Living with Riches

8 “And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: ‘The words of the first and the last, who died and came to life. 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. 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. Be faithful unto 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. The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death.’

I’m a child of the 70’s and 80’s. And one of the conveniences I enjoy is satellite radio because I get to listen to old school music. When you start to approach middle age, you might like current music, but you really love the music of your youth. So, I listen to a station called The Groove. It plays old school R&B from the 70’s and 80’s. Now, if you catch me on the bus, on the train, or in my car on a good day, and my jam comes on, you might see me make that face…and start to rock. Don’t make fun of me, just know that I’m in the groove.

A little while back, I was tuned in and they played a song I hadn’t heard in a long time. I didn’t make that “jam” face, but it did make me chuckle a bit. The song was by an artist named Calloway. The title of the song is I Wanna Be Rich. Calloway sings,

I want money, lots and lots of money. I want the pie in the sky. I want money, lots and lots of money, so don’t be asking me why. I wanna be rich, oh, I wanna be rich, for a little love, peace, and happiness.

What made me chuckle was how much I liked that song when it came out in the 80’s. It wasn’t a song you were going to dance to, but you could sing those lyrics for real. I wanna be rich. I want some prosperity for the sake of love, peace, and happiness.

If I were to ask you what you think it means to be prosperous, what it looks like to live in real wealth, I have no doubt that there'd be a variety of answers. I also think that some of us would get deep and philosophical with our answers. Whether you find yourself sitting in this room this morning as a Christian or not, most of us realize that wealth is about so much more than money. Having lots of money is great, but we might agree with the words of

Proverbs 22:1 ESV

1 A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, and favor is better than silver or gold.

Or,

Ecclesiastes 5:10 ESV

10 He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this also is vanity.

Having a good name, being rich with love, being wealthy with friends and family, all of these things and more play into what we’d say prosperity looks like. Yet, above all, the amazing claim that’s made by this text is that life with Jesus is what it means to be truly prosperous. And life without Jesus means real poverty, not matter how much material prosperity you have. Last week Pastor Aaron preached on the church in Ephesus that was living without love. This week we see a church in the city of Smyrna that is living with real riches. The catch, though, to their living with riches is that - at the very same time - they're an impoverished people. Their city isn’t impoverished. The economy in Smyrna is doing quite fine, thank you very much. It’s just the Christians who are poor. Jesus has to come along and say to them, “I know you don’t have two nickels to rub together, but you’re actually the wealthy ones and everyone else is poor.”

A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, and favor is better than silver or gold.

Or ,

He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this also is vanity.

However, it’s no surprise that prosperity to him is a little bit different than our common understanding of it.

What he is most concerned with is the message and reality of the kingdom of God. So, any time he talks about prosperity it is intimately tied to the nature of God’s kingdom. And the nature of God’s kingdom, where God’s rule is clearly seen and embraced, is often the opposite of what we’d expect.

Having a good name, being rich with love, being wealthy with friends and family, all of these things and more play into what we’d say prosperity looks like. Yet, above all, the amazing claim that’s made by this text is that life with Jesus is what it means to be truly prosperous. And life without Jesus means real poverty, not matter how much material prosperity you have. Last week we saw a church in Ephesus that was living without love. This week we see a church in the city of Smyrna that is living with real riches. The catch, though, to their living with riches is that - at the very same time - they're an impoverished people. The city isn’t impoverished. The economy in Smyrna is doing quite fine, thank you very much. It’s just the Christians who are poor. Jesus has to come along and say to them, “I know you don’t have two nickels to rub together, but you’re actually the wealthy ones and everyone else is poor.”

Here are the three things we’re going to talk about as we look at this church in Smyrna living with riches. We’re going to talk about Real Wealth, Real Evil, and a Real Promise.

Real Wealth

As we begin to talk about real wealth, would you notice with me how Jesus introduces himself to the church in Smyrna.

Revelation 2:8 ESV

8 “And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: ‘The words of the first and the last, who died and came to life.

When Jesus introduced himself to the church in Ephesus back in v. 1 of this chapter, his opening words were, "the one who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks in the midst of the golden lampstands." And that introduction spoke to their situation in that particular place. The church in Ephesus, living in the middle of one of the religious capitols of the Roman world, needed to understand that Jesus himself walked among them. He holds authority over the churches to light new lampstands and to remove old ones. Now he says to Smyrna, the words of the first and the last, who died and came to life. This speaks to their situation as a church living in this city.

