Praying (and living) in “Smyrna”
“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 life as your victor’s crown.”
-Jesus, speaking to the church of Smyrna, Revelation 2:10
Ruins of the ancient city of Smyrna (now Izmir, Turkey)
It was a word from the Lord that most of us would not want to receive—even though we all talk about how wonderful it would be to get direct revelations from Jesus! A small church whose origins are unknown, Smyrna (modern-day Izmir, Turkey), may well have been a church that had no direct apostolic connection prior to John’s arrival in Asia, and may never have known direct prophetic words or guidance—until now.
John’s revelation of Jesus arrived among them from Patmos, and as they listened, heard it move from an opening vision of and commission by Jesus to specific messages to seven churches in Asia—including them!
Undoubtedly as the reading discussed Ephesus, the listeners in Smyrna were taken aback. Here was the “mother church” of Asia being critiqued for its loss of former love and threatened with losing its light!
Now, the reader of the letter gives these next words of Jesus, “To Smyrna’s messenger, write this…”
What would he tell them? And why them? They were not nearly as significant as Ephesus or some of the other churches. They were struggling financially, and things were getting worse, not better. Faithful living was not easy right now as persecution had come. Were they slacking off and so Jesus was going to rebuke and tell them to get going?
“These are the words of him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again. 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. 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 life as your victor’s crown.
Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who is victorious will not be hurt at all by the second death.”
The reader paused for a moment before going on to a message to Pergamum—but it was probably excusable if those listening in Smyrna didn’t catch the other messages. What had Jesus just told them?
He described himself as God and also as the One risen from the dead—God eternal and God incarnate! He didn’t list their deeds or their failings, but said he knows their afflictions—he understood how they were hurting and how the mockery of other religious people hurt, too. He said they were “rich”—what did he mean? Perhaps it was a different kind of wealth he was talking about, the kind that couldn’t be counted on earth.
He dismissed their opponents as serving the devil, but then, in mentioning Satan, he told them that their adversary had Smyrna in his sights.
Suffering would get worse. There would be imprisonment and a significant period of suffering—ten days meant a long time in a culture where “tomorrow” or “a day or two” was the standard answer for how long something would take. No quick rescue was in sight.
And there might be no rescue at all for some—the instruction was “be faithful, even to the point of death.” It had been a while in Roman lands since the last persecutions against Christians, but the current emperor thought it was a good idea to suppress this “foreign religion” that refused to worship him.
Smyrna was not strong or rich. They couldn’t resist the power of Rome and they didn’t have the wherewithal to flee to another land.
But they could be faithful. They could decide to remain true to the gospel and one another, to pray, to listen to God’s Word, to live daily as they had been, and to trust him for strength when the trouble came home to them. They would have to face that trouble with no assurance that they or their loved ones would survive—in this life.
But they knew the One who had been raised from the death meted out by his enemies. They knew his promises to his people—the victor’s crown. And he knew them.
A village in Afghanistan, prior to the Taliban takeover.
I think of this story as I consider our brothers and sisters in Afghanistan today. The church there is small and has undergone persecution its entire life. But in the Taliban conquest they face rulers who have indicated a desire to remove any trace of Christian faith among former Muslims. Conversion was always illegal, even during the American presence, but churches had managed to fly under the radar even as they grew. Now, things have been promised to be different.
But the Lord was with Smyrna. The church survived persecution and remained for centuries. More importantly, the witness of Smyrna, both in Revelation and in the next generation by Polycarp, its bishop and martyr, lives on today.
God will prove himself faithful to his people in Afghanistan—and that will happen through the prayers of his people. Let’s pray for this “Smyrna”-like church in its coming hour of testing.
For more information and some suggested ways to pray for Christians in Afghanistan you can follow these links:
Chrstianity Today interviewed 15 people who have connection/expertise/experience with the Afghan situation and share their conversations and concerns.
Voice of the Martyrs has helped efforts to help Christians in Afghanistan for many years. Here are their suggestions for prayer.
Open Doors USA President David Curry offers a prayer we can join for Afghanistan, and the website tells many stories about Christians there.
