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Verse 8: "And to the messenger of the church in Smyrna write: These things says the First and the Last, who became dead and lived again."
We have seen how the church had left her first love to the Lord Jesus during the age of Ephesus. Now, in the age of Smyrna, we see how God judged this degradation and how He severely rebuked her failure. There is no way for the fallen and unrepentant ones except chastening. It is much better to be chastised by the Lord than to be forsaken by Him. Moreover, God's chastisement is not for a few days as it seems good to Him. "The Father of spirits" disciplines us "for what is profitable that we might partake of His holiness" (Heb. 12:9-10). God's rod is always with a purpose, which is to bring us to a desired position. The church had lost her first love; this is too great a loss. The purpose of His chastisement was to cause His people to turn back to Him and to recover the freshness that was lost. Many times, what the voice of love cannot do, the chastening whip will do. Many who have left the fountain of living waters will not turn back until they find out that their broken cisterns will no longer hold water (Jer. 2:13). Many prodigals will not remember the love of the father until they have met famine and have worked among the hogs. Those who are not the Lord's, will flee from His rod at first sight. Those who belong to Him will kiss the whip that chastises them after they have been disciplined by the Lord. When things are prosperous and smooth, there is always danger of losing the burning love for the Lord. Many saints have their love for the Lord stirred up at the time of trials. Unless a church that has fallen from her first love first passes through deep water and severe fire, it is difficult to preserve the freshness of her truth.
We know that these seven churches are consecutive, that they were raised up one after another. When God saw that His church had lost her first position, He allowed Satan, who was always seeking for the opportunity, to persecute her so that through suffering she may learn to realize that God is her hiding place.
We have seen how Ephesus had left the first love and had turned to the world. Oh, how often has the world become a snare to the saints! Many have buried their love, testimony, zeal, and spirituality in this tomb of the world! But God knows how to heal. The fallen saint takes pleasure in the world. He follows after the world and draws his satisfaction from the people, events, and things of the world. For this reason, God changes the world so that the Christians would realize that the world is not their settled abode. Because the saints are not willing to forsake the world, God is forced to make the world bitter so that they would realize that the world is not their paradise. The world is now persecuting them. Will they still follow after it? The world that they love has now turned around to oppose them. How can they love the people, events, and things in it any longer? It is right for a fallen church to live in a persecuting world. It is also right for a worldly believer to live in an environment of suffering.
This is the meaning of the great tribulation. How many believers are there now who still love the world? Although they are manifested in different ways, their number is very great. Because of this, God has no choice but to hand them over to the great tribulation. God's original intention is that, through the cross of His Son, the saints would crucify the world on the cross, and they would pursue the things that are above and would leave behind the things of the earth. But, as a result of the enticement of the beauty and glory of the world, the saints ignore the legitimate demand of the cross, and they join themselves with the world. For this reason, in the end God has to bring them through the great tribulation and has to persecute them through the hand that they love, so that they will realize the hypocrisy in man's face and in his heart, and will find out that the Savior is their only true friend and their rock. This tribulation will be "such as has not occurred from the beginning of the world until now, nor shall by any means ever occur" (Matt. 24:21). Hence, this tribulation is very great. Formerly, the Lord's love was not able to draw them away from the world. Now, the world has become bitter. They find themselves stuck to it. They will want to leave the world behind as quickly as possible. They will begin to hate what they have formerly loved. They will come to realize that "the whole world lies in the evil one" (1 John 5:19). Hence, the world is not their place of rest. They will realize that "the world is passing away, and its lust, but he who does the will of God abides forever" (2:17). Dear ones, do not love any person, event, or thing in the world. Otherwise, you will find yourselves entangled by what you desire.
The failure of the church is the motive behind the enemy's work. The fall of the church is the handle by which the church opens the door to the attack of Satan. Once a church leaves its first love, God's safe-guarding hand that preserves it from Satan is relaxed, and the church will suffer Satan's persecution. The enemy's attack is often two-sided, from within and from without. The results of the two are different. His outward attack often fail for God has no reason to allow the power of Satan to overrun His people. However, his inward deceptions are often beyond the discernment and defense of the saints. Only by putting on the whole armor of God can they stand firm in the evil days. The roar of the lion surely causes the saints to fear and to fall into his carefully designed trap. Though the enemy uses many tactics for attack, his goal is but one. However, God uses these threats of the enemy to drive His people to the proper hiding place. This is often the result seen in the genuine and regenerated believers.
Smyrna is a suffering church. While they were suffering, they may have considered the fiery trials a matter of surprise. But trials are not ominous. What saddens the Lord the most is that believers would depart from these trials and would no longer suffer for the Lord or for righteousness. The Lord desires that we be tried, but not because of sin. Every time the Lord chastises His people, it is for one of the following two reasons: He chastises us either because of our mistakes, or because we are about to commit a mistake and are not aware of it. In his trials, David composed many sweet psalms, which, of course, were inspired by the Holy Spirit. These psalms are still in men's hearts and on their lips today. But as soon as David became prosperous, he fell into sin. The fear of trials and the craving for ease and comfort are signs of spiritual danger. Those who may fail in trials may not yet have failed in ease, but this does not mean that they will not fail. We think that it is easier to live in ease, but without the difficult trials of fire, there are no difficult battles, and victory is relatively easy. However, trials expose a man's true condition! Actually, trials cause us to realize how God deals with us and how He works for us. Sometimes, the trials are there to keep us from sinning. God sees many dangers that we do not see. He uses many seemingly difficult things, which are actually not difficult at all, to avert the coming failures we face. God's way of dealing with man has always been the granting of trials upon man. But it is a pity that failure seems to be man's allotted portion. However, God cannot sacrifice His glory.
Although we may think that the suffering of Smyrna was in the nature of a chastening rod, we cannot consider her suffering to be purely of this nature. Those who suffer with Christ may not be the ones who suffer for Christ. However, sometimes God would have us suffer for Christ while we are suffering with Him. The saints in Smyrna suffered because of their submission to Christ. They were faithful in serving Christ, and as a result, they were put into death. Their suffering was for Christ as well as with Christ. This suffering then is not a vain suffering. When the time comes, they will receive their reward.
The root of the word "Smyrna" in Hebrew means "bitterness." This word was used in conjunction with myrrh, the spice for embalming the dead (John 19:39). It is connected to death. The characteristic of this church is linked to its name and has to do with suffering. This is a church suffering for Christ. The Lord had lovingly restrained the roaring of the enemy so that His people would recover the freshness they had for the Lord, which otherwise would have been lost in their comfort. Although the Lord allowed His children to suffer, He stayed His harsh wind in the day of the east wind (Isa. 27:8), promising them, encouraging them, praising and cherishing them, so that they would move forward. He had no word of rebuke for their suffering. Instead, He kindly revealed His own power and experience as their comfort in distress.
The Lord revealed Himself as "the First and the Last, who became dead and lived again" (Rev. 2:8). The first expression reveals His divinity. He is God, and He has power in Himself. He is the God that opposes Satan. Here the Holy Spirit calls the Lord Jesus by the name used by Isaiah in the ancient time when He fought for Jehovah (Isa. 41:4). Is there a name so great that our Lord is not worthy to bear it? What a comfort this name is to those who are suffering and are oppressed! Many times, when hope is lost, the shaking faith would wonder where God is, thinking that it is in the world alone, fighting the cruel force of the enemy by itself. However, this is not the fact. Whatever might have happened, our Lord is always "the First," promising us with the precious promises. At the same time, He is also "the Last," being full of authority and power to execute what He has promised and will not fail even one iota or tittle. He is the First and the Last. Hence, He can lead His people on from the beginning to the end. Since He is the First as well as the Last, all the causes of His people are taken up by Him. What more then is there to fear? Hence, wavering believers, what more is there to cause us to worry?
He is also the One "who became dead and lived again." He was God. Yet He descended to the death-place and came out of it. He has trodden the path that His people are now treading. Hence, He has sympathy. Who is the One that was speaking to them? He is the God-man who had experienced the greatest suffering on the whole earth and had Himself passed through death. "When he puts forth all his own, he goes before them" (John 10:4). He asks of His people only to drink the cup that He has drunk and to be baptized in the baptism that He Himself has been baptized into. He has gone through all their sufferings already. Hence, He knows how to comfort them. "For being tempted in that which He Himself has suffered, He is able to help those who are being tempted" (Heb. 2:18). The end of His death-road is eternal life. For His faithful disciples, the same must be true. The Lord Jesus is God, but He also is a man. He was a suffering man, and a victorious man. For this reason, He is able to comfort those in suffering. Is there anything that He has not tasted? When we are tried, we are being brought before such a Lord. What a gospel there is for those in suffering and trials! How fitting it is for the church in Smyrna and the saints in Smyrna to see the Lord's nature as such here.
Although He was the judging One, He was still mindful of His people's needs. In the difficult and perilous days, He was still with them. He is no longer rescuing His people as He did in the Old Testament, because at that time, men did not yet know that He is the victor over death. His deliverance then was to deliver them out of the furnace and the lions' den, and to save them from death. Although Satan could try Job with sufferings, he could not kill him. "And the Lord said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand; but save his life" (Job 2:6). Here there was not such a restraint. Instead, they should be faithful unto death. The Lord did not promise to save them from the grave. They should instead die to glorify God. Christ is able not only to deliver us from death, but to overcome death. He wants us to realize the power of the latter. The death of the body does nothing but lead us to the presence of Christ.
"Who became dead and lived again." This underlines the Lord's resurrection. The Lord's death is not a death forever. Rather, it leads to resurrection. Many times it is the hope of resurrection that is the strength of the martyrs. Second Corinthians 1 to 5 links the resurrection of the dead to the comforting of the suffering ones. The greatest power of the enemy is death. However, the Lord transcended death and passed through death. After the body is dead, the authority of the enemy will be over. Death is not for death alone, but for the initiation into a life more abundant, which is resurrection. Hence, why should one be concerned about death? Christ is the First and the Last. He is the One before death and the One after death. Moreover, He has experienced the power of death. Therefore, the saints need not be afraid. The Savior has passed through its stronghold. He is almighty, and He will open up the way to save His people. After they die, they will receive their reward.
