The Letter to the Church at Smyrna
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"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]
I know your afflictions 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.[/I]
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."[/I] (Revelation 2:8-11)
COMMENDATION[/B]
"I know your afflictions and your poverty?yet you are rich!"[/I][/B]
Christ acknowledged the heavy affliction of those in Smyrna, a reality that led them to evade their persecutors in the catacombs. The natural poverty that results from this kind of lifestyle was apparent, and yet Jesus calls them 'rich'[/I] due to their faith and hope in Christ. While none of us wants to experience this kind of life, God understands it leads to personal growth, as described by the Apostle Paul;
"Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope." [/I](Romans 5:3-4)
In addition, the character that is built through this kind of affliction and poverty creates a spiritual wealth through a greatly strengthened faith in God that allows us to become the inheritors of His kingdom;
"Listen, my dear brothers: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him?"[/I] (James 2:5)
So despite their persecution and poverty, or perhaps because of it, Christ viewed them most favorably as co-inheritors of His kingdom. While they were last in the eyes of men, they were first in the eyes of God.
"I know the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan."[/I][/B]
This may be one of the most misrepresented passages in the Revelation, since many use it to implicate the Jews of Smyrna as Satanists. But Christ was not implicating the Jews in this oppressive manner, because Jews had little influence over the Greco-Roman culture of that city. Rather, He was implicating the Greek philosophers that were claiming to be 'spiritual Israel'. Consider the words of the Greek philosopher Ageans, who said;
"We philosophers who embrace this faith, gain the whole of truth, and enter into spiritual Israel. Thereby we become the true and perfect Israel."[/I]
This 2nd century thought is what spawned Replacement Theology[/B], which claims that the nation of Israel forfeited their right to God's promises and inheritance when they rejected Jesus Christ as their Messiah. Those that adhere to this philosophy believe that all of the promises made to Israel throughout the ages now default to the Church instead. But nothing could be farther from the truth, because God's prophecies call for a spiritual awakening of a LITERAL Israel in the last days, not a SPIRITUAL Israel. Just review the section on the 144,000 from the 12 tribes of Israel in Revelation 7, and see if you can draw a 'spiritual' Israel from that. It's simply not warranted. In addition to this, the Bible is quite clear that Gentiles are the wild branches that are grafted into Israel, and not vice versa.
Despite this evidence, many commentators still implicate the Jews in this passage because the term synagogue i[/I]s used instead of ekklesia[/I], the more common rendering for 'church' in the Greek New Testament. But remember, these Greek philosophers were now claiming to be spiritual Jews, so the term synagogue would be appropriate if they are to be consistent with their logic.
But even this distinction doesn't really matter, because the Greek ekklesia[/I] simply means 'assembly', just as the Hebrew synagogue[/I] means 'assembly'. For a little more clarity on the intended meaning I referred to the Hebrew B'rit Chadashah, which uses the word haKeneset[/I], which also refers to an assembly such as we would find in the synagogue. This word comes from the same roots that form 'haKnesset'[/I], the word used to describe the Congress (assembly) of Israel. This is where it gets quite interesting, because several other Hebrew words created from this same root have some VERY interesting implications for the Church;
HaKeneset[/B] = Synagogue or Assembly
Keneseeyah[/B] = Church
Keneeyah[/B] = Purchase Contract
Keneesah[/B] = Right of Entry
Notice how each of these words, formed from the same root, describe our salvation. The Keneset/Synagogue/Church are merely different names for God's assembly, with whom Jesus has signed a 'purchase contract' [/I]('ketubah'), giving each of us the 'right of entry' [/I]into His kingdom. So it's probably time to recognize that when God said those in that synagogue of Satan were not Jews, He meant they were NOT Jews.
ADMONISHMENT[/B]
Smyrna was one of two churches in the Revelation letters that had nothing bad said about them, with the other being Philadelphia. It's probably no coincidence then that they are the only two cities of the seven that have enjoyed a continued existence to our day.
EXHORTATION[/B]
"Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer.."[/I][/B]
This statement points to a prophecy rather than something in the rear-view mirror. So while Smyrna had already been suffering terrible affliction, Christ was referring to something still in the future that would be associated with the following;
"..the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days."[/I][/B]
Commentators generally offer two possible fulfillments for this prophecy of 'ten days'[/I], and both are tied to Roman persecutions of the early church.
