The Lord was sovereign in selecting the churches to fulfill His purpose. He chose seven cities in Asia Minor:
Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea. According to the Greek, the name of each city is very meaningful, exactly matching its spiritual significance. As we have pointed out, Ephesus means desirable, indicating that the church in Ephesus was precious to the Lord and desirable in His eyes. In Greek Smyrna means myrrh. Myrrh is a sweet spice which, in figure, signifies suffering. In typology, myrrh signifies the sweet suffering of Christ. Thus, the church in Smyrna was a suffering church, prefiguring the church under the persecution of the Roman Empire from the latter part of the first century to the early part of the fourth century. This persecuted church suffered in the sweetness and fragrance of Christ. In other words, this church was in the tribulation of Jesus and in the fellowship of His sufferings. The church in Smyrna suffered as Christ Himself did, having become a continuation of His suffering. In Colossians 1:24 Paul said that he filled up “that which is lacking of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for His Body, which is the church.” Paul was completing the sufferings of Christ. Although no one can continue Christ’s redemption, His sufferings must be completed by all His followers both individually and collectively. In the church in Smyrna we see the collective continuation of the sufferings of Jesus. Because this church was a continuation of Jesus’ suffering, it was truly the testimony of Jesus.
Let us now consider the speaker to the church in Smyrna. In verse 8 the Lord says, “These things says the First and the Last, who became dead, and lived again.” The Lord told this suffering church that He was the First and the Last. This means that no matter how great were the sufferings through which He passed, those sufferings could not terminate or damage Him. He was the First and eventually He was also the Last. In suffering, the church must know that the Lord is the First and the Last, the ever-existing, unchanging One. Whatever the environment may be, He remains the same. Nothing can precede Him, nor can anything exist after Him. All things are within the limit of His control.
When the Lord told the church in Smyrna that He was the First and the Last, He was indicating that the church had to be victorious. The church should not be frustrated by any type of suffering. She must pass through all the sufferings and come to the end, because the Lord, who is the life and Head of the church, is the First and Last.
In this verse the Lord also said that He is the One “who became dead, and lived again.” “Lived again” means resurrection. The Lord suffered death and lived again. He entered into death, but death could not hold Him (Acts 2:24) because He is the resurrection (John 11:25). The suffering church also needs to know Him as such a One that she may endure all kinds of suffering. However severe the persecution may be, the church will still be alive, for the resurrection life of Christ within her can endure death. The most suffering or persecution can do is kill us. Following the death from persecution, there is resurrection. Therefore, the Lord seemed to be telling the suffering church, “You must realize that I am the One who was persecuted to death. But that death was not the end — it was the gateway into resurrection. When I entered into death, I came into the threshold of resurrection. Do not be frightened by persecution, nor terrified at the prospect of being killed. You must welcome death and be happy, for once you have passed into death you also will be on the threshold of resurrection. Remember, I am the One who became dead and lived again.” Whatever we need, the Lord is. His qualifications exactly match our need. To the suffering church, the Lord is not only the First and the beginning but also the Last and the end. Whenever you are undergoing persecution, you must rise up and declare, “Hallelujah, I am going to the end, to the last. I am about to enter into the gateway of resurrection.”
In verse 9 the Lord said to the church in Smyrna, “I know your tribulation.” The content of this epistle is nothing but tribulation, suffering, and persecution. To the church, tribulation is a test of life. The extent to which the church experiences and enjoys the resurrection life of Christ can only be tested by tribulation. Moreover, tribulation also brings in the riches of the resurrection life of Christ. The Lord’s purpose in allowing the church to suffer tribulation is not only to testify that His resurrection life overcomes death, but also to enable the church to enter into the riches of His life. Hence, tribulation is precious to the church.
The Lord said, “I know your tribulation and poverty, but you are rich.” The Lord did appraise this suffering church. The suffering church was poor in material things, but rich in the Lord with the riches of His life. Thus, the Lord seemed to be saying, “You are suffering tribulation and poverty, yet you are rich. You are poor physically, but you are rich spiritually. You are poor in earthly things, but you are rich in heavenly things.” Suffering persecution is the means to bring us into the riches of Christ. The more we are persecuted and suffer poverty, the richer we are in Christ.
In verse 9 the Lord also said that He knew “the slander of those who call themselves Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.” According to this epistle, the persecution came from religion, from the unbelieving Jews of the synagogue of Satan. The slander of the Judaizers toward the suffering church was their evil criticism of her. The Judaizers were Jews in flesh, but not Jews in spirit (Rom. 2:28-29). Merely being the seed of Abraham in the flesh did not constitute them true Jews. “Those who are the children of the flesh are not the children of God” (Rom. 9:7-8). Therefore, the Lord said that they “call themselves Jews and are not.” These Judaizers stubbornly insisted upon keeping their Judaistic system consisting of the Levitical priesthood, the sacrificial rituals, and the material temple, which were all types now fulfilled and replaced by Christ. Since the Church under the new covenant in God’s economy had no part in their religious practice, the Judaizers slanderously criticized her. In principle, it is the same today in that religious people slander the churches in the Lord’s recovery which seek the Lord and follow Him in spirit and in life and do not care for any religious system or practice.
