Saturday, November 16, 2013

SMYRNA – MATERIALLY POOR BUT SPIRITUALLY RICH


The second letter is addressed to the church at Smyrna; the city today known as Izmir, Turkey. 

Revelation 2:8–11 “And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive; I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan. Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.”

The Lord begins His letter to Smyrna again declaring that He knows what they are doing; however, He also immediately lets them know that He is aware that they are suffering tribulation/persecution.  They are being slandered with vicious verbal abuse by those who claim to be “Jews,” followers of God, but are actually followers of Satan, God’s greatest enemy.  I think this is an important truth for believers to understand today; labels such as Jew, Christian, etc., are not always—in fact, today often are not—true indicators of one’s belief.  There are many who claim the name “Christian” today that do not accept God’s word as true and that deny or misuse the scripture to support sin and harmful attitudes toward others, e.g., the murder of unborn babies, sexual immorality, and anti-Semitism.  These actions very often result in the persecution of those who stand for the truth of God’s word in opposition to these actions.

The Lord also lets the believers in Smyrna know that He is aware of their poverty while emphasizing that in His eyes they are spiritually rich.  Again, that is a truth that the prosperity preachers in the professing church today ignore.  It is not God’s will that all believers enjoy material wealth.  It is God’s will that every believer be laying up treasure in heaven and become spiritually rich.

Matthew 6:19–21 “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”

In fact, it is God’s desire that we love Him so much that we are willing to sacrifice all that we possess to follow Him.  We are even to love Him more than our father, mother, son or daughter.

Luke 18:22–25 “Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me. And when he heard this, he was very sorrowful: for he was very rich. And when Jesus saw that he was very sorrowful, he said, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God! For it is easier for a camel to go through a needle’s eye, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.”

Matthew 10:37–38 “He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.”

To take up one’s cross is a statement of denying self in submission to His will.

Jesus is always truthful with those He loves, even when that truth is not something we want to hear.  He tells this group of believers that they will suffer a time of spiritual testing that will result in some of them being thrown into prison.  The Greek for “days” allows for the phrase “ten days” to be representative of a period of time—even years.  The important point being made is that those who remain faithful to Him (whose faith is proven genuine through the time of testing)—even to the point of death—will receive a crown of life.  In other words, death will not mark the end of their lives, but a new beginning.

Jesus affirms this conclusion by declaring that true men and women of faith will not suffer the second death—death that condemns one to eternal separation from God.  The future of every believer is declared to be more wonderful than we can even imagine.

1 Corinthians 2:9 “But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.”

Ephesians 3:17–20 “That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God. Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think….”

(to be continued…)

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