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Letter to
The Church of Smyrna
< Revelation 2:8-11 >
"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: '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. Do
not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed,
the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may
be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until
death, and I will give you the crown of life.' He who has an ear,
let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes
shall not be hurt by the second death.'"
Exegesis
Verse 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:'"
The Church of Smyrna was founded while
Paul was ministering the Church of Ephesus. According to the above
passage, the members of this church were rather poor, who, because
of their faith, were antagonized by the Jews in their community.
Just how persecuted this church was by the Jews can be seen by the
martyrdom of Polycarp, an overseer in the age of Church Fathers.
The saints of the Early Church faced constant persecution by the
Jewish believers who rejected Christ as their Messiah.
The Church of Smyrna was founded by
the Apostle Paul. By "the First and the Last, who was dead,
and came to life," John is referring to God, who created
the universe. Our Lord, born of the Virgin Mary, took upon the sins
of the world through His baptism by John and was judged for these
sins by bleeding on the Cross. He then rose from the dead in three
days and is sitting at the right hand of God. Jesus speaks to the
angel of the church of God not only as our Savior but also as the
Almighty God.
Verse 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."
The Lord knew of all the difficulties
and tribulations that the Church of Smyrna was facing. Although
it was a poor church in material terms, the Church of Smyrna was
spiritually rich. In Smyrna lived many Jews, whom God described
as "those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue
of Satan." These Jews gave themselves up as the tools of
Satan to be used to carry out his purposes, and thus became obstacles
to the preaching of the gospel of the water and the Spirit, persecuting
the church of God. They believed that they alone were orthodox Jews,
and that they alone were the children of Abraham. But in fact they
did not only fail to follow the faith of Abraham, but even worse,
they ended up rejecting very God of their forefathers. Heavily persecuted
by these Jews, the Church of Smyrna was poor, but still it was a
church that was wealthy in its spirituality.
Verse 10: "Do not fear any
of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil
is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested,
and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death,
and I will give you the crown of life."
God told the Church of Smyrna to "not
fear any of those things which you are about to suffer."
He also told them to "be faithful until death,"
and promised that He will give them "the crown of life."
The Lord knew beforehand that Satan would threaten some of the saints
of the Church of Smyrna and try to break their faith. This is why
He promised that if they remained faithful to Him until death, He
would give them the crown of life.
What the Lord is telling us through
this passage is that the servants of God and His saints who live
in the end times will also be persecuted by Satan and his followers.
But we will have the strength to be faithful to God until death,
for this strength comes to us abundantly from our faith in the gospel
of the water and the Spirit and our hope for the New Heaven and
Earth that God has promised us.
Verse 11: "He who has an ear,
let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes
shall not be hurt by the second death."
The believers of the end times will
engage in a battle against the Antichrist and those who stand against
God. God tells us that those who have the hope for the true gospel
and Heaven will triumph with their faith. By giving us His Word
of truth and faith, God has enabled every believer to overcome His
enemies. The only question remaining is whether or not we will be
on the side of God and His servants.
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Romans 8:18 tells us that "the
sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with
the glory which shall be revealed in us." Our persecution
by the Antichrist and his followers will last only briefly, perhaps
even just 10 days. Trusting in God, you can withstanding this short
period of suffering, overcome the Antichrist, and glorify God and
receive His Eternal Kingdom as your reward. God has given the saints
the strength to win their battle against the Antichrist.
Let us all triumph over the Antichrist
with our faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, and let
us all meet again in the Millennial Kingdom and the New Heaven and
Earth to live together forever. The first death here refers to our
physical death, while the second death refers to the spiritual death
by the eternal punishment of hell. For the saints, there is martyrdom,
their physical death, but there is no spiritual death.
I thank God for giving the glory and
honor of martyrdom to us, the believers in this last times, as He
had given the martyrs of the Early Church.
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