“THE CHURCH AT SMYRNA”
REVELATION 2:8-11

I. Introduction
How would you define a spiritually pure and strong church? Would you say it is one that works hard for the glory of God? Might you define it as a church that exercises discern-ment, holds to sound doctrine, and hates false teaching? Or would you think of it as one that cares for the poor and weak in their midst as well as those in the community around them? Maybe you would define a spiritually pure and strong church as one that diligent-ly obeys and honors Jesus’ directive in the Great Commission. You know…
Matthew 28:19-20
19 “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,
20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

Last Sunday we saw a church that did all of those things, and did them quite well. The Church at Ephesus worked hard, evangelized the lost, edified the saints, and cared for the poor and weak. It persevered and refused to grow weary in well-doing. It hated the evil that was all around it, and the Church at Ephesus exercised spiritual discernment so as to identify false teachers and refute both them and their teaching.

Jesus commended them for all of those things. And yet, with all of that, the Lord had something against them. He indicted the Church at Ephesus when He said, “But I have this against you, that you have left your first love (Revelation 2:4).”

What was the problem? The problem was that they were doing all the right stuff, but they were doing it for the wrong reasons. Doing good and obeying Christ had become more “look at me” and less “look at my Lord and Savior.” It had become more, “I do this because I am supposed to” and less “I do this because I love God.” In the course of time their work for Jesus had become mechanical, ritualistic, and cold.

So was the Church at Ephesus spiritually strong? Can a church be spiritually strong if Jesus Himself isn’t first and foremost in everything? The answer has to be a resounding, “No!” Jesus told the Christians in the Church at Ephesus that if they did not repent and return to the love they had for Him when the church was planted, that He would take their church from them. He said, “Remember therefore from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you, and will remove your lampstand (your church) out of its place – unless you repent (Revelation 2:5).”

So this morning, we’re faced with a question. If a church like Ephesus that does so much right is not spiritually pure and strong, what kind of a church is? What does it take?
What does it take for Jesus to look at a church and find no reason to indict it for anything at all? Does such a church even exist this side of heaven? The answer is, “Yes!” Such churches do exist. In fact, two of the seven churches in Revelation are not indicted or condemned by Jesus for anything. They are the suffering church and the faithful church. The Church at Smyrna is the first of those two. Smyrna is the suffering church.

When you and I think of suffering, we often think of the physical or emotional pain that comes with sickness or loss of a loved one. Those things are real and we do suffer when we are afflicted with them. But everyone, believer and unbeliever alike, suffers under such trials. And while we should not minimize such suffering, that isn’t what the Church at Smyrna was suffering. It was suffering spiritual persecution – in some cases spiritual persecution to the point of martyrdom.

Here in twenty-first century America we know nothing of such persecution. But persecu-tion to the point of martyrdom has been the fate of churches and individual Christians for two thousand years. And here is the salient point. Spiritually pure and strong churches are born, live, and prosper when they are persecuted. The NT ties persecution and spirit-ual strength together. Brett told us that in the Scripture he read to open the service.
*James 1:2-4
2 Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials,
3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.
4 And let endurance have its perfect result, that you may be perfect and com-plete, lacking in nothing.

The word “trials” is better understood when it is translated “tests” or “testing.” The point is that such testing reveals the true condition of our faith. While it is easy to demonstrate our faith when things go well and we thank God for His blessings, it is not so easy to display our faith when the trials of this life come upon us. We have a difficult time praising God and thanking Him for trouble, pain, and sorrow. But what a testimony it is when you and I can do that! Does anything prove the beauty and purity of your faith better than joy in the time of trouble?

In v. 3 James says that it’s precisely those troubles that produce our endurance. In v. 4 he says that when that endurance is perfected, you will be seen to be complete in Christ.
*1 Peter 5:8-10
8 Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
9 But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world.
10 And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.
Do you see? The purest and strongest churches are those that suffer and endure persecu-tion. Think about it. There are no longer any pretenders in the persecuted church, are there? The phony believers have all left. Trouble and suffering isn’t what they “signed on” for, is it?

Listen carefully please. Nothing will expose and uncover a false
faith (unbelief) like suffering and persecution. And nothing will
reveal and display a true faith like enduring suffering and persecution.

Look again at 1 Peter 5:10… “And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.”
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II. Text
As we look at Jesus’ words to the Church at Smyrna we will recognize the same pattern of instruction that He uses with Ephesus and the other five churches as well.
1. Jesus identifies the church.
2. He identifies Himself by describing an aspect of His person and character.
3. He commends the church for what it is doing well.
4. He indicts it for what it is not doing well, or for what it is doing wrong.
5. He instructs (exhorts) it as to what it should be doing.
6. He warns it of the consequences if it ignores His instructions.
7. He leaves the church with a promise of eternal reward if it obeys His instructions.

*Revelation 2:8-11 (Please stand with me in honor of reading God’s Word.)
8 “And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: The first and the last, who was dead, and has come to life, says this:
9 ‘I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich), and the blas-phemy by those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.
10 ‘Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribu-lation ten days. 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.’”

