Rev. 3:1 - Sardis

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sardis

 

 

Sardis is Present day Sert or Siirt in Turkish 

 

 

 The Bath-Gymnasium complex at Sardis, late 2nd - early 3rd century AD, Sardis, Turkey

 

 

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Revelation 3

1 “To the angel^[a] of the church in Sardis write:

These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits^[b] of God and the seven stars. I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. ² Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have found your deeds unfinished in the sight of my God. ³ Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; hold it fast, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you.

⁴ Yet you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy. ⁵ The one who is victorious will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out the name of that person from the book of life, but will acknowledge that name before my Father and his angels. ⁶ Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

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πεπληρωμένα (peplērōmena) — 1 Occurrence

Revelation 3:2 V-RPM/P-ANP
GRK: τὰ ἔργα πεπληρωμένα ἐνώπιον τοῦ
NAS: your deeds completed in the sight
KJV: thy works perfect before God.
INT: works complete before the

 

 

 

 

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Shema Yisrael (Shema Israel or Sh'ma Yisrael; Hebrew: שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל Šəmaʿ Yīsrāʾēl, "Hear, O Israel"

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History of Sardis

Sardis was “one of the oldest and most important cities of Asia Minor, and until 549 BC, the capital of the kingdom of Lydia. It stood on the northern slope of Mt. Tmolus; its acropolis occupied one of the spurs of the mountain. At the base flowed the river Pactolus which served as a moat, rendering the city practically impregnable. Through the failure to watch, however, the acropolis had been successfully scaled in 549 BC by a Median soldier, and in 218 by a Cretan (compare Rev 3:2, Rev 3:3)” (International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, 1939, “Sardis”).

Earthquakes were common in this part of the world, and in A.D. 17 the city was destroyed by such a tremor. The Roman emperor Tiberius “remitted the taxes of the people and rebuilt the city, and in his honor the citizens of that and of neighboring towns erected a large monument, but Sardis never recovered its former importance (compare Rev 3:12)” (ibid.).

 

https://lifehopeandtruth.com/prophecy/revelation/seven-churches-of-revelation/sardis/ 

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Kingdom of Lydia

Lydia (Lydian: ‎, Śfarda; Aramaic: Lydia; Greek: Λυδία, Lȳdíā; Turkish: Lidya) was an Iron Age kingdom of western Asia Minor located generally east of ancient Ionia in the modern western Turkish provinces of Uşak, Manisa and inland Izmir. The ethnic group inhabiting this kingdom are known as the Lydians, and their language, known as Lydian, was a member of the Anatolian branch of the Indo-European language family. The capital of Lydia was Sardis.^[1]

The Kingdom of Lydia existed from about 1200 BC to 546 BC. At its greatest extent, during the 7th century BC, it covered all of western Anatolia. In 546 BC, it became a province of the Achaemenid Persian Empire, known as the satrapy of Lydia or Sparda in Old Persian. In 133 BC, it became part of the Roman province of Asia.

Lydian coins, made of silver, are among the oldest in existence, dated to around the 7th century BC.^[2][3]

 

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lydia

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What Is the Church at Sardis?

“The Book of Revelation addresses seven letters to seven churches in Asia Minor. Each letter, as proclaimed by Jesus and recorded by John the Apostle, declares the triumphs and failings of the recipient churches and warns each congregation to repent,” explains Delores Smyth in What Do the 7 Churches in Revelation Represent?

The Church at Sardis, along with the churches in Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Philadelphia, and Laodicea, may have been selected to receive John’s letters because of their geographical location. Each of the seven churches was situated along an established trade route that connected the most populated regions of the province. The letters would have spread like wildfire to every church in the province along that route until all Believers gained access.

What Was the History of the Church at Sardis?

Sardis’s history was a fitting backdrop for the specific warning Christ issued in their letter. About 1200 years before Jesus came, Sardis took its place as the prominent capital of the Lydian kingdom. The citizens of Sardis enjoyed safety and prosperity beyond measure. Located at the foot of Mount Tmolus, the city was well fortified, and the bounty of the Practolus River provided them with fresh water and gold.

Sardis’s natural resources gained them a high level of respect from all the provinces in the area. With the mountains as their shield and their wealth protected atop a fortified hill, surrounded by steep cliffs, the city was called, “Sardis, the Impregnable.”

