Revelation 2:8-11

The church at Smyrna was intensely persecuted because they did not conform to the idolatry that was required of them. And they suffered for it. Some of the main lessons from this church are that we have the strongest fragrance for Christ when we are pressured by persecution, riches are only found in Christ, and we have a different perspective than the world—an eternal perspective—that allows us to be faithful even unto death. May we have courage like the believers of Smyrna did.

Smyrna: the Lacerated church

I. The Location (literal local church)

• • Smyrna was a thriving commercial Roman city, a center of business
  • They had a temple to the emperor, where worship to caesar was required
  • Citizens had to offer a pinch of incense on the altar to the emperor
  • Christians were excluded from the economic successes of Smyrna
  • If you have seen the movie Polycarp, it describes this city
  • There was intense persecution here, and many Christians caved
  • The name means “crushed” signifying the making of Myrrh, an incense
  • When myrrh is crushed, it gives off a sweet-smelling fragrance

II. The Likeness of Christ

• • “The first and the last” - unchanging, constant, outlasting
  • “Which was dead, and is alive” - conquered death
  • The embodiment and provider of eternal life
  • He died, faced the ultimate persecution, to give us life
  • Jesus knows…

III. The Letter to the church (merits and warnings)

• • Works, tribulation, and poverty for their steadfastness
  • In the world’s estimate they were in poverty, but they were rich in Christ
  • They were courageous in the face of pain and poverty
  • They labeled things the way that God did
  • Nothing negative is said about this church
  • They are told to not fear, though things would not get better physically
  • The reality that things might never get better in this life for us
  • They were to stay faithful and stay focused on the eternal rewards

IV. The Lineup in Church History (representative)

• • There were ten Roman emperors who intensely persecuted the church
  • This was the period of AD 64-310 (extending beyond these churches)
  • From the apostolic time to Emperor Constantine, ten great periods
  • It would be intense, one right after the other
  • But there was a light at the end of the persecution
  • There was a beginning and an end
  • Compared to eternity, it is brief

V. The Lesson for us (type of church)

• • We serve a Savior Who is alive and the author and finisher of our faith
  • When we face persecution or exclusion, we are an incense to God
  • True wealth and riches are found in Christ
  • Live for the eternal rewards, not the circumstantial