Greetings, this is Pastor David Bass at New Geneva Orthodox Presbyterian Church with a moment of truth where we challenge you to think through an important issue of life and faith. And today, I'd like to challenge you to consider how rich do you have to be to have a profound effect with the gospel. We're going to look at the church in Smyrna today, which was a very poor church, but which nevertheless was very rich towards God and very influential in the province of Asia in which it was located.

We're looking at the book of Revelation, and let me read, first of all, verses 8 through 11, where we see in Revelation chapter 2, verses 8 through 11, we see the situation of the church of Smyrna in Asia. Okay, here we go. To the angel of the church in Smyrna write, these are the words of him who was 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 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 10 days. Be faithful even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life. 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.

This is the letter to the church at Smyrna in the book of Revelation in chapter 2. And as we move through our text today, we're going to see just how obscure and poor and uninfluential the church in Smyrna was, at least to the world's point of view. The world scoffed at groups of scruffy non-persons like the saints in Smyrna. Now, in contrast, let me list for you the 10 wealthiest famous evangelical pastors, quote-unquote evangelical pastors in America, and see if they are as influential as the church in Smyrna.

First of all, number one, you may be surprised at this, you may not be surprised at this, but the wealthiest evangelical pastor in America is Kenneth Copeland, number one, at $760 million. That is his valued worth, almost a billion dollars, Mr. Kenneth Copeland. Wow. Number two, at a distance, second is T.D. Jakes at $150 million.

Number three, Pat Robertson at $100 million. Hal Lindsey at $45 million. Benny Hinn at $42 million. Joel Osteen, there he is, at $40 million. Cruflo Dollar at $27 million.

Jimmy Swaggart, oh, weeping Jimmy Swaggart at $10 million. Joyce Meyer, oh, a lady breaks into the top 10. Joyce Meyer at $8 million. And then finally, my favorite evangelical, quote-unquote, the almost rabbi, John Hagee at $5 million. Now, as I contemplate the vast gulf between the church in Smyrna and that in the United States of America, represented by these, quote-unquote, pastors, I have so many questions.

Men and Joyce Meyer, if our Lord would write you a letter, as he did the Smyrnians, what would he say? Are you any more or any less remarkable or righteous or spiritual for your wealth than the Smyrnians were in their poverty? What would your faith look like? Copeland, Jakes, Robertson, Lindsay, Hinn, Osteen, Dollar, Swaggart, Meyer, Hagee, what would your faith look like if you and your wealth and fame and soft circumstances ran into the buzzsaw of trial and persecution that the Smyrnians experienced?

Oh, to me, this whole letter, compared to the circumstances of these so-called pastors in America, forced me to ask this question, what is rich? What is rich and who is rich? Well, Revelation answers these questions. It doesn't just talk about the buzzwords of rapture and beast and 666 and the Great Tribulation. No, Revelation answers the questions I just asked.

In fact, we might say that our Lord was far more interested in answering these questions than what is the rapture, who is the Antichrist, what does the Great Tribulation start, right? Well, let us look through these sets of questions that Revelation takes up and not obsess over those who tickle our prophetic fancy. Well, let me have three points with you today in the Church of Smyrna. First of all, covering verse number 8, which reads, to the angel of the church in Smyrna, write, these are the words of him who was the first and the last who died and came to life again.

And about verse 8, I'd like to say, concerning the church of Smyrna, persecuted, poor, and imprisoned as you may be, know that he who is sovereign, raised to life, holds your life and destiny in his hand. Yes. Now, as you are beginning to see, as we go through the book of Revelation, each of the letters begins and ends by hearkening back to the founding vision of the apocalypse, if you go back to chapter 1, that is, that of the risen and ruling Christ. Further, each of the titles of Christ used to announce himself to the particular church in question ministers to the needs of that church. Have you noticed that yet?

You will as we go through them. Remember these things in days to come, number 1. First of all, hearkening back to chapter 1 and the initial vision of the risen Christ, number 1. Christ is the first and the last. First point to remember, Christ is the first and the last.

Remember what Christ told John right out of the gate, fear not, I am the first and the last. If you remember, we observed that throughout Scripture, this is shorthand for the sovereignty of God in all of life's circumstances. The tendency for anyone stunned and overwhelmed by suffering and persecution, do not underestimate these circumstances, dear listener. The tendency for anyone stunned like this is to question whether God is really present, whether he's really in control after all. Even the greatest of the Old Testament prophets, John the Baptist, had to ask.

Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to them, are you the one who is to come or shall we look for another? Right? And as we shall see, the suffering of the church in Smyrna was every bit as intense as that of John's, such that they were most certainly susceptible to asking the same kinds of questions. So the assurance that Christ was sovereign in all of their circumstances, no matter how punishing, that would be of great comfort to the saints in Smyrna. See, Revelation is not just about the great tribulation and the rapture and 666 and the beast and all of this stuff.

No. God the Father was so in his son's life as he suffered with increasing intensity as he came to the cross, where beyond measure he suffered for us. And like master, like servant, like teacher, like student, we suffer with him in his footsteps. And as it was with Christ, so it is with us that, as Paul says, all things work together for good for those who are called according to his purpose. Well, this is because Christ is the first and the last, as he says right here in Revelation.

