Title: You Are Rich / Revelation 2:8-11
Content You are rich / Revelation 2:8-11
“I know your afflictions and your privations, in reality you are rich… .” (Rev 2:8-11)
Smyrna was a center of imperial worship and was home to many Jews. Among them, the Smyrna Church lived in many tribulations and poverty. Originally, the word Smyrna means “crushed myrrh” in English. Myrrh is a bitter preservative, and how much will it be used since it has been crushed? This shows how horribly the church in Smyrna will be persecuted.
The Lord said to the church in Smyrna, which is experiencing tribulation and persecution, “I know your tribulation and need, in fact you are rich.” These are words of amazing power. Jesus said that he knew tribulation first. The word tribulation means 'a great stone weighs down from above'. Tribulation comes to Christians in one way or another. There is a clear reason for this. God restores the pure first love through this persecution and tribulation. Tribulation and trials always make our faith pure. God wants us to become pure gold.
And the Lord knows poverty. It was a time of real poverty because of Jesus. At that time, socially, the way to earn money by believing in Jesus was blocked. It is still the case in the Muslim world.
But the reality is we are the rich. Although we lost some of the things of this earth, we gained the kingdom of God, our eternal inheritance, and because we gained faith, in reality, we became wealthy. Lee has something more precious than gold.
He also said that the Lord knows the blasphemy of the Jews. At that time, the economic power of Smyrna was held by the Jews, and these Jews reported the Jews who believed in Christianity to the authorities. This is the synagogue of Satan. The synagogue of Satan persecutes and destroys the church. But the Lord knows it all. This is truly a precious and blessed thing. Let's look to the Lord.