This Too Shall Pass | Seven Churches of Revelation| Week 2
Series: Seven Churches of Revelation | Week 2
Text: Revelation 2:8-11
Any trouble for God’s people is only temporary.
Smyrna’s story reminds believers that suffering is real but not final; the First and the Last sees their pressure, poverty, and slander and calls them to fearless faithfulness. Trouble has an expiry date, and the crown of life belongs to those who endure without yielding to fear. The message strengthens weary hearts: persevere now, because in Christ the worst things are never the last things.
Here’s a thought: Persecution is like a kidney stone – this too shall pass.
Of the 12 apostles appointed by Jesus, 10 of them died as martyrs. Judas, the traitor, took his own life. But John, the youngest of the 12 apostles and the last to die, met a different fate. The Book of Acts tells us that persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem and followers of Jesus scattered.
Tradition tells us that John eventually ended up in Ephesus, where he became the lead elder of the church there.
John was eventually arrested by the authorities and taken to Rome where he was sentenced to death. He was to be plunged into boiling hot oil in front of a crowd of spectators at the Colosseum. The fires were set under the pot, the oil was boiling and John was brought out. Guards picked him up and forcibly plunged him into the scalding liquid.
That’s when something amazing happened. Rather than see a man be brutally boiled to death, the crowd witnessed a miracle: John stood in the oil completely unharmed! Some versions of the story say that many or even all of the spectators converted because of what they saw and heard while John continued to preach from within the pot. The Roman ruler, furious and embarrassed that he was unable to kill John, decided instead to have him banished to the small Greek island of Patmos (Revelation 1:9).
Patmos was a small, rocky and barren area where many criminals of Rome were sent to serve out their prison terms in harsh conditions. There were mines on the island where the criminals were forced to work. John was sent to the island for the same reasons because the early Christians were considered a strange cult group who were known for causing trouble within the Empire.
John survived all of this because God was not finished with him yet. A “revelation” still had to come. While he was in a cave on the island of Patmos, John received a vision. This vision became the Book of Revelation, which would act as a driving force for evangelism in the church age. It prophesied events that surround the return of Christ. John wrote of Christ’s second coming and welcomed His arrival. Even today his writings inspire believers to anticipate the glorious return of Christ.
Some historians and scholars claim that John died while on Patmos and others say that he was freed from the island before his death, perhaps two years after the emperor Domitian died. Some say that he returned to Ephesus, where he died peacefully at the age of 80. No one is certain when or where he died, but many people do agree that he was not executed like the other apostles.
John survived severe persecution and wrote in tough conditions on the island of Patmos to a persecuted church in Revelation 2:8-11:
8 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. 9 I know your afflictions and your poverty - yet you are rich! I know the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. 10 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 the crown of life. 11 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes will not be hurt at all by the second death. NIV
When you face hardship:
Endure the Short-Term
The word Smyrna is related to the word myrrh, which is symbolic of death. Remember the gold, frankincense and myrrh that the Magi brought to the baby Jesus? Myrrh is a fragrant liquid that comes from a thorny tree, which furnished one of the ingredients of the holy ointment, and was used by the ancients in embalming the dead. It spoke of gratitude to God, death and resurrection. It fittingly describes a church persecuted unto death and lying embalmed in the precious spices of its sufferings, such as the church in Smyrna was. It was the church of myrrh, or bitterness, and yet agreeable and precious unto the Lord, holy in the midst of its tribulations, and full of the blessed hope found in the promised resurrection of God’s people.
In its prime Smyrna was well known in John’s day by its merchants, a city of great trade and wealth, a history filled with numerous sackings, fires and destructions. This city is the only one of the seven in Revelation chapters 2 and 3 still in existence with the same name, but it is no longer distinguished for its Christian church since it is now a Muslim city.
Polycarp was a disciple of John and Bishop [lead elder] of Smyrna. When Polycarp was brought before the judge, and commanded to renounce his faith in Christ, he firmly answered, "Eighty and six years have I served him, and he never did me wrong, how then can I blaspheme my king who hath saved me?" He was then condemned to the flames, and suffered cheerfully for Christ his Lord and Master. As the fire engulfed him, the believers noted that it smelled not so much like flesh burning as a loaf baking. He was finished off with the stab of a dagger. The wood for this fire was supplied by people who claimed to be Jewish. By doing so they demonstrated that they were certainly not a synagogue of people devoted to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, but were actually a synagogue of Satan.
Jesus is able to say, “I know,” when His people go through difficult times. He could say to the church in Smyrna, “I know your afflictions.” These believers were under tremendous pressure, suffering persecution for their faith.
Richard Lucien observed, “God’s solidarity with those who suffer does not abolish suffering; it eliminates suffering in isolation.”
“I know your poverty.” (Revelation 2:8) These godly people probably had many of their earthly possessions stolen from them by their persecutors. The rallying cry was not for revenge but for endurance.
A minister's wife elbowed him in the night, "Wake up! There are burglars in our house!"
The minister replied, "So what? Let them find out their mistake by themselves."
