The letter to the church of Smyrna is a letter about
suffering. The city’s name comes from
the Hebrew root translated myrrh, which means death. Does myrrh sound familiar? It should if you’ve ever heard the Christmas
story. The three gifts presented to the
Christ child by the magi were gold, frankincense and myrrh. The gold was a symbol of Jesus’
kingship. The frankincense symbolized
His priesthood. The myrrh symbolized His
suffering and death. It’s intriguing
that gold and frankincense will be offered at Jesus’ second coming according to
Isaiah 60:6. No myrrh, because the death
is behind Him.
Dr. Missler presented a history of the city, including its
political risings and fallings and destruction by earthquakes. The proclivity of the population toward pagan
worship was evident on Smyrna’s coins.
Caesar worship was widely accepted.
Annually, each Roman citizen had to burn a pinch of incense on the altar
acknowledging Caesar as supreme lord.
What a test for a Christian! If
you didn’t participate, you were either burned at the stake or put in the arena
with wild beasts. A 100ish year old
Polycarp was burned at the stake for refusing.
What would be your fate if you were faced with such a choice today? I don’t know what sort of example I would
set. I think I’ve got some
soul-searching to do.
The tribulation that Jesus talks about in this letter
doesn’t relate to the Great Tribulation.
It refers to persecution. Foxe’s
Book of Martyrs refers to The Ten Primitive Persecutions which Dr. Missler
identifies as the “10 Days” referred to in Smyrna’s letter. He goes through these very quickly, but I
took the time to check out Foxe’s Book of Martyrs. The “10 Days” were horrifying persecutions!
Presented in the video teaching and also the supplemental
notes packet, there is a list of 10 reasons why Christians experience trials
with Biblical support for each reason.
This would be a valuable list to refer back to whenever tough times
come. If you’re looking for something to
write on the blank “Notes” pages in the back of your Bible, this might just be
the list to record!
The comparison and contrast of the Olivet Discourse of
Matthew 24 and Luke 21 was brief, but lengthier than the taste we were given in
last week’s video teaching. I do believe
that you could study these passages for a lifetime and still not pick up all of
the treasure contained within.
I learned recently from another study that some scholars
believe there is a correlation between the seven kingdom parables of Matthew 13
and the letters to the churches of Revelation.
The church of Smyrna corresponds to the parable of the tares and the
wheat in Matthew 13:24-30.
Homework for next time:
Read chapters 2 & 3. Outline
the letter to Pergamos. Who was
Balaam? Who was Balak? Read Numbers 22-25.
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