The
Seven Churches of the 21st Century
Chapter 3
Smyrna: Willingness To Suffer
Revelation 2:8-11
And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the First and the Last, which was dead, and is alive; I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them who say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan. Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.
The first thing that captures our attention concerning the letter to the Church at Smyrna is the fact that it is the shortest of the seven letters. This fact is undoubtedly related to the fact that this church was also the most spiritual of the seven. As we’ll see later, Christ gave no rebuke to this church. His words are those of comfort and consolation to a group of believers who were willing to suffer terribly for the Lord.
And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive;
The picture of Christ in this verse is from Revelation 1:18: “I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.” The Lord presents Himself here as One Who was persecuted and suffered death at the hands of His persecutors. That statement was especially meaningful to those at Smyrna, for they too were experiencing severe persecution. So Jesus is here saying, “I fully understand what you are suffering, but fear not, for as I was raised in victory, so shall you be.”
It is fascinating, indeed, to observe that the word Smyrna means “myrrh;” this fact is very important to the study of this church. Myrrh was an ordinary perfume and was also used for anointing oil as well as being used in embalming the dead. It was a gum resin extracted from a certain tree in Arabia by incisions made in the bark. Actually, the English word is but a transliteration (giving the English equivalent to the Greek letters) of the Greek word smurrna. This word is used only three other times in the New Testament and is always used in connection with Christ: at His birth (Matt. 2:11), His death (Mk. 15:23), and His burial (Jn. 19:39). The most significant of these three references is Christ’s birth. One of the gifts of the Magi was myrrh. Why? Because it was a picture of the suffering and death He would endure.
We, therefore, see a deep meaning in regard to the church at Smyrna. An amazing fact about myrrh is that it must be crushed in order for its fragrance to be released. The Lord Jesus had to be “crushed” so that we might live. Likewise, the church at Smyrna had to be “crushed” by persecution so that it could give off a sweet smelling testimony for Christ; the more it was crushed, in fact, the sweeter its testimony became and the broader it witness spread.
Prophetic
History
The church at Smyrna pictures
the Church from A.D. 100 to 313. The “Ephesian Period” was characterized by a
waning love for the Lord, so God allowed great persecution to come on the
Church in order to bring it back to Him. It was during this time that the
Church experienced its greatest suffering as will become evident as we
progress.
Smyrna was located about 35-40 miles north of Ephesus. It was a rich and prosperous city, in many ways even a rival of Ephesus. It, too, was a port city, a better port than Ephesus, in fact. Historians have called Smyrna “The Ornament of Asia” and was said to be the most beautiful city in Asia. But, like Ephesus, Smyrna also was a pagan city with temples to Apollo, Aphrodite, Zeus, and especially Cybele. Moreover, Smyrna was the center of Emperor worship, the worship of Caesar as god.
Of special significance, however, is the fact that this city still remains today under the name of “Izmir.” What a contrast to Ephesus! Many believe the church at Smyrna was started as a result of the outreach of the church at Ephesus, but the difference was that while the church at Ephesus left its first love, Smyrna did not. It has been estimated that one third of some 200,000 inhabitants of Smyrna are Christian. How marvelous! The more the church was crushed, the more it grew. And that has been true throughout Church History.
I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan.
The Lord Jesus held this church in high regard. In fact, this is the most positive letter of the seven. As we’ll see in Chapter 7, the church at Philadelphia, like Smyrna, received no direct rebuke, but nonetheless Christ’s highest regard was for those who suffered for His sake. Our Lord gives three commendations.
May we again take special note of the words I know. As noted in our study of the church at Ephesus, the Greek is oida (or eidō), which speaks of a full, complete knowledge. As I studied this passage, these words made a deep impression upon me. In essence our Lord says to these believers, “My dear children, I know fully what you are going through; I understand completely your suffering because I too have been through it.” The same is true now. Our Lord understands every burden we carry, every heartache we feel, every tear we shed, and every pain we suffer. Is that not all that matters? Would to God that we stop wallowing in self-pity when these things occur and just think back to what our Savior suffered. We could never suffer to the extent that He did.
Tribulation translates the Greek thlipsis, a graphic word that literally means “to crush, press, compress, squeeze” and “is from thlaō, to break.”[1] Another form of this word, thibō, appears in Matthew 24:21, which describes the future Tribulation Period, when there “shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.” Indeed, the church at Smyrna was under tremendous persecution, but some ask, “Weren’t most of the churches in Asia Minor under persecution?” Yes, to one extent or another, that is true. The church at Smyrna, however, was under greater persecution because it took a stand against many things when other churches would not. Historically, the church at Smyrna stood against three falsehoods.
