Text: Revelation 2:8-11
Scriptural References:
Matt 6:20, 3rd John 1:3, Titus 1:16, Rev 21:8, II Tim 1:7, James 1:12, 1 Peter 5:4
The
Church at Smyrna
The second
letter to the Churches was addressed to the Church at Smyrna. The name Smyrna
comes from myrrh; myrrh was one of the gifts brought to baby Jesus by the wise
men when he was born. It is an ingredient used in preparing the holy anointing
oil; it was also used as a perfume and was one of the ingredients used for
embalming dead bodies. Myrrh could also be used as a preservative.
The Church
was called the martyr church; it had people who were willing to die for what
they believed. It was also referred to as the persecuted Church. Persecution
means being subjected to pain or suffering because of your beliefs. The Church in
Smyrna was also referred to as the poor rich church. They were:
-
Poor outwardly but rich inwardly
-
Poor in temperance but rich spiritually
-
Poor by human standards but rich by God’s
standard.
The city was
a beautiful Asian city. The authorities in the city had an alliance with Rome
and as such were eager to do anything that could please the authorities in
Rome. They persecuted the Church with so much zeal so as to please the Roman
authorities. Polycarp was famous of the early martyrs, and he was the bishop of
Smyrna. Actually, record has it that he was the first and last bishop. Bacchus,
“the god of wine” has its origin from
there.
Christ
commended the Church for the following:
-
Their spiritual endurance: One of the emblem of
maturity as a good soldier is that you are able to endure. This church endured
all the cruelty that was brought against it and still maintained its stand in
the faith. As Christians, we must know that we are soldiers for Christ and we
should be ready to stand for the faith when trials and persecutions come.
-
The Heavenly treasures they possessed: This
church was living with eternity in view. They did not just live for the now but
had the future in view. As Christians, how are we living our lives? Do we live
as if Christ will never come back? We must be conscious of eternity in whatever
we do and in the way we live. Matt 6:20
-
The poverty and troubles they had to go through
because of their faith: This church made so much sacrifice and lost their
physical wealth because of their faith. Some of them had their goods burnt and
properties destroyed, yet they still remained steadfast. As Christians, we must
never shift from the truth no matter what comes our way; our focus must be to stand
for the truth at all times.
-
The church was also commended for their ability
to detect falsehood and stand against it. Many times, we may see our brother or
sister doing something wrong but ignore it because of what we are benefitting
from him or her, but as this church did, we must be ready to sacrifice any
benefit we think we are deriving from anyone and stand against falsehood at all
times. Titus 1:16.
The Church in
Smyrna was never accused of anything. This means it is possible for us to live
our lives without any accusation. But how did they get to that point? It was
through endurance, they never ran away from the challenges that confronted them.
Thus, the main lesson here is that we must not run away from trouble,
challenges or crisis on our path of righteousness.
Challenges
and crisis help to purify and perfect us. It is not as if we should go about
looking for crisis, trouble or challenges but when we face troubles and
challenges in the course of our faith walk, we must not draw back or quit but
confront them headlong. We must stop looking for shortcuts to follow when we
are confronted with challenges or crisis because the process of purification
involves facing challenges. The key to all these is to remain where God has put
you and endure hardship as a good soldier.
The advice
and counsel God gave the Church in Smyrna are:
-
Fear not. God told the Church to fear not and
this counsel affects us as Christians as well. Because it is fear that empowers
Satan to work in our lives. As long as you are fearless, Satan is powerless
against you. 2 Tim 1:7; Rev 21:8
-
Be faithful and consistent. God advised the
church to remain faithful despite the trials. God rewards faithfulness and not
results. As Christians, we are a people of conviction; no matter what we are
experiencing, we must remain faithful to the truth.
The
assurances God gave the church in Smyrna are:
-
The crown of life. At that time, a crown was
equivalent to gold or the medal of this time. Thus, by the time we have run
this Christian race to the end, God has a medal or crown for each and every one
of us. James 1:12; 1 Peter 5:4.
-
They will escape the second death which the
Bible described in Rev. 21:8. This
also applies to us as Christians.
The letter concluded
with this appeal; “He that hath an ear, let him hear what
the Spirit saith unto the churches.” Let us always pray as Christians that God will help us to use our
ears effectively to hear and heed to the instructions, advice and counsel He gives
us.
