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Smyrna, the
Suffering Church
Smyrna is an ancient city (today İzmir in Turkey) that was
founded by the ancient Greeks at a central and strategic point on what is
today known as the western coast of the Aegean Sea. Founded at the
head of the gulf of Smyrna (today the gulf of Izmir) that reaches about 40
miles inland it was ideally located as a distribution point for a large
portion of the region.
The city originally founded by a people known as the Lelages was
conquered and taken by the ancient Greeks about 1100 BC and became a
prominent city of the region for hundreds of years. around 627 BC
the region was conquered and became the Lydian Empire. Smyrna was
conquered and sacked by a king named Alyattas III between 609 and 560 BC.
Smyrna was not utterly destroyed and continued to exist for many years but
not as the grand city it formerly was.
When Alexander the Great, a Greek, swept through with his conquests,
Smyrna was included and became part of the consortium of nations united
under him. This became what is known as the Hellenistic age.
Alexander recognized Smyrna's potential for trade and strategic advantage
and ordered the city rebuilt. During the years 301 to 281 B.C.,
Lysimachus entirely rebuilt it on a new site to the Southwest of the
earlier cities, and surrounded it by a wall. Standing, as it did, upon a
good harbor, at the head of one of the chief highways to the interior, it
quickly became a great trading-center and the chief port for the export
trade. In Roman times, Smyrna was considered one of the most prominent
cities of Asia Minor, alongside Pergamos and Ephesus.
Pagan worship in Smyrna
Smyrna was loaded with Pagan worship to false gods in the first
century. There were many temples dedicated to pagan worship built in the
city. Among them were the temples of:
Zeus, who in Greek mythology was the king of the gods, the ruler of
Mount Olympus, and the god of the sky and thunder. This is where the
Olympian games were celebrated. The Romans worshipped Zeus as
Jupiter.
Athena who was believed to be the daughter of Zeus and was an armed
warrior goddess, and appears in Greek mythology as a helper of many
heroes.
In 23 AD a temple was built in honor of Tiberius and his mother
Julia, on the Golden Street, connecting the temples of Zeus and Cybele.
Tiberius reigned as Roman emperor in imperial Rome after
Augustus from 14 AD to 37 AD.
Cybele or according to the Romans, Magna Mater, which means earth
mother was a
particular favorite of emperor Augustus. Cybele represented the fertile
Earth, a goddess of nature and of wild animals. This temple burned
in 111 BC and was rebuilt during the reign of Augustus.
Recent archaeological discoveries in old Smyrna have revealed the
figures of Hermes, Hestia, Dionysus, Eros and Hercules.
While this is not an exhaustive study of pagan worship in Smyrna, it is
sufficient to demonstrate the level of false worship the Christians of the
time were up against. They worshipped the one true and living God
for which there were no statues or idols or alters. The God of the
Christians was and still is absolutely intolerant of the worship of other
Gods. In addition to this, Christianity requires us to stand against such
pagan worship and this caused great tension and strife between the
Christians and those who worshipped pagan gods.
Also worth mentioning along with the pagan worship is the false worship
of the one true and living God. Smyrna also had a large population
of Jewish people who were rightly proclaiming the one true and living God,
but had rejected Jesus Christ as the messiah. In addition to the
persecution of the Romans, the Christians also faced the Jewish
persecutions which was considerable.
Christian Persecution in Smyrna
During the Roman persecutions many Christians suffered the most
dreadful torments here. They were put to death at the stake, or by wild
beasts in the amphitheater; their properties confiscated by the empire,
enslaved, abused and tortured; and the only test applied to them was whether
they would throw a few grains of incense into the fire as a sacrifice to
the Roman emperor, or whether they would refuse.
The Jewish population hated the Christians and frequently turned them
in to the Roman authorities as conspirators against the emperor for
refusing to bow down to worship him.
John had a disciple named Polycarp who was a prominent Christian leader
in Smyrna. Polycarp was probably 25-30 years old when John died. Polycarp
himself lived until he was martyred around 156 A.D. in Smyrna.
According to history. he was tied to a stake in the amphitheatre, pierced
through the heart by a Roman soldier and then burned in front of an
audience of tens of thousands of Romans screaming for his death.
Later on in the Revelation, John writes of the wrath of God being
poured out on His enemies in the form of natural disasters which depleted
the wealth of Rome and eroded her power. Smyrna was destroyed by an
earthquake in 178 AD and had to be rebuilt by the Roman Empire. It
was too important a city located strategically and geographically to leave
in ruins.
Revelation 2:8
"And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: These things saith the
first and the last, who was dead, and lived (again):"
Angel means messenger. Some scholars believe this would be one of the
men overseeing that particular congregation and some say it is the Holy
Spirit symbolized in the perfect seven stars in Jesus' right hand
mentioned earlier. Either way, the message delivered is the same. It
is my opinion that the messenger is the one perfect complete divine Spirit
of God.
The first and the last, He was dead and lived again is obviously Jesus
Christ. No Christian would have any difficulty recognizing this
symbolism, however someone unfamiliar with the resurrection of Christ
would have no idea what this was referring to.
