Be Steadfast In Suffering Series

Be Steadfast in Suffering

Revelation 2:8-11

Rev. Brian Bill

February 7-8, 2026

In 2008, Christianity Today featured a story called “A Victorious Family.” Here are a few excerpts.

Thirty years ago, in the city of Izmir, Turkey, a devout Muslim man named Necati was studying under a radical Islamic teacher. On his way home, he took the only available seat on a crowded bus, right next to a Christian woman named Semse who was quietly reading her Bible.

Curious about the book in her hands, he struck up a conversation, even accusing her of being a foreign missionary. Semse, proud of her Turkish identity, replied boldly, “We should all be missionaries of our faith. Aren’t you a missionary?”

That simple exchange sparked daily conversations on the bus. Over the next year, Necati wrestled with what he was learning about Jesus. Eventually, he left Islam, accepted Christ, quit his studies, lost his job, and was disowned by his family. Despite the huge cost, their love grew stronger, and they later married.

Necati became a passionate Christian worker. He distributed literature in Izmir (which once landed him in prison for a month), he became a pastor and eventually moved with his wife to another city to lead a small church and direct a publishing house. Tragically, on April 18, 2007, Necati and two fellow believers were brutally murdered by five young Muslim men who had pretended interest in Christianity.

This story began in Izmir, Turkey, which is the modern-day city of ancient Smyrna, where an inordinate amount of Christian persecution has taken place from the very beginning.

One of Smyrna’s best known martyrs was Polycarp, a disciple of the Apostle John and longtime bishop of the church. During a wave of persecution in A.D. 155, Roman officials urged him repeatedly to deny Christ and save his life. He refused each time. When given one final chance, he responded with words that still echo across the centuries: “Eighty and six years have I served Him, and He has done me no wrong. How then can I blaspheme my King and my Savior?”

As soldiers prepared to nail him to the stake, Polycarp declined, saying, “He who grants me to endure the fire will enable me also to remain unmoved without the security of nails.” As the flames rose, he prayed, “I bless Thee for deigning me worthy of this day and this hour that I may be among Thy martyrs and drink the cup of my Lord Jesus Christ.”

Persecution intensified under Emperor Diocletian, who launched an empire-wide effort to annihilate Christianity. Though persecution eventually subsided under Constantine, tragedy returned in 1922, when the genocide of Greek and Armenian Christians reduced the Christian population from nearly 20% to less than 2%. Today, it’s less than one-half of one percent.

How did the believers in Smyrna remain faithful through such relentless suffering? I wonder if it was because of the words of Jesus found in Revelation 2:8–11.

Verse 8 begins, “And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write…” Smyrna was a beautiful city, celebrated for its culture and learning. It called itself the “Glory of Asia.”

Smyrna was located about 35 miles north of Ephesus and was home to the temple of Emperor Tiberius Caesar. The worship of Caesar became compulsory when once a year, the citizens were required to burn incense on the altar to him. According to the commentator Barclay, “All that the Christians had to do was to burn incense and say, ‘Caesar is Lord,’ receive their certificate, and go away and worship as they pleased. But that is precisely what the Christian would not do. They would give no man the name of Lord; that name they would keep for Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ alone.”

Of the letters to the seven churches, this is the briefest (sorry, that doesn’t mean the sermon will be shorter). Just like with the letter to Philadelphia, Jesus has no rebuke or call to repentance for them. Ray Pritchad writes: “The silence of our Lord is striking when you consider His harsh words for other nearby churches…a deeper reality is at work here. Their suffering had made them strong.” Another commentator remarked, “Sweet smelling Smyrna, the poorest but purest of the seven.” Now known as Izmir, it is the only one of the seven cities still in existence today.

As we’ve been learning, Revelation is all about the risen, radiant, and returning King Jesus. If we hope to persevere through persecution and to be steadfast in suffering, we must trust His person and His promises by getting our Christology correct. Each of these seven letters begins with a description of Christ, reminding us that whatever we are facing, Jesus is the answer, and He is our authority. Here’s our main idea: Trust Jesus completely, especially in suffering, because He holds our past, our present, and our future.