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Revelation 2:8-11
This part of the book of Revelation
comprises seven letters which are written to seven different churches in Asia
Minor. This week we’re looking at the second letter, written to the
church in Smyrna. As we read, let’s remember that it may be the Apostle
John who has written this letter down, it is the Risen Christ who is
speaking these words to the churches. So let’s hear what Christ has to
say to the churches: Rev 2:8-11:-
To the angel of the church in Smyrna write:
These are the words of Him who is the First and the Last, who died
and came to life again. I know your affliction and your poverty yet you are
rich! I know the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but
are a synagogue of Satan. Do not be afraid of what you are about to
suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you,
and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the
point of 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. He who overcomes will
not be hurt at all by the second death.
Christians follow a crucified man. Jesus’ life was a life of poverty,
slander, persecution, false accusation, and brutal execution. If you
follow Jesus, you go the way of Jesus. And His followers down through the
centuries have found that a life faithful to Christ means a life
characterized by suffering.
The more like Jesus you are – the more
likely it is you will be killed. But this has not stopped the church of
Jesus Christ spreading throughout the world. In fact, the opposite has
occurred. The pattern has almost always been - people die for Christ and
the church spreads One early saying of the church was that “the blood of
the martyrs is seed.”
In the second century – just decades
after the book of Revelation was written, a Christian named Polycarp was
put to death by the Romans. He was so convinced that Christ is Lord that
when the Romans tried to force him to declare that Caesar was Lord – he
refused. He chose to die rather than renounce the name of Jesus.
History records that when the Romans
arrived at his house to arrest him and take him to execution, Polycarp
made no effort to flee. He invited them in and actually gave a meal to
his executioners. Then he asked them if he’d be allowed to pray for an
hour and the soldiers allowed him. On the way to the arena where he was
to be killed the Roman officer offered him a very simple way out. He said
to Polycarp “Swear by the genius of Caesar: deny the Christ.” As simple
as that. Just ‘deny the Christ’ – say a few words and Polycarp could have
escaped his brutal execution – being torn apart by wild animals.
Well he refused and as they entered
the arena, the Roman officer was amazed that this Christian was still
holding to the name of Christ. He asked him whether he saw the wild
beasts that were there ready to devour him. Polycarp said simply – “Bid
them come!” The officer was incensed and so decided to change the method
of execution. He said “Since you scorn the wild beasts, we’ll see if you
also scorn the flames”. He decided rather than throw him to the wild
beasts, he’d burn Polycarp alive. Many from the town gleefully built a
massive pyre with which to burn this old man. All the while he simply
prayed to his Lord. When they came to tie him to the stake to be burnt,
Polycarp said it would not be necessary to tie him up. He was so
accepting of his martyrdom that he promised to remain unbound in the
flames as he burnt alive. And that is exactly what happened. He died an
agonizing death because he was determined to be faithful even to the
point of death.
Now why am I telling you this story.
It’s not the most remarkable martyrdom in Christian history. There are
much more gruesome and courageous stories of faithful Christians under
persecution. Why have I picked on Polycarp?
Well he was the leader of the church
in Smyrna, which is the very place Jesus addresses here in Revelation
chapter 2. Polycarp was Bishop of Smyrna and what I find striking is how
well he had learnt the lessons which Christ wanted to teach here in this
letter.
The sufferings of Polycarp should not
have taken anyone by surprise. Smyrna has been warned by none other than
the Lord Jesus here in the pages of Scripture. Have a look at Jesus’
assessment of this church in verses 9 and 10.
In the space of just two verses Jesus
paints such a daunting picture of the pressures the Christians felt. Let
me just pick out all the things this church has to deal with (vv 9 and
10):
Afflictions, poverty, slander, Satan,
fear, suffering, the devil, prison, persecution and death.
That is a snapshot of all that the
Christians in Smyrna are to face. And Jesus says they are not to face it
fearfully but faithfully.
Verse 10: Jesus says “Do not be afraid
of what you are about to suffer.” Rather, He says, “Be faithful, even to
the point of death.”
Jesus is able to address a church
undergoing that kind of suffering and He can enable it, not only to
survive such opposition but to flourish. Jesus can give a suffering group
of people something so precious and life-changing that they can face
suffering and death without fear and full of faith.
That’s what makes this letter a letter
for all of us here. Christ tells us how to live well when affliction and
poverty and slander and Satan and persecution and fear and suffering and
death threaten us from every side. In the midst of trouble Christ can
give us something that will help us to live well. And if we can’t live
well in the midst of trouble, then we can’t live well at all. Life is
full of trouble – maybe people aren’t threatening to burn you alive but
if you choose to go Jesus’ way, your life and mine will be characterized
by trouble so we need to hear how to live well through this.