Here the Lord Jesus is declaring His death and resurrection. These are the foundations of victory for the believers. The Lord's death and His resurrection are the only way for the Lord to overcome sin, death, and the Devil. Likewise, His saints cannot find victory in any other way. The victory of the church lies in her union with the Lord in His death and resurrection. The unique ground of defeat for sin is Golgotha, the place of the Lord's death. The Devil and all his powers meet their deathblow at the cross. In particular, this is true with the matter of death. When the Lord's death operates in us, we will bear in our body the Lord's death (2 Cor. 4). The spirit of martyrdom is derived from the death of the Lord. Although the Lord has no intention that every believer be martyred, He does have the intention that we live as martyrs and that we maintain a spirit of martyrdom in everything. It is not easy to be courageous all the way and to be unchanging in the face of death. Only by setting our mind on the Lord on the cross, on His suffering, and on His final victory in life will we be filled with the Lord's boldness and not be afraid of the death of our body, but will be a martyr in all things. Not only has the Lord's resurrection given us a hope and a boldness to be a martyr, but through a union with His resurrection, He has given us a life to live out the spirit of martyrdom. The Lord's death and resurrection are not two historical events only. These are spiritual facts. If we are joined to them, we will see the Lord's life prevail in our life. The Lord is calling the church to tread the path that He has taken, because it is only proper for the Body to go through what the Head has experienced. Mere knowledge of the Lord's death and resurrection will not produce much effect on us. Only those who are joined to the Lord in His death and resurrection will experience a walk that the Lord has walked.
Verse 9: "I know your tribulation and poverty (but you are rich) and the slander from those who call themselves Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan."
"I know." The condition of the church and her trials are under the Lord's discernment. He knows how the church has suffered for Him. He knows how the church has become poor for His sake, and He knows what the suffering and poverty of the church mean. He is well-acquainted with these things. His past experience enables Him to comfort them in an understanding way: "I know your tribulation." Moreover, He can praise them in the sweetest manner: "I know your poverty." "Blessed are you when they reproach and persecute you, and while speaking lies, say every evil thing against you because of Me. Rejoice and exult" (Matt. 5:11-12). The Lord took note of how they had suffered for Him and had persevered in silence. To us, the day of rejoicing comes only when suffering has ceased. But the Lord charged us to rejoice in sufferings. This is the overflow of salvation. He remembers with what spirit we bear persecution and does not forget our faithfulness. If we would trust Him as we would trust our Maker, we will see His comforting hands.
To almost all the other churches, the Lord said: "I know your works." But the Lord did not say the same thing to the church in Smyrna. The Lord considers it more important to suffer for Him than to work for Him. Suffering is the best work. The believers may have many accomplishments in working for the Lord. However, if there is no suffering for the Lord, these accomplishments are of little worth before Him. During the time of persecution, it is true that the church cannot have much outward endeavor. However, faithfulness in loving the Lord is what pleases Him. A testimony of a suffering life is the best testimony; here the wordless prevails over the wordy.
"Tribulation and poverty" are two characteristics of a faithful lover of the Lord. Those who truly live up to the standard of the Lord's holiness in this evil world have no choice other than to forsake the world, for the world has forsaken them. Tribulations, sufferings, and persecutions are the unavoidable portion of the saints in the world (1 Thes. 3:3). In order to be for the Lord, to obey His word, and to carry out His will, surely there will be much misunderstanding from the world, and there will even be persecutions. However, though the suffering is deep, is not the love of the Lord manifested in these sufferings deeper than the sufferings themselves? Often the love of the Lord is poured out from the Holy Spirit upon our hearts at the time of suffering. Other than suffering, there is no way for us to have such a sweet taste of the Lord's love. Every suffering that we encounter in our heart and soul and every wound in our body that we suffer for the Lord draw us closer to the Lord. Do not our outpoured tears and crying before the Lord set our heart on fire to yearn for Him?
Tribulations are often the forerunners of poverty. Sufferings usually lead to poverty, that is, to the loss of our legitimate blessings in this age. It is harder for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven than for a camel to go through the eye of a needle. The reason for this is that in the kingdom of heaven, though one will be rich, he will at the same time be poor; one becomes poor for the Lord's sake. Although the so-called "standard of living" can become an excuse for comfortable living, what "standard of living" can be a justifiable reason when it is compared with the way the Son of God lived when He descended from heaven? The Lord may not have called us to give up everything and to live a life of utter poverty for His sake. But then, how much have we been stripped in our eating and clothing for His sake? The word poverty should at least be a practice in our daily life. Those who become poor and who suffer for the Lord will surely be rewarded in the future. As for those who have already satisfied their heart's desire today, how can they hope to receive special praise at the judgment seat of the Lord?
"But you are rich." The believers at Smyrna were greatly pressed and had become poor. Yet they gladly bore everything. The Lord told them that while their treasure is accumulating in heaven, their portion now is rich. It is indeed true that "There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth" (Prov. 11:24). Their poverty is the result of their tribulation. Hence, poverty is mentioned after tribulation and before slander. The goal of such a great persecution is but the ushering in of spiritual riches. The tribulation of the church halts her degradation and turns her to a greater trust in God.
"Poverty (but you are rich)." How contrary is this to the condition of Laodicea! The latter boasted: "I am rich and have become rich and have need of nothing." Actually, they were ignorant that they were "wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked" (3:17). "Poverty...rich"! "Poverty...rich"! The Lord considers Smyrna who is poor in the world to be rich, and Laodicea who is rich in the world to be poor. Blessed are those who are aware of this. "And he who will exalt himself shall be humbled, and he who will humble himself shall be exalted" (Matt. 23:12). This is an unchanging law. To boast about success and prosperity in the present condition of degradation and desolation is to be ignorant of oneself and to be beguiled by worldly foolishness. Only a spiritual discernment can search all things and can see riches in poverty, and poverty in riches. One may be prosperous in his enterprise, successful in his work, and may see growth and profit all around. Yet the Lord may not have the same valuation as he does. On the other hand, those who are faithful for the Lord, who love the Lord zealously, and who are willing to suffer opposition and persecution from the world and from the church for the Lord's sake and for His truth's sake, though void of great endeavors in the world, are precious in the Lord's eyes. Only those who are truly spiritual can be free from the desire for worldly prosperity, and only those who have truly died to self can humble themselves to seek after the Father's will with a single heart. The cross is in fact the greatest and the first victory. But to the world, the cross was a complete defeat! If the Lord Himself had to go through this "defeat" to gain victory, what else can we expect? Those who are poor for the Lord's sake should realize that they gain the Lord's heart more than those who are rich in the world.
"And the slander from those who call themselves Jews..." (Rev. 2:9). The Lord not only knows the tribulations of His people and puts their tears into His bottle (Psa. 56:8), He also knows the cruelty and slander of their persecutors. As a result of their tribulations, His people have not tolerated evil. They have rejected the doctrine of those who have called themselves Jews but are not.
It is true that there are many faithful ones. However, we should not think that because of this the church is at her golden age and that she is full of glory and void of failures. Although the Lord was fully sympathetic towards His suffering people, He pointed out the problem that everyone else did not see: "the slander from those who call themselves Jews."
"Who call themselves Jews and are not." This expression carries a few meanings:
(1)Those who are called Jews but are not are Jews according to the flesh. Although the Jews according to flesh call themselves Jews, they are actually not Jews. They are but Jews outwardly. Inwardly they are not Jews. This undoubtedly corresponds to the apostle's word in Romans 2: "For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly...But he is a Jew who is one inwardly" (vv. 28-29). They are only Jews outwardly. If they were the real Jews, they would have believed in the Lord Jesus and would have become a part of the church.
The Jews were the enemy of the church in Smyrna. In the first few centuries, the Jews were always linked with the persecutors of the church. Such a condition as it was in those days, where the descendants of Abraham joined hands with the unbelieving Gentiles to persecute the believers, was especially unbearable for the believers. God's holy Word was originally entrusted to the Jews. It is easy for Satan to put a doubt in the believers' mind: "For hundreds of years they have been the chosen people for God's testimony, the kingdom from which the Messiah came. When they say that we are wrong, should we not doubt the position we are standing on?"
(2)But there is a more crucial meaning here. These people are not only Jews in the flesh. If so, since these people are Jews already, why do they have to call themselves Jews again? Why did the Lord have to prove with such emphasis that they were not Jews? If they were Jews, it was only right and proper for them to call themselves Jews. Why did the Lord have to rebuke them? It would be meaningless for God to judge the church simply because they were Jews in the flesh. Therefore, there must be some deeper meaning here.
These people were counterfeit Jews. They were actually Judaizers in the church. The Lord considered them people who called themselves Jews but were actually not. They were the ones in the church who wanted to mingle Christianity with Judaism. In other words, they wanted to combine the Old Testament with the New Testament and to mix grace with the law. Because this matter is crucially related to the whole church and to individual believers as well, we have to discuss its history in detail.
At the beginning, there were these Judaizers in the church. They thought that those Gentiles who had believed in Christ should also keep the Mosaic law, be circumcised, and do other things. Actually, these Judaizers had at the same time become the believers of Christ and the disciples of Moses.
This group of people can be traced from the history in the Bible. Before Peter went to the house of Cornelius, and before he saw the vision of the great sheet, the Christians at that time still considered it an unlawful thing to preach to the Gentiles. Although they were believers of Christ, they still kept the commandment in the law that forbids the eating of things common (Acts 10). While it is true that the Old Testament does teach this matter, they failed to realize that the age had changed. When we read this chapter, we realize that without putting aside the law, there is no possibility for the Gentiles to believe in the Lord and be saved. The fact that the Gentiles have believed in the Lord and are saved proves that the law has lost its binding power in this age. Further on, we see how the Holy Spirit and the church (15:28) saw it good not to have the Gentile believers keep the laws of Moses. That conference set the rule for the Gentile believers' walk throughout the ages. Within a short time, the decision was made; the Gentile Christians no longer needed to be circumcised or keep the laws of Moses, as some believing Pharisees had demanded (v. 5). However, the tide of the age then was still for the ordinances of the Old Testament. Its influence on man was surprisingly great. A person who understood God's way of grace as much as Peter did (vv. 7-11) would still falter in his walk on account of man and would be rebuked by Paul (Gal. 2:11-14). Even Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles, was not entirely clear in many areas at the beginning concerning this matter. He may have done what he did for the sake of keeping peace, but he was not successful. He circumcised Timothy (Acts 16:3), he himself made a vow (18:18), and he performed the ceremony of purification (21:24). Paul did not need to do any of these things. Yet because of the strong opposition of the time, he compromised to avoid trouble. The greatest persecutions of Paul came, on the one hand, from his countrymen (the Jews according to flesh), and on the other hand, from the believing Jews. These were but the beginning of the work of the Judaizers in the church at that time. Their poison, however, remains until today and has become even more serious; there is no sign of their going away.
