Revelation: Smyrna

The Persecuted Church

(Rev. 2:8-11)

*Commendation: Works, tribulation, poverty.

*Condemnation: none given.

*Counsel: Fear not, be faithful.

~The mystery of the seven churches (Rev. 2-3) is revealed in the fact that they outline the prophetic history of the Church from Pentecost to the Lord's appearing in the clouds, an era some refer to as the "age of grace." From the humble, sincere, and zealous beginning to the prideful, blind, and heretical end... the seven letters to the seven churches offer spiritual lessons (founded on their original historical contexts) concerning proper conduct and direction for the Church that is as vital today as when first written.

Prophetic class and hypothesized associated historical era of Smyrna: 

Persecuted church {AD 100 - 313}

...The early church in Smyrna was heavily persecuted amidst a city of wealth that despised both the Christian philosophy and the efforts to evangelize. Few details are known concerning the history of the church in Smyrna beyond what is offered in the book of Revelation; however, it is known that the city was conquered by Attila the Hun in the fifth century. 

...Scripture shows that the Smyrna congregation was intensely faithful despite relentless oppression, and the "Smyrna era" of Church history is in all probability the most violent time of persecution the Church has ever known; after all, the foremost Mystery of the ages (i.e. the Passion, Crucifixion, and Resurrection) "kept since the world began but now made manifest" (Romans 16:25-26) birthed an unwelcome entity (the Church) into Satan's earthly kingdom. Upon realizing that the apostolic assemblies and their faithful preaching of the Gospel were a threat to his pagan empire, Satan unleashed an unholy offensive against the Church in an attempt to annihilate it before it matured. But with each attack, the Church increasingly overcame the one condemning characteristic of the Ephesus/Apostolic era- that of having left its first love. Thus, not one condemnation was uttered by Christ against Smyrna.

...The supernatural aspect of the Gospel is evidenced by the fact that the Church reached its highest numbers in proportion to world population during this period of savage persecution. The works of Smyrna immensely assisted the planting of churches around the known world and included the production of numerous hand-copied manuscripts of sacred Scripture, as well as translation of the same into many languages. As God's written Word was dispersed, studied, and preached, especially amid widespread anti-Christian environments, the Church advanced in number until reaching a level of influence within the Roman Empire that resulted in Christianity being officially legalized by Emperor Constantine in AD 313, and soon thereafter established as the Roman state religion in AD 323!

...Constantine's edict prompted Satan to shrewdly initiate a check on Christian persecution which proved to be a severely effective strategy, leading to extraordinary tragedy for the Church. Satan then buttressed his tactics by infiltrating the Church from within through the avenues of indulgence and endorsement. This is outlined in Christ's next message to the church in Pergamos, itself becoming plagued with paganism and complacency.

...The Smyrna church also suffered immense poverty due to what seemed to be financial persecution, along with the ever-present physical and spiritual hardship. Prevalent hatred of Christians made economic security hard to achieve for the common individual or family. This affected the Church in that there was little, if any, donations, tithing, or other inroads of financial support. Such harsh circumstances were often the catalyst for spiritual growth, as can be seen in the strength of Smyrna and the associative Church era of the 2nd and 3rd centuries.

...Consider that the first three centuries of the Church were often marked by material poverty and spiritual wealth/power, while the Roman Church and modern eras are primarily marked by material wealth and spiritual poverty. The lesson being that the greater our suffering, the greater the blessings God will provide as we turn to Him in our weakness and humility (Philippians 4:19).

{excerpted from my commentary, The Revelation of Jesus Christ}