Letter 2: The Worst is Yet to Come
Sermon Notes
“The 2nd Letter: The Worst is Yet to Come”
Before we get into today’s message I want to let you know that after the service we’ll be having lunch to support one of our pastoral family’s Alex and Kacy Robinson. They’re in the process of adopting their 2nd child, which is costing them about $16,000, and as a church we’re doing what we can to try to reduce some of that cost. We’re doing what we can to support them in helping a child who doesn’t currently have a home, to finally have a gospel centered home with the Robinsons. We’d love for you to stay after church for lunch and to hear a little more about their story. If you want to support them financially you can either give directly to them, or through our website at cityawakening.org. If you give through our website, just make sure you designate it to the “benevolence fund.”
That being said, today we’re continuing our teaching series on a book of the bible called Revelation. It’s a series about finding peace in a world of chaos. Revelation is a book of the bible that addresses past, present, and future events in history, but it’s also a book that can help us find peace for every chaotic event in history. It can help us find peace for every chaotic event in our lives. Today’s text is about finding peace, when it comes to facing hardships you can’t avoid. Both skeptics and believers don’t like having to go through hardships in life. I mean if we could choose, we’d much rather avoid hardships instead of having to go through hardships in life. But sometimes you can’t avoid them, instead you have to go through them, and today’s text can help with that. It can help us learn how to face hardships we can’t avoid. So let’s turn to Revelation 2 and get into it. You’ll find Revelation in the back of the bible, it’s the very last book of the bible, and we’ll be in Revelation 2:8-11. Title of the message is The 2nd Letter: The Worst Is Yet To Come. The big idea is that the worst is yet to come, but so is the best...The worst is yet to come, but so is the best...
Here’s your context. The book of revelation is about the 2nd coming of Jesus, and what will happen at the end of history when he returns. The entire book can be broken down into four major visions, and right now we’re studying the 1st vision, which is a vision of Jesus and the Churches. John the author is writing this in the 1st century during a time when the Romans are brutally persecuting him and other Christians for their faith in Jesus. So Jesus gives John a vision to encourage him and these 1st century Christians as they’re facing these afflictions. He tells John to write 7 letters to 7 churches in Asia Minor. We’re in the 2nd letter which is a letter to the church in Smyrna, and Jesus is warning them that the worst is yet to come. He’s warning the Christians in Smyrna the worst is yet to come, but he also promises the best is yet to come, so let’s check it out.
Revelation 2:8-11 states, “Write to the angel of the church in Smyrna...” Jesus is telling John to write what he has to say to the church in Smyrna, and here’s what we know about Smyrna. Historically we know Smyrna was another highly significant city in Asia Minor just like Ephesus. It was located roughly 35 miles north of Ephesus, and was considered a very wealthy, beautiful city. Some say it was the most beautiful city in Asia. Archaeologists discovered coins inscribed with the words “First of Asia, in beauty and size.” They also discovered several temples covering its beautiful landscape. It was temples for gods and goddesses like Zeus, Apollos, and Aphrodite.
But one of the biggest things Smyrna was known for, was its support for the Roman Empire. They became one of Rome’s greatest allies, supporting the Roman Empire for over 200 yrs. In fact the famous Roman speaker Cicero once complimented them saying “Smyrna is the city of our most faithful and ancient allies.” In the late 2nd century when an earthquake destroyed the city, the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius made sure the city was rebuilt for its faithful allegiance. In the late 1st century when John’s writing this, the Roman Emperor Domitian demanded that everybody worship him as Lord. But the Christians in Smyrna refused to worship anyone as Lord except Jesus, and they were persecuted for it. So the church in Smyrna really needed some encouragement during this time. Jesus knew this, which is why he tells John to write this letter to them. In the 7 letters to the 7 churches there only two churches Jesus doesn’t criticize or correct, and the church in Smyrna is one of them. Jesus doesn’t give them any criticism or correction, because he knew what they needed most, was hope and encouragement. Here’s what he says.
