Read with Me
Revelation 2:8-11 (HCSB)
““Write to the angel of the church in Smyrna:
“The First and the Last, the One who was dead and came to life, says: I know your affliction and 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. Don’t be afraid of what you are about to suffer. Look, the Devil is about to throw some of you into prison to test you, and you will have affliction for 10 days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.
“Anyone who has an ear should listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. The victor will never be harmed by the second death.”
Listen with Me
Smyrna was a city whose rebuilding was planned by Alexander the Great, although the plan was executed by those who followed him. The city was located on a river that flowed into an inlet that cut deep into the western coastline of the province of Asia, making the city an important point of trade.
The Church of Smyrna is one of only two about which the risen and glorified Jesus had nothing negative to say, no “yet I hold these things against you” section. (The other is Philadelphia.) Instead, He offers words of consolation and encouragement to these Christians who had long undergone persecution at the hands of the local Jewish population and who, in their weakened state were facing imminent persecution at the hands of representatives of Rome.
Jesus began by presenting Himself as the First and the Last, the eternal, unchanging Lord of the Church. He then points out that He is the One who overcame death, and who now lives forever. Both of these titles were significant to these embattled believers who felt that they had been conquered, and that the Church in Smyrna was dead or dying. Jesus urges them to see things differently. Although they are poor in material things, they are rich in spiritual wealth, having amassed abundant treasure in heaven. He also encourages them to look forward to a resurrection that will give them the same victory over death that Jesus Himself was living in.
Unfortunately, the victory for the Smyrnan Christians was not going to come immediately. A time of intense persecution lay before them that would challenge them to their very souls. But this was to be seen as a time of testing, a challenging time that would serve to purify the people and ultimately make them stronger. The length of the testing, ten days, is not a literal time frame but symbolic of a challenge that would be of significant duration, but which would come to an end before the Church was destroyed.
The call of Jesus to these faithful Christians is to continue to be faithful, even to the point of death. If they remain true through this challenging time, they will receive the crown of life. Even though they die, they will live (John 11:25-26).
Jesus’ promise to Smyrna, as well as to the other six Churches, is that the one who stays steadfast, who conquers all those arrayed against them, will not be hurt by the second death, the lake of fire that is the eternal destiny of all who are unrepentant, and who oppose God’s people (Revelation 20:14). Instead, they will celebrate around the throne of God for all eternity (Revelation 7:9-16).
Pray with Me
Father, when things turn against your people it is easy for us to believe that You are no longer in firm control of events, that You have somehow dropped the ball and left us to work things out on our own. But Your instructions and promises to the Christians in Smyrna prove that You never lose control – that even when we undergo persecution, it is only to test us and to purify our faith. Even if we die in the midst of that persecution because we refuse to buckle under the pressure, we will find that we have been in Your hands the whole time, and that our eternity in heaven is now secured. Thank You, Lord, for giving me this glimpse behind the curtain today. Amen.