When Are We Now? The first of three studies of The Revelation of Jesus Christ by Paige Ramsey
The Church of Smyrna – Lesson 6
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Revelation 2:8-11
– “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.’”
The word smyrna is the same word as myrrh. It means suffering. The Bible speaks about myrrh in the life of Jesus in several places:
1. The wise men brought Jesus gifts of gold, frankincense, & myrrh (Smyrna)
2. Jesus was offered wine & myrrh to drink when He went to the cross (Mark 15:23)
3. Nicodemus brought 100 pounds of myrrh and aloes in which to place the body of Jesus (John 19:39)
The very rare and expensive plant, myrrh, was named this because it must suffer; myrrh had to be crushed in order to release its strong fragrance. Grapes are crushed (put under pressure) until its blood – the wine – flows. When the human body is put under pressure due to stress, a very rare phenomenon can occur. The person will produce sweat mingled with blood. This occurred to Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane just before His
arrest. Our Lord was crushed until His precious wine flowed. The abundantly sweet fragrance of God’s grace could never have been known until Jesus was totally crushed on that cross to pay the price for our sin.
Luke, the author of the New Testament books of Luke and Acts, by profession, was a physician. His writings
manifest an intimate acquaintance with the technical language of the Greek medical schools of Asia Minor. For
example, of the four gospel writers, only Dr. Luke referred to Jesus’ ordeal as “agony” (agonia). It is because of this
agony over things to come that we learn during His prayer “his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling
down to the ground” (Luke 22:44). Only Luke referred to Jesus’ sweat (idros), a much used term in medical
language, and only Luke referred to Jesus’ sweat as consisting of great drops of blood (thromboi haimatos)—a
medical condition alluded to by both Aristotle and Theophrastus (Hobart, 1882, pp. 80-84). The Greek term
thromboi (from which we get thrombus, thrombin, et al.) refers to clots of blood (Nicoll, n.d., 1:631; Vincent, 1887,
1:425). Bible scholar Richard Lenski commented on the use of this term: “‘As clots,’thromboi, means that the
blood mingled with the sweat and thickened the globules so that they fell to the ground in little clots and did not
merely stain the skin” (1961, p. 1077).[i]
The Christians at Smyrna were crushed for their devotion to Christ. As a result, the church throughout the age has drawn strength and comfort to face brutal persecution, and the world smelled the desirable fragrance of God’s amazing grace!!
Let’s look at the letter to the Church in Smyrna:
The Commendation – verse 9
I know your works
– Just as in Ephesus, God knew the energetic works done in the church of Smyrna. They were diligent to do the work that God had ordained them to do, and He was delighted in their focus.
I know your tribulation
– Our Lord saw the hardships facing those who claimed His name in Smyrna. He sees our hardships as well. He does not overlook the difficulties we face in our society, in our government, in our homes, or in our church. He sees – He knows. It is a comfort to know that God knows. We can be at peace because God knows.
I know your poverty (but you are rich)
– The Christians in Smyrna were not among the materially wealthy. They were not in the high society. This posed another obstacle – another problem. They couldn’t afford a big, beautiful edifice that would attract attention in Smyrna and give them a respectable presentation so that the curious would be enticed to join. They couldn’t afford to take off work to get things done at the church. They couldn’t afford education. They had pressing bills at home. Poverty presents its own bundle of dilemmas that includes feelings of insignificance, inferiority, and depression. Life wasn’t easy for the Christians in Smyrna. And yet… they had found true LIFE! They had found a peace that surpasses understanding! They had a deeper purpose for living than just getting by, serving their earthly masters, and living out their days. They had found the ultimate reason for living! A sure hope for their future! This earthly life had no meaning for them – they were headed for a better place! They had far greater riches than the wealthiest of the wealthy! They had a far greater standing with the One who directs the highest society! They were rich even beyond what they could fathom!
I know the blasphemy of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan
– A synagogue is a place of learning. There were “Jews” in the city of Smyrna who were not Jews in heart. They had no love for God. In John 8:37 Jesus
says to a group of “Jews” like these: “I know that you are Abraham’s descendants, but you seek to kill Me because My word has no place in you.” They were not true sons of Abraham in spirit. And they had turned the synagogue into a place to learn of hatred for others – a place that exalted the Hebrew race – not the God of the Hebrews. In such a distorted view, they discarded all other men and women, referring to them as uncircumcised dogs and infidels without hope, when they, themselves, were heathen and uncircumcised in heart. These pious “Jews” (who were not Jews in heart) gave the Christians in Smyrna much grief. They were vehemently against Christianity because of the acclamation that Jesus of Nazareth is the long awaited Messiah. The “Jews” in Smyrna could have included some of the wealthier citizens, and therefore, the pressure was great among all who had servants who proclaimed this new belief in Jesus to keep them at bay.
