“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 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.
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.
My Understanding: Out of the seven letters to the churches, only two have nothing against them – the church in Smyrna, and the church in Philadelphia. Here, in this letter to the church in Smyrna, Jesus Christ is identified as the speaker, as well as he is identified as being God – the First and the Last, who died on the cross for our sins, but was resurrected back to life by God the Father in conquering death, hell, Satan and sin. He told the church that he knew their afflictions and their poverty, yet they were rich!
Afflictions
It appears that their afflictions were a direct result of religious persecution, and at the hand of Jews who had not believed in Jesus Christ. I wondered about the meaning of “who say they are Jews and are not,” and why not say, “who say they are Christians and are not.” I mean, I didn’t understand the significance of one proclaiming to be a Jew and yet not really being a Jew, especially in light of the fact that we are now under the New Covenant relationship with God through Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection. So, I referred to a Bible commentary to give me further understanding. That led me to Rom. 2:28-29 (NIV ’84):
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.
In chapter 9 of Romans Paul talked about how not all who are descended from Israel are Israel, nor because they are Abraham’s descendants are they all children of God. Only the children of promise are true Israel (or true Jews), i.e. only those who have come to faith in Jesus Christ are children of God and heirs of the promised eternal inheritance. Ephesians 2:11-13 continues this idea when it suggests that being separate from Christ means being excluded from citizenship in Israel and being foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. So, true Israel or a true Jew is one who has had a cutting away of the flesh by the Spirit of God, i.e. he has experienced a heart transformation by the Holy Spirit of God by God’s grace and through faith in Jesus Christ. So, it is possible to claim to be a Jew or a Christian because of physical heritage and yet not truly be a Jew or a Christian (i.e. a child of God and an heir of the promise). So, this is speaking of those who proclaim some special relationship with God due to physical heritage, or whatever other reason, and yet God is saying they do not have a relationship with him, because they have not truly accepted his Son, Jesus Christ, as Lord and Savior.
Synagogue of Satan
These who were Jews by physical birth, but were not true Jews, were slandering the believers in Jesus Christ, thus Jesus said they were not his children, but were of Satan, who stands opposed to Jesus Christ. To slander someone means to deliberately say something false and malicious about that person, with the intention to cause harm or pain, and thus to damage that person’s reputation. The Church in Philadelphia apparently was suffering, too, at the hands of these who call themselves Jews and yet were a synagogue of Satan. Jesus said he would make the liars one day bow down at the feet of his true followers and acknowledge that Jesus loved them.
A synagogue was a place of worship for the Jews where they worshiped God. So, to be called a synagogue of Satan was basically saying that they were not worshipers of God, but truly were worshipers of Satan. Satan is the one who stands in the strongest opposition to Christ Jesus and to his followers, so Satan’s followers will also oppose those who are truly following Jesus Christ. The followers of Satan, thus, will do his dirty work in persecuting, imprisoning and even killing the saints of Almighty God. Many who call themselves God’s children, whether calling themselves Jews or Christians, are not really his children, but are followers of Satan and of his ways, though they may think they are following God.
Be Faithful
The believers, though, were to not be afraid of what they were about to suffer at the hands of these liars. The devil, via his true followers (his human instruments) would put some of the believers in prison to test their faith, and for the purpose to break them, and to get them to give up their faith in Christ Jesus. Jesus said this persecution would take place for a period of ten days. We are not sure if this was a literal ten days or if it was figurative. I don’t think it really matters. The point was that there would be a period of time in which they would face this severe persecution, that the time would have a beginning and an end, that it would not be too long, and that they were to be faithful to Christ, even to the point of death, and they would receive eternal life. Going along with that idea, he said that he who overcomes – who is victorious over his enemy or over his difficulty – will not be hurt by the second death, i.e. by the lake of fire. I know this teaching might mess with a lot of people’s theology, yet the scriptures throughout the New Testament speak often about true faith being faith that lasts; that endures to the end; that continues; and that remains.
