The second church to receive a letter in Revelation was Smyrna. This daily devotional looks at how Jesus encouraged them to prepare them for persecution.
Devotions in the Pastor Steve Sermon Series
“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’” (Rev. 2: 8-11 ESV)
In this devotion, we begin our study on the Church of Smyrna. In an effort to lay some foundation on our study, I am going to give you some historical background regarding Smyrna.
Smyrna, an ancient city now surrounded by the modern city of Izmir, was originally established around 1000 BC by Aeolian Greek settlers in “Old Smyrna” (Bayraklı Höyüğü) on a small peninsula jutting out from Asia Minor into the Aegean Sea, similar to Old Tyre.
It was in this Old Smyrna that the famous Greek poet Homer, author of the epics the Iliad and the Odyssey, was probably born around 850 BC. A shrine to Homer stood in the Roman period (Herodotus, Histories; Strabo, Geography; coins of Smyrna).
Then, just after the time of Alexander the Great in the late 4th century BC, a “new” Smyrna was built by the Seleucids along the coast and up the slopes of Mount Pagos/Kadifekale (Strabo, Geography). This region eventually became part of Asia Province during the Roman period. Smyrna, between Ephesus and Pergamum, developed into a wealthy port city and one of the most important cities of the province, with a population of nearly 100,000 residents (Yamauchi, New Testament Cities in Western Asia Minor).
During the Roman period, Smyrna was apparently a city of great beauty and impressive architecture that circled Mount Pagus like a “crown” (Philostratus, Apollonius of Tyana; Strabo, Geography; cf. Revelation 2:10 “crown of life”). Walking through the city, one would a see many things.
- the Ephesian gate
- a gymnasium
- a stadium
- a theater (holding 20,000)
- temples to Zeus (including a large altar), Cybele (the Mother Goddess), Aphrodite, Dionysius, and the Emperors (probably Tiberius in 26 AD and Domitian before 96 AD),
- the harbor
- a library, and
- a massive agora with a bema on the west and a basilica on the north (McRay, Archaeology and the New Testament; Strabo, Geography; Vitruvius; Jones, “Heracles at Smyrna”; Hasluck, “Dionysos at Smyrna”).
As Smyrna was severely damaged by an earthquake in 178 AD, the Roman period city was repaired or rebuilt in the 2nd century AD, but most of the structures and layout are probably substantially the same as in the 1st century (Strabo, Geography).
With a long history of ties to Rome, Smyrna was an obvious choice for an imperial temple in Asia (Cicero, Pro Flacco). Along with the other cities of Asia Province, Smyrna competed for the honor of building a temple to Tiberius in 26 AD, winning the honor and becoming the “temple warden” of the imperial cult (Tacitus, Annals; Lewis, “Sulla and Smyrna”).
In the 2nd century AD, Smyrna built another imperial temple to Hadrian. Along with inscriptions honoring the emperors and statues of Domitian and Trajan, coins issued by the city often depicted emperors and even the imperial temples, so it is obvious that Smyrna was dedicated to the worship of the emperor and the imperial cult.
Letter to Smyrna
In the book of Revelation, John addressed his second letter to Smyrna, as it was located just north of Ephesus and next on the semicircular route of the seven churches of Asia Province (Revelation 1:11; McRay, Archaeology and the New Testament). The reference to Jesus as the one “who was dead and has come to life” may have been used in the letter for this particular city due to its rebuilding and resurgence (Revelation 2:8).
In the letter to Smyrna, John remarked that the Christians in Smyrna had experienced oppression and that they were “poor” but also rich, alluding to the reputation of the city as pagan and wealthy (Rev. 2: 8-9). The letter then goes on to mention blasphemy by Jews who are actually part of a “synagogue of Satan,” and in the future that some of the Christians will be thrown into prison, but that they must be faithful until death (Rev. 2: 9-10).
Written during the time of Domitian and Christian persecution, the church at Smyrna faced even more opposition than most. This was due to the strong influence of emperor worship in the city, which at that time was required by law and punishable by imprisonment or death.
An interpretation of the reference to the “synagogue of Satan” is tentative, but it may refer to Jews who not only opposed Christianity, but also participated in the imperial cult. Like many other cities of Asia Minor, there was a significant community of Jews, including at least one synagogue (Rev. 2: 9; Josephus, Antiquities).
Unfortunately, many of these Jews were fiercely opposed to Christianity. Just as Paul and his friends had been opposed and attacked by Jews in other cities, the Christians in Smyrna also faced persecution from not only the pagans, but the Jews. Polycarp, who had known and been taught by John the Apostle, was martyred in Smyrna at the instigation of Jews in about 156 AD (Martyrdom of Polycarp; Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History). The 2nd century Church bishop and apologist Irenaeus was born in Smyrna, and knew Polycarp in his youth, although he relocated to Lyon in Gaul to lead the local church there.
Why is all this important?
For us to have a better understanding of what Jesus is talking about to the Church in Smyrna, we must understand the times that they were living in, as well as the environment that they lived in. Thus, we can have a better idea of what Jesus was speaking to them about.
Ephesus Compared to Smyrna
Let’s begin our study …
In verse 8 of Revelation 2, notice the difference in how Jesus describes Himself here compared to the letter to the Church of Ephesus. He goes from “… The words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands” in Revelation 2: 1 (ESV) to “… The words of the first and the last, who died and came to life” (Rev. 2: 8 ESV) in the letter to Smyrna .
