Rev. 2:8-11 Smyrna the Suffering Church

Intro: Last week began looking at the Letters to the 7 Churches

Noted that the Messages have a 4 fold application/ Quick Review

1^st they are applied HISTORICALLY – 7 original Churches in 7 real cities in Asia / Given in Order of ancient Roman postal route

2^nd – They apply PRACTICALLY – They teach us a lot about Church life

A) Almost Every problem, difficulty & the Challenges facing the Church are addressed in these 7 letters

3^rd – Apply PERSONALLY - The Letters apply to us individually as Believers that is why each one ends w/ the same Exhortation

"He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

4^th – Apply PROPHETICALLY - 7 is # of COMPLETENESS

What we have is a picture of the complete Church age –

A) Each church represents a certain stage in Church History starting w/ Ephesus representing the early Church – Apostolic Church

B) moving through the different periods of Church History to this present day –

So the seven letters can be seen in each of those 4 applications – but we also noted that each Letter has a Similar outline

1^st there is a Divine Revelation of Jesus –

A) Each of these 7 messages begins w/ a personal description or designation

of Jesus Christ taken from the vision of Christ given in Rev. Ch.1

B) And in each case – THE REVELATION directly coincides w the unique spiritual need or problem in each fellowship.

2^nd – Positive AFFIRMATION – told what they are doing good – the areas that blessed the Lord –

3^rd – Corrective EXHORTATION - told what is wrong & what they need to do to Change ( 2 exceptions – Smyrna / Philadelphia)

4^th – Eternal Motivation – How they respond is going to have some ETERNAL RAMIFICATIONS

Today we come to the 2^nd letter ( really a post card – 4 verses Church of Smyrna / Known as the Suffering Church/ Read v.8-11 / notes 4 things

I. SMYRNA’S SIGNIFICANCE

A) Smyrna was a city that was about 40 miles northwest of the city of Ephesus. / about Distance from Vista to S.D

B) It was a Wealthy Seaport city , second in wealth and prominence only to Ephesus. in all of Asia Minor

QUOTE: William Barclay - Of all the cities of Asia, Smyrna was the loveliest. Men called it the ornament of Asia, the crown of Asia and the flower of Asia. Also known as / the city of life & strength

C) In A.D. 26 – all the cities in Asia Minor competed for the Privilege of erecting a temple in the honor of the Emperor Tiberias …

1) Smyrna won the competition & became the Center for Emperor Worship during that time ( Declare Caesar Lord & God

What is interesting about Smyrna in comparison to Ephesus is that

Smyrna - Still Standing

A) Today, what was then called Smyrna, is called by its Turkish name, Izmir. It is now the chief city & Largest city in Turkey

B) Interesting that the city today has a mixed population of some 200,000 people. About 1/3 of that population are professing Christians.

C)I Note that because as we mentioned last week the church in Ephesus

no longer exists. Lampstand was removed

1) In fact the city of Ephesus was blotted off the face of the earth.

A) But Smyrna stills stands & has a good Christian witness to this day

1) It is true that Smyrna was very close to Ephesus geographically (40 miles), but very far from Ephesus in its spiritual condition.

B) As a result, both the city and the witness of the church in Smyrna are still

standing.

1) KEY APPLICATION: Coldness of heart was the beginning of the end for the church in Ephesus. / Not said of us -/ but like Smyrna

THE CHURCHES SUFFERING

A) Smyrna was named after the chief product of that city. Smyrna means

myrrh.

1) Myrrh was an embalming spice used in biblical times.

A) The thing that is very interesting about this burial spice is

1) Myrrh is a very sweet fragrance but it must be crushed in order to give off its aroma.

Appropriate name Because the church there was being crushed through persecution & many were Martyred for their faith

A) Rejection of Emperor Worship – Caesar is Lord

A) But the More that they suffered / the more they were “CRUSHED” the more the fragrance of Christ was given off from their Lives

1) In fact the Fragrance was so strong that many of their persecutors, many of those who put them to death, became followers of Jesus C.

One of the Greatest Testimonies in the Mist of Suffering that came from that Church – came from its Pastor – POLYCARP

A) Polycarp was a disciple of the Apostle John. What a blessing that must have been; to be discipled by John the Apostle, who wrote

that which we have seen, that which we have gazed upon, that which we have touched and handled concerning the Word of life….”

C) Polycarp was martyred when he was over 90 years old. We have an account of his death in Foxes Book of Martyrs. I’d like to read it to you.