But Sardis’s pride and overconfidence in their resources would soon take its toll. Believing their city to be “impregnable” the guards became careless in their duties. Even after a surprise attack by the Persians in 549 BC nearly destroyed the city, Sardis’s military didn’t perceive the need for vigilance or reinforcement. Years later they were attacked by the Greeks, who used the very same tactics employed during the Persian invasion.

After an earthquake devastated Sardis in 17 A.D. the city was only partially rebuilt. At the time John’s letter was penned, around 53 A.D., Sardis’s resources and reputation were rapidly declining. But Sardis’s leaders refused to accept the signs of death all around them. Instead, they clung to the city’s historical triumphs and insisted that Sardis would once again rise to its former glory. In blissful ignorance, they refused to acknowledge the degrading effects of their own indulgence and neglect and continued to prop up their decaying city with tales from past victories.

The Church at Sardis would have known their city’s history. Therefore, Christ’s letter had deep personal relevance to them, as well as spiritual importance. Sardis means “those escaping” or “that which remains.” After reading John’s letter, the Believers at Sardis were left with a choice. They could follow the way of their city’s history, tradition, and culture—or the church could follow the way of the Lord.

 

What Was Jesus's Message to the Church at Sardis?

The message Jesus gives to the church in Sardis (Revelation 3:1-6) is a sobering one. He knows their works intimately, but He is also aware of the façade they display to the world. The two realities are diametrically opposite.

The Sardinian Believers had effectively built a winning brand for themselves in their community. By all appearances, the church in Sardis was a vibrant, effective powerhouse. But inside they were lifeless.

Jesus issues a strong warning to the dying church. “Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have found your deeds unfinished in the sight of my God. Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; hold it fast, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you” (Revelation 3:2-3).

But not all the Believers in Sardis were spiritual zombies. After His pronouncement to the wayward church, Jesus addresses a handful of people in the congregation who had chosen not to follow the example of their deceived brothers and sister in the Lord. He commends the faithful few for not having “soiled their clothes,” in the filth of hypocrisy. Jesus bestows upon these devoted individuals the honor to walk with Him, “dressed in white.”

Finally, Jesus offers a glimmer of hope to the church in Sardis, and it’s packaged in a promise. To any who were willing to awaken to His truth, stop living the lie, and repent—Jesus promises victory. Their soiled garments will be made white, and their names will be written in the book of life to be acknowledged before God and the angels.

Why Is Spiritual Deadness Such a Horrid Condition in the Church?

When Christ, in the form of the Holy Spirit, comes to live inside the heart of each Believer, a supernatural metamorphosis occurs. Through Adam’s sin, all humanity inherited spiritual death, but Jesus is our way, truth, and life. Our life is in Him, and His life shines through us. The same resurrection power that brought Jesus back to life is the power that fuels the Christian life. His Church is a collective reflection of the divine light and life of Jesus.

When a church attempts to operate from any other power source than Christ, that church can officially be identified as dead. The problem with a deceased church is that it rarely recognizes the condition. A dead church will often continue to function in its own power, programs, and pomp and attribute the momentum to Christ—celebrating every temporal victory as if it had eternal merit.

 

 

https://www.biblestudytools.com/bible-study/topical-studies/signs-from-the-church-at-sardis-that-your-church-may-be-dying.html

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5 The Church in Sardis: Protestant Reformation (A.D. 1517–1750)

5. SARDIS – means ‘those escaping’ (The Reformers coming out with others from Roman Catholicism)

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Rev 2:18 Thyatira

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thyatira

 

 

Akhisar 

 

(Ottoman Turkish: آق حصار) is a town and a district in Manisa Province; in the Aegean Region of western Turkey. Akhisar is also the ancient city of Thyatira (also known as Thyateira).

With archaeological findings that are proving settlements going back to 3000 BC, Akhisar has been a busy trade center with its strategic location at the intersection of important roads during ancient and medieval ages. Akhisar also hosted one of the Seven churches of Asia: Thyateira, which is mentioned in the Bible. Akhisar maintained its importance as a regional trade center during the Ottoman period.

Today's Akhisar is still the trade and business center in its region. Akhisar's name is internationally associated with tobacco. The fertile Akhisar Plain produces about 10% of total Turkish tobacco production. Akhisar's high-quality olives and olive oil are also globally known. Olive, walnut and almond cultivation is among the important agricultural activities of Akhisar.^[3]

 

 

 

 

 

To the Church in Thyatira

¹⁸ “To the angel of the church in Thyatira write:

These are the words of the Son of God, whose eyes are like blazing fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze. ¹⁹ I know your deeds, your love and faith, your service and perseverance, and that you are now doing more than you did at first.