As mentioned earlier, Smyrna was the center of the Roman imperial cult that declared, “Caesar is God.” But these faithful believers refused to bow down to Caesar.
We also mentioned earlier that the city was full of pagan temples, but these Christians refused to participate in any way whatsoever. As we will also see later, they also refused to make sacrifices to the gods, even though it would have immediately delivered them from persecution. They could have said, “We could go ahead and make the sacrifices but not really mean it in our hearts.” But that they would not do. Like their descendants the Puritans, those dear Christians would make no compromise paganism. In our study of the church at Thyatira (Chapter 5) we will see the exact opposite. Not only was that church not separate from pagan practices, it was clinging to such practices. Likewise, many Christians today allow unarguably confirmed pagan practices into their homes and churches. But the dear believers in Smyrna would not tolerate it in any form whatsoever.
Without argument, the “religious crowd” has always been the greatest enemy of Christianity. This is vivid in reading the book of Acts as well as Church History. Why is religion the greatest foe of Christianity? Because religion is always based on works (what man tries to do in himself to get to God), while Biblical Christianity is based on grace (what God has done for man through Christ). The Jews, for example, hated Christ and anyone who was connected with Him, so what was once the synagogue (sunagogē, “assembly or congregation”) of the Lord, was now, as our text says, the synagogue of Satan. How many there are today who say they are of God but are in reality “of their father the Devil” (Jn. 8:37-44). There are many who profess to be “Christian,” but with their next breath deny or redefine the virgin birth of Christ, the inspiration of Scriptures, salvation by grace alone, or other cardinal doctrines of the Christian Faith.
So, it was these three factors that gave way to great persecution. For some 250 years persecution raged in Asia Minor, starting as far back as Nero in A.D. 64-68, and seems to have been centered in Smyrna. This leads to the second point of Christ’s regard.
One Greek word for poverty is penes and occurs only once in the New Testament (II Cor. 9:9); it speaks of a “pauper,” one who doesn’t have much and works very hard for what he does have. But the word used here is ptocheia, which occurs, in various forms, about forty times in the New Testament. This word refers to a beggar, someone who was completely destitute, having nothing. Materially, then, the believers in Smyrna were destitute. Standing for Christ in Smyrna meant no job, no money, and few possessions. How many of us today would be willing to stand for Christ if it meant that kind of destitution? But, as we’ll see, even though they were materially poor, they were spiritually rich.
The Jews, as well as pagan Gentiles, slandered Christians;
they spread lies about their character, purpose, and even mode of life. Based
on a misunderstanding of the Lord’s Supper, for example, Jews often accused
Christians of cannibalism. Based on a perversion of the “holy kiss” with which
believers greeted each other (Rom. 16:16; 1 Cor.
16:20; II Cor. 13:12; I Thess. 5:26),
they were also accused of immorality. Because conflict occurred when one spouse
became a Christian and the other did not (e.g., Luke 12:51–53), Christians were
also accused of breaking up homes. Finally, the ultimate irony is that because
Christians rejected the emperor as God and all other pagan gods, they were
considered atheists and disloyal subjects of the Empire. So again Jesus said, I
know, “I understand fully.” He was slandered at every turn during His
earthly ministry, so He was touched in His heart by the willingness of His
children to suffer the same.
As stated earlier, there is no rebuke given to the church at Smyrna. It’s also significant to note that it, and Philadelphia, are the only cities of the seven that still survive today. The principle here is clear: Suffering for Christ keeps us purer, more faithful, and more humble and makes us gloriously triumphant. As Paul wrote to the Romans, “The sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us” (8:18). What a thought that is! In effect, Paul is saying that present suffering and future glory should not be mentioned in the same sentence, perhaps even the same paragraph. The future glory in Christ is so far above present suffering that they are less than insignificant.
Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.
Even though there was no rebuke, the Lord nonetheless gave the church two requirements. This is an important fact because it shows us that no church is “perfect;” every church still needs the Lord’s challenge and command.
