We’re continuing in our study of Revelation called The KING is Coming. We took a break for our He Who Promised is Faithful readings during Holy Week but are glad to be back at it. Today, we will be diving into Jesus’s letter to the church at Smyrna. Once again, I am thankful for Jamie Harrison and the opportunity to do this study together.
This week’s passage is Revelation 2:8-11:
8 “And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: ‘The words of the first and the last, who died and came to life.
9 “ ‘I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich) and the slander of those who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. 10 Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life. 11 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death.’[1]
Keith Harris:
Greetings, Sojourners,
We are in the letter to the church in Smyrna, continuing our study of Revelation. Jamie, why don’t you remind us as you did in our last Bible study about the form of these letters – the five things that show up in each one.
Jamie Harrison:
Yes, that is correct. Each letter is going to have a salutation. In this letter, “Write to the angel of the church of Smyrna” (Revelation 2:8)[2] – the angel being, of course, the pastor, the messenger, the person delivering them the Word. Then, you’re going to have where Jesus will say something about Himself – His attributes. Then, there will be something about their works, some praise and admonition. Except in this church – Smyrna is one of two churches that does not have an admonition (correction, something to fix). Then, you’re going to have a universal admonition which is to anyone who hears, who has ears to hear – to listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. Finally, each letter will contain a final promise.
Keith:
Alright, talk to us about Smyrna. What does Jesus tell us about Himself here?
Jamie:
He starts off by saying, “Thus says the First and the Last, the one who was dead and came to life” (Revelation 2:8). The letter to Ephesus referenced back to the description of Jesus in Revelation 1, and so does this one. In Revelation 1:17, Jesus says, “Don’t be afraid. I am the First and the Last…”; He continues to say, “I was dead, but look – I am alive forever and ever, and I hold the keys to death and Hades.” It’s really cool that Jesus keeps going back to what He’s already said – to almost repeat for emphasis.
Keith:
He’s doing it on purpose.
Jamie:
Correct. He’s is the First and the Last which, like I said in Revelation 1, is a claim that He is God. He was there in the beginning as we know. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1). So He was the First, and He will be the Last.
It’s also important to note that He points out again that He is the one who was dead and has now came to life because all of Christianity is a complete waste of time if He didn’t raise from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:14-17). There’s a lot of dead people, but He’s the only one….
Keith:
What is it that John Goldwater says? “Dead saviors can’t save.”
Jamie:
That’s correct. You know, I was talking to someone the other day and – I apologize if this bothers anybody, but you know where people are like, You know that my dead relative was looking down on me today, or I was talking to them and they clearly gave me an answer. I know this is going to bother some people, but if you’re expecting some dead relative to help you with something, you’re [in a pickle]. I’m sorry, but when you take your last breath, you’re done. So, it’s important that we make a decision for Jesus before that happens….
Keith:
…because He was dead and came to life – not was brought to life. He just stopped being dead (Revelation 2:8, John 10:17-18). Like Jamie was saying on the part of our relatives, it may seem to have someone we care about look from what we would describe as an afterlife, but we have something better than that: we have the God of the universe who was there at the beginning, pre-existed the beginning (John 1:1-3, Colossians 1:17) – He’s going to be there at the end and continue eternally. He is the God who saves, the God who looks after (Zephaniah 3:17, Psalm 121:3-5). He’s Emmanuel – God with us (Matthew 1:23). We shouldn’t be satisfied with lesser things (Psalm 119:37). Jesus is clearly superior to everybody and everything (Hebrews 1:3-4, Philippians 2:9-11).
Jamie:
That’s right.
After Jesus says this, He goes into telling them some things about themselves. He says, “I know your affliction and poverty, but you are rich. I know the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan” (Revelation 2:9). Let’s touch on that real quick. When He says, “I know your affliction and poverty.” History tells us that Smyrna was a very wealthy town – very well-to-do. Why would the Christians there experience “affliction and poverty”? It’s simple when you look at it.
In order to work, you had to join a guild, which is like what we would call a labor union, right? Each one of those guilds back during that time, would have been represented by some god or goddess. In order to join, you had to worship that god or goddess. So as a Christian….
Keith:
…almost like your dues….
Jamie:
As a Christian, I’m not going to worship this god or goddess because that’s a false god. I’m not going to be able to join a guild, which means I’m not going to work because I can’t get a job. It wasn’t laziness – they couldn’t get a job. A lot of Christians ended up begging for food and things like that, but it’s because they were willing to suffer that affliction to follow Christ.
So, we ask ourselves the question of if someone comes to you at work and asks you to do something immoral (or whatever the case may be), are you going to do it to keep your job or say “no” and that whatever happens happens? Are you going to compromise your relationship with Christ to advance at the workplace? Or are you going to put Him first? These Christians here at Smyrna put Him first.