The Bible is not lacking in warnings concerning the danger of the Judaistic teaching. The books of Galatians and Hebrews are written specifically to counter this error. The Judaistic teaching causes man to fall from grace and to underestimate Christ's accomplished work. Hence, the apostle ranked the Judaizers who were of the concision with the dogs and the evil workers (Phil. 3:2). If this teaching were not so dangerous, the Holy Spirit would not have inspired Paul to deal with these people so severely.
The Judaistic teachings, that is, the teachings that turn believers back to the Old Testament to the keeping of the commandments of the law, cannot solve the problems of life, death, salvation, and perdition. In the age of the law, there was never the assurance of salvation, and there was never the justification of man. Although the law says that "if a man do he shall live by them" (Lev. 18:5), yet it also says "there is none that doeth good, no, not one" (Psa. 14:3). That is all that the law could do. Actually, it was predestinated to be so: "Now we know that whatever things the law says, it speaks to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped and all the world may fall under the judgment of God" (Rom. 3:19). God desires to give grace to man. However, before grace can be preached, man must first be rounded up under sin and must have nothing to boast about or depend on, so that he has no other way except to receive God's grace. Hence, the function of the law is to test man, to expose man's sin, and to put man under sin (Gal. 3:19; Rom. 3:19; Gal. 3:23). It paves the way for grace to come in (Gal. 3:24-25). The law itself cannot save man. It only paves the way for grace to come in. This proves the uselessness of the law. The establishment of the New Testament is a proof of the inability of the Old Testament.
The law lords it over a man as long as he lives (Rom. 7:1). As long as man lives, he has the responsibility to fulfill the commandment in the law. As long as a man is not yet dead, once he transgresses the law, he will come under the judgment of the law. "For whoever...stumbles in one point has become guilty of all" (James 2:10). A little oversight amounts to the breaking of all the law and destines him to perdition. All those who are under the law live and walk in fear and suspense. They do not know when they will die. Hence, they do not know when they will sin. As long as they are alive, they can still fall under sin. Hence, to them, before they die, there is always the possibility of condemnation and hence perdition. The matter of eternal life and condemnation to them can only be finalized after one is dead. What a frustrating life this is! Every day one lives in fear and trembling, with eternal fire waiting by his side. Salvation is not a concrete fact, but a remote hope. These then are the "blessings" that the law at its best can give to man!
The law cannot draw man close to God. It makes man fearful of God. In the age of the law, the veil was not opened. In the age of grace, the veil is rent. The law says: "Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live" (Exo. 33:20). Grace on the other hand says: "He who has seen Me has seen the Father" (John 14:9). In the Old Testament age, no one could come directly to God. The priests were a special class of people between God and the Israelites. If the Israelites wanted to draw near to God, they had to do it through the priests. God was behind the veil, and there was a separation between God and man. Only the special class could draw near to God. All other common people who would come near would be killed. How different it is from the foundation laid in the New Testament! By the blood of the Lord Jesus, we have passed the veil to enter the Holy of Holies. The relationship between us, the saints, and God is direct. We are all priests (Rev. 1:6). The characteristic of the New Testament is that we "walk in the light as He is in the light," and that we "fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from every sin" (1 John 1:7).
The Israelites were God's earthly people. God dealt with the Israelites in the principle of the flesh. Such things as circumcision, the Sabbath, the sacrifices, and the feasts were all things according to the flesh. The Israelites became Israelites through their birth. They had many things of which they could boast in the flesh. The Gentiles were like dogs. This is absolutely contrary to the principle of the New Testament. Through the cross, God has condemned the flesh. To God, it is no longer a matter of birth, but of rebirth. The distinction of the flesh has ceased: "Both Jews and Greeks...are all under sin...for there is no distinction" (Rom. 3:9, 22). Those who were born as Israelites in the Old Testament cannot be compared to those who are regenerated today, who receive eternal life and justification. The people of God could perish eternally, while those who were not the people of God could have eternal salvation. That was the result of the way of the flesh.
Actually, grace and the law can never be mingled together. It is impossible for the Old Testament to be mixed with the New. The Judaistic Christians, through their worldly concepts and ideas, considered that the principles of the law and of grace should be mingled together. As a result, they led others into darkness.
The Judaistic teaching replaces the peace accomplished on the cross with a condition of the law that is past and a shaky uncertainty concerning the future. In this Judaistic gospel, the assurance of salvation is but a conjecture: "How can one know that he is saved before he dies? Even if a person has become one of the people of God, when he sins and fails, will he not be lost again? It is of course good to believe in the Lord Jesus. Yet one must have works also. Otherwise, he cannot be saved. It is true that works do not save a person, but faith must have works added to it before it will save a sinner. Whenever works are missing, a person will go back to perdition." Under such a Judaistic teaching, who can have peace? Everywhere is dreadful uncertainty: "I have indeed believed in the Lord Jesus, but I dare not say if I am saved." "I am only doing my best to do good, with the hope that God will be gracious to me." This kind of erroneous teaching leads man to doubt the promise of God. To these teachings, all the assured future and all the present joy of the gospel are uncertain and unstable.
Has not Christ Himself said: "Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have not come to abolish, but to fulfill" (Matt. 5:17)? Hence, to these ones, a Christian should trust in God's grace, but should also keep the law: "One should do his best to keep the law and should look to God's mercy for what he comes short of. It is true that one is saved through believing in the Lord Jesus. However, if one fails and breaks the law, he will be a man of perdition. The Sabbath and other similar things are what Christians ought to keep. It is right to keep them; but if one fails to keep them, he should ask for the Lord's grace." We cannot imagine what this kind of half-law-half-grace teaching will lead man to. Law and grace are two principles that can never be reconciled (Rom. 11:6). To put the new wine in the old wineskin will only damage both. But the greatest damage will be for those who want to have the new wine. We Gentiles were those without the law: The "Gentiles, who have no law...they have no law" (Rom. 2:14). After we have believed in the Lord, we have not been transferred into the rule of the law: "You are not under the law"; "whatever things the law says, it speaks to those who are under the law" (Rom. 6:14; 3:19). Hence, the law never has anything to do with us, the Gentile believers. For us to come under the subjection of the law is to fall from grace and to despise the redemptive work of the cross.
There are too many errors in the teachings of the Judaizers. They cause man to doubt the assurance of his salvation; they rob man of his freedom and put him under the heavy yoke of the law again (Gal. 5:1). In addition to these, there are many other effects.
God has come out of obscurity. Darkness has departed from God, and the true light has shone. Yet the Judaistic teaching put God back into obscurity: Baptism and the "Communion" have replaced the ordinances of Judaism. The clergy system has replaced the Levitical priesthood. When the church is joined with the Old Testament saints, its claim to orthodoxy becomes all the stronger! The church has inherited all the promises God gave to Abraham and has thus become richer in its inheritance! Man can no longer draw near to God. The common priesthood of all the believers has degenerated into the private possession of a group of clergymen. They become the go-between between God and man, the representative of Christ, and to come to them is considered as coming to Christ. What a pity it is that even in Protestantism such poison is still found! The "high church" is of course poisoned by it, but the "low church" is not free from its damage either. One cannot help but sigh at the present system of the church. Ninety percent of it is no longer according to the original pattern, but has become Judaistic. Although there are specially gifted ones in the Bible, there is not a special class of "clergymen" who stand between the laity and God, performing many things which the laity are not supposed to do. Baptism was originally committed to all the disciples, instead of to the apostles (Matt. 28:19). The Lord's supper was a time for the believers to break bread together (Acts 2:41-42; 20:7). But now, these matters have been monopolized by the clergymen. The system of pastors, of one man ruling over a church, and of the affiliation of churches, are all products of the Judaizers. They are not found in the New Testament and are in fact opposed by the New Testament. The effect of these things is to cut off the direct traffic between God and the believers in various things, so that there seems to arise between God and man an intermediary class. This is the result of the Judaistic teaching.
The Judaistic teaching is a religion that belongs to man's flesh. As such, it places man under the law and adds to him many ordinances and titles of the flesh. We worship God in spirit and in truth. However, the Judaistic teaching would take us away and rob us of our original position. Is it not true that many things in the church are only Christian in name but are actually works of the flesh? The cross has terminated the fleshly man in God's holy judgment. The Holy Spirit has been sent to continue the judgment of the flesh in the saints' hearts. It is an abominable thing to recover the things that God has already judged. All the things that are orderly and proper in the eyes of man are but of "the synagogue of Satan" in the eyes of God. These people are again mentioned in the letter to Philadelphia. There they are filled with the hypocrisy of the fleshly religion, and they oppose those who keep the Lord's word and confess the Lord's name at the end of the period of the church's testimony on earth. This is the Judaistic teaching; it robs the Christians of the enjoyment of the position they inherit from God. It is also this teaching that takes them away from any portion in the world, because grace has already called them out. It is this teaching that has established a class of priests as an intermediary group between the men full of mixture and the far-away God. Although God has the ultimate authority in everything, such teaching is a big victory for the enemy. Hence, there is no title more fitting than "the synagogue of Satan" to describe these Judaistic teachers. They have shamed the church of the Lord and have lowered it to become the synagogue of Satan. Hence, the Lord no longer considers them as His people, but as those of the synagogue of Satan. This is like what the Lord told these people before: "You are of your father the devil" (John 8:44).
This term shows the change in the church. Originally, the church of God is different in every way from the synagogue of Satan. If we translate the word "church" as "the called-out assembly" according to the original language, much misunderstanding and many mistakes will be avoided. For example, although the church is the spiritual temple of God, there are still those who consider a physical building as the church. In the Bible, the church of God is the Body of Christ. In the church of God, there is only the fellowship among the members of Christ; no one else can participate in this fellowship. Although outwardly the church has many errors which are not in keeping with God's ordained standard, God's intention will not change because of this. What we are demonstrating at the Lord's table is the one great truth: "Seeing that there is one bread, we who are many are one Body; for we all partake of the one bread" (1 Cor. 10:17).