The Lord said, Fear none of those things, that is, “Even though the persecution will continue, do not fear your sufferings.” He uses the phrase, Ye will have persecution ten days. Though a few commentators disagree, there can be little doubt that this refers to the ten great historical periods of persecution that occurred as a result of the edicts proclaimed by ten specific Roman emperors.[2] As one respected historian writes, “Usually ten persecutions are enumerated, beginning with Nero in the first century and culminating in the one which was inaugurated by Diocletion early in the fourth century.”[3]
As I was preparing this study, I heard a message on suffering by one preacher who was speaking to a group of pastors at a conference. He made the point that few of us, preachers included, know anything about suffering. He made the comment, “It’s pretty hard to suffer when they put you up in the Hyatt Regency.” While this invoked a good natured laugh from the audience, his point came through clearly. Most of us are clueless about what it means to suffer for Christ.
While there were persecutions before Nero, mainly because Christians were still associated with Jews, it was Nero who began the focused persecution of Christians. Tertullian, for example, stated, “Nero was the first who assailed, with the imperial sword, the Christian sect.” After being accused of deliberately setting a fire that raged for nine days and destroyed a large part of Rome and killed thousands of people in July of 64 as an excuse to rebuild the city, Nero sought a way to shift the blame and Christians were an easy target. Some Christians were wrapped in animal hides and then thrown before dogs to be torn to pieces. Others were fastened to crosses and set on fire to illuminate a circus that Nero staged for the crowds in his garden. It was also during Nero’s reign that the Apostle Paul was beheaded and Peter was crucified.
Equal to Nero in cruelty was Domitian, who called himself, and demanded that others call him, “Lord and God.” He decreed that embracing Christianity was a crime against the state. He condemned many Christians to death, including his own nephew[4] Flavius Clemens, who actually might have become emperor, accusing them of atheism because, of course, they denied that he was God. He sent others, such as Domitilia, the wife of his cousin, into exile. According to the histories of Irenaeus, Eusebius, and Jerome, it was Domitian who exiled the Apostle John Patmos where he penned the book of Revelation.[5]
While in some ways a good emperor, such as being just and good-tempered, it seems that Trajan should have been against persecuting Christians, but such was not the case. He listened to Pliny the Younger, the governor of Bithinia, who wrote to the emperor that the land was “swarming with Christians” and that as a result of this “contagion of superstition” the temples of the gods were deserted and few people were buying sacrificial animals. To stop this progress, he condemned many Christians to death, sent others, who were Roman citizens, to the imperial tribunal, and then asked the emperor for further instructions. Trajan, who wanted to uphold the ideals of the old empire and to protect if from disintegrating forces, responded by saying that Pliny was doing the right thing and that while Christians should not be searched for, decreed that when accused and convicted they should be put to death if they didn’t repent. It was during this era that the famous Symeon, bishop of Jerusalem, was tortured and crucified, and Ignatius, a student of the Apostle John and pastor of the church at Antioch, was transported to Rome and thrown to the lions in the Coliseum. (We cannot help but wonder why Christian visitors to Rome would want to make the Coliseum part of their do site seeing tour.)
While not a separate period, we should also mention Antonius Pius (138-161), who to some degree seems to have tried to protect Christians simply to avoid public calamity. It was still during his reign, however, that the specific persecutions in Smryna took place. Some historians submit that it was more the populace in Smyrna that persecuted Christians that it was the government, but Antonius Pius (like many politicians) seems to have bowed to public sentiment. It was there that Polycarp, the personal friend and student of the Apostle John and pastor of the church at Smyrna, was burned at the stake.[6] A stone monument still marks his grave.
Polycarp’s martyrdom, in fact, is one of the most striking testimonies in Church History. The second-century document, The Encyclical Epistle of the Church at Smyrna Concerning the Martyrdom of the Holy Polycarp, records the story. When finally brought before the Proconsul, who said to him, “Swear the oath, and I will release thee; revile the Christ,” Polycarp answered, “'Fourscore and six years have I been His servant, and He hath done me no wrong. How then can I blaspheme my King who saved me?” When the Proconsul threatened, “I have wild beasts here and I will throw thee to them, except thou repent,” Polycarp answered, “Call for them: for the repentance from better to worse is a change not permitted to us; but it is a noble thing to change from [evil] to righteousness.” Again the proconsul threatened, “I will cause thee to be consumed by fire, if thou despisest the wild beasts, unless thou repent,” but Polycarp answered, “Thou threatenest that fire which burneth for a season and after a little while is quenched for thou art ignorant of the fire of the future judgment and eternal punishment, which is reserved for the ungodly. But why delayest thou? Come, do what thou wilt.” The document goes on:
Saying these things and more besides, he was inspired with courage and joy, and his countenance was filled with grace, so that not only did it not drop in dismay at the things which were said to him, but on the contrary the proconsul was astounded and sent his own herald to proclaim three times in the midst of the stadium, “Polycarp hath confessed himself to be a Christian.” When this was proclaimed by the herald, the whole multitude both of Gentiles and of Jews who dwelt in Smyrna cried out with ungovernable wrath and with a loud shout, “This is the teacher of Asia, the father of the Christians, the puller down of our gods, who teacheth numbers not to sacrifice nor worship.” Saying these things, they shouted aloud and asked the Asiarch Philip to let a lion loose upon Polycarp. But he said that it was not lawful for him, since he had brought the sports to a close. Then they thought fit to shout out with one accord that Polycarp should be burned alive. For it must needs be that the matter of the vision should be fulfilled, which was shown him concerning his pillow, when he saw it on fire while praying, and turning round he said prophetically to the faithful who were with him, “I must needs be burned alive.”
