"The Purification of Suffering"When The Lamb Stands, series by Sharon Clemens

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    Is suffering something to be avoided or embraced in the life of the believer? Certainly, persecution is not sought by rational followers of Christ, but it is to be expected. Truth naturally causes division and controversy. Smyrna is our example of how to live Godly in times of persecution.

SMYRNA [2:8-11] - The Age of Persecution, AD 170 to Constantine AD 312

    The Revelation continues in chapter 2, verse 8, with the second letter to the churches. The Ephesian letter revealed that although the Church Age began well with solid Apostolic teaching, it lost its first love relationship with Christ and became stagnant in cold orthodoxy. The Lord's plan to awaken the Church is described in the letter to Smyrna--persecution. The name of the city, Smyrna, literally means "bitterness" from the word "myrrh," the embalming oil used in Jewish burials. The prophetic meaning of the word points to the coming persecution and martyrdom which would befall the members of the Smyrna church and define the age. Living in a town with a name like Smyrna was like living in Tombstone, Arizona. Smyrna was a city that was named for death and had persecution in its destiny. As believers, we have two choices: repent and turn away from apathy of our own free will, or God will chasten us to lead us to the right path. The Lord is about to chastise the church to cause it to return to Him.

    The historical city of Smyrna is the present-day location of modern Izmir in Turkey. It was the most beautiful ancient city in Asia Minor and a cosmopolitan center of science and medicine. The city also had a strong Roman emperor-worship cult. Always on the winner's side in the Roman wars, Smyrna developed an intense loyalty to Rome. The Christian refusal to compromise and participate in the state religion of emperor worship was the basis for their persecution. They refused to offer incense on the emperor's altar and say, "Caesar is Lord." Not only were the Smyrna Christians considered an outlaw religious sect, their refusal to burn incense to Caesar made the Christians appear unpatriotic. Rome provided a modern infrastructure of roads, postal service, civil government and military protection. The loyal citizens of Smyrna didn't want anyone rocking their comfortable boat.

The Salutation:     These are the words of Him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again.

    Jesus Christ reminds this church that He is eternal and that even though He experienced death, it had no power over Him. This is a fitting reminder that those who die in Christ have this same victory over death through Him. Christ can identify with the suffering church because He suffered for us. [Reference 1 Corinthians 15:54-57]

The Commendation:     I know your afflictions [tribulation/trouble] and your poverty--yet you are rich! In addition to physical affliction, the Smyrna believers lived in abject poverty. Warren Wiersby comments that anyone refusing to acknowledge Caesar as Lord would be excluded from the guilds or unions. This would mean unemployment and poverty. Their poverty was in contrast to the material prosperity of the rest of the city. As a kind of religious center and a place of higher learning, Smyrna attracted visitors from all over the realm and residents made a good living from the cultural traffic--except for the believers of the church. But, in the Lord's eyes the church is rich in what lasts, eternal riches. Paul said, "...as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way:...poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything." [2 Corinthians 6:10] Also 2 Corinthians 8:9. Christ became poor for our sakes so that through His poverty, we might become rich.

    The comparison of Smyrna with Laodicea, the last age of the Church, is striking. Revelation 3:17 says of Laodicea, "Because you say, 'I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing'--and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked--I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire...[vs. 19]. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten." Spiritually, Smyrna is wealthy and Laodicea is destitute. Refining and chastening are God's plan to bring spiritual riches to the believer, the church, and the church ages.

The Snare     "If I can't work, how can I provide for my family? How can I protect my family? Eternal riches are fine, but what about now?" How often believers compromise their faith BEFORE allowing the Lord to work out His purpose--because we fear poverty and suffering. When we trust in the Lord with our whole heart, that involves refusing to compromise God's truth to any degree. [Proverbs 3:5] How easy it is to offer a token pinch of incense on Caesar's altar. It doesn't mean we really worship Caesar as Lord, we reason. But even token worship is forbidden by the true Lord of the universe. "Thou shalt have no other gods before me." We are tempted to rationalize that compromise is justified, if it means we have a good income and society accepts us. This kind of pragmatic reasoning destroys a church because our faith is placed in human solutions and not in the Lord. The church must refuse pragmatic solutions. The pragmatic/modernist movements of the 18th century destroyed the denominations of England and it threatens to destroy the churches of America today.

    Sacrifice is sacrifice because it costs us something. Sacrifice means giving of ourselves even until it hurts, not until we get uncomfortable. A living sacrifice is one burned up for God, Romans 12:1-2. Only then are we completely sold out to Him. Such sacrifice is rewarded at the Bema. There, after burning, such sacrifices do not turn into ashes like the wood, hay and stubble of empty service. Rather, the burning reveals gold and precious stones tried in the fire, for Christ. [1 Corinthians 3:10-15]

    Smyrna is our example of faith under pressure. The Smyrna believers refused to compromise, even under severe circumstances. The suffering the Lord allows purges and heals, like fire to a wound. Suffering makes us better for it, because He promised. Romans 8:28--"All things work together for good, to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose." Romans 5:1-5--"...we glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character, and character, hope. NOW HOPE DOES NOT DISAPPOINT, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us." The hope we have in Christ doesn't disappoint us now, and it doesn't disappoint us for eternity. His riches may not be in the form we expect, but they are beyond price. But we must be willing to go the distance, by faith. Only then is the victory ALL of Him, and NONE of us.

