Revelation 2:8-11 & 3:14-22 September 28, 2003
A Tale of two Churches – Smyrna & Laodicea
To the Church in Smyrna
8"To the angel of the church in Smyrna write:
These are the words of him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again. 9I know your afflictions and your poverty-yet you are rich! I know the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. 10Do 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. 11He 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.
Smyrna the City
Smyrna was the other great city in Asia Minor, competitive with Ephesus. It did not have the economic or political power of Ephesus, but it was a great trading city and Lucian called it "the fairest of the cities of Iona". It had a constant west wind that kept the city cool and fresh; a land-locked harbor in the city’s heart, surrounded by rising hills upon which the city grew; and it was one of the very few planned cities in the world and had great, broad streets, magnificent temples and planned architecture. The Buildings on the top of highest hill formed what was called the Crown of Smyrna. The city, was founded in 1000 B.C.E., destroyed in 600 B.C.E. and then rebuilt as a planned city in 200 B.C.E., continuing to today as modern Izmar. The ancients would say that Smyrna had died and yet lived. It had an extremely large, vocal, and economically powerful Jewish colony.
The Image of Jesus
These are the words of him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again.
Smyrna Vied with Ephesus and Pergamum for the title “First in Asia” Jesus says “I am the First, AND the Last, and I have truly died and came to life again
The Good News
9I know your afflictions and your poverty - yet you are rich!
Jesus usually begins by saying, “I know your deeds,” but here he says, “I know your afflictions and your poverty”
The church in Smyrna was beaten down – not by temptation and inner strife like the Ephesians, but by terrible persecution. Christians were taken to the arenas and ripped to pieces by wild animals for the entertainment of the cities citizens.
It’s most famous Christian was Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna, by time they arrested him and tried him, the animals had been put away for the night, so they took him and burned him at the stake in 155 AD. When begged by the police captain to deny Christ, make sacrifice to Caesar, and thus live, Polycarp 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?"
Life was not easy for those who did not die in the arenas – they were kept out of the economic system either because of the hatred of the citizens or because the guilds were so connected to the worship of idols that the Christians could not in good conscience be members and get the work. They would eke out a living by living in close community with other Christians looking after each other until the knock came on the door to drag them off.
You can imagine what a terrible and lonely existence this would be, you might wonder if God noticed or even cared, but Jesus says 9I know your afflictions and your poverty - yet you are rich!
You look poor on the outside, but in Jesus’ eyes they are rich because they have remained faithful.
Jesus says in Matthew 6: 19"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. … 24"No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.
For the Smyrnians they choice was obvious they had to decide between the treasures of heaven and the treasures of earth – they had to choose between God and money, in Smyrna you could not have both. And these Christians chose the treasures of heaven – they chose God over money.
Jesus says in Luke 6:
"Blessed are you who are poor,
for yours is the kingdom of God.
21Blessed are you who hunger now,
for you will be satisfied.
Blessed are you who weep now,
for you will laugh.
22Blessed are you when men hate you,
when they exclude you and insult you
and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man.
23"Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their fathers treated the prophets.
The Bad News
In most of the seven letters Jesus says: I know your deeds – the good that you do, and he describes it, but then he says “yet this I have against you.” Not for Smyrna – he has nothing against them. The church in Smyrna is beautiful to him, but he does warn them of the hard times to come.
I know the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. 10Do 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.
It is hard to say who the people of this “synagogue of Satan” were – they could have been Jews who also worshiped the Emperor and the Greek gods, but most likely they were Jewish people who did not believe that Jesus is the Messiah and they made it their business to spread lies and hatred toward the Christian community.
Jesus tells them that the suffering will not last long – a little more than a week. The “ten days” might refer to a certain amount of time – ten actual horrendous days, ten months, ten years… but it is most likely just a statement that it is long enough for suffering but it is not too long.
It is much easier to endure hardship if we know that it will come to an end – Jesus is saying, just a bit longer, just a bit longer and then it will be all over.
The Call
Be faithful, even to the point of death, … He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
There is a story of a man names Quintus in Smyrna, who grew tired of waiting for the knock on the door and gave himself up to the authorities, but when he saw the wild beasts he lost heart and denied his faith. There was terrible pressure placed on these believers – Jesus still calls them to faithfulness.
The Promise
and I will give you the crown of life…He who overcomes will not be hurt at all by the second death.