It is significant to note here and in the individual messages addressed
to the specific churches that Revelation is directed specifically toward
them, not to people and circumstances 2000 years removed. Whatever
the Revelation meant to those to whom it was addressed is what it must
mean today. The principles taught within the Revelation are
timeless, but the events depicted therein are of that time period.
Revelation 2:9
"I know thy tribulation, and thy poverty (but thou art rich),
Jesus told the church at Smyrna He was aware of the tribulation they
were living through. The church at Smyrna was also poverty stricken.
The reason for this was that during the time of the writing of Revelation,
the imperial cult known as the "Concilia" was enforcing emperor worship.
People who refused to worship the emperor were forbidden to buy or sell
anything, their properties were confiscated and they found themselves
homeless. They could not have good jobs, they were rejected by the
population and consequently were poverty stricken as a result. The
poverty they were suffering in this rich society was part of their
persecution.
How ironic it is that the poorest, social rejects and outcasts of
society were the real priests and kings of the times. All of the
majestic wealth and shining temples meant nothing in the end. The
poorest people of all were the real saints, living off the table scraps of
the wealthy, being oppressed, hated and rejected. This was nothing
new.
2 Corinthians 4:8-11
8 We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but
not in despair;
9 Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;
10 Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the
life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.
11 For we which live are alway delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that
the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh.
They were poor in material wealth, but in the wealth that mattered they
were rich beyond description. What a wonderful way for Jesus to
comfort them and assure them of their final victory. Our wealth
today is by no means measured by our material possessions. We could
have nothing and still be rich in Christ.
Matthew 16:26-27
"For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world , and
lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels;
and then he shall reward every man according to his works."
"and the blasphemy of them that say they are Jews, and they art not,
but are a synagogue of Satan."
The considerable Jewish population were said to be guilty of blasphemy.
Evidently they were participating in whatever they had to in order to
avoid the persecution of the Romans. They were most likely burning
incense to the emperor which was all that was required to satisfy the
requirements to worship him in most cases. They claimed to be God's
children but they are not. The synagogues they met in for prayer
were not of God, but of Satan.
"Fear not the things which thou art about to suffer:"
God is telling them it's going to get worse, don't fear.
"behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison, that ye
may be tried"
The devil is not literally going to throw them into prison. This
is going to be accomplished by his followers, those who are serving him,
even out of ignorance. Christianity, if not already, will soon be
illegal in the Roman empire. Christians are going to be thrown in
prison and face death if they refused to renounce God and worship the
emperor. Some of the Christians in Smyrna, not all of them are going
to face this imprisonment.
"and ye shall have tribulation ten days."
Obviously this is not a literal period of time. All of the
Christians in Smyrna were not going to be rounded up at the same time and
thrown in prison to be persecuted for 10 literal days. The number 10
represents completeness so something is going to be brought to completion
during this period of time.
"Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee the crown of
life."
Those who are going to be cast into prison are commanded to be faithful
unto death in order to receive the crown of life. Many of the
Christians cast into prison by their enemies are going to die. God
would not tell them to remain faithful unto death unless this was going to
be necessary.
A Christian is to be faithful unto death. The thought is to be faithful
even if the price you must pay is death. It is said that Marcus Aurelius,
a Roman emperor, was once enraged at 40 Christian men because they would
not bow down and worship his image. He commanded them to be stripped naked
and to stand on a frozen lake until they were ready to renounce God. But
when dawn broke the next morning, 40 nude men were found dead on the ice.
They were "faithful unto death."
In the letter to the church at Pergamos Antipas was specifically
mentioned as one who was "faithful unto death."
"He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the
churches."
Those who can and will listen must heed what is being said.
Notice the message is said to be what the "Spirit saith". Let's call
our attention back to the seven stars in Jesus' hand. Seven being
the number which represents the perfect divine. The message to the
church at Smyrna like all the others is coming through the Spirit.
The one perfect messenger to all the churches then and today through God's
written word.
"He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death."
The second death will be the great day of the Lord as mentioned by Him
in John 5:28-29 "Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the
which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall
come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and
they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation."
The second death is the resurrection of damnation where the unsaved will
be cast into Hell.
Let's note that Jesus does not offer to take away the suffering of the
faithful Christians of Smyrna. In fact he acknowledges they are
already being persecuted but informs them it is going to get much worse.
Nevertheless, He makes a promise to all who overcome that He will give
them a crown of life. Christ tells them not to fear death for eternal life
awaits them. This promise should be a comfort to us as well for it is made
to all who would live faithfully and overcome the wiles of evil. The
Christians of the first century had to remain faithful unto death.
We can be assured we must be likewise faithful unto death today.
Those of all ages who overcome the persecutions, and tribulations to come
and remain faithful unto death will not suffer the resurrection of
damnation.
In summary, Jesus had nothing bad to say to the Christians at Smyrna.
They were faithful. Their works were acceptable just like the works
of the Ephesians but the Christians in Smyrna obviously had their hearts
in the right place. Their deep poverty was nothing to be ashamed of,
in fact they were rich in what really mattered. The church in Smyrna
serves as a shining example for us today. Let us likewise be rich in
works no matter what oppression may arise, and let us all be comforted by
the fact that we serve a God that finds our works and love and dedication
acceptable and offers us mercy and eternal life in the end.
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