The word "church" in the original language is ekklesia, which means the called-out congregation. It is composed of the members of the Body of Christ called out by God's grace from the world. The word "synagogue" in the expression "the synagogue of Satan" is completely different from the word ekklesia. The former only carries the meaning of a gathering. "Synagogue" is a Jewish term, whereas "church" is a Christian term. These two terms identify the differences between these two groups. The Body of Christ is a union of all the members called out from the world. The synagogue of Satan is not called out from anywhere. Rather, it is merely a motley group gathered together. If the church of God is a church, that is, an ekklesia, it should not have any mixture of people among it other than the regenerated and called-out ones. If it does, it will be only a synagogue. This shows how the church has degraded from the position of an ekklesia into a synagogue.
The Lord is not speaking to these people here. These people do not seem to be the recipients of the epistle. Neither does the Lord consider it the responsibility of the messengers that these people exist. However, the Lord did not speak directly to the Nicolaitans or the disciples of Balaam in Pergamos nor to Jezebel in Thyatira either. Yet no one can deny that these people were part of those in the two churches. The Judaistic teachers here are also members of the church then. Alas, the church has become almost fully degraded and desolated from the beginning! What a solemn thing this is! This is true in all generations. How long did man's ancestor remain in Eden? What about mankind before the flood? What about the descendants of Noah? What about the Israelites in the wilderness, and what about them after they had entered Canaan? The day the priesthood was established, it was defiled. The first king died on the battlefield. The builder of the temple was also the builder of idol sanctuaries. Those who waited for the Messiah were the ones who crucified the Son of God on the cross. The special grace that God bestowed on the church only made her degradation all the more pitiful. Has God ever made up for the failure of the fallen ones? No, instead He turns and creates something new. Can the church be an exception to this rule? As far as the organization of the church is concerned, God has rejected the church already. Now His eyes are turned to the kingdom. This is fully shown in every epistle. When we realize this, we will know how we ought to be faithful.
We should be careful. "The synagogue of Satan" is a severe rebuke. We should not impose this title on all those who had fallen prey to the heresy of Judaism, nor should we apply the same principle to those of today. According to the Bible, this title is applied only to those who vehemently promote the heresy; it does not apply to those who are deceived to follow the heresy. The word of God points out to us the real condition of everything; it also shows us the reason behind every heresy. Yet to man, love is always the best hope. However, we should not become blind through love, taking evil as good, and bitter as sweet. Love in fact does not have any slight toleration for sinful teachings. Can one consider it love to tolerate poison in the food of others? But then, to men, we must have love and must hope that they would also receive the truth. Today, all around us, we see the effect of the Judaistic teachings: God has retreated behind the veil, man has departed from God, everywhere there is darkness and uncertain hopes, the church is mingled with the world, believers have lost their joy and blessing, and the church has degenerated. All these are the results of this teaching. As to its full development, that is recorded in the other epistles.
Hence, we see that the Judaistic teaching is the source of failure in the outward form of the church, in the same way that the departure from the first love was the cause for the degradation of the inward content of the church. The reason the Judaistic teaching is mentioned here is so that we would understand the severity of the condition of desolation of the day. First, God rebuked the departure from love. Next, He pointed out the error in doctrine. The former leads to the latter. When one departs from the first love and loses the intimate fellowship with God, spontaneously it will become difficult for him to be preserved in the pure doctrine. Once there is a barrier between God and man, spontaneously one will be drawn back into the teaching of the flesh. The failures of Ephesus and Smyrna are matters of cause and effect. To preserve the purity of doctrine, one must preserve the purity of love.
Verse 10: "Do not fear the things that you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison that you may be tried, and you will have tribulation for ten days. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life."
"The things that you are about to suffer." The Lord Jesus is here forewarning His people of their coming sufferings. The Lord Jesus is the prophet to His church; He knows everything that is going to happen. There is not one thing that He does not know. He is our watchman. Before any calamity comes, He warns us ahead of time and causes us to realize our position. If we want to serve the Lord faithfully, we will surely encounter sufferings and persecutions. The result of taking the way of the cross is termination at the cross. The cross that we believe in will eventually crucify us. To be the Lord's disciples, we have to relinquish everything. He who does not love the Lord more than he loves his parents, wife, children, brothers, sisters, and his own life is not worthy to be the Lord's disciple. Those who want to follow the Lord and to live in godliness cannot avoid persecutions. The Lord has not deceived us. He has not kept back His words before we became His disciples, and then left us to undergo unexpected sufferings afterwards. He told us already that there are sufferings which we are "about to suffer." He does not intend that we face the persecutions from the world unprepared. Rather, He told us that "in the world you have affliction" (John 16:33). In this way, those who want to build towers and engage in wars will know how to "sit down and calculate the cost," and to "sit down and deliberate" (Luke 14:28, 31).
The Lord not only forewarns us of sufferings in the pathway ahead, He also encourages us ahead of time, saying: "Do not fear." Fear is the characteristic of all feeble creatures. It is unavoidable for the flesh to tremble before coming suffering. The Lord's word is not intended to inform us of the sufferings and then lead us to fear. His forewarning is to save us from fear. The Lord knows our weaknesses; He also knows the root of our weaknesses. To remove fear is to remove failure. Fear is the first step to failure. Those who are afraid of suffering are mostly subdued by the enemy and are bound; they turn to the easy way in everything. It is indeed true that man's desires often become his snares, and man's fears cause him to withdraw. Satan's way is to cause man to run away out of fear, or to drop his standard out of fear of running away. Many times, by opening up to private dealings with the enemy, we avoid what is threatening us. But will those who faithfully love the Lord and who willingly serve Him do such a thing? The Lord has no intention for us to be careless, loose, and unwatchful as a result of overcoming the fear of suffering and persecution. Before trials come, many are self-confident and would boast of their boldness. But when persecution comes, they would fail. However, those who are careful and sober, who are apprehensive of the possibility of failure, are often the ones who secure full victory and who glorify the Lord's name. It is wrong to be fearful, but it is also important to be careful. Only those who are not self-confident will not fear. Otherwise, failure is certain. There is a distinction between fearlessness and carelessness or self-confidence.
"Do not fear." What is the reason that they should not fear? It is not that the tribulations are small. Actually, the tribulation of that day was greater than what the flesh can bear. Neither is it the promise of protection from tribulations. On the contrary, they were to pass through the tribulations completely. It is not that they have the power to withstand or that they could be faithful in the tribulations. If those were the reasons, they would be very untrustworthy indeed. In other places the Lord has told us: "In the world you have affliction, but take courage [be not afraid]; I have overcome the world" (John 16:33). His victory is the basis of our victory. It is not that He is victorious and that we can therefore be victorious by ourselves. Rather, it is that He is victorious, and we are victorious in Him. Although He is the best pattern in the world, apart from Him we are powerless. We will suffer tribulations. However, we do not need to fear because of these tribulations, for the power of Christ is greater than that of Satan. We should declare with the apostles: "But in all these things we more than conquer through Him who loved us" (Rom. 8:37). Because we have Him, and for this reason only, we are not afraid. How precious is this "Him"!
"Behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison that you may be tried" (Rev. 2:10). Not only do the Lord's flaming eyes see the future tribulations coming out of man's organizations, but they search into the activity of the demons in the air amidst these tribulations. The church in Smyrna would not only receive reviling and suffering from the hand of man, but would suffer greater persecutions. The devil would cast some of them into prison. Here we see the Lord revealing to us the true condition behind everything. He wants us to know that the one who persecutes, hurts, and kills us is not the Roman emperor, officers, or soldiers, but the devil. The Lord Jesus wants us to identify clearly who our enemy really is, who is the one that is really hurting us, and who is the real source of all sufferings. It is very easy for us to look at man and to hate man. But the Lord wants us to know the creator of all sufferings. Humanly speaking, it was Peter who tried to stop the Lord Jesus from going to the cross. But the Lord Jesus did not see Peter. Rather, He saw Satan. Humanly speaking, the woman who was bent double was sick of a physical illness. However, the Lord considered it as a bondage of Satan. Many things appear to be works of man and are natural in the human eyes. But the Lord Jesus discerns Satan and works behind the human factors and the natural phenomena. The Lord Jesus' eyes see through man and all the natural phenomena. Man considers the persecution in the church in Smyrna as coming from Rome. Yet the Lord Jesus considered the persecutors to be not Rome, nor any other men, but Satan. The devil is the instigator of all oppositions against Christ and the Christians.
This should be a lesson for us. We should clearly identify our enemy. Many times, we have forgotten that Satan even exists! Because we do not have the experience of the ascended life, often we fail to have discerning eyes to watch over the devil and his works. Many times, we consider things that happen as natural occurrences. Actually, behind everything, there are the supernatural powers interfering! The first step of Satan's work is to hide himself. He allows man to see only the serpent in the garden of Eden, without seeing the actual person behind. We often consider that our persecutors are men, or that misunderstandings are from our brothers, that rejection is from our friends, and that sufferings are from our folks. We do not see the instigating Satan behind these people. If we really know the works of Satan, we will not blame others, but will hate Satan all the more. In this way, it will become easy for us to forgive others. If believers would be on the alert, understand the enemy's tricks in division and mistrust, and oppose him in oneness, removing all barriers, there would not be so much argument among them. Concerning this matter, we can only say this much. Let us come back to our subject.
God allows Satan to sift the saints so that their light may shine and that God's name may be glorified. It does not mean that they are not true. But tribulation and the fiery trials manifest their true nature in the same way that fire manifests the true gold. This is God's dealing in grace towards the degraded church. The world has turned sour. The saints now know that the world lies in the hands of Satan, and that it is no longer their place of rest. While the goal of the enemy is to destroy God's children, God is using all things for the benefit of His children, so that their faith and perseverance, after passing through the trials, may be complete and lacking in nothing. Although men tried to take away their lives, the Lord turned the darkness of death into the glory of the morning. A cheap bargain, an easy walk, to have two feet on two separate boats, and to live a life that is halfway between, these are the greatest temptations that Satan presents to man. God would rather see His children attacked by Satan than to have them come under his temptations. God allows Satan to persecute the saints so that they would not become worldly people among worldly ones, but would become godly ones in the congregation of the saints.