Then He tells them that He knows the slander of “those who say they are Jews and aren’t but are a synagogue of Satan”. He tells [the believers there] that they are about to suffer – that the devil is going to throw some of them in prison to test them, and they’ll “experience affliction for ten days”; He tells them, “Be faithful to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life” (Revelation 2:10).
He kind of tells them exactly what’s about to happen. There’s this synagogue of “Jewish” people who are claiming to be Jews but in the biblical sense, they’re not.
Keith:
Ethnically, they are, right? But just as Jesus told the Pharisees on more than one occasion – you’re talking about your father Abraham but you’re of your father the devil. The fruit of your life is showing what you are more than your ethnicity is.
Jamie:
Mmmm…. This was happening. This synagogue was slandering them. They would be jailed normally about ten days. They experienced, obviously, persecution and things like that while in prison – sometimes to the point of death. But Jesus says, “Be faithful to the point of death and I will give you the crown of life.” So, what is the crown of life talking about? I think we probably know the answer to that, but let’s look at James 1:12. Again, we always want the Bible to speak for itself. James 1:12 says, “Blessed is the one who endures trials, because when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him.” So, it’s eternal life with Jesus.
You notice, you know, this book of Revelation a lot of times – when we look at it, we think it’s just a sign of what’s going to happen and all these different things and how bad things are going to be – and it is, but it’s not at the same time. The revelation is of Jesus Christ (Revelation 1:1). It’s about Jesus Christ. It’s to lead us to Jesus Christ (Revelation 1:17-18, 5:9-10). The whole central setting of Revelation is the throne room (Revelation 4:2-6). Everything centers around the throne room where God – the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit – is present with multitudes around them worshiping Him, praising Him (Revelation 4:8-11, 5:11-13). Right? As all of these things are going on.
There’s no admonition in this letter to Smyrna. There’s no this is what you’re doing wrong. They have it. They get it. They have a relationship with Jesus, and because of that relationship, they are putting off these other things and are following after Him. Because of that they’ll receive the crown of life.
Keith:
I mean, just that idea in and of itself: be faithful unto death. If you’re living in an area of the world where following Jesus means certain death, you’re going to be in less need of an admonition because if you’re know that following Jesus means certain death here on earth, you’ve counted the cost like Jesus said in Luke 14:27-28.
The idea there that “be faithful unto death, and I’ll give you the crown of life”, He doesn’t say when you die in prison in ten days or when you die in the tribulation; it’s for all of life. If you’re like John, who’s on the island of Patmos in probably his 80s or 90s – that just because he didn’t get martyred, he’s no less faithful unto death. He’s faithful until the time that God calls him home. That crown of life isn’t just for martyrs; it’s for those who are saved for all of life.
Jamie:
You know, you’re talking about people who are being persecuted even to the point of death today…. Was it Richard Wurmbrand in that book we read[3]? They put him in a room – in a closet, basically smaller than a closet, and all four walls were nails. There was just enough room for you to stand. If you moved at all, you were going into these nails. They had him in that room for days on end. No food. No water. Nothing like that. Eventually, they would open the door and he would just collapse to the ground. They would defecate and make him eat it – urinate in his mouth, things like that….
Keith:
…beat his feet so much that he could never wear shoes again the rest of his life….
Jamie:
Right. And not once did he waver. Not once did his relationship with Christ come into question. He continued to tell the guards about Jesus the whole time he was there. And eventually did get out. But what it did was it strengthened his faith. So, if there was any point, to all of these trials is that it strengthens our faith in God.
Keith:
Speaking of, I had forgotten about this, but while you were talking…there was a guy named Polycarp. He was a pastor in Smyrna and a disciple of the apostle John. And at [Polycarp’s] martyrdom, when he’s about to be executed for Christianity, they gave him an opportunity to recant. We talked last week where Jesus gave the church at Ephesus to repent and remember the love they had at first – those who were going to execute Polycarp gave him an opportunity to repent and remember his love for the powers-that-be, His love for Jesus was more. He says,
“For eighty and six years I have been his servant, and he has done me no wrong. And how can I now blaspheme my king who saved me?”
They killed him for that, but Jesus’s own words here – and I don’t think that’s an accident – I mean, it’s more than ten days later, but I don’t think it’s an accident that Jesus told Smyrna this knowing full well that Polycarp and those in the immediate context living in the same situation as Polycarp – that they were faithful unto death.
Polycarp has a crown of life. John has a crown of life. And if we, in our churches today, are faithful unto death, then we’ll receive that crown of life. The proof’s in the pudding, so to speak.
Jamie:
It is. That pudding’s pretty good stuff…..
Just to finish this out real quick…. I always say real quick, and it always takes forever. I take that back.
Keith:
It takes the time it takes.
Jamie:
Just to finish this out, we have Jesus with a universal admonition, which in a word, you know, is let anyone who has ears to hear, listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. What is the Spirit saying to us? He says, “To the one who conquers”. Remember 1 John 5:4-5 here. This is those who are saved, those who have a relationship with Jesus will never be harmed by the second death.
