Devotions with Dre Episode 19: Book of Revelation Part 4: Smyrna
Devotions with Dre Episode 19: Book of Revelation Part 4: Smyrna
Smyrna Outline
1) Read letter, give background - Rev 2:8-11
2) explain “Synagogue of Satan”
3) How to not be afraid when bad things happen
4) what is the crown of life - 2 popular opinions
5) what are fallen angels
Message to Smyrna (AMP)
8 “And to the angel (divine messenger) of the church in [e]Smyrna write:
“These are the words of the First and the Last [absolute Deity, the Son of God] who died and came to life [again]:
9 ‘I know your suffering and your poverty (but you are rich), and how you are blasphemed and slandered by those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan [they are Jews only by blood, and do not believe and truly honor the God whom they claim to worship]. 10 Fear nothing that you are about to suffer. Be aware that the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested [in your faith], and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful to the point of death [if you must die for your faith], and I will give you the crown [consisting] of life. 11 He who has an ear, let him hear and heed what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes [the world through believing that Jesus is the Son of God] will not be hurt by the second death ([f]the lake of fire).’
To Smyrna MSG:
8 Write this to Smyrna, to the Angel of the church. The Beginning and Ending, the First and Final One, the Once Dead and Then Come Alive, speaks:
9 “I can see your pain and poverty—constant pain, dire poverty—but I also see your wealth. And I hear the lie in the claims of those who pretend to be good Jews, who in fact belong to Satan’s crowd.
10 “Fear nothing in the things you’re about to suffer—but stay on guard! Fear nothing! The Devil is about to throw you in jail for a time of testing—ten days. It won’t last forever.
“Don’t quit, even if it costs you your life. Stay there believing. I have a Life-Crown sized and ready for you.
11 “Are your ears awake? Listen. Listen to the Wind Words, the Spirit blowing through the churches. Christ-conquerors are safe from Devil-death.”
Background:
Smyrna was a city on the western coast of Asia Minor - modern day Izmir in Turkey
both jewish and greek christians existed there.
the letter from John is in order of the mail route - smyrna was simply the second stop
busy city, 40 miles from Ephesus, with a harbor and paved roads, schools and fancy buildings.
Many historical accounts denote nasty persecution against early Christian church in Smyrna, mostly from Jewish groups there. When the famous church bishop Polycarp was martyred in year 155, it was because self-identified “Jewish” groups had demanded his death
What’s this “Synagogue of Satan”?
(it’s hard to address this topic of a group Jewish radicals having people killed, bc zooming out and looking at world history, so many times it’s been non-jewish people killing Jewish people, sometimes in genocidal numbers. plus, anti-semitism exists today online and is so insidious)
The author (John), a Jewish Christian, is upset with a group of Jewish non-Christians, for persecuting Jewish Christians in Smyrna. John says they’re liars and not real/good Jews because in the Torah Jewish people were supposed to treat other Jewish people with justice.
They were going beyond their right to break fellowship and kick Christians out of their synagogue / disagree about the Messiah; They were hatefully turning Jewish Christians over to Roman punishment / torture / execution. They were in league with an oppressive government.
This label John is putting on that particular synagogue feels similar to when Jesus told some Pharisees “Your Father isn’t Abraham, it’s the Devil, bc you lie like him”
How to Not Fear
it’s important not to fear. “Do not fear the suffering that’s to come” - HOW???
“Fear nothing that you are about to suffer” !!?!?!?
BTW does the devil test us? does God allow it? (refer back to pod called “hav we trials and temptations” for those differences)
How to not fear: (God’s not going to give us a directive that’s impossible to obey). There is healing from all these earthly memories/records about hurt/pain, loss, agony and hardship. IT’s trauma stored, and it’s ultimately not God’s will.
1 Jn 1:7 “if we really walk in the light [that is, live each and every day in conformity with the precepts of God], as He Himself is in the light, we have [true, unbroken] fellowship with one another [He with us, and we with Him]. and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin [by erasing the stain of sin, keeping us cleansed from sin in all its forms and maintains].
So, the blood of Jesus has the power to completely erase the effects of sin, which includes fear, and trauma. the way towards that is oneness with God and conformity to God’s ways [including thoughts/beliefs]
My friend Hee Wa teaches that:
it’s all about identity.
The blood of Jesus works, supernaturally, to erase all sin (trauma, injury, hurt, anything that falls short)
there’s of course a physiological aspect to trauma - neural pathways as well as DNA
ask the Lord to make you immovable, un-triggerable
ask God to do the work of deprogramming the trauma
most triggers are 3-layered - top layer = the offense, middle layer = fear, foundation layer = belief (a false identity, a value system out of alignment with God’s truth, a human construct that’s a response to the sin system. in other words a defilement of the soul-it’s not what goes in to us that defiles us, it’s what’s in out hearts that defiles us - internal beliefs. this is potentially why an event can traumatize one person more than the next).