When we saw Jesus introduce himself to the church in Ephesus, he opening words were, "the one who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks in the midst of the golden lampstands." And we noted that the introduction spoke to their situation in that particular place. The church in Ephesus, living in the middle of one of the religious capitols of the Roman world, needed to understand that Jesus himself walked among them. He holds authority over the churches to light new lampstands and to remove old ones. Now he says to Smyrna, the words of the first and the last, who died and came to life. This speaks to their situation as a church living in this city.

They need to understand that Jesus alone has possession of eternity, he is the first and the last. He has demonstrated this reality by rising from the dead. He is the one who died but came to life. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is foundational for the Christian faith. It is at the heart of what God has done in his plan to redeem this world. That is, to reclaim the whole world for himself. Without the resurrection there is no Christianity. Don't they already know this? Why in the introduction of his letter to them does he take them back to the basics? It's because Jesus' resurrection isn't just an idea that they're supposed to keep as a concept in their minds. It's supposed to inform their lives every day. They are living under the threat of death in this city. They are, in a sense, experiencing death as they live because of their poverty.

They need to understand that Jesus alone has possession of eternity, he is the first and the last. He has demonstrated this reality by rising from the dead. He is the one who died but came to life. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is Christianity 101. It is at the heart of what God has done in his plan to redeem this world. Without the resurrection there is no Christianity. Don't they already know this? Why in the introduction of his letter to them does he take them back to the basics? It's because Jesus' resurrection isn't just an idea that they're supposed to keep as a concept in their minds. It's supposed to inform their lives every day. They are living under the threat of death in this city. They are, in a sense, experiencing death as they live because of their poverty.

How does Jesus' resurrection life inform their condition? It informs their lives because things are not as they seem. Jesus informs them of their real wealth in v. 9. He says, "I know your tribulation and your poverty, but you are rich."

Why are they poor? They're poor because they're cut off from the economic life of the city. Smyrna was a port city on the west coast of Asia Minor, and therefore a city along a significant trade route in the Roman world. The various trades had trade guilds. Think of them as unions in the ancient world. You've got to be a member of the union if you want to do business in the city. Each trade guild had a worship commitment to Caesar and its particular god or gods. That worship commitment was part of your membership dues. These Christians were with their faith. They weren't holding back from publicly living as light, living out the implications of their faith. Because of this they were suffering. They were being excluded from the economic well being of the community. If you refuse to pay homage to the gods of our culture, you are not welcome to participate in the wealth of our community.

Before I was in ministry I worked as a project engineering manager for a global communications company. I recall a meeting where the engineers were complaining that our designs were being modified during the project review process in a way that would make it difficult for those systems to meet all the customer’s requirements. Our director said, “Here’s what you need to remember. Cash is king.” In other words, “We’re in the profit making business. And there’s a profit margin we have to hit for these projects. You either conform to that, or you don’t get to play here.” There are always dues to pay.

The Christians in Smyrna knew that they couldn't pay the dues required, so they were both poor and in trouble. It's one thing to be poor. To not have enough money to provide for your families, pay your bills, take care of food, clothing, and shelter. It's another thing to be poor and in trouble with the law. And it's in the context of this suffering that Jesus says to the church in Smyrna. "I know your trouble and poverty, but you are rich. You're rich because you have me. And life with me is real wealth regardless of your physical condition."

The Christians in Smyrna knew that they couldn't pay those dues, so they were both poor and in trouble. It's one thing to be poor. To not have enough money to provide for your families, pay your bills, take care of food, clothing, and shelter. It's another thing to be poor and in trouble with the law. And it's in the context of this suffering that Jesus says to the church in Smyrna. "I know your trouble and poverty, but you are rich. You're rich because you have me. And life with me is real wealth regardless of your physical condition."

Here's a take home for us in this. Jesus is getting at a particular temptation that comes with suffering and lacking what we need. The temptation in that situation is to put your eyes on those who have what we want, those who are in positions of power and influence, those who are calling the shots, and to desire what they have or their position. Everything will be alright if I could just have that. No one wants to suffer, and when you're under that burden, you'd rather someone tell you that God intends for you to be the head and not the tail in the here and now. You'd rather have someone tell you that God doesn't want you to be experiencing this. God isn't interested in your learning what patient endurance means.

This isn't to say that when suffering comes you aren't supposed to pray for relief, or do what they can to push back against evil, injustice, poverty and oppression. No. That's a part of what it means to be engaged and to live as a Christian in this world.

Jesus' message to them isn't, "you should be the head and not the tail." It's not, "do everything you can to become a powerful and mighty political force in Smyrna." His message is, "Don't fear what you're about to suffer. Your faith is being tested. Be faithful until death." In other words, "I am removing the covers from your eyes so that you can get a glimpse of what it really means to be rich. I know your tribulation. I know your poverty. But you need to know that you are rich."

