Bird's-eye view
In this second of the seven letters, Jesus addresses the church in Smyrna, a church facing intense persecution. Unlike the church in Ephesus, which received a commendation mixed with a sharp rebuke, Smyrna receives no condemnation at all. This is a suffering church, and the Lord's message to them is one of profound comfort, stark realism, and glorious encouragement. Jesus identifies Himself in a way that speaks directly to their situation: He is the eternal one who has personally conquered death. He knows their affliction, both their material poverty and the slander they endure from hostile Jews, whom He startlingly identifies as a "synagogue of Satan." He does not promise them immediate deliverance from their suffering. In fact, He tells them it is about to get worse for a short, defined period. The devil will test them. But the command is not to despair, but rather to be fearless and faithful, even to the point of martyrdom. The promises He gives are commensurate with the trial: for faithfulness unto death, He offers the victor's crown of life and the ultimate security of being untouched by the second death. This letter is a potent reminder that the Lord's measure of a church's success is not its comfort, wealth, or size, but its faithfulness in the crucible of affliction.
This is a letter for a church that is getting it right, and the cost of getting it right is tribulation. Their suffering is not a sign of God's displeasure, but rather the context in which their true, spiritual riches are displayed. The Lord's knowledge of their situation is intimate, His command is clear, and His promises are eternal. It is a compact and powerful word for all believers who find themselves pressed and persecuted for the sake of the gospel.
Outline
- 1. The Message to a Suffering Church (Rev 2:8-11)
- a. The Speaker's Authority: The Conqueror of Death (Rev 2:8)
- b. The Lord's Commendation: Rich in Poverty (Rev 2:9)
- i. He Knows Their Tribulation and Poverty (Rev 2:9a)
- ii. He Knows Their True Riches (Rev 2:9b)
- iii. He Knows Their Slanderers: The Synagogue of Satan (Rev 2:9c)
- c. The Lord's Command and Prophecy: Fear Not, Be Faithful (Rev 2:10)
- i. The Exhortation: Do Not Fear Suffering (Rev 2:10a)
- ii. The Prediction: A Limited, Satanic Testing (Rev 2:10b)
- iii. The Command: Be Faithful Unto Death (Rev 2:10c)
- d. The Speaker's Promise: The Crown and the Second Death (Rev 2:10d-11)
- i. The Reward: The Crown of Life (Rev 2:10d)
- ii. The Universal Call to Hear (Rev 2:11a)
- iii. The Ultimate Victory: Immunity from the Second Death (Rev 2:11b)
Context In Revelation
This letter to Smyrna is the second of seven, delivered by the glorified Christ through His servant John to seven specific, historical churches in Asia Minor. These letters function as the opening section of the entire book, setting the stage for the grand cosmic drama that is about to unfold. They ground the apocalyptic visions that follow in the concrete realities of local church life. The themes introduced here, persecution, faithfulness, the opposition of false religion, the promise of victory for overcomers, are themes that will be developed and amplified throughout the rest of Revelation. Smyrna, along with Philadelphia, is one of two churches that receives no rebuke, highlighting that faithfulness under pressure is a condition that greatly pleases the Lord. The historical context is likely the period just before the great Jewish War of A.D. 66-70, a time of increasing tension and persecution for Christians from both Roman authorities and hostile Jewish communities. The letter serves as a pastoral word from the Head of the Church, preparing His people for the intense trial that is about to come upon that generation.
Key Issues
- The Identity of Jesus as "First and Last"
- The Paradox of Poverty and Riches
- The "Synagogue of Satan"
- The Role of Satan in Persecution
- The Meaning of "Ten Days"
- Faithfulness Unto Death
- The Crown of Life
- The Second Death
No Rebuke, Just Reality
It is noteworthy that the Lord Jesus has nothing bad to say to this church. They are not like Ephesus, which had left its first love, or like Pergamum, which tolerated false teaching. Smyrna is a church purified by affliction. When the heat is turned up, the dross rises to the surface and can be skimmed off. This church was in the crucible, and what remained was pure gold in the Lord's eyes. Their circumstances were dire, but their spiritual condition was excellent. The Lord does not write to them to correct a fault, but to fortify their faithfulness. He is not telling them to brace for impact because they have done something wrong, but precisely because they have done everything right.
The message is intensely realistic. Jesus does not offer them a way out of suffering. He does not promise to remove their persecutors. He tells them, point blank, that the devil is about to throw some of them in jail. More suffering is coming. This is a crucial aspect of Christian discipleship that the modern Western church has largely forgotten. The normal Christian life, in a world at enmity with God, involves tribulation. Jesus' purpose here is not to remove the trial, but to give them the perspective, the command, and the promise that will enable them to endure it faithfully and victoriously.