This is why one person can walk away from a messed up situation less offended than another. it’s the heart’s reaction that will bless, or defile, one’s self. (but it happens so quick we tend to think it’s the external event)
Jesus ruled over His internal life. that’s the way no sin stuck or got in. and no man could injure or kill Him except He lay down His life. and He told the enemy “you have no place in me” - nothing to grab on to.
so, when triggered, offended, fearful, etc. FIND THE FOUNDATIONAL BELIEF - find the victimhood mindset, the lie you’ve internalized in childhood, or whatnot.
replace with a truth like this:
Man is not my source, or my security
no one can cause or threaten me loss or injury
injustice does not overcome me
God is my source and I’m complete in Him
God makes up every deficit, plus a lot
others are not superior to me, or a threat to me
What is the crown of life?
We see in this whole letter that Spiritual Wealth is more valuable than material wealth.
The Amplified Bible calls it the crown consisting of life - and of course we know God is going to give these martyrs and this persecuted community life even if they die. But many Bible teachers say that the crown is something different than, and in addition to, the eternal life that every believer is going to get. A crown, in scripture, is often a way that Jesus honors us / certain believers. There’s a crown of righteousness (2 Tim 4:8), a crown of glory (1 Peter 5:4), and others. The greek word “stephanos” (crown) can also be translated reward or laurel wreath like in the greek olympics.
Many theologians think these crowns will be given out during a moment in the future called the “judgement seat of Christ.” But, some people have had visions and experiences where this type of crown is already being put on them, so i don’t know.
So it might be the case that for any believer who finds themselves in a tribulation or persecution situation and is able by God’s strength to persevere and stay faithful no matter what, they’ll receive this additional reward (which i’m sure is cooler than some leaves tied together bc in heaven everything is cooler).
“It will prob not be an actual crown or ring of leaves, but will be some sort of special blessing, honor, privilege, or recognition in the future, eternal reign of Jesus” - Jeremy Myers from “Redeeming God .com”
And if a follower of Jesus is NOT able to persevere and stay faithful during this kind of difficult situation, my personal opinion is that they’ll often still get to enter in to eternal life.
BUT other theologians believe that crown He’s referencing IS eternal life. verse 2:11 seems to relate the crown TO eternal life by describing an escape from the second death (which is judgement/condemnation/the lake of fire/the lack of eternal life with God. AND, in 3:11, in a letter we’ll look at soon, Jesus instructs the Philadelphian church to make sure no one takes their crown, the implication being that there were people who wanted them to renounce their faith altogether.
James 1:12 also mentions the crown of Life: Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.
Here it sounds like the crown is that we escape the 2nd death.
(Annihilationism vs Eternal Damnation
From Wikipedia:
“In Christianity, annihilationism (also known as extinctionism or destructionism)[1] is the belief that after the Last Judgment, all damned humans and fallen angels including Satan will be totally destroyed, cremated, and their consciousness extinguished rather than suffering forever in Hell. Annihilationism stands in contrast to both the belief in eternal torment and the belief that everyone will be saved ("universalism"). However, it is also possible to hold to a partial annihilationism, believing unsaved humans to be obliterated or cremated, but demonic beings to suffer forever.[2][3]
Annihilationism is directly related to Christian conditionalism, the idea that a human soul is not immortal unless given eternal life. Annihilationism asserts that God will destroy, cremate, the wicked, leaving only the righteous to live on in immortality. Thus those who do not repent of their sins are eventually destroyed because of the incompatibility of sin with God's holy character. ..
The belief in annihilationism has appeared throughout Christian history and was defended by several Church Fathers, but it has often been in the minority. It experienced a resurgence in the 1980s when several prominent theologians including John Stott argued that it could be held as a legitimate interpretation of biblical texts by those who give supreme authority to scripture. Earlier in the 20th century, some theologians at the University of Cambridge including Basil Atkinson supported the belief.
Twentieth-century English theologians who favor annihilation include Bishop Charles Gore (1916),[12] William Temple, 98th Archbishop of Canterbury (1924);[13] Oliver Chase Quick, Chaplain to the Archbishop of Canterbury (1933),[14] Ulrich Ernst Simon (1964),[15] and G. B. Caird.
