The Persecuted Church (Revelation 2:8-11)

Big Idea: When persecuted, take courage because Jesus knows, Satan is limited, and your suffering will be worth it.

The numbers are staggering. Over 365 million Christians face significant persecution and discrimination for their faith, according to Open Doors. 1 in 7 Christians around the world are persecuted worldwide. Last year, almost 5,000 Christians were killed for their faith. Almost 15,000 churches and Christian properties were attacked. Over 4,000 Christians were detained.

Because it’s hard to get our mind around numbers, sometimes we need to hear stories, stories like:

• Amila, a single mother in Sri Lanka, who is determined to follow Jesus and raise her daughters to know him. When she became a Christian, her husband left them and she moved in with her mother and sister to have help with childcare. She faces hostility and mistreatment from her family, as well as relentless pressure to return to her previous faith.
• The wife of a pastor in Laos in Southeast Asia, along with her two children. Her husband had been warned to stop preaching and promoting the gospel, but he refused. On July 23, two men wearing masks parked a motorbike in front of his home. They asked for the pastor’s whereabouts from some children who were by the entryway of the house, which he overheard. He went out front and greeted the visitors. They proceeded to shoot him six times.
• Or a 19-year-old girl in Uganda, whose father burned her with a hot flat iron and hot water because she had put her faith in Christ.

The numbers are staggering, and the stories are crushing. What would keep these 365 million Christians faithful to Christ in the face of suffering? What will keep us faithful to Christ if we’re ever exposed to similar forms of suffering?

Jesus’ message to the church in Smyrna is going to help prepare us to face this kind of suffering.

Introducing Smyrna

Let me introduce you to the church in Smyrna.

It was just 56 kilometers north of Ephesus, and connected by a Roman road, making travel between the two cities relatively easy. It survives today as Izmir, the third largest city in Turkey that’s full of beaches, bazaars, and amazing archeology.

Smyrna was known as “the Crown of Asia” and “the Flower of Asia.” It had been rebuilt and destroyed a few times. It was a thriving commercial center and was regarded as one of the four chief cities of Asia.

But the church in Smyrna had a problem. Jesus didn’t have a problem with the church. In fact, it’s one of only two of the seven churches in which Jesus has nothing negative to say. There are no warnings or rebukes to this church. Imagine Jesus examining our church and writing a message and having nothing negative to say! That would be amazing. This church had a problem, but spiritually they were doing quite well. Jesus had no criticisms to make of this church.

So what was their problem? Verse 9 tells us: “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.”

This church was suffering at the hands of its opponents. The word tribulation can be translated “crushing pressure.” They were a church that faced intense pressure from opponents who wanted to destroy them.

What was the nature of the pressure? Slander, particularly from the Jewish community. It seems that the Jewish community in Smyrna wasn’t very excited about the presence of Christians in the city. Romans had come to an understanding with Jews. Generally speaking, they wanted every people group to worship Roman gods. They had come to accept that this was a no-deal for Jews, who would rather die than stop worshiping the Lord. No other group had that exemption. It may be that the Jewish community exposed the Christians and said, “Look! They’re not worshiping the Roman gods, and they’re not one of us!” They slandered the Christians, which resulted in their persecution.

This is not a benign persecution. Behind this persecution, Jesus says, is Satan himself.

Not only that, but Jesus tells them that things may get worse. Jesus says in verse 10, “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…” Imagine hearing that! Jesus doesn’t give them assurances that things are going to get better. Instead, he tells them that things may actually get worse. Some of them were going to be imprisoned. Some of them could expect to die for their faith in Jesus.

Here’s the thing we need to realize. At some point, we may be experience persecution. Our membership covenant says that we will, if called upon by our Lord, hazard our lives for the gospel's sake. The fact that we have not yet experienced this kind of persecution is a blessing, but not a guarantee. There may be a time in which we are called to join the 365 million Christians around the world who are suffering high levels of persecution for their faith.

And if this happens, it doesn’t mean that we’re doing something wrong. Jesus may have nothing negative to say about our church. It will be because Satan hates churches. Satan hates GFC East. He would like nothing better than to shut us down. Things will make a lot more sense when we realize how much Satan hates us and wants to destroy us. Satan hates churches.

So if we’re ever called upon to suffer, we shouldn’t be surprised. In fact, we should probably be surprised that, up until now, we really haven’t experienced this kind of persecution.

Jesus’ Message to a Persecuted Church

What does Jesus have to say to a church that is experiencing this kind of persecution? Three things:

First, he knows (2:9).