I believe this is directly related to the parable of the sower and the four types of soil, i.e. the four types of heart responses to the gospel. There are those who hear the message of the gospel, but they do not understand it, so Satan snatches away the truth sown in their hearts. There are those who hear the word and receive it with joy initially, but they are not truly rooted in Christ and in his word, so the “faith,” which is shallow, lasts only a short time. When they are persecuted, they quickly fall away. Then, there is the person who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of worldly desires choke out the “faith,” making it unfruitful. None of these types of heart response describe someone with the kind of faith that endures, that continues, remains and that overcomes. There is only one kind of heart (good soil) that produces a crop, and that is the one who hears the word, understands it, and applies the word to his life in such a way that he produces spiritual fruit (see Matt. 13). So, if we want to receive our eternal inheritance, and we want to not face eternal punishment in hell, then we need to make sure we have true faith, i.e. that we are not just “Jews” outwardly, but that we have truly had a heart transformation of the Spirit of God that produces the kind of faith that lasts, because it is rooted in Jesus Christ.
You are Rich!
Although the believers and followers of Jesus Christ were facing persecution at the hands of those who proclaimed to know God, but did not, and even though they had the promise of even greater persecution yet to come, Jesus said they were rich. The reason they were rich is because of what Jesus Christ did for them on the cross when he took upon himself the sins of the entire world, when he crucified our sins with him, and then when he was resurrected from the dead in conquering our sins. By God’s grace, and through faith, we can, thus, have the hope of eternal life with God beginning right now, while we are still on the face of this earth, not just when we die one day or when Jesus comes back for us. We have this life by faith, and that faith involves turning from our sins and turning to walk in faithful obedience to Jesus Christ. Jesus said that if anyone wanted to come after him, he must deny himself and daily take up his cross and follow Christ. He also said that his true followers know his voice, they listen to (heed) him, and they follow (obey) him. Through faith we come into an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ (with God), we are freed from the control of sin over our daily lives, we are free to follow Christ Jesus wherever he leads us, and we also have the hope of eternal life with God in heaven one day. This is why we are rich!
This message was not just for the church in Smyrna at that time in history, though. This is a message for the church today, as well. This is an encouragement to those who are truly following Jesus Christ in being his faithful servants and witnesses, and in following Jesus wherever he leads us, in loving God and others, and in being his true ministers of the gospel. Jesus warned us that if they persecuted him and if they hated him, they would hate us and would persecute us, too, so we are in good company. Paul said in 2 Tim. 3:12 that “everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.”
Notice he did not say “might be persecuted.” Nor did Jesus say that we might be hated. If we are not being hated and/or persecuted for our testimony for Jesus Christ, then something is wrong. We are not called to be friends and to make nice with the world, so that they will like and accept us, but we are called to come out from the world and to be separate, and to not be like the world in following its evil desires and passions. This is what it means to be godly, i.e. to forsake sin, and to follow Christ. Yet, if we blend in with the world, thinking that we can be a testimony to them, we should think again, because they will see us as just like them. Yet, those who will face this kind of severe persecution are those who are truly following Jesus Christ wherever he leads us. Yet, even though we may be hated and persecuted for our witness for Jesus Christ, we are rich in faith and in our eternal relationship with God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit. And, that is awesome!
I’m Not Ashamed / An Original Work / February 15, 2012
Based off Matt. 28:19-20; Acts 1:8; Rom. 1:16-17
Go into all the world,
And tell them the Good News,
Making disciples of all the nations,
Baptizing them in the name of the Father
And of the Holy Spirit,
And of the Son,
Teaching them to obey
Ev’rything I have commanded you,
And surely I am with you,
E’en to the end of the age.
You will receive power
When the Holy Spirit
Comes on you;
My witnesses you will be
In Samaria, Judea, and Jerusalem,
And to the ends of the earth, amen!
You will receive power
When the Holy Spirit comes on you,
My witnesses you will be
Unto the ends of the earth.
I’m not ashamed of the
Gospel of my Jesus.
For salvation, it’s the power of God.
For in the gospel a righteousness
From God is made known,
A righteousness that is by faith.
I’m not ashamed of the
Gospel of my Jesus.
For salvation, it’s the power of God.
The righteous will live by faith.
http://youtu.be/HwLRP5rCJ5s
http://www.godcares.tv/video/1374/Im-Not-Ashamed
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