Polycarp was the Pastor 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 one hour alone to pray. The soldiers were so impressed by Polycarp's advanced age and composer that they began to wonder why they had been sent to take him. But as soon as he had finished his prayers, they put him on a donkey and brought him to the city. As he entered the stadium with his guards, a voice from heaven was heard to say, “Be strong Polycarp and play the man.”…..

Brought before the Tribunal and the crowd, Polycarp refused to deny Christ. the Procouncel begged him to consider himself and have pity on his great age, reproach Christ and I will release you. Polycarp replied, “86 years I have served Him and He never once wronged me, how can I blaspheme my King who saved me?” He was Threatened with wild beasts, But Polycarp stood his ground. “What are you waiting for? Do whatever you please.”

The Governor – then threatened w/ fire – to which Polycarp answered –you threaten me w/ fire which burns for an hour and after is extinguished – but you will have to face the fires of judgement that will burn for eternity unless you repent . At that The crowd demanded Polycarp’s death, gathering wood for 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 to flinch from the pile.” And so they bound him but didn’t nail him to the stake. Polycarp prayed – I thank you lord that you have graciously thought me worthy of this day & of this hour that I may be part of the number of martyrs to die for Christ As soon as Polycarp finished his prayer the fire was lit

Wow ! – I look forward to meeting that Guy in Heaven

A)NOTE: At 90 years old and he said, “The one who’s been faithful to me for 85 years, how can I deny him?”

B) Today, the testimony of the church that he pastored lives on, on the very spot of his death.

1) Smyrna had a witness that would not be extinguished, but that would only grow. People look on for centuries impressed / moved / impacted

THE SOURCE OF SMYRNA’S SUFFERING

A) The source of the Churches suffering is identified in v. 10 Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested,

B) Satan was at the heart of this suffering / this Persecution –

A) But Satan often works through Human instruments – noted in v.9 and I know the blasphemy of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.

C) Here is what was going on in Smyrna - There was a smear campaign

going on against these Christians. Lies were being told about them

B) We know from early literature that, because the Christians talked about eating and drinking the body and blood of Christ,

1) they were accused of being cannibals- You can imagine the reaction that brought upon them

A) Also, because they refused to visit the pagan temples, or to acknowledge the gods of the pagans, &They refused to participate in Emperor Worship 1) they were called atheists.

Christians talked often about being members one of another and of loving one another, and so they were accused of sexual orgies.

A) This slander is what produced much of the persecution of the early Christians. It came, we are told here, from false Jews.

1) These were physical descendants of Abraham and they had a

synagogue there in Smyrna,

A) But like the Pharisees who harassed and hounded Jesus, they persecuted these believers,

1) Jesus referred to them as being from the “synagogue of Satan" –although they professed faith is God / really instruments of the Devil

C)As a result of this persecution they were treated with scorn in this world given over to idolatry.

1) many of the Symrna believers lost their Jobs / had to close up their businesses / Ostracized – Out cast / hated

But Notice there is a Limit to their suffering –v.10 you will have tribulation ten days.

A) Jesus makes it clear that there is a divinely appointed duration and limit

to their suffering.

B) Jesus didn’t say to them, “You shall suffer, for a length of time yet to be

determined. Jesus says, “You will suffer 10 days.”

1Cor.10:13 No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able,

C) NOTE Every trial, every period of suffering that you will ever experience, is measured by the heart of an infinitely loving God.

1) There’s not any fiery trial that you will walk through, that God doesn’t know where the thermostat is set, so to speak.

D) There’s not one trial that you walk into that God doesn’t know the

exact appointed end of it. (Always come to Pass)

d) God knows when we’re well done. He’ll NEVER leave us in the oven

to burn.

1) in those times you are to rely on the infinite love of God

The Bible says that all who desire to live Godly lives will suffer Persecution / Jesus says the World hated me / hate you

Phil 1: 29 For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake,

A) If you are a Christian – who is really living for the Lord – You can count on the fact that you will suffer Persecution !!

There’s a story about the great evangelist, John Wesley, who one day was riding on his horse through some open fields. As he was riding, he was talking to the Lord, and he said, “Lord have I backslidden? Its been two weeks since I’ve been persecuted

(Note that he saw a direct connection between the quality of his walk and the absence of persecution.)

He got down off of his horse to pray and to seek God for whether or not something was wrong in his heart between him and the Lord, since there was this absence of persecution in his life.

As he was praying, there was a farmer behind a hedge who recognized him as Wesley the Evangelist and he picked up a stone and threw it at him. Wesley said, “Thank you Lord.”