Verse by Verse Commentary
8 “And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: This is what THE FIRST AND THE LAST, who was dead, and has come to life, says:
As with each of the letters, Jesus identifies Himself with a title drawn from the vision in chapter 1. To this church facing the threat of death, He presents Himself as the ultimate authority over life and death. He is THE FIRST AND THE LAST, a title of ultimate deity borrowed from Isaiah (Isa 44:6, 48:12), signifying His eternal sovereignty over all of history. He was there before anything began, and He will be there after everything is wrapped up. But He is not just a distant, eternal sovereign. He is the one who was dead, and has come to life. He has personally walked the path He is asking them to walk. He entered death's domain and shattered it from the inside. He is not asking His followers to face anything He has not already faced and conquered. This is the ultimate encouragement: your persecutors can kill you, but your Lord has already defeated death itself. Your Captain has gone before you and secured the beachhead.
9 ‘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.
The phrase "I know" is a profound comfort. It is not the detached knowledge of an observer, but the intimate, sympathetic knowledge of a sovereign who is present with them in their suffering. He knows their tribulation, the intense pressure they are under. He knows their poverty. This was likely a literal, grinding poverty, a direct result of their faith. In a city like Smyrna, with its powerful trade guilds tied to emperor worship, refusing to participate meant economic exclusion. But then Jesus immediately redefines their reality: (but you are rich). In the economy of heaven, they are billionaires. Their worldly poverty has been the context for storing up treasures that rust cannot corrupt and thieves cannot steal. This is a divine perspective shift. Then He says He knows the blasphemy, the slander, coming from a specific group: those who say they are Jews and are not. These are ethnic Jews, descendants of Abraham, but they have rejected their own Messiah. By doing so, they have forfeited their claim to be the true people of God. True Jewishness is a matter of faith in Christ, the true Jew (Rom 2:28-29). By opposing Christ and His church, they have aligned themselves with God's great adversary. Jesus' language is shocking and absolute: they are not the assembly of God, but a synagogue of Satan.
10 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.
The command is simple: Do not fear. This is not a suggestion to try and feel better; it is a command based on the reality of who He is. Fear is a natural response to threat, but faith in the one who conquered death is the supernatural antidote. He then tells them plainly what is coming. Behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison. Jesus pulls back the curtain to show them the spiritual reality behind their persecution. Their human opponents, the Jews and the Romans, are secondary agents. The prime mover is the devil. The purpose of this imprisonment is a test (so that you will be tested). God tests His people to prove and strengthen their faith, like a refiner's fire. The duration will be for ten days. This is likely not a literal 240 hours, but a symbolic number signifying a period that is short, definite, and entirely under God's sovereign control. It will be intense, but it will not be endless. In light of this, the central command of the letter is given: Be faithful until death. The standard is not mere survival, but unwavering loyalty, even if it costs them their lives. And for this ultimate faithfulness, the ultimate prize is offered: I will give you the crown of life. This is the victor's wreath, the prize given to the winning athlete. It is not salvation earned by martyrdom, but the reward of eternal life that is guaranteed to all who persevere in faith.
11 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes will never be hurt by the second death.’
The call to hear is for everyone, in all the churches, in every generation. The message to Smyrna is a message for all who suffer. The final promise is for he who overcomes. The overcomer is not a special class of super-Christian; the overcomer is the one who remains faithful to the end. And the promise is absolute security. They will never be hurt by the second death. The first death, physical death, might well be their lot. Their enemies have power over their bodies. But the second death, which is eternal separation from God in the lake of fire (Rev 20:14), has no claim on them. Their persecutors can usher them out of this life, but in doing so they are only sending them straight into the arms of the one who gives the crown of life. This is the ultimate checkmate. The worst thing the enemy can do to you is the best thing that can happen to you.
Application
The letter to Smyrna is a stiff dose of reality for the comfortable, consumeristic Christianity so prevalent in the West. We are taught to measure a church's health by its budget, its programs, its attendance, and its cultural influence. Jesus measures this church's health by its faithfulness under fire. They had nothing the world values, and everything God values. This forces us to ask some hard questions. What is our definition of "rich?" Are we laying up treasures in heaven or on earth? We may not face the threat of literal martyrdom, but we are certainly tempted to compromise our faithfulness for the sake of economic security, social acceptance, or personal peace.
This letter teaches us to see persecution from a divine perspective. First, it is not random. It is a test, orchestrated by Satan but sovereignly limited by God, designed to prove and purify our faith. Second, we are commanded not to fear it. Our fear is overcome not by a change in circumstances, but by a focus on the resurrected Christ who holds the keys of death and Hades. Third, the call is to persevere. We are in a marathon, not a sprint, and the command is to be faithful all the way to the finish line. Finally, the rewards for faithfulness are out of all proportion to the suffering. A short, limited tribulation in this life earns an eternal crown of life and complete immunity from the final judgment. We must learn to see our trials, whether great or small, not as interruptions to God's plan, but as central to it. It is in the crucible of affliction that our faith is shown to be genuine, and it is there that we are shaped into the image of our suffering and victorious King.