Revelation 02:8-11

To the Church in Smyrna 100 A.D – 313 A. D.

2:8 “To the angel of the church in Smyrna write the following: “This is the solemn pronouncement of the one who is the first and the last, the one who was dead, but came to life:

Smyrna lay on the west coast of Asia on the Aegean Sea. It was the loveliest of all the cities and was sometimes called “the Crown of Asia.”

Smyrna had been a Greek colony as far back as 1000 B.C. Around 600 B.C. it was invaded and destroyed by the Lydeans. For 400 years, there was no city there at all. Then around 200 B.C., Alexander the Great ordered it to be rebuilt. Lysimachus had it rebuilt as a planned and unified whole. It was built with streets that were broad, straight, sweeping, and beautifully paved. The city had experienced death and had literally been brought back to life. It is interesting concerning Smyrna’s historical past, that Christ refers to Himself as, “the one who was dead, but came to life.”

Smyrna was located on a deep gulf 35 miles north of Ephesus. It was built upon the slopes of a 450’ high mountain, Mount Pagus. Because of her outstanding geographical location, it was a great trade city with a magnificent harbor. Like Ephesus, it was a city of wealth and of commercial greatness.

Smyrna was a very beautiful city.  It claimed to be the “Glory of Asia.”  At the sea end of the city, there stood the Temple of Cybele. Next, there were temples to Apollo, to Asklepios, and to Aphrodite. Further inland was the Temple of Zeus. The Christians in Smyrna lived with heathen worship on all sides of them.

 Politically, Smyrna had always chosen the right side in civil wars and the Romans were grateful. It claimed to be the first in Caesar worship. It claimed to be the birthplace of Homer.

Smyrna had two characteristics which made life difficult for the Christians. It was one of the great centers of Caesar worship.

The problem of Rome was how to unify its vast empire, which was a conglomeration of different states, cities, nations, peoples, races, religions, and cultures. Something was needed to unify and integrate all the varying elements.

Many believed that the solution was the spirit of Rome. This conglomeration of people owed much to Rome and they knew it. Under Roman Law, these people  enjoyed the Pax Romana,  or the Roman peace. A man could position himself to conduct business, provide for his family, send letters, and make journeys in safety. The seas were cleared of pirates. The Roman roads were free of bandits. The spirit of Rome was a power men were willing to “worship.”

The Greek word for "smyrna" is Σμύρνα (smyrna), meaning myrrh. Myrrh was a crushed flower that was used as a perfume-type of embalming for dead bodies. The Church of Smyrna was a persecuted church where many of their members were martyred for their faith.  From 100 A.D-313 A.D., the church was persecuted by the Roman government. 

The Lord Jesus Christ is identified as "the first and the last, the one who was dead, but came back to life." Just as many of the believers in Smyrna were going to give their life for the gospel, they were reminded that Christ died as a martyr in the same way. Many in this church would die violent deaths, but they could look to Christ as their example. Just as the Lord Jesus Christ was the first to be resurrected from the dead, these martyrs would also be resurrected from the dead as well.

2:9 ‘I know the distress you are suffering and your poverty (but you are rich). I also know the slander against you by those who call themselves Jews and really are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.

The Smyrna church will receive no condemnation. They were suffering through poverty, even though they will become extremely wealthy in heaven. They were being slandered by people who called themselves Jews, but they really were not. The Roman citizens worshipped their Caesar as a god. Their Roman citizenship meant that they were the chosen people of God. It was actually the Jews who were the chosen people of God, but these Roman citizens took this title from them. The Roman citizens were involved in the pagan mystery religious systems of Babylon. This was nothing but satanism.

At first Caesar worship was spontaneous and voluntary. However, the spirit of Rome took on a human form of the Emperor. Therefore, Emperor worship began.Towards the end of the 1^st century, in the days of Domitian, the last step was taken and Caesar worship became compulsory. Once a year, the Roman citizen was required to burn incense on the altar to the god of Caesar. Upon completion, a certificate was issued. Every Roman citizen had to make that sacrifice and receive a certificate. This Roman law was a sign of man’s political loyalty. However, the government was very tolerant. Once you made your sacrifice and received your certificate, you could go and worship any god/goddess you  that liked, However,  if you refused, then you were considered as a disloyal citizen and branded an outlaw. Therefore, all a Christian had to do was burn some incense, say “Caesar is Lord”, receive their certificate, and then go away and worship as they please. However, that is exactly what the Smyrna believers would not do.Therefore, Christians were outlaws and liable to persecution at any time. Informers were frequent and numerous.

The 2^nd threat to Smyrna believers was a very large Jewish population. Over and over again, it was the Jews who turned in the Christians. The Jews would stop at nothing in order to destroy the Christian Church.  (It is very similar to what the Jews went through in WW II.)

It was in Smyrna that the Jews were responsible for the martyrdom of Polycarp (a disciple of John the apostle), the bishop of Smyrna.The story is that it was a Jewish Festival day and a shout went out to seize Polycarp the Christian bishop. He freely confessed that he was a Christian.He was given a choice, either worship the godhead of Caesar or die. The Jewish mob shouted that “…he is the teacher of Asia, the father of Christians, the destroyer of the gods, who teaches many to neither offer sacrifices nor to worship Caesar.” Polycarp was given the choice-sacrifice to Caesar or be burned.  His answer, “Eighty and six years have I served Christ and He has never done me wrong. How can I blaspheme my King who saved me?”It was the Sabbath and yet the Jews gathered wood for the fire.The Jews were strong in Smyrna and they had the ear of the authorities. The Smyrna believers were between the demands of Caesar worship and Jewish slander. A very dangerous place for a believer.

2:10 Do not be afraid of the things you are about to suffer. The devil is about to have some of you thrown into prison so you may be tested, and you will experience suffering for ten days. Remain faithful even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown that is life itself.

The Church of Smyrna was about to be persecuted by Satan himself. He was going to cause many of them to suffer. He would throw many of them into prison. Many of them would be tested by their suffering. The Greek word for "tested" is πειράζω (peraizo), an aorist passive subjunctive verb, meaning to test in a good way to demonstrate that the object is of good quality. When a strong bridge is built, it is tested to make sure that it can carry the weight. The builders know that the bridge is built of sound quality and it will pass the test, but they perform the test as a type of formality to prove to the world that their bridge is strong. This would be a testing to prove that a person is of good and strong quality. The Church of Smyrna was about to be tested to demonstrate to the Roman world that they were men of high spiritual quality,

The local church would be tested for ten literal days. It is also interesting to note that there were many Roman emperors from 100-313 A.D. However, only ten of these Roman emperors persecuted the believers.

These believers were encouraged to be faithful, even if it cost them their lives. There are five crowns given in Scripture to believers. The crown of life will be given to those who have been martyred for the faith.

2:11 The one who has an ear had better hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who conquers will in no way be harmed by the second death.’

No one can understand the Scriptures unless the Holy Spirit opens up the ears of the believers. Those believers who were martyred will not be killed by the second death. However, those who were killing them will suffer the second death. The second death is eternity in the Lake of Fire.