Perseverance outlast Persecution; the letter to the church at Smyrna

Rev 2:8 "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 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 the crown of life.
11 He who has an ear let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes will not be hurt at all by the second death.

Smyrna is today called the city of Izmir; it lies about 35 miles north of Ephesus on the Aegean coast of Turkey. It has an excellent harbor. It had a strong allegiance to Rome and in 195 BC it became the first city in the ancient world to build a temple in honor of Emperor worship. Later in 23 BC, Smyrna won permission to build a temple to the emperor Tiberius. The strong allegiance to Rome plus a large Jewish population which was actively hostile to the Christians made it exceptionally difficult to live as a Christian in Smyrna. The most famous martyrdom of the early church fathers was of the elderly Polycarp, the 'twelfth martyr in Smyrna', who, upon his refusal to acknowledge Caesar as Lord, was placed upon a pyre to be burned. Christians in those days were known as atheist because they refused to worship Caesar. Polycarp was given an opportunity to recant simply by pointing to the other Christians that were with him and saying the words, “away with the atheist.” Instead he pointed to the legions gathered to witness the executions in the coliseum and said “away with the atheist!” Polycarp knew who the true Lord of Glory was and refused to worship any other.

v8 - "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 - This a repetition of his self designation, see Rev 1:17-18. He is the first and the last word in human history and therefore is sovereign over what is in between. Through him the world was created and human history will end when he comes again. He died and came to life again and hence conquered death, he is the firstborn of many brothers, this should be of comfort to those in Smyrna who are about to be persecuted and some will die.
v9 - I know your afflictions and your poverty--yet you are rich! - For the other churches (except Pergamum) Christ says 'I know your deeds' but here he says 'I know your affliction and your poverty - yet you are rich'. They were physically poor but spiritually rich contrast this with the Laodiceans who thought that they were rich but were poor, 3:17 (Jam 2:5). Physically the church in Smyrna suffered from persecution from the Jews and they were poor, they had few luxuries and possessions, yet spiritually they were rich in the sight of Christ. Jesus sees their affliction; he knows about it, this must be of comfort to this persecuted church.

v9 - I know the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. - Again he says 'I know the slander...' he sees their situation, he is aware of it and its injustice, once again this must bring comfort to this church. These Jews follow Satan in slandering God's people, the word Satan means accuser (12:10), but the Devil means slanderer. Behind these Jews stands Satan; it is he, not Abraham, who is their spiritual father, John 8:44. Slander, that is telling lies to blacken the character of people, is one of Satan's weapons against the church; see the river of lies, Rev 12:15. Again in the letter to Philadelphia there is a reference to those who claim but to be Jews but are liars; they are actually a synagogue of Satan (3:9). See also other examples of Jewish antagonism in Acts 13:45, 14:2, 17:5, 18:6, and 25:7. Paul defines a real Jew not as one physically circumcised but as one circumcised in the heart by the Spirit (Rom 2:29) and who believes God just as Abraham believed God (Gal 3:6-7).

v10 - 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 the crown of life. - Here we find John's first warning concerning the persecution of the Church, the second occurs in the letter to the church in Pergamum. First Christ counsels them not to be afraid of what they are about to suffer. Christ by telling them beforehand is indicating that, as the all knowing God, it is part of his plan and under his control. In John 16:33 Jesus tells his disciples that in world they will have tribulation, but to take courage; he has overcome the world, cf. 3:21, 5:5. In Luke 12:4 Jesus warns us not to fear man who can kill the body but do no more, we should fear God who, when the body is dead, can cast us into hell. 1 Pet 3:13-18 tells us not to be afraid if we suffer for doing right, we have the example of Jesus who died for doing right but he was raised again (cf. 1 Pet 2:19-25, Isa 51:7-8). Ten days is a limited, but complete, period of time known by God, note that Daniel asked to be tested for ten days to see whether he would still look well on a diet of vegetables (Dan 1:12). The devil will put some of them in prison to test them, not the devil himself but using his human subjects just as he uses the beast to wage war against God's servants later, 11:7, 13:7. The Lord encourages them to be faithful by stressing the reward that this will bring them just as he did in Mat 5:10-12 in which those who are persecuted because of Him will have a great reward in heaven. There were in fact ten periods of persecution during the time of the Roman Empire until the 'conversion' of Constantine in 316 AD. Christ is aware of what is about to happen to them, but he does not intervene because it is for their ultimate good that they be tested even unto death so that they will receive the great reward of the crown of life spoken of by James. Just as Jesus overcame by dying, so the saints overcome by being faithful even to the point of death. The church of Pergamum did not renounce their faith in the face of martyrdom, 2:13. The fact that Christ died and came to life again (v8) also ensures that even though they die they will live again.

v10 - Be faithful, even to the point of death and I will give you the crown of life. - By dying they will gain their (eternal) life (John 12:25). He who stands firm to the end will be saved. Martyrdom is a common theme in the book, but there is also a promise that he will receive the crown of (eternal) life. Jesus had already conquered death, he came to life again, verse 8. They will be tested; this is in harmony with the rest of scripture, after which they will receive the crown of life, Jam 1:12. They must be faithful unto death to receive the crown of life, a wonderful Christian paradox, John 12:25. The word for crown used here is the victors’ crown, rather than the royal crown, which is appropriate for those who have overcome i.e. won the victory. The crown of life is eternal life, which is signified by the water of life and the tree of life later in Rev 22:1. Here in one line is the message of the book of Revelation: Be faithful, even to the point of death and I will give you the crown of life. This message is further expanded in the death of the two witnesses (11:7) and later when the beast wages war on the saints and overcomes them (13:7), but in both cases God vindicates his servants because the two witnesses are raised to life again (11:11) and we find those who are victorious over the beast praising God in heaven (15:2).

v11 - He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes will not be hurt at all by the second death. - Note the formula: 'He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches', we need to heed what is being said here. This verse again emphasizes the reward for being faithful, even to the point of death; the far worse second death will not hurt them (21:7-8). The second death is contrasted with the crown of life of v10; the second death is lake of fire, Rev 20:14. It takes only a short while to endure the pain of the first death even as a martyr, the pain of the second death lasts for eternity. Those who endure to the end (Mat 10:22, 2 Tim 2:12) and are faithful to the death will be saved from the lake of fire. Note how the saints in 12:11 overcome Satan, who is mentioned here as the devil v10, 'by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death'.

The lesson we can take away from this church, is that we too will face persecution and adversity but God is faithful.