True Christians (disciples) are God’s friends and companions (John 15:15; Mark 314).
Derived from the Hebrew meaning of Ruth and Bethlehem where the story took place. Ruth means “friend or companion and we saw she fit that role indeed, in her dealings with Naomi. Prov. 17:17-1 8 and Lk. 11:5-8 also describes the true friend. And from Gen. 1:1, 31 where the Hebrew word good was described as pleasant only after a higher authority – God sees it so. Thayer in his Hebrew concordance is good only when it is “pleasant to a higher nature”.
So for Rev. 19 :7 to come to pass in our lives, we must meet His standard of friendship and good (beautiful) to be called My Bride, by God – they are those who stay true – continue in my words… (Jn. 8:31-32). They were not selfless.
Ephesus relaxed and died. Selflessness makes you to brave the odds and the attacks of the Devil. The writer of the book of Hebrew, written to the presented Christians said they gave up – threw the banner of God away because of pressure (Heb. 10:32-39). Selflessness is however, not possible unless you die to yourself.
Dying to self is not living in the realms of negative emotions. Your senses are active, but you can ignore them.
Choosing to ignore them because of Christ is carrying your cross. That is the differentiating traits in the second Church Age as we glean from the letter of Jesus, as we journey on towards Hebron where Rev. 1:5-6 comes to pass in our lives.
The Smyrnaean Church Age (A. D. 170-312)
“And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write: These things saith the first and the first and last, which was dead and is now alive; I know thy works and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of satan. Fear none of these things which thou shalt suffer: behold the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the spirit saith unto the churches. He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death. (Rev. 2:8-11).
The Suffering – Persecution arising from the relaxation of the Christians in that age intensified (Rev. 2:9). But they didn’t flinch from pain or death; Augustine in his book described their attitude with glowing words which he sums up as admiration from those who came to the arena to watch them die. He said when they refused to recent deny Jesus and be set free the crowd so much admired them that many gave their lives to Jesus. That was the beauty Ephesus could not display.
3 Reasons for Persecution
Smyrna was beautiful, to show why Jesus chose them to represent the 2nd Church Age.
Smyrna was situated a little north of Ephesus. Apart from being a commercial city, it was well known for its school of rhetorics, philosophy, medicine, science, and its fine buildings. To some, it was the loveliest city in Asia, and men called it the ornament of Asia, the crown of Asia and the flower of Asia. It was built with great straight, brown streets; the famous of all being the street of gold, which began with the temple of Zeus and ended with the Temple of Cybele.
The name Smyrna means “bitter”, derived from Thayer’s definition of Myrrh, the major component of the Alabaster oil perfume that woman poured on Jesus (Mt. 26:6-13; Ps. 45:7-8. Est. 2:12). This typifies the condition of the Second Church Age, which was indeed a bitter one filled with the death and suffering of the Christians. It was also the age that saw the Church drifting further away from the truth, thus causing spiritual death to set in.
In this age, the brethren suffered mass tribulation, which started on a mild note in the first era. As the number of Christians grew, so did the hatred of the Jews; no doubt because it was from them and from those interested in Judaism that Christianity drew its converts. The Jews who had compassed land and sea (gone through much trouble) to make proselytes – converts (Mt. 23:15) did not accept the challenge of Christianity with folded arms.
They had influence with the Roman authorities and instigated them against the Jews; bringing up such raving accusations as, the Christians were cannibals who indulged in immoral practices in their religions assemblies (These accusations were based on the words of the Sacrament – this is my body, and this is my blood, the teaching of Christ that Whosoever eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up in the last day” Jn 6:54, and because the Christians called their common meal the Agape, the Love Feast).
They also said Christianity broke up families as those who became Christians separated themselves unto the Lord and fellowship with their brethren. These really incited the heathens (the Romans and the Gentiles) who already had their grievances against them:
They believed Christians were atheist because they could not understand a worship that had no images of gods as they themselves had.
They also considered them haters of mankind since they refused to serve in the army and in the government;
they would not attend public spectacles or the theatre; and they even refused to send their children to the local schools.
Their refusal to sacrifice to the emperor and to the gods, it was said caused the gods to be displeased, and this brought all manner of calamity on the state.
They were also accused of being incendiaries because they preached that the Lord will judge and destroy the world with fire.
Thus, it was always easy to incite the mob against the Christians and this we see demonstrated when Paul preached at Antioch (Acts 13:50); at Iconium (Acts 14:2,5); at Lystra (Acts 14:19); and at Thessalonica (Acts 17:5).
This was when persecution was mild. In the Second Church Age, many Christians had their property destroyed wantonly and were rendered homeless. They lived in catacombs without belongings and always faced the danger of imprisonment, which ultimately meant death in the arena. Also, during this age, Diodetrain, the most wicked of all Roman emperors, declared war against the Christians, and except for the divine intervention of God, all true believers would have been killed. The bloodiest massacre in all history lasted for ten years (A.D. 302-312) with each year representing a day in Bible symobology (Rev. 2:10).
This was the poverty Jesus referred to in His letter to them. See also James 2:5.This is also why He said they were spiritually rich. They did not seek physical wealth but have sought the kingdom as they defied the wrath of man to please God. And here they type the men of Smyrna who were very devoted to the upliftment of their city. Mommsen, a historian said Asia Minor was “a paradise of municipal vanity”, and Smyrna of all cities was noted for “Its municipal rivalry and its local Pride”.
The same we see displayed by the Christians of this age as they died without flinching from the sword, fire, or lions in the arena. Each had a duty towards Christ; to love, and to uphold the excellency of His name in all circumstances. For instance, it is said of Polycarp the Bishop of Smyrna who was martyred in A.D. 155 that on being given the choice of cursing the name of Christ and making sacrifice to Ceasar or death, he said, “Eight and six years have I served Him, and He has done me no wrong. How can I blaspheme my king who saved me?” And when the perconsul threatened him with burning, Polycarp replied, “You threaten me with the fire that burns for a time, and is quickly quenched, for you do not know the fire which awaits the wicked in the judgment to come and in everlasting punishment. Why are you waiting? Come do what you will’. Such was the valour and inner strength (beauty) of these Christians that one can easily see why the Lord used the love of the city to type the age.
Spiritual Death (Rev. 2:9)
Another aspect of this age was the spiritual death of many in the church. This was caused by those who claimed to be Jews by birth and were welcomed into the church, which at that time comprised mostly of Jews. But they lied. They were not true believers. They were emissaries of Satan who came to destroy the leadership of the Holy Spirit in the Church. When they found their way into the church they openly organized and formed a group that stood in opposition to the true believers. The true believers however resented this and broke away from the body of the church to form the minority that will uphold the purity of the word and true fellowship, and thus the objects of persecution in the following church ages.
Philadelphia mentioned as the 6th Church Age also got commended without a denunciation. With little strength, they used the open door – to devote their lives to help others with basic amenities and other things to better their lives, along with the Gospel. Many of them died doing this. All did this for the sake of Christ. (Rev. 3:8)
Photo by Josie Weiss on Unsplash