Revelation 2:8-11 - Smyrna (Lesson)

“And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: The words of the first and the last, who died and came to life. 'I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich) and the slander of those who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto 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. The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death.”

      John's Commission was to write “to the angel of the church in Smyrna.” When John wrote the Apocalypse, Polycarp was probably the bishop of the church in Smyrna. His story, which we will look at shortly, is one of the greatest in all of recorded martyrdom, certainly the greatest in Smyrna.

      The city of Smyrna was a very prosperous, affluent society, it was one of the great centers of learning and culture of its day. Although 35 miles inland from the Aegean Sea, it nonetheless was a thriving seaport because of an inlet which provided a fantastic harbor for ocean-going vessels. A lot of commerce passed through its gates as well since almost all of the produce from the highly fertile Hermus valley used the city as a gateway to the rest of the world. Wine was also a high-production item with a lively trade going on. Smyrna was also considered what was called a “free city”. This meant that it was allowed to be self-governed without any interference from the Roman government; in fact, the Roman judges actually used the city for a number of court assemblies.

      Despite these benefits, the Smyrnaeans were very corrupt and used their wealth for the satisfaction of sinful ambitions. Idolatry was very prominent with the temples of Cybele, Apollo, Askelpios, and Aphrodite being some of the main attractions. The great poet Homer had Smyrna as his birthplace and so there was a monument built to him as well. The most lofty and famous of temples though, belonged to the most important of all gods, Zeus. Beyond this, the height of architectural achievement in the city was reached in the crown of buildings which surrounded Mt. Pagos and was known as the Crown of Smyrna. We must remember to not give in to the enemy as the Smyrnaeans (I like that word) did; the corruption of this city was culminated by the integration of emperor worship. David Guzik writes:

“In 23 A.D. Smyrna won the privilege (over 11 other cities) to build the first temple to worship the Emperor Tiberius Caesar. Smyrna was a leading city in the Roman cult of Emperor worship.”

      and Barclay comments:

“Emperor worship had begin as spontaneous demonstration of gratitude to Rome; but toward the end of the first century, in the days of Domitian, the final step was taken and Caesar worship became compulsory. Once a year the Roman citizen must burn a pinch of incense on the altar to the godhead of Caesar; and having done so, he was given a certificate to guarantee that he had performed his religious duty.” and “All that the Christians had to do was to burn that pinch of incense, say, 'Caesar is Lord,' receive their certificate, and go away and worship as they pleased. But that is precisely what the Christians would not do. They would give no man the name of Lord; that name they would keep for Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ alone. They would not even formally conform.”

      Christ then commences the letter with “the words of the first and last, who died and came to life.” J Hampton Keathley, III notes that:

“Smyrna had been a Greek colony as far back as 1000 B.C. Around 600 B.C. it was invaded and destroyed by the Lydeans and for 400 years there was no city there at all. Then around 200 B.C. Lysimachus had it rebuilt as a planned and unified whole. It was built with streets that were broad, straight, sweeping, and beautifully paved. The city had experienced death and had literally been brought back to life. It is undoubtedly because of Smyrna’s historical past, Christ refers to Himself as, 'He who was dead and has come to life.'”

      As a side note, the architect who planned the city did a great job on almost everything, except for the fact that he somehow forgot to plan for gutters and sewage control; so every time the rains fell, the city stunk! The city came to be known for that fact eventually. One of their goddesses, Cybele, was the goddess of the annual resurrection, the spring of the seasons. Christ too lays claim to a resurrection, but His is the true resurrection. Because He has overcome death, He can offer the crown of life to believers without falsehood. The Son of Man is also the eternal one, both the first and the last, there is nothing greater than Him. Even though the Christians in Smyrna were to undergo harsh persecution shortly, they could take refuge in the knowledge that Christ too had been killed; but, like Him, they had a resurrection awaiting them on the other side.

