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Revelation 2:8-11
Stephen Caswell © 2004
Poor Governor Pliny!
Pliny, Roman Governor in Asia Minor in the early Second Century, was so puzzled about the Christians brought before him for trial that he wrote his famous letter to the Emperor Trajan asking for his advice.
A certain unknown Christian was brought before him, and Pliny, finding little fault in him, proceeded to threaten him.
· I will banish you, he said.
/You cannot, was the reply, for all the world is my Father’s house./
· Then I will slay thee, said the Governor.
/You cannot, answered the Christian, for my life is hid with Christ in God./
· I will take away they possessions, continued Pliny.
/You cannot, for my treasure is in heaven./
· I will drive thee away from man and thou shalt have no friend left, was the final threat.
And the calm reply once more was, /You cannot, for I have an unseen Friend from Whom thou art not able to separate me./
· */What was a poor, harassed Roman Governor, with all the powers of life and death, torture and the stake at his disposal, to do with people like that? /*
Last week we looked at Ephesus, the Church that lost its first love.
Tragically they also lost their light.
Today we will look at Smyrna a suffering Church.
As Ephesus represents the */apostolic church/*, so Smyrna represents the */martyr church/* which covers the period from about a.d. 100 to approximately a.d.
314.
/Suffering purified the early Church and renewed its love for Jesus Christ once again./
Today we will see */the Correspondence/*, */the Commendation/* & */the Counsel/*.
There’s no */Condemnation /*given to Smyrna.
1.
The Correspondence
*Revelation 2:8:* /And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write, These things says the First and the Last, who was dead, and came to life:/
/ /
/a.
The City/
The second letter was addressed to */Smyrna/**, *a large and wealthy city 35 miles north of Ephesus./
/Temples to Cybele, Apollo, Asclepius, Aphrodite and Zeus were located in Smyrna.
It was also an important center for emperor worship where people burned incense to the genius of Caeasar.
Anyone refusing to acknowledge Caesar as Lord was boycotted by the entire city.
Like Ephesus, it was a seaport.
In contrast to Ephesus, which today is a deserted ruin, Smyrna is still a large seaport with a present population of about 200,000.
It has one of the most beautiful harbors you will ever see.
In fact, Smyrna was one of the loveliest cities of Asia.
It was called a flower, an ornament, and it has been called the crown of all Asia.
The city remains a functioning community today called by a Turkish name Izmir.
One report said that 1~/3 of them are professed Christians.
Because of Islamic rule they meet in secret.
Izmir is the largest city in Asia Minor and may soon overtake Istanbul.
/b.
The Church/
The letter is addressed to the angel or pastor at Smyrna, Polycarp.
He was the Apostle John’s personal disciple and pastored the Church from a.d.
95 until his martyrdom in a.d.
155.
The Church at */Smyrna/* was an offshoot of the Ephesian Church.
It probably started while Paul ministered at Ephesus for 3 years and all Asia heard God’s Word.
The name */Smyrna/**/ /*means */bitter/* and is related to the word /myrrh,/ a fragrant perfume.
Myrrh was used in the anointing oil of the tabernacle.
It was also used to embalm dead bodies.
The alabaster box of perfume poured on Jesus’ feet would have contained myrrh.
Myrrh and aloes was used to embalm Christ’s body when He was buried.
When John wrote this in a.d.
95 they were suffering persecution.
/Today, there’s still a Church in Smyrna.
/
/c.
Christ/
*Revelation 2:8:* /And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write, These things says the First and the Last, who was dead, and came to life:/
*/Firstly,/*/ /Christ says that He is the */First and the Last./*
In *Revelation 1:8 *Jesus said: /I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, says the Lord, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty./
In saying this Christ reminded them that He is the infinite, eternal Sovereign Lord of all.
There was nothing before Him and there will be nothing to follow Him.
He has the final disposition of all things.
He fills everything, and rules over everything.
The Church would be encouraged to know that Christ is in control.
*/Secondly, /*Christ says that */He was dead and is alive./*
Here, Christ is portrayed as the eternal One who suffered death at the hands of His persecutors and then was resurrected from the grave.
Jesus Christ is the Resurrection and the Life who conquered death and Satan.
These aspects of Christ were especially relevant to the Christians at Smyrna who, like Christ in His death, were experiencing severe persecution.
Jesus Christ knows us better than we know ourselves.
Therefore, He appears to us in a way that will meet our deepest need.
To Ephesus He appeared as the one who walks in the midst of the Churches.
He saw their works, controlled their ministers and had authority to remove their light if they didn’t obey.
/To a suffering Church like Smyrna Jesus sympathizes with them having suffered Himself*.
He is acquainted with our grief.*/
2.
The Commendation
* *
*Rev 2:9:* /I know your works, *tribulation,* and *poverty*, but you are rich; and I know the *blasphemy* of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.
/
/ /
/a.
Persecution/
The believers at Smyrna suffered greatly for their faith.
The word */tribulation,/* *θλῖψις**, *means */oppression, affliction, trouble/*.
It*/ /*means*/ to press together or crush.
/*
Christ saw their suffering.
He knew their struggle.
/The members were persecuted, probably because they refused to compromise and say,/ */Caesar is Lord/*/./
They would not worship Caesar or any other pagan god.
The local people saw this as being unpatriotic.
Yet in their suffering they clung to Christ and endured.
They might have felt forgotten, rejected.
/But Christ encouraged them and told them He was pleased with them.
/
*/Why did Christ allow them to suffer?
Doesn’t He care?/* Yes Christ does care about us.
He knew all about their suffering and He knows about ours.
Christ used their suffering to make them lean on Him more.
And this is what happened, they cherished Christ all the more.
*/Suffering helps us to see things from an eternal perspective not an earthly one./*
It sharpens our spiritual focus.
/These saints remind me of the Church today in China, Sudan, Nigeria and Indonesia; *persecuted, pure and deeply in love with Jesus Christ*.
/
Myrrh
An interesting fact about myrrh is that it has to be crushed before it gives forth any fragrance.
The more it is crushed the more fragrant it becomes.
When the saints at Smyrna were crushed and trampled they produced a beautiful fragrance to Christ.
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