I’ll highlight this morning three
areas where we must adjust our vision so that we can stand up under
suffering. Three things we need to get straight so that we can stride
through a trouble filled life with calm fearlessness. The first thing (as
it has been throughout this series) is to get the original source right.
[SLIDE – Original Source]
Christ is the author of this letter
and He describes Himself as, v8, ‘the First and the Last, who died and
came to life again.’
[SLIDE – Christ is bigger than you think …]
The first thing to re-adjust our
faulty vision is to see that Christ is bigger than we ordinarily think.
Verse 8 – He is the First and the Last. What does that mean?
Well it’s a common phrase throughout
the Bible that Jesus uses for Himself. Sometime He says He’s the First
and the Last, sometimes He says He’s the Beginning and the End and
sometimes He says He’s the Alpha and the Omega (that’s the first and last
letters of the greek alphabet) – a bit like saying I am the A-Z of life.
That’s what Jesus says about Himself, He is the First and the Last – He
is the starting point for all things and He is the goal of all things.
Let’s think for a second what that
means. What does it mean that He is the First – the starting point for
all things?
Well before anything else was – before
the heavens and the earth were created – Christ was there. He has always
been the beloved Son of God the Father and before anything else was,
Christ was there at the right hand of His Father. Jesus was before all
things. And then the universe was created. The Father made all things
through Jesus and for Jesus. As a love gift to His Son, the Father made
all things with and through Jesus. You could think of it like Christ
being the bubble ring through whom God breathed out the universe. It all
came through Jesus. All things in heaven and on earth conforms to
Christ’s character and personality. He is the starting point for
everything – the First, the Beginning, the Alpha. He is God the Son who
is from everlasting to everlasting and He controls everything in between.
That is a very precious truth if you
are suffering for Jesus. If you’re making your stand for Jesus and it
looks like everyone is against you and you’re finding it really tough –
you need to know that you are living in Jesus’ universe. It might feel
like the whole world is against you but reality is that the whole world
belongs to Jesus who made it, who owns it and who controls it. And
ultimately in Jesus’ world, Jesus’ people triumph.
That’s what it means that Jesus is the
Last. Jesus is the First – all things came from Him, but He’s also the
Last – all things are coming to Him.
That’s what it means that all things
were created by Him and for Him. Everything in heaven and earth is for
Jesus. There is not one square inch of this universe that Jesus Christ
cannot say of it “That’s mine.” Jesus is the Last – He is the One who
will wrap up history as we know it when He returns because He is the goal
of history. He is the goal of everything and everyone. We are all judged
ultimately and eternally by Jesus Christ. All we are and all we do is
lived in His world, under His authority heading to His perfect judgment
upon us. He is First and the Last, the Beginning and the End, the A-Z of
reality.
I wonder how big your view of Jesus
is. Is your view of Jesus Christ – that Eternal Cosmic Divine Creator and
Judge of all things? Or is Jesus just another man to you? Is He the founder
of the universe or just the founder of a religion. The Bible assures us
He is the First and the Last. You came from Him and you are headed back
to Him. If you’re not already on speaking terms with Him, it’s definitely
time you got acquainted.
Because what you will find when you
meet with this Cosmic Christ is NOT a cold, loveless dictator. When you
meet Christ you will meet the one “who (v8) died and came to life again.”
That should strike us. I am the First
and the Last, who died…
The author of life, died. Who is it who hangs on the cross – the First
and the Last, the Creator and Judge of the world.
This reminds us that the God we
worship is not distant and unconcerned about our suffering. In the throne
room of heaven right now, the seat of power is occupied by Christ – who
died and rose again.
These Christians in Smyrna needed to
hear this description of Christ. The One who is in charge of the universe
has been through persecution, suffering and death – and He’s come out the
other side. Christ is not asking them to endure anything He hasn’t
endured Himself. Jesus introduces Himself as the original source as not
simply the God of the sufferers but the God who suffers!
What a comfort when we’re suffering to
know that Christ Himself knows our pain. Do you see in the passage –
verse 9, He says “I know your affliction and your poverty.” Christ knows
affliction and poverty all too well – and not just by observing it –
Christ has experienced it. We have a wonderful Saviour whose strength we
can rely on and whose weakness we can take heart from.
It certainly made an impact on those
in Smyrna. When Polycarp was asked to deny the Christ, he showed that
he’d learnt well the original source of this letter. He replied to his
executioner “I have served my Lord for 86 years and He has done me no
harm. How can I deny my King who saved me?”