      This is one of only two churches that Christ proclaims a commendation towards without following it up with a condemnation. “I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich) and the slander of those who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.” Tony Garland brings to light for us the fact that

“The connection between tribulation and poverty is found in the likelihood that their goods were plundered due to persecution for their faith (Heb. 10:34). How contrary is the condition of the church at Smyrna from that of the church in Laodicea which was lacking persecution and abounding in goods (Rev. 3:17). Yet, the Smyrnaean church received no word of condemnation while the Laodicean church received no word of commendation!”

      We as believers ought to press on towards the goal of Christ-likeness; how much better to part of the poor rich church than the rich poor church. The poverty of the Christians in Smyrna was not just a down-on-their-luck kind of poverty, it was desperate destitution. It is possible and even probable that the Jews were taking advantage of the Christians financially as it is highly unusual for only the Christians to be so poor in such an affluent society, something had to be going on. They literally had absolutely nothing, from this we can see that riches truly have no spiritual value. Riches are just like technology and the internet. All of these things are not inherently bad, they just allow us to do the evil or good in our hearts faster than we would otherwise be able to. They polarize people. Here in Smyrna, the believers had no riches and that could have made them sour misers or satisfied saints, they chose to be satisfied with what they had and give God glory for His provision. Their hearts were good and it showed. Proverbs 13:7 speaks about those who are poor yet pretend to be rich and vice versa.

      The “Jews … who are not” were one of two kinds of people: a) they were physical Jews but not spiritual, or b) they were proselytes who pretended but failed in their efforts to be true Jews. I believe that they were physical Jews because of the reference to the synagogue and because Scripture speaks very plainly, but they were obviously not Jews at heart. Many people involved in Judaism when this letter was written were anti-Christian because acceptance of the Christians into their religious system would mean heat from the Roman government. A lot of Jews were willing to offer their pinch of incense to Caesar in order to escape oppression but the Christians would not. Because the Jews were more complacent and less stringent about their religious convictions, the Romans allowed them greater freedom and flexibility. The Christians started out as what was considered a radical branch of Judaism, but when they started causing civil problems by their refusal to worship the emperor, the Jews did their best to disown them and draw lines of separation. Particularly in Smyrna, second only to Rome in emperor worship, the Christians got a lot of pressure and the Jews emphatically resented the true church of Christ. Colin J. Hemer in The Letters to the Seven Churches of Asia in Their Local Setting, states that

“The most striking instance [of persecution by Jews] actually relates to Smyrna: the Jews gathered fuel on the Sabbath for the burning of Polycarp.”

      There was almost no condition under which Jews would work on the Sabbath, so it is evidence for the false-at-heart view and the idea of hate for Christians that these Jews would voluntarily gather wood on the Sabbath in order to burn Polycarp, an iconic Christian of his day.

      The cremation of Polycarp at the stake is a story worth telling. Polycarp was an old man when he was martyred. Somehow he got word that the Romans were coming after him for the purpose of forcing him to succumb to pressure and worship the emperor while renouncing his faith. Polycarp knew that he did not want to die just yet and also could not fulfill this obligation to the government, so he hid out on a farm. While at the farm, Polycarp had a dream in which his pillow burned up, and from that surmised that he must be burnt at the stake. Meanwhile, the Romans tortured one of his servant girls until she confessed his whereabouts, and the Romans came to arrest him. The Roman who was in charge was embarrassed to capture such a weak, frail man and pleaded with him all the way back to the city to renounce his faith, offer the pinch of incense, and be on his way. Polycarp declined, and so was brought before the crowd to be executed. The mob of people shouted for him to be thrown to the wild beasts where several other Christians had left this world earlier that day, but the crowd was refused because the beasts had just been put away. They then called for him to be burnt at the stake. The wood was gathered and heaped in a mound, and then Polycarp was led to the stake. He told the guards that there was no reason to bind him; he knew his time was up. A match was struck and the fire blazed up to the sky. However, Polycarp remained untouched! The guards had worked up quite a bit of anger by this time and so one of them stabbed Polycarp in the side; as a result, blood gushed from his side and seemed to put out the fire. Witnesses say that they saw heard a voice from heaven and saw a figure like a dove ascend in the smoke to heaven. I pieced that together from several different commentaries, and since I wasn't there, I can't tell you that every bit of it is credible, but I think you get the gist of what occurred that day.

