REVELATION 2:8-11
(8) Smyrna was founded by Alexander the Great and is claimed to be the birthplace of Homer, the Greek poet of the ninth century. The principal commercial product was myrrh. The word MYRRH means ...? -- (bitter). It was gum resin from a thorny tree, had a bitter taste and was used in perfume, medicine, holy anointing oil and for embalming the dead.
The angel or pastor at the Smyrna church was Polycarp, who lived A.D.69-156. He was a pupil of the Apostle John and he was the bishop of Smyrna. He was arrested during a persecution which had been ordered by the emperor. When he was brought before the governor, he was offered freedom if he would curse Christ. He replied, "Eighty and six years have I served Christ and He has done me nothing but good. How then could I curse Him, my Lord and my Saviour?" He was burned alive.
What makes the words in these verses so important? The Speaker, (see Isaiah 44:6). What is special about the Speaker?
He is the FIRST. So what? He was here first so nobody has any prior knowledge. He is the LAST. Meaning? He will be here last so He is the only One Who has all the facts. "He was dead and is alive" -- Why is that particularly significant to the Smyrna church? -- Because it was a suffering church where the believers faced persecution and death.
They needed to know that this message came from the One Who had conquered death. What should WE be doing when this One Speaks? -- (hanging on His every Word).
The Smyrna church was in the midst of bitter sorrow and suffering.
Jesus reminds them that He passed through suffering and death and HE DEFEATED THEM! Think about it. When Jesus was born (Matthew 2:11), the wise men brought gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.
When Jesus was on the cross (Mark 15:23), they offered Him a drink of wine mingled with myrrh. When Jesus was embalmed (John 19:39-40), it was with a mixture of myrrh and aloes. BUT -- look at Isaiah 60:6 -- when He comes again He will receive gold and frankincense BUT NO MYRRH! There will not be the bitterness of myrrh for a suffering Saviour but glory for a reigning Sovereign. The message is "Hang on, smyrna, there's a day coming when there will be no more myrrh!
Is your cup bitter? God KNOWS. If you take it from His hand, with faith, He will accomplish His glory through you.
(9) What does God know about this church? -- affliction, distress, pressing trouble, poverty. If God knew all that, why didn't He do something about it? Because God knew something else about them. What was it? "You are rich!" (very different from 3:17). How were they rich? (Hebrews 10:34) You cheerfully bore the plundering of your property and the confiscation of your belongings, knowing that you have better and lasting possessions. (Luke 12:15) Life doesn't consist in the abundance of possessions. (2 Corinthians 6:10) Having nothing, yet in reality, possessing all things. (Acts 3:6) Peter said they had no silver or gold but such as they had, they would give.
Is anything else happening to these Christians in Vs.9? They are abused, reviled and slandered; slandered by Jews not worthy of the name. And there's always Satan with his lies and accusations against the saints. History tells us that when Polycarp was tried and murdered, the Jews joined with the heathen in clamouring for his destruction. They brought most of the fuel for the fire which consumed him. Tiberius gave permission to build a temple to the Roman emperor. As the heathen carried out pagan rites for the death of Polycarp, Jews, who claimed to worship the One true God, added their voices and their hands for his martyrdom. Their hatred for Jesus Christ and His followers made them a synagogue of Satan. Jesus Christ is always the bone of contention. You can talk about God, good deeds, religion, etc., but mention Jesus in His rightful role and immediately you become a target.
(10) What are some of the impossibilities of this verse?
(a) You're on the verge of even greater suffering; don't be afraid!
(b) The devil is about to --; that means that he is able to --; so that means that God permits him to --; be loyal and faithful even if you die for it!
Re (a): On the verge of even greater suffering: After Polycarp was burned on the hillside of Pagus, the same hillside was red with the blood of 1500 believers at one time and 800 at another time. Many Christians in different ages perished in Smyrna on account of their declared faith in Christ.
Re (b): They've been told what the devil is about to do. In the first part of Vs.10, what comfort do you see or what hope? "FOR 10 DAYS" -- What does that tell you? It is a set period and it has an end. Satan is permitted to go so far BUT God is in control. He is Sovereign!
"Ten Days" may have referred to the ten Roman rulers who tried to wipe out Christianity. In the Bible, the number 10 usually refers to testing. (Genesis 24:55) Rebekah's brother tried to coax Abraham's servant to stay 10 days. (Jer.42:7) In response to the people's request Jeremiah prayed and after 10 days the Word of the Lord came to him.
(Daniel 1:12-15) Daniel asked the steward to let them eat pulse for 10 days an prove them.
The church at Smyrna would have affliction for 10 days; that is a set, pre-determined time of testing which God would bring to an end.
Can this give us a different view of our trials?
In the last part of Vs.10, the Lord tells them to ..... .. keep a stiff upper lip? .. to be stoical? .. to grin and bear it?
No way! What does He tell them to do? BE FAITHFUL. In the midst of deep suffering, or persecution or troubles and trials over which you have no control, what does it mean to be faithful?
It means to be CONVINCED that GOD WILL NOT FAIL YOU!!!!!
Why is the crown of life so significant to this church? Several have already been martyred; many who hear this message are already as good as dead, they too would be tortured and killed. "Be faithful unto death." because that death will be lost in victory, that death will be swallowed up in LIFE, a crowned and reigning life. Very soon they would be, like Christ, ALIVE FOREVERMORE. Smyrna was a church of poverty and suffering; persecuted by blaspheming Jews and hostile pagans; they were the most persecuted of all the churches.
Notice this very carefully. What did God rebuke them for? NOTHING!
The church of myrrh was persecuted unto death and was embalmed in the precious spices of its sufferings; and God found nothing to rebuke them for. What does this suggest to you? (suffering purifies, etc.)
(11) Listen carefully to the message because of the power and position of the Speaker (Vs.8). He alone has the authority to make such guarantees to the overcomers. How can they be overcomers? -- Be faithful unto death. What is the Second Death?
We'll go into it in detail when we get there but let's just read the verses in 20:11-15.
Today the church of Smyrna is wherever Christians are persecuted for their faith. I read that more believers have been martyred in the 20th century than in all the previous 19 centuries put together. It seems inevitable that the Church in North America will have some suffering and none of us can tell what it might cost to remain true to Jesus Christ. But is our present lack of suffering a blessing? Remember the disciples who rejoiced because they were counted WORTHY to suffer?
As we consider ourselves, the Church in North America, I have been struck by a deep sense of our UNWORTHINESS. I sense a deep lack in myself when I read verses such as Hebrews 13:3 - Remember those in prison as if you were fellow-prisoners and those who are mistreated as if you also were suffering. Apart from the work of the Holy Spirit in us, this is as impossible for us as rejoicing in suffering is for them.
Yet, by the Holy Spirit, both are possible or it wouldn't be instructed in the Scriptures. I'm asking the Lord, through a specific time of prayer and fasting, to pray for the persecuted church.