{"id":3402,"date":"2005-10-16T18:38:15","date_gmt":"2005-10-16T18:38:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/?page_id=3402"},"modified":"2020-03-06T13:04:14","modified_gmt":"2020-03-06T19:04:14","slug":"the-message-to-the-church-in-smyrna","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/the-revelation-given-to-john\/the-message-to-the-church-in-smyrna\/","title":{"rendered":"The Message to the Church in Smyrna"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\t

The Message to the Church in Smyrna<\/h1>\n

Revelation 2:8-11<\/h3>\n
\n
\"\"<\/a>

Smyrna (now called Izmir).\u00a0Pictorial Pictures of the Bible, BiblePlaces.com. Used by Permission.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Smyrna is also a port city, located about forty miles north of Ephesus. It was noted for its scenic beauty, being nestled in rolling hills with deep forests. It called itself the \u201cfirst city\u201d because it was the first city in Asia to accept Roman rule. A famous landmark was the acropolis located on Mt. Pagas, which looked like a crown. As a result, the crowned mountain became a symbol of the city.<\/p>\n

No additional information about the church in Smyrna is known beyond the information given in Revelation. Likely it was started by those taught by Paul in Ephesus (Acts 19:10).<\/p>\n

The Letter<\/h3>\n

Jesus describes himself in this letter as the first and the last, the one who was dead but now is alive. In other words, his eternal life is emphasized.<\/p>\n

In praise of this church, Jesus states that he knows of their tribulation. This group was suffering more than inconveniences, they were actively being persecuted, which was causing them to live in poverty. However, they were only poor in terms of physical wealth. Spiritually they were rich because their treasure was in heaven (Matthew 6:20-21).<\/p>\n

In particular, they were facing blasphemy from the Jews in Smyrna. Blasphemy is a form of slander against a person where the slander knows he is lying, but does so to hurt the person. They might call themselves Jews, but Jesus said they were not true Jews (Romans 2:28-29; Philippians 3:3). Instead, Jesus said they were a synagogue of Satan (John 8:44).<\/p>\n

There is nothing said against this church. Only Smyrna and Philadelphia have this distinction.<\/p>\n

However, Smyrna is warned about the future. They are about to suffer an increase in persecution, beyond what they were already enduring. After all, Satan is looking for those he can devour (I Peter 5:8). Some of the Christians in Smyrna would be cast into prison, and God is allowing this as a test. Like Peter, the church would be sifted like wheat (Luke 22:31-32). The good news is that the testing would be a short one (ten days). Ten is the number for something complete or full, while \u201cdays\u201d indicates a short period. It brings to memory the testing Daniel asked for in Daniel 1:12, 14.<\/p>\n

Jesus urges them to remain faithful, even if it results in their deaths. Thus, we conclude that some in Smyrna would die for their faith. Yet, the reward for their faithfulness would be a crown of life (James 1:12) \u2013 something that the eternal Jesus could give (John 17:2). The type of crown being discussed is a victor\u2019s crown. In these days it was a crown formed of flowers or leaves and used in various festivals and sporting events. Earthly victor\u2019s crowns fade, but the crown Christ is offering is incorruptible (I Corinthians 9:25; II Timothy 4:8).<\/p>\n

Those who listen to Jesus and overcomes will only face one death (Hebrews 9:27). The second death is an eternity in hell (Revelations 21:8). Faithful Christians will not partake in the second death (Revelation 20:6).<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPrior Lesson\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe Revelation Given to John\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNext Lesson\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Message to the Church in Smyrna Revelation 2:8-11 Smyrna is also a port city, located about forty miles north of Ephesus. It was noted for its scenic beauty, being nestled in rolling hills with deep forests. It called itself the \u201cfirst city\u201d because it was the first city in Asia to accept Roman rule.…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":3358,"menu_order":5,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-3402","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3358,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/the-revelation-given-to-john\/","url_meta":{"origin":3402,"position":0},"title":"The Revelation Given to John","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 16, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"The Revelation Given to John by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Three Introductions to Revelation An Introduction to Revelation\u00a0(Revelation 1:1-3) Biblical Numbers The Jesus of Revelation\u00a0(Revelation 1:4-8) The Deity of Jesus\u00a0(Revelation 1:9-20) Seven Letters to the Churches Introduction to the Letters Ephesus\u00a0(Revelation 2:1-7) Smyrna\u00a0(Revelation 2:8-11) Pergamum\u00a0(Revelation 2:12-17) Thyatira\u00a0(Revelation 2:18-29) Sardis\u00a0(Revelation 3:1-6) Philadelphia\u00a0(Revelation\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Book_of_Revelation_Chapter_1-1_Bible_Illustrations_by_Sweet_Media-300x220.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3409,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/the-revelation-given-to-john\/the-message-to-the-church-in-thyatira\/","url_meta":{"origin":3402,"position":1},"title":"The Message to the Church in Thyatira","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 16, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"The Message to the Church in Thyatira Revelation 2:18-29 Thyatira lay on a major road between Pergamum and Laodicea. The imperial post traveled this road, as did many merchants. It is in a wide, long valley. The city of Thyatira was a notable center for dye production. Lydia, a seller\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"Thyatira","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Thyatira.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Thyatira.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Thyatira.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Thyatira.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3415,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/the-revelation-given-to-john\/the-message-to-the-church-in-sardis\/","url_meta":{"origin":3402,"position":2},"title":"The Message to the Church in Sardis","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 16, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"The Message to the Church in Sardis Revelation 3:1-6 Sardis is the capital of the province of Lydia. It is well inland and located near a river. It was one of the oldest cities in the region. The city was located on a rock hill with near perpendicular slopes on\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"Temple of Artemis in Sardis","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Sardis.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Sardis.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Sardis.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Sardis.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":60276,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/lessons-from-the-lives-of-the-apostles\/feeding-the-sheep\/","url_meta":{"origin":3402,"position":3},"title":"Feeding the Sheep","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 12, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Feeding the Sheep Peter had denied the Lord three times and apparently continues to be despondent over his failure. Jesus gives him three opportunities to declare his love for him, but Peter has gotten more cautious. Jesus asks for agape (a love of devotion and service) and Peter offers phileo\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3398,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/the-revelation-given-to-john\/the-message-to-the-church-in-ephesus\/","url_meta":{"origin":3402,"position":4},"title":"The Message to the Church in Ephesus","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 16, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"The Message to the Church in Ephesus Revelation 2:1-7 Ephesus was a noted port on the Aegean Sea. At the time of John\u2019s writing, it was the most prominent city in Asia. Rome allowed it to be a self-governing city, meaning it could appoint its own officials without having to\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"Agora Market ruins in Ephesus","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Ephesus.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Ephesus.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Ephesus.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Ephesus.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3422,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/the-revelation-given-to-john\/the-message-to-the-church-in-laodicea\/","url_meta":{"origin":3402,"position":5},"title":"The Message to the Church in Laodicea","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 16, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"The Message to the Church in Laodicea Revelation 3:14-22 Laodicea, located on the banks of the Lycos river, was a banking and financial center. It was at the crossroads of a major road between Sardis and Perga and another road between Ephesus and Mesopotamia. It also had a large clothing\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"Laodicea","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Laodicea.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Laodicea.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Laodicea.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Laodicea.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3402","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3402"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3402\/revisions"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3358"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3402"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}