Bethel Christian Fellowship
Fair Lawn, NJ
April 26, 2015
The Seven Letters To The Seven Churches
The Church in Smyrna: Suffering Even Unto Death
Revelation 2:8-11
Imagine that you are living in the days when the Roman Empire was at the height of its power.
You live in a city within that empire that thinks of itself as the “pride of Asia.” You’re situated
about forty miles up the coast from the capitol, where you enjoy a beautiful harbor with its
flourishing export trade. You’re especially proud of the fact that the travel bureau identifies your
city as “one of the most prosperous cities of Asia Minor.” The beautiful paved streets, the large
library and gymnasium, and the centers for higher learning all support such a claim.
But this is also a place where it is dangerous to be a faithful Christian. For many years, your
fellow residents have aligned themselves with the power structure in Rome, and they are eager to
meet Rome’s demands for emperor worship. The local authorities really don’t care if anyone
worships Jesus as Lord, so long as they also pay homage to Caesar. All one has to do is burn a
pinch of incense before the image of Tiberius, and say three simple words: “Caesar is Lord.”
Any refusal to do so will only antagonize the civil authorities; it will also infuriate the city’s
large Jewish population. In their minds, any worship of Jesus as Lord is blasphemy, and they
have no problem protesting that such Christian activity is treasonous and subversive.
Such was life for the faithful Church in Smyrna (modern Izmir in western Turkey). They were a
suffering church because they were an uncompromising church. For that reason alone, this
second of the seven letters to the seven churches is “exclusively devoted to an account of their
past and present sufferings, a warning of severer trials yet to come, and encouragements to them
to endure.” (John Stott, What Christ Thinks of The Church)
As we noted in last week’s study, these seven letters have a uniform literary pattern, which
usually (but not always) consists of seven parts. This second letter is one of the exceptions; it
will contain no complaint, and therefore no word of correction. The risen and glorified Christ
will only offer words of commendation and encouragement to this church, holding before them
the certainty of receiving the crown of life. Here, then, is how this second letter unfolds.
1. The command to write to the angel of the Church: “To the angel of the church in Smyrna
write . . .” (v. 8a). Since each of these letters begin in the same way, the first question that must
always be asked is this – just who is this angel, and why is he being addressed? Since the word
“angel” literally means “messenger,” many have concluded that each “angel” symbolizes the
church’s “minister,” or its “lead pastor.” But as we noted last week, in every single instance
where the word “angel” appears in The Revelation (over 65 times), it always refers to heavenly
messengers, never human messengers. It seems best, therefore, to conclude that these are angelic
beings who “have been entrusted by Christ with responsibility over the churches and yet so
closely identified with them that the letters are addressed at the same time to these messengers
and to the congregation” (Alan F. Johnson, “Revelation,” in The Expositors Bible Commentary).
Does our church have such an angel, and if so, why would this matter?
2. The self-description of the Lord Jesus, given in terms of the revelation previously given to
John (1:12-20): “These are the words of him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to
life” (v. 8b). For members of the church in Smyrna, the possibility of being martyred for their
faith was a daily reality. This description of the Lord Jesus, therefore, would have made a huge
difference in how they (and we) would have viewed such suffering. As “the first and the last,”
Jesus is affirming His sovereign control over every event in history, including our personal
history. He is “first” in the sense that He is the source of all things that come our way; He is
“last” in the sense that we find in Him the final explanation for all these things. Nothing
accounts for our sufferings that are beyond the scope of His all encompassing, providential
governance and guidance.
Furthermore, because He is the one “who died and came to life,” we who are united to Him,
through faith, need not fear physical death. He has emerged victorious over both suffering and
martyrdom, and so also shall we. Death is never the end but always the beginning of true life for
believers in Christ. Unlike those who deny the Lord Jesus in times of suffering, true Christians
will never taste “the second death” (Cf. 2:11).
