1 THE PERSECUTED CHURCH (part 1) Revelation 2:8-11 March 23, 2014 Dr. Danny Forshee - The church of Jesus Christ has been persecuted from its inception almost 2,000 years ago. While there was intense persecution of Christianity during the first 3 centuries AD, the church continues to undergo extreme hostilities in various parts of the world. To convert to Christ in some countries can mean the loss of your job, your family, and in some cases your life. Today, North Korea is the country where the church is experiencing the most persecution. On the Open Doors website, it reads, For the 12th consecutive year, this is the place where Christian persecution is most extreme. The God-like worship of the leader, Kim Jong-Un, and his predecessors leaves no room for any other religion, and Christians face unimaginable pressure in every sphere of life. Forced to meet only in secret, they dare not share their faith even with their families, for fear of imprisonment in a labor camp. Anyone discovered engaging in secret religious activity may be subject to arrest, disappearance, torture, even public execution. http://www.worldwatchlist.us/world-watch-listcountries/north-korea/ - Approximately 160,000 believers are martyred for their faith each year. Around 200 million Christians live in areas where there is a direct threat of persecution. (Ken McLemore helped get these stats for me.) - Up until AD313 with Emperor Constantine s Edict of Milan, Christians were the subjects of unimaginable hatred and persecution. If you are interested more in the reading the persecution of the early church then read the stirring accounts in Foxe s Book of Martyrs. A good website is opendoorsusa.org. Another excellent book on the persecution of the church is Nik Ripken s book, The Insanity of God. After an intense ministry in Somalia, he and his wife Ruth came back to the USA and after they took some time to heal, Nik went on a worldwide tour of the persecuted church and he reveals his findings in this book. It is outstanding. We have tried for quite some time to get them to come and I have great news we have them confirmed to come and speak here at GHBC May 3-4. - We are currently studying verse by verse the wonderful book of Revelation. We have completed chapter 1 and have begun studying the seven churches of Asia Minor in chapters 2-3. Jesus Christ appeared to the beloved Apostle John and gave him clear messages to be given to each church. These churches were literal, historical churches and the messages given then by Christ have profound meaning for the churches throughout history up until our day.
2 - Last week we looked at the loveless church at Ephesus; today we have the privilege of openly and publicly, with no threat of persecution, studying the second church mentioned, the church at Smyrna. - Read Text 8 And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write, These things says the First and the Last, who was dead, and came to life: 9 I know your works, tribulation, and poverty (but you are rich); and I know the blasphemy of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. 10 Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life. 11 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death. - Our outline is as follows 1. Identification. 2. Commendation. And this is all we will have time for today. Next week we will look at Jesus Commands and His Promises. Today s message is much more theoretical and cerebral if you will. But what we do today will prepare us for the more practical words of application for next week. Like what we did in our study of the church at Ephesus--more meat and vegetables today and desert next week. I. IDENTIFICATION (VS. 8) - A. THE ANGEL - This was the local pastor of the church at Smyrna. He must have been quite a pastor, because he served in a difficult city in the harshest of circumstances. I am reminded of the pastor in China that I was privileged to meet while on a mission trip in China. He and his church worshipped in his home, in a very humble environment in their house church. This man was so humble and grateful and he possessed a resolve and strength about him that equipped him for his work. They were considerably poor and not a part of the government sanctioned church. I remember a white sheet separated his bedroom and the sanctuary which was simply their living room. Very humble, small, but they possessed such joy. - B. THE CHURCH - We are not sure as to how or when exactly the church at Smyrna began. There is a good possibility that Paul or some of his associates, around AD 54-55 started the church while he stayed in Ephesus for over 3 years during his third missionary journey. (Acts 19:10) - The Greek word for Smyrna was used in the Septuagint to translate the Hebrew word for myrrh. The perfume, myrrh, was used at Jesus birth in Matthew 2:11 and in his death in John 19:39. - John MacArthur writes (p.69-70), Its association with death perfectly pictures the suffering church at Smyrna. Like myrrh, produced by crushing a fragrant plant, the
3 church at Smyrna, crushed by persecution, gave off a fragrant aroma of faithfulness to God. At Smyrna, unlike Ephesus, there was no waning of love for Jesus Christ. Because the believers at Smyrna loved Him, they remained faithful to Him; because of that faithfulness, they were hated; because they were hated, they were persecuted; that persecution in turn incited them to love Christ more. - C. The City - The ancient city of Smyrna is the modern, Turkish city of Izmir. Smyrna was the most beautiful city of Asia Minor. The city dates back perhaps as late as 3,000 BC, but the Greeks settled it around 1,000 BC. In 600 BC the Lydians destroyed the city, and it lay in ruins for nearly 300 years. Around 290 BC two of Alexander the Great s successors rebuilt it. (Ibid, p. 70) (Remember this historical fact, as it will be important in our study of this church.) - The city of Smyrna that died and came back to life was located on a gulf of the Aegean Sea and it had an excellent harbor. - It was a most religious city. Smyrna was the center of emperor worship in all of Asia. During these days of the Pax Romana, or the golden age of Rome, the Romans expressed their patriotic pride by worshipping its leader, the Caesar. At first the Roman Caesars rejected the idea of emperor worship, and then they later accepted it until finally they demanded it. Followers of Jesus Christ would not worship or make sacrifices to a mere man so the leaders and the people viewed them as unpatriotic and dangerous. (David Jeremiah s sermon on Smyrna.) - The city was an architect s dream. It was beautifully and aesthetically designed. The streets were lined with groves of trees. The street of gold as they called it, ran from the bay up to Mount Pagos. On this street were temples to Cybele, Apollo, Aphrodite, Zeus, and other gods and goddesses. The city of Smyrna was reportedly the birthplace of the famous Greek poet Homer. (See MacArthur p. 70-71 and The Believer s Study Bible, (p. 1805.) - D. JESUS - Notice the way Jesus describes Himself in the latter part of vs. 8. It is very similar to the description given by our Lord in 1:17-18 where John was in need of a comforting, reassuring word. And here too the believers in light of their extreme persecutions were in need of a word of assurance from the Lord Jesus Christ. He told them He is the First and the Last. He is sovereign, and He will be with them all the way. Then notice He says, Who was dead, and came to life, Just as the city in which they lived had died and come back to life, the Lord Jesus Christ reminds this struggling band of believers that He had conquered death! - Whatever you are up against in your life today, please take to heart that Jesus knows and He can help you. He is the all-powerful God who