²⁰ Nevertheless, I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophet. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols. ²¹ I have given her time to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling. ²² So I will cast her on a bed of suffering, and I will make those who commit adultery with her suffer intensely, unless they repent of her ways. ²³ I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am he who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds.

²⁴ Now I say to the rest of you in Thyatira, to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan’s so-called deep secrets, ‘I will not impose any other burden on you, ²⁵ except to hold on to what you have until I come.’

²⁶ To the one who is victorious and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations— ²⁷ that one ‘will rule them with an iron scepter and will dash them to pieces like pottery’^[b]—just as I have received authority from my Father. ²⁸ I will also give that one the morning star. ²⁹ Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

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The Church in Thyatira: Era Spanning the Middle Ages (A.D. 590–1517)

 4. THYATIRA – means ‘perpetual sacrifice’ or ‘a continual offering’. (ie. Transubstantiation/Rome)

 

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Catholicism teaches that believers are purified in the fire of Purgatory before reaching heaven

 

 

 

This was the subject of the 95 Theses, and it was the disagreement that started it all.

As Oxford professor Diarmaid MacCulloch writes in A History Of Christianity: "An argument about a side alley of medieval soteriology [the study of salvation] escalated into the division of Europe."

If you don't know what indulgences are, the Catholic Church's definition is a good place to start:

"An indulgence is a remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven."

Joel Hodge, from ACU's School of Theology, says the belief is that indulgences can reduce believers' need for purification from the effects of sin in Purgatory before they can enter heaven.

The sale of indulgences helped pay for the rebuilding of Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome.(ABC News: Mary Gearin)

To this day they've been given out by the Church for acts of charity or the recital of prayers, as examples. You can use them for yourself or loved ones who have died.

Luther had a problem with the fact the Catholic Church of his day was essentially selling indulgences — indeed, according to Professor MacCulloch, they helped pay for the rebuilding of Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome.

Later, Luther appears to have dropped his belief in Purgatory altogether. Certainly, he denied that a person's actions had any role to play in salvation, saying faith alone was what counted.

The sale of indulgences was abolished by the Pope in 1567.

 

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1 Timothy 4

New International Version

4 The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. ² Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron. ³ They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth. ⁴ For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, ⁵ because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer.

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****The following argument is the opinion of it's author and not necessarily my opinion. 

 

The Church in Thyatira Prefigures the Roman Catholic Church, the Apostate Church

December 5, 2016 by aGodMan 9 Comments

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This week in our prayerful study of how to return to the orthodoxy of the church we come to the Lord’s word to the church in Thyatira, which is a sign prefiguring the Roman Catholic Church which was formed as the apostate church.

Even though we are not here to make an exposition of Revelation 2-3 or to interpret prophecies, we need to take heed to the Lord’s word and apply it to ourselves individually and to the church corporately, so that we may return to the orthodoxy of the church.

In the beginning of each of the seven epistles, after unveiling what He is and who He is according to the situation in that church, He spoke to the messengers of the churches, and at the end He said, He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit speaks to the churches.

We need to aspire to be the messengers in the churches, those who have the Lord’s fresh message and instant speaking, having an ear to hear what He speaks today. Then, as we hear the Lord’s speaking, we need to convey it to the saints and bring the living word of God to the church of the living God.

The church in Thyatira is the church in its lowest and worst degradation; it is a continuation of the degradation in Pergamos and it is its consummation. The church in Pergamos had the teaching of Balaam (teaching false doctrines for gain) and the teaching of the Nicolaitans (the clergy-laity system); Thyatira is the consummation of the fall of the church that began with the apostolic churches.

The Roman Catholic Church continues the teachings from Pergamos and has all kinds of heretical and idolatrous things, with fornication and hierarchy, consummating the degradation of the church in the worst possible way.

Pergamos was the church united with the world; she was like a wife who had a husband – the Lord Himself – and she committed adultery with the world, thus being unfaithful and losing her chastity. Pergamos was the church committing adultery with the world, the things in the world, sin, and religion; she was unfaithful to the Lord and joined herself to another husband.