Again vs. 8, “Write to the angel of the church in Smyrna: Thus says the First and the Last, the one who was dead and came to life. 9 I know your affliction...” Jesus says I know your affliction. He knows the afflictions and burdens that are heavy on their hearts, and he knows the afflictions and burdens that are heavy on our hearts. If it feels like nobody sees or cares about the afflictions and burdens you’re carrying in life, Jesus wants you to know he sees and cares. He wants the Christians in Smyrna and us to know he sees and cares about every affliction and burden we ever go through in life. But he also wants us to remember who he is, and to find hope and encouragement in his great power. In vs 8 he starts off saying he’s the first and the last, meaning he’s the God involved in the beginning, middle, and end of history. He’s the God who was dead and came to life, meaning he’s the God who died on the cross for our sins, but came back to life again on the 3rd day proving not even death can stop him or his eternal plans. Jesus is reminding the Christians in Smyrna that it isn’t Caesar and the Roman Empire that’s eternal, it’s him and his Christian Empire that’s eternal. He’s reminding them and us of who he is, and his great power.
Now history’s repeatedly proven this, it’s repeatedly proven the Christian Empire can’t be destroyed. In fact in the 19th century H.L. Hastings quoted a French soldier persuading his king to stop persecuting Christians, because he knew it was a fight they can’t win! The soldier said, “Sire the Church is an anvil, that’s worn out many hammers.” He said the church is an anvil, a flat iron block that blacksmiths hammer metal on, and it’s worn out many hammers. History’s repeatedly proven the Christian Empire can’t be destroyed, and it’s because we have an eternal King, Savior, Lord who can’t be destroyed. The Romans and many other empires have tried to destroy Jesus and his Christian Empire, but they’ve all become worn out hammers. They’ve all become footnotes in history. It’s because all those empires aren’t eternal, it’s only Jesus and his Christian Empire that’s eternal. Jesus is encouraging these Christians in Smyrna to remember it isn’t about the size of the dog in the fight, it's about the size of the God in the fight. He wants them and us to know he sees and cares about our afflictions, but also to remember who he is, to remember how great and powerful he is. He’s the First and the Last, the one who was dead, but came back to life again.
Again vs. 9, “I know your affliction, and poverty, but you are rich. I know the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.” So some of the afflictions they’re experiencing were things like poverty and slander. They’ve been economically boycotted for their faith in Jesus to where they can’t sell any of their goods in the marketplace, they can’t make money, or find any work. It’s literally costing them to remain faithful to Jesus, and they’re financially struggling. They’re physically poor, but Jesus says they’re spiritually rich. They’re physically poor, but spiritually have everything they need in Christ. Jesus says they’re spiritually rich.
But they were also experiencing slander from the Jews. Like I said before the Romans required Christians to worship the emperor, but Jews were granted an exception to this. The Jews didn’t like Christians, so they’d report Christians to the local Roman authorities anytime Christians refused to worship the emperor. They’d also slander Christians, make up lies about Christians, just to get them in trouble with the Romans, which is why Jesus called them a synagogue of Satan. He’s saying those who were persecuting Christians were serving Satan instead of the Lord. So for these Christians experiencing afflictions, poverty, slander, persecution, even the execution of their friends and family was a normal part of daily life. They had to risk their lives daily to worship Jesus as Lord. They had to sacrifice a lot of things daily, but they never sacrificed their love for Jesus.
Vs. 10, “Don’t be afraid of what you are about to suffer. Look, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison to test you, and you will experience affliction for ten days.” Notice he says don’t be afraid of what you’re about to suffer, meaning more suffering is coming. Jesus doesn’t promise to remove their suffering at this point, instead he warns them that more suffering is coming. He warns them that the worst is yet to come...He warns them that the worst is yet to come, but he also gives them hope that their sufferings won’t last forever. He says the sufferings that’s coming will last ten days, meaning it won’t last forever. They’re suffering now and they’ll suffer even worse in the future, but their suffering won’t last forever. If you’re hurting right now, find hope in knowing it won’t last forever. Find hope in knowing your suffering, has an expiration date.