3. The commendation of the Church’s good works: these good works involve the four
dimensions of suffering that these Christians were faithfully enduring (vv. 9-10). As we note
them briefly, we would do well to ask if our faith would survive such suffering.
a. They were in the throes of “affliction” and “poverty,” yet they were “rich” (v. 9a). The close
association of these first two words (affliction and poverty) indicates they are linked together as
one Christian experience. Because of their uncompromising faith, their affliction most likely
resulted in their poverty. Perhaps their homes and property had been looted and pillaged, as was
the experience of the Hebrew Christians (Heb. 10:34). “Make no mistake,” John Stott writes, “it
does not always pay to be a Christian. Nor is honesty by any means always the best policy, if
material gain is your ambition” (What Christ Thinks of The Church). Yet these Christians had
riches their enemies couldn’t understand, and wealth that couldn’t be stolen. They were rich –
“in faith, and heirs of the kingdom” (Cf. James 2:5).
b. They were repeatedly slandered (v. 9b). According to Jesus, their opponents may have said
they were Jews (the blood of Abraham did flow through their veins), but they had no legitimate
claim to the name (the faith of Abraham did not dwell in their hearts). As such, they were not
really Jews at all (Cf. John 8:39-44; Rom. 2:28-29). They belonged to the “synagogue of Satan”
– which is the ultimate source of the persecution of all Christians.
c. They were about to be thrown into prison (v. 10a). Imprisonment within Roman communities
like Smyrna was rarely used as a means of punishment; it was usually designed to detain the
guilty until the time of their execution. The fact that such imprisonment will be brief (“for ten
days”) indicates this will be the plight of some. It’s also important to once again note that the
one who will ultimately instigate this incarceration is “the devil.” Yet God’s divinely ordained
purpose behind all of his heinous activity is clear: “that you may be tested . . .” As we know
from the rest of Scripture, the opposition of the evil one is one of the means God uses to
strengthen, stabilize and solidify the faith of each and every local church. Such is the teaching of
Paul (Ephesians 6:10-13), James (James 4:7), and Peter (1 Peter 5:8-10).
d. Some were facing martyrdom (v. 10b). The call of the Lord Jesus is to “be faithful unto
death,” coupled with the promise, “and I will give you the crown of life.” When the enemy of
our souls goes on the attack, there are certainly Biblical examples of the Lord’s intervention (Cf.
Heb. 11:32-34). But there are also examples of his choice to do otherwise (Cf. Heb. 11:35-38).
His grace is always sufficient, but in the life of some at Smyrna, they will experience the
blessing of “dying grace.” Their promised crown “of life” is eternal life, which is symbolically
presented as “the laurel wreath of victory that God promises to those who love Him (1
Corinthians 9:25; 2 Timothy 4:6-8; James 1:12)” (The ESV Study Bible notes).
4. The call to heed the message: “He who has an ear to hear, let him hear what the Spirit says to
the churches” (v. 11a). The words of the Spirit are the words of the Spirit of the Risen Christ
(Cf. Rev. 19:10), and they require that each local congregation takes them to heart, including
ours. The emphasis upon hearing rather than reading these words points to the fact that each of
these messages from God’s word was designed to be read in corporate worship. What a novel
idea for so many of our churches today!
5. The promise of reward to the overcomers: “He who overcomes will not be hurt at all by the
second death” (v. 11b). Faithfulness is the fruit of saving faith. Therefore, Jesus promises that
those who remain faithful in the face of physical death will be immune from the second death.
The “second death” is mentioned three other times in Revelation (20:6, 14; 21:8). Each time it
reinforces the fact that this is the way in which Jesus (and John) refer to eternal punishment in
the lake of fire. It is the place of unquenchable torment for those who do not know and love our
Lord Jesus Christ: “But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the
sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns
with fire and sulfur, which is the second death” (Rev. 21:8).
The first death is physical death, the death that Jesus said some in Smyrna would suffer because
of their faith in Him. For them, therefore, no sweeter words were ever spoken than these: “He
who overcomes will not be hurt at all by the second death.” What about us today?
Because of our sin and misery, we are all deserving of the second death (GUILT). Yet the good
news is that the second death died in the death of Jesus. He has suffered that death on our behalf,
having “redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us” (Galatians 3:13).
When we come to trust in Him alone, as our sin-bearing substitute, we receive the crown of life,
which we don’t deserve, in place of the lake of fire, which we do deserve (GRACE). Our
response can be nothing less than offering Him our undying love and praise (GRATITUDE).
Let us sing and love and wonder,
Let us praise the Savior’s name!
He has hushed the Law’s loud thunder,
He has quenched Mt. Sinai’s flame:
He has washed us with His blood,
He has brought us nigh to God.
(John Newton, 1774)