These things then happened with so great speed, quicker than words could tell, the crowds forthwith collecting from the workshops and baths timber and faggots, and the Jews more especially assisting in this with zeal, as is their wont. But when the pile was made ready, divesting himself of all his upper garments and loosing his girdle, he endeavoured also to take off his shoes, though not in the habit of doing this before, because all the faithful at all times vied eagerly who should soonest touch his flesh. For he had been treated with all honour for his holy life even before his gray hairs came. Forthwith then the instruments that were prepared for the pile were placed about him; and as they were going likewise to nail him to the stake, he said; “Leave me as I am; for He that hath granted me to endure the fire will grant me also to remain at the pile unmoved, even without the security which ye seek from the nails.”
So they did not nail him, but tied him. Then he, placing his hands behind him and being bound to the stake, like a noble ram out of a great flock for an offering, a burnt sacrifice made ready and acceptable to God, looking up to heaven said; “O Lord God Almighty, the Father of Thy beloved and blessed Son Jesus Christ, through whom we have received the knowledge of Thee, the God of angels and powers and of all creation and of the whole race of the righteous, who live in Thy presence; I bless Thee for that Thou hast granted me this day and hour, that I might receive a portion amongst the number of martyrs in the cup of [Thy] Christ unto resurrection of eternal life, both of soul and of body, in the incorruptibility of the Holy Spirit. May I be received among these in Thy presence this day, as a rich and acceptable sacrifice, as Thou didst prepare and reveal it beforehand, and hast accomplished it, Thou that art the faithful and true God. For this cause, yea and for all things, I praise Thee, I bless Thee, I glorify Thee, through the eternal and heavenly High-priest, Jesus Christ, Thy beloved Son, through whom with Him and the Holy Spirit be glory both now [and ever] and for the ages to come. Amen.”
When he had offered up the Amen and finished his prayer, the firemen lighted the fire. And, a mighty flame flashing forth, we to whom it was given to see, saw a marvel, yea and we were preserved that we might relate to the rest what happened. The fire, making the appearance of a vault, like the sail of a vessel filled by the wind, made a wall round about the body of the martyr; and it was there in the midst, not like flesh burning, but like [a loaf in the oven or like] gold and silver refined in a furnace. For we perceived such a fragrant smell, as if it were the wafted odour of frankincense or some other precious spice.
So at length the lawless men, seeing that his body could not be consumed by the fire, ordered an executioner to go up to him and stab him with a dagger. And when he had done this, there came forth [a dove and] a quantity of blood, so that it extinguished the fire; and all the multitude marvelled that there should be so great a difference between the unbelievers and the elect. In the number of these was this man, the glorious martyr Polycarp, who was found an apostolic and prophetic teacher in our own time, a bishop of the holy Church which is in Smyrna. For every word which he uttered from his mouth was accomplished and will be accomplished.[7]
The reign Marcus Aurelius was a trying time for Christians. While actually mild, philosophic, and even amiable, he was nonetheless a devout Stoic so was strongly biased again Christianity. Because Stoicism believed in an immediate absorption after death into the Divine essence, he considered the Christian doctrine of the immortality of the soul, with its moral consequences, as vicious and dangerous to the welfare of the state and therefore ordered the persecution of Christians. Especially violent and fanatical were the persecutions in the churches of Lyons and Vienne in Gaul in 177. Slaves were tortured to give false testimony against Christians. The severity of the tortures, endured without flinching from morning till night, even among young girls, are almost unbelievable. It was also during this era that Justin Martyr, the great apologetic writer, was seized during his second trip to Rome in 166, scourged, and then beheaded, along with six other Christians. His last words were: “We desire nothing more than to suffer for our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Septimus Severus was actually favorable to Christians early in his reign and even had some in his household, one of which was a nurse for his children. But in 202 he turned hostile and issued an edict against anyone converting either to Christianity or Judaism and persecution followed quickly. Especially severe were the persecutions in Egypt and North Africa. The Great Clement of Alexandria wrote, “We see daily many martyrs before our eyes burned, crucified, and beheaded.” One woman named Perpetua said of her suffering, “The dungeon became a place,” even while her aged father begged her to recant.
