REVELATION. 2:.8-11 THE BITTER CHURCH SMYRNA The modern city of Izmir, Turkey

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1 REVELATION. 2:.8-11 THE BITTER CHURCH SMYRNA The mdern city f Izmir, Turkey Agura Marketplace in Smyrna tday

2 The name Smyrna means bitter and is related t the wrd myrrh. 1 Typically representing the fragrance f Christ Sng f Slmn 3:6 Wh is this cming ut f the wilderness Like pillars f smke, Perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, With all the merchant s fragrant pwders? Psalm 45:8 (Describing the heavenly Bridegrm) All Yur garments are scented with myrrh and ales and cassia, Out f the ivry palaces, by which they have made Yu glad. Matthew 2:11 And when they had cme int the huse, they saw the yung Child with Mary His mther, and fell dwn and wrshiped Him. And when they had pened their treasures, they presented gifts t Him: gld, frankincense, and myrrh. Mark 15:22-23 And they brught Him t the place Glgtha, which is translated, Place f a Skull. 23 Then they gave Him wine mingled with myrrh t drink, but He did nt take it. Jhn 19:39-40 And Nicdemus, wh at first came t Jesus by night, als came, bringing a mixture f myrrh and ales, abut a hundred punds. 40 Then they tk the bdy f Jesus, and bund it in strips f linen with the spices, as the custm f the Jews is t bury. The Fragrance f Christ: 2 Crinthians 2:14-16 Nw thanks be t Gd wh always leads us in triumph (ver death) in Christ, and thrugh us diffuses the fragrance f His knwledge in every place. (every where we g we speak and live a triumph ver eternal death and eternal judgment) 15 Fr we are t Gd the fragrance f Christ amng thse wh are being saved and amng thse wh are perishing. (Our Father lves t smell His victry fragrance n us, every where we g.) 16 T the ne we are the arma f death leading t death, and t the ther the arma f life leading t life. And wh is sufficient fr these things? (the fragrance f death, a sweet smell t thse saved, a wretched stench t thse that are damned.) In Smyrna (ἐν Σμυρνῃ [en Smurnēi]). Nrth f Ephesus, n a gulf f the Aegean, ne f the great cities f Asia (prvince), a seat f emperrwrship with temple t Tiberius, with many Jews hstile t Christianity wh 1 Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Expsitin Cmmentary, vl. 2 (Wheatn, IL: Victr Bks, 1996),

3 later jin in the martyrdm f Plycarp, pr church (rich in grace) which receives nly praise frm Christ, scene f the recent massacre f Greeks by the Turks. 2 As early as 195 B.C., Smyrna fresaw the rising pwer f Rme and built a temple fr pagan Rman wrship. In 23 B.C., Smyrna was given the hnr f building a temple t the Emperr Tiberius because f its years f faithfulness t Rme. Thus, the city became a center fr the cult f emperr wrship a fanatical religin that later, under such emperrs as Ner (ruled A.D ) and Dmitian (ruled A.D ), brught n severe persecutin fr the early church. At abut the time f Revelatin, the emperr Dicletian was the first t make emperr wrship COMPULSORY. Plycarp: Plycarp (/ˈpɒliˌkɑːrp/; Greek: Πολύκαρπος, Plýkarps; Latin: Plycarpus; AD ) was a 2nd-century Christian bishp f Smyrna. Plycarp is regarded as a Church Father in the Eastern Orthdx, Oriental Orthdx, Cathlic, Anglican, and Lutheran churches. His name 'Plycarp' means 'much fruit' in Greek. 3 One f the Apstle Jhn s cnverts: Plycarp, served here as a bishp until his martyrdm abut AD 168. Plycarp heard that he was sught after by sldiers and attempted t escape but was discvered by a child. After feeding the guards wh captured him he asked fr an hur in prayer, which they gave him. He prayed with such fervency, that his guards said they were srry that they were the nes wh captured him. Nevertheless, he was taken befre the gvernr and cndemned t be burned in the market place. After his sentence was given, the gvernr said t him, Reprach Christ and I will release yu. Plycarp answered, Eighty-six years I have served Him, and He has never nce wrnged me. Hw then shall I blaspheme my King wh has saved 2 A.T. Rbertsn, Wrd Pictures in the New Testament (Nashville, TN: Bradman Press, 1933), Re 2:

4 me? In the market place, tied t the stake rather than nailed, as was the usual custm, because he assured them he wuld stand immvable in the flames and nt fight them. As the dry sticks placed arund him were lit, the flames rse up and circled his bdy withut tuching him. The executiner was then rdered t pierce him with a swrd. When he did, a great quantity f bld gushed ut and put ut the fire. Althugh his Christian friends asked t be given his bdy, as it was, s they culd bury him, the enemies f the gspel insisted that it be entirely burned with fire, which was dne. 4 Other ancient literature ntes that this city was knwn fr its wickedness and ppsitin t the Christian Gspel in the first century. 5 8 And t the angel f the church in Smyrna write, These things says the First and the Last, wh was dead, and came t life: Jesus intrduces Himself t Smyrna as: First and Last I was here befre yu, I ll be here with yu, I ll be waiting fr yu! Revelatin 1:8 4 The New Fxes Bk f Martyrs, Jhn Fxe, rewritten and updated by Harld J. Chadwick, Bridge-Lgs Publishers, 1997, Nrth Brunswick, NJ, Pgs The Revelatin f Jesus Christ, A cmmentary by Jhn F. Walvrd, by Jhn Walvrd, Mdy Press, Chicag,