Although Satan's power is great, and although the onslaught of tribulations is severe, everything is in the hand of the Lord. Although the Lord allows Satan to apply his great pressure to the church, the Lord restricts the work of the enemy, in the same way that He handled the case of Job. "You will have tribulation ten days." Everything is in the hands of God. Everything that happens to us has been measured by God. The Lord will not let us bear any temptation above what we are able to bear. Every saint can receive tribulations as if they come from the hand of the Lord. All the power of the enemy is under the mighty hand of God. Although the enemy can persecute the saints for ten days, causing them to be purified for God's testimony, the time of his oppression and persecution is measured by God. When He says that it will be ten days, no one can say that it will be eleven days. The Lord is restraining the oppression of His enemy in the heavens. He lets us know that the roaring lion has been chained with chains. What a comfort this is for the saints to remember in the time of tribulation! Faith in the power of God is the best help for man.
What is the meaning of "ten days"? According to man's theory, a day is a year. But this day-year theory is entirely unscriptural. In other places we have proved the error of this theory. We will not repeat this here. "Ten days" in the Bible means a very short time. When the servant of Abraham was about to take away Rebekah, "her brother and her mother said, Let the damsel abide with us a few days, at the least ten; after that she shall go" (Gen. 24:55). The Israelites asked for meat in the wilderness, and Moses answered them: "Jehovah will give you meat, and you will eat. You shall not eat one day, or two days, or five days, or ten days..." (Num. 11:18-19). Nabal of Maon dealt with David in wickedness. As a result, "about ten days after...the Lord smote Nabal, that he died" (1 Sam. 25:38). Because God wanted to protect Paul from being killed on the way from Caesarea to Jerusalem, Festus, Paul's judge, "having stayed among them not more than eight or ten days, he went down to Caesarea" (Acts 25:6). Although one can interpret the "ten days" to be the ten great Roman persecutions, the meaning of the words "ten days" refers only to the limitedness of their sufferings and to the fact that they were for a short time only. Thank the Lord that He restricts as well as allows the sufferings. Everything is in His hand.
"Be faithful unto death." This was the Lord's command. Although the Lord restricted the work of the devil strictly, He did not promise immediate deliverance. The Lord was not willing to deliver His people from their temporary tribulations. Rather, He desired to uphold them through death. The Lord can intervene with Satan and stop all his attacks. The Lord has the power, and He can do this. However, He demonstrated greater power in preserving the persecuted and martyred saints. We know that it was a great disappointment to the saints of old when they were pardoned by the government and spared from execution at the time of persecution. Many moving letters that have been preserved up until today were written by imprisoned saints while they watched their companions being taken to the execution ground. These letters express their sorrow and grief at not being able to share in the privilege and honor of dying for the Lord. In many cases, they did eventually receive what they hoped for, and they rejoiced greatly. This shows us how great the power of the Lord is. Amidst the enemy's extreme opposition, the Lord is able to comfort His people.
This being the case, since the Lord has put us in tribulations, and since He has allowed the enemy to try us, we should not hope or pray for the Lord to have pity on our weakness, to lead us out of the tribulations, to stop the fiery trials, and to grant us a comfortable and peaceful living. We should instead hand ourselves over faithfully to the hand of our Maker and await the completion of the carving work that tribulation works in us. God surely knows how to bring us out of these trials. We do not need to pray for God to use His power to intervene and to stop the persecuting circumstances. Instead, we should pray for God to preserve us with His power, so that we can withstand the trials of sufferings, being faithful in persecutions, and not shirking from death. "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation or anguish or persecution or famine or nakedness or peril or sword?...But in all these things we more than conquer through Him who loved us" (Rom. 8:35, 37).
The expression "be faithful unto death" has two meanings. First, it means that to be faithful is a matter of a period of time. It means that one should be faithful up to the time he dies. "Unto death" means to continue until one dies. While one's breath lasts, he should remain faithful. Second, to be faithful is a matter of price. It means that we should remain faithful and should not give up even if it means losing our life. In this case, "unto death" means to maintain faithfulness at the cost of death. One should be willing to sacrifice his body in maintaining his faithfulness.
The word "faithful" is pistos in the original language. It means to persevere and to remain unchanged. This is in opposition to the looseness in Ephesus. Faithfulness is a matter of time. It is not difficult to be stirred up and become excited in an instant. But it is not easy to remain steady for a long time and to regard ten years as a day. It is possible for one to maintain his love for the Lord and his standard according to the Lord's word in calm and peaceful days. But it is rare and precious for one to act as "he had always done" as Daniel did (Dan. 6:10) and to be unmoved when confronted with swords, persecutions, and chains from non-Christians. To begin well is indeed commendable, but to continue well is more praiseworthy. The Lord is the faithful One, because He is the unchanging One. What He has promised He will never change. His promise stands and remains for as long as He Himself stands and remains. If there is no possibility for Him to perish, then His promise must necessarily be eternally efficacious and unchanging. If God's promise to us is unchanging, how can our promise of consecration to Him be broken? We should be faithful as God is faithful. If He has not changed, how can we change? It is indeed pleasing to the Lord to love the Lord in our youth. But it is more pleasing to the eyes of the Lord to be ripe with age and yet still not be an "old prophet" (1 Kings 13:11).
To be faithful is to have the heart of a virgin. It is to remain chaste for the Lord. To be faithful to the Lord means to be single-hearted for the Lord. It is right for us to work, to labor, to suffer, to sacrifice, to love, and to serve. Yet the most crucial question is for whom are we really doing these things? Why are we doing all these things? What the Lord considers is not simply the works, but the motive behind our works. Why are we doing all the works? The Lord does not care for the greatness of the outward works. He only questions the purity of the inward motive. If there are other mixed goals besides being for the Lord in the motive of our work, we cannot be considered faithful. Neither a craving for fame, gain, or praise from man, nor a work out of pity, or an outright absence of purpose in our work can gain us the Lord's pleasure. To be faithful in our work is a matter of the heart rather than anything else. To be faithful in our work does not mean to work hard. Rather, it means that the motive of our work is for the love of the Lord. This is the most crucial question. In that day, the judgment of our work at the judgment seat will be for the most part, if not fully, according to this standard. Every work that is not done for the Lord will be burned. Those who will gain a reward are those who have a pure and clean motive. The Lord wants us to be faithful and to be "faithful unto death." To be faithful unto death means that we should be faithful even at the time we die. Death is the last moment of our life. Although not all of us will necessarily die, and although it is possible for some of us to remain until the Lord comes back, such is the Lord's charge: to be faithful unto death, that is, to be faithful unto the end. The day of the coming of the Lord is nearer day by day. The path we are treading may be the last few miles. "For in yet a very little while the Coming One will come and will not delay. But My righteous one shall live by faith; and if he shrinks back, My soul does not delight in him" (Heb. 10:37-38). Hence, "Hold fast what you have that no one take your crown" (Rev. 3:11). This one "has" something already; he already has his crown. But there is a condition for keeping his crown, which is to be steadfast and to be unchanging. "And let us not lose heart in doing what is good, for in the proper season we will reap if we do not faint" (Gal. 6:9).
Moreover, "unto death" is not only a matter of time. It also means to be faithful even at the cost of death. Death is the greatest temptation and the last trial. If we are willing to accept the sinful terms of Satan, he is willing to promise us life. However, if we will serve the Lord faithfully, we will lose our life. To be faithful is to die, and to compromise, to withdraw, to succumb to man's will, and to lower God's standard is to live. If one is faithful to the Lord and is willing to forsake everything, his end is death. Those who are open to private intercourse with Satan in secret and who are willing to bow down before him on the mountain, when no one is around, will surely be spared from death and will be granted the blessings of this world. But those who will serve the Lord faithfully will have to sit down and count the cost. At present, the anti-religious tide is rising everywhere. We do not know where this will lead in the future. However, if the time comes for us to pour out our blood on our faith and on the words of our testimony, are we fully prepared? When our lives are threatened, will we be able to preserve our faithfulness? How do we feel when we hear the Lord say: "For whoever wants to save his soul-life shall lose it; but whoever loses his soul-life for My sake shall find it" (Matt. 16:25)? Now is the time for us to prepare ourselves to be a martyr. So often we think that time is plentiful and the battle has just begun, and that we should save our useful body for future use. However, if we avoid the testimony of this crucial moment, but try to save our body for greater use by the Lord later, our future work before the Lord may amount to nothing. Martyrdom is the greatest work. The supreme testimony is to be faithful unto death. The blood speaks better words than the mouth. The voice of the blood is louder than any other voice, and its power greater than any other power. The Lord wants all of us to be martyrs, if not physically, at least psychologically. If we are prepared to shed our blood and to die for the sake of our faith and for the keeping of His word, and if we would not dodge to sacrifice our faithfulness, will we not be more than prepared when trials less dreadful than death come upon us? Although the Lord has not ordained that every one of us be martyrs in our body, He desires that we have the spirit of those who will not deny the Lord or disobey His word even unto death. If we encounter misunderstandings, rejections, oppositions, persecutions, and even execution for the sake of being faithful in serving the Lord, and if we are not mindful of these things, we are being faithful unto death. If through serving the Lord faithfully, we lose our worldly friends, parents, wives, wealth, fame, glory, joy, and life, and would accept these losses happily, we are being faithful unto death. How difficult this is! Does not the flesh tremble at this thought? Yet the power of the Lord is strong enough to sustain His saints.
Nevertheless, some people think that it is easier to make a clear-cut move and to die for the Lord once for all. They think that it is too difficult to suffer daily for the Lord, to bear misunderstandings and opposition for the sake of obeying the Lord and His word and for the sake of pleasing the Lord's heart. However, if one cannot live as a martyr for the Lord, he cannot die as a martyr for the Lord. If a man realizes the heart-rending pain a martyr faces at the point of death, he will not consider it an easy thing to die for the Lord. If the Lord Jesus with His perfect humanity would need to have the prayer at Gethesemane, how about the ordinary man? The life of a martyr is a life of death. If one does not live a life of death in his daily life, it would be difficult (except by the Lord's grace) to expect him to be an unretreating martyr. The Lord desires that we be living martyrs, that is, "living dead ones." Daily we are living martyrs. When the time comes for us to testify our faith with our blood, we will be able to face death readily through His grace. Towards our own fleshly life, we should always have the attitude that we are living as those who are dying, so that we would not be dominated by this life. The life that the Lord has called us to live is a life of "the living dead." If we truly have the cross working in us, we will consider this life in death as something precious, because it is this life that pleases the Lord.