After Septimus Severus the persecution of Christians lapsed for a few years but was sharply revived under soldier turned emperor Maximinius. In his short three year rule, as one historian puts it, “the fury of the heathen populace, which was stimulated by governors hostile to Christianity, was allowed to vent itself without check.”[8]
Motivated by the singular desire to build up of the ancient institutions of the Roman Empire, Decius brought the most severe persecution that Christianity had yet endured. By imperial command Christianity was an obvious threat to that goal, so he set out to exterminate it. He decreed that all Christians must stand before a magistrate, renounce their religion and make a sacrifice to the gods. While some Christians did so, many did not and were imprisoned, tortured, or killed outright. The church father Origen suffered imprisonment and torture. One married couple was crucified on neighboring crosses and encouraged each other as they endured their agony.
While at first mild towards the Christians, in 257 Valerian changed his course, possibly by the advice of one of his counselors. Trying to prevent bloodshed, he tried to deprive the Church of its leaders, banishing, confiscating their property, and prohibiting religious assemblies. That didn’t work, however, so he decreed that they would be killed. One prominent deacon named Lawrence was slowly roasted to death. One of the most prominent of the early pastors was Cyprian, who was beheaded. Upon receiving his sentence of death, he calmly answered: “Deo gratias!” (Gracious God).
After another deliverance from persecution under Valerian’s son Gallienus, who reversed his father’s policy and issued a decree of toleration, warlike Aurelian came to power. While he issued an edict of persecution, it was rendered void when he was assassinated. So, since 260, the Church new a wonderful rest from persecution, but that was to change with a renewed vengeance.
Perhaps the simplest summary of Diocletian’s reign is “a bloodbath.” Like others, he was motivated by the welfare of the Empire, but even his methods of government were unorthodox. Feeling that “a single head can be severed by a single blow,” he appointed “co-emperors,” one who was a co-regent with him and two others who ruled large parts of the Empire. While tolerant for the first 20 years of his reign, in 303, spurred on by his co-regent and son-in-law Galerius, he became determined to eradicate Christianity and issued a series of edicts to accomplish that goal. The first required the destruction of all Christian churches and Bibles and reduced all Christians, no matter what their status, to the rank of slave. The second edict required the immediate imprisonment of all Church officers. The third offered amnesty to any ministry who would make sacrifice to the gods and decreed that any torture could be used to get such a profession. The fourth edict decreed that death and confiscation of property was to occur for any Christina who refused to make sacrifice to the gods. As one historian describes this period:
All former persecutions of the faith were forgotten in the horror with which men looked back upon the last and greatest: the tenth wave (as men delighted to count it) of that great storm obliterated all the traces that had been left by others. The fiendish cruelty of Nero, the jealous fears of Domitian, the unimpassioned dislike of Marcus, the sweeping purpose of Decius, the clever devices of Valerian, fell into obscurity when compared with the concentrated terrors of that final grapple, which resulted in the destruction of the old Roman Empire and the establishment of the Cross as the symbol of the world’s hope."[9]
Indeed, in spite of the savage storm of persecution that rage Empire-wide, Christianity flourished. Perhaps seeing the futility of such violence, or maybe just reflecting upon his life as he neared death, in 311 Galerius himself changed his course and declared toleration for Christianity.
Why have we reviewed that history? To demonstrate how persecution has always made the Church stronger. Through the ages to come, in fact, more persecution raged and each time it was made stronger. True Christians have been persecuted in Communist countries, Muslim countries, and Roman Catholic dominated lands. In today’s atmosphere of toleration for false teaching, however, many professed Christians do not stand for the absolute Truth of God’s Word. A growing number of Christians today compromise the Truth and tolerate virtually any teaching. Most of us have no idea what it means to stand for Truth as did those in the Early Church. We cannot help but ask, How many professed Christians today, if threatened with torture or death, would deny the Savior and even make “sacrifices to the gods?”
