Smyrna’s Story
Page of
Revelation 2
8 “And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: The first and the last, who was dead, and has come to life, says this:
9 ‘I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich), and the blasphemy by those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.
10 Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison, so that you will be tested, and you will have tribulation for ten days. Be faithful until 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 by the second death.’
Let’s pray
This morning we are continuing in our study of the churches that existed in the first century after Christ’s ascension into heaven.
Last week I explained some of the backdrop to this book of Revelation. We learned that the Apostle John obeyed God by writing down everything he saw in a vision while in exile on the island of Patmos.
We also know that John returned to Ephesus after his exile ended in 96 AD where, perhaps, the letters were given to the angels of these churches mentioned.
When the Bible says, for example in verse 8, “And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write:” - what the Bible is referring to is the Pastor of the church in Smyrna. And we can safely assume it is so because God uses human means to write down and transport these letters to the churches.
We also know, that one of the primary functions of an angel is to be a messenger of God to His people. Perhaps the closest encounter of an angel relaying God’s message to this time in history was Gabriel coming to give Mary the message that she was going to have a baby, the messiah who she was to call Jesus.
So when the angel or pastor was given this message by the hand of John from the mouth of God, the pastor would also do his job in relaying the truth of God’s word to the people to whom it was for.
One of the primary functions of a pastor is to be a harold. I like how Andrew Murch put it in his article: “The Preacher is a Herald.”
He writes: “The preacher as herald deals with the preacher’s proclamation and appeal.
The herald has good news to proclaim to the whole world.
The herald is in the office of the “town crier” who proclaims good news to all. In places like Medieval England, where literacy rates were extremely low, the town crier would stand in the open town squares and proclaim news that was important for the people of the village.
He gave public announcements on behalf of the courts, direct messages from the king, or news that was pertinent for all to hear.
The herald makes a passionate appeal to the listeners to be reconciled to God. The preacher must understand that every sermon, whether it is preached to 15 people or to 15,000 people, is an appeal to the hearers for reconciliation to God through Jesus Christ.
It is the job of the herald to also be a steward. The herald must stick to the message, because the herald is a steward of the message from the king.
John Stott, in his book The Preacher’s Portrait writes:, “It was essential that the herald be a man of considerable self-control. The proclamation must be exactly as it was received. As the mouthpiece of his master he dare not add his own interpretation.”
https://www.tobethechurch.com/the-preacher-is-a-herald/
And that is so true. It is the responsibility of the Preacher, the Angel, the Harold, or town crier, to know exactly what the message is, and to relay “that” message to the people so that they can be reconciled unto God.
The church in Smyrna had a very famous Pastor, his name was Polycarp. Polycarp was a disciple of the Apostle John, and must have received this letter from John while pastoring his Church in Smyrna.
What is interesting about this Pastor is that he will eventually face exactly what this letter says the church will face.
Polycarp does suffer and Polycarp does become a martyr who was, as verse 10 commands, faithful unto death.
At the end of the message I would like to share his story with you.
Now, although this was one message, here in Revelation 2, that was written to Smyrna, it does not however, only apply to Smyrna.
Even though it was written to a specific people who were dealing with a specific kind of trial, the message can be to all of us, to learn from their lives, and to know more about who God is, what He expects of us, and how He blesses those who obey Him.
And for that reason, as I said before, my intention in this sermon series, which began a few weeks ago when we were in Psalms 81, is for us as a church, to really experience God, in this place.
We have come to know a lot about God, who He is, and what He does... but how do we transition from knowing... to doing and experiencing God working in a mighty way here in Interlaken?
If we could ask God to write a letter specifically to us, His church in Interlaken, what do you think His message would be?
To that point, as His under shepherd, I am a herald sent to you, by the King, to offer you a message of what God has laid on my heart to say to you.
And I want you to know, that every time I prepare my sermon to be with you, I think of you... I think of who you are... and what your cultural characteristics are.
Believe it or not, you are not the same as the people nearer to where I live in Newark Valley, therefore your message may be different than those of the church of Newark Valley.
Just as Christ writes personal messages to each individual church here in Revelation, so also... your messages are unique to you.