Annihilationists base their belief on their exegesis of scripture, some early church writings, historical criticism of the doctrine of Hell, and the concept of God as too loving to torment his creations forever. They claim that the popular conceptions of Hell stem from Jewish speculation during the intertestamental period, belief in an immortal soul which originated in Greek philosophy and influenced Christian theologians, and also graphic and imaginative medieval art and poetry.)
Conclusion
Any time we can reframe and zoom out, and the Spirit of God can remind us that this inch on the infinite rope that we’re living out now is only the very beginning for us, and that there is good to come, it can be such an encouragement. Especially because this life right now does include a lot of suffering.
Knowing and meditating on the fact that this is not the end can lift our spirits, give us grace and patience, and draw us closer to our eternal God.
Jesus doesn’t always rescue me out of hard times, but He walks with me through them. And for those of us who have decided that friendship with this amazing Lord of ours is more important than life itself, we end up receiving the most epic forever-lasting life on top of what we’ve chosen to pursue.
There’s no losing and no out-giving when it comes to our great God.
Side-note about angels, since this letter is full of spirit realm stuff:
Quoting from Chaplain Stevens from Freedom Bible College:
“Angels fall into two categories: the "unfallen" angels and the fallen angels. Unfallen angels are those who have remained holy throughout their existence and accordingly are called "holy angels." In Scripture, generally when angels are mentioned, it is the class of holy angels in view. By contrast, the fallen angels are those who have not maintained their holiness.
Holy angels fall into special classes, and certain individuals are named and mentioned. Michael the archangel is likely the head of all the holy angels, and his name means "who is like unto God?" (Daniel 10:21; 12:1; 1 Thessalonians 4:16; Jude 1:9; Revelation 12:7-10). Gabriel is one of the principal messengers of God, his name meaning "hero of God," and was entrusted with important messages such as those delivered to Daniel (Daniel 8:16; 9:21), to Zechariah (Luke 1:18-19), and to Mary (Luke 1:26-38).
Most holy angels are not named in the Bible but are described only as "elect angels" (1 Timothy 5:21). The expressions "principalities" and "powers" seem to be used of all angels whether fallen or holy (Luke 21:26; Romans 8:38; Ephesians 1:21; 3:10; Colossians 1:16; 2:10, 15; 1 Peter 3:22). Some angels are designated as "cherubim," which are living creatures who defend God's holiness from any defilement of sin (Genesis 3:24; Exodus 25:18, 20). "Seraphim" are another class of angels, mentioned only once in Scripture in Isaiah 6:2-7, and are described as having three pairs of wings. They apparently have the function of praising God, being God's messengers to earth, and are especially concerned with the holiness of God. Most of the references to holy angels in Scripture refer to their ministries, which are broad. Holy angels were present at creation, the giving of the Law, the birth of Christ and His resurrection, the Ascension, and they will be present at the rapture of the Church and the second coming of Christ.
In stark contrast to the company of holy angels, the fallen angels are also innumerable, though considerably less than the holy angels, and are described as fallen from their first estate. Led by Satan, who was originally a cherub, the fallen angels defected, rebelled against God, and became sinful in their nature and work. Fallen angels have been divided into two classes: those who are free and those who are bound. Of the fallen angels, Satan alone is given particular mention in the Bible. When Satan fell (John 8:44; Luke 10:18), he drew after him one third of the angels. Of those, some are reserved in chains awaiting judgment (1 Corinthians 6:3; 2 Peter 2:4; Jude 1:6), and the remainder are free and are the demons, or devils, to whom reference is made throughout the New Testament (Mark 5:9, 15; Luke 8:30; 1 Timothy 4:1). They are Satan's servants in all his undertakings and share his doom (Matthew 25:41; Revelation 20:10).”
And btw, demons and fallen angels are different things. in Heiser’s book “Demons” says:
This notion (that demons and fallen angels are the exact same) is ubiquitous in popular Christian books and preaching. It is both on target and misguided. The statement fails to account for a number of items in the biblical text and the development of biblical thought about the powers of darkness. In the Old Testament, “angel” is a functional term. It is, in effect, a job description. This circumstance changes in the Second Temple period and the New Testament, where “angel” is a term used predominantly to distinguish loyal supernatural beings from evil, rebellious ones. The devil (Satan) can have “angels” on his side (Matt 25:41; Rev 12:9), which, in the totality of good versus evil, would mean that demons, part of Satan’s kingdom, can be considered fallen angels. Nevertheless, demons are consistently cast as disembodied spirits of dead Nephilim and their giant-clan descendants. Those spirits are the offspring of the angels that sinned before the flood, so the demons cannot be those fallen angels. Consequently, while a term like “fallen angels” may be used correctly in discussing demons, it is too often used simplistically and inaccurately.