The Church Christ Expects: A Sermon Based on Revelation 2:8-17

Today we are going to read about two more of the seven churches that were visited by the resurrected Christ in chapters 2 and 3 of the Book of Revelation.

The second and third of seven letters to seven different churches, none of them perfect, all of them with problems, and begs us to ask "are we the Church that Christ expects"?

Christ calls the whole church to be holy people in doctrine, character, and lifestyle.

So, what if he were to return today?

[From the NLT - New Living Translation]

8 "Write this letter to the angel of the church in Smyrna. This is the message from the one who is the First and the Last, who was dead but is now alive:

9 "I know about your suffering and your poverty-but you are rich! I know the blasphemy of those opposing you. They say they are Jews, but they are not, because their synagogue belongs to Satan. 10 Don't be afraid of what you are about to suffer. The devil will throw some of you into prison to test you. You will suffer for ten days. But if you remain faithful even when facing death, I will give you the crown of life.

11 "Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches. Whoever is victorious will not be harmed by the second death.

Previously we read about the first church, and the first letter sent to Ephesus. A church founded by Paul during his three years stay in that city, and Christ warned them that it had been experiencing a loss of it's "first love"

Ephesus is located on the west coast of what is now Turkey. It was the largest city of it's time in Asia Minor, having a population of 200,000 and boasting one of the seven wonders of the world, the temple of Artemis, and only forty miles from Ephesus was Smyrna.

Smyrna was town that gloried in their Roman religion. Not only did the worship of the emperor touch every part of daily life in Smyrna, but this town also had a temple dedicated entirely to the worship of Rome. In 29 AD, roughly the same time as Jesus' earthly ministry, all cities in Asia were competing for the coveted favor of erecting a temple in honor of Emperor Tiberius. And Smyrna won!

Greg Beale comments, "It was almost impossible to have a share in the city's public life without also having a part in some aspect of the imperial cult"

This meant that if you didn't participate in some way in Roman temple life or in the sacrifices, you would be ostracized by the rest of the city. Ancient trade guilds were tied to particular patron gods. So if you didn't participate in worshiping those gods, you would lose his job and usually meet with abusive treatment.

So when Jesus says (and remember, these words are in the red letters, the words of Jesus himself), when He says "I know about your suffering and your poverty" it was very reassuring to the church. He reminded the church that in spite of their poverty, "you are rich." They had a wealth that the other citizens of Smyrna knew nothing about. All the inheritance that belongs to Christ belonged to them. Their suffering would be brief while their bounty would be for eternity.

We should always remember this. Life in this world can be tough, and sometimes you will be completely out of sync with the cult worship of your times. The worship of "things that perish" will be different at different times and in different places, but you will always be faced with a choice.

Members of the church that Christ expects will choose that of the Kingdom over that of the world. Because of that, you might not have much materially. You may be shunned. You may be ostracized. You may be "black listed". But followers of Christ need not worry about what they accumulate in this life, because they accumulate many riches in the next. We can rejoice, like the Christians of Smyrna, in the riches of God's grace shown to us in Christ. We have the blessings that money could never buy, and that we could never earn - all the benefits won for us by the perfect life and sacrificial death of Jesus. We are the rich ones. Treasures on earth pale compared to our treasures in heaven.

This message is counter to modern preaching that Christians of strong faith will always be healthy, wealthy, powerful and famous. Jesus told his disciples, "Take up your cross and follow me"? He did not say, "Come with me, and you'll get a million dollars."

We should be careful of preaching that tells us that the Christian life is an easy one, and that the truly faithful will always be blessed with material wealth. This kind of preaching is false. Paul said, "We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God."

Jesus says, "Don't be afraid of what you are about to suffer." Fear Not!

And the believers in Smyrna found new courage as they remembered that Jesus has he authority as "the first and the last," to stop anything at any moment if it does fit into His purpose.

The Church that Christ is expected to suffer for the gospel, to find new courage.

Because what can Christ's opponents ultimately take from us that will last forever?

