RETURNING TO THE ORTHODOXY OF THE CHURCH

Message Three

The Church in Smyrna

Scripture Reading: Rev. 2:8-11; 1:18; 22:13

RK Hymns: 124, 639

Outline

Day 1

I. The church in Smyrna was a church under the suffering of persecution—Rev. 2:8-11:

A. In Greek Smyrna means “myrrh,” a sweet spice that, in figure,signifies suffering; the church in Smyrna was a suffering church—v. 10:

1. This persecuted church suffered in the sweetness and fragrance of Christ.

2. This church was in the tribulation in Jesus and was in the fellowship of His sufferings—1:9; Phil. 3:10.

3. The church in Smyrna suffered as Christ Himself did and thereby became a continuation of His suffering—Col. 1:24:

a. The afflictions of Christ are of two categories: those for accomplishing redemption, which have been completed by Christ Himself, and those for producing and building the church, which need to be filled up by the apostles and the believers.

b. “The afflictions of Christ…for His Body, which is the church” (v. 24)must be completed by His followers both individually and collectively.

c. In the church in Smyrna we see the collective continuation of the sufferings of Jesus.

d. Because this church was a continuation of Jesus’ suffering, it was truly the testimony of Jesus—Rev. 1:2, 9; 19:10.

B. The church in Smyrna suffered “the slander from those who call themselves Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan”—2:9:

1. The Judaizers slandered the suffering church by evilly criticizing her;they stubbornly insisted on keeping their Judaistic system, consisting of the Levitical priesthood, the sacrificial rituals, and the material temple,which were all types that had been fulfilled and replaced by Christ.

2. Since the church under the new covenant in God’s economy had no part in their religious practice, the Judaizers slanderously criticized her.

3. In principle, it is the same today, in that religious people slander the churches in the Lord’s recovery, which seek the Lord and follow Him in spirit and in life and do not care for the religious system.

Day 2

4. According to the Lord’s word in John 15:1, 4-5, and 18-24, the vine and the branches are opposed by the religious world (Judaism); today Christianity is the religious world, the religious system that opposes not only Christ, the true vine, but also the church, the branches of the vine—cf. Gal. 1:4.

C. The persecution suffered by the church began from the religious synagogue of the Jews instigated by Satan, the adversary, and it was consummated by the Roman Empire used by the devil,the slanderer; the persecution of the suffering church was a cooperation of satanic religion and devilish politics—Rev. 2:9-10.

D. To the suffering church the Lord Jesus said, “I know your tribulation”—v. 9:

1. Tribulation is precious to the church because it tests the life of the church.

2. The Lord’s purpose in allowing the church to suffer tribulation is not only to testify that His resurrection life overcomes death but also to enable the church to enjoy the riches of His life—John 11:25; Rev. 1:18; Eph. 3:8.

Day 3

II. In speaking to the church in Smyrna, the Lord said that He is “the First and the Last, who became dead and lived again”—Rev. 2:8:

A. The fact that Christ is the First and the Last means that He never changes:

1. In suffering, the church must know that the Lord is the First and the Last, the ever-existing, unchanging One.

2. Whatever the persecuting environment may be, the Lord remains the same; nothing can precede Him, nor can anything exist after Him; all things are within the limits of His control.

B. The Lord’s declaration in verse 8 implies the creation—the First—and the completion—the Last—and it also implies Christ’s incarnation, human living, crucifixion, and resurrection:

1. This is a declaration to strengthen the suffering church in Smyrna, which was experiencing and suffering martyrdom.

2. The only thing that can support the saints in their martyrdom is seeing the One who created and will complete the entire universe and who was incarnated, lived on earth, was crucified, and resurrected; such a vision sustains the martyrs to stand in their sufferings—v. 10.

3. All the local churches need to believe that the Lord Jesus is the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End; He will accomplish what He has begun in His recovery—22:13.

C. As the One who became dead and lived again, Christ is the living One—2:8; 1:18:

1. The Lord Jesus suffered death and lived again; He entered into death,but death could not hold Him, because He is the resurrection—Acts 2:24;John 11:25.

2. “I became dead, and behold, I am living forever and ever”—Rev. 1:18:

a. Resurrection is a life that passes through death and still remains living.

b. Christ’s resurrection is the lengthening of His days; He will exist forever and ever in His resurrection.

Day 4

3. The resurrected Christ, the living One, is living in us and among us;therefore, all the churches should be living as He is, full of life and overcoming death—1 Tim. 3:15.

4. The Lord’s living forever is His testimony; the more living we are, the more we are the testimony of the living Jesus—Rev. 1:2, 9; 19:10.

5. For us to be living, we must have not only life but the life supply; as the living One, Christ cares for the churches by giving us Himself not only as life but also as the life supply—John 4:10, 14; 6:48, 51; Rev. 2:7, 17; 3:20.

Day 5

D. As the One who became dead and lived again, Christ has the keys of death and of Hades—1:18:

1. The Lord Jesus overcame death and destroyed the devil, the keys of death and of Hades are now in His hand, and He is victorious over the grave—Heb. 2:14; Rev. 1:18.

2. In His resurrection the Lord Jesus took away the authority of death and of Hades; death is subject to Him, and Hades is under His control—v. 18.

3. In the church life today, we are no longer subject to death and Hades, for Christ abolished death and overcame Hades in His resurrection—Heb. 2:14.

4. Christ not only defeated death—He nullified it; 2 Timothy 1:10 reveals that Christ nullified death, making it of none effect, through His devil-destroying death and death-swallowing resurrection—Heb. 2:14; 1 Cor. 15:52-54.

III. “Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life”—Rev. 2:10:

A. “Be faithful unto death”:

1. The Lord insists that the life of all those who serve Him belongs to Him;this is why we must be faithful even unto death.

2. Being faithful unto death is a matter both of attitude and of time:

a. As to our attitude, we must be faithful even unto death—12:11.

b. As to time, we must be faithful until death.

Day 6

B. “I will give you the crown of life”:

1. The crown of life, as a prize to those who are faithful unto death in overcoming persecution, denotes the overcoming strength that is the power of the resurrection life (Phil. 3:10); it also denotes that these overcomers have attained to the out-resurrection from the dead (v. 11),the outstanding resurrection.

2. Not only the tree of life but the crown of life will be a reward to the suffering church—Rev. 2:7, 10:

a. The eating of the tree of life is inward for supply, and the crown of life is outward for glory.

b. The promises concerning the tree of life and the crown of life are wrapped up with the divine life (John 1:4; 10:10; 11:25; 1 John 5:11-13);this life must be our food, and then it will be our expression and our glorification as the crown of life.