Word Of Salvation – May 14, 2023
The Living Lord And The Church At Smyrna
A sermon by Rev. John Westendorp on Revelation 2:8-11
Scripture Reading: John 15:18 – 16:4 & Revelation 2:8-11
Singing: Who is on the Lord’s Side? / Who honours courage here?
Theme: The living Lord encourages his persecuted church not to fear and to be faithful unto death.
Introd: Israel Folau is a top Aussie sportsman and the record holder of the most ‘tries’ in Super Rugby.
But in 2017 he posted some Bible texts about homosexuality on his social media pages.
That led to his dismissal from the Wallabies… and from rugby in Australia.
Israel Folau was persecuted for his Christian views.
In March this year politician, Moira Deeming, was suspended from the Victorian Liberal party.
She had spoken at an anti-transgender rally that was gate-crashed by Neo Nazis.
Deeming, a member of the Presbyterian Church, was expelled from the party last Friday.
Moira Deeming was persecuted for her Christian views.
Often persecution has had much more serious results than in the case of Folau or Deeming.
In 155-AD an 86 year-old man named Polycarp was dragged before a Roman proconsul.
Polycarp, a church bishop, was told that he must swear: “Caesar is Lord!” He refused.
They promised him freedom if only he would curse Jesus.
Polycarp said: “For 86 years I have served Him and He never did me any injury.
How then can I blaspheme my King and my Saviour?”
When they threatened to throw him to wild animals he still refused.
The Proconsul threatened to burn him at the stake.
Polycarp said: You threaten me with fire that burns for an hour and then goes out…
But you are ignorant of the fire of judgment and eternal punishment reserved for the ungodly.
Polycarp died a martyrs death at the stake.
Persecution has been a problem from ancient times… and it still is.
I could tell you the story of Anna Strickwerda, a nurse in Eritrea, martyred for her faith in 1974.
Or you may recall Aussie missionary, Graham Staines, killed by Hindu extremists in 1999.
A] THE REALITY OF THE CHURCH’S PERSECUTION.
1. Our text makes very clear that the church at Smyrna knew all about persecution too.
Persecution of God’s people for their faith is just so common.
Here we are reading about it in the very last book of the Bible. But where does it begin…?
With the ungodly Cain, murdering his godly brother Abel….?
Or persecution by the State – as Pharaoh drowns Israel’s babies in the Nile…?
Or Queen Jezebel persecuting the prophet Elijah…?
Those who are persecuted stand in a long tradition going right back to O.T. times.
Turn please to Matthew’s gospel chapter 5… part of Jesus’ Sermon On The Mount.
In Matthew 5 we have The Beatitudes… but how does Jesus conclude them in vss.10-12?
Vs.10: “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you
and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.
Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven,
for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
Interesting, isn’t it? Jesus twice pronounces a blessing on the persecuted.
And then He links to ancient times – the persecution of the O.T. prophets.
Jesus: warns us in John’s gospel: If they hated me they will hate you…!
And we see that in the book of Acts… Peter and John are imprisoned; James is murdered.
So the Christians here in the Church at Smyrna are in good company, aren’t they?
2. Let me put the persecution in Smyrna into perspective for you with a brief history lesson.
For several generations the city of Smyrna had sided politically with Rome in times of conflict.
This was a very pro-Roman city – even though Rome was almost 2000km away.
It was the first place in Asia Minor to introduce Emperor worship – the idea that Caesar is a god.
Some historians have remarked that Smyrna was a hotbed of Imperial religion.
In Smyrna, refusal to worship the Roman Emperor was regarded as treason.
And those who neglected to worship Caesar were discriminated against.
They were kicked out of the local trade guilds, leaving them unemployed and destitute.
What is particularly noteworthy is that the Jews were exempt.
Rome had come to accept that Jews had problems with worshipping Caesar.
And since there were so many of them spread across the Empire they were exempt.
Instead of worshipping Caesar they were allowed to simply give an oath of allegiance.
Why is that significant? For two reasons.
First because Christianity from the beginning was regarded as just another Jewish sect.
You had Pharisees and Sadducees… and now you also had Christians.
But under Nero that began to change. Nero made a scapegoat of Christians.
He blamed them for the fires that had destroyed great parts of Rome.
So this letter is reflecting a time where Christians could no longer claim exemption.
Second, there is evidence that the Jews began to dob-in the Christians.
“Hey, look at those Christians, they are not worshipping Caesar… they’re traitors.
And they don’t belong to our mob… so don’t give them an exemption…!”
That seems to be what lies behind the words of Jesus in this letter… in verse 9:
I know the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.
Please… I don’t want to be accused of Anti-Semitism. Christians should never be anti-Semitic.
Jesus was a Jew. He is not being anti-Semitic. John, the author of Revelation was a Jew.
What Jesus does and what John does and what I’m doing is simply highlighting historical facts.
3. Of course persecution was not the only issue in Smyrna.
Jesus also speaks of their economic disadvantage: I know your afflictions and your poverty…!”
