mastering the sword of the spirit, which is the word of god 1 1 chapter 2:8-11 session 4 february...

Mastering the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God1 1

Chapter 2:8-11Session 4

February 21, 2009

The Book of

Revelatio

The Letter toThe Letter tothe Church ofthe Church of

SmyrnaSmyrna

The Letter toThe Letter tothe Church ofthe Church of

SmyrnaSmyrna

Mastering the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God2

Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand. Revelation 1:3

A Unique Promise

What They Were Going Through• Slander

…I know the blasphemy (slander) of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan.

Revelation 2:9

What They Were Going Through• Slander• Poverty• Affliction

– It’s going to get worse…

–…Much Worse…

What They Were Going Through• Slander• Poverty• Affliction• Death!!

…be thou faithful unto

death,…Revelation 2:10

What They Were Going Through• Slander• Poverty• Affliction• Death!!

…behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison,…

Revelation 2:10

The ultimate cause is ’s adversary

What They Were Going Through• Slander• Poverty• Affliction• Death• Fear

…Fear none of those things which thou shaltsuffer:…Revelation 2:10

What They Were Going Through

…Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer:…

Revelation 2:10

Do not fear≠

Do not feel different

Do not fear=

Do not give way to your fears

Let’s ReadRevelation 2:8-11

And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write;

Revelation 2:8

Letter to Smyrna

Mur (Myrrh) == Bitter, or Death

Certainly an appropriate description and fitting name considering the lot of Christians who

lived there.

Myrrh• Myrrh is a bitter gum and costly perfume

which exudes from a certain tree or shrub in Arabia and Ethiopia

• Also an ingredient in – Perfume Ps 45:8– Holy anointing oil for priests Ex 30:23– The purification of women Esther 2:12

• It was used in embalming John 19:39

MyrrhOne of the gifts of the Magi at Messiah’s birth

Matt 2:11

Royalty

Deity,Priesthood

Suffering,Death

Frankincense Myrrh

Myrrh• Perhaps most interesting, myrrh gives off its

scent when it is crushed…• The Garden of Gethsemane derives its name

from an “oil press” (as in olive oil) or the crushing place…where Messiah experienced His agony!

Myrrh• Myrrh was offered to Messiah on the cross

Mark 15:23

• The body of Messiah was embalmed by Joseph & Nicodemus John 19:39-40

• In the Millennium gold and frankincense are offered, but no myrrh Isa 60:6

The multitude of camels shall cover thee, the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; all they from Sheba shall come: they shall bring gold and (frank)incense; and they shall shew forth the praises of the LORD.Isaiah 60:6

Levels of Application

1. Local2. Admonitory (to all churches)3. Personal (Homiletics)4. Prophetic

Smyrna• 42 miles north of Ephesus• Possessed an excellent double harbor

– The outer harbor was a deep water mooring ground; the inner (now silted in) had a narrow entrance that could be blocked with a chain

• Today Smyrna is called Izmir, and it was (until recently) the 3rd largest city in Turkey– Population: 300,000 (NT times: 100,000?)– It exports tobacco, grapes, figs, cotton, olives, and

olive oil

Ephesus

Smyrna

Patmos

Excellent double harborMajor trading port

Ephesus

Patmos

Strategic Location• Smyrna stood at the entrance to the broad fertile

valley of Mermus, at the mouth of the river Meles, and on the well sheltered gulf of Smyrna

• Strategically placed for trade between Europe and Asia; thus, a rival to Sardis and the Lydian kingdom

• Strabo described it as the most beautiful city in the world. Even today, bustling Izmir has been termed the “Paris of the Levant”

Early History• Smyrna was devastated by Lyattes, king of Lydia,

and ceased to exist for three centuries, a pathetic end to a history of two and one-half millennia

• 4th century: Alexander the Great ordered Lysimachus to build a strong, well planned city, the most beautiful in Ionia

• It prospered into one of the greatest of the then known world

• 27 BC: Smyrna came under control of the Romans having proved a faithful ally to Rome in the Syrian and Mithridatic wars