Last Sunday we saw that “the angel of the church” in Revelation 2-3 is its human leader or leaders, the pastor and the elders. We made it clear that church leaders are not in any way to be confused with God’s holy and supernatural angels, but are merely those mortal men whom God has chosen to deliver His Word to His churches. They are not by nature angels (God’s heavenly messengers), but within the context of Revelation 2-3, church leaders hold the temporary office of God’s earthly messengers.
So in Revelation 2:8a Jesus begins by identifying the Church at Smyrna. Scripture does not tell us when or by whom the church was founded, but it can be assumed it was put in place by Paul or one of his followers during the three years he ministered at Ephesus.

Smyrna was located about 35 miles north of Ephesus. At the time of John’s writing, Smyrna was an important seaport and a very wealthy and cosmopolitan city of about 200,000 people. (roughly the size of Madison) Smyrna means “myrrh,” a substance used for perfume and often for anointing a dead body. Found throughout Christian liter-ature, myrrh has come to symbolize suffering. That isn’t surprising since Smyrna was intensely loyal to Rome and to Caesar worship. As such, the church there suffered greatly.

In contrast to Ephesus, which is now in ruins, Smyrna is still there. Today it is known by its Turkish name Izmir. It is still a wealthy city and second only to Istanbul in importance
in modern Turkey. But for us the point is this – if you were a Christian in Smyrna, it was going to cost you, and cost you a lot.

Since the Christians at Smyrna were suffering under brutal persecution, how does Jesus describe Himself to them?
The Description
*Revelation 2:8b
8 “(I am) the first and the last, who was dead, and has come to life…”

What is the first thing Jesus says about Himself? He reminds the Church at Smyrna, the persecuted and suffering church, that He, their Lord and Savior, is alive. And not only that, He has risen from the dead. So describing Himself as being alive from the dead would be a great encouragement for this church of so many martyrs. The grave could not hold Him and neither would it hold the saints of Smyrna.

What do you fear today? Here at Lighthouse Bible Church we do not walk out of this building in fear of our lives, do we? The unbelievers in Lake Geneva aren’t currently beheading Christians or burning them at the stake. So what do you fear? What do I fear? The things that you and I are afraid of are far less frightening than a violent death at the hands of an angry mob, aren’t they?

Whatever your fears may include – from a child’s fear of the dark to an adult’s natural human fear of death, or anything else in between – Jesus reminds the Church at Smyrna that He “…who was dead… has come to life…” And in saying that He is “…the first and the last” He restates what He said back in Revelation 1:17-18. “First and last” is the same as “the beginning and the end,” and “the Alpha and the Omega.” It means that He is eternal, and if you belong to Him, you are too.

All Christians, those in the Church at Smyrna who were about to be martyred, as well as those of us here in Lake Geneva, who will likely die in our beds, need to remember that.
Just before Jesus raised Lazarus He told his grief-stricken sister, Martha…
John 11:23b-26a
23b “Your brother shall rise again.”
24 Martha said to (Jesus), “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.”
25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me shall live even if he dies,
26a and everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die.”

Unlike the Christians in the Church at Ephesus, whose love for Jesus was growing cold, the Christians in the Church at Smyrna loved Him above all else. Because they loved Him, they remained faithful to Him. Because they remained faithful to Him, they were hated. And because they were hated, they were persecuted. That is the normal course of events in this world, isn’t it?

This is a truth that many of you have learned since you came to saving faith in Christ. What sort of persecution are you undergoing right now? Have all the members of your family come to grips with your new identity in Christ, or have some of them turned on you? Yes? Are all of the friends you had before you were saved still your friends? No? Then you are beginning to understand what it will cost to follow Jesus. You’re not about to be martyred for your faith, but you are beginning to get a taste of the persecution that every true Christian must suffer.
John 15:18-19
18 “If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you.
19 “If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.
2 Timothy 3:12
12 And indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.

The Christians in the Church at Smyrna were hated because they were Christians. It is no more complicated than that. But they refused to be intimidated because of it. Instead, they chose to “live godly in Christ Jesus,” and were willing to suffer the inevitable perse-cution that would come their way. Could the lesson for you and me be any clearer?
The Commendation
*Revelation 2:9
9 “I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich), and the blas-phemy by those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.”

The word “tribulation” is translated from the Greek “thlipsis,” which literally means being crushed under a relentless pressure.
John used this word back in Revelation 1:9 where he referred to himself as one who was suffering for Christ. The Church at Smyrna certainly knew about relentless pressure. Isn’t it ironic that in order to release the sweet fragrance of myrrh, it has to be crushed?

Not only was the Church at Smyrna facing extreme pressure, it was also becoming finan-cially destitute because they had been robbed of virtually everything they had and were forced to “go underground,” as it were. This is reminiscent of what happened to the Jews in Nazi Germany in the 1930’s. And it’s what has happened – and is still happening today – to Christians all over the world who live under Communism and Islam.