Notice the purpose of their testing : Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested,

A) Many people interpret these words to mean that God was seeking to Learn how committed they were by this test

B) But God Already Knew He Knows all things – He knows what we are able to endure / what we can Handle

1) No the test is for us ( From this point/ 4hings about Suffering)

A) 1^ST thing Proves our Love for the Lord – reveals the Reality of our Relationship – Not to Him but to Us

1) it is in the times of Trials & Difficulties that we learn where we are really at – How committed we really are

A) We have this tendency to have a inflated view of ourselves / but the Trials & the Test Strip away all the Artificial supports in our Lives

See our tendency is to Praise the Lord when things are going good – grumble & complain when things are going bad

A) But for most of us – we really don’t know what Bad is – what suffering is

B) We associate suffering w/ the Pastor – talking to Long – or our Wives going away for the weekend

C) Seen Many come to the Lord when their lives were falling apart – but then God begins to work – heal – mend – restore / time passes

1) They are not worshipping w/ the same fervency / not studying their Bibles w/ the same Intensity

A) Things start going wrong / Trials / suffering / Persecution / they are grumbling & complaining – Jesus said suffer 10 days

1) – Think how easy it could have been for them to say – ten days – I am going to Pergamos / How far is Ephesus I am out of here

E)– But they didn’t they hung in there . Stayed put they clung to the Lord / they were crushed but not defeated result – Awesome Witness & Fragrance

F)Every Believer / Every Church goes through seasons of Winter / Deserts –

some always want to Run – result never establish any deep roots

Smyrna’s Place in Church History Ten days – 10 waves

A) We know from history that from the time of John’s writing there were 10 waves of persecution during those three centuries of Church History

B) Began w/ Domitian -- 95-96/ ended w/ Diocletian -- 303-313 (the worst emperor of all).

1) Prophetically viewed, The whole period has been termed the "Age of the Martyrs."

A) The Church, as a whole, has never given off such a sweet fragrance of a

witness to Jesus Christ as during the 2^nd, 3^rd, and 4^th centuries AD.

1) During those three centuries, incredible persecution took the lives of some six million Christians.

A) Their bodies were torn apart on racks. - Their fingernails were pulled off. They were hung by their thumbs, oftentimes for days.

1) They were wrapped in animal skins and thrown out for bulls to gore & Lions to Devour

A) They were covered with tar & set on fire as human torches to light the gardens of the pagans for their festivities.

But it was a time a season where the Church Shined Brightly – because Bound together w/ this incredible Bound

A) 2^nd thing we learn happens in suffering – Provides compassion for each other – special bond been through same thing / something together

B) How Many root Canal ? Someone says Dentist – Root Canal –I’ll Pray

C) Arthritis / We relate – Constant Pain / Lose a Loved one –Relate / Bound

1) No Show of Hands – Divorce - Some of you Know what that is Like

But the Lord has seen you through

2Cor.1: 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

A) The Lord wants to use us in each others lives – so that we are ministering that comfort to one another

1) the thing we need to watch is that we don’t find ourselves only wanting to talk about the Happy times & to Happy People

A) Just one big Happy place – every body is Happy happy happy – never real – never honest – never – at that place – where we are open

B) So the next time you sit next to someone & say – How you doing – and they respond – Not to good -

1) Don’t think – great I’ve got a weirdo here this guy is being open & honest – where is a Pastor – Instead – say really what is going on

A) You might be surprised to find that God put that person there because you have been through the same thing they are struggling w/

1) And God want to use You – Minister Comfort

III. SMYRNA’S SAVIOR

v.8 'These things says the First and the Last, who was dead, and came to life: 9 "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.

A) REMEMBER Jesus identifies Himself to each Church According to their need – to this one – He reveals Himself

as the First and the Last, who was dead, and came to life:

B) WHO WAS DEAD - That phrase literally means WHO became dead.

1) Now this is AWESOME Remember, this book is the unveiling, or

the Revelation of Jesus Christ to man.

b) Third thing that times of suffering can do for us – THEY POSITION US TO RECEIVE – REVELATION OF THE LORD – His Love provision

A) To these people who were about to face tremendous suffering and tremendous persecution for their faith in Jesus Christ,

1) He reveals Himself to them as the one who became dead.

C) Pregnant w/ meaning: See Jesus went through the Ultimate

Suffering – literally Became dead – Separated from God for us

1) He took our Punishment – so that we could become ALIVE to God

– by believing in Him

APPLICATION: These Christians in Smyrna were going to suffer and die horrible deaths.

A) There may have come that time when they would have asked, “Is it worth

it? Why? Why should I die?”

B)They could have thought of a million and one reasons how they could

still follow Jesus and somehow rationalize away their denial of Him.

