Title: Revelation 4 (To the Church of Smyrna)
Content The first church the Lord mentioned when he appeared to John on the island of Patmos was the church in Ephesus. The church in Ephesus was a church that seemed to be faithful in every way, at least outwardly healthy, with a really good foundation. However, in all aspects of the church (acts, perseverance, service) was well maintained, but in reality, the biggest problem was being produced. That is, love was cooling off. They have survived the persecution that many churches are facing, but on the other hand, it has brought them to confession. The Holy Spirit (the Lord) did not miss this. That is why, while talking about the appearance of faith that is praised, he did not overlook the fact that his first love had grown cold.
To lose love is to lose everything. The beginning, the core, and the goal of faith is love. Faith hope love These three things will always be there, but the most important thing is love. The Holy Spirit gave a dreadful warning to the church in Ephesus, who was losing this very love, that if they did not repent, they would move their candlesticks. This means that you can destroy the church.
We should always keep this in mind. If there is no love in the church, the value of its existence itself disappears. You know? We are here because of love. Amen?
Today will be the second church, and this is the message addressed to the church in Smyrna.
Let's take a look at Smyrna first. It is said that Smyrna is the only surviving city among the seven cities of Asia Minor (now called Izmir). As a port city located 50 miles north of Ephesus, it prospered enough to compete for prosperity with the capital, Pergamum.
As mentioned in today's text, many Jews were settling here in the early days. The reason is that at the time of the fall of Jerusalem (70) the majority of the Jews had migrated to this city. The problem is that some of these Jews outside the church have colluded with the Roman government to shed a lot of Christian blood. In fact, they were God's blasphemers (verse 9).
According to the biography of the first bishop of Smyrna, Polycarp, when Paul was in Ephesus (Acts 19:26), he must have come to this place and established the church. However, due to the persecution of the church by the Jews in collusion with Rome, the tribulation of the Smyrna church members reached an extreme level. Their property was forcibly confiscated and looted, and even their survival was threatened.
That is why today the Lord is saying that He knows this very tribulation and need.
The Smyrna Church did not lose faith and faithful love for the Lord even in the midst of such suffering and suffering. They enjoyed a life of abundant grace despite these trials. So they were actually praised for being wealthy.
In fact, in the book of Revelation, the church in Smyrna was the only church that received praise along with the church in Philadelphia.
Obviously, the church in Smyrna was, in reality, a physically poor (poor and weary) church. Continually, these tribulations and privations existed in the church. But nevertheless, the Smyrna Church was a spiritually rich church. That's what's important. This is what the Lord said. This commendation is the greatest commendation the church deserves. Did the Lord ever do that? Blessed are the poor, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. They were poor, but they were a wealthy church with heaven.
He is saying that the Lord who is the ruler of history and the source of resurrection life (the first and the last, who died and rose again) knows all these things. He knows their reality very specifically (verse 9).
Dear brothers and sisters, above all, I hope that you will listen to the fact that the Lord knows me. The Lord knows our church. The Lord knows our reality. The Lord is always so close to us. Do you believe it? (Don't cry Tones, Father Lee Tae-seok, being close together is the greatest love)
The Lord said that he neither slumbers nor sleeps, and protects us like the pupil of his eye. Therefore, we should not think that we do not know the Lord, and we should always maintain the form of faith that will be praised until the end.
To the Smyrna church today, the Lord is still presenting the difficult way of the cross. That there are hardships to come. The present is difficult, but the future is not bright in reality.
Verse 10. ?쏡o not be afraid of the afflictions that you are about to suffer, and behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison to be tested, and you will have tribulation for ten days.??
It's good that you told me not to be afraid, and it's good, but that notice was never comfortable. But, as we hear the weather forecast, obviously this is allowing us the mental preparation time to prepare.
Not only that. Today, there is a question as to whether the words of this prophecy are literally applied in reality, but it seems that it will soon become a symbolic expression, but nevertheless speaking even numerically like this clearly indicates that there is a limit. is.
In other words, to put it more directly, not everyone is on the brink of martyrdom (throwing some into prison), and that period does not last forever (for ten days; Daniel's trial period).
It is a very difficult statement, but realistically, it will be a word that can be regarded as a hope. is not it?
Ok. Even so, if the Word ends as it is, surely the Smyrna Church, despite its praiseworthy faith, will have no choice but to bear its weight in the harsh reality.
Is that so? Our Lord is making clear our last hope (hope).
?쏝e faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life??(verse 10).
It is the crown of life, the symbol of the promised supreme glory. is to give you this.
A crown is usually not a crown or crown, but a simple garland worn on the winner of an athletic event. That's what marathon runners give the winner. It may seem unattractive, but the glory it symbolizes is great. Isn't it? Even in the Olympics, marathon is called a flower, and it is the event that decorates the end when all the last races are finished. It is a game that requires patience and effort more than any other game, a game that reaches the highest limit of human beings, and that is why it is a game that everyone expresses its glory and cheers.
It is this Smyrna church that the same crown, the crown of life, is reserved. Hallelujah! It will be difficult, but if you are faithful to the end, if you overcome all these tribulations and persecutions to come and reach the finish line, surely the Lord will give you this crown of glory, a kingdom with the Lord forever, a kingdom where there will be no more pain and trials (verse 11, The second is not to be harmed by death), that is, to give the glory of that country. Hallelujah!
That's right. It is because of this crown, because of this kingdom of eternal life, that we accept our trials. It is trying not to let go of the hand holding the Lord until the end. It continues to run today.
When it comes to marathons, it's Hwang Young-jo. Of course, there is also Bong-Ju Lee, but I think he will remember more because it was Hwang Young-Jo who gave glory to Korea for the first time. Even after the Olympics, he has lived and will continue to live in the joy of reliving that glory in our memories.
Think like that. Of course, it must have taken a lot of pain, patience and effort for Hwang Young-jo to win the gold medal in that marathon. But compared to the time of glory that Hwang Yeong-jo now enjoys, which time do you think is longer? As the person involved, the training time seemed long enough that I did not even want to think about it, but the objective time will definitely be longer than the present glory. Perhaps even after his death, his glory will continue through his descendants and descendants historically.
Did you notice what I'm trying to say? Our life today, our test-bed reality, is by no means very long. Nowadays, there are times when it seems that it is not so strange to live to be 100 years old, but when you look at the time of eternal life, our life is an incredibly short moment.
Ladies and gentlemen, if we believe in eternal life, I believe that we should be able to realize that there is not enough time to spend complaining about this real life. In that time of blaming and complaining, we should be more patient and live a life of faithfulness to the Lord's word (a life of love). Because only then will eternal life come to us in glory.
Verse 11 ?쏦e who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches, for he who overcomes will not be harmed by the second death.??
The second year of death signifies the Last Judgment. In order to be saved without falling into judgment, we must overcome this world, this reality, and our short life. do you believe This is our Christian faith. In the name of the Lord, I bless you and me who keep this faith and are loyal to the end.