of history and read of the terrible things which have been done to the saints. We wonder whether we would have the fortitude and the faith to hold out. We must live for Christ today. That is the only guarantee that we would be able to die for Christ tomorrow.

The message to the Smyrna church was to remain “faithful” during their sufferings because God is in control and because His promises are reliable. Jesus never taught that by being “faithful” to Him, believers would avoid troubles, suffering, and “persecution.” Rather, believers must be “faithful” to Christ even when suffering. Only then will their faith prove genuine. Believers remain “faithful” by keeping their eyes on Christ and on what he promises for now and for the future (see Philippians 3:13-14; 2 Timothy 4:8).

The victorious believer is promised enduring supremacy. The Lord says, “Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor’s crown” (2:10b). The “crown of life” is one of five crowns promised to “faithful” believers when Christ returns. They are: the incorruptible crown (1 Corinthians 9:25); the soul-winners crown (Philippians 4:1; 1 Thessalonians 2:19); the crown of righteousness (2 Timothy 4:8); the crown of glory (1 Peter 5:4); the crown of life (James 1:12; Revelation 2:10). These are not to be worn on our heads in Heaven, but rather to be presented to our blessed Lord (Revelation 4:10[14]). The Christian philosophy of suffering for Christ is that out of tribulation comes triumph; out of “persecution,” the prize; out of “death” we come to reigning “life” with Him.

The world offers the believer “death” by torture, death in a thousand fiendish ways. Christ crowned him with “life,” with a “crown” which will outlast the universe itself. Jesus wants this congregation to be “faithful until “death” so that they may receive the crown of life. The word translated “crown” here is not a king’s “crown,” but the winning wreath given to the winner of a game. In the case of the Smyrnaeans, if they persevere in the midst of their difficulties, they will not be hurt by the second death[15]—in other words they will be the ultimate victors over hell (the second death). Dwight L. Moody put it like this: “He who is born once will die twice; he who is born twice will die once.” And if the Rapture occurs during his lifetime, he won’t even have to die that one time. The “second death” is the “death” which no believer will experience. The first death concerns the body. The “second death” concerns the soul and the spirit; it his eternal separation from God. No believer will have to undergo that.

Verses 9 and 10 contain seven things about this church which the Lord commended; when taken together, they comprise a summary of this passage:

“Tribulation (afflictions)” is mentioned first. Remember, this is not the Great Tribulation; it means simply trouble. Since the awful persecution of the church by the Roman emperors is not called the Great Tribulation, surely our small sufferings are not the Great Tribulation. But the church in Smyrna endured much tribulation, and they suffered for the Lord Jesus Christ.
“Poverty” denotes the lack of material possessions. The early church was made up largely of the poorer classes. When the wealthy believed in Christ, their property was confiscated because of their faith. “But that all art rich (2:9)” denotes the spiritual wealth of the church—they were blessed with all spiritual blessings.
“The slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.” The implication is that the Jews in Smyrna who had come to Christ were Jews inwardly as well as outwardly. In Romans 9:6 Paul says that not all Israel is Israel. It is his religion that makes a Jew a real Jew. His religion is the thing that identifies him. Speaking of them nationally, the Lord said that their father was “. . . a Syrian ready to perish . . .” (Deuteronomy 26:5). But Smyrna was a city of culture in which many Jews had discarded their belief in the Old Testament. Although they said they were Jews, when a Jew gives up his religion, there is a question whether or not he is a Jew. In Germany many tried to do that, by the way. Down through the years there has been only a remnant of these people who had truly been God’s people.
“Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer” is the encouragement of the Lord to His own in the midst of persecutions. History tells us that multitudes went to their death singing praises to God.
“The devil [Satan] will put some of you in prison.” We are going to look at this fearful creature later on, but Christ labels him as being responsible for the suffering of the saints in Smyrna. You and I tend to blame the immediate person or circumstance which serves as Satan’s tool, but the Lord Jesus goes back to the root of the trouble.
“You will suffer persecution for ten days.” There were 10 intense periods of persecution by 10 Roman emperors (these dates are approximate; could only list 5):

Nero—64-68 (Paul was beheaded under his reign)

Domitian—95-96 (John was exiled during that period)

Trajan—104-117 (Ignatius was burned at the state)

Marcus Aurelius—161-180 (Polycarp was martyred)

Diocletian—303-313 (the worst emperor of all)

“Be faithful, even to the point of death,”—and they were. They were martyrs for Him. He promises them “a crown of life.” Remember that He is addressing the believers who lived in Smyrna, the crown city. It is interesting that to them He issaying that He will give crowns—not crowns of flowers—or of anything else perishable—but crowns that will be eternal.

11 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who is victorious will not be hurt at all by the second death.

The call for anyone who is willing to hear (to listen to) “the Spirit” is repeated at the end of each letter. But whoever is “victorious”—that is, whoever stands strong for the faith despite persecution and suffering—“will not be hurt at all by the second death.” Believers and nonbelievers alike experience physical death. The first death for those in Smyrna might well be martyrdom. But even then they would be “victorious” because they would not face the “second death.” All people will be resurrected, but believers will be resurrected to eternal life with God, while unbelievers will be resurrected to be punished with a “second death”—eternal separation from God (see also 20:14; 21:8, 27; 22:15).