I always think of what this town has gone through, what you have gone through, I think about what you can understand and what you are willing to understand, and even more importantly... HOW you will come to understand what God wants to say to you.
And so likewise, I believe that in order to truly understand this message, to the church in Smyrna, we need to know more about who they were, and what they were experiencing… so we need to dig a little bit deeper into history to understand these people.
This morning I’m asking you to be a good listener. Listen to the Story of Smyrna, so we can be encouraged by their testimony.
So Smyrna… “Smyrna, is a large ancient city on the western coast of Asia Minor, 35 miles north of Ephesus, which was originally peopled by the Asiatics known as the Lelages.
The city seems to have been taken from these people by the Aeolian Greeks about 1100 BC.
In 688 BC it passed into the possession of the Ionian Greeks and was made one of the cities of the Ionian Confederacy, but in 627 BC it was taken by the Lydians.
Alyattes, king of Lydia (619–560 BC), considered to be the founder of the Lydian empire, further subdued the Carians, and took several Ionian cities, including Smyrna and Colophon.
And Smyrna - our city for today - was sacked and destroyed with its inhabitants forced to move away from the shore and into the countryside.
So, for roughly 300 years, Smyrna was dead, destroyed, and its people not united in a city.
Then came the years of Alexander the Great, who of course, conquered the known world. Smyrna, interestingly enough, was again effected by this kingdom.
During the years 301 to 281 BC, Lysimachus, who was once one of Alexander the Great’s body guards, entirely rebuilt Smyrna on a new site to the S.W. of the earlier cities, and surrounded it by a wall.
Standing, as it did, upon a good harbor, at the head of one of the chief highways to the interior, it became a great trading center and the chief port for the export trade.
Now, I know not all of you love History the way I do, but look at Revelation 2 again and verse 8.
“And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: The first and the last, who was dead, and has come to life, says this:”
I do not believe it is coincidence that Christ introduces himself differently here, than he did to the people in Ephesus. In Ephesus he described himself as - Verse 1 - “The One who holds the seven stars in His right hand, the One who walks among the seven golden lampstands.”
But when Christ says to Smyrna, “ I am the first and the last, who was dead, and has come to life..” this means something to this people.
This means something to this city because it is an ancient city that could pride itself in saying they were dead, and yet they were too valuable to be left dead, they were resurrected if you will, into life.
And not just any life, but a glorious life as a city. Smyrna would become known as “the flower of Asia.”
Smyrna has also been called:
- “The fairest city” of its region. - “The crown of Ionia.”
- The lovely.” - “The “ornament of Asia.”
Its Architecture was beautiful.
- It had well-paved and wide streets, colonnades-lined the streets. One street was even
called the “Street of Gold.”
- It had attractive squares and porticos.
In addition, Smyrna was a flourishing commercial city.
• A port city with two harbors.
- It had a small harbor could be closed with chains and a larger harbor used as a mooring place, where larger vessels could be tied up to the shore line.
• It was a wealthy city with fertile soil and excellent climate.
• Smyrna even claims to have been the birthplace of the Greek poet Homer.
• It was said: “Smyrna city was a flower of beauty, such as earth and sun had never showed to mankind.”
• Olympian games were celebrated in Smyrna.
- It boasted of, on the slope of Mount Pagus, a theater that could seat up to 20,000 spectators.
- Ancient writers referred to the ‘Crown of Smyrna.”
- The crown of Smyrna likely arose from the appearance of the
hill Pagos, with the stately public buildings on its rounded top looked like a crown, from there the city spreads out... going down its rounded sloping sides.
Smyrna was also known for its schools of science and medicine.
In fact, the name Smyrna means "myrrh." Most folks remember Myrrh as one of the three gifts the Magi gave to Jesus after he was born.
Myrrh is a resin, a sap like substance, that is obtained from the Commiphora myrrha tree. Myrrh was a critical ingredient used to embalm bodies because one of its major properties was its ability to retard the putrefaction of dead flesh.
But don’t forget that Myrrh is also mentioned in the Old Testament:
It was called a rare perfume with intoxicating qualities in several places in the Hebrew Bible.