As Martin Luther says in the bondage of the will, he says, the Christian's chief and only comfort in adversity lies in knowing that God does not lie, but brings all things to pass immutably, and that his will cannot be resisted, altered, or impeded, unquote. Secondly, then note with me, too, from the opening verse, verse 8, the second thing we note from our text, where our Lord says, these are the words of him who, I'm sorry, these are the words of him who is the first and the last, who died and came to life again. Note with me, secondly, Christ died and came to life.

Important assertion in this verse, this title of Christ, that he died and came to life, emblemizes his sacrifice for sin and triumph over death, such that he is now the master of it and their respective realms. I am the living one, as he said in chapter 1, verse 18, I am the living one. I died and behold, I am alive forevermore. And I have the keys of death and Hades, unquote. The ultimate threat of tribulation at the hands of men is physical death.

Terrible, yes, but not finally fatal. Our Lord said during his earthly ministry, do not fear those who kill the body, but cannot kill the soul. Rather, fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell, unquote. Oh, the words of our Lord, sometimes fearsome, are they not? The Smyrnians feared God and loved his son and confessed him before men.

And thus, they had nothing to fear from him, but only joy and an anticipation of things to come, despite their poverty in the earth. With what can you threaten a man who's already dead in his Savior, dear listener? As Paul says in Romans chapter 6, we were buried therefore with him by baptism into death. In order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his, unquote.

Well, dear listener, with a promise like that, what is there to fear from tribulation from men? This is what our Lord tries to bring to the suffering saints in Smyrna, that reassurance. Nothing to fear from men, since they indeed are in the hands of the fearless one, the Lord Jesus Christ. There's nothing to fear from him, who indeed can destroy both soul and body in hell, as he said in his earthly ministry. Oh, dear listener, what a valuable reassurance that would be.

Well, secondly, let me note with you from verses 9 and 10, the church in Smyrna, persecuted, poor, and imprisoned as you may be, patiently endure with faith to the point of death, and the crown of life is yours. That's the upshot of verses 9 and 10. And once again, those of verses read, 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. 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 10 days. But be faithful even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life. Persecuted, poor, and imprisoned as you may be, saints in Smyrna, continue to patiently endure with faith to the point of death, and the crown of life is yours. That's the upshot of verses 9 through 10. Anyone who is familiar with the city of Smyrna in the day, well, they would have found the circumstances of the Christian church there incongruous with those of the city proper.

In the day in which John wrote to this church, Smyrna was elegant and prosperous. It was one of the first planned cities of the Roman Empire. Oh, the city of Smyrna, if you were to visit it, you would be impressed. You would want to stay there. You'd want a vacation there, because the city of Smyrna stretched down slopes of a sun-baked mountain to a thriving, bustling harbor.

It had both sea and land beauty to it, both mountains and oceans. The city of Smyrna also had streets that were laid out in straight lines. They were paved with stones. They had linings with up and down the streets with porticos in which you could rest and relax. The city of Smyrna had glorious temples to Emperors Augustus and the Emperor Tiberius.

The city of Smyrna had something I would have loved. You'd found me there. It had renowned library and shrines. But they were dedicated to various Greek and Roman gods and icons, like the poet Homer. Well, in the city of Smyrna, there were many, also many, well-endowed Jewish synagogues there.

Ding, ding, ding, ding, right? This rings a bell with us, with the synagogues of Satan. Well, since the city was so rich and prosperous, and there was a large Jewish community here, there were many, well-endowed Jewish synagogues there. So then, of what significance in a city of splendor like this, of what significance would be a poor, ignominious Christian church? Well, because of these things, the above attributes of our Lord would have brought great comfort to the Smyrnians, and all of those in similar circumstances throughout church history, too.

We must always remember that the letters to these seven churches encompass the whole of the church throughout its history. The churches, seven churches of Asia, written to by our Lord and revealed unto John, indeed revealed particular circumstances to particular churches. But we can generalize from them to see the similar circumstances of all churches throughout church history. That is one of the main upshots of the book of Revelation, and the letters to the seven particular churches, particularly.

We in the West, we have a difficult time understanding what a poor church like that of Smyrna, of what significance it could possibly be in the wealthy and rich and generous circumstances of the city of Smyrna proper. Put yourselves in their place, dear listener, and see how isolated and alone this church must have been, and many other churches around the world even today must be. They were under a persecuting hand, and they were poor, and they were falsely accused of crimes, and they were on the brink of imprisonment and death. Does anyone see, they might ask. Does anyone know, they might ask.

Does anyone care, they might ask. Is it worth it to continue, they might ask. So then, hearing this from our Lord, I know your tribulation, your poverty, these kinds of things. I know your circumstances. Well, this is said virtually to all the churches, some of whom might not take as much comfort in being so thoroughly known as the Smyrnaians.

Well, what was it the Lord knew about the church in Smyrna? It knew, first of all, you have tribulation. Yes, our Lord understands. He knows. You have tribulation.