The Lord said that those who call themselves Jews and are not are “a synagogue of Satan.” This term, a synagogue of Satan, is a terrible term. A synagogue was a place where the Jews worshipped God mainly by studying their scriptures, the Old Testament. However, due to their stubbornness in clinging to their traditional, religious concepts, they became one with Satan in opposing God’s way of life to fulfill His purpose. The synagogue was under the manipulating, maneuvering hand of Satan, for he was the power at the back of the synagogues at that time. The synagogues persecuted the Lord Jesus (Matt. 12:9-14; Luke 4:28-29; John 9:22), the apostles (Acts 6:9; 13:43, 45-46, 50; 14:1-2, 19; 17:1, 5-6), and the churches (Rev. 3:9). Therefore, the Lord called them the “synagogue of Satan.” Even when He was on earth, He considered the synagogues to be of Satan, as implied in Matt. 12:25-29 and John 8:44. Apparently they were worshipping God; actually they were opposing God. They persecuted and killed God’s true worshippers, yet they considered themselves to be offering service to God (John 16:2). When the Lord was on earth, the Jews could not deal with Him directly because at that time they did not have the right to kill the Lord Jesus by stoning Him. Instead, they utilized the Roman government to sentence Him to death and to crucify Him. In the same principle, the Jewish synagogues stirred up the Roman government to persecute the suffering church. Through all the centuries since then, religious people have followed in their steps, persecuting the genuine seekers and followers of the Lord in spirit and life while still considering themselves to be defending the interest of God. Religion always utilizes politics to damage the church. Religion has no power to cause physical damage to the Lord’s lovers, but it does use politics and the government to damage the church. Roman Catholicism and Protestantism, as well as Judaism, all fall into this category, becoming an organization of Satan as his tool to damage God’s economy.
In verse 10 the Lord says, “Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the Devil is about to cast some of you into prison that you may be tried.” Verse 9 mentions Satan and verse 10 mentions the Devil. Satan in Greek means adversary. He is not only the enemy of God from without, but also His adversary from within. The Greek word diabolos, translated Devil, means “accuser,” “slanderer” (12:9-10). The Devil, who is Satan, the adversary of God, accuses us before God and slanders us before men. The persecution suffered by the church began from the religious synagogue of the Jews instigated by Satan, the adversary. It was consummated by the Roman government used by the Devil, the slanderer, to put the saints into prison. The imprisonment of the suffering church was a cooperation of devilish politics with Satanic religion.
In verse 10 the Lord also said that they would have tribulation ten days. Ten is a number for fullness, such as the ten commandments, which express God’s demand in full, and the tithes of the offerings, which show that ten parts constitute the full offering. Ten days in the Bible signify a period of time which is full, yet short (Gen. 24:55; Jer. 42:7; Dan. 1:12-13). Hence, it signifies that the tribulation of the suffering church was full, yet short. However long the persecution may seem to us, in the eyes of God it is short. It is not a thousand days or even a hundred days but just ten days. Praise the Lord! This suffering is only a temporary suffering.
As a sign, these ten days indicate prophetically the ten periods of persecution which the church suffered under the Roman emperors, beginning with Caesar Nero in the second half of the first century and ending with Constantine the Great in the first part of the fourth century. However severe the persecutions instigated by the Devil, Satan, through the Roman Caesars, who did their utmost to destroy and eliminate the church, they were unable to subdue and terminate her. History demonstrates that the church of the living Christ “who became dead and lived again” withstood the persecutions victoriously and multiplied flourishingly by the indestructible resurrection life.
In verse 10 the Lord also said, “Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.” In this epistle we see some indications that resurrection life is in the church. When the Lord revealed His qualifications in verse 6, saying that He became dead and lived again, He was indicating that His resurrection life is in the church. The Lord seemed to be saying, “I, the One who is the Resurrection, am living in you. Because you have resurrection life in you, there is no reason or excuse for you to fail. You need not be defeated by persecution. Rather, you must suffer this persecution victoriously by My resurrection life.” Because of this resurrection life, the church is able to suffer tribulation even unto death. The church is always qualified to be a marvelous, victorious, and glorious martyr. We all are qualified to be victorious martyrs because we have resurrection life within us.