In the first instance they recognize ten periods of Roman persecution of the early church from Nero in 64 A.D. to Diocletian in 313 A.D. However, these ten days are written as a prophetic event, not a fulfilled event, and Nero's persecutions occurred before this prophecy was even made. So I don't think that would qualify.
However, others believe that this persecution of 'ten days' [/I]was fulfilled with Diocletian's ten years of persecution from 303 to 313 A.D. But this also doesn't fit, because ten years do not equal ten days. Instead, it would seem to me that we should be looking for a literal 10-day period that could be fulfilled after 95 A.D., and to my knowledge, no literal 10-day fulfillment was ever noted for this church. But what if we've been looking in the wrong direction? What if this fulfillment is still in the future, even today? Remember, each of these letters had something to say about the 'end times' church, and I believe this is one of those instances.
If you remember our study of the Festivals of the Lord, there is a literal 10-day period that was associated with atonement and man's redemption, and it was the 'Ten Days of Awe' that fell between the Feast of Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah[/I]) and the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur[/I]) on the Festival calendar. In Jewish thought, it was this ten day period where one was either granted life or death in the coming year, depending on whether or not their hearts were right with God and their names were therefore found in the Book of Life.
So I would ask, what better place would there be for a rapture of Christ's faithful, after enduring ten literal days of persecution by the antichrist when he is released from the Abyss in the middle of Daniel's '70th Seven'? To me, it seems like a good fit that we'll cover in greater detail in subsequent lessons.
"Be faithful, even to the point of death.."[/I][/B]
This would have significant meaning to those in Smyrna due to the great many martyrs lost in this city and during this period. One of those was Polycarp, a disciple of the Apostle John. To make an example of Christians, Polycarp was brought into the stadium before a Greek mob, and when he refused to deny Christ or blaspheme His name, he was killed. But I believe this statement was also pointing to an event in the distant future, which Christ alluded to in the Gospels;
"Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved." [/I](Matthew 10:21-22)
Christ also spoke of this time in Matthew chapter 24, in the Olivet Discourse, and he detailed a coming time when the saints would be persecuted horribly until Christ returned to claim his Bride. This is when they would receive their 'crown of life'[/I];
"..and I will give you the crown of life."[/I][/B]
It's no surprise that Christ uses the symbolism of the 'crown of life', since a crown was the symbol of this city. And the possibility of the rapture occurring on the Day of Atonement after '10 days' of trial makes good sense when we consider that we will all receive our 'crown' on that day;
"Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day?and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing."[/I] (2Timothy 4:8)
PROMISE TO OVERCOME[/B]
"He who overcomes will not be hurt at all by the second death."[/I][/B]
It is a fact confirmed by prophecy that a day is coming when all mankind throughout the ages, both good and bad, will be resurrected in bodily form (Daniel 12:2) in order to receive their due judgment. Those that opposed the Lord will be judged most harshly, and will suffer a 'second death';
"But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars--their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death." [/I](Revelation 21:8)
But those that were followers of Jesus Christ will not share in this fate, and instead will be resurrected into glory. Those of us who share in this inheritance will NOT be subject to this second death;
"Blessed and holy are those who have part in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years."[/I] (Revelation 20:6)
That has been the promise to the faithful for almost 2,000 years now, that even though we die, we will be resurrected into a perfect glorified body, and we will live forever.
NOAH[/B]
Okay, now for a summation of how this letter and this church relates to Noah, the second signatory on God's 'ketubah', or marriage contract;
1)[/B] Smyrna died and came to life again, just as the earth died and came to life again during Noah's life.
2)[/B] Smyrna was counseled not to fear what they would suffer, just as Noah was counseled.
3)[/B] Smyrna was severely persecuted, just as people in Noah's day were severely persecuted.
4)[/B] Smyrna endured to the end, even as Noah endured to the end of the first world.
5)[/B] Smyrna would receive the 'crown of life' signifying resurrection, just as the earth was resurrected during Noah's life.
SUMMATION[/B]
In the end, the message to be taken from this letter is to persevere even through the worst of trials, because when you suffer for Christ's name, you gain eternal life.
This post was edited on 8/2 11:20 AM by nashvillegoldenflash
The Church at Smyrna
The situation in Israel continues to escalate.