So with the words, Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer, our Lord Jesus repeats the principle He uttered in Matthew 10:28 as he predicted future persecution, “Fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” May we not be afraid to suffer for our Lord.
Faithful is the Greek pistos, a very important word in the Christian life; it means “faithful, trusted, certain, reliable, consistent.” History tells us that some believers feared the thought of horrible death, but may we remember that our Savior asks nothing of us that He Himself has not already experienced. And, what’s more, he experienced it all for us; can we not do the same for Him? God not only demands faith, but also fidelity. Are we be willing to be faithful even unto death? We see this principle again in our last point.
(but thou art rich) . . . I will give thee a crown of life . . . He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.
In closing, the Lord Jesus gives two wonderful encouragements to the believers at Smyrna.
What a dramatic statement that was in the face of their utter destitution! Moreover, what a contrast this is with the church at Laodicea (see Chapter 8). When we study that church, we will discover that it was rich and satisfied (3:17), but in contrast the church at Smyrna was poor and glorified. The Greek for rich is plousios (English “plutocrat”) which means “wealthy, abounding in material resources.” Obviously, the Lord does not use it in its literal sense. What He says here is: True wealth is the enrichment of spiritual character, not the possession of material things. In that sense, we are truly God’s plutocrats. The world tells us that wealth is money in the bank and various investments, but true wealth is the Lord Jesus and spiritual values.
This is one of the five crowns promised to the believer in Scripture. The Lord here reinforces the promise given in James 1:12: “Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.” There is no reason to fear suffering and death because we have eternal life, but deeper still is the fact that we will be specially honoured if we have endured suffering with grace and dependency. As Paul wrote to the Philippian believers, “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Phil. 1:21).
Our Lord then sums up in verse 11 by saying that we are “overcomers,” that is, victors. Paul knew this when he wrote, “We are more than conquerors through Him that loved us” (Rom. 8:37, emphasis added). The world thinks it is victorious, but only those who are in Christ can know true victory. As commentator Lehman Strauss writes, “Christ was not telling His suffering saints to ‘keep a stiff upper lip,’ or to ‘keep your chin up,’ or ‘keep smiling,’ or ‘grin and bear it.’ What He told them was to depend on Him.” May we humbly add, He was also telling them that there is life and glory to come.
The church at Smyrna has rightly been called, “The poor little rich church.” How true that description is. While they experienced physical death, they did not hurt of the second death, that is, they did not experience spiritual death. So as our Lord says again, He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches, may each of us listen to our Lord’s words in this letter. May each of us look at our own life and ask, “Am I truly rich by God’s standards?” Can we then look at our Local Church and see a group of believers who are truly rich and willing to suffer anything for our Savior? As I shared from the pulpit when I delivered this study, I don’t want to pastor the Church at Ephesus. I want to pastor the Church at Smyrna, where all of us are willing to suffer for Christ.
[1] Zodhiates, p. 736.
[2] Historical sources for the following periods: Kenneth Scott Latourette, A History of Christianity, Revised Edition, Vol. 1 (New York: Harper Collins, 1953, 1975); George Park Fisher, History of the Christian Church (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1893); Henry Sheldon, History of the Christian Church, Vol. 1 (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1988); Earle Cairns, Christianity Through the Centuries (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1954); Philip Schaff, History of the Christian Church, Vol. II (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1973, originally published in 1910 by Scribners); Henry Bettenson, Documents of the Christian Church (New York: Oxford, 1963); Elgin Moyer, Great Leaders of the Christian Church (Chicago: Moody Press, 1951); Will Durant, The Story of Civilization, Vol. III: Caesar and Christ (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1944).
[3] Latourette, Vol. 1, p. 85.
[4] According to Durant. Others say his cousin.
[5] Shaff, however, maintains that John was exiled by Nero but cites no sources.
[6] Schaff writes, “The persecution of the church at Smyrna and the martyrdom of its venerable bishop, which was formerly assigned to the year 167, under the reign of Marcus Aurelius, took place, according to more recent research, under Antoninus in 155, when Statius Quadratus was proconsul in Asia Minor,” and goes on to list several sources.
[7] J. B. Lightfoot translation in Apostolic Fathers.
[8] Fisher, p. 49.
[9] Arthur James Mason in his book The Persecution of Diocletian; cited by Shaff.