What is the second death you ask? What does he mean there? We’re going to jump ahead to Revelation 20, and I’m going to start reading in verse 11 and read to the end of that chapter:
11 Then I saw a great white throne and one seated on it. Earth and heaven fled from his presence, and no place was found for them. 12 I also saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life, and the dead were judged according to their works by what was written in the books. 13 Then the sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them; each one was judged according to their works. 14 Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15 And anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.
This is not a scare tactic by any stretch of the imagination. It’s explaining what the second death is. You might have died here on earth, but the second death is the one – it’s the one. If you have a relationship with Christ, you won’t experience the second death (John 3:16, 5:24). You will have a life everlasting with God the Father (John 17:3). If you don’t have a relationship with Christ, you will experience that second death, which – even with all of the lake of fire and all that – the punishment of hell is an eternal separation from God (2 Thessalonians 1:8-9; Matthew 25:41, 46). You’re never with Him again. You’re eternally separated from your Creator.
Keith:
And the ever-presence of His wrath.
Jamie:
That’s right, but I think the people who are there will still blame Him – will still be angry with Him. So imagine living in eternal punishment, being angry the entire time. That’s the feeling it’s going to be. I can’t describe it. We’ve never been there. We don’t understand it. We don’t want to be there.
Sometimes, like right now, people will be like, now, let me invite you to come to know Jesus, but I don’t want you to come to know Jesus because you’re scared to go to hell. If you come to know Jesus, it needs to be because you were convicted by His Word and want to have a relationship with Him – and you want to love Him.
Keith:
How does Paul say it in Philippians 3:8? The surpassing worth of knowing Christ. That’s a far cry from the surpassing worth of not wanting to go to hell.
You think about different people you’ve heard talk. Well, I got married to so-and-so because they were the only person in my community or if I didn’t marry this person I’d have to marry that person. That’s not love. … The idea that you’re just pursuing one thing because you don’t want the other, that’s not it.
That’s not the image you get in Matthew 13:44-46 where Jesus is giving the parables of the man who is walking through a field and finds a treasure worth more than any treasure he’s ever seen. He immediately goes back to his house, cashes out all of his assets, and buys the field. He’s not willing for anyone else to find this treasure. The pearl merchant who, upon finding the pearl of great price, doesn’t haggle – doesn’t negotiate – he cashes out everything he has to buy this one pearl.
Jamie:
And that’s what these people in Smyrna did. They were willing to give up their jobs – the opportunity to own their house, purchase food for their family, things of that nature – for the sake of Christ.
Keith:
That’s one of the things that I wonder here, and I’m not trying to speculate. But He’s talking to them about how they were rich before Christ in a worldly sense. Now in a worldly sense they’re in poverty. Jesus reminds them that they are rich – that their life is in danger but they have Life. I would imagine some of them were in definite danger – not necessarily of martyrdom or execution but just in the ability to sustain themselves and live.
As we look at this to close it out, think about how we talked about Polycarp and Richard Wurmbrand. It reminds me of the perspective here – “the one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death” (Revelation 2:11) – the idea that the closest to hell believers will ever experience is what they experience here on earth. That’s the greatest threat the world can give us – that it’s going to kill us, leads us to our greatest reward (Philippians 1:21-23, Revelation 21:4-5).
This reminds me of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. I’ve been reading through his Letters and Papers from Prison[4]…. There are times where he’d be aggravated that he had opportunities for the gospel and he’d repent and minister to this or that person. Everyone who was thrown into the concentration camps wasn’t Jewish ethnically. They weren’t even necessarily for the cause. If they Nazis wanted to just get someone out of the way, they had the camps for this.
Bonhoeffer, on the last day of his life, got up and preached. There was a guy there as a witness – a British intelligence officer kind of kept the Nazi guards at bay to let him finish his sermon. Then Bonhoeffer willing went with them – walked to his execution almost consoling the guards because – you know, you’d have to feel some kind of way when somebody’s looking at you and talking about the love of Christ, preaching the gospel and you’re going to be the one to kill him. And what he told those guards right before they took his life was: “This is the end, but for me, it is the beginning.”
Where so many face the second death, those believers in Smyrna, they face the beginning.
The tears they had for persecution were wiped away by the nail-scarred hands of their Savior whom they served unto death.
That’s good news.
Jamie:
Amen.
Keith:
Well, Jamie, that about wraps it up for Smyrna. Sojourners, we’ve enjoyed our time with you today. Check with us next time as we look at the letter to the church at Pergamum.
Thank you, and God bless.
[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Re 2:8–11.
[2] Jamie – unless he states otherwise – uses the Christian Standard Bible (copyright © 2018 by Holman Bible Publishers).
[3] Richard Wurmbrand, Tortured for Christ, Reprint. (Living Sacrifice Book Co, 1967).
[4] Dietrich Bonhoeffer et al., Letters and Papers from Prison, Reader’s Edition. (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress, 2015).
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