In Genesis 37:25 the Ishmaelite traders to whom Jacob's sons sold Joseph their brother had "camels ... loaded with spices, balm and myrrh" and Exodus 30:23-25 specifies that Moses was to use 500 shekels of liquid myrrh as a core ingredient of the sacred anointing oil.
Myrrh was an ingredient of Ketoret, the consecrated incense used in the First and Second Temples at Jerusalem, as described in the Hebrew Bible and Talmud.
An offering was made of the Ketoret on a special incense altar and was an important component of the Temple service. Myrrh is also listed as an ingredient in the holy anointing oil used to anoint the Tabernacle, high priests and kings.
Oil of myrrh is also seen in Esther 2:12 as it was used in a purification ritual for the new queen to King Artaxerxes:
That verse says, 12 “The turn came for each young woman to go in to King Ahasuerus, after being twelve months under the regulations for the women, since this was the regular period of their beautifying, six months with oil of myrrh and six months with spices and ointments for women.”
Even today Myrrh gum is used for indigestion, ulcers, colds, cough, asthma, lung congestion, arthritis pain, and cancer.
And we could go on and on, but the point is that these trees were what Smyrna was known for. And everyone, throughout all history, in probably every land, loved and needed Myrrh. It was a stabilizing, money making commodity for that city.
https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/tbi/revelation-2.html
http://www.biblecharts.org/biblelandnotes/Smyrna.pdf
http://www.biblestudy.org/biblepic/churches-of-revelation-smyrna.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myrrh
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alyattes_of_Lydia
Now remember that in the timeline of History, Smyrna was rebuilt around 300 BC by Alexander the Great’s man. 100 years later, at the end of the Hellenistic period, in 197 BC, the city suddenly cut its ties with King Eumenes of Pergamum.
Pergamum was another city in the same area but north of Smyrna, and our town Smyrna decided to appeal to Rome for help.
So why did Smyrna want to break ties with one king and be part of a larger kingdom?
The answer is most likely political in nature. It is entirely plausible, that they were looking at what was going on in the world and decided, that for them to survive, they needed more help.
See, these were the years of Antiochus the Great, who was declaring himself the "champion of Greek freedom against Roman domination."
Antiochus would eventually wage a four-year war against the Roman Republic in mainland Greece in autumn of 192 BC but was decisively defeated at the Battle of Magnesia.
But Smyrna, who obviously had no idea what would become of Antiochus the Great, tied into Rome, like I said, for possible self preservation.
Now, because Rome and Smyrna had no ties until then, Smyrna created a cult of Rome to establish a bond, a tight relationship between them, and because of Smyrna’s initiative, this cult eventually became widespread through the whole Roman Empire.
In 193 B.C., almost three centuries before Revelation was written, Smyrna became the first city in Asia to build a temple to the goddess Roma.
Smyrna was very proud of this fact. They were very proud of the fact that they were the first in Asia to build a temple tied to Rome.
So Pause right here with me for just a second and look again at Revelation 2:8
Christ says, “And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: The first and the last, who was dead, and has come to life, says this:”
You can almost hear the jab of Christ here to those in this city who pride themselves in being first?
It is like Christ is encouraging this church, by saying, “Hey I know people in your community think they have something special going on with Rome because they were the first to build a temple to Rome in Asia.”
“And perhaps they have the favor of Rome, of that earthly kingdom, and that favor may provide protection and financial security… but I am the true first.
I am the Alpha and Omega. I am the reason everything had a beginning. I was before all, before Rome, before any earthly kingdom, I have something that no city has, I am first… in everything. So keep on trusting in me, and not in Rome.”
By contrast, Smyrna’s people - was only widening the gap between them and the one true God.
As of 195 BC, (two years after the temple to the goddess Roma began being built) the city of Rome started to be deified, in the cult to the goddess Roma.
In this sense, (listen to this!), the Smyrneans can be considered as the “creators” of the goddess Roma.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antiochus_III_the_Great
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smyrna
This city was so committed to tightening the bond between them and Rome, that they created a false religion to secure it
Then in 133 BC, when the last Attalid king - Attalus III died without an heir (This would be the king over the area where the seven churches are located), his will conferred his entire kingdom, including Smyrna, to the Romans.
