Smyrna: The Persecuted Church

Celebrating the Body of Christ

Before we dive into the message tonight, I want to take a moment to recognize something. This church has always been a very interesting place because it’s always been about the people. I want to take just a minute to recognize the folks who have poured their lives over the last three years into making this church special.

I’m going to start calling out teams and groups, and if you’re in that group, I want you to stand up. Please hold your applause until the end, and then we’re going to fire up some applause like you’ve never heard before for these people who make the church what it is.

For all the people out parking cars on our parking team, stand up. For the frontliners who serve every week to make Sunday night happen, stand up. For the folks who serve in Cafe ADA and provide coffee every week, stand up. For anybody who serves in Kids Connection—I know there’s a bunch of you—stand up. For the folks who have done one-on-one discipleship, stand up. For the people who serve on our worship team, stand up. For the folks that have served in engineering, stand up. To the people on the connections team who work with First Touch, First Contact, and Discovery, stand up. For the folks who allow the ministry to invade their homes as life group leaders and coaches, stand up. For anybody who has served in any capacity in this church on an official team, I’d like you to stand up.

You know what I love about that? I get to add an “oh, by the way.” Oh, by the way, we have a great staff too. It just fires me up that the ministry happens out there. It’s not about watching a list of staff do it all the time, because that’s no fun anyway. Our church participates in ministry. My hat is off to you.

The Church of the Sweet Perfume

Tonight, we are looking at Revelation chapter two, specifically the church of Smyrna in verses eight through eleven. The name “Smyrna” comes from the word myrrh, which was a sweet perfume used in embalming. It’s interesting, and almost ironic, that this is the name of this specific church.

Revelation 2:8-11 (NASB)

’And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: The first and the last, who was dead, and has come to life, says this: ’I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich), and the blasphemy by those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. ’Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison, so that you will be tested, and you will have tribulation for ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life. ‘He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes will not be hurt by the second death.’

As we’ve discussed, these seven churches existed in history, but there are also interesting historical parallels between each church and the church age it might represent. Ephesus, which we covered a couple of weeks ago, represented the first-century church. It had sound apologists and the formation of sound doctrine. Great men of the faith like Justin Martyr and Tertullian stood up and solidified the foundational doctrines we hold today. But they had one problem: they lost their first love.

Smyrna represents the period from about 167 AD to 313 AD with the rise of Constantine. This was a period of intense persecution. The Romans believed that the diseases and pestilences brought back from the Parthian wars were a judgment from their gods because they tolerated “atheists” in their midst. The Romans accused Christians of being atheists because they wouldn’t worship Caesar. They wouldn’t offer a pinch of incense and say, “Curia Caesar”—Caesar is Lord. Instead, they said, “Jesus is Lord.”

Because of that, a great persecution arose. Thousands were killed. They were crucified, impaled, beheaded, and disemboweled. At one point, the Romans decided executions were becoming too expensive and time-consuming. Much like the Nazi Holocaust used gas chambers for expediency, the Romans built massive bonfires and threw Christians into the flames. Stories are told of households holding their babies and leaping together into the fire rather than recanting their faith.

It’s all fun and games to say you stand for your faith, but if you’re standing over a fire with your daughter, that changes everything. You better be sure you believe what you believe. These people died for their faith. They were the suffering church.

The Mark of Authentic Faith

We come from a great heritage of suffering in the Christian church, but we often miss that in our modern culture. In the New Testament, the mark of an authentic believer was suffering. In the Old Testament, the mark was often prosperity—you can trace that through Deuteronomy 28 and the patriarchs. But in the New Testament, the mark of God being with you is often that you suffer.

Paul told Timothy that all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.

2 Timothy 3:12 (NASB)

Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.

He told the church at Philippi that it has been granted to them, for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him but also to suffer for His sake.

Philippians 1:29 (NASB)

For to you it has been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake,

Paul told the church at Rome that we are heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him.

Romans 8:17 (NASB)

and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with [Him] so that we may also be glorified with [Him].

Suffering opens your eyes. Solomon put it this way in Ecclesiastes: it is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, because that is the end of every man, and the living take it to heart.

Ecclesiastes 7:2 (NASB)

It is better to go to a house of mourning Than to go to a house of feasting, Because that is the end of every man, And the living takes [it] to heart.

