May 12th, 2010 by Kristi Stephens

Image from www.bibleplaces.com

The church is always purified by fire.  It is painful – no one wants to suffer.  But it seems that in places of extreme suffering and persecution, God’s people grow stronger – and false believers stay far from the church in the cross-hairs of persecution.  Smyrna was one of these places of suffering and purity.  Interestingly, this church and the church at Philadelphia (which was also suffering) are the only two churches in the book of Revelation to receive commendation free of any rebuke from the Lord.

Smyrna was a powerful and wealthy city, noted for its beauty and well situated for trade by land and sea.  It was also a city fiercely loyal to Rome.  In 195 B.C. the citizens of Smyrna built a temple dedicated to the worship of Rome.  In 26 A.D., this city was selected as the location of a temple for the worship of Emperor Tiberius.  The Christians at Smyrna faced incredible pressure to worship the emperor – and severe persecution if they refused.   That’s not all.

Smyra worshiped an eclectic mix of gods, including Zeus, Apollo, Aphrodite, Asklepios, and especially, Cybele.  The Christian’s rejection of the pagan pantheon of idols, coupled with their worship of an invisible God, caused them to be denounced as atheists.  Much of Smyrna’s social life revolved around pagan worship, and Christians were viewed as antisocial elitists for refusing to participate in it.

MacArthur, 71 (affiliate link)

When I consider the faithfulness of believers like those who lived in Smyrna, it causes me to examine my heart.  What would I do?  Would I cave to social pressure?  Would I stop sharing my faith and cower in fear?  Would I try to externally blend in to the rest of society and keep my faith hidden? Am I so compelled by the Truth of Jesus Christ that I would be burned at the stake, fed to the lions, cut in two for what I believe?

A few years back I was challenging a “Christian” group of high school students from the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.  I was shocked by their responses.  We discussed the fact that these young men knew the suffering they would face and stayed faithful to God in the midst of it all – and they argued with me that it wouldn’t have been a “big deal” if they had just pretended to worship the idol.  ”They could have actually been praying to God!”  ”They could have been looking at the grass!”  ”No one would know what they were actually doing – they wouldn’t actually have to worship it!”

I nearly wept.

What a poignant statement about the state of the American church.  ”Just look like the rest of the culture and keep your faith private.  Avoid persecution.  You can appear to be an idol worshiper… your true allegiance is a private matter.”

It is not a private matter.  If we believe in the core of our being that Jesus is who He said He is, if we have cast ourselves upon His grace, if we have clung to Truth – we will not deny Him.

As we will discuss tomorrow, the church at Smyrna loved His life more than their own.

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