Series: “To the Angel of the Church at Tomoka: Christ’s Message for His Church Today”
#2 “Faithful Until Death”
Revelation 2:8-11 and Matthew 10:16-18,21-22,32-33,38-39
By John Gill ~ January 19, 2025
If you were a member of the Chamber of Commerce of Smyrna, you probably thought that Smyrna was a great place to live. It was an important city in the Roman Empire, referred to as “the Port of Asia.” Smyrna was a center of commerce and of Greco/Roman culture. It had a high standard of living – a popular place for the wealthy to settle. Yes, Smyrna was a great place to call “home;” - unless you happened to be a Christian.
Nowhere was life for Christians more perilous than Smyrna. Why? Christians faced danger from two fronts:
1) First, the Jews living in the city hated the Christians. It’s interesting that in Smyrna, archeologists have excavated a Jewish synagogue from that period, and were surprised to see in its decorations, images of the pagan god, Zeus. Evidently, the Jews in Smyrna had become so blended with their culture that they had actually worshiped the pagan Gods along with the God of Israel …or at least pretended to worship Zeus in order to get along with their pagan neighbors. Perhaps the Jews hated the followers of Jesus because of the purity of the Christians’ unwavering devotion to God. In any case, in Smyrna apparently there was conflict between the Jews and the followers of Jesus.
2) So, on one side, the Christians were ridiculed by the Jews – but they were also persecuted by the Romans. You see, the citizens of Smyrna were very proud of their place in the Empire, and were very loyal Romans. They were so “patriotic” that they considered the Emperor to be a god, and even built a temple to worship the Roman Caesar, Domitian. In fact, it had been decreed that all the residents of the Empire must burn incense to Caesar once every year, and receive a certificate indicating they had complied. In the process of doing that, the worshiper had to declare that “Caesar is Lord.” Apparently, many of the Jews at Smyrna had decided that it was better just to go along, saying “Caesar is Lord,” but with their fingers crossed. However, the Christians of Smyrna refused. For them “Jesus is Lord,” and you can’t have two lords. For Christians, the declaration of loyalty to Jesus was the lynch-pin of the Christian faith. As Paul wrote to the Romans (10:9) - “If you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”
The text of Christ’s letter to the Angel of the Church at Smyrna tells us that the Christians there were willing to go to prison, or even to their death, rather than betray Christ: As the Heavenly Christ said to them: “…You will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful even to the point of death…”
The ancient historian Eusebius tells of a Christian named Polycarp, who lived in Smyrna. Because he refused to worship Domitian, the Romans accused him of treason, and brought him to the stadium to be executed. They gave him one final chance to change his mind: They said, “Renounce your Christ, or die.” Polycarp replied, “86 years have I served Christ, and He has never done me wrong. How can I blaspheme my King who saved me?” When Polycarp was burned alive, the Jews of Smyrna broke their own Sabbath laws by delivering the wood for the fire.
For these reasons, the risen Christ has no words of condemnation for the believers in Smyrna (as he has for the other six churches). He only speaks to them words of appreciation and encouragement.
Last Sunday, I said that each of the seven letters we find in chapters two and three of revelation, contain a message for us today. So, what does this letter to the Church at Smyrna say to you and me? I think it raises two questions:
1) First of all, what counts as “persecution?” We have to have a clear understanding of what persecution is and what it is not.
Contrary to popular opinion, “persecution” is not being greeted with “Happy Holidays” at Christmas-time, or teachers not being allowed to read the Bible in public schools, or have prayer at football games! “Persecution” is not even the difficulties and hardships we face, - those everyday trials and tribulations that are just a part of living. Career reversals, financial hardships, family or marital troubles, illness, or the death of loved ones: these things may be problems and cause us pain, but they do not constitute “persecution.”
Persecution is what results from standing up for Christ against the world, and paying a price for your faith.
Do you and I “stand up for Christ” against the world? When push comes to shove, do we let the world know whose side we are on? Or do we take the easy way, and wimp out?
From 1937-40, the Japanese occupied Korea: You may or may not know that Korea has a large Christian community, thanks to the effective work of missionaries in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. (If you ever wondered why we have a “Korean” Methodist Affirmation of Faith in our hymnal, that is why!) The Japanese occupiers tried to force the Christians in Korea to worship at Shinto shrines. Just like their earlier sisters and brothers in Smyrna, many Korean Christians refused to bow their knee in pagan worship, and were tortured or killed for their faithfulness to Christ.
Fortunately, we in the United States enjoy “freedom of religion,” - but “What if persecution came to our shores?” For several decades now we have been in conflict with the most radicalized Muslims who have, as their ultimate goal, the obliteration of all religions in the world except their own narrow brand of Islam – a tiny minority of Muslims around the world. Those zealots believe that, If people aren’t willing to convert to Islam, they must be declared to be infidels: These extremists believe that it is Allah’s decree that all who refuse to convert must be annihilated. Now, I have full confidence that our military would never allow Islamic radicals to occupy our nation, but – a what if that were to happen? What if you were held hostage, and challenged by terrorists with swords and AK-47s to recant your faith in Jesus, or die? What would you do?
Times of persecution occur when we “Stand up for Jesus” in big and small ways, even when we know it may cost us dearly to do so. It is what “separates the wheat from the chaff,” the genuine from the fake. It’s no wonder that the best days of the Church have been those periods of persecution – for it is in those darkest of days that our faith shines the brightest.
2) Now that we are clear about what persecution really is, we have to look at our lives and ask the second question: “Are you and I really persecuted for our faith?”