So while Jesus acknowledges the church’s temporal poverty, He reminds the church of its eternal riches. Such a reminder is not unique to Revelation. James also speaks of this.
James 2:5
5 Listen, my beloved brethren: Did not God choose the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?

The Christians in Smyrna were under crushing pressure and they were destitute. But there is more. They were being blasphemed by unbelieving Jews who hated and rejected Christ as vehemently as did any pagans. In Revelation 2:9 Jesus refers to them as “those who say they are Jews and are not…”

What does Jesus mean by that? The Church at Smyrna consisted of both converted Gen-tiles and Jews. But there were also unbelieving Jews in Smyrna. They were Abraham’s physical descendants (Jews outwardly), but weren’t Abraham’s spiritual descendants (Jews inwardly). They hated the church as much (or more) than the pagans. It’s easy to see why. Christianity was as great a threat to religious Judaism as it was to any pagan religion of the day. Regarding the term “synagogue of Satan,” John MacArthur has said, “With the rejection of its Messiah, Judaism (became) as much a tool of Satan as emperor worship.”
The Indictment
Jesus has commended the Church at Smyrna. Will He now indict her for her failings as He did with Ephesus after He commended that church? No, He will not! There is no indictment. There is no condemnation of the suffering church. Jesus finds no fault with the Church at Smyrna.

What a point! What a lesson! What an example for us! The Lord Jesus has no criticism of those who love Him above all else, and suffer persecution because of it.

Well, even with all that the Church in Smyrna had been through, it would only get worse. Their persecution reached its peak about fifty years after Revelation was written. Their leader at that time (their earthly “angel”) was Polycarp. He was at least eighty-six years old when he was martyred for the cause of Christ. He went to his death in full know-ledge of, and with complete faith in the next verse.
The Exhortation
*Revelation 2:10a
10a “Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to
cast some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribu-lation ten days…”

Those who witnessed Polycarp’s martyrdom testified that he joyfully went to his death. He feared God, not those who could do him harm this side of heaven. Jesus spoke to that very issue in Luke’s gospel.
Luke 12:4-5
4 “And I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do.
5 “But I will warn you whom to fear: Fear the One who after he has killed has authority to cast into hell; yes, I tell you, fear Him!”

Jesus’ statement in Revelation 2:10 – “…and you will have tribulation ten days” – has been a source of some controversy. Ten days seems to indicate that Smyrna’s tribulation would only last a short time. But many of those whom I believe are the best commenta-tors on prophecy and the Book of Revelation believe that the ten days symbolically covers the period between 64 and 313 A.D. Over the course of those years there were ten Roman emperors, each of whom systematically increased the persecution of the church. It was the eleventh emperor (Constantine) who signed the “Edict of Toleration” that made Christianity the state religion. That happened in 313 A.D.
The Warning
After Jesus’ exhortation we would expect a warning from Him. You know, something like – “If you do not heed My words and obey them, such and so will happen.” But since Jesus’ has no indictment, no condemnation, of the suffering church, neither does He have a warning for them. But He does have a promise.
The Promise
*Revelation 2:10b
10b “Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.”

Obviously, the martyrs were faithful until death, weren’t they? What exactly is the crown of life? James tells us. (Brett read this too.)
James 1:12
12 Blessed (happy) is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life, which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.

The NT tells us that in addition to the crown of life there are four other “crowns” promised to faithful Christians. The imperishable wreath is for self-discipline and self-denial (1 Corinthians 9:24-25).
The crown of exultation is for soul winners (1 Thessalonians 2:19-20). The crown of right-eousness is for those who love the doctrine of the second coming (2 Timothy 4:7-8). And the crown of glory is for faithful pastors and elders (1 Peter 5:1-4). So ask yourself…
• How am I doing with self-discipline and self-denial?
• How am I doing telling others about Jesus?
• How do I feel about the second coming? Do I love the very thought of it?
• How are Jeff, Tim, and I doing as faithful pastors and elders?

And today, as we consider the example of the Church at Smyrna, how well are you and I persevering under the trials, troubles, and tribulations that God allows to come our way?

One more thing for us to ponder: What will we, the saints of God, do with our crowns? Will we spend eternity walking around saying, “Hey, everyone, look at what I’ve got?” I don’t think so.

Revelation 4 tells us something else. Spreading out before the throne of God in heaven there is “…a sea of glass like crystal (v. 6)…” We “…will cast (our) crowns before the throne, saying, ‘Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power (vv. 10-11)…’”
“Holy, Holy, Holy! All the saints adore Thee,
Casting down their golden crowns before the glassy sea…”
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III. Conclusion
*Revelation 2:11
11“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes (all true believers) shall not be hurt by the second death.”

Do you hear? Listen, the second death is eternal death in the lake of fire reserved for unbelievers. But faithful men and women of God will only die once. D. L. Moody said, “He who is born once will die twice; he who is born twice will die once.”

Now as you go into your discussion and prayer groups, please take this with you and remember it: Jesus has no indictment, no warning, and no rebuke for the Church at Smyrna. Why? There was no compromise with evil. They loved Jesus above all else, and they suffered and died for Him. What about us?
Romans 8:18
18 “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”