The Church at Smyrna: A Crushed Church -- Revelation 2 -- 1/17/10
Turn with me this morning to the book of Revelation. We want to continue on today, looking at the question, “What does God think of His church?” Here in Revelation 1, we find the disciple John, living on an island off the coast of Turkey, writing about 95 AD, some 65 years after Jesus has died and resurrected. He is given a vision of Christ, and Jesus gives John a message in chapters 2 & 3 for 7 churches in Asia Minor, the area we know today as Turkey. Jesus has words of encouragement and words of rebuke for these churches. And we want to look at these churches to see what message God might have for us as well.
Last week we looked at the church of Ephesus. It was a CARELESS church. This was a large church, an active, working church, a well-taught church, a weathered church, they hard faced trials -- yet it was a church that faced a rebuke. We often look at large, active churches as healthy churches, but often they are not. Jesus told the church at Ephesus they had lost their passionate love for God. And we want to make sure that we are always more concerned about who we ARE, in our hearts, than just being concerned about what we DO.
Today, we move on to look at the second church, the church at Smyrna. It was a CRUSHED church and a CROWNED church. They had faced trial after trial after trial faithfully, and so they received commendation from the Lord. And today, as we look at this church, we gain some insight and perspective into how God feels when we suffer. Let’s read the message to this church in Rev. 2:8-15. READ - PRAY.
The church at Smyrna faced great trials. The city of Smyrna is the second of the seven churches addressed, probably because it was the next city on the route the messenger would have taken in traveling through Asia Minor. Historians tell us that Smyrna was the most beautiful city in all of Asia. The city was referred to as the Flower of Asia, the Crown of Asia or the Jewel of Asia. Smyrna had one of the safest and most convenient harbors in all of Asia. The city was among the wealthiest of all the cities in Asia at this time, and the estimated population during the time of this letter was approaching 100,000 people. The city still exists today, with the modern name Izmir.
The name Smyrna actually comes from the word for myrrh. When you think about the Magi as they bore gifts to Jesus, they brought gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Myrrh is a perfume that was used in the embalming process. It was a perfume that only gave off its fragrance when it was crushed. History tell us that the city of Smyrna endured earthquakes, attacks and raids, numerous oppressions, if it was a possibility that it could happen, they saw it. No matter how many times they were oppressed, they always seemed to rebound better than they were before economically. They fit their name well. Crushed, but sweeter for it.
But as we will see today, the church also was crushed, but in their persecution, they gave off the sweet aroma of Christ. Paul writes in 2 Corinthians what our lives should be like: For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life. These Christians at Smyrna gave a great aroma of Christ through their lives.
The city of Smyrna was filled with idol worship. There were temples to Cybelle, Apollo, Asklepios, Aphrodite, and Zeus. It was also a political center. It strongly supported Rome and worshiped the Roman emperors. Emperor worship started as a token way of unifying the Roman empire through allegiance to emperors, but under later emperors it was presented that the Emperor was to be worshiped as divine. To refuse to worship at the emperor’s shrine was to be seen as an act of treason. Every citizen had to offer a tribute of worship at the temple of Caesar once a year, and after that he could worship any other god or gods he chose. The Christians at Smyrna were persecuted because they refused to compromise and say Caesar is God.
In the Church at Ephesus, there was a mention of the Nicolaitans. Many scholars feel these were Christians who excused compromise: claiming to follow Christ, but also being willing to sacrifice and say Caesar is God. Many Christians today feel they can come to church on Sunday and worship God, but then go home and live for Satan all week long. Not the Christians at Smyrna. They took a stand for what was right, and they paid dearly for it.
Let’s see what God has to say to this faithful church.