It is the responsibility of the individual to “hear what the Spirit says.” We will not be excused by God at the judgment seat if we depend upon others to do our hearing, our praying, and our confessing. It is an individual matter. We must individually hear and obey what “the Spirit” has to say to us. Only the ones who “hear what the Spirit says” know how to become overcomers. To be an overcomer under the conditions that existed in Smyrna required strong faith, clear spiritual vision and understanding, and looking to Him Who is invisible. Even though He is invisible, He is nearer than breath itself, promising never to forsake the saints, but to go with them faithfully even to the end, and through the valley of the shadow of death!

The “victorious” believer is promised eternal security. “Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who is victorious will not be hurt at all by the second death.” The text does not say that those who fail to overcome will be hurt by the “second death.” That is an inference unjustified by the text. The promise is that the overcomer will not be hurt by the “second death.” We must not read into Scripture something it does not say, nor build an argument on the silence of Scripture. The promise here has to do, not with the ground of eternal security, but with the assurance of it. Those who unflinchingly faced the fire and the foe will have the blessed assurance that the “death” they are facing is trivial; it is the “second death” that men must fear, and this terrible “second death” will never come near them. When our Lord spoke of the faithful being unharmed by the “second death,” He meant precisely the same as Paul when he said that nothing in life or in death, in time or in eternity can separate those who love Him from Jesus Christ. Such a man is safe from all that life or death can do to him (Romans 8:38-39[17]). Peter provides us with an interesting example in Acts 12:1-6. He has been arrested by Herod and condemned to death, the sentence to be executed the next day. James has already been slain. It is his turn next. But what is Peter doing? Is he down on his knees praying for strength to go boldly to his execution? No! Is he pacing the floor gripping his hands and resolving to face his “death” like a man? No! He is asleep! He is not only conqueror, he is more than conqueror. He has the blessed assurance of eternal security. “Death” is the gateway to life!

The assuring word of Christ to Smyrna is the word to all suffering and persecuted Christians. As stated in Hebrews 12:11, “No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who had been trained by it.”

SPECIAL NOTES

[1] (Hebrews 2:18, NIV) “Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.”

[2] (Hebrews 4:15-16) “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”

[3] Poverty: the word used here for poverty means “abject poverty, possessing absolutely nothing.”

[4] (Revelation 1:17-18) “When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand upon me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one; I died, and behold I am alive for evermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.”

[5] (Acts 19:10, GNT) “This went on for two years, so that all the people who lived in the province of Asia, both Jews and Gentiles, heard the word of the Lord. This went on for two years, so that all the people who lived in the province of Asia, both Jews and Gentiles, heard the word of the Lord.”

[6] (2 Corinthians 12:7, NIV) “. . . Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me.”

[7] (Hebrews 10:34; KJV) “For ye had compassion of me in my bonds, and took joyfully the spoiling [plundering] of your goods, knowing in yourselves that ye have in heaven a better and an enduring substance.”

[8] (James 2:5; KJV) “Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?

[9] Dole: Charity (practice), giving food, clothing or money.

[10] Sacerdotalism is the belief that propitiatory sacrifices for sin require the intervention of a priest. That is, it is the belief that a special, segregated order of men, called the priesthood, are always the only ones who can commune directly with God or the gods. This system of priesthood is exemplified by the priests in the Old Testament and Catholicism.

[11] (Romans 2:28-29, GNT) “After all, who is a real Jew, truly circumcised? It is not the man who is a Jew on the outside, whose circumcision is a physical thing. Rather, the real Jew is the person who is a Jew on the inside, that is, whose heart has been circumcised, and this is the work of God's Spirit, not of the written Law. Such a person receives praise from God, not from human beings.”

[12] (Revelation 12:10, ERV) “Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say, “The victory and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Messiah have now come. These things have come, because the accuser of our brothers and sisters has been thrown out. He is the one who accused them day and night before our God.

[13] Ten days, in the Bible, signifies “a brief time.” (Genesis 24:55; Acts 25:6).

[14] (Revelation 4:10-11, NIV) “The twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne and worship him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say: “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.”

[15] Second death is a Jewish phrase for the final condemnation of sinners (Matthew 10:8). We learn from Revelation 20:14-15 that the second death, which follows the general judgment, consists in being cast into the lake of fire for an eternity of dreadful torture, along with Satan, the two beasts, and Death and Hades.

[16] Polycarp: Fifty years after John’s death, Polycarp, the pastor of the church in Smyrna was burned alive at the age of eighty-six for refusing to worship Caesar.

[17] (Romans 8:38-39, NIV) “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

It may have come from sanctions against them as part of the persecution they faced.

On the basis of the words of the Sacrament—this is my body, and this is my blood—the story went about that the Christians were cannibals.

Because the Christians called their common meal the Agape, the Love Feast, it was said that their gatherings were orgies of lust.

Because Christianity did, in fact, often split families, when some members became Christians and some did not, the Christians were accused of “tampering with family relationships.”

The heathen accused the Christians of atheism because they could not understand the worship which had no images of the gods such as they themselves had.

The Christians were accused of being politically disloyal because they would not say: “Caesar is Lord.”

“Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer” is the encouragement of the Lord to His own in the midst of persecutions. History tells us that multitudes went to their death singing praises to God.