How can I deny my King who saved me?
How can anyone deny the First and the Last, who died and rose again?
So that’s the first point – we’ll
endure suffering calmly and courageously if we understand Christ for whom
we suffer. He is bigger than we think.
Secondly we must adjust our thinking
about our circumstances. The real issues in life are not what they seem.
[SLIDE – Reality is not what it seems]
The Bible constantly corrects our
faulty vision of reality.
If you’ve been reading the Bible for
any length of time you’ll have noticed that the Bible confronts the way
we usually see things.
The world often doesn’t look like
Jesus Christ is in control of it. And Jesus Christ might not look like
the First and the Last as He hangs on the cross – but the Bible gives us
eyes to see the way things really are. And in verses 9 and 10 the Bible
corrects four different things that the Christians in Smyrna might have
been thinking. Let’s look very briefly at those four things.
Firstly – The Smyrnan’s look poor but
they’re not
[SLIDE - The Smyrnan’s look poor but they’re not]
Verse 9, Jesus says “I know your
afflictions and your poverty – yet you are rich.” The world sees the
small suffering community of Christians in Smyrna and all it can see is
its poverty. Jesus reminds us that actually they are rich. This is the
very opposite of what Jesus will say to the church in Laodicea in chapter
3:17. There they say “I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a
thing.” But Christ tells them reality is not what it seems. He says “You
do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.”
In Smyrna they look poor but actually
they’re rich. In Laodicea they look rich but actually they’re poor. Jesus
is telling us that there is a fundamental richness which Christians have,
that this world cannot put a value on. These Christians in Smyrna are
rich in the most fundamental sense because their investments will last
beyond the grave. In Laodicea they’ve invested in this life and all their
accomplishments will end in death. But in Smyrna they’ve invested in
Christ who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again.
They’ve invested in the One place that will last beyond the grave – which
makes them phenomenally wealthy. We’ve just been saying that all things
in the universe are coming to Christ – these Christians in Smyrna are
staking it all on the One investment prospect with infinite worth. They
are incredibly rich. Their bank balance does not reflect it yet – but One
day they will inherit the earth.
So that’s the first thing that’s not
what it seems.
Secondly – The Jews look like Jews,
but they’re not
[SLIDE - The Jews look like Jews, but they’re not]
Halfway through verse 9 Jesus says “I
know the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a
synagogue of Satan.”
There are Jews in Smyrna who are
slandering the Christians. Now this would have seemed especially hurtful
to the Christians since the Jews were supposed to be fellow believers in
the Messiah Jesus. But Jesus assures the Christians that these Jews are
not real Jews. In fact, these people are not on God’s side at all but are
an assembly (a synagogue) of Satan.
It’s very shocking language, but
please notice that this is not anti-Jewish sentiment. In fact it’s the
opposite – Jesus is angry at these people not because they Are Jews but
because they are Not. These people who call themselves Jews oppose
Christ, and because they oppose Him – the First and the Last – they are
not really Jewish. A true Jew loves their Messiah – but these people do
not. And because they reject Jesus they don’t somehow remain on the side
of God, as though their belief in one God keeps them on God’s side – No!
Because they reject Christ, these people have teamed up with Satan.
And that’s the third reality check
which Christ wants the church in Smyrna to make.
They think their opponents are flesh
and blood, but that's not where the real battle lies.
[SLIDE - They think their opponents
are flesh and blood, but they’re not]
Jesus says in verse 10 that “the devil
will put some of you in prison to test you.” The devil will do that.
Now we’re probably not to imagine that
Lucifer himself has come to handcuff some believers and drag them off. But
here we see the devil is using those people who give themselves to his
purposes. The synagogue of Satan (the Jews from v9) seem to be carrying
out Satan’s work so effectively that when they put Christians in prison,
it is the devil himself doing it. So as the Christians look on and see
their brothers and sisters dragged off to prison it may look like their
enemies are flesh and blood. But Christ wants them to know that in
reality their enemy is the devil.
Behind the wickedness of men stands
Satan. We need to hear that if we’re battling against persecution. We’re
not simply dealing with human evil – we’re dealing with something far
larger and far beyond our ability to cope. None of us for a second can
take on the devil in our strength. We need instead to commit ourselves to
Christ. Behind all opposition to Christians stands Satan BUT behind Satan
stands the Risen Christ – He is the First and He is the Last – He will
have the last say.
And then, the final reality check
Christ wants to make is that, it may look like suffering and death is the
end, but it’s not.
[SLIDE – Their end looks like death, but it’s not]
Look with me at the second half of
verse 10:
“you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to
the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life.”
