Persecution of those who are godly goes all the way back to Cain and Abel. While persecution of believers has ebbed and flowed throughout history, it has always been a constant reality. Our episode today, “The Church of Faithful Endurance,” focused on the text, Revelation 2:8-11. In this study, we come to the words of Jesus addressed to the suffering saints in the church at Smyrna. These words were an encouragement to the believers in Smyrna and can be an encouragement to us today.
Transcript
It’s winter, January 23, 1539, and Anna Jansz and a female companion had been accused of associating with the Anabaptists. Anabaptist means “re-baptizer.” They have been sentenced to death by drowning. The cruel irony of death by drowning was intentional. If these re-baptizers used water to build their movement, the officials would use water to end it. Now Anna has a rope around her waist and is being led to her death in the city of Rotterdam.
Anna was born on the island of Putten, just west of Rotterdam. She was born into social privilege and grew up on Merchant Street in the town of Briel. She is remembered as Anna Jansz of Rotterdam because martyrs were often named after the city in which they died.
As Anna walks to her execution, she is carrying a young child, Isaiah, who is a year and a half old. She had been allowed to keep him overnight in the jail cell, but now, as she is led away, she calls out to the onlookers for someone to take her child and raise him. Whoever accepts her child will be well compensated. She has a fortune that she will give to the one who takes him. A local baker steps out of the crowd and takes the boy, promising to raise him as his own child. (Isaiah later became the mayor of Rotterdam).
Anna handed the baker her son and her wealth, but she also gave him one more thing. It was a letter she composed that night in jail. The letter is addressed to Isaiah, and you can read it in its entirety in the Martyrs’ Mirror.
Here is just a brief excerpt. My child, do not regard the great number, nor walk in their ways. But where you hear of a poor, simple, cast-off little flock, which is despised and rejected by the world, join them; for where you hear of the cross, there is Christ. Flee the shadow of this world; become united with God.
O my son, let your life be conformed to the gospel, and the God of peace sanctify your soul and body, to his praise. Amen.
Persecution of those who are godly goes all the way back to Cain and Abel. While persecution of Believers has ebbed and flowed throughout history, it has always been a constant reality. In our study of Revelation, we come to the words of Jesus addressed to the suffering saints in the church at Smyrna.
My teaching is “The Church of Faithful Endurance,” and our text is Revelation 2:8-11.
In the previous episode, I pointed out a pattern in how Jesus addressed each of the seven churches. I’ll call them actions. First, there are statements of commendation. These are omitted in the letters to Sardis and Laodicea. Next, we have an accusation of faults or sins. Only Smyrna and Philadelphia are missing this part of the pattern.
Then, exhortation is given to renounce the sin and remove the accusation, or to continue making good choices. Finally, there is a promised compensation or reward for obedience.
Before we look at these specific actions, we need to learn about the letter’s recipients. What was the environment in which this assembly in Smyrna existed?
Like Ephesus, Smyrna was a wealthy coastal city. Its name means “myrrh,” which is an expensive fragrance and the city’s chief export. Myrrh is both bitter and fragrant. As you may recall, along with aloe, it was part of the 100 pounds of spices used in Jesus’ burial by Joseph and Nicodemus. It was an appropriate metaphor for Jesus’ suffering, death, and resurrection.
Smyrna was also the center of worship for Cybele (Sibilee), the mother of the gods, and Bacchus, the Roman god of wine, fertility, and revelry. Feasts in his honor were wild orgies of excessive drinking and all kinds of immorality. Smyrna was also the seat of Emperor worship with a temple to Tiberias. All of these would have led to Christ-followers being persecuted for their refusal to worship these cultural and political gods. Of the seven cities mentioned in these letters, Smyrna is the only one still inhabited today. It is now Izmir, Turkey.
Jesus’ introduction of Himself as “the First and the Last” reminds us of His eternality. The second statement, “who was dead and came to life” (v. 8), is intriguing. Smyrna was founded as a Greek colony around 1100 BC. After being almost destroyed around 627 BC, it was rebuilt under the administration of Alexander the Great in the late 4th century BC. This city “died and came back to life.” Is Jesus hinting at this knowledge in connection with His death and resurrection? I don’t know, but the interplay of ideas is interesting.
Now, let’s look at Jesus’ commendation of the Believers in Smyrna.
Commendation
As He does with all the other churches, Jesus begins His letter by saying, “I know.” His choice of words emphasizes the absolute clarity of His mental perception, rather than knowledge by experience. He stands somewhat aloof to maintain an unbiased judgment.
Jesus mentions several specifics. “I know your works, tribulation, and poverty. You are not forgotten! I see your social and economic isolation. I see your businesses being boycotted, your homes robbed and vandalized. I understand you are being deprived of your property and your freedoms. I am aware of the extreme poverty you face because your employment opportunities are vanishing. Despite what it may seem like to you, I know, I care, and I’m at work.”
We know that the early church was composed mainly of people from lower economic classes. Since their earthly goods were already limited, this tribulation heightened the hardships they faced, both physical and mental. These realities persist in many parts of the world today.
I recently read the account of a poor Believer in Pakistan, a worker in one of the many brick kilns. These workers are paid little for the work and charged high prices for the things they need. Most of them are in debt to their employers, and there is no possible way to escape. Some even pass those debts on to their children, who remain trapped in that cycle.