The scheme of Satan is to threaten us with the fear of death and to discourage the believers with the prospect of the losing of life. He causes the believers to weigh the advantage of serving the devil against the cost of obeying the Father, and he makes them feel that one is sweet whereas the other is bitter. It is not easy for the fleshly man to be delivered from glory, position, fame, human relations, and financial losses. These things alone are enough to cause his heart to ache. If in addition to this, one is told that the giving up of life is a price to be paid for believing in the Lord, everyone would shrink and would try to escape. It is human nature to covet life and loathe death. Within every natural man, there is the ant-like nature of craving for a mere existence. Satan knows us more than we know ourselves. He knows that our weakness lies in our craving for life. At critical moments, he would make the preservation of life to be a price he will offer for us to forsake the truth. The one necessary condition to win the war with Satan is a will to defy death. "And they overcame him [Satan] because...they loved not their soul-life" (Rev. 12:11). Those saints who battle with Satan in prayer often have the experience of Satan threatening them with the losing of their life if they persist in opposing him. Hence, for one not to love his own life is the prerequisite to his war with the enemy. He is the roaring lion, who is out to make us tremble at his bearing. What he wants the saints to do the most is to drop their weapon of prayer and to stop the war. Actually, Satan and the saints can never come to peace one with another. If we have a death-defying heart, and if we will not care even if we are slaughtered and killed, Satan will have no way with us. What he is doing is to cause us to love ourselves and have pity on ourselves, so that we would not need to pay too great a price to obey the Lord; he is causing us to shed tears in secret, to have pity on ourselves and to wallow in our own sorrow during difficult times, sufferings, and dangers. If we would not love our life, how can worldly gains move our heart? If Satan cannot tempt us with anything in the world or in us, how can he exercise his maneuvering over us? In this way, we will surely win the victory.
"I will give you the crown of life." At present we are living in a time of peace. When we look back at the suffering of that day, we cannot help but tremble. However, we can see God's Spirit of glory descending on these suffering brothers. Although they suffered much for Christ, they were comforted much by Christ. It is better to have the Lord's comfort through suffering than to have neither suffering nor the Lord's comfort. Who can exhaust the sweetness of the Lord's comfort? The saints in Smyrna had heard the Lord's word to them: "Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life" (Rev. 2:10). This crown is the crown of victory, because the condition for receiving this crown is to have the experience of victory. "And everyone who contends exercises self-control in all things; they then, that they may receive a corruptible crown, but we, an incorruptible" (1 Cor. 9:25). The world awards its contending athletes, but our Lord rewards the overcomers who go to war with Satan and his army. However, one has to exercise self-control, that is, to keep God's "rules," before he can win the reward. Otherwise, he cannot overcome, and even if he does overcome outwardly, such a victory does not count. This is because "if anyone contends in the games, he is not crowned unless he contends lawfully" (2 Tim. 2:5). Obedience to the word of God is the first step to victory, and it is the condition for receiving the crown. Actually, the chief condition for receiving the crown is suffering. Only those who suffer for the Lord have the possibility of receiving the crown. We can see this from the history of the Lord Jesus. "But we see Jesus, who was made a little inferior to the angels because of the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor"; "You have made Him a little inferior to the angels; You have crowned Him with glory and honor and have set Him over the works of Your hands" (7, Heb. 2:9).
James also talked about "the crown of life" given to those who are faithful in trials. "Blessed is the man who endures trial, because when he has become approved by testing, he will receive the crown of life, which He promised to those who love Him" (James 1:12). Those who suffer trials for the sake of loving the Lord will receive the crown of life as the ultimate reward. Satan threatens with death, whereas Christ promises life. Satan casts man into prison, whereas Christ gives to man the crown of life. Resurrection is the destroyer of the fear of death. Those who will lose their life for Christ's sake will find it in resurrection. All those who die for the Lord will reign with Him in the millennium (Rev. 20:4). The Lord grants special crowns to those who do special works. In the Bible, there are recorded three kinds of crowns. Here the crown of life is one of them. The crown in 1 Thessalonians 2:19 is a term, whereas the crown in 1 Corinthians 9:25 speaks of the nature of the crown. These two instances do not speak of two different kinds of crowns. Peter told the elders who faithfully care for the flock: "And when the Chief Shepherd is manifested, you will receive the unfading crown of glory" (1 Pet. 5:4). Paul mentioned other kinds of crowns: "Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, with which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will recompense me in that day, and not only to me but also all those who have loved His appearing" (2 Tim. 4:8). The crown of life is given to those who suffer for the Lord and who overcome all the attacks of the enemy. The crown of righteousness is given to those who love the Lord's appearing. The crown of glory is given to those who work faithfully for the Lord, who are often despised by man and are hidden.
But what does a crown mean? On the one hand, I believe the crown mentioned here is a real crown, and that there is indeed such a thing. Everyone who fulfills the condition for receiving the crown will receive it. Just those who contended in the games received a crown on their heads, in the same way, there will be real crowns upon the bloodstained heads of the saints. Our unadorned head will one day shine with the splendor of glory. On the other hand, I believe there is hidden meaning behind the crown. A crown implies the sense of being a king. When a prince is crowned, he is henceforth a king. If the saints are crowned without any sense of reigning or ruling, of what worth is such a crown? Will the Lord attract the saints to give up their lives for Him with a mere physical crown? Although the saints' hearts are for the Lord and for pleasing Him, and although their goal is not the reward, yet the Lord will not reward in a common way. If the Lord desires to give a reward, such a reward must be of great value. According to the Bible, such a crown must refer to reigning with the Lord.
One cannot separate the crown from the reigning. It is difficult to imagine a person receiving a crown without reigning as a king. We can see this from the testimony of the Scripture: "And he took their king's crown from off his head" (2 Sam. 12:30). "Thou settest a crown of pure gold on his [the king's — v. 1] head" (Psa. 21:3). "Behold king Solomon with the crown" (S.S. 3:11). "And thou, profane wicked prince of Israel, whose day is come, when iniquity shall have an end, Thus saith the Lord God; Remove the diadem, and take off the crown" (Ezek. 21:25-26). As the Lord was the King of suffering and wore the crown of thorns, in the same way, He is the King of glory wearing the crown of glory. Even the book of Hebrews links His crown with the ruling over all things (2:9). From the clear evidence of the Bible, we can see that the crown is a symbol for kingship. In this way, we see a very important principle: not every believer will receive a crown. In the same way, not every believer will reign with Christ. Not every believer who is qualified to receive a crown will receive the same kind of crown. In the same way, not all believers will receive the same position in glory. There are believers who will not receive any crown, and there are believers who will not reign. The losing of one's reward of reigning and the differences in glory are an important doctrine of the Bible. Those who suffer will receive the crown of life, and those who die will resurrect to reign (Rev. 20:4). Salvation may be the same for two persons, but their position in the millennium may not be the same. Those believers who will not receive a reward and who will suffer a loss are still saved (1 Cor. 3:15). There is no distinction between the grace that saved the thief on the cross and that which saved Saul of Tarsus. However, we cannot say that the reward of these two in glory is the same. Although there will be a distinction between the great vessel and the small vessel, both will be filled with the same joy and blessing. At present, of course, we see a difference in the level of spirituality among the believers. However, in that day, there will be a difference even in the position in the millennium. When we arrive in glory, there will of course be no more testings. But our present faithfulness and suffering will determine our future position. In spite of this, we cannot, of course, annul God's supreme sovereignty.
Verse 11: "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes shall by no means be hurt of the second death."
As before, the word of the Holy Spirit was spoken to the churches. However, it is only to those who have an ear that the command of "let him hear" is given (Matt. 13:9). Although the Holy Spirit continually speaks, there are few who can hear His words.
Here is an excellent spiritual lesson. These seven epistles were sent by the Lord Jesus to the seven churches. At the beginning of every epistle, it says that the Lord "says." The word "says" in 2:1, 8, 12, 18; 3:1, 7, and 14 indicates that the seven epistles were all words that the Lord Jesus spoke. But at the end of all the epistles, the letters were considered words that "the Spirit says." What does this mean? Here is a great teaching. The word of the Lord Jesus is the record of the seven epistles. When He charged John to send the epistles to each church, He began by telling John to "write" (2:1, 8, 12, 18; 3:1, 7, 14). Hence, the words that the Lord Jesus speaks to the churches are the words that John wrote. In other words, they become the record of the Bible, the text of Revelation chapters two and three. The Lord Jesus has spoken; His words have been recorded and are written in the Bible. But now the Holy Spirit still must speak to the churches through these words. The Holy Spirit must speak to the church again from the written word. The Holy Spirit does not speak of Himself. Rather, He reiterates in man's heart the written word. When we read the Bible, we have to pay attention to this matter. It is true that in the Bible, we have the word of the Lord and the word of God already. However, we must still ask the Holy Spirit to speak the words within us. The reading of the Bible is for the purpose of receiving the Holy Spirit's speaking. If we only read the Bible but do not have the speaking of the Holy Spirit, our reading will be in vain. We must allow the Holy Spirit to speak His word through the written text. God has spoken in the Bible already. But we must allow the Holy Spirit to speak to us again from God's spoken word. Everyone who waits on God faithfully has the experience of the Holy Spirit speaking to him through the Bible. The word of God, the Bible, is general. We must have the Holy Spirit to appoint certain of God's words for our application according to our need. When we read the Bible, we realize its general goodness. But when the Holy Spirit speaks to us from within, we receive unspeakable teachings, rebukes, comforts, and encouragements. When the Holy Spirit speaks to us through one or two verses, we receive special revelation. What we previously thought we have understood is now seen as being superficial. Now, it seems as if the heart and marrow of the Scripture is opened to us. Hence, in the reading of the Bible, it is not a matter of the quantity read, or the familiarity that counts; neither are we reading for the sake of knowledge. The reading of the Bible is for the purpose of receiving the speaking of the Holy Spirit. As the resurrected Savior expounded the Scripture to the two disciples on the way to Emmaus and caused their hearts to burn within them, in the same way the Spirit who has been sent also opens the Bible to all the believers, enlightening the word and pricking the believers' hearts with it. When we realize this, we will prepare ourselves by prayer and meditation. In this way, the Holy Spirit will be able to speak to us the words of the Bible.
"He who overcomes shall by no means be hurt of the second death." This is a promise. Those who overcome have a secured position. The second death, which is the death of judgment, shall not hurt them. The second death is the lake of fire (Rev. 21:8). Nothing can hurt these ones except the first death of the physical body. Hence, we do not have to be afraid of the first death. It is only a servant that leads us to God. The Lord is the ancient wood which was cast into the bitter waters at Marah. He Himself has passed through the pain of death and has turned it into sweetness.