“I know the slander.” (Revelation 2:9) There were persons there who professed Judaism, and had a synagogue in the place, and professed to worship the true God; but they had no genuine religion, and they served the devil rather than God. Malicious talk was spread by such devil-worshipers about the followers of Jesus. If you have ever had nasty gossip spread about you, you can appreciate the pain this would have caused.
“Do not be afraid of suffering.” (Revelation 2:10) We can’t be sure what “ten days” means here, whether it is a literal measure of time, or a reference in prophetic language to ten years or to the extent symbolically (ten represented fullness) that the suffering would come. Whatever it was, God’s people were not to fear those who could only harm their bodies.
The Apostle Paul describes how suffering can enhance intimacy with Christ in Philippians 3:10-11:
10 I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead. NIV
The Lord never promised that He would immediately rescue His followers in Smyrna from their persecution and hardship. He chose to comfort them and encourage them by telling them that He knew what they were going through. The rescue was to come later; for now they were called to endure.
Persecution is like a kidney stone – this too shall pass.
Are you suffering hardship? Make sure it is because of your uncompromising stand for Jesus Christ and not because of your own sin or irresponsibility.
Are people slandering you and your reputation? The Lord knows the truth and that is what is most important. He and others who have followed Him over the centuries have experienced the nastiness of slander.
Will there come a time of unprecedented persecution and hardship for followers of Jesus here in Canada? Don’t be shocked if we experience it in our lifetime!
When you face hardship: Endure the Short-Term Anticipate the Long-Term
“These are the words of him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again.” (Revelation 2:8) It is no coincidence that the Lord identifies Himself as the One who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again. In the midst of persecution and suffering He will have the last word.
Even though it looks dark and victory looks afar off for His people, He and His people will win! It looked dark and dismal for the followers of Jesus the weekend He hung on the cross and died, but Sunday morning everything changed! Sometimes it looks dark and dismal 2,000 years later, but there is coming a day when everything will change!
“Yet you are rich!” (Revelation 2:9) The most important realization that could sustain them through such financial setbacks was that spiritual riches were what mattered most. What is seen is temporary; what is unseen is eternal. In a society with a booming industry of litigation and lawsuits these words are beyond comprehension.
“I will give you the crown of life.” (Revelation 2:10) A wreath was placed upon the head of a championship athlete in the Olympic games. The Lord wants to bestow upon His people such a conspicuous and elaborate badge of notoriety or royalty after they have shown themselves faithful to Him through suffering, hardship and persecution.
“He who overcomes will not be hurt at all by the second death.” (Revelation 2:11) The conqueror that has stood firm in every trial and has vanquished all his adversaries will be with the Lord forever. He will not be hurt by the second death, which is an eternal separation from God reserved for people who choose eternal existence apart from Him.
Two men named Richard Hanson lived near each other in the same community. One was a minister and the other was a businessman. The minister passed away at about the same time as the businessman went on a trip to Florida. When the businessman arrived in Florida he sent a text message to his wife informing her of his safe arrival. Unfortunately, the message was somehow delivered in error to the wife of the recently deceased minister.
The message read, “ARRIVED SAFELY; HEAT HERE INCREDIBLE.”
The kingdom of humanity is preoccupied with short-term pleasure. The kingdom of heaven is preoccupied with long-term pay-offs.
Jesus flips the values of our world upside down in Matthew 5:10-12:
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. NIV
The Apostle Paul writes in the midst of adversity in 1 Corinthians 15:19: “If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.” NIV
“He who has an ear let him hear.” (Revelation 2:11) It is hard to admit – especially when you care deeply about a person – but not everyone has an ear that wants to hear what the Holy Spirit is saying. The Lord is calling His listening people to address those who want to hear and to leave those who do not want to hear. If you want to hear God’s Word, let it sink into your heart. If you don’t want to hear God’s Word today, I pray that one day soon (before it is too late) you will want to hear.
The Lord does not point out any shortcomings or great accomplishments in the church in Smyrna. It would appear that they were doing very well simply to “hang in there.” A poor church, in the midst of persecution and suffering, cannot be expected to do much. To endure steadfastly is, then, all that can be looked for, and is worthy of highest commendation. The Lord judges people according to what they do with what they have. Whoever is given much has much required of him (Luke 12:48). The more you have the more accountable to God you become.
By most of the world’s standards the church in Canada is wealthy! What are we supposed to do with this wealth? Invest in God’s kingdom! Supporting His work will yield results not only for this lifetime but for the life to come.
Wayne Gretzky is considered by many to be the greatest hockey player ever. He started skating at the age of three and he started playing minor hockey at the age of six. He spent countless hours practicing before he became a star in the National Hockey League. Most spectators who watch athletes compete neither understand nor appreciate the sacrifices these men and women have made to succeed.
Most people will neither understand nor appreciate the sacrifices that you and I will make as we train for the crown of life. There is One who will: the One who created us and the One who calls us. Over the years I have seen a lot of people quit following Jesus Christ and I have seen a few finish their lives really well. The choice is yours: will you drop out of training when it gets unbearably difficult or will you decide that “this too shall pass” and press on toward the prize?
When you face hardship:
Endure the Short-Term
Anticipate the Long-Term
Any trouble for God’s people is only temporary.