I. The Description of Christ - Look at verse 8 -
These are the words of him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again. The city of Smyrna was a center for Emperor worship. Everyone in the city worshiped Caesar as supreme. But as Jesus comes with a message to the church, he reminds them that HE alone is supreme. In the words of Isaiah 44:6 - This is what the LORD says--Israel’s King and Redeemer, the LORD Almighty: I am the first and I am the last; apart from me there is no God. Now it wasn’t very politically correct to hold to this view. In fact, it went against everything people in Smyrna said they believed. But these Christians at Smyrna were willing to put their lives on the line for the sake of the TRUTH.
We live in a culture where we want to believe everyone is right. Even though we might disagree, society tells us we are all right. After all, truth, they say, is whatever you believe to be true. Our culture does not like to face up to the idea of one, absolute truth. But these Christians at Smyrna were willing to give their lives to say, Caesar is NOT God! Jesus had reminded them that HE alone was the almighty, the first and the last.
He also reminds them, He is the one who died and came to life again. To a people facing death for taking a stand, Christ encourages them with the hope of the resurrection. This life is NOT the end, but only the beginning.
To a people who are crushed with persecution, Christ offers hope. We also see here,
II. The Description of the Church - Look at verse 9 -
• They faced Pressure - I know your afflictions and your poverty--yet you are rich! The word here for afflictions is really the word for “pressure.” They are under great pressure. They are being crushed. But lest we ever forget, pressure is NOT bad for us. Rather it brings about good. This is the same term that is used in Romans 5:3 - Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. Paul says we can rejoice in sufferings: trials, tribulations, problems. God certainly knows that there are a lot of problems facing us: unemployment at a high, repossessions; uncertain financial times, not to mention all the personal issues each of us faces. But Paul says these problems can be a source of rejoicing for us.
Normally when faced with a problem our first response is to say, “God, please take this away.” After all, that’s what Paul did, even Jesus prayed that way. But when God chooses to leave us to face the problem, we need to change the way we look at the problem. It can either be a stumbling-block or a stepping-stone. Don’t just look to escape the problem; look for God’s grace to carry you through. Struggle, problems, adversity, testing -- these make us stronger. God promises He will never give us more than we can bear.
Think about an athlete in training. They run miles and miles; do thousands of sit-ups and pushups; lift heavy, heavy weights - why? to be stronger, faster, to be their best. There are many who say “that’s too hard” and never work out. They’d rather sit in front of the TV with a pop in one hand and a bag of chips in the other.
We have a nation of “couch potato” Christians, who don’t want any adversity. But when we avoid adversity, we miss out on one of the greatest blessing God could bring us. Paul says that suffering produces perseverance. When we go through suffering, we learn never to give up.
James says the same thing in James 1 - Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
James says we are to consider it pure joy. The term for “consider” is a word that means “let your mind lead you” - it is inductive reasoning - when you look at all the facts, all the circumstances, you come to a conclusion that every trial can be a source of JOY. It all adds up to JOY! [trial + trial + trial = JOY]
Do I want to have cancer, lose my job, lose my spouse, face financial reversal? No. I don’t WANT any of those things to happen. But when they DO - when I FALL into a trial that I was not planning on, I can STILL have JOY! What we are talking about is a joyful acceptance of what happens to you in life. Instead of blaming God and fighting against Him, we seek another alternative: JOY! We don’t need to seek to escape from what God has allowed into our life. Rather we turn TO Him at those times.
When we learn to persevere, to keep trusting God no matter what, we develop godly character. How do you develop character? Don’t give up when you face problems. Don’t say, God must not love me or He would help me. Don’t say God isn’t good. Don’t say, God doesn’t hear my prayers. Keep on trusting in the goodness and love of God.
So tribulations, afflictions, suffering, pressure - produces perseverance, perseverance produces character, and character produces hope. When God builds character in our lives, we live in hope. What is hope? It is the confidence that God is in control. It is the certainty that God will work on our behalf based upon who He is and what He has said. The book of Hebrews tells us, We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.