Thyatira is not a case of typical adultery: she is a woman who no longer had a husband but rejected Him completely; she is a whore, a prostitute,a harlot, a wholesale descent into fornication for gain and profit – this is the Roman Catholic Church.

The church in Thyatira is the apostate church, deviating completely from the fundamental truth or belief; though the Roman Catholic Church talks about the Bible, it is an utter mixture of the divine and pagan things.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rev. 2:12 - Church in Pergamum

 

 

 

 

To the Church in Pergamum

¹² “To the angel of the church in Pergamum write:

These are the words of him who has the sharp, double-edged sword. ¹³ I know where you live—where Satan has his throne. Yet you remain true to my name. You did not renounce your faith in me, not even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was put to death in your city—where Satan lives.

¹⁴ Nevertheless, I have a few things against you: There are some among you who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin so that they ate food sacrificed to idols and committed sexual immorality. ¹⁵ Likewise, you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. ¹⁶ Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.

¹⁷ Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give that person a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives it.

 

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Hebrews 4

 

¹² For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. ¹³ Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

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Jude 1

3 Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt compelled to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to God’s holy people. 4For certain individuals whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.

 

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The traditional (possibly fictional) Antipas was reputed to be the Bishop of the Christian church at Pergamos, and that he was martyred for his faith because of his consistent faithful witnessing in the face of all the satanic evil present there.

When Antipas was advised:
"Antipas, the whole world is against you!",
Antipas reputedly replied:
"Then I am against the whole world!"

Antipas was supposedly roasted alive in a hollow life-size bull, which had a bonfire under its belly, because Antipas refused to renounce his faith in Christ Jesus.

This Much Is Known For Sure:
His faithful witnessing and eventual martyrdom for his unshakable faith in Christ Jesus are what earned Antipas mention in the pages of Holy Scripture, and a place in God's "Hall-Of-Fame Of Faith".

 

https://antipas.net/about-us/who-is-antipas 

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 Balaam and the angel, painting from Gustav Jaeger, 1836.

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Deir Alla Inscription

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The Deir 'Alla Inscription (or Bal'am Son of Be'or Inscription), known as KAI 312, was discovered during a 1967 excavation in Deir 'Alla, Jordan. It is currently at the Jordan Archaeological Museum. It is written in a peculiar Northwest Semitic dialect, and has provoked much debate among scholars and had a strong impact on the study of Canaanite and Aramaic inscriptions.^[1][2] The excavation revealed a multiple-chamber structure that had been destroyed by an earthquake during the Persian period, on the wall of which was written a story relating visions of Bal'am, son of Be'or, a "seer of the gods", who may be the same Balaam mentioned in Numbers 22–24 and in other passages of the Bible. The Deir Alla inscription describes Bal'am in a manner which differs from that given in the Book of Numbers. Bal'am's god is associated with the goddess Ashtar, a god named Shgr, and "Shaddayin" (שדין, perhaps meaning gods and goddesses).^[3] It also features the word "Elohin" (perhaps with different vowels, like "ilāhīn"), taken to mean "gods" in the plural rather than the Hebrew deity.

The Oxford Handbook of Biblical Studies describes it as "the oldest example of a book in a West Semitic language written with an alphabet, and the oldest piece of Aramaic literature."^[4] Though containing some features of Aramaic, such as the word bar "(son of [Beor])" rather than the Canaanite ben, it also has many elements of Canaanite languages, leading some to believe it was written in a dialect of Canaanite rather than an early form of Aramaic. The inscription has been dated to 880–770 BCE.^[5] It was painted in ink on fragments of a plastered wall; red and black inks were used, red apparently to emphasize certain parts of the text. In all, 119 pieces of ink-inscribed plaster were recovered. The wall, near the summit of the tel, was felled by a tremor.^[6]

 

 

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Matthew 20

²⁵ Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. ²⁶ Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, ²⁷ and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— ²⁸ just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

 

 

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Revelation 2:8 Church in Smyrna (Also Possible Prophetic Timeline and the meaning of the names of the Seven Churches)

 

 

 

 

 

Smyrna in ancient times was a very wealthy and powerful city, indeed it vied with Ephesus and Pergamon for influence in the region. Today, Smyrna is located within modern-day İzmir, a city that has almost continuously been inhabited for centuries. The ancient city of Smyrna was largely absorbed into the city and, as such, there are remnants of ancient life throughout. The most important historical structure is the Agora, one of the best-preserved structures of ancient Ionia. Christianity in Smyrna is thought to have developed out of the large Jewish population that used to live in the area, as people defected from Judaism and were baptised in the Christian faith.