5 8 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, says the Lrd, wh is and wh was and wh is t cme, the Almighty. Isaiah 41:4 Wh has perfrmed and dne it, Calling the generatins frm the beginning? I, the LORD, am the first; And with the last I am He. Isaiah 44:6 8 6 Thus says the LORD, the King f Israel, And his Redeemer, the LORD f hsts: I am the First and I am the Last; Besides Me there is n Gd. 7 And wh can prclaim as I d? Then let him declare it and set it in rder fr Me, Since I appinted the ancient peple. And the things that are cming and shall cme, Let them shw these t them. 8 D nt fear, nr be afraid; Have I nt tld yu frm that time, and declared it? Yu are My witnesses. Is there a Gd besides Me? Indeed, there is n ther Rck; I knw nt ne. Isaiah 48: Listen t Me, O Jacb, And Israel, My called: I am He, I am the First, I am als the Last. 13 Indeed My hand has laid the fundatin f the earth, And My right hand has stretched ut the heavens; When I call t them, They stand up tgether. (imagine the stars standing up all tgether!) I Was dead I Came t life The encuragement that even death cannt suppress the hand f Gd! Revelatin 1:18 I am He wh lives, and was dead, and behld, I am alive frevermre. Amen. And I have the keys f Hades and f Death. 5

6 1 Crinthians 15:20 22, But nw Christ is risen frm the dead, and has becme the firstfruits f thse wh have fallen asleep. 21 Fr since by man came death, by Man als came the resurrectin f the dead. 22 Fr as in Adam all die, even s in Christ all shall be made alive. 50 Nw this I say, brethren, that flesh and bld cannt inherit the kingdm f Gd; nr des crruptin inherit incrruptin. 51 Behld, I tell yu a mystery: We shall nt all sleep, but we shall all be changed 52 in a mment, in the twinkling f an eye, at the last trumpet. Fr the trumpet will sund, and the dead will be raised incrruptible, and we shall be changed. 53 Fr this crruptible must put n incrruptin, and this mrtal must put n immrtality. 54 S when this crruptible has put n incrruptin, and this mrtal has put n immrtality, then shall be brught t pass the saying that is written: Death is swallwed up in victry. 55 O Death, where is yur sting? O Hades, where is yur victry? 9 I knw yur wrks, I knw yur tribulatin, and I knw yur pverty (but yu are rich); and I knw the blasphemy f thse wh say they are Jews and are nt, but are a synaggue f Satan. Separate articles f same gender, emphasizing each item. 6 They may nt have enjyed the apprval f men, but they certainly received the praise f Gd. Hwever, the Lrd did give them slemn wrds f admnitin as they faced increased suffering: Dn t be afraid! 7 Yur wrks: Tribulatin Pverty 6 A.T. Rbertsn, Wrd Pictures in the New Testament (Nashville, TN: Bradman Press, 1933), Re 2:9. 7 Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Expsitin Cmmentary, vl. 2 (Wheatn, IL: Victr Bks, 1996),

7 Besides suffering persecutin, they were als enduring extreme pverty (in cntrast with penia, the rdinary wrd fr pverty ). 8 Blasphemies Liars All f these make fr a rich church in Jesus estimatin. James 2:5 Listen, my belved brethren: Has Gd nt chsen the pr f this wrld t be rich in faith and heirs f the kingdm which He prmised t thse wh lve Him? 2 Crinthians 6:10 as srrwful, yet always rejicing; as pr, yet making many rich; as having nthing, and yet pssessing all things. 2 Crinthians 8:2 that in a great trial f afflictin the abundance f their jy and their deep pverty abunded in the riches f their liberality. Cntrast this with the reprt f the Church f Ladicea: Revelatin 3:17 Because yu say, I am rich, have becme wealthy, and have need f nthing and d nt knw that yu are wretched, miserable, pr, blind, and naked 10 D nt fear any f thse things which yu are abut t suffer. Indeed, the devil is abut t thrw sme f yu int prisn, that yu may be tested, and yu will have tribulatin ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give yu the crwn f life. Crwn f Life The reward fr faithfulness is the crwn f life, that is, the crwn that is life itself. It is nt the ryal crwn (the diadēma) that is prmised, but the wreath r garland (the stephans) that was awarded t the victr at the games. Its value lay nt in itself but in what it symblized. 9 Gd knws ALL the plans f the Devil lng befre they hit us! 4 prmises: 1 Crinthians 10:13 N temptatin has vertaken yu except such as is cmmn t man; but Gd is faithful, wh will nt allw yu t 8 Walvrd, Jhn F., and Zuck, Ry B., The Bible Knwledge Cmmentary, (Wheatn, Illinis: Scripture Press Publicatins, Inc.) 1983, Rbert H. Munce, The Bk f Revelatin, The New Internatinal Cmmentary n the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing C., 1997), 76. 7

