Revelation #8

Alright, here we go! Let us look at the second church this morning:



Revelation 2:8-11



To the Church in Smyrna

8"And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: 'The words of the first and the last, who died and came to life.

9"'I know your tribulation and your poverty ( but you are rich) and the slander[a] of those who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. 10Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto 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. The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death.'



Symbolically the time period for this church would be from 100 A.D. to 316 A.D. This was the time period of great persecution for the church. The word Smyrna means suffering. In verse 10 Jesus says "for ten days you will have tribulation". From 100 A.D. to 316 A.D. there were ten distinct periods of severe persecution for the believers and church! Smyrna suffered greatly!



Smyrna was a place of great wealth. Resorts, spas and market places were in abundance. There also was a road of solid gold that stretched from the Temple of Zeus through the heart of the city.



Smyrna was one of only two churches that Jesus had no statements of criticism. The other was Philadelphia.



In verse 8 Jesus again identifies Himself to the church. In verse 9 Jesus tells the church He knows their tribulation. This should be great words for us....JESUS KNOWS everything we are going through! He is with us! He also knew that they were poor. They were poor money wise but Jesus reminded them that they were rich in spiritual things because they stood strong in Christ. A reminder to us where our true riches are! Also in verse Jesus also tells the church He is aware of the slander(false doctrine) of those who are claiming to be Jews but are not! Actually they are servants of Satin. In verse 10 Jesus warns them they are about to suffer but not to fear...in other words endure it patiently....wow another Word from the Lord for us to grasp on to. God tells them some will go to prison for their faith for a time of testing. Our faith will be tested from time to time so be prepared. I explained the ten days earlier from verse 10. Jesus tells the church to be faithful until we die...again it is also a Word for us. When we remain faithful we have a reward coming...the crown of life....eternity in heaven with Jesus....Praise the Lord! Verse 11 again reminds us to listen to God's Word but also goes on to say if we conquer we will not be hurt by the second death. This is explained here:



Revelation 20:4-6



4 Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. 5The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years.



For an example of what took place at Smyrna we can look at Polycarp. Polycarp was arrested because of his boldness for his Lord Jesus. At his trial cruel and false accusations were made about him by wicked men. He was convicted and sentenced to death. His captors tried to burn him at the stake. The flames started at at his feet for as tradition tells us and then by passed his body and came together again above his head! He just would not burn. After some time Polycarp looked toward heaven and prayed aloud to God: "It's all right! Let me burn if I can burn into the hearts of these soldiers!" With that prayer the flames burned him up and Polycarp died a triumphant death! These were the saints at Smyrna!



Tom