In the first letter to the seven churches in Revelation chapters 2 and 3, the letter to the church at Ephesus, we find a living, active church. Our Lord commended it far more than He did any of the other churches He addressed. He said He knows their deeds, toil, and perseverance. They were a working church. They talked the talk and walked the walk, even when things were rough. He said they dealt with sin in the church and addressed false teaching. Things that our Lord faulted other churches for not doing, they did! He said they persevered and did not grow weary. They did not give up when it became tough. They hung in there! They also hated the deeds of the Nicolaitans. Interestingly our Lord added this later, not as an afterthought, for nothing slips our Lord's mind. It is separated from the other commendations, I believe, for emphasis. It is not just one of the other things on the list. It is special, something our Lord truly hated. We will deal with this issue in the letter to the church at Pergamum.
Yet, for all the positive things, there was one critical problem with which our Lord wanted to deal. What they were doing was good, great even, but why they were doing it was a problem. They had ceased to serve out of love.
How serious this is to our Lord is seen by His warning to them. Remember from where you have fallen, repent and do the deeds you did at first. That is, deeds motivated by love. We do not realize how serious the issue of motives is most of the time. We think, well, at least we are living right! We do not see how far we have fallen! But we desperately need to see that. If they did not respond, the Lord would remove this church. A serious judgment!
To the one who overcame, that is to the one who had placed their faith in our Lord and His finished work, our Lord would grant the right to eat of the tree of life in the paradise of God.
The second letter is addressed to the church at Smyrna, another major seaport city on what is now the coast of modern Turkey. This also was a large city that historically had a very strong Jewish community.
To this church, our Lord says,
Revelation 2:8-11
| 2:8 | “And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: The first and the last, who was dead, and has come to life, says this: |
| 2:9 | ‘I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich), and the blasphemy by those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. |
| 2:10 | ‘Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison, so that you will be tested, and you will have tribulation for ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life. |
| 2:11 | ‘He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes will not be hurt by the second death.’ |
The Description
The Lord describes Himself as “The first and the last, who was dead, and has come to life.” This description is entirely appropriate for the believers in this church, for they were undergoing persecution and would undergo even more. Some probably would die for their faith. The one who was speaking to them had died and had overcome death. They could trust Him, for He had gone before them.
The Declaration
About this church, our Lord states that He knew they were undergoing tribulation, enduring poverty and being slandered by others. The praise from our Lord, while not explicitly stated, is, as I understand it, that they were suffering these things with the right attitudes. If, when we face tribulation and tough times, we worry and fret about all the things that have beset us, if we gripe and complain, if we blame others and speak disparagingly about them, there would be little praise involved. If we face poverty and covet what others have, not being content with the little that we have, if we become less generous in our giving to others, what praise would there be? If, when we are slandered, we strike back by word or deed against those who slander us, what praise is there? I understand then that those in Smyrna were undergoing these things and had responded correctly.
This church was a poor church. They were not well off financially. Yet notice that the Lord declares that they were rich! Contrast this with the last church, Laodicea, who regarded themselves to be wealthy, but which our Lord declares is poor. Wealth is not to be measured in physical terms but in the treasures that endure past the grave.
It seems clear from the context that much of their persecution was from the Jewish community. Historically we know that Smyrna had a very strong Jewish community. The Jewish authorities, in their opposition to the growing Christian movement, would typically bring accusations before the Roman authorities against believers. They would be accused of all sorts of things but in particular that they were rebellious and seditious against the Roman Emperor. Since Christianity was at this time not a legally recognized religion by Rome and because believers refused to offer incense to the Roman Emperor as a god, Rome usually responded by arresting and persecuting believers. The great persecutions by Rome against believers had already begun and would continue on and off for hundreds of years. The Jewish authorities had brought false accusations, and this church was about to suffer for it.