Scripture tells us that pressure IS good for us, it builds godly character in our lives and gives us hope! Of all the 7 churches addressed, the church at Smyrna alone still exists today. Why? Their afflictions, sufferings, pressure kept them faithful. Christ said He saw their pressure. He also saw
• They faced poverty - I know your afflictions and your poverty--yet you are rich! The word used here for poverty is a word that means they had NOTHING! To us in America, often poverty means we drive a car that is over 5 years old; we can’t afford to eat at Eddie O’Flynns, so we go to Bob Evans; we only go to the movies once a week. I go visit people who have no job, living in a trailer, and they are taking money out of your wallet and mine to pay for the big 52” Plasma color TV in their living room and the new car in their driveway. We don’t understand what real poverty is all about. It means having NOTHING!
The Christians at Smyrna knew that by staying true to Christ, they might risk the forfeiture of all their property and possessions. Yet they were willing to give it all up for the sake of obedience to Christ. Yet even though they had nothing, God saw them as rich.
This will take a couple minutes, but let me relate a true story: I'll never forget Easter 1946. I was 14, my little sister Ocy was 12, and my older sister Darlene 16. We lived at home with our mother, and the four of us knew what it was to do without many things. My dad had died five years before, leaving Mom with seven school kids to raise and no money. By 1946 my older sisters were married and my brothers had left home. A month before Easter the pastor of our church announced that a special Easter offering would be taken to help a poor family. He asked everyone to save and give sacrificially.
When we got home, we talked about what we could do. We decided to buy 50 pounds of potatoes and live on them for a month. This would allow us to save $20 of our grocery money for the offering. When we thought that if we kept our electric lights turned out as much as possible and didn't listen to the radio, we'd save money on that month's electric bill. Darlene got as many house and yard cleaning jobs as possible, and both of us babysat for everyone we could. For 15 cents we could buy enough cotton loops to make three pot holders to sell for $1. We made $20 on pot holders. That month was one of the best of our lives.
Every day we counted the money to see how much we had saved. At night we'd sit in the dark and talk about how the poor family was going to enjoy having the money the church would give them. We had about 80 people in church, so figured that whatever amount of money we had to give, the offering would surely be 20 times that much. After all, every Sunday the pastor had reminded everyone to save for the sacrificial offering.
The day before Easter, Ocy and I walked to the grocery store and got the manager to give us three crisp $20 bills and one $10 bill for all our change. We ran all the way home to show Mom and Darlene. We had never had so much money before. That night we were so excited we could hardly sleep. We didn't care that we wouldn't have new clothes for Easter; we had $70 for the sacrificial offering.
We could hardly wait to get to church! On Sunday morning, rain was pouring. We didn't own an umbrella, and the church was over a mile from our home, but it didn't seem to matter how wet we got. Darlene had cardboard in her shoes to fill the holes. The cardboard came apart, and her feet got wet. But we sat in church proudly. I heard some teenagers talking about the Smith girls having on their old dresses. I looked at them in their new clothes, and I felt rich.
When the sacrificial offering was taken, we were sitting on the second row from the front. Mom put in the $10 bill, and each of us kids put in a $20. As we walked home after church, we sang all the way. At lunch Mom had a surprise for us. She had bought a dozen eggs, and we had boiled Easter eggs with our fried potatoes! Late that afternoon the minister drove up in his car. Mom went to the door, talked with him for a moment, and then came back with an envelope in her hand. We asked what it was, but she didn't say a word. She opened the envelope and out fell a bunch of money. There were three crisp $20 bills, one $10 and seventeen $1 bills.
Mom put the money back in the envelope. We didn't talk, just sat and stared at the floor. We had gone from feeling like millionaires to feeling like poor white trash. I knew we didn't have a lot of things that other people had, but I'd never thought we were poor. That Easter day I found out we were. The minister had brought us the money for the poor family, so we must be poor. I didn't like being poor. I looked at my dress and worn-out shoes and felt so ashamed— I didn't even want to go back to church. Everyone there probably already knew we were poor!