The furnace of suffering purifies us. It solidifies our faith and affirms who you really are. It’s like the story Jesus told of the sower. When the sun comes up and tests the soil with trial and persecution, who you say you are goes out the window, and who you really are comes out.

What’s interesting about Smyrna is that they receive no rebuke. Only two of the seven churches—Smyrna and Philadelphia—have nothing bad said about them. Why? Because as James says, we should consider it joy when we encounter trials because the testing of faith produces endurance, making us perfect and complete.

James 1:2-4 (NASB)

Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have [its] perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

When these believers endured great persecution, the maturity level of their faith went through the roof. Peter puts it this way: after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.

1 Peter 5:10 (NASB)

After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen [and] establish you.

How many of you would love to be perfected, confirmed, and established in your faith? Are you willing to pay the price? Because the price is suffering. These people had endured it. Their words were seasoned with pain, much like a grandparent who grew up in the Depression. When they talk about life, it carries weight because they have suffered.

The Sovereign Savior

Let’s look at the text again. In verse eight, we see the introduction of who is writing this letter. It says, “The first and the last, who was dead and who has come to life.”

Revelation 2:8 (NASB)

’And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: The first and the last, who was dead, and has come to life, says this:

The phrase “first and last” points to His sovereignty. He is the Alpha and Omega. He is saying, “I set the world in motion, I created it, and I will bring it to fulfillment. I am in control.” Isn’t it good to know someone is in control when suffering hits your life?

Not only that, it says He was dead but is now alive. He understands suffering. We have snapshots of suffering today, but chances are none of you have had your beard torn from your face. You’ve likely never been whipped by a cat-of-nine-tails that ripped the skin off your back. You haven’t had a crown of thorns pressed into your head or been crucified until you drowned on your own internal fluids. He understood suffering, and He conquered death.

1 Corinthians 15:55 (NASB)

‘O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR VICTORY? O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR STING?’

He says to a persecuted church: “I am sovereign. I understand suffering. I have conquered death. Hang in there, beloved.”

I Know Your Tribulation

When suffering enters your world, the first question is usually, “Why?” or “God, where are you?” One of the hardest places for me to be as a pastor is in the living room of a family that just lost a loved one. I had to do that just this last week. They look at me and say, “Go ahead—explain this.” And I have to try to paint a picture of hope in Christ.

I am so grateful for the Scriptures. Psalm 56 says that God has taken account of our wanderings and put our tears in a bottle.

Psalms 56:8 (NASB)

You have taken account of my wanderings; Put my tears in Your bottle. Are [they] not in Your book?

Psalm 116 says that precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His godly ones.

Psalms 116:15 (NASB)

Precious in the sight of the LORD Is the death of His godly ones.

In verse nine, Jesus says, “I know your tribulation and your poverty.” There is hope in that. He knows exactly where you are. You aren’t hidden behind a rock somewhere; He is there in the process with you. That’s why Psalm 23 brings so much comfort.

Psalms 23:1-4 (NASB)

A Psalm of David. The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

The word for “know” here is oida, which means full knowledge. He doesn’t need to glean information; He is fully aware. And when He speaks of poverty, He doesn’t use the word panaya, which means just being “poor” (like a college student who can only afford one latte). He uses ptocheia, which means being completely destitute. He says, “I know you are destitute, but you are rich.”

How can you be rich while destitute? It’s what Jesus meant in the Beatitudes: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Suffering strengthens your faith. It turns what you say you believe into how you actually live.

Strength in Brokenness

Paul recognized this dependence on God. When he asked for his “thorn in the flesh” to be removed, God told him, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.”

2 Corinthians 12:9-10 (NASB)

And He has said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.’ Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.

God’s strength is perfected in us when we recognize our own brokenness and inadequacy. Our prayer changes from “Lord, use me because I’m gifted” to “Lord, if You could use a beggar like me, I’d be grateful.” In that moment, God’s got you. When pride is gone, He raises you up.

I see this most clearly in recovery groups. We have a Celebrate Recovery ministry that is about to launch in our church, and I couldn’t be more pleased. When we did that series on biblical sexuality, people finally started coming out of the shadows of shame.

I remember attending a meeting where a man stood up and said, “I’m a sex addict,” and a woman stood up and said, “I’m a drug addict; I’ve been sober for two weeks.” And the room erupted in applause. They weren’t judging; they were celebrating the honesty. I thought to myself, Is that not what the church should be? I am fired up that recovering addicts are finding a home in this church, because if God can get a hold of our brokenness, we can be mended for His use.

