Free Grace Women

Revelation 2:8-11

Introduction:

Last month, in our series on the Seven Churches of Revelation, we looked at Ephesus—the loveless church. You can check out that blog here.

This month we will zoom in on the church of Smyrna, alternately called the persecuted church and the suffering church. In contrast to Ephesus, this church comes away with a clean bill of spiritual health and receives no rebuke, only praise, from the Lord.

Like Ephesus, Smyrna was located in Asia Minor, and was a prominent port city and center of trade. And like the church of Ephesus, the church of Smyrna found itself submerged in a culture of rampant idolatry. But where Ephesus’ idol worship centered around its famed temple to the Roman goddess Diana (or Artemis in Greek), the city of Smyrna directed its misplaced affections and loyalty towards Rome and its emperor, Caesar. While not a “god,” this Roman ruler demanded to be treated as such by requiring citizens to make sacrifices to him and to proclaim “Caesar is Lord.” In addition to the persecution they faced at the hands of the Romans, Smyrnian believers were also the victims of discrimination by pharisaical Jews who opposed the early church. Suffice to say, the church at Smyrna was definitely not living its “best life now.”

Description of Christ:

Each letter to the seven churches of Revelation begins with a unique description of Christ, tailor-made for its distinct audience. In the letter to the church at Smyrna, Jesus is described as,

“the First and the Last, who was dead, and came to life.” (Revelation 2:8b NKJV)

Themes of life and death repeat throughout this particular letter, as the threat of execution was an ongoing danger for the believers at Smyrna. For example, in the year 155 AD Polycarp, the Bishop of Smyrna and a disciple of John, was martyred, having refused to burn incense to Caesar. But while the threat was real, the inclusion of this special description of Christ in the letter to the church at Smyrna should have served as a beacon of hope shining in a dark sea of fear. Jesus, too, faced persecution and death but was resurrected victorious. The reminder that He is the first and the last was an encouragement to the believers there that Jesus has the final word, and even an untimely death couldn’t undo His promises to them.

Works:

In this section of His letter, we see the Lord acknowledge two additional facets of this church’s suffering. In addition to risking their physical lives in the pursuit of following Christ, believers in the church at Smyrna risked their livelihoods in order to remain faithful to their Lord. In this culture, work was also interlaced with idol worship. Participation in certain trades or guilds—such as blacksmithing, for example—required that the craftsman pay homage to the god of that particular craft. When Smyrnian followers of Christ refused to engage in such activities, they were often banned from that trade, jeopardizing their ability to earn a living and provide for their families.

In Revelation 2:9a, Jesus recognizes this particular hardship, saying:

“I know your works, tribulation, and poverty (but you are rich)…”

Fascinatingly, although in one breath the Lord acknowledges their physical poverty, in the very next breath, He reminds them of their spiritual wealth. In God’s “inverted” economy, we can be rich in His wisdom, blessings, and resources, even while experiencing material lack. Though the church at Smyrna was poor in this life, they were rich towards God. And that richness toward Him would reap eternal dividends (Matthew 6:19-20, 2 Corinthians 6:10).

Even so, this parenthetical encouragement is followed by the Lord’s recognition of yet another aspect of the Smyrnian church’s troubles. If the threat of death and the potential loss of their livelihood were not enough, these brothers were forced to contend with something we now popularly refer to as cancel culture. In Revelation 2:9b, the Lord’s letter goes on to say,

“…and I know the blasphemy of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.”

On top of the persecution they experienced at the hands of the Romans, these members of the early church also found themselves the victims of slanderous rumors by the Jews, who accused them of cannibalism because of their celebration of communion. In their culture, something noble and good was flipped on its head and twisted into something evil and degenerate. For these believers, trying to live out their values in alignment with their faith brought criticism and shame. And so a loss of esteem or reputation is added to the list of torments suffered by this church and recognized by the Lord.

Praise/Rebuke and Instruction:

Though the church at Smyrna is one of only two churches that receive no rebuke, they are given an instruction. In verse 10, the Lord reveals that instead of being granted a reprieve from their tribulations, these faithful believers are about to endure even more affliction, and urges them,

“Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days.” (NKJV)

This was probably not the news they were hoping for, but the Lord exhorts them not to allow fear to obstruct their view of Him. It’s as though He’s saying, “Buckle your seatbelts and hold on tight; it’s about to get a whole lot worse here…but it will get better there—worlds better.” Following the Lord’s exhortation not to fear, He issues one final, simple reminder to them in verse 10 to

“Be faithful unto death”

This comes right before the letter’s conclusion, and the Lord’s promise of special reward for those who endure to the end of their lives.

Reward:

The promise attached to this last instruction completes verse 10 as follows:

“Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.”

Although it might be easy to jump to the conclusion that life here refers to eternal life, that would be an incorrect interpretation of the text—verse 11 is rewards language. The Apostle Paul uses similar language in 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 when he refers to an imperishable crown in a discussion about running to obtain the prize.[1] And just as eternal life is clearly not a prize to be won, neither is martyrdom a requirement for salvation! These are works which result in eternal rewards; eternal life is free![2]

An interesting take on the “crown of life,” also referred to in the book of James, comes from late author Zane Hodges, who viewed this promise as possibly being something which believers can experience here and now. In this view, the crown of life is tantamount to the “abundant life” Jesus offers in John 10:10.[3] Of course, it is possible that both options are correct—that the crown of life can be experienced as a present blessing and a future reward for the faithful endurance of trials until the end of a believer’s life.

The letter to the church at Smyrna concludes with these words:

“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death.” (Revelation 2:11 NKJV)

This statement should be of tremendous comfort and encouragement to believers! And yet, tragically, it has been misinterpreted and misunderstood by many to mean that those who do not overcome will suffer the loss of their salvation. This is NOT the case! Once again, salvation is by grace through faith! Jesus is employing a figure of speech here known as litotes, in which a negative is used to emphasize a positive (i.e. saying “that is not an ugly woman!” to imply that the woman is attractive). In this case, the Lord is trying to remind these believers that not only will they not die (in the sense that they will be raised to eternal life), but they will obtain a better resurrection for their faithfulness (See Hebrews 11:35).

Author Philippe Sterling explains Jesus’ statement to the Church at Smyrna this way: “Litotes is an assertion that understates the reality referenced. Jesus was saying that He would abundantly repay the faithful believer for the sacrifice he made. His eternal experience would be as far beyond the reach of the second death as can be imagined…The glories of the life to come contrast sharply with the dark shadows of persecution and death.”[4]

So while the everyday experience of the believers at Smyrna may have felt like one of overarching defeat, Jesus reminds them that they are, in fact, victorious. And far from losing, if they continue to live as they have, they will wear the victor’s crown. That same splendorous promise is available to us today. Let us take heart in knowing that while our present sufferings are real, if we persevere in faithfulness until the end, the Lord will more than compensate for every loss!

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[1] “And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown.” 1 Corinthians 9:25 NKJV

[2] Like Ephesians 2:8-9, Romans 11:6 makes this distinction clear, emphasizing that salvation is by grace (through faith), and not a product of works: “But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, since otherwise grace is no longer grace.” (NASB)

[3] In his commentary on James, Hodges wrote about James 1:12, “Therefore, it seems quite likely that it is the enrichment of our temporal experience of life (spiritually, always, materially sometimes) that James has in mind in the expression the crown of life” (Hodges, The Epistle of James, p. 26).

[4] https://faithalone.org/grace-in-focus-articles/what-would-jesus-say-the-seven-churches-of-revelation-the-letter-to-smyrna-rev-28-11/

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