We didn't want to go to church on Sunday, but Mom said we had to. At church we had a missionary speaker. He talked about how churches in Africa made buildings out of sun dried bricks, but they needed money to buy roofs. He said $100 would put a roof on a church. The minister said, "Can't we all sacrifice to help these poor people?" We looked at each other and smiled for the first time in a week. Mom reached into her purse and pulled out the envelope. She passed it to Darlene. Darlene gave it to me, and I handed it to Ocy. Ocy put it in the offering. When the offering was counted, the minister announced that it was a little over $100. The missionary was excited. He hadn't expected such a large offering from our small church. He said, "You must have some rich people in this church."
Suddenly it struck us! We had given $87 of that "little over $100." We were the rich family in the church! Hadn't the missionary said so? From that day on I've never been poor again. I've always remembered how rich I am because I have Jesus!
The church at Smyrna was destitute - they had nothing - but God saw them as rich. They had riches beyond compare.
The church at Smyrna faced pressure, they faced poverty, and
• They faced Put-downs - to use a “P” word. If you want a fancier word, they faced Perjury. They faced the malignment and accusations of others. Verse 9 says, I know the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. The Jews at Smyrna were out to destroy the church. These “Jews” were Jewish in name only. They looked like Jews, they may have been born of Jewish parents, but they really are Satanic! Jesus said this himself! It wasn’t the first time he said it to supposed Jews. In John 8, the Jewish leaders were saying, You are doing the things your own father does.” “We are not illegitimate children,” they protested. “The only Father we have is God himself.” They were attacking Jesus claiming He was illegitimate. Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and now am here. . . You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
You can’t get any clearer than that. Now most of us don’t enter into disputes with Jews. But the modern equivalent of that is to say that there are many in the church - there are many who profess to be Christians - who really follow Satan. They don’t love God, they don’t follow God, because they don’t KNOW God. They live for selfish indulgence in their pleasures. Paul writes in Philippians 3 - For, as I have often told you before and now say again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things.
There are many who attend church every week - out of a sense of ritual - thinking they are meriting favor or extra grace from God - but they live to fulfill their sinful passions, lusts, and desires. And they will oppose anyone who seeks to stand up for what is right and speak the truth.
The church at Smyrna faced all kinds of putdowns and slander from these Jews. And often, so will we.
In our lives, often we get discouraged for these same three things: pressure we are under, poverty we face, and putdowns we endure. But Christ offers us and the Church at Smyrna encouragement.
III. Christ’s Encouragement to the Church - Look with me at verse 10 - Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life.
Christ reminds us that we do not need to fear suffering. So often we think about all the bad things that could happen, and we turn to fear. We shrink back from following God because we get afraid. It’s just a tool of the devil. 1 John 4:18 tells us, There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear. When we focus on obedience to our God, we can face difficult circumstances without fear, because we are focused on the eternal, not the temporary. Luke 12:4 tells us - I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after the killing of the body, has power to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him. We need to make a decision: whom will we fear - the attacks and abuses of others, that are trivial, or the judgment of the God of all creation?
Jesus reminds the Christians at Smyrna of what the reality is: suffering is only temporary. We talked last Sunday night about worry. Worry is an obsession on our circumstances. The opposite is trust or faith: Looking beyond our circumstances to our God and His eternal rewards. As Christians, we understand that God will reward us for faithfulness to Him, in spite of circumstances. 1 Corinthians 2:9 - No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him. God’s rewards for faithfulness are far beyond anything we could even imagine!
We have nothing to fear when we walk in obedience to God. The story is told of an early Christian named John Chrysostom - The Emperor of Constantinople was mortally exasperated against John Chrysostom. One day, in a burst of anger, he said to his courtiers, “I would be glad to be avenged of this bishop.” Whereupon four or five of them proffered their advice as to how this should be done.
The first said, “Send him away far into exile, so that you may never see him again.”
The second said, “Confiscate his property.”
The third said, “Cast him into prison, loaded with chains.”