Since we are blessed to live in a nation shaped by Christian beliefs, can we identify with the believers in Smyrna at all? We hope and pray that we would never be forced to choose between life and death, but whenever we take a stand for Christ, we DO pay a price in some way. In verse 9, the Heavenly Christ mentions three ways persecution can come upon us: “I know your afflictions and your poverty – yet you are rich! I know the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.”
1) So first of all, Christ says that we can face AFFLICTION: Whenever we confront evil with truth, evil will fight back, causing suffering. You know, lots of people in our culture believe that becoming a Christian will make their lives easier. But the reality is that faithfulness to Christ may well make your life more difficult as we face afflictions. That’s “persecution” we may have to endure for our faith.
2) Another likely consequence of standing up for Jesus is POVERTY: For instance, businessmen/women who run their companies by Christian principles may likely lose business and make less profit. Employees who are overt in their faith may be passed over for promotions, or even not be considered for employment in the first place (as is the case in Communist China or Cuba today). Contrary to the “Prosperity Gospel” we hear preached on religious TV, the Christian faith may not return a windfall of financial blessings and the “good life:” Your faithfulness to Christ may actually result in the hardship of poverty.
3) The third type of persecution (mentioned in verse 9) that we may encounter is SLANDER: Those in our culture who are not believers look at us and call us “naïve,” “crazy,” or “religious fanatics.” They ridicule us as foolish simpletons who have been duped by the church to believe nonsense. We see it all the time in the media – we hear it from our unbelieving friends. Christians who live their faith boldly can expect to be the victim of SLANDER.
Think back over your life in Christ – When have you “stood up” for Christ? Have you ever experienced any of these three outcomes – affliction, poverty, or slander? And, if you have never experienced these types of persecution for believing in Christ, could it be that you never really have taken a bold stand, and risked affliction, poverty, or slander?
When I was 4 or 5, my father was assigned to be the pastor at Grace Methodist Church in St. Augustine, a church practically within the bounds of the old city. It was in the early ‘60s, the time when civil rights marches were in their heyday. One of those marches was to take place in St. Augustine, then a town of the old south where the Klu Klux Klan was strong. Needless to say, there was great tension in the community in anticipation of the arrival of Black leaders and white civil rights activists from the North. The congregation at that time was about as racist as most people in the rest of the community, but there were a few who courageously took a stand for what was right. A member of our church who owned a business in the community was outspoken in his belief in the cause of racial equality. The Klan attacked his store and burned a cross on his lawn. That family picked-up and moved to New York City. At the height of the tension, my father preached a prophetic sermon denouncing prejudice and hate, and received threats from those who disagreed. My mother would not let my sisters and me play outside alone, for fear someone might do something to harm us. The next June, my father asked to be appointed to a church in a different community – we moved to the far south of the State, to Homestead, below Miami! You see, there is “a cross to bear” when you follow Jesus. In this passage, the heavenly Christ warns us that we should expect persecution.
So, I hope that we all want to remain true to Christ, even in the face of persecution. But how?
The secret to enduring persecution is also found in the Scriptures: We must keep our focus on Christ, who is the First and the Last. Christ has made us eternal promises that He alone can keep! You can count on them.
In the same chapter from which our first lesson was taken (the tenth chapter of Matthew), we are told that, in times of persecution, “Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul: rather fear Him who can destroy both soul and body in hell” (v. 28). In other words – do not fear persecution, instead, place your faith in the One who is the ultimate guarantor of life, for persecution is only temporary – eternity is forever.
I’m not much of a sports fan, but do love to watch the Olympic Games, especially track and field. Historians tell us that Smyrna held similar games. The winners were not given metals, but instead, a laurel wreath was placed on their heads. This crown of victory came at a great price, it had to be earned. In order for an athlete to receive the crown, he had to do three things:
1) He had to TRAIN for the race: In 1 Timothy 4:7-8, this is what Paul advises his young friend: “Train yourself to be godly. For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.” To win the gold metal in the 100 meter race (for instance), athletes must spend many years in training, conditioning their bodies, so that when the ultimate test comes, they will be strong enough to run their very best. Without going through the rigors of training, the runner will not have what it takes to win. Training is essential for victory.
2) If an athlete hopes to win, he/she must also ABIDE BY THE RULES OF THE RACE: As Paul writes in 2 Timothy, chapter 2, verse 5, in describing a life of faithfulness to Christ, “In the case of an athlete, no one is crowned without competing according to the rules.” One of the saddest things to happen to an athlete is to train his or her whole life for that Olympic race, only to be disqualified because he or she had somehow broken the rules. On September 24, 1988, the Canadian sprinter, Ben Johnson, won the 100 Meter final at the Summer Olympics in Seoul, and broke the world record. Two days later, Canadians witnessed the downfall of Johnson, when he was stripped of his gold medal and world record because drug tests proved that he had used performance enhancing drugs. You can only receive the victor’s crown if you play by the rules of the race. Only when we are faithful to Christ and obedient to his commands can we hope to receive the prize.
3) Obviously (thirdly), in order to win a gold metal, a sprinter MUST CROSS THE FINISH LINE. 1 Corinthians 9:24 says this: “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.” You can leave the rest of the field in the dust, but if you stumble short of the finish line, you will not be the winner. Only those who are faithful “even to the point of death” can claim victory. To be the champion takes training, following the rules, and finishing the race.
As we have seen, if this is true for athletic races, it is even more true for the Christian life. Listen to what Paul writes in his final letter to his friend Timothy (4:5-8):
“But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry. For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.”
So, does this little letter to Smyrna challenge us? Of course it does! It calls on you and me to test the strength of our faith – to measure just how loyal we really are to Christ. When the world tempts you to deny Christ in word or deed, in big or small ways… remember the promises of Christ: “Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life.”
What better prize could we ever hope to win?
“Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches.” Amen.
© 2025 by John B. Gill, III