The Church Of Smyrna: Possessing The Wealth Of Heaven (Revelation 2:8-11)

In our look at the seven churches of Asia Minor described in Revelation, Chapters 2 and 3, we come to the second church the Lord Jesus addresses in terms of testimony and steadfastness to the Gospel. This is the church in the city of Smyrna, which was located about 35 miles north of Ephesus. Smyrna in the days of the Roman Empire was a prosperous city with a population of over 100,000. That location has been inhabited nearly 3,000 years and no one knows for certain who founded Smyrna or when it was founded. The city was destroyed by a massive earthquake a few years before the birth of Jesus but was rebuilt and thrived. It possessed a safe harbor where ships from all over the known world came to buy and sell goods. Smyrna was called "The Crown City" because it was surrounded by hills resembling a crown. It was also known as "The Flower of Asia". When the city chose a motto to be imprinted on their coinage, they chose the phrase, "First in Asia in Size and Beauty."

Smyrna was known for its production of myrrh, which came from a shrub-like tree that produced a bitter gum. When the leaves of this tree were crushed, hey exuded a very fragrant odor. Myrrh was used as a fragrance by the living and an embalming agent for the dead. Myrrh was mentioned in association with the life and ministry of the Lord Jesus (Matthew 2:11; Mark 15:23; John 19:39). The word "myrrh" means "bitter" and came to be known with suffering and death. One particular characteristic worth noting was that Smyrna was a "planned city." The city and its streets were planned down to the minutest detail. It was a very "religious" city, having numerous temples built and dedicated to the plethora of gods and goddesses they worshipped. There were temples dedicated to Zeus, Apollo, Aphrodite, Asclepios, and Cybele among others. Smyrna had a gold paved street that ran from the temple of Zeus to the temple of Cybele. While pagan religions dominated the life of Smyrna, there was also a thriving Jewish community as well. Smyrna was also a "free city", meaning that they governed themselves, yet were very loyal to Rome.

Within Smyrna, there was also a Christian community that was struggling under the constant onslaught of both intense and withering persecution. As posted in the introduction to this message, the Lord Jesus came to them with a word of comfort for their dark times. He wanted them to know that even though they had little in the way of material wealth, they were in fact rich beyond imagination. This will be explained as we go further into this study.

In terms of prophetic interpretation, the church of Smyrna represents the period of church history between the years 100 and 312 AD when the emperors of Rome and other officials inflicted varied and horrendous persecution upon the followers of Christ. The words Jesus gave to Smyrna apply to everyone who has or ever will suffer for the sake of the Gospel. The church in Smyrna faced persecution from not just the pagans, but also by a large number of the Jews who were openly hostile to the message of Jesus. Both the Jews and the pagans formed an alliance with the goal of defeating and destroying the Christians by any means necessary. Jesus referred to them as "the synagogue of Satan." accusing them of blaspheming (slandering) His name and the believers living there.

Why was there such animosity towards this church? There were several reasons. The first is that the pagans and Jews accused the Christians of practicing cannibalism. The Christians kept communion (Matthew 26:26-29; Mark 14:22-25; Luke 22:14-23; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26), and part of that observance was the eating of the bread and drinking from the cup, representing the broken body and blood of the Lord Jesus. The pagans and Jews saw this as the practice of eating literal flesh and drinking blood, not understanding (or not wanting to understand) the significance of what Jesus had established within the church. When Christians gathered, they would hold what were known as "Agape (Love) Feasts", which was nothing more than a time for fellowship and worship where they were enjoying each other's company (Hebrews 11:25). The pagans heard of this and then accused the Christians of engaging in orgies. Another reason for hatred against the church was that following Jesus often resulted in family splits, which is what He said would happen (Matthew 10:34-36). Thus, Christians were also accused of being anti-family. They were also accused of being "atheists", because they did not worship the many deities of the pagans and because they used no statues and icons in their own worship. So, when any natural disaster occurred, they blamed the Christians because their "unbelief" had incurred the wrath of the gods. Christians were also seen as enemies of Rome because they refused to say, "Caesar is Lord." Every Roman citizen was required to do this once a year. Failure to comply meant severe punishment and even death.