I think Jesus had a reason for that. You see, the Ephesian church thought they had it all going just right, but they had lost their first love. So, Jesus needed to remind them what they had lost. It important to remember that in Ephesus, the believed that they were doing ok in all things God. But the reality is, they weren’t doing much of anything right, because they were doing things out of their flesh instead of out of their spirits. This is counter to what God wants us to do.
The Smyrna church was very persecuted and needed to know that Jesus was going to be with them until the very end. If you have ever had times in your life where nothing ever seemed to go right, no matter what you did and you ended up feeling discouraged because of it, you may have some idea of what the church in Smyrna needed. The encouragement that Christ gave them was true and hopefully gave them faith to go on.
Jesus says in Revelation 22: 13 that “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end” (ESV). That means He was here in the beginning, and He will be here in the end.
In the Greek alphabet, Alpha is the first letter and Omega is the last letter. It would be very much the same thing if Jesus said he is the A and the Z. That doesn’t sound nearly as cool as alpha and omega, but it has the same idea behind it.
The Suffering of Smyrna
Did Jesus even care that they were suffering?
Jesus assures them that He is aware of their suffering and poverty in which they found themselves. As I said above, it’s very easy to get into a mindset that makes us become discouraged and feel that God doesn’t even care about what’s going on it our lives. Jesus wanted to address that.
The people of Smyrna believed that they were poor, apparently, suffering very much. We don’t know for certain if that is poor financially, poor in spirit, poor in faith, or whatever. We aren’t told that. We are only told that they thought that they were poor.
Jesus encouraged them by telling them that they think that they are poor, but they are actually rich. No doubt, the sound of that probably made them think, “What you talkin’ about Jesus?” But the reality was that they were much richer than they realized.
Rich, not Poor
Why were they rich instead of poor as they thought?
The people of Smyrna were very rich in spiritual things! While it is true God cares about every facet of our lives, He cares far more about our spiritual lives than He does about how much money we have.
The Apostle Paul said in Philippians 4:12, “I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need” (ESV).
Paul had known the best in life and the worst in life. When he wrote this letter to the Philippians, he was under house arrest in Rome; chained to at least four different guards throughout the day. He was also waiting for his sentencing, not knowing if he was going to die at any moment or not.
And yet through all that Paul experienced in his life before and even in his arrest in Rome, he found himself able to experience joy and contentment through Jesus.
So, given that, how much more could the church in Smyrna be rich in spiritual things? Certainly no worse off than Paul was. Jesus was saying, “you are much richer than you realize.” What’s more, he was indirectly praising them for their great spiritual being.
OK, sounds good. What’s next?
In verse 10 of Revelation 2, Jesus continued to encourage them to be faithful, even during the time where what He was warning them would take place. They were about to be persecuted even more.
There were certain Jews in Smyrna who claimed to be something that they were not. They were from a ”… synagogue of Satan” (Rev. 2: 9 NKJV), as Jesus called them. They were working for the devil, not God. So, they would be persecuting the people of Smyrna even more.
But Jesus is saying here, “don’t be afraid!”
I believe that it is no accident that “Don’t be afraid” occurs 365 times in the Bible. That’s one for every day of the year.
Clearly, God does not want us to be afraid when certain circumstances come about to be afraid of. He desires that we have faith that he will see us through.
How do I know this?
God promises to see us through the trying times. For example, in Isaiah 43:2 he said,” When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you” (ESV).
God also said in Jeremiah 32:40 “I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them. And I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me” (ESV).
While there are more places to see this in sort of faith-building verses, here’s one last one for good measure. In Matthew 28:20 he said,” teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (ESV)
God will always be with me?
Absolutely. He will be with you, me, and every other believer in Christ, until the very end. What more can we need to not fear.
How Do We Apply This?
OK, that’s great for those in the Biblical times, but what about now?
We can count on these promises for ourselves today! To the end of the age pretty much means until the end of time.
Is that encouraging enough? I know, it’s hard to grab onto such things as this. I still struggle with fear myself more than I want to admit.
But there comes a point in our life of faith that we must decide if God was lying to us or not. If He is, He isn’t the one true God. If He isn’t, then we need to believe in Him. Our faith counts on it.
When we strive to live a Christian life, we will have trials and tribulations. We can count on it. The Bible says in 2 Timothy 3:12, “Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (ESV).
You must ask yourself, what are you going to do when that happens, knowing that it will happen.
OK, we’ve decided, now what?
God promises to reward us due to our obedience of Him. Here is no exception. Jesus told the church in Smyrna in Revelation 2: 10 that they would be tested for a little while, but those who are faithful to the end would receive the Crown of Life. The ultimate promise/reward from God is to those who endure to the end: the crown of life.
Some pastors teach that the crown of life is eternal life. If that was the case, then salvation wouldn’t be a free gift from God. The crown of life is a special reward for a special act of service and dedication to the King. We are rewarded with the crown of life for being faithful until the end.
What would you do if you knew you were likely to be killed for your faith soon? How would you react? Would it cause you to lose you faith and run away? Or would it cause you to draw closer to grow closer to God.
I encourage to read the Book of Philippians and understand where Paul was at in his joy of the Lord. He was in jail; knowing he could die at any time; yet he said he had joy.
Heavenly Father, help us to understand what you are saying to the church in Smyrna and help us to apply that to our faith walk with you. Let us see and experience the joy in our hearts that the Apostle Paul had, so that we can walk without fear as he did. Amen!
What do you think?
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