What can the enemy take? Nothing. Nothing at all. Christ's resurrection is our assurance of this reality. Eternal security in Him.

No one can pluck us out of Christ's hand. Just as it is written, 'For Your sake we are being put to death all day long; we were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.' But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us"

Christ assures them, "Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life."

About the time Revelation was written, a young man named Polycarp likely listened to a reading of it. About 20 years later, he was made bishop of Smyrna, faithfully carrying out his responsibilities. But as an old man, persecution became acute. Polycarp was brought before the Roman proconsul who told him that he could go free "if he would swear by the emperor and curse Christ." He replied, "For eighty-six years I have served Him, and He has done me no evil. How could I curse my king, who saved me?"

With every threat, Polycarp refused to deny Christ and be set free. After being tied to the post to be burned, he looked to heaven, praying, "Lord Sovereign God... I thank you that you have deemed me worthy of this moment, so that, jointly with your martyrs, I may have a share in the cup of Christ.... For this...I bless and glorify you. Amen"

Then the Romans burned Polycarp, bishop of the church and disciple of the apostle John, at the stake on February 23, 155 A.D. for his faith in Jesus.

The church that Christ expects is to stand up for him.

Another pastor online tells a more personal story of persecution in Smyrna.

"This past summer, I sat down with my grandparents and learned some family history. They told me that my great-great grandparents, whose last name was "Chrystodoulos", were Greeks living on the coast of Turkey in a town called Smyrna. This is the same town mentioned in our reading.

We're not sure exactly why or when, but sometime in the late 1800s, the Greeks there, including my great-great-grandparents, were massacred there by the Turkish army, and my great-grandfather Sammy was orphaned. Later, he made it to America, where his last name was shortened to "Chryst".

So, you can see why my plans for a trip to Greece and Turkey in a year or two have some special meaning. Not only will we follow the footsteps of St. Paul, and visit the towns mentioned in Revelation, but we'll hopefully visit that town - Smyrna, which is today a city called "Izmir" ... throughout its history, Smyrna has been a place of conflict."

For those in the church of Smyrna cited here, it would be a short and finite test. Ten days, perhaps an exact amount of time, or likely a symbolic number for a short but complete time set by God. The number 10 however, being the last counting finger, may indicated a very long time or even the end time. However, The "testing" of Daniel and his three friends was also said to be for "ten days" and thus it seems to indicate a shorter time period. But for us, while some suffering seems shorter and some seems longer, there is always an end. Even if the persecution ends in death itself, there is a promise beyond the grave.

And of the 7 churches address at the beginning of Revelation, only Smyrna and Philadelphia receive no real complaint from the Lord. There is only commendation, encouragement and a promise of eternal life to the one who overcomes. Perhaps the reason there is no cause for complaint is that Smyrna was a suffering church.

And the Church that Christ expects is one that will suffer for Him.

PERGAMUM, however, was not so fortunate. They were most definitely NOT the church that Christ expects.

12 "Write this letter to the angel of the church in Pergamum. This is the message from the one with the sharp two-edged sword:

13 "I know that you live in the city where Satan has his throne, yet you have remained loyal to me. You refused to deny me even when Antipas, my faithful witness, was martyred among you there in Satan's city.

14 "But I have a few complaints against you. You tolerate some among you whose teaching is like that of Balaam, who showed Balak how to trip up the people of Israel. He taught them to sin by eating food offered to idols and by committing sexual sin. 15 In a similar way, you have some Nicolaitans among you who follow the same teaching. 16 Repent of your sin, or I will come to you suddenly and fight against them with the sword of my mouth.

17 "Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches. To everyone who is victorious I will give some of the manna that has been hidden away in heaven. And I will give to each one a white stone, and on the stone will be engraved a new name that no one understands except the one who receives it.

The Pergamum church also lived in the midst of religious opposition. They knew what it was to suffer as Christians, and to even see the death of one of their own members for his testimony of Christ. They boldly took a stand in their city as outspoken Christians. Yet, in spite of this commendable stance, a spiritual disease gnawed away at their life and testimony. They faced inward destruction if they failed to take action.

