Rev. 2:9 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.
Rev. 2:10 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.
Rev. 2:11 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.
In Revelations Chapter 2 verses 8 – 11 we find Christ addressing the church at Smyrna. It is interesting to note our Lord refers to himself as “the first and the last, which was dead and is alive” – especially to this particular church. As we will see Christ states that he has seen their work, tribulation, and poverty, but he also prophesys to them that more is coming. By referring to himself as the one “which was dead, and is alive” he is informing them that the God that they worship is not one who is far off and cannot relate to their tribulations. He too suffered unto death, but fear not, he is alive again! He was the first to be victorious over death.
In verse 10 Jesus spoke of death, because many of them were to be martyred. But we see Jesus reaffitming to them that He was the first to live again, and through him, the people of Smyrna (and us too!) will live again also.
In midst of such affliction, it is easy to think God has forgotten - but Jesus knows. The church at Smyrna has no rebuke, like the others, only a promise of a victor's crown; which is essentially a trophy from God. Jesus did not call the Church of Smyrna to repentance because He knew they would be purified by the sufferings they would endure.
Let us turn now to a little background on the Church of Smyrna:
Smyrna was an ancient city of Ionia, on the western coast of Asia Minor, about 40 miles to the north of Ephesus. Today it is called ISMIR, Turkey. It is now the chief city of Anatolia, having a mixed population of about 200,000, of whom about one-third are professed Christians. Polycarp, a pupil of the apostle John, was in the second century a prominent leader in the church of Smyrna. Here he suffered martyrdom, A.D. 155. b.
From a Commentary by David Guzik @ The Blue Letter Bible.org:
In 196 BC, Smyrna built the first temple to Dea Roma - the goddess of Rome, the spiritual symbol of the Empire. Once the "spirit" of Rome began to be worshipped, it wasn't much of a step to worship the dead Emperors of Rome; then it was only another small step to start worshipping the living Emperors, and then to demand such worship as a display of political allegiance and civic pride.
The Emperor Domitian (81-96) was the first to demand worship as Lord from all as a test of political loyalty; traditionally, it was under his reign that John was banished to the island of Patmos where he received this vision.
In 23 AD Smyrna won the privilege (over 11 other cities) of building the first temple for the worship of Tiberius Caesar; they were a leading city in cult of the emperor.
Smyrna was named after it's main commercial product; MYRRH. In the Greek Smyrna means “Myrrh” which actually means “bitter”. Myrrh is traditionally used as perfume and in sacred oils and ointments. Its allegoric implications throughout the Bible is sacrificial “bitter” suffereing and it is one of the gifts that the wisemen brough to Jesus at his birth.
To extract the oil and fragrance from the Myrrh plant it must be beaten. It is interesting to see how prophetic the name of this city and it’s church turned out to be.
In "church era" context, The Church in Smyrna is thought to represent the Martyr Church of the 2nd and 3rd centuries.
Onto the text:
In verse 8 we see Jesus reassuring the church that he knows their works, tribulation, and poverty; He knows them both in the sense that He sees what is happening to them, and in the sense that He knows them by personal experience. Jesus knows the abuse they have endured at the hands of "religious" men, those who say they are Jews and are not .
Historically, we are told there was a large and hostile community of Jews in Smyrna; but John wants us to know that a true Jew is one who trusts God and believes in Jesus Christ (Philippians 3:3) - others may be Jews ethnically (which is no small matter before God), but not spiritually before God
The verdict? They are rich. (v. 9)
Every outward circumstance said that the Christians in Smyrna were poor, even destitute; but Jesus sees through the circumstances to see that they are really rich
Rich is what Jesus thought of them - your estimation of yourself is far less important than God's estimation of you; the church at Laodicea thought they were rich, but were really poor (see 3:17)
The outward poverty but spiritual riches of the Christians in Smyrna reminds us that there is nothing inherently spiritual in being rich (though there is also nothing inherently spiritual in being poor, either)
Riches do present an obstacle to the kingdom, an obstacle that some do not overcome (Mark 10:23-25). There is nothing wrong with having money - but does it have you?
In the glory days of the Renaissance Papacy, a man was marveling at the splendors and riches of Rome, with the Pope. The Pope told him, "we no longer have to say what Peter told the lame man: Silver and gold have I none." His companion replied, "But neither can you say, rise up and walk."
What Jesus wants them to do: get ready for the dark days ahead (v.10)
Do not fear is more literally "stop being afraid" - these Christians in Smyrna were afraid; they were human beings, not robots who were invulnerable to fear.
The devil is about to throw some of you into prison: this persecution is from the devil, but it is controlled by God as seen by the limited time given; 10 days.
God limits the persecution (ten days); He is in ultimate command
There has been much debate regarding the meaning of the 10 days; is John really speaking of ten days of persecution, ten years of persecution, or ten emperors of persecution? We have no compelling reason to say it means anything other than ten days of severe persecution coming, with an emphasis on the idea that it is a limited time
Why couldn't these Christians in Smyrna just rebuke Satan out of this attack upon them? Because God had a purpose in their suffering: to purify them (1 Peter 1:6-7); to make them like Jesus (Romans 8:17); and to be a witness (the blood of their martyrs will be as seed for the church)
Most specifically in this case, it is so that they may be tested, in the sense of being proven - through this suffering, God will display the true riches of the church in Smyrna to everyone, including themselves - even though He knows their riches already.
This church has no evil spoken against it; this church only of the seven survives today (in succession through centuries of Roman and Muslim persecution)
So what does this mean prophetically for the universal church in all time?
We may not have the same opportunity to suffer for Jesus that the Christians in Smyrna had, but we can have their same heart - you may not die a martyr's death, but you can live a martyr's life.
… be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life. (v.10)
Smyrna had a "crown" of beautiful buildings at the top of Mt. Pagos; pagan worshippers in the city wore crowns; and good citizens and victorious athletes were given crowns
Here, Jesus is giving crowns of eternal life to His winners.
His final commendation in verse 11 we see again Jesus reassuring his church in all time and space, 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.
A wonderful promise indeed.
( Much of this post taken From A commentary by David Guzik @ The Blue Letter Bible.org)
