“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 about 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 life as your victor’s crown.
Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who is victorious will not be hurt at all by the second death.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
What a spine chilling paragraph to read! I can't imagine how awful it would be to hear something like this. They are told not to be afraid because they would suffer. Persecution is never a light matter and still happens to a lot of brothers and sisters in Christ all over the world. Smyrna was no exception.
This is so oddly specific, too - prison time and persecution for 10 days. Intense stuff, it even mentions being faithful to the point of death. Talk about heavy.
This church had affliction and poverty, yet Christ had made them rich. I would personally assume this meant rich in faith and in Spirit. This church sounds like a strong church all right!
A bit about Smyrna:
~Smyrna was closest to Ephesus (by being about 40 miles north)
~Smyrna is one of the eldest cities in the world. Beautifully located next to the Aegean Sea.
~Smyrna was an eventful place - many had suffered invading armies, earthquakes, fires, massacres, and plagues.
~Lydians nearly destroyed the city at one time.
~Smyrna is still around and is known as present day Izmir.
~They are rich and trade and known for their figs and wool cloth. Even with all of their struggles, they have risen up as a thriving area.
~False Jews of Satan mentioned here was believed to consist of false disciples that claimed to be Jews, but belonged to the synagogue of Satan.
~It was no secret that Roman emperors during the Ephesian and Smyrnean periods often imprisoned Christians and persecuted them. Christians in these places were not generally treated well.
Questions for Further Study:
1. What do you feel this passage meant when they said this church was "rich" all though they were poor?
2. How do you feel you would react if you such a letter was sent to your church?
3. There were false disciples mentioned here. What comes to mind when you think about false disciples? How is this relevant today?
4. What is spiritual wealth as opposed to physical wealth?
-Resources:
https://www.diggingfortruth.org/digging-deeper/church-at-smyrna
https://www.end-times-prophecy.org/seven-churches-revelation-smyrna.html
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Revelation+2&version=NIV
