 |
 |
||||||||
 hocas
was a holy man who lived around A.D. 300 in the city of Sinope which
was in the southern part of modern day Turkey. He was a grower of flowers
who sold them to support himself. One night some strangers came to his
home and asked for food and a place to sleep. So Phocas invited them
into his home. While the men were eating the evening meal, Phocas asked
them why they were traveling. They answered that they were looking for
Phocas. They were sent to kill him. Phocas said nothing and showed them
to bed. While they were sleeping, he went outside and dug a grave. In
the morning the men asked him, “Where is this man?” Phocas
answered, “I am he.” History tells us the men killed him
and buried him in the grave that he had dug. Phocas was willing to die
for his faith.City of Smyrna. The next church in Revelation was located in the ancient
city of Smyrna. Today there
is only rubble in the ancient location . The agora or commercial
center, is all that is left. It is not a glamour city like London, Los
Angeles, or Singapore. The modern city is now called Izmir.
The city was located in a gulf of the Aegean
Sea. It was known as the “faithful city” because of its loyalty to Rome. There are at
least two key temples in the city, one to Tiberius and another to the goddess Athena. The city was
a center for science and medicine. Aristides said it was like a flower. It was a beautiful city.
Today there is nothing left of the ancient coliseum to which its citizens went for entertainment.
There the gladiators fought for honor and prizes. Today there is no memory of their victories. They
have been forgotten.
The city was not kind to the Christians, especially the Jews. It was
there that many Christians died because they believed Jesus Christ was
God. One of the best known martyrs among the early Christians was Polycarp.
He was a pastor of this church and died in A.D. 155-156 at the age of
eighty-six.
I Know. The Lord Jesus has only kind and tender words
for the Christians in this church. He has nothing negative to say to
these suffering Christians.
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 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.” (NASB) Rev. 2:8-9 Jesus says, “I know.” This verb is a perfect
active tense in the Greek. This means that their suffering is not about
to start; they have already been suffering. What was the nature of their
suffering? The Greek word for tribulation is THLIPSIS. It means that
they have been “afflicted, pressured, and mentally distressed.
These Christians have been suffering for Jesus. They have been giving
their lives for Him. These Christians did not stop telling others about
Jesus when the suffering started. They did not stop when someone was
offended because they prayed in public or shared the truth about Jesus.
These Christians were bold. These Christians were suffering emotionally
and physically. If you are a Christian, are you bold? Do you tell others
about Jesus or are you afraid to suffer? Do you fear losing your job
or possibly a friendship? Willing to Suffer. Jesus goes on to say that they were in poverty. This is an important
Greek word to understand. There are two key Greek words for poverty. The first
one has the idea of “having nothing extra” and the second word means
to “have nothing at all.” Jesus uses the last word. They had nothing
at all. But how can this be? The city was wealthy and so were its citizens.
Then why are these Christians poor? They were poor because they were
being persecuted. In the book of Hebrews we discover that Christians lost their homes and possessions.
But remember the former days . . . you endured a great conflict of sufferings, partly, by being made a public spectacle through reproaches and tribulations, and partly by becoming sharers with those who were so treated. For you showed sympathy to the prisoners, and accepted joyfully the seizure of your property, knowing that you have for yourselves a better possession and an abiding one. (NASB) Heb. 10:32-34 Just like these Hebrew Christians, the Christians in Smyrna were willing
to lose everything for Jesus. Are you willing to lose everything for
God? They were! Jesus had only good things to say about them. Why? Because
there was nothing more important in their life than Jesus. They were
willing to die for Him. Jesus wants our life, and not what is left. Do
Not Fear. These Christians needed encouragement. They were not just suffering
emotionally. They were experiencing real pain.
Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days . . . (NASB) Rev. 2:10a Most of us
would be praying that the persecution would stop. But Jesus told
them there is more suffering to come. It is going to get worse and
not better. What a great lesson for us! Jesus may allow us to suffer
for Him, and we should not stop telling others about Him if we start
experiencing pain and rejection.
Downside
of Suffering. How are you doing? Are you willing to
suffer for Him? There is a danger when we suffer that many
us do not think about. We have already seen that some early
Christians lost their homes and earthly possessions. If we
were to read the book of Hebrews, we would discover that
these Christians were ministering to others. That sounds
like these Christians were doing very well. But that was
not true. They were drifting away from Jesus. Church had
become a social event. Hebrews 5:11-14 warned the readers that they were baby Christians because
they were on a diet of spiritual milk. They were not interested in solid Bible teaching. We also
find in Hebrews 10:24-25 that they had become irregular in their church attendance. These men and
women were not growing in the faith. The entire book of Hebrews was written asking the readers to
look at themselves and to see if they were real Christians. The Holy Spirit calls them to trust Jesus
- to believe in Jesus. He encourages them to fix their eyes on Jesus (Heb. 12:1-2).
|
|||||||||
|
|||||||||
| Revelation: Prophecy of the Future | |||||||||