Vs. 10 continues, “Be faithful to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life...” What Jesus is promising here, is that the best is yet to come. He’s saying the worst is yet to come, but so is the best. He’s saying a crown of thorns is coming, but so is a crown of life after the thorns. In the original Greek the word for crown is stephanos, and it means a crown of victory like winning the Olympics or winning a great battle. In this context it’s a crown of victory over our suffering. It’s a crown of victory and life, over suffering and death. It’s about getting to enjoy eternal victory, eternal life in heaven with Jesus, where we’ll never wear a crown of thorns, a crown of suffering again. Jesus is prepping them and us that suffering will come, but he’s also promising that our suffering won’t last forever. He’s promising a crown of life is coming, after the crown of thorns.
Vs. 11, “Let anyone who has ears to hear, listen to what the Spirit says to the churches...” Like I said last week the word churches is plural, meaning Jesus wants all the churches including the churches today, to hear what he’s saying. He wants anyone who has ears, to hear what’s being said to the 7 churches. So this is a letter to the church in Smyrna, but it’s also a letter for us, and what he’s saying is we should expect to face suffering for our faith in Jesus. Like the Christians in Smyrna we might even see increased persecution against Christians here in America. I mean look at how quickly antisemitism ignited in our country over the Israeli Hamas War, and it only took a few mobs yelling deceptive chants to Free Palestine. They didn’t yell Free The Hostages, they yelled Free Palestine, and within days antisemitism ignited in universities throughout our country. It happened so quickly, and it can happen to Christians too! It can happen to any people group in our country, because we’ve created a culture that quickly erupts and is easily puppeteered by deceptive chants, creative hashtags, manipulative media and social media. With how quickly our culture erupts and how easily people are manipulated, it’s only a matter of time when anti-Christian chants will be celebrated. Like the Christians in Smyrna we’ll be slandered, and people will make up deceptive calling us anti-gender, anti-sexuality, anti-choice. We’ll see an increase in afflictions, in public persecutions, in government restrictions leading to imprisonment for our faith in Jesus.
Now we shouldn’t be surprised when this happens, because Jesus warns us in the book of Revelation that it’ll get worse in our world before it gets better. I know some of you wonder if your faith is strong enough to handle these afflictions, but if you have a genuine faith in Jesus he’ll make sure your faith is strong enough. If you study biblical history what you’ll see is God’s grace always increases in the life of believers, as their afflictions increase. We have examples like Daniel who was rescued from the lion’s den, and Stephen who started smiling and praising God as he was being stoned to death. We have numerous historical examples both in and outside the bible of Christians who experienced God’s grace increasing, as their afflictions were increasing, to help them remain faithful to the end. So sometimes God’s grace will increase to rescue you from your afflictions like Daniel was rescued from the lion’s den. But sometimes God’s grace will increase to help you remain faithful through your afflictions like Stephen when he was being stoned to death. So when you face present or future afflictions, the biggest thing to remember is to run to Jesus instead of from Jesus. You need to remember to rely on the strength of Jesus, instead of on your own strength. You need to remember to trust he’ll either rescue you from your affliction, or he’ll help you remain faithful through your affliction. If he doesn’t rescue from your affliction, he’ll help you remain faithful through your affliction, and he’ll use that affliction to teach you some things about life until you reach the end of your life. Jesus is prepping us for the worse, but also promising us the best. He ends his letter reminding these Christians and us of his promise again.