They organized it into the Roman province of Asia, making Pergamum the capital. Smyrna, however, as a major seaport, became a leading city in the newly constituted province.
Just over a hundred years later, In A.D. 23, the emperor of Rome, named Tiberius granted Smyrna the privilege of building another local temple to honor Augustus and Livia, who was Augustus’ wife and Tiberius’ mother.
The city of Smyrna was chosen from among eleven cities for the honor of building a provincial temple for the emperor Tiberius.
What makes this point interesting is that other Cities sought permission to build these temples because it enhanced their prestige and relationships with Rome.
A provincial temple also brought revenue to the city and provided leading citizens with opportunities to obtain the honor of imperial priesthoods” (Tacitus, Annals 3.63; 4.37-38, 55-56).
https://www2.luthersem.edu/ckoester/revelation/Smyrna/Emperor.htm
It is said that when the decision came down to two cities, Smyrna being one of them, Smyrna appealed to the fact that they were the first to build a temple in Asia when Rome was far less prestigious.
That loyalty all these years then was the deciding factor in Smyrna being given the privilege to build this Temple.
Smyrna was now deep into Roman hearts and minds. This truly was a Roman city.
Then, in the years following, during the reign of Emperor Domitian (81-96 A.D.), the man who exiled John to Patmos, he decreed - that refusal to worship the image of the Roman emperor as lord was punishable by death.
Caesar Domitian was the first to demand worship under the title "Lord" from the people of the Roman Empire as a test of political loyalty.
And right there, by that decree, the church in Smyrna was going to suffer like never before.
You see… "Emperor worship had begun as spontaneous demonstration of gratitude to Rome; but toward the end of the first century, in the days of Domitian, the final step was taken and Caesar worship became required by law.
Once a year the Roman citizen must burn a pinch of incense on the altar to the godhead of Caesar; and having done so, he was given a certificate to guarantee that he had performed his religious duty." (Barclay)
"All that the Christians had to do was to burn that pinch of incense, say, 'Caesar is Lord,' receive their certificate, and go away and worship as they pleased.
But that is precisely what the Christians would not do. They would give no man the name of Lord; that name they would keep for Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ alone. They would not even formally conform." (Barclay)
https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/archives/guzik_david/studyguide_rev/rev_2.cfm
Let me take you to another scripture:
1 Corinthians 12:2 “You know that when you were pagans, you were led astray to the mute idols, however you were led.”
Picture in your mind Smyrna, as a pagan, you were led away to mute idols, however you were led.
Perhaps you were led there because the Emperor of Rome demanded it.
Perhaps you were led there out of fear of not finding work in a Roman world if you did not worship Emperor idols.
Remember the Emperor Domitian also gave the decree that to not worship the Emperor as “Lord” was also a death sentence, so you could be led to worship him for the sake of self preservation.
1 Cor. 12:3 goes on to say, “Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus is accursed”; and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.”
Does that sentence hold more meaning to you now that you have seen the implications against world history?
In that day, to say Jesus is Lord, was such a rebellious thing to do against the government, that no one would say “Jesus is Lord” - unless… they were willing to die for that belief.
To be willing to die for your belief that Jesus is Lord could only come through the power of the Holy Spirit… why? Because you are standing against the world and it’s system!
And here are these Christians in Smyrna defying the Roman world powers by not offering their little pinch of incense on their pagan altar.
You see Rome did not care which God you worshipped, as long as you worshipped Rome and Caesar first. Rome then was not against the Christian for worshipping Jesus, but against them for allowing Christ to be above Rome.
Rome did not tolerate Christ to be more powerful than they were in the hearts and minds of their people.
Perhaps the best illustration of this is in the testimony of Smyrna’s Pastor.
The year after Polycarp returned from Rome, a great persecution came upon the Christians of Smyrna. His congregation urged him to leave the city until the threat blew over.
