Revelation 2: Church Of Smyrna

Smyrna means Bittersweet Myrrh

Main Theme: Persecuted and killed

🔹History of Smyrna

In the Roman Empire, Smyrna was the primary site for emperor worship. Roman citizens were expected to burn incense in the emperor's honor once a year, and failure to obey resulted in death.

Smyrna's name is derived from the bittersweet myrrh used to embalm the deceased. The letter to Smyrna contains a lot of "death language," which is not a coincidence. During this time, the pagan Roman Empire slaughtered God's people.

Revelation Chapter 2 - Verse 8 to 9

8 And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive;

9 I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan.

🔹Poor yet rich

Jesus was aware of this church's struggles, labor, and poverty. The definition of the term "tribulation" is "to carry a burden that crushes" or "to be under severe pressure."

During Smyrna's time, the church had very few material possessions. Here, the word "poverty" is a powerful one. It means "to be dirt poor" (Ptocheia).

Although the church lacked tangible assets, it was rich in another way.

• The apostle Paul compared those who are rich in this life to those who are truly rich in God's eyes (1 Timothy 6:17–19).

• James discussed what God views as true riches (James 2:5–6).

• Moses' life is a living example of being rich in God's eyes, but poor in the eyes of men (Hebrews 11:24–26).

🔹Counterfeit Jews

Jews constituted a substantial proportion of Smyrna's population and were hostile to Christians. These Jews joined the Romans in wrongly accusing Christians of being cannibals, atheists, and rebels against the Roman empire. Furthermore, these Jews committed blasphemy by attacking Christians while claiming to be God's children.

Looking at John 8, we can gain a clearer understanding of how a Jew can lose his Jewish identity. According to Jesus, these Jews claimed to be Abraham's and God's descendants, but they were actually the devil's children. They were therefore Jews in the physical sense of the word; however, because they rejected Christ, they were not Jews spiritually.

Similar to the literal Jews who claimed to be Jews at the time of the Smyrna church, they were not spiritual Jews.

• A Christian who has embraced Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord is a true Jew, according to the apostle Paul, while those who reject Christ are not true Jews (Romans 2:28–29, Romans 9:6, Philippians 3:3).

• By promoting the persecution of God's people, the Jews in Smyrna were just like Saul before his conversion and persecuted Christ (Acts 9:4).

🔹Synagogue of Satan (The church of Satan)

Satan has a church on earth that outnumbers Christ's church. Christ calls it the 'Synagogue of Satan' because its members are the children of sin and transgression.

In the Jewish world, the biggest sin was rejecting Christ; in the Christian world, the major sin is rejecting God's law.

It is impossible to love Christ while hating the law, because the law mirrors who He is. God's commandments symbolize love, and God is love.

Revelation Chapter 2 - Verse 10

10 Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.

🔹Ten day tribulation

Jesus warned the Church of Smyrna that it would face tremendous persecution. Satan would use the Roman emperors as instruments, imprisoning some of them to test their devotion to Christ.

According to Daniel 12:10, Psalm 66:10, Job 23:10, and 1 Peter 4:12-13, tests should mold us, not break us.

According to the year/day principle, the Church of Smyrna suffered ten days of persecution from 303 to 313 AD. During this period, the pagan Roman emperor Diocletian unleashed merciless persecution against the Christians.

• An edict demanding the destruction of church buildings and the public burning of all copies of the Scripture marked the beginning of the persecution of Christians in 303 A.D. Christians lost their civil status and protection from the law.

• Next, the edict was issued against the officials of the church.

• A third edict was issued as an invitation to repent, but a fourth decreed death for all Christians. The roster of martyrs was so long that the days of the year no longer sufficed for their commemoration.

This period of persecution ended in 313 A.D., when Emperor Constantine the Great issued the Edict of Milan, which declared toleration. Several years later, at the Council of Nicaea in 325 A.D., Eusebius reported how bishops endured during the ten-year affliction.

🔹Faithful unto death

The promise that Jesus made to the church of Smyrna in Revelation 2:10 was a proper response to the persecution they had experienced.

Every time a soul chooses to reject the service of sin with Christ's help, Satan becomes enraged.

• Satan controls the minds of unbelievers (2 Corinthians 4:4).

• He sometimes uses these unbelievers to oppress and even kill Christians (2 Corinthians 11:26).

Revelation Chapter 2 - Verse 11

11 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.

🔹Not hurt by the second death

Jesus' final assurance to the faithful church of Smyrna was that the Second Death would not touch them. Several of them were killed. However, the death they experienced was merely the first death from which there will be a resurrection (Revelation 20:6; 20:14; 21:8).

• Jesus instructed his followers not to fear those who could kill the body but not the soul (Matthew 10:28).

• The apostle Paul assures us that not even death itself can separate us from God's love, which is in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:38–39).

• For those in Christ, death has lost its sting because Jesus went into the tomb, unlocked it, and brought out the keys (Revelation 1:17–18).

Next: Revelation Chapter 2: Church Of Pergamum/Pergamos

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