Do you know “Christians” who are not Christians in heart? ______ What kind of similarities are there to “Jews” who are not Jews in heart?
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The Complaint and Counsel – None!
This is one of two churches that the Lord did not have anything to complain about, and thus, no need for counsel. Though they had it so hard and struggled through so many difficulties, the Lord was completely pleased with them!
What are your thoughts about this? ______________________________________________________________________________________________________
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The Closing – He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The Lord closed with the same closing, reminding the members of the Church in Smyrna that not all have the spiritual ears to discern what the Spirit is saying.
The Reward – He who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death.
Revelation 20:14-15 – Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And
anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.
Revelation 21:8 – 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.
What is the second death? The lake of fire – Gehenna – separation from God forever – that is the second death.
The Church of Smyrna – Represents 70 AD–312 AD
He was just 3 years old when his father died. It was little loss to the boy for His father had been a killer, a bully, and a cheat. His mother took over the family trade and continued the boy’s education. She murdered his stepfather with a bowl of poisoned mushrooms. He was reared in squalor and proved to be a notable son of his parents. He was still young when he committed his first murder, killing a teenage boy who got in his way and watched him die with calloused indifference. He married at age fifteen, but soon had his wife killed. He married again, and slaughtered his second wife also. In order to marry the third time, he murdered the husband of the woman he wanted. His mother annoyed him, so he arranged for her murder. He was an ugly man with a bull neck, beetle brows, a flat nose, and a tough mouth. He had a pot belly, spindly legs, bad skin, and an offensive odor. At the age of 31 he was sentenced to death by flogging. He fled to a dingy basement, and in the house of a slave, he cut his own throat. He gave the infant church its first taste of things to come. His name was Nero.[ii]
A look at our timeline:
64 AD Nero sets fire to the city of Rome and blames the Christians. Nero then launches severe Christian persecution
70 AD Titus (son of Vespasian) destroys the city of Jerusalem, the temple, and expels the Jews from the city, hoping to
destroy the church – Christians dispersed throughout the world
Nero ushered in the era of severe governmental Christian persecution in 64 AD. This new policy led to the destruction of the city of Jerusalem and the Jewish temple.
Hebrews 11:36-38 describes the trials and tribulations that were experienced by those who served the Lord before Christ came to the earth. We have historical evidence that all those things and more have been afflicted onto the Christians in the second and third centuries.
Poverty –
During this time period, Christians were discriminated against because of their stand for Christ – no one would hire them – no one would socialize with them. They were in poverty both materially and socially.
Yet, the Lord said to Smyrna, “You are rich” – Shadrach, Meshack, and Abednigo were stronger after getting to know the Lord in the fiery furnace. Daniel became stronger in the lion’s den. Paul’s strength abided in his infirmity. As Christians go through trials and tribulations, their faith in the Lord becomes stronger, their confidence in His way is fortified, their stamina is increased, and their ability to fight Satan is intensified. Jesus told us to rejoice when men revile and persecute us, and say all kind of evil against us falsely for My sake because our reward is great in heaven!!
Torture during this time period:
According to history, Christians were burned, beaten, stoned, thrown to the lions and other wild animals, had their intestines wound onto a winch, racked until the bones were all out of joint, scourged until the flesh fell off the bones then salt and vinegar were poured into the wounds, tortured on the wheel, having their flesh lacerated with iron forks, displayed to the public in the nude, burned with plates of red-hot irons, and more. When they did not die from the torture, they were beheaded, boiled in oil, or thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around the neck.[iii]
The Wheel originated in Greece and quickly spread to Germany, France, Russia, England and Sweden. The
device consists of a large wooden wheel with many spokes. The victim's limbs were tied to the spokes and the
wheel itself was slowly revolved. Through the openings between the spokes, the torturer usually hit the victim
with an iron hammer that could easily break the victim's bones. Once his bones were broken, he was left on the
wheel to die, sometimes placed on a tall pole so the birds could feed from the still-living human.[iv]
Why were they tortured and killed? Because Christians would not add their God to the other Roman or Greek gods. Domitian established emperor worship – once a citizen bowed to Caesar and called him Lord, he/she could go worship any other god of choice – the Christians would not do this. All one would have to do sometimes is just acknowledge that another god existed. A twelve year old girl named Agnes, who lived during Diocletian’s persecution (284-305 AD), was told to offer incense at the altar of Minerva in Rome. When she refused, she was stripped naked and had to stand in a public street. After sufficient humiliation, she was beheaded.[v]
What do you think our Lord would have thought about the Christians who lived in persecution during this time period?