Real Evil

The covers are being removed for them and for us so that we all can clearly see that life with Jesus means real wealth. You see, God always does this with his word.

The covers are being removed for them and for us so that we all can clearly see that life with Jesus means real wealth.

God, in his word, removes the covers from our eyes to show us the deeper reality of the eternal riches in Jesus that are better than any wealth you could have now. I'm going to get to real evil, the second point, in just a second, but I need to say that there's another side to this real wealth coin.

The temptation when we suffer lack is to believe that all I need is to have my needs met and everything will be good. The other side of this coin actually speaks to those who are materially prosperous right now. There's no piety in poverty and prosperity doesn't necessarily mean that there's perversion. But there are temptations in both. The temptation for the prosperous is to believe that I don't need anything, especially God. I have all that I need, or have a way to get what I need. I'm in power or I know the people who are. In other words, you might even acknowledge God, but you don't live a life of active dependency on God. It's easy, maybe even typical, to be prosperous in this life and very poor in meaningful faith in Jesus Christ. So, the need for poor and rich is to find our real wealth in Jesus Christ.

The covers are removed in our text to reveal real wealth, but also to reveal real evil. What do you think of when you think of God. Do you have the picture of love, glory, power, authority, grace, mercy and justice that's presented to us in these seven letters? Here's another question. What do you think of when you think of the devil? In your mind is he just some imaginary creature with a red suit, a pointy tail, and a pitchfork? Is he just somebody we made up in our minds, and not worth paying any attention to? Or is he somebody we get to blame any time we mess up? "The devil made me do it."

The covers are removed in our text to reveal real wealth, but also to reveal real evil. A few weeks ago when we began this series I asked the question, what do you think of when you think of God. Do you have the picture of glory, power, authority, along with love, grace and mercy that's presented to us in Revelation? Here's another question. What do you think of when you think of the devil? In your mind is he just some imaginary creature with a red suit, a pointy tail, and a pitchfork? is he just somebody we made up in our minds, and not worth paying any attention to? Or is he somebody we get to blame any time we mess up. "The devil made me do it."

Jesus removes the covers on real evil for the church in Smyrna. He says to them,

REV2

"I know the slander of those who say that they're Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. Let no one fear the things you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison so that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation for ten days."

Jesus isn't afraid of offending any of us. And I would imagine that any Jewish person hearing this text would be deeply offended by Jesus' saying that the Jewish people in Smyrna were a synagogue of Satan. But get what he says. He's not saying that all Jews everywhere were a synagogue of Satan. Jesus says, I know the slander, the blasphemy, of those who call themselves Jews and are not. Why does he call them a synagogue of Satan? Because they are opposing the things of God.

This is the same thing Jesus said to the apostle Peter, recorded for us in , , and ? Jesus had asked his disciples, who do you say that I am? Peter, speaking for the group, says, "you are the Christ, the son of the living God." Immediately after that, Jesus begins to tell them about how he has to suffer and be rejected and be killed, but he would rise again after three days. The Bible says that Peter took Jesus aside and began to rebuke him. Jesus, turning to the disciples rebukes Peter saying, "Get behind me Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man." Here's Peter, an apostle. At one moment a spokesperson declaring the truth of God. In the next moment, a spokesperson declaring the lie of the devil. Clearly identified because his mind was set only on what he thought things should work out. He missed God's mind.

Here's what's going on in Smyrna. The Jewish community in Smyrna have teamed up with the Gentiles in Smyrna to persecute the Christians and oppose the things of God. Jesus' declaration is that both groups are being influenced by the prince of the power of the air, the devil himself. Did you notice the two references? He said, these people are a synagogue of Satan. Then he says to the Christians, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison. The devil isn't going to all of a sudden appear before their eyes like magic. It's the city officials who will be throwing them into prison. But they're being influenced by Satan himself. This is how it was working out practically in Smyrna. Judaism was an official religion in the Roman Empire. They weren't forced to worship Caesar as a god, but got off on a technicality. They were allowed to offer sacrifices in honor of the emperors as rulers and not as gods. And since new religions weren't permitted in the Empire, they seemed to be all too willing to make it known to the city officials, "these folk ain't with us. They're on some new religion kick."