Facing Opposition

In verse nine, Jesus mentions opposition from those who say they are Jews but are not. Paul clarifies in Romans that a true Jew is one who is a Jew inwardly, whose circumcision is of the heart.

Romans 2:28-29 (NASB)

For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh. But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God.

He tells the Philippians to beware of the “false circumcision” because we are the true circumcision who worship in the Spirit of God.

Philippians 3:2-3 (NASB)

Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of the false circumcision; for we are the [true] circumcision, who worship in the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh,

Jesus calls these opposers the “synagogue of Satan.” He isn’t being mean; He’s calling out the spiritual reality. There is a battle going on. In Revelation, the curtain is pulled back, and we see Satan for who he really is—the dragon trying to devour the work of God.

Are you suffering for Christ? If you aren’t, could it be that your faith isn’t a threat to the enemy? If your faith is so private and hidden that you aren’t even on the radar, you might not experience this kind of opposition. But Paul reminds us that our struggle is not against flesh and blood.

Ephesians 6:12 (NASB)

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual [forces] of wickedness in the heavenly [places].

The Promise of the Crown

In verse ten, Jesus gives two commands. First: “Do not fear.” He tells them that the devil is about to cast some of them into prison to be tested for “ten days.” This doesn’t mean literally ten days; it means a defined, short period of time. He is saying, “Hang in there; I am still in control, and I won’t give you more than you can handle.”

Revelation 2:10 (NASB)

’Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison, so that you will be tested, and you will have tribulation for ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.

Think of Job. Satan had to ask permission to touch Job’s life. Even in the midst of losing everything, Job said, “Though He slay me, I will praise Him.” God restored Job because he hung in there.

Second, Jesus says, “Be faithful until death.” The Greek implies “become faithful.” It’s about who you are becoming. You handle trials differently now than you will in a decade.

When my wife and I went through our first miscarriage, it crushed us. We went in for the ultrasound, ready to hear a heartbeat, and there was nothing. But when we went through it again later, it was different. We had been strengthened by our previous suffering. My wife took that second one like an ocean liner hitting a wave—she just cruised through it because her faith had been perfected in the fire.

Jesus promises the “crown of life.” This is the stephanos, the victor’s wreath given to an athlete who wins. It’s the reward for those who endure.

Why Trials Come

I want to give you five biblical reasons why trials come into our lives:

1. Disciplinary: Sometimes God uses suffering to wake us up. Paul noted that some in Corinth were sick or had died because they treated the Lord’s Table with contempt. Suffering can be a spotlight on hidden sin.
2. Preventative: Paul’s thorn was given to keep him from exalting himself. It keeps us from thinking we are someone we aren’t and keeps our perspective on God.
3. Educational: Romans 5 tells us that tribulation brings perseverance, character, and hope. You become educated on how to hang in there.
4. Credibility: Suffering gives you a “Purple Heart” for your faith. When my friend Trent lost his five-year-old son, his faith stayed ironclad. When he talks about hope in Jesus, he has massive credibility because he has walked through the valley.
5. Capacity to Care: We are comforted so that we can comfort others with that same comfort.

2 Corinthians 1:3-4 (NASB)

Blessed [be] the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

When people have a miscarriage, they don’t call someone who has never had kids; they call my wife and me. God doesn’t waste anything. He uses your pain to give you a purpose in helping others.

The Overcomer’s Reward

Jesus finishes in verse eleven by saying that he who overcomes will not be hurt by the second death.

Revelation 2:11 (NASB)

‘He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes will not be hurt by the second death.’

As a believer, you are an overcomer. The ultimate end of suffering is death, but you have nothing to fear. We don’t grieve as those who have no hope. We have a Savior who promised that when we die, we go into the presence of God.

Trial is inevitable. How we deal with it dictates whether we grow or buckle. This church in Smyrna—these sweet saints of old—endured with great patience. And because of that, God said, “Well done.”

Let’s pray.

Lord, thank You for this text and for this church. No one here is immune to suffering. There are stories of death, crisis, and pain in this room right now. I pray that You would use this church to encourage and heal one another. Use our suffering to give us a purpose for the pain. Help us not to fear, but to become faithful. For those just starting a trial, give them courage. For those who have endured much, help them to hang in there for the glory of Christ. Amen.