8 be tempted beynd what yu are able, but with the temptatin will als make the way f escape, that yu may be able t bear it. 1. Satan can t d anything mre than tempt yu he cannt make yu cmmit a sin! WE CAN RESIST THE DEVIL! James 4:7 8 7 Therefre submit t Gd. Resist the devil and he will flee frm yu. 8 Draw near t Gd and He will draw near t yu Every temptatin is a cmmn ne yu re nt singled ut 3. Gd is faithful never allwing yu t be tempted beynd what yu can endure! 4. Gd will always prvide an ESCAPE frm that temptatin! 10 days? Tribulatin f ten days (r within ten days ). It is unwise t seek a literal meaning fr ten days. Even ten days f suffering might seem an eternity while they lasted. 10 In the years A.D. 100 thrugh A.D. 313, there were ten Rman emperrs wh crrespnd t the ten days spken f here. They launched such massive attacks against the believers that between five and seven millin Christians were killed during their rule. 11 Testing fr ten days is a symblic allusin t the minr test f Daniel 1:12, which preceded the majr trials faced by Daniel and his three cmpanins. 12 Thmas suggests that βάλλειν has the durative idea f the present tense ( keep n casting ). He writes that ne after anther, certain members f the Christian cmmunity culd expect t be seized by the Rman authrities 13 in Smyrna as a result f accusatins brught by the Jewish cmmunity in the city (1.167). That yu may be tested: it shuld be nticed that it is the jailing itself f sme f these Christians that is the test, s it may be better t translate and in this way yu will be tested. The use f the verb t test here is different frm its use in verse 2; here the purpse is either their enemies attempt t get them t renunce their Christian faith, r else (which is mre likely) it is part f the divine plan t test the genuineness f their faith. 14 And fr ten days yu will have tribulatin: in apcalyptic literature ten days stands fr a shrt, limited amunt f time. Sme cmmentatrs cnnect the phrase t Daniel 1:14. Fr tribulatin see the cmments at 1:9. Other ways f phrasing this clause are and yu will g thrugh hard times fr ten days r and yu will suffer trials fr a shrt time. 15 Keep n becming faithful (present middle imperative f γινομαι [ginmai]), keep n prving faithful unt death A.T. Rbertsn, Wrd Pictures in the New Testament (Nashville, TN: Bradman Press, 1933), Re 2: Jn Cursn, Jn Cursn s Applicatin Cmmentary (Nashville, TN: Thmas Nelsn, 2003), Craig S. Keener, The IVP Bible Backgrund Cmmentary: New Testament (Dwners Grve, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1993), Re 2: Rbert H. Munce, The Bk f Revelatin, The New Internatinal Cmmentary n the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing C., 1997). 14 Rbert G. Bratcher and Hward Hattn, A Handbk n the Revelatin t Jhn, UBS Handbk Series (New Yrk: United Bible Scieties, 1993), Rbert G. Bratcher and Hward Hattn, A Handbk n the Revelatin t Jhn, UBS Handbk Series (New Yrk: United Bible Scieties, 1993), A.T. Rbertsn, Wrd Pictures in the New Testament (Nashville, TN: Bradman Press, 1933), Re 2:10. 8

9 11 He wh has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says t the churches. He wh vercmes shall nt be hurt by the secnd death. Overcmers: 1. Eat frm the Tree f Life will live frever. (Rev 2.7) 2. Shall nt be hurt by the secnd death. (Rev 2.11) Revelatin 20:6 Blessed and hly is he wh has part in the first resurrectin. Over such the secnd death has n pwer, but they shall be priests f Gd and f Christ, and shall reign with Him a thusand years. Revelatin 20: Then I saw a great white thrne and Him wh sat n it, frm whse face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was fund n place fr them. 12 And I saw the dead, small and great, standing befre Gd, and bks were pened. And anther bk was pened, which is the Bk f Life. And the dead were judged accrding t their wrks, by the things which were written in the bks. 13 The sea gave up the dead wh were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead wh were in them. And they were judged, each ne accrding t his wrks. 14 Then Death and Hades were cast int the lake f fire. This is the secnd death. 15 And anyne nt fund written in the Bk f Life was cast int the lake f fire. Ezekiel 18: Cast away frm yu all the transgressins which yu have cmmitted, and get yurselves a new heart and a new spirit. Fr why shuld yu die, O huse f Israel? 32 Fr I have n pleasure in the death f ne wh dies, says the Lrd GOD. Therefre turn and live! 9