1) Jesus reminds them of how much He loved them and how He

became dead for them.

also: Jesus: The One Who Became Dead And Is Alive

A)Jesus not only tells them that He became dead; He goes on to say that He is now alive. He who became dead and is now alive, forevermore.

A) You see, though they were going to die, Jesus is telling them they don’t have to fear someone who can kill their body

1) Because He had already conquered the grave.

JESUS THE ONE WHO KNOWS Jesus says to them -9 "I know your works, tribulation, and poverty (but you are rich);

A) His perception of us is often so different from ours or from the Worlds / they were poor / persecuted / But Jesus says You are rich

B) Someone once captured what it means to be Poor Yet Rich in the Lines of a Poem

I counted dollars while God counted crosses.
I counted gain while He counted losses.
I counted my worth by the things gained in store,
But he sized me up by the scars that I bore.
I coveted honors, and sought for degrees.
He wept as he counted the hours on my knees.
I never knew till one day by a grave,
How vain are the things that we spend life to save.
I did not yet know, 'til a Friend from above,
Said, richest is he who is rich in God's love!

IV. SMYRNA’S CROWN

V.10 Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.

11 "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."'

A) Tragedy in Littleton –Cassie Berneel – Has Caused all of us to wonder – Could I/ would I suffer even die for Jesus

B) I think the answer is wrapped up in 2 things.

1.) His faithfulness to us.

& 2 Tim.2: 13 If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself.

C) 2.) Our abiding in Him.

1) You see, Jesus said that apart from Him we can do nothing.

A) Here is the Key -It is as we are faithfully abiding in Him, that we’ll become faithful in greater things.

1) NOTE: You see, Satan would love for you to compromise your faithfulness in dinky things –

“Oh that doesn’t matter. OK, so you were unfaithful in that little area. You’ll still be faithful in big ones.”

A) LISTEN - If you can’t be faithful in the little things, when the pressures

off, How do we expect to be faithful when the pressures on.

B) SO Jesus says to them, “become faithful. Grow close to me, listen to me, yield to me in the little things, and you will be faithful.”

Insights from Corrie Ten Boom – She was speaking to her Father & voiced her concern that she was afraid that she would never be strong enough to die as a Martyr Her Fathers reply was Profound

He said when you have to go on a Journey when do I give you the money for the train ticket - two weeks before ?

Corrie replied No daddy on the day that I am leaving

To which her Father replied – Precisely and our wise Father in heaven Knows when we’re going to need things too. When the time comes to die you will find the strength you need in Him just in time

A) But – if Corrie wasn’t abiding there w/ her Father – she wouldn’t have had the Fair at all –

B) 4^th – Lesson about Suffering –Provides an Opportunity to PRESENT GOD’S POWER & PROVISION TO THE REST OF THE WORLD

QUOTE: Joni Eareckson Tada - The way you and I handle our big and little trials makes the world pause in its frantic, headlong pursuits. Our godly response to those obstacles and perplexities in our lives literally kicks the psychological crutches right out from under the skeptic. The unbeliever can no longer refuse to face the reality of our faith.

C)Her Life in her suffering became a Platform for the Lord to be Glorified

What is this crown of Life that Jesus is referring to ? Salvation – No

A) This crown of life is not a reference to eternal life. Eternal life a

gift, you CAN NOT merit eternal life.

& (Rom 6:23 KJV) For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

B) This crown of life is a special mark of approval.

1) What it is I don’t know, but it is a special mark of approval given by the Lord to those who endure suffering and hardship.

& (James 1:12 12 Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.

His Victory, Our Crown

A) This is AWESOME. Isn’t it just like the Lord to give us all that we need

to be faithful and then give us the crown?

B) Apart from Him we can do nothing, and yet, there is the Lord upholding us. Because of HIM, we get through the trial,

1) & He gives to us the crown of life.

C) And its going to be no wonder that we will give our crowns back to him.

CONCLUDES

&(Rev 2:11 "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."'.

A) This is NOT the only time in the Book of Revelation that John writes of

the second death

(Rev 20:6 Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.

Rev. 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.

"Listen to these words of a father to a son during the Roman persecution.

as the cages were opened and the ferocious animals appeared the little boy said to his father, Will it hurt father? And the father placing his arm around the lad’s shoulders looked off to the invisible and said, Perhaps for one swift moment, but he that overcomes shall not be hurt of the second death.

It has been said: “If you are born ONCE, you will DIE TWICE. But if you are BORN TWICE you will only DIE ONCE.”

Will YOU escape the second death? Are you sure that if you died today that you would go to heaven?