Later History• From 27 B.C. to 324 A.D., enjoyed great material

prosperity • In the reign of Tiberius, it was almost blotted out

by an earthquake• Between 178 and 180 A.D., it suffered a

succession of seismic disturbances which again reduced the vulnerable city to ruins

• Marcus Aurelius once more restored it – parts of his agora are still standing

• In 378 another earthquake demolished the city, but the intrepid Smyrneans again rebuilt

Later History• It was a noted center of learning, especially in

science and medicine• Claimed to be the birthplace of Homer• Ignatius, in his Epistle to the Smyrnaeans

recognized the ongoing zeal of the church at Smyrna: “I observed that you are established in an unshakable faith, having been nailed, as it were, to the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ in both body and spirit and firmly established in love by the blood of Christ.”

Pagan Worship• At the foot of the mountain stood the temple of

Zeus, the father of the gods, regarded as the lord of the sky, rain, clouds, and thunder

• Along the Golden Street stood the shrines of – Apollo, the sun-god – Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty– Aesculapius, the god of medicine – Cybele, a Phrygian nature goddess

• At the Agora (the commercial and political center) were statues of – Poseidon, the sea-god, – Demeter, the goddess of corn

Cybele• The tutelary goddess of Smyrna was Cybele

– (later, the Greek Rhea, the daughter of the sky and the earth and the mother of Zeus, Poseidon and Hades)

• Her worship was wild and unrestrained • As the giver of wealth, depicted as

enthroned and wearing a crown of battlements and towers– “Goddess of fortresses”? Daniel 11:38

Caesar Worship• Smyrna also readily accepted Caesar worship

– In 196 B.C. the Smyrneans erected a temple to Dea Roma, the goddess of Rome, and they subsequently built one to Tiberius in 26 AD

• The worship of the emperor was compulsory (mandatory)– Each year a Roman citizen had to burn a pinch of

incense on the altar and to acknowledge publicly that Caesar was supreme lord

– In return, he received a formal certificate that he had done so

– This act of worship presented a vital test for the Christian, and many who refused perished at the stake or by wild beasts in the arena

These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive;Revelation 2:8

Title of Christ:

Letter to Smyrna

“Polycarp”• It is probable…

• because his pastorate lasted for more than 70 years,

• because his “good confession” was in the year 168 AD,

• because the Revelation was written in 96 AD, and

• because as early as 108 AD, Ignatius found Polycarp the bishop of Smyrna,

• …we need only ante-date this by 12 years and he would have been the angel to whom this letter was addressed

“Polycarp”• The “good confession” – in 168 AD, Polycarp was

burned at the stake, not by the Romans, but by the Jews• He stated that he could not renounce a Lord

whom for 86 years he had served – said Messiah had never let him down, so how could he now let Messiah down?

• 168 AD – 86 AD == 82 AD (one more reason he may have been the angel to whom the letter written)

• Tertullian tells us Polycarp was consecrated bishop of Smyrna by John

These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive;Revelation 2:8

Title of Christ:

Letter to Smyrna

“First and the Last”1. Isaiah 41:42. Isaiah 44:63. Isaiah 48:124. Revelation 1:115. Revelation 1:17-186. Revelation 2:87. Revelation 22:13

“was dead and am alive”

Literally, became dead – reiterating victory over death – it was of paramount importance that the church members understand their possession of eternal life, for they would be asked to “be faithful until death (verse 10). The devil could destroy the body, but nothing else

“was dead and am alive”

Literally, became dead – reiterating victory over death – it was of paramount importance that the church members understand their possession of eternal life, for they would be asked to “be faithful until death (verse 10). The devil could destroy the body, but nothing else

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.

Revelation 2:9

Commendation:

Letter to Smyrna

Tribulation and Poverty• The connection between tribulation and

poverty is found in the likelihood that their goods were being plundered due to persecution for their faith

• How contrary the condition of the church at Smyrna from that of the church at Laodicea which was lacking persecution and abounding in goods (Rev 3:17)

Tribulation• Tribulation = thlipsis

– 1) a pressing, pressing together, pressure– 2) metaphor for oppression, affliction,

tribulation, distress, straits• Not the specific “Great Tribulation”;

we all shall have tribulation, trouble, persecution Jn 16:33; 2 Tim 3:12, etc.