The covers being removed revealing real evil demonstrate the reality that there is evil trinity at work opposing God. The evil trinity of the world the flesh and the devil are unconsciously unified against Jesus, his plan and his purposes. What do I mean? Do you think that the Jewish community in Smyrna would’ve said, had they been asked, we are a synagogue of Satan? Absolutely not! But they were looking out for number one. They were looking after their own interests according to what they wanted, not what God wanted. Do you think that the city officials in Smyrna who were throwing the Christians into prison would’ve said, “our hands are the devil’s hands?” They were following the way of the world, the rule of law. The devil is evil. He will use the sinful desires of our hearts and minds along with the sinful desires of human institutions to oppose God however he can. This evil trinity is the real evil that Jesus is exposing here. Richard Lovelace in his book Dynamics of Spiritual Life, puts it well when he says,

“the destructive malice of Satan against all humanity, and particularly against the church, is channeled through human agents and the systems and institutions they have built. Humanity in general is afflicted by the destroyer through the structures of injustice and oppression of which the flesh and the devil are joint architects, and Christians are murderously attacked by individuals and governments ultimately directed by Satan.”

This is not, “the devil makes me do it.” Jesus would have us understand this. Guess who will play on my own heart and mind when I am dead set on getting my own way? Guess who’s going to influence me to only think about my wants and needs, my right to harbor un-forgiveness, my right to seek revenge, my right to hold something against someone for offending me? Don’t be confused. Satan is real. He will play on those things to help you grow deep roots of bitterness. How is it that groups of human beings can be involved in strategies to eliminate whole people groups, whether in the name of evolutionary progress like Hitler, or in the name of God like religious zealots? Don’t be confused. Satan is real and active.

Real Promise

Because the church has real wealth, in the midst of their living under the thumb of real evil, Jesus can offer real promise. He says to them in vv. 10-11,

“Become faithful until death and I will give you the crown of life. The one who has an ear to hear, let him here what the Spirit is saying to the churches. The one who overcomes will not be hurt by the second death.”

Revelation 2:10–11 ESV

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. Be faithful unto 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. The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death.’

Their being thrown into prison wasn’t just to await a trail, it was most likely to await eventual execution. So Jesus says, even the devil’s attack and plan is only serving my purpose of putting your faith to the test. Have you placed your faith in Jesus Christ? Have you declared, “I trust you Lord with my whole heart?” Your faith will be put to the test. Peter put it this way in

1 Peter 1:6–7 ESV

6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

And in the midst of the test is Jesus’ declaration, become faithful. You’ve said you believe, now learn what it means to believe through trial. Here is my promise, “I will give you the crown of life.” The crown you want, Smyrnan Christians, isn’t the Caesar’s crown, and it’s not even the crown of the guy who’s over your district. The crown you want is the crown of life, and only I can give you that.

“you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith - more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire - may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”

Let me close with an example of this played out in the history of this very city only a few decades after this text was written. Polycarp was a disciple of the apostle John himself, and became bishop of the church in Smyrna in 115 AD. That put you front and center in the crosshairs for elimination. After serving for many years, the city leaders were now seeking his death. Christians were considered atheists at that time because they didn’t believe in the gods of the Roman world. According to the Epistle of the Church in Smyrna Concerning the Martyrdom of Holy Polycarp, the cry of the multitude was, “Away with the Atheists! Let Polycarp be sought out!” Polycarp wanted to stay in the city, but was persuaded by the church to go into hiding in the countryside. He was betrayed by a servant, and arrested after his hiding place was revealed.

He was brought back into Smyrna, and led into the arena. The proconsul asked whether he was Polycarp. When he confessed that he was, the proconsul said, “Swear by the fortune of Caesar; repent, and say, Away with the Atheists.” Polycarp waved his hand towards the crowd in the arena, looked up to the sky and said, “Away with the Atheists.” The proconsul said, “Swear, and I will let you go, reproach Christ.” Polycarp declared, “Eighty six years have I served Him, and he never did me any injury: how then can I blaspheme my King and my Savior?” After continuing to confirm his Christian faith, the proconsul had his spokesperson declare to the crowd, “Polycarp has confessed that he is a Christian.” The epistle says that with uncontrollable fury, and in a loud voice, the multitude declared, “This is the teacher of Asia, the father of the Christians, and the overthrower of our gods, he who as been teaching many not to sacrifice, or to worship the gods.” Polycarp was sentenced to be burned. In his prayer to God before his execution he said,

“I give you thanks that you have counted me worthy of this day and this hour, that I should have a part in the number of your martyrs, in the cup of your Christ, to the resurrection of eternal life, both of soul and body, through the incorruption imparted by the Holy Spirit.”

None of us in here are likely to suffer martyrdom for the name of Jesus Christ, but may really understand the riches that belong to those who are in him and may he empower each person in here to be faithful to him until the day we die.

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