We began last week taking a look at the seven churches that Jesus writes letters to and are recorded in Revelation chapters 2 & 3. We are using these letters to both learn how to walk a worthy walk and evaluate the walk we are walking.

Last week we began with the first letter which was to the church in Ephesus, a church that had lost their first love, their love for Christ. They were a very busy church with many ministries, but Jesus tells them they are doing these things for all the wrong reasons. The healing prescription He gave them was threefold: Remember, Repent, and Repeat. Remember from where they had fallen. Repent of where they were at. Repeat the things they did at first.

Jesus also offered them a word of warning and a word of invitation. If they did not repent, He would remove their lampstand meaning their church. If they did repent, they would eat of the tree of life in paradise.

In His second recorded letter, Jesus writes to the church in Smyrna. This is a church that is only mentioned by name here in revelation, but don’t let that mislead you. Smyrna was no insignificant city and the Church there was one of only two that receives no rebuke from the Lord in His letters.

The city of Smyrna in the first century reviled any great city in Asia Minor. In fact, Smyrna was often called the “jewel” or “crown” of Asia in that day. It was a harbor city on the Aegean Sea about 40 miles north of Ephesus. The city remains to this day. It is now a major city in Turkey with a population of approximately 2.8 million. The modern name is Izmir.

In the first century, it was considered a top ranked city for culture, education, and medicine. When it came to religion there were numerous temples that catered to pagan worship of false gods.

Of all the temples to false gods the city had, one of them stands out for our study today. Smyrna had one temple dedicated to Caesar and the worship of Caesar. In fact, the citizens of Smyrna were required once a year to go to the temple of Caesar and proclaim, “Caesar is Lord.”

We can quickly see how this would be a major problem for any Christian. I won’t tell the whole story of Polycarp, but let me share the simplified version.

Polycarp in his early years was discipled by John the Apostle. Polycarp would continue in the faith until he would become in early second century a bishop in Smyrna. When Polycarp was 86 years old, he was accused by the Jews of being a traitor to Caesar. He was brought to the stadium there in Smyrna, which held 20,000 people.

The magistrate told Polycarp before the crowd that he would be required to deny his Lord and proclaim Caesar as Lord or be burned at the stake. Polycarp replied in part “I would rather burn in the fires of this world than the fires of eternity.”

It is recorded that this happened on the Sabbath, but that the Jews were willing to break Sabbath to carry the wood to make sure Polycarp burned. When they began to try and bind Polycarp to the stake, he told them “there was no need, for his love of the Lord Jesus would be enough to keep him there.

They did not bind him, and he never moved as the fire was raged. In fact, while the fire was raging it is recorded that Polycarp could be heard praying and praising Jesus as Lord. Eventually, as he did not die quickly, he was run through with the sword several times. Accounts differ on why exactly that happened. Some say it was because God protected him from the fires. Some say it was because the soldiers wanted to show mercy. Still others say it was to stop his praise of Jesus as Lord.

For me, there is no reason all of these cannot be true simultaneously.

This is the picture of the early Church in Smyrna. A Church by the way unlike Ephesus that has remained there in Smyrna, now Izmir continually since the first century.

It is in this light, the light of Christ shining brightly, but with great tribulation that we read the letter of Jesus to the Church in Smyrna.

Revelation 2:8: ⁸ “And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: ‘The words of the first and the last, who died and came to life.

Jesus begins His letter to Smyrna just as He did with Ephesus. He lays out His authority. He does so here by using the very title of God given in the Old Testament by Isaiah. “The words of the first and the last.”

Not only do these words lay out His authority, but also His compassion. He assures every Christian that through every trial and tribulation, for every up and down of life, He is here from beginning to end.

Jesus also lays out His authority by being the One who has overcome death. Again, we see not only His authority, but the hope that resides in Him because of deaths defeat. Since Jesus has already conquered the worst that we could possibly face, death, who better to put our faith and trust in than the victor to whom goes the spoils.

Revelation 2:9: ⁹ “‘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.

Smyrna was certainly not a poor city in the 1^st century. The average citizen was in poverty, but Christians were not average citizens in Smyrna.

First, many Christians were slaves to begin with. Second, in Smyrna even those who were not lost everything for the sake of Christ. Their faithfulness in not denying Christ as Lord made them outcasts. They could not find work; they could not go to the marketplace in public without fear of persecution and even death.

Still, we see Jesus here reminding these faithful disciples, in that same compassion and hope, that even though they may lost everything, they are rich. The reminder that for the disciple of Christ hope is not found within the things, the riches, of this world, but instead it is found in Christ alone.