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In heaven’s eyes, were these poverty Christians rich? _________ How do you think they viewed their own lives?
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Polycarp (AD 69–155) – Bishop of Smyrna (ordained by John the apostle)[vi]
Polycarp eventually visited Rome around 155 A.D.. And when he did, he was an old man (around 103). It took
months to get there from Smyrna at that time, and this would have been a physically difficult trip for Polycarp.
However, there were apparently so many heresies originating in Rome, that he felt that as the senior leader of
the true Church, that he needed to personally try to deal with them. In the late 2nd Century, the Catholic
historian Irenaeus recorded that the Bishops of Rome had problems with them and that both John and Polycarp
strongly renounced the Gnostic heretics:
Valentinus came to Rome in the time of Hyginus, flourished under Pius, and remained until Anicetus. Cerdon,
too…Marcion, then, succeeding him, flourished under Anicetus.
But Polycarp also was not only instructed by apostles, and conversed with many who had seen Christ, but was
also, by apostles in Asia, appointed bishop of the Church in Smyrna…always taught the things which he
had learned from the apostles, and which the Church has handed down, and which alone are true. To these
things all the Asiatic Churches testify, as do also those men who have succeeded Polycarp down to the present
time -- a man who was of much greater weight, and a more stedfast witness of truth, than Valentinus, and
Marcion, and the rest of the heretics. He it was who, coming to Rome in the time of Anicetus caused many to
turn away from the aforesaid heretics to the Church of God, proclaiming that he had received this one and sole
truth from the apostles... John, the disciple of the Lord…
exclaiming, "Let us fly, lest even the bath-house fall down, because Cerinthus, the enemy of the truth, is within."
And Polycarp himself replied to Marcion, who met him on one occasion, and said, "Do you know me?" "I do know
you, the first-born of Satan."[vii]
Polycarp: “Eighty and six years have I served the Lord and He never did me harm. How can I deny Him now? Do what you will.” As he was burning at the stake, he thanked the Lord that He thought him worthy to be martyred for His kingdom’s sake.
Be Faithful!
God asks us to be faithful – not to be successful. God honors faithfulness – even though it may seem to be a total failure – a total defeat. When we are faithful to do what God asks of us, He is pleased and will reward the faithfulness. Sometimes we think success is the reward of faithfulness – it is not. Sometimes defeat comes even though we are faithful.
We are facing persecution today in this country. It started out very mildly, but as it progresses, it is getting more and more forceful. One day soon, we may find ourselves having to make a decision to follow Christ or bow to the government’s wishes of tolerance (acknowledging other gods). How many true Christians are there? How many will deny their faith to keep the peace, to stay out of jail, or to keep their job?
The Christians in the city of Smyrna so long ago knew that death doesn’t last forever – it only acts as an open door to God. Do we have that kind of faith for ourselves? Can we watch our Christian loved ones being persecuted for the Lord?
Next week we’ll be studying the Church of Pergamos: the compromising church.
[i] Miller, Dave, PhD, Hematidrosis, © 2010 Apologetics Press, http://www.apologeticspress.org/apcontent.aspx?category=13&article=2323.
[ii] Cozart, Dan W., DDS. Sermon: The Church of Smyrna. June 7, 2009.
[iii] http://www.tribunesandtriumphs.org/roman-empire/christian-persecution.htm
[iv] The Wheel Torture, © Medieval Times and Castles, http://www.medievality.com/the-wheel.html.
[v] http://www.tribunesandtriumphs.org/roman-empire/christian-persecution.htm
[vi] Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polycarp
[vii] Irenaeus, Adversus Haeres. Book III, Chapter 4, Verse 3 and Chapter 3, Verse 4