Verse 9:     I know the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.

    After the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70, a great number of Jews fled into other parts of the Roman empire; many settled in Asia Minor. The Jews living in Smyrna joined in the persecution of the Christians, siding with their pagan neighbors against even those of their own race within the church. Our Lord does not mince words. He calls such Jews followers of Satan, not followers of the one true God. Romans 2:28 is clear. "A man is not a Jew if he is only one outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man's praise is not from men, but from God."

The Warning:     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.

    The author of their suffering went beyond the Jews and pagans: The father of all evil is the devil, God's archenemy. His name means "accuser." The persecution in ancient Smyrna was to be brief. In the Bible, "ten days" signifies "a brief time." [Genesis 24:55; Acts 25:6. Ref. Wiersby] However, the persecution that typifies the age has a much broader interpretation of this time period. They are warned that this is a test--one which they obviously passed since the persecution was short-lived for this one congregation. However, it was to gradually increase in the future. Approximately fifty years after John's death, Polycarp, the pastor of the church in Smyrna, was burned alive at the age of 86 for refusing to worship Caesar. Polycarp was faithful, even to death, and offered the ultimate sacrifice for Christ.    The warning "Do not be afraid..." is a command, one which Christ will give us the power to perform.

The Praise:     Vs. 10b--Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.

    They were not to "fear" the things they were called to suffer, but to be faithful "unto" death or "even to the point of death" as the NIV translation has it. Even in the face of a Martyr's death, they are to remain faithful until death relieved them of their suffering. The Crown of Life is also called the Martyr's Crown from James 1:12--"Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him." This crown can be seen as a literal crown that the wearer can lay at the feet of Christ in the ceremony before the throne [Revelation 4:10]. Blessed is the believer who has something to lay at the feet of Christ. There is not one believer who, when they see Christ, will not wish they had suffered more in this life to have more to offer Christ in eternity.

    The call in this letter to the suffering church is a call to faithfulness. It is a call to ALL who suffer, of any time period. Paul would call it finishing the race, and finishing well. We can be sure Christ will enable those who suffer to stand at the fateful moment, just as He stood to receive Stephen, the first martyr, at his death by stoning [Acts 7:54-60]. When Stephen died, he was enraptured with the vision of Christ. His eyes were on Christ the rock of his salvation, not on the stones.

The Promise:     Vs. 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.

    In comparison to the second death--eternal damnation--suffering in this life is minor in comparison [Revelation 20:11-15]. Imagine burning in The Lake of Fire for eternity. Those who overcome do so through the power of the Holy Spirit. In every letter except to Sardis, the promise is specifically to "he who overcomes," or the believer. Suffering well for Christ is obvious evidence of overcoming, saving faith in Christ Jesus.

    Dwight L. Moody put it like this:     "He who is born once will die twice; he who is born twice will die once." Dr. J. V. McGee adds: "And if the rapture occurs during his lifetime, he won't even have to die that one time." Note that there is no condemnation in the letter for Smyrna; Philadelphia also has no condemnation. Smyrna is exempted because persecution purges the church of sin and weakness. Philadelphia receives no condemnation because of their outstanding evangelistic works. It is interesting that these two ancient cities are the only two cities which have had a continuous existence since John's day.

Smyrna--The Age of Persecution Under Rome, AD 170 to 312

    With the close of the Apostolic Age of the Church, represented by Ephesus, the persecution of Rome intensified until thousands died a martyr's death. Rev. 2:10 states that the time of persecution will last "ten days." While for the ancient church of Smyrna this refers to a brief time, for the Church Age it is thought to represent the Ten Great Persecutions under the Roman Emperors:

     1.Nero, AD 64-68 [Executed Paul and possibly Peter]
     2.Domitian, AD 95-96 [John was exiled during this period]
     3.Trajan, AD 104-117 [Ignatius was burned at the stake]
     4.Marcus Aurelius, AD 161-180 [Poly carp was martyred]
     5.Severus, AD 200-211
     6.Maximinius, AD 235-237
     7.Decius, AD 250-253 [furious persecution]
     8.Valerian, AD 257-260
     9.Aurelian, AD 270-275
   10.Diocletian, AD 303-313 [the most severe period of persecution]

[Revelation Volume I, J. Vernon McGee, p. 76]

Future Suffering

    As intense as the age of persecution was for believers, there is a more terrible one coming. Our Lord prophesies of it in Matthew 24:10-13 and 21-22 -- "At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but HE WHO STANDS FIRM TO THE END WILL BE SAVED...For then there will be great distress unequaled from the beginning of the world until now--and never to be equaled again. If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened."

    The Lord is speaking of the Seven-Year Tribulation [Matthew 24:15] or Daniel's 70th week [Daniel 9]. New believers of the Tribulation will die in great numbers due to the combined judgments, natural catastrophes, wars, and persecutions of Antichrist. And yet the largest world-wide revival history has ever recorded occurs in the Tribulation. God's wrath and chastening causes a great multitude to come to Christ before His return to establish His earthly kingdom. [Revelation 7]

In Him We Wait, Work, and Watch,
[Luke 12:35-59]
Sharon

[Prophecy Chat is a weekly commentary of current events in light of Bible prophecy. Sharon L. Clemens is an evangelical, premillennial, dispensational teacher of eschatology. She can be reached for comment or questions by e-mail at farmgrove@frontier.com]