Christ predicts dreadful persecution
for this church. The ten days mentioned here are very probably symbolic.
They speak of suffering to the utmost – a hell of a lot of suffering is
probably what’s meant by 10 days. But the wonderful thing is – the 11th
day will come. There’s going to be suffering and it will seem like it
lasts forever but actually it is limited. There will be an end to
suffering. How can suffering have the last word? Jesus Christ is the Last
– He has the final say!
In verse 10 it looks like ‘the point
of death’ is the last great enemy that will swallow us up. But Christ
reminds us that actually the point of death is the at which we receive
the crown of life. The end might look like death – but actually it’s not.
The end is life – the crown of life.
So all these things might look like
they are reality – but if you have eyes of faith you’ll see the true
eternal perspective on things. You’re not poor – you’re fantastically
wealthy, you’re opponents are not god-fearing but God-opposing, your
battles are not human but spiritual and your end is not death but life.
And we need to remind ourselves daily of these spiritual realities. We’re
not going to do that unless we read our Bibles daily and remind ourselves
of reality. John Calvin the great Reformed theologian said the Bible is a
pair of spectacles which we must put on to correct our faulty vision of
the world. Where is your view of reality being formed – is it by looking
at the world, or is it by looking through the Bible to correct our faulty
vision.
Well we must move on to the final
point. We’ve seen Christ as the Original Source, He is much larger than
we often think; we’ve seen the Real Issues that face the suffering church
– reality is not always what it seems, and now finally let’s look at the
final destination which Christ promises.
[SLIDE – Final Destination]
Verse 11:
He who has an ear let him hear what
the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes will not be hurt at all
by the second death.
These suffering Christians have the
threat of the first death hanging over them. Dying once seems bad enough
and they will be tempted not to be faithful when the threat of death
hangs over them. But here Jesus throws up the very live issue – is there
something worse than death? Have you ever thought about that question?
It’s a question we took to the streets last week. Here were a few of
their answers…
[VIDEO – Is there anything worse than death?]
For most people the answer is no –
there’s nothing worse than death. For some living this side of death in
great pain would be worse than death. But no-one seemed to think about
the possibility that living on after death in great pain was worse.
No-one seemed to think beyond the first death at all. Jesus warns us in
verse 11 that the second death is a reality. There is a fate much worse
than death. If you want to read about the second death you can look it up
later at the end of Revelation chapter 20. But it’s a reality that is
must understand with if we are to be faithful to the point of death.
If you think death is the worst thing,
then you will do anything to avoid it – even if it means denying Christ.
But if you think there is something worse – namely, being unfaithful to
Christ – then you will be faithful to the point of death.
Polycarp knew this well. As they lit
the pyre on which he was to burn, the Roman officer asked him if he was
afraid of the flames that would soon claim his life. Polycarp said no –
he was not afraid of these flames which can burn only for a brief season.
Polycarp was far more afraid for his Roman executioner who was ignorant
of the eternal fires that lay beyond death.
There are worse things than death –
but Christ promises the believer that they will not be hurt at all by the
second death. The believer can have absolute confidence that our first
death will not lead to hell but rather – verse 10 – it will lead to our
receiving the crown of life. Death for the non-Christian leads dreadful
places – death for the Christian leads to an eternal reign of life in the
new creation.
So that is Christ’s message to a
suffering people. Get your vision of Christ right, get your vision of
reality right and get your vision of your destination right.
As I close, perhaps you’re thinking
this is all well and good for suffering Christians in ages past, but I’m
not facing martyrdom. People at work may laugh at my Christian beliefs
but that’s about it. What can I learn from studying such extreme
persecution? Well two things: One is that we are not so far removed from
the persecuted church that dying for the faith is unrealistic. Some in
this congregation will have to think very hard about their allegiance to
Christ, whether it be here or in a foreign land. It could cost some of
you your lives. Tens of thousands of Christians are killed every year
simply for being Christians. But even if it never comes down to that for
you. Even if a person does not ask to choose your life and Christ – Jesus
does. Other’s may not ask you to give up your life, but Jesus does. In
Mark 8:34 He says “If anyone would come after me, He must deny himself,
take up his cross and follow me.” All Christians are asked to lay down
their lives for Christ. Maybe you’ll have to give up your life in one
lump sum payment – maybe you’ll have to give it up in installments, but
everyone who follows Christ dies for Him. More on that next week.
But you’ll never be convinced to give
up your life for Christ unless you see you’re eternal destination, unless
you see the reality of your situation and unless you see how Glorious
Christ is.
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