Poverty• “Poverty but rich”

– vs. Laodicea, rich but poor Rev 3:17; 2 Cor 8:9

• Two words for poverty in the Greek: – penia, the state of having nothing superfluous– ptocheia (used here), the state of one who has

nothing at all; implies absolute beggary• “I know your suffering”: Jn 16:33; 2 Tim 3:12 • It could have been relieved by simply a

pinch of incense offered to Caesar...

You are rich…• This church could not be accurately judged by

external measures• In Messiah’s eyes, there are both poor rich

men and rich poor men• The riches of the church at Smyrna were laid

up in Heaven Matt 6:20, 19:21; Luke 12:21, James 2:5

There is one who makes himself rich, yet has nothing; And one who makes himself

poor, yet has great riches.Proverbs 13:7

You are rich…• Material goods are worthless and we should

shift our thinking towards the spiritual things which are truly lasting (2 Peter 3:10-11)

• The church at Laodicea had great material prosperity, but Messiah said that they were “wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked” (Rev 3:17)

Jews “Who Are Not”• Blasphemy: “Synagogue of Satan”

– John knows about blasphemy of Jews Jn 8:44• Legalism: leaven of Galatians

– Demand of Gentile circumcision Acts 15:1,10 – Peter is rebuked by Paul Gal 2:11f; 3:1-3 – Peter agrees 2 Pet 3:15-16

• Early persecution was brought on by the Jews not the Romans – in Antioch Acts 13:50– in Iconium Acts 14:2,5– in Lystra Acts 14:19– in Thessalonica Acts 17:5

Jews “Who Are Not”• It seems the church faced its strongest opposition

from the very ones who were seemingly closest to

• These Jews were the “natural” seed of Abraham• They were unbelieving Jews of Smyrna, who had

physical circumcision, but lacked the circumcision of the heart

• Where do we find this principle?

Jews “Who Are Not”

For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh:

But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.

Romans 2:28-29

They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham's children, ye would do the works of Abraham.

But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God: this did not Abraham. Ye do the deeds of your father. Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God.

John 8:39-41

• Paul warned the Philippian church to beware of the concision (mutilation) – a euphemism for the physically circumcised Jews:

Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision. For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh. Though I might also have confidence in the flesh. If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more:

Philippians 3:2-4

Persecution by the Synagogue of Satan

• Persecution by the Synagogue was something that Messiah had promised (Matthew 23:34; Mark 13:9; Luke 21:12; John 16:12) and something that Paul had experienced (Acts

9:20-23, 13:45-50, 14:2, 17:5-10, 18:6,28, 19:9, 22:22)

“Tares” Sown in Early Church

• Legalism: denial of Christ’s completed work

• Gnosticism: denial of Christ’s humanity

• Caesar worship: denial of Christ’s Lordship

Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna• In 166 AD, the bishop of Smyrna, Polycarp,

refused to recant• “Eighty and six years have I served Him, and

He never did me wrong. How can I now blaspheme my King who has loved me so?”

• The old man was burned at the stake on the Sabbath day, an object of Jewish hatred as well as the Roman persecution

Worship?Today, most of the 600+ million people of modern Israel

(the chosen people of , who are unaware of their prophetic identity) believe they faithfully worship , while they endlessly sprint through memorized “prayers”. They volunteer in soup kitchens and other charities for the needy, and they “teach” the golden rule of treating others properly. Yet all their works are in vain – because they do so their way, according to their terms.

Bible believers today can think they are worshipping the true Messiah when they are actually worshipping a false messiah – “another Jesus”! 2 Cor 11:4

For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.2 Corinthians 11:4

“…ye might well bear with him” can be interpreted “you may very well believe him.”

What is Your Goal in Worship?

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