 

İzmir Current day Smyrna

 

 

 

Revelation 2

 

To the Church in Smyrna

⁸ “To the angel of the church in Smyrna write:

These are the words of him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again. ⁹ I know your afflictions and your poverty—yet you are rich! I know about the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. ¹⁰ Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor’s crown.

¹¹ Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who is victorious will not be hurt at all by the second death.

 

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Titus 1

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Titus 1

New International Version

1 Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ to further the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness— ² in the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time, ³ and which now at his appointed season he has brought to light through the preaching entrusted to me by the command of God our Savior,

⁴ To Titus, my true son in our common faith:

Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.

Appointing Elders Who Love What Is Good

⁵ The reason I left you in Crete was that you might put in order what was left unfinished and appoint^[a] elders in every town, as I directed you. ⁶ An elder must be blameless, faithful to his wife, a man whose children believe^[b] and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient. ⁷ Since an overseer manages God’s household, he must be blameless—not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain. ⁸ Rather, he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined. ⁹ He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.

Rebuking Those Who Fail to Do Good

¹⁰ For there are many rebellious people, full of meaningless talk and deception, especially those of the circumcision group. ¹¹ They must be silenced, because they are disrupting whole households by teaching things they ought not to teach—and that for the sake of dishonest gain. ¹² One of Crete’s own prophets has said it: “Cretans are always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons.”^{[c] 13} This saying is true. Therefore rebuke them sharply, so that they will be sound in the faith ¹⁴ and will pay no attention to Jewish myths or to the merely human commands of those who reject the truth. ¹⁵ To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure. In fact, both their minds and consciences are corrupted. ¹⁶ They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good.

Footnotes

1. Titus 1:5 Or ordain
2. Titus 1:6 Or children are trustworthy
3. Titus 1:12 From the Cretan philosopher Epimenides

New International Version (NIV)

 

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https://www.gotquestions.org/church-in-Smyrna.html

 

Smyrna was a large, important city on the western coast of Asia Minor, famed for its schools of medicine and science. The words of Jesus to the church in Smyrna in Revelation 2:8-11 offer insight into the life of a first-century congregation, and there are many applications for today’s believers.

The message was from the Lord Jesus Christ: “These are the words of him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again” (Revelation 2:8). The identity of the first and the last and the resurrected one could only be Jesus Christ (see Revelation 22:13).

Jesus starts by acknowledging their trials: “I know your afflictions and your poverty—yet you are rich! I know the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan” (Revelation 2:9). In their physical poverty, however, the church of Smyrna was “rich”; that is, they had spiritual wealth that no one could take away (Matthew 6:20).

As for the identity of the “synagogue of Satan,” there are a couple of views. One is that this was a group of Gentiles who called themselves “Jews” (i.e., the chosen people of God). Instead of following Judaism, however, these self-proclaimed “people of God” worshiped the Roman emperor and spoke out against the Christians in Smyrna.

Another view is that the “synagogue of Satan” was a group of physical Jews who followed tradition and the Mosaic Law yet in reality did not know God. They were “not” Jews in the sense that they did not have the faith of their father Abraham (Luke 3:8; John 8:40), and they were “of Satan” in that they had rejected Jesus Christ (John 8:44). Jesus dealt with many such religious leaders, as did the apostle Paul (Matthew 23; Acts 18:6). In fact, Paul differentiates “true” (spiritual) Jews from those who can only claim a physical connection to Abraham: “A man is not a Jew if he is only one outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code” (Romans 2:28-29).

Adding weight to the latter view is the fact that Polycarp was martyred in Smyrna around A.D. 155. At Polycarp’s trial, the unbelieving Jews of Smyrna joined with the pagans in condemning him to death. Eusebius writes that “the Jews, being especially zealous . . . ran to procure fuel” for the burning (The Ecclesiastical History 4:15).

After commending the church in Smyrna for their spiritual victories, Jesus warned of coming persecution: “You are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days” (Revelation 2:10). Some of the church members would be imprisoned, and this wave of persecution would last for ten days. However, Jesus gives hope to His church: “Do not be afraid,” He says. The Smyrnan believers would have the courage to face the trial (Matthew 5:11-12).

