Bible Readings And Final Greetings
Revelation 2:8,
“And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: ‘The words of the first and the last, who died and came to life.
‘I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich) and the slander of those who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.
Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death.” (Revelation 2:8-11)
Then our second reading is taken from chapter 3 verse 7.
“And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: ‘The words of the holy one, the true one, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens.
“I know your works. Behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. Behold, I will make those of the synagogue of Satan who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie—behold, I will make them come and bow down before your feet and they will learn that I have loved you. Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth. I am coming soon.
Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown. The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” (Revelation 3:7-13)
Please turn your Bibles to Revelation chapters 2 and 3. Seeing that this is the very last meeting, I would like to begin by expressing my gratitude to the council that organizes and runs this conference, for inviting me to be a speaker at this conference once again. At the beginning of the year, the Evangelical and Reformed Conference was not among the places I was planning to minister at, but as God would have it, in his providence, here we are. It has truly been a pleasure and an honour for me to be here.
I’m thankful for Warren Pill’s ministry which has been a blessing to my soul, indeed a tonic to my soul. And I also enjoyed taking walks with some of you and speaking with many of you. Thank you for your friendship. And I thank God for the new bonds we have formed and the new memories we have created. I will pray for you when I remember you and also ask that you would do the same for me.
Our text is Revelation chapter 2. Those passages of Scripture were read for us. I’ll just read one of those and then we’ll pick up the other one a little later. Chapter 2 and verse 8,
“And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write,
‘These things says the First and the Last, who was dead, and came to life: “I know your works, tribulation, and poverty (but you are rich); and I know the blasphemy of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.
“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death.” (Revelation 2:8-11)
The Churches In Excellent Shape
Now last night and this morning we zeroed in on the varied condition conditions of the church in Western Asia Minor and we have looked at two conditions: namely, the churches that were in grave danger, which included the church in Ephesus, who had left their first love and stood in danger of having their lampstand removed. And the church in Laodicea, whose members were lukewarm and stood in danger of being spit out of the Lord’s mouth. We also looked at the churches that were neither very bad or very good; Pergamum, Thyatira and Sardis counted among them.
This evening, I would like us to consider the last group of churches and they were the churches in excellent shape.
You would be forgiven if you thought that Solomon and the Shulamite, his wife, had no problems in their marriage because according to the records, namely the Song of Songs, there is no sin mentioned and no criticisms recorded. Was it because there was no problem in their relationship? Was it because they had nothing to criticize in each other? Certainly not.
I think it’s because they didn’t focus on that and, most likely, they kept very short accounts with each other and forgave one another. So, there was no need to record the forgiven.
In the same way, you would be forgiven if you thought that the churches at Smyrna and Philadelphia had no sin because the Lord does not criticize or condemn them. Was it because they had no sin where all the others did? No, most likely they kept short accounts with God. Most likely they repented whenever they sinned, which would seem to suggest that others had sins recorded and they were criticized and condemned because, in fact, they had sin to repent of.
Smyrna and Philadelphia were certainly imperfect, they were sinners, but quite likely they repented of their sins, they were forgiven, they had no controversy with God or with anyone else. This is why they were in excellent shape. And out of all the seven churches, they were to receive no condemnation, no criticism, only commendations.
And so I want to speak about commendations in regard to these two churches. What did these commendations look like? Well, we’ll observe that in the church at Smyrna and then we will go on to look at the church at Philadelphia.
Commendations Of The Church In Smyrna
Let’s note, first of all, the commendations of the church at Smyrna. Note first of all that their works are recognized by the Lord himself. He says here in verse 9, “I know your works.” (Revelation 2:9) I know them. Someone may say, “What works? What have they done? What have they achieved?” Never mind that. “I know your works.”
We are not told what these works were, even though the Lord hints at the fact that they were rich in verse 9. The richness is contrasted with material poverty. It must therefore mean that they were spiritually rich. Like all true believers, they must have had every spiritual blessing in Christ, that is not to be doubted. And they must have displayed much of the spiritual fruit outlined in Galatians 5:22-23; love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, self-control, gentleness. They must have done other things besides, to the glory of God and for the glory of God.
The works were made all the more valuable by the fact that they were performed in the context of tribulation and poverty. When we go through suffering and when we are poor, sometimes that can become the reason, that could be the occasion, for little or no exertion in the work of the Lord. But the Smyrnans were living under tribulation and in poverty – these trials did not diminish their works. Rather, they appear to have enhanced it.
The works were of an enduring nature. Their detractors were denounced by the Lord. They were denounced by the Lord. These detractors were Jews, or at least people who say they were Jews. the Lord refers to them as a “synagogue of Satan.” They claim to be Jews. They can’t possibly be Jews they are just a synagogue of Satan.
And these people appear to have been speaking evil of the work of the church at Smyrna. We get that idea from verse 9, “I know your works, tribulation and poverty and I know the blasphemy of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.” (Revelation 2:9)
They were blaspheming.
We often associate blasphemy with speaking ill of God and about God, but this blaspheming here had to do with speaking ill about this church. They were vilifying them and maligning them and defaming their characters and the Lord would not have it. He says, “I know their blasphemy.” It is just that – blasphemy. It is not true. It did not express the truth of what he knew about these people.
“I know your works. They are saying your works count for nothing. That’s blasphemy. I know your works. I am the truth. I know the truth. And I know that your way works are true, authentic of God.”
Their works are recognized by the Lord himself. Their detractors were denounced by the Lord.
But notice also that they are forewarned regarding the suffering and imprisonment that they were to suffer. In verse 10 we read, “Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison that you may be tested and you will have tribulation 10 days.” (Revelation 2:10)
It is said that to be forewarned is to be fore-armed. And this is what you do for friends. He warned them ahead of time that they would suffer. He warns them ahead of time that their suffering would consist in imprisonment, that it would be for 10 days. I know there are all manner of interpretations of what that 10 days means. I won’t go into that.
They were warned, not so they could avoid the suffering, not so they could avoid the imprisonment, not so they could flee town and go somewhere else where they could not be found so they could avoid suffering and imprisonment – they are warned so they can prepare to endure the test.
The Lord has allowed it. The Lord wants them to go through it and the devil is going to be his
instrument. “The devil will throw some of you into prison. Be warned, be ready.” That is what he is saying.
The fourth thing we see is that they are exhorted. They are…