"I know where you dwell," Jesus told the Pergamum believers, "where Satan's throne is"

The term "Satan's throne," likely doesn't mean a Satanic cult, there's no evidence of that, but rather it refers to the numerous idolatrous shrines that marked the city.

Pergamum, was about 65 miles north of Smyrna and exceeded that town in love for and loyalty to the emperor. Pergamum was the capital city of the Roman province of Asia and retained this honor well into the 2^nd century.

It was renowned for its library that eventually was transferred to Alexandria. Due to Egypt's refusal to send them paper, they developed animal skins, known as parchment, for making more books. But of even greater renown were the multiple temples and altars throughout the city. The city stood on a hill over 1000 feet tall, and on top of that hill stood an enormous altar to Zeus The Savior. Imagine waking up each day to a new sunrise, to only have it blocked out by the a giant statue of a mythical Greek god.

Teams of priests burned animal sacrifices on the great altar twenty-four hours a day, so that the rising smoke bore testimony to Zeus' supremacy in that region.

So there it was. "Satan's throne" stood grandly where the Christ's church sought to testify to the Good News..

With these and other temples, altars, and gods including Athena, Dionysus & Asclepios attached to citizenship, the Pergamum Christians also faced enormous pressure to compromise or else face economic, social, and even physical loss.

By the way, this very day, the symbol the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare is the staff of Asclepios . . . with a serpent coiled around it.

We do know that in the first century in Pergamum, one witness of Christ, Antipas, like Polycarp, had died as a martyr for his faith in Christ. The church had plenty of outward activity identifying them as Christians.

But inwardly they compromised with the world. Their indulgence in the world had nullified, or at least muddied their testimony of Christ.

In Ephesus, the believers would not let the teaching of the Nicolaitans take root among them. But in Pergamum, the church tolerated it.

In order to be accepted by the citizens of Pergamum, some began to teach that it was okay to offer sacrifices to the gods of Pergamum and to participate in their rituals and festivals.

But that's not the Church Christ expects.

Although they had not themselves denied the faith, they had become overly tolerant of falsehood. For this, Jesus severely rebukes them.

Faced with the same challenges and the people it Smyrna, the people of Pergamum had at least partially succumbed to them.

And Christ would come to judge them with His sword of justice, unless....

And that's the wonder of our great Lord and Savior. He has made provision for everything because he loves us so much.

Christ will come to judge us with His sword of justice, unless....we repent, and turn to Him and accept Him and believe on Him.

If we repent and turn to Him, Christ expresses some of the most beautiful words attributed to Him in the whole bible.

To those who repent and are victorious in Christ he says, "I will give some of the manna that has been hidden away in heaven. And I will give to each one a white stone, and on the stone will be engraved a new name that no one understands except the one who receives it."

They are mysterious and yet mesmerizing words, but all agree they symbolize the wonderful treasure stored in heaven. Manna, God's miraculous salvation, and the white stone, a new beginning without blemish, a name without the stain of past sin or suffering.

For all who are victorious, for the church that Christ expects, comes new life and a new beginning in Him.

It's not either/or ...it's IF, it's WHEN, because Christ waits for the very last lost soul to repent and turn to Him. He's waiting now. He wants to save everyone.

He was encouraged by Smyrna, concerned and upset by Pergamum, but there were still choices to be made by both, day by day. It's not over, until it's over. We still wait for that day. These words speak to then, they speak to now, and they speak of eternity.

In the meantime, are we the church Christ expects us to be?

Is there manna set aside for us? Is there a new white stone waiting for us?

How many of us still worship at the feet of the world, at Satan's throne, as Jesus puts it.? Maybe like the people of Pergamum we get to thinking "Yes, I am believer, but that just how things get done around here. A little cheating, a little lying, little idol worship, a little compromise here and there. That doesn't hurt anything, does it?

Jesus says, yes it does. A little here, and a little there is a slippery slope. Life as a Christ follower is not supposed to be easy, not in this world, but the rewards are great when we are the Church that Christ expects.

Amen

©2009 Timothy Henry