One day, several robbers confronted this man and his wife. When he told them he was a poor brickmaker, they suspected he might be a follower of Jesus. After confirming that, they tied him to a tree and gang-raped his wife. Imagine his suffering at not being able to intervene. Eventually, his devastated wife emerged from the brush and untied him. Then, they both sat down on the ground and wept uncontrollably. They can expect little help or sympathy from the local government authorities.
However, after acknowledging their poverty, Jesus says, “You are rich!” In other words, things are not what they appear to be. This theme is repeated throughout these letters. They were rich toward God and in good deeds. Contrast the spiritual richness of the church in Smyrna with the spiritual poverty of the church in Laodicea. “Smyrna is a rich poor church, while Laodicea is a poor rich church.”
Jesus also knows the blasphemy of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are of the assembly of Satan. This blasphemy wasn’t against Jesus or God; it was against the Christ-followers. The text isn’t clear about who these false Jews were. One thing we do know is that distinct Jewish/Christian categories didn’t exist at this early time. That polarization developed later. Christianity was viewed as a sect of Judaism. These false Jews may have been Roman converts to Judaism, many of whom were quite zealous. Regardless, they were guilty of slandering the Believers in Smyrna.
That slander proved that they were tools in Satan’s kingdom. In John 8:44, Jesus said the Jews who refused to believe Him, “You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.”
Would Jesus commend your church for its works, tribulation, and poverty? In the West, this kind of suffering experienced in Smyrna is virtually unknown. But many of our brothers and sisters in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East face these things daily. Would He commend you for being “a poor, rich church?” Or would He define you as “a rich, poor church?”
Jesus commended the assembly in Smyrna for their faithfulness in the face of extreme circumstances. As I said at the beginning of today’s teaching, there is no message of condemnation for the church in Smyrna, so Jesus moves directly from commendation to exhortation.
Exhortation
The first words from the lips of Jesus to the suffering ones in Smyrna are, “Do not be afraid of the things you are about to suffer.” Jesus intimates that worse things are coming than what they are already facing, poverty and slander, perhaps prison and death. The demonic powers warring with Israel’s God were the instigators of these tremendous challenges facing the Believers. Revelation 12:10 calls Satan “the accuser of the brethren.”
All persecution of godly people is attributed to Satan. The Scriptures give us the evidence of this in the record of Job’s experiences. Satan had to get God’s permission before he could touch anything that belonged to Job. In Luke 22:31, Jesus told Peter, “Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat.”
Here, Jesus says that Satan will have some of them thrown into prison as a test of their faith. What is the meaning of the ten days? In the Scriptures, ten usually signifies fullness. So, rather than 10 specific days or periods of time, this will most likely be a prolonged period that would be extremely difficult to endure.
The Believers in Smyrna endured tremendous suffering and persecution at the hands of the Roman government. It was estimated that six million Christians were martyred during this period. Some of them were fed to the lions, stretched on the racks, or crucified by the hundreds, as the Roman emperors at various periods sought to stamp out Christianity.
There will be a succession of trials demanding an increase in power and a variety in the direction of faith. With reference to these trials, faithfulness not only exists but also grows in new strength and enters new applications. “Keep on becoming faithful.” They were to be faithful, not until the TIME of death, but faithful up to a measure that will endure death for Jesus’ sake. Jesus is talking about the intensity of their faith rather than its extent.
This exhortation calls to mind the words of Hebrews 12:4: “For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls.You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin.” Knowledge of Jesus’ suffering must have been a great comfort to the Believers in Smyrna as they contemplated the increased suffering that lay ahead of them.
So, to this church that was going to experience such tremendous suffering and persecution, the message of Jesus is one of a different nature. It is a message of comfort, a message of hope. We, too, may face increased persecution as time moves on.
And what is the compensation, the reward, for that faithfulness?
Compensation
The last sentence of verse 10 says, “Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.” Not a perishable garland like the one given to winners in the Greek and Roman athletic games of Smyrna and elsewhere. No, an eternal crown of life for faithfulness to Jesus. Interestingly, the Greek word for crown is stephanos. As you may remember, Stephen, or Stephanos, was one of the seven deacons in Acts 6; he was the first martyr for Jesus. He received a victor’s crown!
James writes about this crown. “Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test [when he has proven himself genuine] he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.” Paul echoes it in 1 Corinthians 9:25. “Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we receive an imperishable [crown].” Peter confirms it by adding, “…a crown of glory that does not fade away” (1 Peter 5:4).
Further, the Believers in Smyrna are counseled, “He who has ears to hear, had better hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death.” There is a double-negative in the original that we miss in our translations. “The second death shall in no possible way harm the one who overcomes!”
What is this second death Jesus speaks about? We don’t need to guess because it is spelled out clearly for us in Revelation 20:14. “Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.” And this in 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.”
These Scriptures make it clear that this “second death” is what awaits the wicked after the judgment. And for the record, this punishment is not annihilation; it is eternal torment. We’ll address this in greater detail in a future episode of this study in Revelation.
What is our response to the words of Jesus to the assembly in Smyrna? How does His message apply to you and me today? Are we willing to risk economic loss and be defamed for the sake of Christ and His commands? Many Believers around the world face this every day.
Are you and I fearful about the future, uncertain about what’s coming for those who follow Jesus? The Scriptures repeatedly warn us that the approaching end of the age will see a dramatic increase in hatred of those who follow Jesus. Are we confident in God’s care for us?
Are we committed to being faithful to God, even to the point of death? Will you and I be part of the church of faithful endurance? If so, we are promised a crown of life and guaranteed to escape the second death, eternal punishment.