To be free from the hurt of the second death means to be free from the hurt of the lake of fire (Rev. 20:14). The lake of fire is what we commonly know as hell. Those who will not be hurt of the lake of fire will have a part in the first resurrection; they are qualified to enjoy the blessing of the millennium. This can be proved from Revelation: "Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection; over these the second death has no authority, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years" (20:6). Here we see two blessed ends of the overcomers. Negatively, they are saved from all God's wrath and will not be touched at all by it. Positively, they will receive a crown and will reign with Christ for a thousand years.
These promises, as do all the other promises in the other epistles, divide the believers in the church into overcomers and those who are overcome. These promises are particular. Not every overcomer will receive all the promises. Only by overcoming certain trials will one receive certain particular promises related to those trials. The promise here is given to those who are imprisoned and killed for Christ. The distinction between the overcomers and those who are overcome is fully attested to by the experience of the church. We know that there have been many sincere ones who believed in Christ for eternal life but shrank back and denied the Lord at difficult times through their physical weaknesses. It is possible, though it ought not be, that regenerated believers may deny Christ. The distinction between the overcomers and those who are overcome is an unremovable fact. If Peter was not regenerated at an earlier time, at least by the time he confessed that Christ was the Son of God (Matt. 16:16) he was regenerated already (1 John 5:1). However, he denied Christ with an oath. We thank the Lord that at crucial moments, there are indeed overcomers. However, there are also many who have been overcome and have retreated. The persecutors always say: "Give up your faith or you will die!" Those who insist on their faith and who die graciously overcome and glorify God. Moreover, they strengthen their brothers' hearts. But if they deny the most holy name of the Lord, they fail and are overcome, and God and the destiny of His church are put to shame. According to the text here, only those who have overcome and who have not denied the Lord can escape the hurt of the second death, which is hell. Those who fail and who have denied the Lord will suffer the hurt of the second death. This is the word of the Bible, and it is clear enough. Yet does this mean that a saved person will perish forever just because he has denied the Lord? No, this is not the biblical teaching, nor is it our teaching. On the one hand, the Bible teaches us that a Christian once saved, is forever saved. All those who have believed the Lord Jesus as their personal Savior are eternally saved. They will by no means perish at all. If a saint could perish forever, this would diminish the merit of the cross of Christ, and would annul God's promise completely. However, on the other hand, we cannot say that a sinning Christian will have no punishment other than the losing of his reward (1 Cor. 3:15). As far as I know, the Bible teaches us on the one hand the eternal salvation of the saints, but on the other hand it also teaches us of the punishment for the failing and sinning Christian. We should believe in all the words of the Bible. In our exposition of the Scripture, we should give the biblical truth its rightful place. We must not cut off portions of the Scripture to fit our theory of exposition. Those people whose minds are more inclined to righteousness explain away the Scriptures on eternal salvation. They claim that if a Christian sins again, he will be lost again. Those people whose minds are bent more towards grace explain away the texts that cover God's judgment on the sinning Christians. They claim that Christians will always be saved. The former group despises God's precious promises, and emphasizes God's warning to the defeated believers. The latter changes the meaning of the texts by their way of exposition, claiming that God's warnings are issued not to the saved believers but to the nominal ones only. The former ones do not understand the doctrine of regeneration and the grace of redemption, whereas the latter ones through their prejudice subconsciously make their exposition a kind of alteration. Both are wrong. We cannot go into detail concerning this matter. Here we can only discuss it in brief.
(1) According to the biblical teaching, we know that as soon as a sinner receives the Lord Jesus as his personal Savior, and as soon as he believes that the Lord Jesus has died for him on the cross, he is eternally saved. The following are the proofs: (1) "He who believes has eternal life" (John 6:47). Once we believe, we have it, and what we have is eternal life. Since it is eternal life, there is no possibility for one to perish halfway. (2) What the Lord Jesus accomplished on the cross was "an eternal redemption" (Heb. 9:12). Hence, every sinner who trusts in Him receives the efficaciousness of this eternal redemption. As such, the efficaciousness of the blood of the Lord Jesus is eternal with those who believe in Him. (3) The prayer of the Lord Jesus as the high priest is the preserving power for the believers to be saved to the uttermost. "Hence also He is able to save to the uttermost those who come forward to God through Him, since He lives always to intercede for them" (Heb. 7:25). If a believer should perish, it would mean that the Lord Jesus' prayer had lost its power. All those who think this way are blaspheming Him! (4) Once a sinner believes in the Lord Jesus, he receives the Holy Spirit and is joined to the Lord in life, becoming a member of the Body of Christ. If a believer could still perish, the Body of the Lord Jesus would become crippled. "There is now then no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus" (Rom. 8:1). (5) The believers are God's gifts to the Lord Jesus (John 10:29). If believers could perish, then what the Father gives to the Son would be something that is not eternal. This is unimaginable. If God's grace to the world is without repentance, how can He withdraw what He has given to His own beloved Son? (6) Since salvation is not received through works (Eph. 2:1, 8-9), it cannot be lost through works. (7) If believers could perish, all the New Testament Scriptures that assert the Lord's preserving power would become absurd. (8) When a sinner believes in the Lord Jesus to be his Savior, he is begotten of God and has become God's child (John 1:12-13). Since he is begotten, he cannot be unbegotten again. Once he has become a child, no matter how much he sins, he will always be a child. Since what he has received is eternal life, such a relationship can never be severed. (9) Those who are saved by God in this age have been predestinated by God before the foundation of the world. If we admit that the matter of salvation is under God's sovereign hand, it is impossible for a person predestinated by God to salvation to be lost again. "And those whom He predestinated, these He also called; and those whom He called, these He also justified; and those whom He justified, these He also glorified" (Rom. 8:30). God predestinated in the past, and He will glorify in the future. Now He is calling and justifying. The believers are guaranteed to be saved into eternal glory. (10) Look again at the promise of the Lord Jesus, where this question is considered to be settled: "My sheep...shall by no means perish forever" (John 10:27-28). Once a person has become the Lord's sheep, he will by no means perish forever. This is spoken by the Lord Himself. The reason that one cannot perish forever is (a) "No one shall snatch them out of My hand" (John 10:28), and (b) "No one can snatch them out of My Father's hand" (John 10:29). From these points we can see that the question of salvation for every believer is settled and fully secured. Praise the Lord!
(2) After a believer is saved, if he sins and transgresses by accident, he should come immediately before God to confess his sins. God will forgive his sins based on the work of the cross. We should differentiate between the condition of forgiveness for the sinners and for the believers. The sinners are forgiven through believing; the saints are forgiven through confessing. First John 1:9 says: "If we [the Christians] confess our sins [the unique condition], He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness." A sinner cannot be forgiven by mere confessing, whereas a saint cannot be forgiven by mere believing. When a saint sins, and when he comes to God to confess his sins, based on the work of the Lord Jesus, he will immediately be forgiven. In the future at the judgment seat, this sin will no longer condemn him. However, here is a problem. It is true that there are many believers who have confessed their wrongdoings and have asked God for forgiveness. Yet there are still many who die with their sins unconfessed and never repented of. Shall these ones also be eternally saved and not come under God's judgment? Sin is sin. God must judge sin as sin and punish sin as sin. If a believer has not confessed his sins, he will not be able to have the effectiveness of the cross of the Lord applied to those particular sins. As a result, he will have to bear his own sins. God judges and punishes sin, whether it is in the sinner or in the believer.
A saved Christian will be punished. For this, there are the following proofs: (1) "For it is impossible for those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit...to renew themselves again...It is disapproved and near a curse, whose end is to be burned" (Heb. 6:4, 6, 8). Such a one is surely saved and has surely believed. Yet he will still experience the punishment of burning. (2) "For when we sin willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice of bulls and goats for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment and fervor of fire, which is to consume the adversaries" (Heb. 10:26-27). The words "there no longer remains a sacrifice of bulls and goats for sins" indicate that there was a sacrifice for sins before. Hence, this proves that such a person is saved. However, because such a one has sinned willfully, he will suffer the fervor of fire which is about to consume the adversaries. When a believer sins with the sinners, he will be punished with the sinners. (3) "If one does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is dried up; and they gather them and cast them into the fire, and they are burned" (John 15:6). There is still the danger for those who have already become a branch to be cast out, to become dry, and to be cast into the fire. (4) "Whoever says to his brother...Moreh, shall be liable to the Gehenna of fire" (Matt. 5:22). Since both are brothers, both are saved ones. Yet the one who sins by reviling the other shall be liable to the Gehenna of fire. (5) "Every one therefore who will confess in Me before men, I also will confess in him before My Father who is in the heavens; but whoever shall deny Me before men, I also will deny him before My Father who is in the heavens" (Matt. 10:32-33). The "every one" here is the "you" in verse 31, who are the disciples. It is possible for those who are already disciples of the Lord to be denied by Him. (6) "My friends, Do not fear those who kill the body and afterward have nothing more that they can do. But I will show you whom you should fear: fear Him who, after killing, has authority to cast into Gehenna; yes, I tell you, fear this One" (Luke 12:4-5). The Lord's friends are the saved believers. Yet, among them some will be cast into Gehenna. (7) "Many will say to Me in that day [the day of the judgment seat], Lord, Lord, was it not in Your name that we prophesied, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name did many works of power? And then I will declare to them: I never knew you [lit., I never justified you]. Depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness" (Matt. 7:22-23). Those who hear the Lord's word but do not obey and who work according to their own will, though they will not perish, they will hear the Lord's severe words to them. (8) "And cast out the useless slave into the outer darkness. In that place there will be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth" (Matt. 25:30). Those slaves who have received the gift of the Holy Spirit have become members in the Body of Christ. Yet, through their digging of the earth and hiding of their talent, they misjudged the Lord and were cast midway into the outer darkness. (9) "But if that slave says in his heart, My master is delaying his coming, and begins to beat the male servants and the female servants and to eat and to drink and become drunk, the master of that slave...will cut him asunder, and will appoint his portion with the unbelievers. And that slave who knew his master's will and did not prepare or do according to his will, will receive many lashes; but he who did not know, yet did things worthy of stripes, will receive few lashes. But to every one to whom much has been given, much will be required from him; and to whom much has been committed, they will ask of him all the more" (Luke 12:45-48). The slaves to whom the Lord has "given" and committed something are the saved ones. Yet through their disobedience to God's will, they will be cut in two by the Lord. (10) "He who overcomes shall by no means be hurt of the second death" (Rev. 2:11). Those who do not overcome will be hurt of the second death, which is the hurt of hell. From these points we can see that if a saved Christian sins and does not confess his sin, he will not experience the effectiveness of the cross, but will suffer serious punishments. God is love; yet He is also righteous.