So this was not a well-resourced, rich church. We’re inclined to envy well resourced churches.
Kevin De Young has pointed out that Christian churches tend to love the three ‘B’s.
Buildings, budgets and bodies…!
Wonderful, if you have a modern building with all the mod-cons.
And who wouldn’t want a healthy budget so you don’t have to cut costs.
And as for bodies… to put it crudely: we all want to see more ‘bums on seats’.
Smyrna was poor. But Jesus says: You are rich! Rich in the things that really matter.
Some people have suggested that this poverty in Smyrna was a class thing.
They quote Paul, writing to the Corinthians:
Not many of you were wise (humanly speaking)… or influential… or of noble birth.
They claim that Christianity in Asia Minor mainly appealed to the lower classes.
However, it seems to me that there is a better answer – the outworking of persecution.
Israel Folau lost his job with Rugby Australia.
Moira Deeming may well yet lose her job as a politician.
And over the centuries how many hundreds of Christians were bypassed for promotion…
simply because their first priority was not the company they worked for…
the business… but rather the Kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ?
From context it seems obvious that their economic hardship was linked to their persecution.
B] THE SATANAIC NATURE OF PERSECUTION.
1. But I want to ask you an important question. Who is responsible for persecution…?
We could ask that of all the instances of persecution that I’ve mentioned.
Who was responsible for Folau getting kicked out of Aussie Rugby? Just Rugby Australia?
Who are we to blame for Moira Deeming getting expelled? Merely the Victorian Liberals?
And what about the 86-year old bishop of Smyrna… because that’s what Polycarp was.
At this time he was just a lad… possibly sitting right there in a pew in the Church at Smyrna.
He was mentored by the apostle John and later became Smyrna’s bishop.
But who do we blame for his death? Just the Roman proconsul?
Take a look at how Jesus addresses this matter in this letter to them. Verse 10:
I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison… and you will suffer persecution for ten days.
The devil? Yes, the devil! So let’s ask a few more questions:
When Abel was killed was it just because of the hatred and jealousy of his brother Cain?
When Pharaoh persecuted Israel was that just an ancient despot being tyrannical?
When Jezebel tried to kill Elijah was this just a powerful queen bent on revenge?
No! Jesus affirms the Satanic nature of persecution.
At least… he tells Smyrna that’s going to be the case for them.
The devil will put some of you in prison…! It won’t be just the Roman head honcho.
Scripture makes very clear that opposition to Christians does not come from mere humans.
And we need to remember that, next time we’re being belittled for being Christians.
The people who ridicule your faith… who mock your beliefs, are pawns of the devil.
Please… that in no way excuses people who give Christians a hard time.
They won’t be able to say to God on Judgment Day: “The devil made me do it!”
But the point is that persecution is not just a matter of politics.
It isn’t just a case of people being ‘woke’ – politically correct – and therefore seeing us as evil.
As intolerant people… branding us as religious fundamentalists.
We need a goodly dose of realism when it comes to Christians being marginalised today.
Jesus links persecution to the one who hates Jesus Christ with a passion and hates the church too.
It’s all part of a Spiritual battle between the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Satan.
2. I should hasten to add that of course the Enemy has other means of opposing us too.
That comes out clearly in these letters to the seven churches.
These churches are so different… and their problems are all so different.
For some – such as the Church at Ephesus the problem is internal – losing their first love.
Here and in Philadelphia it was external problems (persecution) that troubled the church.
It makes us aware that Satan has a lot of tools in his toolbox.
During this time of Revelation 2 and 3 and under Nero, it was lions in a Roman arena.
For Polycarp in 155-AD it was being burnt at the stake.
But Satan is just as capable of drawing us away from the Lord by modern entertainment.
Today he’s probably more likely to entice us into materialism than burn us at the stake.
But the point is that whether a church’s problems are internal or external the devil is at work.
Jesus highlights the satanic nature of the problem facing the church.
It’s also worth noting that both Smyrna and Philadelphia stand out in this list of seven churches.
They are the only two church of which Jesus makes no criticism at all.
Perhaps we could even see this as: persecution purifying the Christian Church.
There are no negatives here. For Jesus even Smyrna’s poverty is not a handicap.
Because more important than buildings budgets and bodies is love and faithfulness.
3. All of this is particularly relevant in an age that doesn’t take the devil so very seriously.
Too many people today dismiss him or treat him as a cartoon character.
I saw some statistics from the America – that may closely parallel us here in Australia.
Roughly 9 out of 10 people still have some kind of belief in God.
But less than 7 in 10 people believe in the devil and in hell.
C.S. Lewis in his Screwtape Letters reminds us that there are two mistakes we can make.
And Lewis claims (correctly so I believe) that the devil likes both these two extremes.
OTOH – we can dismiss the devil as a figment of people’s imagination.
OTOH – we can take an excessive and unhealthy interest in him.
So do we believe these words of our text about the devil or do we not believe them?
I don’t think we have a choice… remember this letter is dictated by Jesus to the apostle John.
That means that we must take seriously that Satan’s target is especially the church.