4 conquered death. I love Jeremiah 32:27. 27 Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for Me? II. COMMENDATION (VS. 9) - In vs. 9 Jesus tells the believers at Smyrna that He knows. Again, the Greek word is oida and it means to have full knowledge or to know completely. Only the church at Smyrna and Philadelphia do not receive a rebuke from the Lord Jesus. This church was an amazing church. Notice the words of praise and commendation that Jesus gives. - A. WORKS - Jesus gave notice to their works. It is the word ergon used in 2:2, referring to their good deeds in general. We transliterate this word from the Greek into English and have the word ergo that simply means work, and it is the prefix to the word ergonomics, the discipline of human factors or how elements of a system interact with and benefit humanity. - Like the church at Ephesus they worked hard for their Lord. - B. TRIBULATION - The word literally means pressure, and the believers at the church in Smyrna were suffering under extreme pressure. This word translated tribulation was the common word in the New Testament (thlipsis) for persecution (MacArthur, p. 71). Next week I will share with you the martyrdom of one of the pastors at Smyrna around AD 150, a man by the name of Polycarp, an elderly man who was at one time a disciple of the Apostle John. - Most of us, if not all, will not suffer unimaginable, horrific torture and death like the believers at this church did for their faith in Jesus. However, some will. We had some truly heroic people who will go on to live epic lives in our midst on February 26 at the Missionary Appointment Service. One of the IMB trustees, a former student of mine that I discipled came by to see me and told me about one interview he had with a 29-year old single lady. He asked her if there was anything she feared, and she said, Yes I fear being tortured. Another family that was here that same night was going into a city where the family before them were driven out because they were told, We know who you are and what you are doing and we are going to burn your children. - All of us however will suffer in some way for our faith and fidelity to our King, Jesus Christ. The Bible says in 2 Timothy 3:12, Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. You may be passed over for a promotion because of your stance for Christ; you may be fired or mocked or ridiculed, but remember your brothers and sisters in the Lord who have endured and remained faithful. - They were blasphemian, where we get the English word, blasphemy. It means to slander and speak evil against. Followers of Christ were grossly misunderstood and falsely accused. Some of the accusations were they were being unpatriotic because they would not worship the
5 gods of the Empire of Rome, atheists because they rejected the polytheism rampant in their day, those who committed incest because they spoke of loving their brothers and sisters, cannibalistic activities because of them eating the body and drinking the blood of Jesus in the Lord s Supper, arsonists because they spoke of the fire of the Holy Spirit and the fires of judgment (Patterson, p. 96); they were the primary enemies of the state, and for this they were fed to wild beasts, boiled in oil, crucified, and burned at the stake. - Part of their suffering was due to a group Jesus describes in vs. 9 as a congregation of Satan. The Greek word is synagoge, where we get the word synagogue. These unbelieving Jews must have thought they were doing God a favor by persecuting the Christians, but what they were doing was working for Satan. - C. POVERTY - There are two Greek words we translate poverty one is penes, a poor person who just gets by, where we get our word pennies, and the other is ptocheia, and this words means utter poverty, not having money to pay your bills or put food on the table. It means abject, beggarly poverty. Since many were shut out of the business community they could not find work. This is the word used in vs. 9. (See David Jeremiah s sermon on this text.) - But notice that Jesus tells them that they are rich. They were rich in what mattered most and that was in their relationship with God and with one another. They were wealthy in their peace and joy and happiness even though they were greatly hated and persecuted, and poor in the things of the world. - The church at Laodicea in Revelation 3:17 was just the opposite they were poor spiritually though rich materially, and the believers at Smyrna were poor by the world s standards but wealthy in God s eyes. Which is better, a family that struggles financially to make ends meet but who has Christ, love, laughter, and peace in their home or a family that has plenty of money but no relationship with Jesus, little love, laughter, and peace filling their home? I will choose the former any day! CONCLUSION AND INVITATION - We will stop and then continue next week with vs. 10-11 where we will look at the commands and promises Jesus gives to the church at Smyrna. - How has the Lord spoken to you today? Some need to surrender to the Lord s promptings and give your life to Christ. How do you do that? You repent, turn from sin, and embrace Jesus as your Savior and Lord. And please know that when you do embrace Christ it will cost you. But the temporary sufferings of this life cannot compare to the eternal weight of glory you will experience with God in heaven. Read 2 Corinthians 4:16-17. 16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. 17 For our light
affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. - God is calling some to surrender their vocations to God and serve Him in full time ministry. - Some here today need to become a part of our church family and link arms with us and help us become the radiant church God is creating us to be. - I ask you to join me in prayer for the persecuted church all over the world as we enter into our time of invitation. 6