Title Smyrna Church / Revelation 2:8-11
“To the angel of the church in Smyrna, the first and the last, he who died and rose from the dead said, “I know your tribulation and your poverty, but you are rich, and I know the blasphemy of those who call themselves Jews. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, to be tested, and you will have tribulation for ten days. Hear what is said to these churches; he who overcomes will not be harmed by the second death."
'Smyrna Church' is a trading port located in the north of Ephesus on the Asia Minor peninsula, and it was established after a region named after the city of Smyrna, the center of the emperor's worship as a Jewish collective base.
The members of the Smyrna Church suffered a lot of tribulation and persecution due to the severe slander of the Jews, and 'Polycarp', the director of the Smyrna Church, is a martyr's church that suffered martyrdom.
On a Jewish feast day, when the angry crowds were brimming with excitement, the instigating Jews offered incense to the emperor, calling Polycarp, the bishop of the Smyrna Church, 'a teacher who taught not to practice imperial worship, a father of Christianity, and a destroyer of gods'. He asked Polycarp to choose between being burned or burned. Polycarp responded in front of the excited crowd, saying, "I have served Christ for 86 years. But Christ never did anything wrong or said that he did not know me. How can you blaspheme my King who saved me?" Therefore, the Jews diligently piled up wood to be burned even on the Sabbath day, poured oil on them, and dragged polycarp to the pit. But Polycarp said, "It's fine. I ride for a while, and after a while it goes out. I'm not afraid of the fire. Why are you delaying? Do as you please." After a while a fire was engulfed in his body, he gave thanks to God and said, "The Lord has graciously regarded me as worthy of this day and this hour. You have placed me in the ranks of so many martyrs, that I may receive a portion in the house of the Lord Jesus. I thank you for being there." It is said that he sacrificed his end.
The Lord who appeared to the seven churches appeared differently depending on the circumstances, circumstances, and quality of the churches. To the sinful church, the righteous Lord appears in the opposite direction, rebuking the thoughts and actions that are opposite to the Lord and admonishing them to repent. He appeared as the Lord and appeared as the Lord of comfort.
The Lord who appeared to the church in Smyrna appeared as the Lord of comfort, with the same view of time, life and life, peace, the poor and the poor, and the four rulers.
□ Appearance of the Lord (4th Crown Prince)
① time building
He appeared as the Lord of 'the first and the last' in the middle of verse 8.
The Smyrna church did not deal only with the time on the other side of death, but lived in accordance with the judgment of God beyond death and the time beyond death, so it lived through many tribulation, persecution, poverty, and suffering in the Jewish community. The people of the world live only the years of this life on the other side of death as their own and for their own benefit, but because the Lord teaches and insists on preparing for the next life beyond death, he becomes a stumbling block to Jews who do not know this, and foolishness to Gentiles. During the period, he was consistent with persecution and the cross.
As the Smyrna church has the same view of time as the Lord, He appeared as the Lord of comfort, knowing that the Lord knew that he had to suffer a lot of persecution, tribulation, deprivation, and suffering.
The world of this life is a period of preparation and training for the next life, the kingdom of God. The kingdom of heaven is a place of permanent residence, the world is an inn where you stay for a while, a life of a stranger, and life in the world is a life of a passerby heading for the kingdom of heaven, a life of a guest. He said that the world is temporary, the kingdom of heaven is eternity, and the period of life in the world is like a lapse of eternity.
However, life in the world, which is a brief period of preparation, is important because, as much as we prepare and build in the world, the shame and glory, ability and honor of the kingdom of heaven are determined, and a moment determines eternity.
Moses said, "When he has grown up, he refuses to be called the son of Pharaoh's princess, but prefers to suffer with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a while, and to give the reproach for Christ greater riches than all the treasures of Egypt. reckoned, because he looked forward to the reward” (Hebrews 11:24-26).
According to the legend, Peter was startled by the sound of a cock crow while he was still alive because the shameful shame of denying the Lord three times before the rooster crowed was disrespectful to the Lord. He was crucified upside down and martyred because he had no face to see the Lord. This is because we lived in the eternal kingdom beyond death, facing that time.
② life and death
He appeared as the Lord of 'the one who was dead and rose again' (verse 8, second half).
Smyrna Church is like a grass that has to be left once born, and did not live for a limited life like the flowers of the grass, but lived for the life of eternal life, dying once and resurrected. It is a church of martyrdom with a view of life and death with joy, thanks to the fact that Polycarp, the bishop of Smyrna Church, was burned at the stake, and that he was raised to the ranks of martyrdom and that he received an eternal portion.
The purpose of the saints' financial life is to introduce the life of the Lord, who lived not against the life on the other side of death, but rather for the life that was once killed and lived again. , said to be eternal.
In order to give the elect a new, immortal life of eternal life, the Lord sacrificed himself to perform the merits of atonement, rose from the dead, and gave eternal life to those who believe. Like the Lord, the Smyrna Church firmly believed in the Lord's way of atonement, did not deal with a finite and short mortal life, and had a view of life and life that is the same as the Lord, so the Lord acknowledged and comforted him.
