To Smyrna || You’ve Got Divine Mail || Part 2

Have you ever sat in church and heard a sermon that doesn’t sit right with you? Have you ever being in a Bible Study and listened to a teaching that triggered a visceral reaction? You see your church struggling and asked the ultimate question, “Does God care about the church?” The idea is about the group of believers gathered under one building, but we are called the church as well.

We’re in a series called “You’ve Got Divine Mail!” Jesus had John send out letters to seven churches to celebrate their successes and offer resolutions for their problems. The goal of this series is for you be encouraged. To be encouraged to serve the church and help the body reach its best potential, and for you to serve God’s people to change the world.

In Part 1, we started our mail route in Ephesus. Jesus lifted them up for working hard, being patient, despising the evil of the false teachers, and suffering through it without giving up. The church got caught up in doing things for their own benefit that Jesus felt they forgot him. Jesus commands them to repent or else risk losing their effectives as a Christ-following church. They started the work needed by combating the evil deeds of the Nicolaitans.

In Part 2, I’m discussing the letter sent to Smyrna.

Revelation 2:8-11

8             “Write this letter to the angel of the church in Smyrna. This is the message from the one who is the First and the Last, who was dead but is now alive:

9             “I know about your suffering and your poverty—but you are rich! I know the blasphemy of those opposing you. They say they are Jews, but they are not, because their synagogue belongs to Satan. 

10           Don’t be afraid of what you are about to suffer. The devil will throw some of you into prison to test you. You will suffer for ten days. But if you remain faithful even when facing death, I will give you the crown of life.

11           “Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches. Whoever is victorious will not be harmed by the second death.

Let’s break down the letter:

INTRODUCTION: The letter to the church in Smyrna is written to the messenger of the church to share with the congregation.

POSITIVES OF THE CHURCH: Jesus is aware about their suffering and poverty, and those that are opposing them.

PROBLEMS OF THE CHURCH: They will face testing from the devil in their suffering, creating a struggle between their riches and poverty, and their opposers in their presence who are pretending to be Jews.  

BLESSINGS: If they are victorious in the battle, they will see eternal life.

I see a struggle of boundaries within the church. They are suffering from poverty, but they are rich. They are facing opposition, but it’s from people manipulating the church. They will find some of their members in prison for 10 days, but if they survive whatever is in front of them, then the reward will be eternal life.

The city of Smyrna was about 25 miles north of Ephesus. The city was nicknamed the “port of Asia because it had an excellent harbor on the Aegean Sea. The Smyrna church struggled against two hostile forces: a Jewish population strongly opposed to Christianity and a non-Jewish population that was loyal to Rome and supported emperor worship. Finding persecution and suffering were inevitable in a place like this. Smyrna was famous for its athletic games.

Pain, in any way, is a part of life that happens to all of us. Suffering from pain hurts no matter how it occurred. Jesus commended the church for keeping their faith with him. He then encouraged them that they didn’t have to fear for their future as long as they stayed strong in their faith. We can connect with the church when we’re walking through pain or persecution. We may feel like God isn’t helping us at all or could even be causing it. Instead, we must remember that God doesn’t cause evil or bad thing sin our life. Those things that happen to us can be the evil spirits of life, results of our own actions or actions of those around us, or just unfortunate happenings of life. We can use those moments of pain and persecution to draw closer to God. We can rely on him and trust that he will walk with us through to the end and get through to the other side.

Persecution comes from Satan, not from God, as I mentioned before. Satan causes believers to be thrown into prison and potentially killed. Believers need not fear death, however, because it will only result in their receiving the reward of eternal life. Remember that Jesus mentioned the test will last for 10 days in prison. They must still focus on Jesus and keep their faith to see them through that. They face potential physical punishment or physical abuse because of being in prison, but the earthly body is not as strong as the spiritual self. Their mental well-being has the potential to overcome whatever they may face.

With the language of their “synagogue belongs to Satan” means that the Jews within the church were saving Satan’s purposes, not God’s, when they gathered to worship. The “ten days” in prison they will face means that although the persecution would be intense, it would be relatively short. It has a definite beginning and end, and God would still be in complete control.

With Smyrna famous for its athletic games, they would have connected with the focus of receiving a prize of victory. If we have been faithful to God, we find the prize of victory – eternal life. The message Jesus is teaching is that they must remain faithful during their suffering because God is in control of the world. We can rely on this promised victory over evil and eternal life with him where we will no longer feel pain and persecution. Jesus never says that by being faithful to him now, we will escape troubles suffering or persecution. Jesus wants us to always stay faithful to him, including times of suffering. By keeping our focus on Christ and his promises for us now and forever in the future.

Everyone will experience a physical death on this world. Then there will be a time when all people be resurrected. Believers in Jesus will be resurrected to eternal life in his new creation. Those who didn’t believe or opposed Jesus will be resurrected to be judged and either repent and let in to the Kingdom or sentenced to a second death and eternal separation from God.

Today, we learned about Jesus’ letter to Smyrna. Jesus commended the church in Smyrna for keeping their faith while suffering. They will face a test from Satan where some of the people of the church will face prison time for 10 days. Jesus tells them to stay strong in their faith and trust that He will see them through. If done so, they will see the victory prize of eternal life.

In Part 3, we’ll discuss the letter to Pergamum. Until then, stay blessed.

• Associated Scripture
  • Rev 2:8
    • Revelation 1:11, 17-18
  • Rev 2:9
    • 2 Corinthians 6:11
    • 2 Corinthians 11:14-15
    • Revelation 3:9
  • Rev 2:10
    • Daniel 1:12, 14
    • James 1:12
    • Revelation 3:9
    • Revelation 17:14
  • Rev 2:11
    • Revelation 2:7
    • Revelation 20:6, 14