Those who brought the false accusations called themselves Jews. But they were not, our Lord says. Instead, they were a synagogue of Satan. While we might gain the impression that there was satanic worship taking place here, this was not the case. These were Jews, at least outwardly. What we must remember at this point is that not all the descendants of Abraham are the chosen people. The apostle Paul writing in Romans 9:6-8, states:
| 9:6 | But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel; |
| 9:7 | nor are they all children because they are Abraham’s descendants, but: “through Isaac your descendants will be named.” |
| 9:8 | That is, it is not the children of the flesh who are children of God, but the children of the promise are regarded as descendants |
John, the author of the book we are now studying, also writes in 1 John 2:22: Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son.
Although these people were Jewish, they were Jews only because they were the physical descendants of Abraham. Although they physically met the requirements, they did not meet them spiritually. They had denied Jesus as their Messiah, and they were antichrists. They opposed our Lord and therefore had become a tool of the enemy. They were a synagogue of Satan.
Today we have multitudes of Christian churches of many brands and varieties. However, many are not Christian churches; they are churches of Satan. Do they practice witchcraft and Satanic rituals? Not at all! They may do many good things; they stand for much that is good and proper. Nevertheless, in that they have denied that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah and view Him as nothing more than a very good man; they are antichrists. They are tools of the enemy.
The Problem
Our Lord does not point out any problem with the church found in Smyrna that needed to be corrected. Does this mean there were no problems in this church? I doubt it. There are no perfect churches, except one right now. The only perfect church is the church of those asleep in Christ, that is, those who have died and gone to be with Him. Do you keep changing churches, looking for the perfect one! Are you sure you wish to join the only perfect one right now? There undoubtedly were issues our Lord could have pointed out in this church, but He chose in His mercy not to do so. What they needed more than anything else at this point was encouragement, and this is what our Lord does.
This is how our Lord deals with us. Does He point out every problem in our lives that needs to be corrected? No. Often He does nothing but encourages us because this is what we require the most at that time. This is an excellent example for us to follow in dealing with people. As a teacher, I often had to counsel a child who would come almost in tears over some problem they were facing from their classmates. What they needed at that time was encouragement, not a lecture about how they needed to change their behavior, even though they did need to make many changes. There would be time for that, but right then, they needed a hug. Give what is needed at the time it is needed.
The Encouragement
However, our Lord’s encouragement for these believers is not what we would expect or even desire. If you were facing some very hard times, financially, emotionally and even physically, and our Lord were to come to you with a message, what would you want Him to tell you? I would want Him to say, “I know what you are going through, but do not worry; things are going to get better!” But this is not what our Lord tells them. He says, “I know what you are going through, but do not worry; things will get far worse!” How is that for comfort! Actually, He does say things will get better. “Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.” In the short run, it would turn ugly. In the long run, they are victorious.
I sometimes think that we, as believers, often give false encouragement to someone facing trials. We’ll tell them it will get better when in reality, God intends more suffering in the present. We may not know about the short run, but we do know about the long haul. We have read ahead. We know the outcome. We win! It does not matter what the score is right now in the game. It is not over yet. No matter how many points behind we might be right now, we could be further behind tomorrow! But we are assured that, when the buzzer sounds, the last shot is made, the last pass thrown, the last chapter read, we win! Now that is encouragement!
The Promise
Following the exhortation for those who have ears to hear, our Lord promises, in addition to the crown of life, that those who overcome (i.e., believers) would not be hurt by the second death. The first death is physical death. It is not nonexistence but rather the temporary separation of the soul and/or spirit from the body. Both believers and nonbelievers undergo the first death. The second death is the eternal separation of the body, soul and/or spirit from God. It is suffering hell for all eternity. Believers will not face this; unbelievers will.
Historically the church suffered an intense time of persecution under the Roman Empire. This is often divided into ten periods starting about AD 64, the time of Nero’s persecution of Christians and ending about AD 323, the time of Constantine’s supposed conversion. Alternatively, some divide it from about AD 100, the death of John, through the reign of Julian the Apostate (AD 361 – 363). This letter then seems to be prophetic of that period of church history.
What lessons are we to learn from the letter to this church? There are many lessons, of course, but one major thing stands out; we ought to continually bear in mind that regardless of the score right now, we will win the game. You see, the game is fixed. We win! Forget the oddsmakers. Forget the opponents who jeer and laugh. Even if things get worse, and they might, in the final analysis, we will overcome. End of story!
