Revelation 2:12-13 Devotion

"And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: The One who has the sharp two-edged sword says this: 'I know where you dwell, where Satan's throne is; and you hold fast My name, and did not deny My faith even in the days of Antipas, My witness, My faithful one, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells.”

(Revelation 2:12-13)

The sword symbolizes Christ’s judicial power–the power to judge all things according to the truth of God’s word–and it warns the apostates within the church of Christ’s impending judgment upon them.

But the sword is also symbolic of something else. Roman governors were granted the “power of the sword” by the emperor in order to put to death those Christians who refused to acknowledge the divinity of Caesar. While the Satanically inspired beast–the Roman empire–wields the sword against Christians and wages war upon them, Jesus Christ uses the same symbol to remind his church of just who it is who wields the real sword of justice and power. The message is clear: All of those who persecute Christ’s people with the sword in this life will themselves face the judgment of Jesus Christ in the next. The ancient proverb is true, those who live by the sword will die by the sword. But this warning is also aimed at those individuals who seduce Christ’s people through false doctrine. They too will face his sword of judgment. Jesus is a jealous bridegroom who will do everything in his power to protect his bride.

As the Lord of his church, Jesus knows exactly what the Christians in Pergamum are facing. The city is dominated by paganism and emperor worship. This is where Satan lives. This is where he has placed his throne! But despite the deeply rooted paganism, the Christians in Pergamum have remained faithful to their Lord even though one of their own, a man named Antipas, was put to death in this very city–that city dominated by Satan himself.

(Dr. Kim Riddlebarger)

 

Revelation 2:10c-11 Devotion

“..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 will not be hurt by the second death.'”

(Revelation 2:10c-11)

Here He indicates that some in their number would die for their faith in Christ. And it happened. Quite possibly at this time, a young man named Polycarp listened to the reading of Revelation. About 20 years later, he was made bishop of Smyrna, faithfully carrying out his responsibilities. As an old man, persecution became acute. Polycarp was brought before the Roman proconsul who told him that he could go free “if he would swear by the emperor and curse Christ”. He replied, “For eighty-six years I have served Him, and He has done me no evil. How could I curse my King, who saved me?” With every threat, Polycarp refused to deny Christ and be set free. After being tied to the post to be burned, he looked to heaven, praying, “Lord Sovereign God… I thank you that You have deemed me worthy of this moment, so that, jointly with Your martyrs, I may have a share in the cup of Christ…. For this…I bless and glorify you. Amen”

Christ commands, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” In other words, the message was for Smyrna but not only Smyrna. Christ is teaching the church in every age about faithfulness unto death. The promise of “the crown of life” is a metaphor for eternal life, evident by the next promise, “He who overcomes will not be hurt by the second death.” Jesus was not speaking of peripheral issues. He spoke of life and eternity. The call for overcoming is viewed as the only way to life. Overcoming bears evidence of Christ-transformed lives. What does this pose for the many half-hearted, wimpy, worldly-absorbed kind of professing Christians represented in churches across our land? Here is the radical call to authenticity, demonstrated by faithfulness to Christ even in suffering, and if God so wills, in death. 

(Phil A. Newton)

Revelation 2:10b Devotion

“...and you will have tribulation for ten days...”

(Revelation 2:10b)

Because Jesus is the ultimate disposer of history, He is able to reveal that their coming tribulation will be brief. This serves as a further impetus for them to remain faithful, knowing that the time of testing is ultimately in His hands and soon will be over. The identification of the Christians at Smyrna with Israel is enhanced by associating their tribulation with that of Daniel and his three friends, who likewise refused to participate in acts of idolatry ordered by the king (Dan. 1:2; 5:3-4), and who were likewise tested for ten days (Dan. 1:12-15). The ten days persecution does not have to refer to a literal period of ten days because it is an allusion to the ten days when Daniel and his friends were "tested". Daniel was tempted to compromise with idolatry, which was likely the main reason he abstained from eating at the king's table, where the food was probably dedicated to idols. Likewise, whether or not the ten days is literal, the point is that the Christians at Smyrna were also, like Daniel of old, not to compromise with idolatry. The pagan rituals in Asia Minor also included meals dedicated to the local gods and to Cesar (understood as god), so the Smyrneans would have understood the significance of Christ's comparing them to Daniel and his friends. The Smyrneans will undergo this brief but severe period of trial. 

