[Special - Seven Churches] The Church of Smyrna - The Letter of the Lord to the Church in Smyrna (2)
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June 19, 2011 |
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 *The Church of Ephesus
*The Church of Smyrna
*The Church of Pergamum
*The Church of Thyatira
*The Church of Sardis
*The Church of Philadelphia
*The Church of Laodicea
The reason why they testified to the Lord until the very end, even in the great pains of martyrdom, was because they themselves had met the resurrected Lord. When they witnessed the risen Lord firsthand, they came to have the assurance of their resurrection. They were filled with the hope of the heavenly kingdom and drove away the fear of death, and they could sacrifice their lives for the Lord.
"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. '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.'" (Revelation 2:10-11)
Among the seven churches, only the Church of Smyrna received only advice, without any praise or rebuke. The Lord told them about how they can drive away the synagogue of Satan and overcome it saying "I know the tribulation and the poverty that you are going through, but actually you are rich."
What kind of advice does the Lord give to churches, pastors, and believers today through the letter to the Church of Smyrna?
1. Faith of Early Churches' members who witnessed the resurrection of the Lord
When Jesus was arrested and was sentenced to crucifixion, all disciples ran away out of fear. It was because at that time, they had not yet received the Holy Spirit and they could not completely believe in their hearts that Jesus would resurrect.
But a great change happened to them after the Holy Spirit descended on them. The disciples who had run away out of fear came to testify to Jesus Christ even in the face of death. Some of them became the prey of lions, others were beheaded, and still others were sawn in two. One disciple demanded to be crucified upside down.
The reason why they could testify to the Lord until the very end, even in the great pains of martyrdom, was because they themselves had met the resurrected Lord. When they witnessed the risen Lord firsthand, they came to have the assurance of resurrection. They were filled with the hope of the heavenly kingdom and the fear of death was nothing to them, and they could sacrifice their lives for the Lord.
It was not only His disciples, but also many members of the early church who witnessed the resurrection and the ascension of the Lord. They also had the assurance of resurrection and hope. Because they sacrificed their lives, they could achieve a victory even under severe persecution of the Roman Empire. In other words, the Roman Empire itself became a Christian state, and Christianity was able to spread very quickly all over the world as a result.
Through disciples and apostles of the Lord, they preached about the resurrection of the Lord not just with words, but also signs and wonders that humans could not do. So, people could believe in their words. (Mark 16:20)
2. Cases and conditions today that fall under the words given to the Church of Smyrna
The message for the Church of Smyrna is for those who go into countries where evangelism is prohibited, especially those who will go into North Korea and perform God's powerful works. It is already more than sixty years since the Korean War broke out, but there are many South and North Koreans who still have their parents, brothers, and relatives separated by the two sides of Korea.
The apostle Paul had the passion to save his people as he confessed in Romans 9:3, "For I could wish that I myself were accursed, separated from Christ for the sake of my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh." It was because he knew the earnest heart of God towards His chosen people, and also because Paul had his burning love and fervor for his people.
In the same way, when the way for the mission in North Korea opens, many missionaries and workers who have extraordinary fervor for North Korea will enter North Korea to preach the gospel. When they actually go there, they may be faced with more difficult economic or other situations than they previously thought. Not only persecutions, but also they may have to face martyrdom.
However, in any kind of situation, if they have the richness of their heart, the circumstances will not matter to them. Here, having richness in heart means that they are filled with the hope of the heavenly kingdom. They are full of faith and the Spirit and they are longing for the rewards that will be given in the heavenly kingdom. (2 Corinthians 6:10) When they have the richness in heart given by God, they can fulfill God's will and providence completely.
3. Do not fear what you are about to suffer
The Lord told the Church of Smyrna that they would suffer, but not have to worry. He said, "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."
Until we become sanctified, there may be many kinds of trials and tests, or sufferings. But, we don't have to fear because all these are to bring spiritual and material richness to us. It is the way to lead us to eternal life. We should not fear persecutions and trials that we receive in the name of the Lord. We should rejoice. Even if the tests and trials are caused because we are not yet living by the truth, we should still rejoice and give thanks. (James 1:2-4)
The Lord said that some of the believers of the Church of Smyrna would suffer in prison, and this was the work of the devil. Many believers do not really distinguish between Satan and devil accurately. But the Bible clearly distinguishes between Satan and the devil.
Simply speaking, Satan is the heart of Lucifer, the head of all evil spirits. "The devil" is a spirit under Satan, and each of them has a different role. Satan works through the fleshly thoughts of men to cause them to have evil thoughts. Satan agitates the heart of untruth. It is the devil that moves the person to put those evil thoughts into action. Namely, when the work of Satan in thought is shown as action, we refer to it as the 'work of the devil.'