The problem for these Christians in Smyrna was really twofold.

First, they were facing persecution from the pagan world around them for their dedication to Christ. Second, this persecution was being stoked by the Jews who were keeping things stirred up because of their hatred for Christians.

We see this very thing in the martyr of Polycarp as the Jews are willing to break Sabbath, the Law they hold so dear, to literally stoke the fires by carrying the wood.

Here Jesus puts it very succinctly. He sees these people not as Jews, the synagogue of God, but instead as the “synagogue of Satan.”

By the way, Jesus still sees that today. When the self-proclaimed religious of any day come against those who claim Christ as Lord, they are doing the work of Satan. Christ Jesus is declaring boldly that “you are either for me or against me” there is no middle ground. That was true in the 1^st century and it’s just as true in the 21^st century.

Revelation 2:10: ¹⁰ 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.

Jesus warns these Christians that their troubles are not over. When reading this verse, we should not read these 10 days as a literal timeframe. In truth neither the 10 days nor the prison are most likely literal.

In the first century Roman provinces when the destitute were thrown into prison they rarely if ever made it out. They were there to die. Jesus is actually telling them that times are about to get much tougher for a short time. Why is the time short? It’s not because they will then stop facing persecution. It’s because they will die.

Notice Jesus’ own words, “Be faithful unto death.” The tribulation ends in dead, but the encouragement is that is when you receive life out of death just as He did.

Revelation 2:11: ¹¹ 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.’

The one who conquers is who Jesus says will be the one who is not hurt by the second death.

When modern day preachers tell you that you can never loose your salvation, let me encourage you to immediately go back to your Bible and study for yourself to see if that is what it says.

I believe as you do so you will find these preachers are only right in saying such when we the follower of Christ are “faithful unto death.”

While there will not be a single one of us who works our own way to salvation, but instead all of us must rely upon the atoning blood of Jesus our Lord, we are all still called over and over again in scripture to live our lives different than the world. To live our lives in faithful obedience to Christ.

Let me close this out by making a few quick evaluations or comparisons as I had said I was committed to doing throughout this series.

1. You Are Rich

While all of us are living distinct and different lives that have different assets and bank balances, by any standard even in this world we are all rich.

However, because our standard of living is so much greater in this great nation than the majority of the world, we often don’t feel like we are rich.

If you are struggling to buy groceries, pay the car note, keep the electricity on, and yes, even pay the cell phone bill, it’s hard to feel rich. It’s easy for someone to stand up here and tell you that you are rich or for someone else to tell you in order to live properly you need to have a lower standard of living while they have much more than you.

Here is what I can tell each and everyone listening. In Christ Jesus you are rich. There is an inheritance waiting on you that the combined wealth of the all nations cannot even come close to equaling.

It is yours, it is promised to you, so stay strong, stay committed, and stay faithful to Christ Jesus. There is coming a day when all the assets, all the bank accounts, all the measuring sticks we use will be cleared and you will receive your inheritance.

2. You Aren’t Persecuted

We often have such a simplistic view of persecution today that I am not sure any of us really understand what it speaks of in the New Testament.

For many today, someone saying something mean about Christians on social media is grounds to claim persecution. Social media companies using algorithms to cancel Christian thought is our claim to persecution.

These New Testament Christians were beaten, their homes ransacked, burned, and plundered. They were pillaged, jailed, and murdered. That is persecution, and while it still does happen in this world, I venture to say most of us have never faced it.

Now, maybe part of the reason we have not faced it can be contributed to this great country and the freedoms it was founded upon and the blood of so many who have fought to maintain those freedoms.

However, let’s not close out this lesson focused upon these faithful and persecuted Christians in Smyrna without a little honest reflection.

Maybe, just maybe, at least in part the reason we don’t face great persecution is we have grown willing to comply in order to maintain our comfort. To do so we label things off limits to discuss in the church by calling them political issues instead of spiritual ones.

If for every abortion clinic in this country there was a congregation to stand for life and pray for repentance, would we then see persecution?

If for every pride parade in this country we organized a humility parade that called sexual immorality to repentance, would we then see persecution?

If for every doctor performing transgender surgeries on minors there were 10 more doctors crying out that “He made them male and female”, would we then see persecution?

If for every immigrant we removed from our country Christians families sponsored a Christian immigrant family to come here, would we then see persecution?

Remember, it is to the one who conquers that no harm from the second death is promised. It is not to the one who keeps the peace. It is not to the one who stays in the church building, in their home, or in their workplace without speaking the truth of God’s Word that conquers.

Christ calls ALL of His disciples to conquer through compassion, through humility, through hope, through perseverance, through love!