To those living and dying in this crowned city Jesus promises the true crown of life. To those who will die in the arenas, he promises life, like he said to Martha: "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.” - John 11:25-26
I want to skip to the last message to the churches now.
To the poor in Smyrna Jesus says you are Rich, but to the rich in Laodicea, he says you are wretched and poor!
To the Church in Laodicea
14"To the angel of the church in Laodicea write:
These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. 15I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16So, because you are lukewarm--neither hot nor cold--I am about to spit you out of my mouth. 17You say, ’I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. 18I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see. 19Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent. 20Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me. 21To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne. 22He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches."
The City
Laodicea was strategically located where three major roads converged. Consequently, it was one of the wealthiest cities in the Roman Empire. It was so rich that when it was destroyed by an earthquake in 61 AD, the city’s citizens rebuilt the entire city out of its public and their private coffers; they refused any financial assistance from Rome. In fact, one citizen donated a stadium and others donated other public buildings out of their own treasuries.
Can you imagine Mayor Mel saying to Ottawa after the SARS out-break “no thanks, we’ll handle it.”
It was the center of the garment industry of Asia, specializing in raising black sheep which became the base for naturally black clothing.
It was Asia’s primary banking center, specializing in buying and selling gold. And it was a medical center specializing in ophthalmology, - many in the city made a great deal of money from the sale of eye ointments and salves.
The one difficulty with Laodicea was it’s water supply – it had no supply close to the city so it had built an aqueduct from the hot-springs of Hierapolis running down a cliff through Lycus. By the end of the journey through the aqueduct, the water was tepid and nausea-provoking.
The Image of Jesus
These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation.
Amen – God’s Yes!
– Gerald VanDesan taught us that for the ancient Hebrews, the word Amen meant that God was the one and only true God and that there should be no prostituting yourself with other gods. (a lot to fit into one little word!)
Faithful and true witness – as they were living in the lap of luxury, their brothers and sisters in Smyrna were being martyred – martyr and witness are the same word –Jesus is the faithful and true martyr!
- Ruler of creation – They might say, “The one who pays the piper calls the tune” – Jesus says, “I made the piper!”
The Good News
There is no good news – this is the only letter that he doesn’t tell them what he loves about them.
The Bad News
“Like your own water supply, you are lukewarm and nauseating, you make me sick – The Christians in Smyrna must have been either hot or cold – as they watched their loved ones being taken off to prison and worse, the must have either loved God more, or raged against him over this injustice – the Laodiceans thought of God and yawned.
Like the city felt self-sufficient and had no need of Rome, even in a crisis, the church had become so sure of itself and its own abilities to look after itself, it had no need of God and their relationship with him had become room temperature and stagnant.
Jackie Pulenger says “God’s Provision begins where our resources end.” The Christians of Laodicea had limitless resources so the didn’t need God’s provision. Their Wealth and well-being has made their relationship with God go cold.
When Jesus declares the Poor Blessed in Luke 6, he goes on to challenge the rich:
Luke 6: 24"But woe to you who are rich,
for you have already received your comfort.
25Woe to you who are well fed now,
for you will go hungry.
Woe to you who laugh now,
for you will mourn and weep.
26Woe to you when all men speak well of you,
for that is how their fathers treated the false prophets.
You could imagine that to keep themselves within reach of riches and out of reach of persecution the Christians at Laodicea had to make many compromises in their faith, keeping their faith as a private matter with no bearing on their business life. They chose to serve money over God and the relationship with God became tepid.
When we compare the two churches, it echoes what James writes at the beginning of his letter.
James 1 9The brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position. 10But the one who is rich should take pride in his low position, because he will pass away like a wild flower. 11For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way, the rich man will fade away even while he goes about his business.
12Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.
There is some good news for the Laodiceans – Jesus still loves the – he loves them enough to rebuke them and set them straight.
He loves them enough to knock on the door.
The Call
Buy True Gold
The gold that they need to buy is not found in a bank – it is true, pure faith in Christ as their provider, their savior, the one whom they place their trust. The early Americans wanted to express this when they stamped on their coins with the phrase “in God we trust” it was a statement whose meaning has been forgotten, that money will never give me what I need, and it is a shaky foundation to stand on – it is only God who is gives me all I need, the one who is a firm foundation for all that life brings.
