Smyrna is about 40 miles to the south of Ephesus and had many visitors since it had an excellent harbor and a well-traveled road to the interior of the region. Many travelers passed through the city. The city was founded by Alexander the Great and continues to this day as the modern Turkish city of Izmir with a population of approximately 2.8 million.
At the foot of the Mount Pagos stood the temple of Zeus, the father of the gods, reputed to be the lord of the sky, rain, clouds, and thunder. Along the Golden Street stood the shrines of Apollo the sun-god, Aphrodite the goddess of love and beauty, and close to the sea, Cybele, a nature goddess. At the Agora (the commercial and political center) were statues of Poseidon, the sea-god, and Demeter, the goddess of corn. But the goddess of Smyrna was Cybele, whom the Greeks considered the mother of Zeus and Poseidon. She was the giver of wealth and her crowns were battlements and towers as she was the god of forces. She was on the coins of Smyrna.
Like Ephesus, Smyrna had economic success. It claimed to be one of the birthplaces of Homer, the poet. It also had a theater that could hold nearly 20,000 spectators. “In the 23 AD year a temple was built in honor of Tiberius and his mother Julia, and the Golden Street, connecting the temples of Zeus and Cybele, is said to have been the best in any ancient city” (International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, 1939, “Smyrna”).
The name of Smyrna likely came from myrrh. Myrrh was the chief export of the city in ancient times. Myrrh is a bitter gum and costly perfume which exudes from a certain tree or shrub in Arabia. It was a gift of the Magi at Christ’s birth (Mt 2:11): Gold = royalty, Frankincense = deity, Myrrh = suffering, death. In Jesus’ second coming gold and frankincense are offered, but NO myrrh. “They shall bring gold and incense and shall praise the Lord” (Is 60:6). “They shall bring gifts and all kings shall fall down before Him” (Ps 72:10). This is because there will not be another death. He died and rose again and there is no need for it.
As we heard on the video last week on Ephesus, each year a Roman citizen had to burn a pinch of incense on the altar and to acknowledge publicly that Caesar was supreme lord. In is said that they received a formal certification that they had done so. Originally this was intended to be proof of political loyalty, since each person was permitted to worship whatever god they choose. It was meant as a means to unify and integrate their vast empire. However, this presented a difficult test for Christians, and many who refused were burned at the stake or eaten by wild beasts in the arena.
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.
The description used for Jesus here is “the First and the Last, who died and came to life again”. This is very appropriate for this congregation. The only person who could touch them is the One who had been persecuted, suffered, and died, yet rose again. He has intimate knowledge of their plight. The church of Smyrna was a persecuted church. They were marked out and ostracized. They experienced economic boycott and were misrepresented. They were opposed religiously and socially. It cost them to take a stand for Jesus.
Yet Jesus saw them as “rich”! Why would He specifically stop His identification of their condition to describe that He sees them as rich? “Listen, my dear brothers: Didn’t God choose the poor in this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom that He has promised to those who love Him?” (Ja 2:5). They are spiritually rich and Jesus is yet again describing how that is the real describer of wealth. The physical world will pass away, but the spiritual world is eternal. Those who are rich in the spiritual have the true wealth. This can easily be described with many verses directly from the teachings of Jesus.
If we look at the pattern of discussion that is used towards each church, there is commendations: He knows of their afflictions, poverty, and the slander they endure. They are faithful through trials. There is no condemnation. There is a command to “be faithful even to the point of death”. The challenge is that they will receive the victor’s crown.
“I know about the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.” This church is slandered by the Jews. John writes that they are a “synagogue of Satan”. John also wrote in John 8:44 where Jesus said, “You are of your father the Devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires.” Physical heritage is no indication of spiritual standing. These Jews were hostile towards Christians and were tools of the real enemy.
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