For example, suppose somebody is slandering and criticizing us. Then, Satan brings upon us the thoughts of ill-feelings and hatred. It gives us thoughts like, 'I cannot bear it. I will criticize him even harder or hit him!' If it is only evil thought, it is the work of Satan, but if this thought is put into action of cursing or hitting the person, it is the work of the devil. Therefore, "Behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison, so that you will be tested" means the devil will capture the heart of some evil men to show evil action. Therefore, "Behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison, so that you will be tested" means the devil will capture the heart of some evil men to show evil action.
'Prison' is a place where one goes in to pay for his crime. Therefore, there being a prison means that there is law and also prosecutors of the law.
Even in this world, there is law, and we are judged according to the seriousness of sin. In the spiritual realm also, when we live in the truth, we will be protected by God, but when we violate the truth, the enemy devil and Satan will bring us tests and trials. It means we will pay for our sins. Especially, there will be retributions if we commit works of the flesh, which are the sins committed in action. This is what it means by "The devil is about to cast some of you into prison, so that you will be tested."
The Lord said to the Church of Smyrna, "You will have tribulation for ten days." Number ten is the full number in the decimal system. It means 'all inclusive'. Therefore, the 'trial for ten days' symbolizes all kinds of trials that we can go through on this earth.
4. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life
For example, if a minister is faithful to the king of the country, it means he can give his life for the king and the country. In the same way, to be faithful in God's kingdom is to be able to give even our lives. It is to work hard with the faith of martyrdom.
But we should not think this is only about physical martyrdom to give our physical life. What is more important is the spiritual martyrdom which we can accomplish as living beings. Even physical martyrdom should be done with the heart of spiritual martyrdom.
Spiritual martyrdom is to struggle against all sins and all forms of evil, casting them off, and it is not compromising with the world in order to love and please God. Likewise, if we struggle against and cast off all sins, we will not have any 'ego' or 'self' in us. Only the Word of God, the truth, will live in us, and we will keep all the words in the 66 books of the Bible.
As the apostle Paul confessed in 1 Corinthians 15:31 saying "I die daily," if our 'self' dies completely and we cast off all forms of evil, then we will be able to fulfill all our duties faithfully. We will be able to pray with tears and love for dying souls. In other words, the spiritual faithfulness is for us to sanctify our heart and fulfill our duties giving all our life.
Today, we may think that we don't have a chance to show our faith in martyrdom, because we are not preaching the gospel in a communist state or in a strongly Islam-dominated state. But it's not so. God lets us check whether we have the faith of martyrdom by letting us go through the kind of situations that can be similar to actually becoming a martyr. Of course, if our faith is not capable of overcoming that kind of test, we will not face such a test in the first place.
James 1:12 says, "Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him." Namely, the crown of life will not be just given to everybody but only to those who have overcome trials and are acknowledged by God.
The crown of life is given when we overcome all kinds of tests and trials and are faithful until death. Actually, this is given to those who go into the third kingdom of heaven. (Refer to Heaven I & II)
5. He who overcomes will not be hurt by the second death.
'He who overcomes' means those who struggle against and cast off sins and wickedness with the Word of God. The Lord said this kind of person would not be hurt by the second death. Then, what is the second death, and what is to be hurt by the second death?
When our God calls our spirit, our physical body will soon become a cold corpse. After some time, it will go back to a handful of dust. When our physical life ends this way, it is the first death. And the second death is when our spirit, the master of men, is put into eternal fire of Hell.
In the book of Revelation, we can see that the names that are written in the Book of Life can also be erased, and these people will be thrown into the lake of fire.
Those who live in untruth and sins, namely those who do not live in the Word of God and have not overcome, will suffer from the second death; they will suffer forever in the eternal fire of hell.
But those who live by the Word of God, those who are not shaken even in tests and trials but have overcome them, will not be hurt by the second death; they will enter into eternal life.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, the Lord gave this word to the Church of Smyrna because He wants them to overcome all trials, be faithful to the point of death, and receive the Crown of Life.
Furthermore, the Lord is telling us to proclaim the Gospel to those who do not know the truth and are going the way of death. We have to boldly preach to them not to fear trials, but to receive salvation by following the truth. This is a duty given to all of us. Any individual or church that fulfills this duty faithfully will receive God's blessings and eternal heavenly rewards.
We should not forget one thing here. We must not be lazy in purifying and sanctifying ourselves. (1 Timothy 5:22) Let us accomplish sanctification, having no blemish or spot, so that we will be able to enter into New Jerusalem.
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