I can’t get over what he says in verse 9: “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.”

Jesus knows. Imagine how this church must have felt hearing this letter read out to them. Imagine them hearing the rebuke to Ephesus, and wondering what Jesus might say to them as they faced crushing pressure. And then imagine hearing him say, “I know.” And he did, because Jesus knew what it was like to suffer. He’d been there too. We serve a Savior who suffered and died for us to save anyone who comes to him from their sins. Jesus not only suffered; Jesus had died, which is why Jesus says, “The words of the first and the last, who died and came to life” (2:8).

And so when Jesus says, “I know,” he really means he knows because he’s been through suffering and persecution too.

But that’s not all he means. We’ve already seen that Jesus stands among his churches. In Revelation 1:13, we read that Jesus stands among the seven golden lampstands, which represent the seven churches. Jesus stands among his church.

This should bring comfort to every church. Jesus knows.

Friends, Jesus knows GFC East. He knows everything about it. Why? Because we are his church, and he stands among us. He cares more about this church than any of us do. Whatever we go through, we can always count on the fact that he knows, and he cares.

Jesus knows. Here’s his second message to a persecuted church:

Second, Satan is limited (2:10).

“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.” (2:10)

The bad news: you could suffer for your faith in Jesus. You may suffer economic hardships for your faith. You may be socially excluded. You may go to prison. You may even die.

The good news: you don’t need to worry about it! Do not fear. Take courage. As Jesus says elsewhere, death isn’t the worst thing that can happen to you. “Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matthew 10:28). As someone has said, “We are all going to die. We may as well die for a good reason.”

Satan can throw his worst at us, but the worst he can do is temporary. Not only that, but it’s also under God’s control. Death isn’t the worst thing that can happen. Jesus suffered death, and it actually ended up being the best thing that could happen. He triumphed over death, and everyone who trusts him will triumph too.

Jesus calls what we’re going through a test. Here’s more good news: God takes what Satan throws at us and actually uses it for his own purposes. Satan sends persecution as an attack; God intercepts it and uses it as a trial to show the genuineness of our faith and to improve and refine us. This is another reason why we don’t need to be afraid of the trial, because there’s nothing that Satan can throw at us that God can’t use for his own purposes. What Satan meant for evil, God uses for our good.

Not only that, but our suffering is limited. Jesus says they will face crushing pressure for ten days. Here’s another example of how Revelation uses numbers. I don’t think that the ten days here is literal. Most numbers in Revelation are used symbolically. It’s referring to a brief time. Our sufferings have an expiration date. They won’t last forever. No matter how serious our suffering may be, it will be short-lived.

Here’s the good news:

What is clear is this: Jesus Christ is in control. The political and religious forces have free will. The spiritual forces of darkness have free will. But they exist only by permission of God and their power is limited by God. Evil is on a leash. Its pressure has a limit. “Ten days,” says the Lord.
Knowing that can help us keep going. The One who loves us will never allow more than we can bear. “Ten days.” D. T. Niles of Sri Lanka puts it this way: “Although our endurance may be tested to the limit—‘unto death’—there is a limit to the test.” (Darrell Johnson)

What does Jesus say to the persecuted church? When persecuted, take courage because Jesus knows, and because Satan is limited.

But there’s one more thing that Jesus says:

Third, your suffering will be worth it (2:10-11).

How can persecution possibly be worth it? Listen to verses 10 and 11: “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.”

If this life is all that there is, suffering makes no sense. But this life isn’t all there is. Those who endure suffering will receive the crown of life. Jesus uses the image of the laurel wreath that was given to those who finished the race. If we are faithful, we will receive a crown that can’t wither or fade. We will receive eternal life itself, an eternal reward that outweighs any suffering we can experience now.

And we won’t be hurt by the second death. Nobody can escape the first death unless Jesus comes back first. We all will physically die. But those who trust Jesus and endure to the end will escape the second death, the spiritual death.

Friends, our sufferings in this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us (Romans 8:18). “This light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison” (2 Corinthians 4:17).

What does Jesus say to the persecuted church? Indeed, what does he say to every Christian who may be called upon to suffer for him? When persecuted, take courage because Jesus knows, Satan is limited, and your suffering will be worth it.

Don’t settle for a comfortable faith. Take courage, and be willing to suffer. After all, Jesus knows what it’s like. He suffered for us! He’s got Satan on a leash. And he will use our suffering for our glory, and will give us his eternal reward if we stay faithful to the end.