Jesus calls them to remain faithful in their suffering: “Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life” (Revelation 2:10). Here, a specific crown is mentioned for those who die as a result of suffering for Christ. This same “martyr’s crown” is also mentioned in James 1:12: “Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.”

Jesus makes a final promise to the believers in Smyrna: “He who overcomes will not be hurt at all by the second death” (Revelation 2:11). The overcomers, or “conquerors,” refer to all believers (1 John 5:4-5). The second death is a reference to the final judgment of the wicked (Revelation 20:6, 14; 21:8). Believers will not be hurt “at all” by that judgment; their sin was judged at the cross, and, in Christ, there is no more condemnation (Romans 8:1).

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Martyrdom of Polycarp

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Martyrdom of Polycarp

St Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna
Author	Church Fathers
Language	Greek, Latin
Subject	Hagiography
Set in	2nd century
Published	4th century (Eusebius) 10th century (Latin manuscript) 10-13th century (Greek manuscripts)
Text	Martyrdom of Polycarp at Wikisource

Martyrdom of Polycarp is a manuscript written in the form of a letter that relates the religious martyrdom of Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna (the site of the modern city of Izmir, Turkey) and disciple of John the Apostle in the 2nd century AD. It forms the earliest account of Christian martyrdom outside of the New Testament. The author of Martyrdom of Polycarp is unknown, but it has been attributed to members of the group of early Christian theologians known as the Church Fathers. The letter, sent from the church in Smyrna to another church in Asia Minor at Philomelium, is partly written from the point of view of an eye-witness, recounting the arrest of the elderly Polycarp, the Romans' attempt to execute him by fire, and subsequent miraculous events.^[1][2]

The letter takes influence from both Jewish martyrdom texts in the Old Testament and the Gospels. Furthermore, the Martyrdom of Polycarp promotes an ideology of martyrdom, by delineating the proper conduct of a martyr.

 

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Popular evangelical author Hal Lindsey, famous for his best-selling book, The Late Great Planet Earth, follows other dispensationalists in his interpretation of the seven churches. He believes that the seven churches were literal assemblies that existed in Asia Minor at the time John wrote, and that they prophetically describe seven ages extending from the apostolic church to the church of the last days. He presented the following associations in There’s A New World Coming, his commentary on the book of Revelation:

1. The Church in Ephesus: Apostolic Church (A.D. 33–100)
2. The Church in Smyrna: Era of Persecution Under the Ten Caesars (A.D. 100–312)
3. The Church in Pergamum: Era of Church-State Union (A.D. 312–590)
4. The Church in Thyatira: Era Spanning the Middle Ages (A.D. 590–1517)
5. The Church in Sardis: Protestant Reformation (A.D. 1517–1750)
6. The Church in Philadelphia: Era of Revival and Great Awakening (A.D. 1750–1925)
7. The Church in Laodicea: Era of “Higher Criticism” (A.D. 1900–Tribulation)

 

https://www.cgi.org/the-seven-churches-of-the-apocalypse 

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The Meaning of the Seven Churches Names

1. EPHESUS – ‘desired’ They were desired by their Lord.

2. SMYRNA – ‘myrrh’ or ‘bitterness’ through death. This is a type of the suffering Church in any century.

3. PERGAMOS or PERGAMUM – means ‘high towers’ or ‘thoroughly married’. (The Church to the State!)

4. THYATIRA – means ‘perpetual sacrifice’ or ‘a continual offering’. (ie. Transubstantiation/Rome)

5. SARDIS – means ‘those escaping’ (The Reformers coming out with others from Roman Catholicism)

6. PHILADELPHIA – means ‘brotherly love’. (Church now grows worldwide through correct doctrine. This then is the Church to emulate.)

7. LAODECIA – this means ‘the people ruling’ or ‘the judgement of the people’. Here is the last Church Age or Period. It is the worst of the cameo or types of Churches seen. The Lord does not really reign in their midst – they do!

 

https://www.jacobsladdercf.org.uk/teaching-articles/eschatological-revelation-series/the-meaning-of-the-seven-churches-names 

 

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Roman Emperors  

 

95 Domitian

112 Trajan

177 Marcus Aurelius (cf. the famous martyrdoms at Lyon)

211 Septimus Severus

235 Maximus Thrax

250 Decius

257 Valerian

303 Diocletian

323 Licinius

361 Julian 

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