SCRIPTURE: REVELATION 2:8-11
II. THE CHURCH OF SMYRNA
Jesus Christ reveals himself as “The first and the last, the one who was dead but came back to life” Smyrna was described in its day as the “most beautiful city in the world”. It was located on a bay of the Aegean Sea and it was called the “crown of Ionia, the ornament of Asia”.
The city was rich in architecture and culture. Smyrna comes from the word used for the spice myrrh, which was used to embalm the dead. You may recall that the wise men brought myrrh to Jesus at his birth, perhaps as prophesy of his death for all mankind. This period is associated with the persecution in the Roman Empire that became widespread and intense from the end of the first century until about A.D 313.
John is writing to a suffering church or the persecuted church. What does one write to such a congregation? Normally, one seeks to encourage those undergoing severe tests to persist in their faith and to take courage by looking at heroic models-others who have overcome. In Revelation 2:8-9 several facts are given to inspire confidence to the suffering church, they are as follows:
1. Our Lord knows where his people are, what they are undergoing and their limits of endurance. He urges them to labour on in faithfulness.
2. The one who encourages sufferers has himself faced the ultimate test and overcame. In Him every believer is a potential victor. Not only are the people of this church afflicted, they are also poor. However, their Lord says that their poverty is only apparent; actually they are rich.
The best and enduring riches are not material; they are spiritual. In this sense, then, the believers in Smyrna were rich. Christians in general have undergone persecution throughout the church’s history. The apostle Paul indicated that the common lot of true Christian
discipleship involves hardship. He says these words; “We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God.” (Acts 14:22) Indeed, hardship describes his own experience (2 Corinthians 6:4-10, 11:22-33), but it did not lessen his desire to persist in his faith and be a true overcomer.
“For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. “ (Romans 8:18). Polycarp- a disciple of John
Smyrna was the city where it is believed Polycarp was bishop. Polycarp was a disciple of John, and a famous Martyr. John Foxe wrote of him as follows: After a respite, the Christians again came under persecution. One of those who suffered this time was Polycarp, the venerable bishop of Smyrna.
Hearing his captors had arrived one evening, Polycarp left his bed to welcome them, ordered a meal prepared for them, and then asked for an hour alone to
pray. The soldiers were so impressed by Polycarp’s advanced age and composure that they began to wonder why they had been sent to take him;
but as soon as he had finished his prayer, they put him on a donkey and brought him to the city.
As he entered the stadium, a voice from heaven was heard to say, “Be strong, Polycarp, and play the man.” No one nearby saw anyone speaking, but many
people heard the voice. Brought before the tribunal and the crowd, Polycarp refused to deny Christ, although the proconsul begged him: “Consider yourself and have pity on your great age. Reproach Christ and I will release you.” Polycarp replied, “Eighty-six years I have served Him, and He never once wronged me. How can I blaspheme my King who saved me?”
Threatened with wild beasts and fire, Polycarp stood his ground. “What are you waiting for? Do whatever you please.” The crowd demanded Polycarp’s death, gathering wood for the fire and preparing to tie him to the stake. “Leave me,” he said. “He who will give me strength to sustain the fire will help me not flinch from the pile.” So they bound him but didn’t nail him to the stake. As soon as Polycarp finished his prayer the fire was lit, but it leaped up around him, leaving him unburned, until the people convinced a soldier to plunge a sword into him. When he did, so much blood gushed out that the fire was immediately extinguished. The soldiers then placed his body into a fire and burned it to ashes, which some Christians later gathered up and buried properly.
Believers in the church of Smyrna are said to be suffering from slander from certain false Jews (Revelation 2:9). These are people who were thought to be
Judaizers who stuck on the Old Testament teachings like circumcision, feasts, and not eating certain foods. Whoever they are they were not God’s people,
they are identified as Satan’s, and they slandered the people of God in Smyrna. The church now receives two special exhortations and a general notion of what
the immediate future holds (Revelation 2:10).
1. The Lord of the church says, “Fear not! Conflict is coming, and the devil will test you to the limit. Prison and persecutions are coming. Be ready
to defend the faith even to death!”
2. The Lord Jesus our conqueror exhorts: “Be faithful!” Then follows the blessed promise, “I will give you a crown of life.” A clear look at the approaching storm reveals that the testing and persecution is apparently for a limited or specific time: Ten days. Some scholars believe that the number ten in Revelation 2:10 referred to an extended, although impermanent, condition of persecution. Other scholars believe that this ten-day persecution indicated a full and
complete period, either long or short which will eventually end.
Still other scholars believe that this ten-day persecution presented ten distinct periods of persecution which the church suffered under imperial Rome from
the end of the first century until the year A.D 313. Whatever the ten-day persecution meant, we know that it pointed to an
impending test and those who successfully overcame would receive “the crown of life.”
Conclusion
Many Christians and churches worldwide are suffering persecution today. The Lord Jesus said in Matthew 5:10-12 “Blessed are those who are persecuted
because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil
against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were
before you. Jesus is coming soon: Prepare for him by opening your heart to Him, allow Him to be Lord over your life.
“Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”