Even the Lord’s word in this epistle to the suffering church is the speaking of the Spirit to all the churches. This indicates that all the churches may experience the same suffering. Actually, in all the churches there have been some saints who have undergone the same kind of persecution. They all have had to listen to the speaking of the Spirit to this suffering church. Through the Spirit’s speaking again and again, the word of the Lord in this epistle has been for all the saints who have suffered persecution for the Lord’s sake throughout the generations.
In verse 10 we see the promise to the overcomer — the crown of life. Eventually, life will become a crown. It will be the glory of the victorious martyrs. A crown in New Testament usage always denotes a prize in addition to salvation (Rev. 3:11; James 1:12; 2 Tim. 4:8; 1 Pet. 5:4; 1 Cor. 9:25). The crown of life as a prize to those who are faithful unto death in overcoming persecution denotes the overcoming strength which is the power of the resurrection life (Phil. 3:10); it also signifies that these overcomers have attained to “the out-resurrection from among the dead,” that is, the outstanding resurrection (Phil. 3:11, Gk.).
In verse 11 the Lord says, “He who overcomes shall by no means be hurt of the second death.” To overcome in this epistle means to overcome persecution by being faithful unto death. The promise to the overcomer in this epistle has both a positive side — receiving the crown of life — and a negative side — not being hurt of the second death.
Verse 11 has been a great problem to the expositors of the book of Revelation. Due to the fall and the entering in of sin, every man must die once (Heb. 9:27). This first death, however, is not the final settlement. All the dead, except those who through faith in the Lord Jesus have been recorded in the book of life, will be resurrected and pass through the judgment of the great white throne at the close of the millennium, that is, at the conclusion of the old heaven and the old earth. As a result of this judgment, they will all be cast into the lake of fire, which is the second death as the final settlement (Rev. 20:11-15). The second death is God’s dealing with man after man’s death and resurrection. Since the overcomers have overcome death through their faithfulness unto death under persecution and have left nothing requiring further dealing by God after their resurrection, they will be rewarded with the crown of life and will not be touched, or “hurt,” anymore by the death after resurrection, which is the second death.
Nearly every Christian teacher has a problem here, thinking that after the believers are resurrected there will be no further settlement required of them. Let me ask you this question: If you were to die today, could you say that you have nothing which requires the Lord’s further dealing? Probably you cannot say this. This means that if you died today, you would still have something which requires the Lord’s further dealing. This does not mean that you would be lost. Nevertheless, this further dealing would not be something positive; it would surely be negative. Every negative thing comes from death. Thus, if you require a further negative dealing, it means that you can still be touched by death. This does not mean that you will perish, but it does indicate that you will suffer something. We must hear the word of the Lord. If we overcome persecution, on the positive side, we shall receive the crown of life and, on the negative side, we shall not be hurt by the second death.
We all need to be overcomers. If you are not an overcomer in this age, you will be hurt by the second death in the next age. It is difficult for anyone to say clearly what it means to be hurt by the second death. Nevertheless, one thing is clear: if you do not overcome persecution, something will hurt you. I say again that this does not mean that you will be lost, that you will suffer perdition. No, every saved one is saved for eternity. John 10:28-29 show that no saved one can ever perish again. However, after we have been resurrected, we may suffer some dealing from the Lord. Do not hold to the traditional theology which teaches that after you have been resurrected everything will be all right. After the unbelievers are resurrected, they will be dealt with by God regarding their eternal destiny. In the same principle, after our resurrection, there will still be some dealings from the Lord. It all depends upon how we live and walk today. If we live and walk in an overcoming way, this will indicate that we have overcome death and that nothing remains requiring a further dealing from the Lord.
We must take the Lord’s clear word. Do not accept the teaching which says that if you fail after being saved you will be lost again and perish. This is not true. At the other extreme is the teaching which says that after you have been saved you can have no problems with the Lord. However, a person who has been eternally saved may still need to be dealt with by Him. This is the full gospel. The full gospel is the whole New Testament, not just John 3:16. Here in Rev. 2:11 is a portion of the full gospel which says that we must overcome all persecution. If you do not overcome, you will not receive the crown of life; instead, you will be hurt by the second death. If you do overcome persecution and tribulation by the resurrection life within you, you will receive the crown of life positively and you will not be touched by the second death negatively. This is the Lord’s clear promise with His clear word, and we all must take it. Whether we understand it or not, we all must accept the word of the Lord. If you believe John 3:16, then you must believe Revelation 2:11. Both are the Lord’s word. I say again that this is the full gospel.
This matter has been veiled for a long time, and few Christians dare to touch it. Since they have been unable to understand it, their practice has been always to neglect it, to ignore it. But the Lord will never ignore His word. He will follow through with whatever He says. Therefore, be warned that we must overcome tribulation, suffering, and persecution, that we may receive a crown of life and not be hurt by the second death. If we overcome in this way, we shall have nothing remaining that will require the Lord’s further dealing in the future.