The book of Revelation has a fuller description of that in chapter 12.
Revelation 12 is about a vision John has of a woman and a dragon.
The woman is the church and the dragon (Satan) wants to destroy her child – the Christ.
But John sees that when he does not succeed in destroying the Christ…
that he then makes war against the woman and her offspring.
It’s a graphic picture of the total hatred Satan has for the Church.
The other thing we should notice though is that this time of persecution is of limited duration.
That implies that God is in control and He does not let it go on indefinitely.
Our text speaks of a tribulation that will last ten days.
Of course ten is a symbolic number – not a literal 10 days. It may hark back to Daniel 1.
Revelation often uses imagery from the book of Daniel.
And in Daniel 1, Daniel and his friends were tested for ten days.
So it’s a fixed time with limits that God has set. IOW: The devil is not in control, God is.
C] JESUS’ ENCOURAGEMENT TO THE PERSECUTED.
1. Let’s consider then how Jesus wants his church to deal with this satanic inspired persecution.
First Jesus encourages them by the way He introduces Himself in this letter to Smyrna.
Keep in mind that each letter beings with an introduction.
And those introductions takes up themes from Revelation chapter 1.
Here in Smyrna He wants them to be certain about who He is and what He has done.
Two vitally important things for any Christian.
Who is Jesus… and… what has Jesus done?
And then we get it – in just a few short phrases that take us right to the heart of the matter.
He says: …these are the words of Him who is the first and the last.
That’s a cryptic way of Jesus saying that He is almighty God, the great I AM…!
And what an encouragement that is for persecuted Smyrna.
Because of who He is He can say: I know… I know your tribulations and your poverty…!
When you are given a hard time for your faith Jesus knows… and Jesus cares.
That ought to encourage and reassure us.
But He not only tells them who He is… He also tells them what He has done.
He adds: …who died and came to life…!
And that is just so relevant for people who are going to be persecuted and imprisoned.
It’s as if Jesus is saying: Look at me… and what they did to me… they killed me too.
But I am alive. Look at me… and know that death is not the end.
So already in these introductory words Jesus is reassuring them.
In all of this Jesus is showing that He is the Sovereign Lord who is not surprised by events.
2. That’s why Jesus follows that up with call that He made so often while on earth.
Fear not…! We hear that so often in the Bible: Don’t be afraid!
I haven’t counted them – so please don’t quote me – but someone has said
that in the Bible there are 365 calls not to be afraid – or to fear not!
I’m inclined to believe it because it is said by the Lord so very often.
Once for every day of the year…? That would be quite remarkable.
But notice that Jesus also gives some reasons not to fear.
First of all He speaks of this persecution as a test.
I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you…!
When we face persecution and slander God is testing the sincerity of our faith.
And that test is to make us stronger.
Scripture says in Romans 5 and James 1 that the testing of our faith produces perseverance.
And that perseverance builds character. And that’s not something we should fear.
Jesus also adds a call for these Christians to be faithful unto death.
Okay, that’s a tough call for those of us who are scared of dying.
Years ago I had an elderly lady in my congregation who was in hospital with pneumonia,
She was an active member of the church and loved the Lord. Things didn’t look good.
I asked her whether she was ready to face her Maker.
She told me with much regret that she wasn’t and was scared for what might happen.
Interesting isn’t it, that the Devil can hold us captive to fear… also the fear of dying.
That’s why we need that exhortation to ‘fear not!’
That’s why we need to know that Jesus died and came to life. Death is not the end.
At this point I just love the way that Jesus repeatedly says in all of these seven letters:
He who has ears let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
Because that’s where we find our strength not to be afraid.
That’s where we find courage to be faithful unto death – in the Spirit speaking God’s word.
3. Each of the seven letters ends with promises and with rewards.
Here. to Smyrna. Jesus promises that those who overcome will not be hurt by the ‘second death’.
So what’s the second death? Isn’t there just one death… we die and that’s it?
No! In the Bible the second death is about being shut out from God’s presence forever.
The first death is our physical death when we pass from this earthly scene to be with Jesus.
But those who refuse to acknowledge Jesus will also suffer a second death.
That is: an eternity of being cast into outer darkness.
It’s true that there is a sense in which death is an enemy.
It’s something foreign in God’s perfect creation. But death is not the enemy.
Think of it this way: Physical death it’s unavoidable. The statistics for death are still 100%.
You cannot escape the first death… unless Jesus comes while you are still alive.
But the second death… the eternal death is totally avoidable: just put your trust in Jesus.
Do you see how that helps us face any persecution that may come our way?
We know how the story ends. We will be with Jesus and with all those who escape the second death.
And Jesus says that in His new creation we will wear the crown of life.
No wonder that when the apostles were beaten and imprisoned they rejoiced at being worthy to suffer.
I find it interesting how the persecuted churches ask us to pray for them.
Not first of all for an end to the persecution… but for faithfulness to Jesus.
Because they know that the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.
Also through persecution God is working out His plans for the eternal wellbeing of His people.
Amen.