In the period between the resurrection and the return of Christ, Christians can from time to time expect to undergo periods of tribulation, where tribulation refers to the beginning birth pangs of last-day events, which are a regular feature of church life- a fact verified throughout church history and today, when more Christians are dying for their faith than ever before. 

(G.K. Beale)

Revelation 2:10a Devotion

“Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison, so that you will be tested,..”

(Revelation 2:10a)

The church of Smyrna is exhorted not to fear, Christ tells them to brace for severer punishment. The reason that they are not to fear the imminent trial is that their lives and destiny are in the hands of the eternal Lord of history, who has already experienced persecution, even to death, and yet overcome it through resurrection. Jesus has defeated the devil, and even the devil's rebellious efforts can only fulfill Christ's sovereign plan for history. Therefore, the true saint should not be afraid of the devil's attempts to bring about compromise in the church through persecution. Indeed, Jesus employs the devil's efforts for the purpose (that you may be tested) of strengthening His people through these tests. 

Even the work of the devil is used by God for the furtherance of His plan. As the Devils plans at the cross were used by God to bring salvation to the world so the suffering of the Smyrneans will result in blessing and ultimate deliverance for them. 

(G.K. Beale)

Revelation 2:8-9 Devotion

"And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: The first and the last, who was dead, and has come to life, says this: 'I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich), and the blasphemy by those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.”

(Revelation 2:8-9)

The church at Smyrna heard the false accusations of Jews in the city. “I know… the blasphemy by those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.” The implication is that, though racially Jewish, spiritually they are not sons of Abraham. As Paul told the Romans, “For the promise to Abraham or to his descendants that he would be heir of the world was not through the Law, but through the righteousness of faith” (Romans 4:13). And again in Romans 2:28-29, Paul confirms: “For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh. But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God.” 

The Jews of Smyrna railed against the gospel and righteousness through faith in Christ. Jesus calls them “a synagogue of Satan” for their blasphemous opposition to the truth in Christ. In contrast, the church fulfills this promise to Abraham since it stands as the true heir of righteousness by faith, having been circumcised in the heart through regeneration.

(Phil A. Newton)

Revelation 2:7 Devotion

“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of the tree of life which is in the Paradise of God.”

(Revelation 2:7)

The tree of life is for overcomers. What are we to be overcoming? It is the world of idolatry, immorality, and hostility toward God. And who are the overcomers? John explained in his first epistle. “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” (5:4-5) It is faith in Him who overcame the world of sin and rebellion against God, who overcame Satan in all of his hostility that we find our triumph. When John feared that no one could open the book of God’s decrees to unfold its contents, a heavenly elder told him, “Stop weeping; behold, the Lion that is from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome so as to open the book and its seven seals” (5:5). The message of overcoming points directly to the triumph of the Lamb; we overcome by living in the triumph of His death and resurrection.

(Phil A. Newton)

Revelation 2:5 Devotion

“Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place-unless you repent.”

(Revelation 2:5)

Israel had been a lampstand (Zechariah 4:2,11), but when they forsook their call to be a light to the nations (Isaiah 42:6-7,49:6)   their lampstand was removed and the church in Christ continued the role of true Israel. The primary meaning of lampstand is that of witness, as is shown by (Revelation 11:3-7,10), where the lampstands refer to the prophetic witnesses. Jesus talked of the church as a lamp to be put on a lampstand, emphasizing the church's role as witness to the nations. The lampstands also generally represent the power of the Spirit, since this is how they are implicitly identified in (Zechariah 4:6) although we have seen more precisely that John views the "lamps" as the Spirit which burns on the lampstands (the churches), thus is empowering them for witness. Therefore, it is possible that the Ephesians' leaving their first love refers to their lack of dependence on the Spirit, which was necessary for an effective witness. 

If they do not respond, Jesus Himself will come in judgment and the church at Ephesus will be no more. It is interesting to note that a coming of Jesus is referred to here which is definitely not His final return. The actual wording I will remove your lampstand from its place indicates the removal of the church as a light of witness to the world, which points to the removal of it before Christ's final coming, since the churches' witness is a relevant activity only before the final advent, not afterward. If Jesus was ready to come in this way to the Ephesian church he must have come repeatedly throughout history to various churches in similar judgment. Though the Lord will return in a final sense at the end of history, He comes regularly to visit His church in this present age, both to encourage and to judge. 

(G.K. Beale)