So, believing that God wanted him to be around a few more years, Polycarp left the city and hid out on a farm belonging to some Christian friends. One day on the farm, as he prayed in his room, Polycarp had a vision of his pillow engulfed in flames. He knew what God said to him, and calmly told his companions "I see that I must be burnt at the stake."
Meanwhile, the chief of police issued a warrant for his arrest. They seized one of Polycarp's servants and tortured him until he told them where his master was. Towards evening, the police chief and a band of soldiers came to the old farmhouse.
When the soldiers found him, they were embarrassed to see that they had come to arrest such an old, frail man. But they reluctantly put him on a donkey and walked him back to the city of Smyrna.
On the way to the city, the police chief and other government officials tried to persuade Polycarp to offer a pinch of incense before a statue of Caesar and simply say "Caesar is Lord." That's all he had to do, and he would be off the hook.
They pleaded with him to do it, and escape the dreadful penalties. At first Polycarp was silent, but then he calmly gave them his firm answer: no.
The police chief was now angry. Annoyed with the old man, he pushed him out of his carriage and onto the hard ground. Polycarp, bruised but resolute, got up and walked the rest of the way to the arena.
The horrid games at the arena had already begun in earnest. A large, bloodthirsty mob had gathered to see Christians tortured and killed. One Christian named Quintis had boldly proclaimed himself a follower of Jesus and said he was willing to be martyred.
But when he saw the vicious animals in the arena, he lost courage and agreed to burn that pinch of incense to Caesar as Lord.
But another young man named Germanicus didn't back down. He marched out and faced the lions, and died an agonizing death for his Lord Jesus Christ. Ten other Christians gave their lives that day, but the mob was unsatisfied.
They cried out, "Away with the atheists who do not worship our gods!" To them, Christians were atheists because they did not recognize the traditional gods of Rome and Greece. Finally, the crowd started chanting "Bring out Polycarp."
When Polycarp brought his tired body into the arena, he and the other Christians heard a voice from heaven. It said, "Be strong, Polycarp, play the man."
As he stood before the proconsul, they tried one more time to get him to renounce Jesus. The proconsul told Polycarp to agree with the crowd and shout out "Away with the atheists!"
Polycarp looked sternly at the bloodthirsty mob, waved his hand towards them and said, "Away with those atheists!" The proconsul persisted. "Take the oath and revile Christ and I'll set you free!"
Polycarp answered, "For eighty-six years I've served Jesus; how dare I now revile my King?"
The proconsul finally gave up, and announced to the crowd the crime of the accused: "Polycarp has confessed that he is a Christian."
The crowd shouted, "let the lions loose." But the animals had already been put away. The crowd then demanded that Polycarp be burnt. The old man remembered the dream about the burning pillow, and took courage in God.
He said to his executioners, "It is well. I fear not the fire that burns for a season and after a while is quenched. Why do you delay? Come, do your will."
They arranged a great pile of wood, and set up a pole in the middle. As they tied Polycarp to the pole, he prayed: "I thank You that You have graciously thought me worthy of this day and of this hour, that I may receive a portion in the number of the martyrs, in the cup of Your Christ."
After he prayed and gave thanks to God, they set the wood ablaze. A great wall of flame shot up to the sky, but it never touched Polycarp. God had set a hedge of protection between him and the fire.
Seeing that he would not burn, the executioner, in a furious rage, stabbed the old man with a long spear. Immediately, streams of blood gushed from his body and seemed to extinguish the fire.
When this happened, witnesses say they saw a dove fly up from the smoke into heaven. At the very same moment, a church leader in Rome named Iraenus, said he heard God say to him, "Polycarp is dead." God called his servant home.
https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/archives/guzik_david/studyguide_rev/rev_2.cfm
Church, we may think these days will never come to us, but consider this:
The Center for the Study of Global Christianity, an academic research center that monitors worldwide demographic trends in Christianity, estimates that between the years 2005 and 2015, 900,000 Christians were martyred — an average of 90,000 Christians each year.
The world is possibly just as hostile towards Christianity now, as it ever has been in its past.
And so as we close I would like for you to consider three things:
I would like for all of us to think about what the people in this community will always remember us for?
Let’s pray