Again vs. 11, “Let anyone who has ears to hear, listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who conquers, will never be harmed by the second death.” The second death is a spiritual death. The 1st death is the physical death everyone experiences in this life, but the 2nd death is the spiritual death people will experience in eternal hell without Jesus. The good news of the gospel is that Jesus died for the forgiveness of our sins on the cross, so we don’t have to die a second death in eternal hell. If you put your faith in Jesus you don’t have to fear the second death, because his eternal love will always cover you. So for the Christian this is the closest to hell you’ll ever get, but for the skeptic this is the closest to heaven you’ll ever get. For the Christian this is the closest to hell you’ll ever get, but for the skeptic if you put your faith in Jesus today, this will be the closest to hell you’ll ever get too. Jesus promises you’ll never be harmed by the second death.
Now here’s what we know happened historically. We know several years after Jesus tells John to record all this, the afflictions and sufferings in Smyrna started increasing just like Jesus said it would. In the 2nd century John’s protégé became the pastor of the church in Smyrna, and his name was Polycarp. Pastor Polycarp was very loved by his church, but he wasn’t very loved by the public or the government. So in 155 AD they targeted him, arrested him, tortured and killed him for his faith in Jesus. What I’m about to read is a condensed version of the oldest nonbiblical historical record we have, of somebody who died for their faith in Jesus. The document’s titled: The Encyclical Epistle of the Church at Smyrna, Concerning the Martyrdom of Polycarp
“When they brought Polycarp into the city...there the chief of police, Herod, and his father Nicetas, tried to persuade him saying, ‘What harm is there to say Lord Caesar, and to offer incense to save yourself?’ He said, ‘I’m not going to do what you advise me.’ So he was led into the arena...and the proconsul said, ‘Take the oath, and I shall release you. Curse Christ.’ Polycarp said, ‘Eighty-six years I’ve served him, and he never did me any wrong. How can I blaspheme my King who saved me?’ The Proconsul said, ‘I have wild beasts. I’ll throw you to them if you don’t change your mind.’ But Polycarp said, ‘Go ahead. Call them.’ The Proconsul said, ‘I’ll have you consumed with fire if you despise the wild beasts, unless you change your mind.’ But Polycarp said, ‘The fire you threaten burns for an hour, and is quenched after a little while. But you don’t know the fire of the coming judgment and eternal punishment that’s laid up for the ungodly…Why do you delay? Come and do what you will.’” Pastor Polycarp then prayed out loud in the name of Jesus, and they burned him alive. What Jesus said was true. He said the afflictions would increase in Smyrna, and historically we know they did. But he also encouraged them to be fearless and faithful, and historically we know they were. It didn’t matter what they did to Pastor Polycarp, he remained fearless and faithful to the very end. He remained fearless and faithful, because he knew his crown of thorns wouldn’t last forever, and that a victorious crown of eternal life was coming…
The big idea of the message is the worst is yet to come, but so is the best...The worst is yet to come, but so is the best...Jesus never promised the Christians in Smyrna and he never promised us that life would be easy. He never promised them or us that we wouldn’t face anymore afflictions in life. In fact he says the opposite of that, which is that more afflictions are coming. He says that the world is going to get worse before it gets better, but we need to be fearless and faithful. In vs 10 he tells us don’t be afraid, and to be faithful to the point of death. He tells us to be fearless and faithful, but he also gives us several reasons to be fearless and faithful. He gives us several reasons to endure, to be hopeful, to be encouraged, to be fearless and faithful both now and in the future.
We can be fearless and faithful, because we know Jesus sees and cares about us! We can be fearless and faithful, because we know how great and powerful he is! We can be fearless and faithful, because we know he’s the First and the Last, the one who died and came back to life again, the one who’s Christian Empire can’t ever be destroyed! We can be fearless and faithful, because we know we’ll fall asleep in the 1st death, but we’ll wake up to a joyful eternal life in heaven with Jesus completely unharmed by the 2nd death! We can be fearless and faithful, because we know that whatever crown of thorns we wear on our heads now, our Savior Jesus will replace it with a victorious crown of eternal life later! So let’s remember whatever hell we experience in this life is only temporary, and there’s a victorious crown of eternal life that’s coming! Let’s remember the worst is yet to come, but so is the best! Let’s remember to be fearless and faithful!...