Revelation 2:8-11

“And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: ‘The words of the first and the last, who died and came to life.

“‘I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich) and the slander of those who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death.’

Καὶ τῷ ἀγγέλῳ τῆς ἐν Σμύρνῃ ἐκκλησίας γράψον· Τάδε λέγει ὁ πρῶτος καὶ ὁ ἔσχατος, ὃς ἐγένετο νεκρὸς καὶ ἔζησεν·

Οἶδά σου τὴν θλῖψιν καὶ τὴν πτωχείαν, ἀλλὰ πλούσιος εἶ, καὶ τὴν βλασφημίαν ἐκ τῶν λεγόντων Ἰουδαίους εἶναι ἑαυτούς, καὶ οὐκ εἰσίν, ἀλλὰ συναγωγὴ τοῦ Σατανᾶ. μηδὲν φοβοῦ ἃ μέλλεις πάσχειν. ἰδοὺ μέλλει βάλλειν ὁ διάβολος ἐξ ὑμῶν εἰς φυλακὴν ἵνα πειρασθῆτε, καὶ ἕξετε θλῖψιν ἡμερῶν δέκα. γίνου πιστὸς ἄχρι θανάτου, καὶ δώσω σοι τὸν στέφανον τῆς ζωῆς. ὁ ἔχων οὖς ἀκουσάτω τί τὸ πνεῦμα λέγει ταῖς ἐκκλησίαις. ὁ νικῶν οὐ μὴ ἀδικηθῇ ἐκ τοῦ θανάτου τοῦ δευτέρου.

The church in Smyrna is one of two churches in the book of Revelation who do not receive a rebuke from Jesus. There is historical evidence for a noticeable Jewish presence in this location, as is further evidenced in the text.

The description of Christ here points back to Revelation 1:17-18, where Jesus comforts and reassures John after he sees the glorious vision of the Son of Man. Jesus is the first and the last, meaning He is the Eternal One, and He died and came to life, meaning that He has conquered the grave. We shall see that these characteristics of Christ are relevant to the situation at hand in this particular church.

What a comforting thought it is that Christ knows the tribulation that this church is going through. The church is poor (in terms of material wealth), but Christ declares that it is in fact rich (in terms of spiritual wealth). Readers are told that the church in Smyrna is going through tribulation because of the slander of those who call themselves Jews, that is, Jews according to the flesh. This could be the reason that the church was considered poor, for the slander of the Jews might have made it difficult for the Jewish Christians there to do business with their fellow Jews or even with their Roman neighbors. Furthermore, there is some historical evidence that if the synagogue excommunicates an individual, it was possible for the Jewish leaders to also confiscate material possessions from that person’s home. Therefore, there was a high risk of material loss for the Jewish Christian who was excommunicated from the local synagogue.

It is therefore not surprising that Jesus declares that these “Jews” are not real Jews, but are actually a synagogue of Satan, rather than a synagogue of God. Throughout the NT, we are taught that the real Jew is one who follows Jesus, the prophesied Messiah in the Jewish Scriptures. As such, these “Jews” who have rejected Jesus and who persecute the followers of Jesus do not deserve to be called “Jews”, but are rather associated with the devil himself.

Jesus then encourages the persecuted Christians to not fear the imminent suffering that will fall upon them. Jesus warns them that the devil will throw some of them into prison in order to test them, and for ten days the church will have tribulation. It is fascinating to note here that the devil does not throw some of them into prison himself, but rather uses the Jews who manipulate the Romans to throw Christians into prison. This is consistent with what we will see later on in Revelation with the dragon, the sea beast, and the land beast/false prophet/the woman on the beast. In the providence of God, this trial is for the edification, purification, and refining of the church, that is, it is for their ultimate good. Furthermore, the church will have tribulation for ten days, which could mean both a historical ten days as well as the number 10 representing a short but complete period of time. While it is not a good feeling at all to know that tribulation is coming, it is nonetheless encouraging in some sense to know that the period of tribulation is limited and somewhat short. Jesus is the Eternal One, and a period of ten days is nothing compared to the eternal weight of glory that the saints will experience when given the crown of life, the victor’s wreath.

It is ironic that Jesus exhorts the saints to be faithful “unto death” (a reminder again that He died and came to life, thus overcoming death), and it is via this faithfulness unto death that the saints obtain the “crown of life”. The saints, through death, live to Christ and will reign eternally with Him. There is no reason to fear the Jews, the Romans, or the devil, for Christ reigns over them all.

The saints overcome and conquer through obedience to the words of Christ. The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death. In fact, this second death will hurt those who have persecuted the followers of Christ. Jesus exhorts the saints to hear these words, for these are the words of Christ and the Spirit, and to “hear” here means to take heed and to obey the words of the Spirit. Hearing without obedience is useless and will not lead one to conquer in the end.

Soli Deo gloria!