      Jesus then skips from the commendation to the command, “Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.” Tony Garland explains to us that

“God often warns his servants prior to a time of trial. This gives the saints His perspective and great hope knowing that He recognizes what they are going through and yet it remains within His sovereign will and purpose to leave them there”

      Believers must recognize the spiritual power behind persecution, God is the one who allows the devil to bring trials into our lives. He allows us to be tried for a purpose, we must trust in God for endurance and in His sovereign plan that will eventually bring the hard times to a close. Richard Chenevix Trench points out that

“God [is] sifting and winnowing the man to separate his chaff from his wheat, [and] the devil [is] sifting and winnowing him in the hope that nothing else but chaff will be found in him (Luke 22:31).”

      In the case of Job, God went so far as to suggest a believer for Satan to try, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?” Testing does not come from God in order for God to figure out who we are and how we will act under pressure; rather, God brings it about so that He can prove to Satan that those who are His will remain His forever, saving faith perseveres. God also brings persecution about so that we can learn who we really are; it is so easy to become self-deluded and think that we have overcome sin in totum, but trials show us the areas where we still need work and prove the areas that are correct.

      The phrase “for ten days” has been taken in a multitude of different ways, for example: 1) an expression of speech meaning a short time, 2) 10 years of persecution under Diocletian, 3) persecution under 10 emperors (Nero, Domitian, Trajan, Adrian [or Hadrian], Septimus Severus, Maximin, Decius, Valerian, Aurelian, and Diocletian), or 4) 10 days is 240 hours, and the 240 hours is the 240 years from 85 A.D. - 325 A.D., the beginning and end of a season of persecution. They just get worse and worse, I believe that when Christ says something, He means to say it and doesn't accidentally say the wrong thing. These are ten literal days. David Guzik comments that

“Being thrown into prison was severe persecution. In that day, prison was never used to rehabilitate someone, and rarely used to punish someone. Normally, you were thrown into prison as you awaited trial and execution.”

      The believers were commanded to be faithful, but they were not promised that it would be easy. Faithfulness is an unwavering commitment, the Smyrnaean Christians could not budge an inch. They, in many ways, were at the doorstep of Satan's dwelling. If they allowed him even the slightest foothold against them, they would have a very difficult time ridding themselves of him, they could not retreat from battle. This persecution purged the church of all who were not true believers since they could not withstand the foe, they did not have the commitment to faith in Christ that true Christians possess. History tells us that the Smyrnaeans succeeded in holding down the fort because the city is still around, and the church of God still has its place in the city.

      Christ promised them a crown of life as a reward. In the Greek, there are two words for crown, one is the crown of a king, the other is the crown of a victorious athlete who has overcome the test of his strength, ability, and endurance. Christ uses the second, stephanos, here indicating that the believers were in a life and death contest with Satan, they held fast to Christ as believers or fell away as pretenders. This was a crown of joy of rejoicing, not the crown symbolizing the burdens and responsibilities of a king, those days will be past when this crown is to be bestowed upon believers. For the residents of Smyrna, this crown held an especially important meaning. The crowning achievement of the work of the Smyrnaeans was the circle of buildings on Mount Pagos that looked like and was known as the Crown of Smyrna. For the believer, the crown of life was the crowning achievement of their life's service to Christ. Christ's coming is also hinted at because He has to be present in order to award the crown.

      Lastly, the challenge is issued, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death.” This is very simple, the one who is faithful to Christ may be persecuted, they may be tortured, they may be martyred, but they will not be hurt by the second death. There is only one death and one life that humans have any sort of control over. The new life and second death are in the hands of the Lord. The life that He gives is eternal, there is no death; and the death that He gives is eternal, there is no life. To the one who overcomes is given eternal life with no more weeping, mourning, sadness, pain, suffering, separation (from God), and death.