In conclusion, the Bible teaches us that believers are saved forever. But the Bible also teaches us that believers will be punished for their sins. We believe and know that the Bible does not contradict itself, and God's work does not contradict itself. The eternal salvation of the believers and their punishment are two simultaneously existing doctrines.
After reading the second group of Scriptures, we can see that other than the "outer darkness" which has no part in the cloud of glory in the air, there is mentioned the Gehenna of fire, Gehenna itself, and the hurt of the second death. In addition, fire is mentioned many times. These Scriptures lead us to believe that there is the possibility for believers to go to Gehenna. Gehenna is the place of punishment for the saints' sins. In the future, believers will be divided into at least three classes, those who will be rewarded, those who will receive no reward, and those who will be punished. The sinning ones will suffer punishment. But does this mean that a Christian will perish forever? No, this is not the teaching of the Bible. If we combine the first group of Scriptures with the second, we will see that since salvation is eternal for the saints, things such as Gehenna cannot be applied to them forever. They will experience these things in a different way than the sinners will. Hence, we can logically conclude that after a sinning believer is judged at the judgment seat, he will go temporarily to Gehenna to be punished but will eventually be saved. This is not the purgatory that the Roman Catholic Church speaks of. Gehenna is for punishment rather than for the cultivation of the believers' spirituality, as purgatory claims to be. Neither is this the so-called "restoration theology," a heresy which asserts that all sinners will be saved after they have suffered punishment. Here we are only talking about a group of saved believers.
The words "shall by no means perish forever" in John 10:28 will solve the problem of all those who do not believe in eternal salvation for believers. However, the same words serve to prove our assertion. In the original language, the words do not mean, as some versions have put them, "shall never perish." Rather, they mean "shall by no means perish forever." This clearly shows us our position.
According to the Bible, the millennium is a special age. This age will usher in God's eternal kingdom, which is an age when righteousness reigns. Hence, everything related to the millennium is in the principle of righteousness. A sinning believer will suffer punishment during this one thousand years. This can be seen from Luke 18. The Gospel of John, from its beginning to its end, tells us that eternal life comes by faith. This is very important. However, the Lord Jesus tells us in the Gospel of Luke that if a man leaves behind everything, he shall receive "in the coming age, eternal life" (Luke 18:30). This word is so different from the words in John! Here it does not say that one will receive as soon as he believes. Rather, it says that one has to leave behind everything and to give up his love for the world before he can receive eternal life in the coming age. Otherwise, he will not receive it. Therefore, we have to realize that there is a difference between "the coming age," the future, and now. Our present age is the age of grace. The coming age is the age of the millennium. The future is not settled yet. Hence, there is no contradiction between John's word and Luke's word. John speaks of the common condition for eternal life, which is faith. Luke speaks of the eternal life in the age of righteousness in the millennium. Those believers who love the world will not receive the eternal life then. Instead they will be punished.
When we see such a sober teaching, we will become careful. God's grace is sufficient for us. God has no intention for us to suffer punishment. However, sins that are committed and unconfessed will prevent the Lord's grace, which is brought in through the cross, from coming to us. As a result, we will suffer punishment. How dreadful is Gehenna! How evil is sin! What a fearful thing it is that believers are liable to the Gehenna of fire! We should trust in the cross. The things we are speaking of here are God's best warnings to keep the saints watchful and careful. If God's word suffers any loss through man's utterance, may the Lord forgive us!
Let us come back to Revelation. How pitiful it is for believers to be overcome by the enemy through loving their life! Although those who faithfully serve the Lord will lose their lives, beyond the first death they will no longer be hurt by the second death. What a promise this is!
Ephesus depicts the first era of the church on earth. Therefore, Smyrna depicts the second era of the church on earth. Although we cannot say definitely that the ten days of tribulation refer to the ten great persecutions of the Roman Caesars, yet they must at least hint at the tribulations of the day. We cannot say definitely that the great persecutions are ten in number. However, the time when the Roman Caesars persecuted the church was very near the time of Smyrna — from the time Domitian ruled until the end of Diocletian's reign was over two hundred years. The age of Smyrna ended approximately A.D. 313. During that period, we have the age of persecution for the church. Although the church suffered greater persecutions in other ages in addition, they were limited to one region only and were not wide-spread. The greatness of the Roman Empire enhanced its power to persecute the Christians and left no place of escape for the believers.
After reading Foxe's Book of Martyrs, we in the twentieth century cannot help but be baffled. The sufferings that the believers went through at that time were those that no human flesh can withstand. The tortures we see in our history cannot be compared with one-tenth of the cruelty of the punishments these ones experienced in those days. The method of persecutions and the steps of torture for the criminals then was a great invention of the day! Ways so cruel as to surpass the human imagination were used and were applied to the saints. This makes us wonder what extremities Antichrist will use to persecute the Christians during the great tribulation! Surely they will be more severe and more unbearable. What a pity for those who will not give up the world now but who will try to no avail in that day when suffering comes! Now is the time for us to overcome. It is most pitiful that believers have to pass through God's severe chastisement before they will give up the world!
When we consider the faithfulness of the martyrs of the day, we cannot help but aspire after them. Many believers aspired and even craved to die for the Lord. Some believers had to suffer tortures for a few months before they died. Under such extreme pain, they had no complaints. On the contrary, they endured joyfully, bearing excellent testimony for the Lord. Although they could gain their lives by one word of denial, they refused to do it. When we read of the severity of their trials, we cannot imagine ourselves being put in the same trials and being as faithful as they were. Some sisters had their parents pleading, their lovers imploring, their relatives persuading, and their children wailing before them. They were placed before the wild beasts and subjected to hunger. Yet they were not moved in their hearts at all and did not give in a bit. They would rather be shredded into pieces and wasted in tortures than to deny the name of the Lord they loved. The world could go away. Lovers could go away. Their children and their lives could go away. Yet they would not give up the Lord Jesus. John's disciple Polycarp was one of the elders of Ephesus. At the age of eighty-six, he was taken away by the Roman government and was promised release if he would blaspheme the Lord Jesus. His answer was a timeless motto: "I have served Him for eighty-six years. He has never forsaken me. How can I forsake Him merely for the sake of preventing my death?"
However, the blood of the saints is the seed of the truth. Many times, the Roman soldiers who did the torturing with jesting saw the endurance, joy, love, forgiveness, courage in facing death, and faithfulness in purpose of the saints in tribulations, and they were moved with curiosity. Out of curiosity they investigated and were greatly moved by the Holy Spirit. As a result, many times, while the saints were being burned in flames, and while the ashes were still falling, the torturer picked up the same faith and stepped in to suffer the same punishment. The Lord's cross draws man to it (John 12), in like manner does the saints' cross draw men to the Lord's cross. This influence is not regional, nor accidental. One famous historian noted that if all the Christians at that time were removed from the great Roman Empire, the population of the Empire would be greatly reduced. This shows us that though the force of persecution was great at that time, the power of the saints' salvation was also great. Many hardened hearts cannot be penetrated through by anything else except by the blood. The Savior has shed His blood already. Those who preach His shedding of the blood should themselves also shed blood.
However, although the tribulations of the day turned the saints to a greater love for the Lord, these tribulations did not make the ordinances and teachings of the church pure. It is true that the church was very faithful in opposing many heresies already. This is to be commended. However, the Judaistic teaching originated much earlier, and we have no way to find out its way of propagation or the names of its proponents. When we turn to the world histories which are void of God's inspiration, we see that changes were brought in early on. Yet there was no record as to how things were being changed. Moreover, because the Judaistic practices and works were so prevailing already, it is difficult for us to place the age of this epistle to be at the time of Rome's persecution of the church. It is hard for us to believe that such a faithful and suffering church would succumb to the Judaistic teachings. The fact of the matter is this: history concerning the early church was already rare from the start. Those histories that were written passed through many centuries during which the truth was rejected. Considering this, can we hope to find in them any record of the struggle of the Judaistic teachers? Since it was the practice then and in subsequent ages to attach prominent names to the authorship of fabricated works, it is hard to imagine that there were no alterations in early church history to the record of the struggle with the Judaistic teachers. The Judaistic teaching was necessarily very prevailing at that time. However, church history must contain the record of the church's struggle with it. Moreover, the Lord's word here (Rev. 2:9) causes us to believe that there were struggles at that time. We do believe in one thing: that we have to wait until a future time before a true account of church history will appear. Perhaps now it is only recorded before God. Nevertheless, we know that the Nazarenes and the Ebionites were Judaistic religions of the day. Their source, existence, and end were recorded clearly in Edward Gibbon's The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. The change in church organization and its deviation from the scriptural principles were also a result of the influence of this teaching. Another proof is that the first fifteen overseers of Jerusalem were all circumcised Jews, and the congregation there all kept both the law of Moses and the teachings of Christ as well.
If we consider these ones who called themselves Jews to be the Jews in the flesh, we can see that it is also a fact that they persecuted the Christians. Even while Polycarp was being burned, the Jews were busily helping to prepare the stakes.
We have seen the rising tide of the Judaistic teaching. What we have to do is to lift God's gospel of grace up high, and reject those who mix the law with grace. We must not take upon ourselves the heavy yoke of the law and give up our freedom in Christ. If we keep the law, it will not save us. Moreover, it will not increase our standing before God one bit. On the contrary, we will fall from grace. We are here to obey Christ, and not the law.
We have also seen how the saints suffered for the Lord. Because they had left their first love, they were chastised by God. We must not wait until the great tribulation comes, when God chastises us, to give up everything to follow the Lord. God has prepared everything on the cross for us to overcome through the Lord. If we do not receive God's grace now, we will receive His stripes in the future. If it pleases God that we suffer for Him, then for His love's sake, we should be faithful unto death to glorify His name. Other saints have suffered. How can we barter for ease? Suffering is the pathway to glory. May we be faithful and watchful together in the way ahead of us.