Buy White Clothes
They were wearing their funky black clothes, but they might as well have been wearing the emperor’s new clothes – the clothes were a sham! They were actually naked before God with nothing to cover their shame. It is only through giving up their self reliance and repenting from their sin that Jesus would forgive them and clothe them with pure white clothes.
Buy Eye Salve
Jesus is hitting them where it hurts – the money, the clothes, now the eye medicine. “you think you are the eye doctor – you are blind!”
This is the great accusation that Jesus has against the Pharisees in the Gospel – they think that they have such great spiritual insight with all they rules, but Jesus calls the blind guides, leading the people astray. He tells the Laodiceans that they need to come to him to have their eyes opened to the spiritual reality that is around them.
It is not that the gold, nice clothes and medicine that they had was bad – it was that if you think that these things will give you what you need you are sorely mistaken – in fact these things can keep you from what you truly need – in the parable of the sower, when the seed falls among the weeds and is choked out, the weeds are described as riches and the cares of the world that take our minds off of God. Jesus tells His disciples that it is easier for a camel to squeeze through the eye of the needle than it is for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. When they are surprised he says “oh it’s impossible for anyone to enter, but with God all things are possible.”
Isaiah 55
1 "Come, all you who are thirsty,
come to the waters;
and you who have no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without cost.
2 Why spend money on what is not bread,
and your labor on what does not satisfy?
Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,
and your soul will delight in the richest of fare.
3 Give ear and come to me;
hear me, that your soul may live.
I will make an everlasting covenant with you,
my faithful love promised to David.
Open the Door – verse 20
20Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.
Most often this verse is used in an evangelistic setting – we tell people that Jesus is knocking on the door of their heart and all they need to do is to open the door and let him in. I don’t have a problem with using it in this way – the image is true, but the in the passage it is not that door of the unbelieving heart that Jesus is knocking on – it is the door of the church! Jesus is saying to this self satisfied church – you say that you are meeting in my name, but I’m on the outside trying to get in! It’s like someone threw you a birthday party but forgot to invite you!
The Church in Laodicea was so self sufficient that they didn’t notice that the guest of honor had left and was now locked out!
Nicky Gumbal reads this news report in the first Alpha session:
“God to leave the Church of England”
Jesus wants back in!
The Promise
If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me. 21To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne. 22He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches."
Jesus say that all that they needed to do was to open the door and he would come in and share in their life and they with his.
The Laodiceans don’t need to overcome poverty, imprisonment, torture and death, they need to overcome the cushy chair! It reminded me of Rocky III (or was it IV?) where Rocky had gained the title and was living in the lap of luxury – he had stopped working out so hard and had lost his drive, and had to go back home to regain his spirit. The Laodiceans needed to get their bodies off the couch and renew their passion for God, or they would be lulled into death like the lotus eaters.
If they overcome the cushy chair, Jesus promises them a throne! – they will sit with him in heaven!
As I compared these two churches: Smyrna, poor, beaten down but rich in Jesus’ eyes & Laodicea, rich and at ease but poor an wretched in Jesus’ eyes, I could not help but think of the church in the Third World verses the Church in the First World. There, there is great poverty, hardship, and sometimes oppression but the faith is vibrant and powerful, committed to God through and through, while here we have little to want but the faith is tepid.
Jack Deere writes in his book “Surprised By the Power of the Spirit” that most of the signs, wonders and miracles that are happening today are happing are happening in the Third World. Why? – They are in desperate need of them. – Suffering is not good in and of itself, but where there is suffering, God seems to more actively bless his Church.
As a church that lives in relative luxury as compared with the rest of the world, we need to learn from the Church in Laodicea – we need to remember that no matter how good we look on the outside – God is concerned with what is on the inside, we need to keep our desperate need for Jesus in-front of our face at all times – that although there is food on the table and a roof over our heads, we cannot allow or relationship with the provider of those thing to grow stale.
How?
1. Pray for and support Christians in areas where there is persecution – stay informed through Voice of the Martyrs & Presecution.com
2. Keep the first thing the first thing – our relationship with God matters more than all the luxury the world has to offer.
3. Keep the door open – listen to God, pray, worship….
Questions:
What is your spiritual temperature? Hot? Cold? Luke Warm?
What will you do to raise the heat?
What can you do to support Christians that are suffering around the world?