The fourth said, “Are you not supreme? Rid yourself of him by ordering him to be put to death.”
But the fifth said, “You will deceive yourselves; this is not the way to punish him. If you send him into exile, the whole earth is his native land. If you confiscate his goods, you take them from the poor, not from him. If you thrust him into a dungeon, he will kiss his chains, and think himself happy. If you condemn him to death, you open Heaven to him.
Prince, do you wish to be avenged of him? Force him to commit sin. I know him: this man fears nothing in the world but sin.”
As Christians, we do not need to fear the attacks of Satan. God tells the church at Smyrna, Satan would put some of them in prison to test them. Why? The word “test” is really the word “tempt” - Satan would persecute them to tempt them to sin; to get them to be afraid and turn from following God. Many times Satan tries to get us to think about what will happen if we obey God. We think, people will make fun of me - I won’t be popular any more - I’ll get passed over for promotion - I might even get fired if I tell what the boss is doing that’s unethical. But we have nothing to fear when we obey God. Because God always rewards faithfulness.
Verse 11 - He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes will not be hurt at all by the second death. To those who overcome - to those who are faithful during times of temptation and who do not give in to sin - God offers rewards. We face a multitude of temptations - Purity: we are tempted to turn from God to believing in fate or chance; Poverty: we are tempted to live for the amount of wealth and possessions we can accumulate; Popularity - we are tempted to go along with the crowd; Pain - we are tempted to avoid suffering at any cost.
But God’s message is to focus not on our situations and circumstances, but to focus on the eternal. In 2 Corinthians 4, Paul writes to the church at Corinth and reminds them: Therefore we do not lose heart. . . For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
Today, you may be facing some difficult circumstances in your life. You’re afraid of what’s going to happen to you. You are tempted to cut corners and do some things that aren’t ethical. You know God wouldn’t be pleased, but you think it’s the only way out.
Don’t do it! Stay faithful to God, and he will reward you a thousand fold. Even though you suffer for obeying God, be faithful, so that he may reward you eternally. Don’t fear the pain of suffering; instead fear apathy and complacency. Let your love for God and your trust in His faithfulness carry you through.
The church at Smyrna did face times of persecution. 60 Years after John writes this letter, at 86 years old, the leader of the church at Smyrna is the bishop Polycarp, a man who was trained by John years earlier.
It was the time of the public games, the city was crowded and excited. Part of the festivities was the worship of the emperor, and the killing of those who would not participate in the service.
When the Roman Proconsul or Governor was confronted with this old man Polycarp, he wasn’t sure what to do with the 86 year old bishop; it hardly seemed sporting to feed him to the lions and so he offered him a chance to recant. “Deny Christ” he said “And I’ll let you go free.” Polycarp just looked at him, “Deny Christ” he replied, “Eighty and six years have I served Him, and He has done me no wrong. How can I blaspheme my King who saved me?”
The proconsul then threatened him with burning. Polycarp replied: “You threaten me with the fire that burns for a time, and is quickly quenched, for you do not know the fire which awaits the wicked in the judgment to come and in everlasting punishment.” The proconsul was furious.
H again, “Act your age and wisdom, praise Caesar, change your mind, say, ‘Away with the atheists.’” Polycarp looked at the pagans surrounding him and waved his hand as he replied “Away with the atheists.” And then Polycarp said “If you vainly expect that I will swear by Caesar’s Genius, as you suggest, and pretend to be ignorant who I am, listen to what I openly say to everyone here: I am a Christian. If you want to learn the teaching of Christianity, name the day and hear about our beliefs.”
The Bishop was led to the platform where the execution was to take place. The crowd proceeded to bring wood and Polycarp was martyred for his faith in Christ. The Christians at Smyrna did face persecution, even death, but Christ rewarded them with the eternal crown of life.
Today, is YOUR faith is Christ great enough that you would be willing to lay down your life rather than deny the Savior who died for you?
Let’s pray.