Martyrdom is not something anyone can do. Realizing that it belongs to the Lord, who was sold with His blood, we must live with gratitude and be moved by the love and grace of the sacrifice of sacrifice for life and death. It is given to the person who wants and wants and lives without wanting to use all that he has, all his body, and even his life.
He does not shorten one minute or one second of life that God has predestined for man. Martyrdom is when the time of death comes to a person who does all he can and cannot give up his life, puts a seal on him, and God accepts it as a reward.
③ Gorak-gwan and ④ Poor-bug
“I know your affliction and your poverty, in fact you are rich” (verse 9).
'Tribulation' refers to the view of peace and happiness, and 'poverty' refers to the view of the rich and the poor. 'Tribulation' means pressure, and is used for a person who suffers from being hit by a large stone and then is slowly pressed to death. It is persecution because we try to live by faith, and the pain of persecution is like being pressed by a heavy stone.
The city of Smyrna is an area devoted to the Christian eradication movement as a collective stronghold of the Jews. Smyrna Church suffered many afflictions mentally due to the blasphemy and severe persecution of the Jews, and suffered many afflictions because of economic persecution.
In order to bring peace and wealth beyond death to the elect, during his reign, the Lord endured countless scorn, humiliation, ridicule, slander, persecution, torment, tribulation, and punishment, but not a single word of murmuring, complaint, or cell. You didn't resist. For the sake of eternal peace, the Lord who left on the cross of suffering, left no drop of blood on the cross, suffered all the pain, and said, “It is finished,” and the Smyrna Church have the same view of happiness and peace. appeared as
It is good to only want blessings, healing, warm back, fullness, and peace by believing in Jesus, but if you live your life of faith, there are bound to be conflicts, and there will always be tribulations.
If we are to live by faith, there must be friction, persecution, and tribulation. For eternal peace, we must first suffer the cross and bear the cross to obtain comfort, glory, honor and peace.
'Poverty' means poverty, and it refers to poverty that has to work day-to-day for a living, and is more destitute than poverty that has nothing at all. The church in Smyrna suffered severe economic deprivation due to the mass raids, assaults, and looting of the believers by the Jews. It is a church that has been subjected to poverty and blasphemy, imprisonment and martyrdom, human rights violations (bad criticism), and looting of houses.
The life of the Lord giving up all possessions in the spirit world and the universe, becoming poor, naked during the third century, starving, and having nowhere to lay his head, testifying to the wealth of the eternal kingdom of heaven, was the same as the poor Smyrna church and the poor and wealthy. Because of this, he appeared as the Lord of comfort.
Second, the church that God is pleased with, respects, and respects is a church with the same four crowns as the Lord.
Evil spirits use time, life and death, wealth and peace as baits to seize churches and church members to earn their income, so before changing the 4 crowns, there is nothing other than filling the barns of the enemy.
□ The identity of the disruptive forces
What is the identity of the forces that hinder and persecute the church in Smyrna, what is this persecution for, and how long will it continue?
“I also know the blasphemy of those who claim to be Jews, but in reality they are not Jews, but a synagogue of Satan” (verse 9, lower half).
The word 'disturbing' means to shape and cut. As the members of their religious life go on, they can't stand this blasphemy, so they fall one by one, they fall in two, and they keep falling like that. Who is disturbing? “A self-proclaimed Jew is blaspheming,” he said.
The term 'self-proclaimed Jews' is not recognized by God, but it symbolizes those who believe in themselves, orthodox, legal, and truth-believing people.
Why do self-proclaimed Jews blaspheme?
The blasphemy was interrupted because the four dynasties were different. Those who have four crowns different from the Lord are not Jews, but self-proclaimed Jews, that is, Satan. The outer shell is orthodox, legal, and conservative, who call themselves Jews, but inside, Satan, who holds the power of this world and works, is sabotaging it.
We sometimes say that blasphemy is blasphemy in the country, blasphemy in society, blasphemy in certain religious groups, blasphemy in the family, blasphemy in the church, blasphemy in this form, and in that form, appearing in that form. Although there are many appearances, we must not erase the finality by looking at the appearance, and there is only one kernel in it.
When all beings move, we look only at the outer appearance of what is moved, look only at the signboard, do not make a decision, but what is the content in the qualitative and nature of the action? What is this, and what is the rationale for its contents?
The blasphemy against the Church of Smyrna is the result of the 4 generations being different. The outward appearance of this blasphemy is 'self-proclaimed Jew', and the inside is 'Satan's Assembly' and 'Satan. After that, it was called 'the devil'.
In Revelation 17, the seven-headed and ten-horned beast is the world. Orthodox, conservative, reformed, truthful, and appears as a believer in the husk of a believer, which the world believes in, and disturbs the 4 crowns. We are working while holding on to the authority in the world, and that power is Satan and the devil.
□ What is obstruction and persecution for?
Verse 10 “Do not be afraid of the sufferings that you are about to suffer; behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that they may be tested.”
The church in Smyrna is currently in tribulation, but 'the tribulation to be endured' does not mean denying the tribulation currently being suffered. Meaning. The afflictions to come are not to be afraid of the afflictions in which you will be tested by throwing some into prison.