And tribulation, in the context of the book of Revelation, is suffering for the name. That is suffering for the name of Christ. As the hymn says, others may be carried to the skies on flowery beds of ease. I've always loved that line. Am I to be carried to the skies on flowery beds of ease?

That's from the hymn, Am I a Soldier of the Cross? by Isaac Watts. Others may be so carried to the skies on flowery beds of ease, but not the saints in Smyrna. Rather, as our Lord says, they fought to win the prize and sailed through bloody seas. As the hymn, Am I a Soldier of the Cross goes on to say, the Smyrnians fought to win the prize and they sailed through bloody seas.

Now, others may think they will be raptured out of the tribulation, but the church in Smyrna can teach us how to endure it with patience and without gaining a works righteousness either. There are some false trendy tribulation teachers. There are some false revelation red heifer rapture ranters who say that to go through tribulation and suffering is to attempt to win righteousness, your own personal righteousness by your works. But that is a false dichotomy, a false characterization. No, we are expected to walk in our Savior's footsteps, right?

Like teacher, like student, like master, like servant. No, we are expected to. You better be ready to take upon your shoulders the yoke of our Savior, and that involves suffering and tribulation. You are not to be raptured out of tribulation. You are expected to be equipped for tribulation.

Secondly, the saints in Smyrna, you have poverty as well. Not only do you have tribulation, but you have poverty. That is, the church in Smyrna, as the churches around the globe find themselves within, so often, financial poverty, your financial circumstances, old church in Smyrna. They're mean because you have been brought to them by your enemies. That is, you've been prevented from buying and selling.

This has happened not just to some far-flung future generation, but it happened to the church in Smyrna. They were prevented from buying and selling, as we have seen in the past. Or else, perhaps the Lord found you in these poor financial circumstances when he called you, as Paul said. Paul could as easily have reminded the Smyrnians as he did the Corinthians. And I quote Paul, for consider your calling, brothers.

Not many of you were wise according to worldly standards. Not many were powerful. Not many were of noble birth, right? Well, the church in Smyrna, the Smyrnians, could not afford to buy media time on TBN or film lavish videos and times to put up on YouTube. No, they couldn't afford for a luxurious cruise with Ligonier Ministries to the Holy Land.

No, they probably couldn't afford the legal fees for the charges that they faced, right? To the rest of Smyrna, the church, the Christian church, those who followed Christ were the bottom of the barrel in town. But our Lord calls them rich. Our Lord calls them rich. But what were they rich in?

Once more, Paul puts it very nicely. He says, but God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise. God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong. God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are. And because of him, you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption.

Oh, yes. The irony of all this, right? Oh, the seeming contradictory nature of these things. They are wealthy, though, in the eyes of the world, they are poor. They are nevertheless rich spiritually because they are in Christ.

And that wealth, that spiritual wealth will be reflected all through revelation, too, as a motif. Chapter 5, verse 12 will say, worthy is the lamb who was slain to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing, even though on the earth, all the opposites seem to obtain. And of course, this wealth, this beauty, this gloriousness will culminate in the city whose streets are paved with gold and adorned with gems and whose gates are pearls, right? Here is true wealth.

And the wealth of that city, the spiritual wealth of that city is emblemized and the kinds of wealth reflected in the gems and gold and silver that I just cited for you. The church all over the globe is more like the church in Smyrna than any other. Yes, brothers and sisters, when we finally look at all things, we're going to see the church in America, especially the evangelical church, those that have the Revelation Red Heifer rapture, ranters amongst them are more like the church in Laodicea than any other church.

But around the globe, the churches we see around the globe in the African continent, in the South American continent, these are more like the church in Smyrna than any other. The church all over the globe takes more comfort in texts like this one than those contrived to bring the false hope that they will be raptured out of the tribulation, that they will be raptured out of poverty, or that they will, instead of all this, claim their blessing of wealth if they just send seed money to Joel Osteen or Benny Hinn. Dear listener, I will say this in countervailance to Benny Hinn and Joel Osteen. God does want you to be rich.

He wants you to be rich in wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption. Well, dear listener, tribulation does not stop with this, does it? No, it does not. And we will continue then with the further tribulations and poverty and persecution in the world, at least, of the church in Smyrna. But there are continued wealth and success and love and care and concern by the Lord in heaven.

We're going to see this reflected as we oscillate from earth to heaven here in days to come too. And we'll see the church of Smyrna from a different perspective. That is the heavenly one as we oscillate then beginning in chapter four with the church in Revelation, the church in Smyrna in the book of Revelation. But I eagerly look forward to continuing then with our study of the church of Smyrna in the book of Revelation next week.

But until then, just know that no matter how poor and persecuted you may be, how poor and persecuted you may feel, how under the standards of the world you may be, how the world may seem to triumph over you, dear listener, dear saint, dear believer, no matter where you're listening to this around the world, just know that you are rich in Christ and that he knows you, he sees you, he dotes on you, and he looks forward to welcoming you then into his kingdom in days to come where the streets are paved with gold and the gates are made of pearls and all these great images to show the wealth that you have in your Lord Jesus Christ. It's him I love.

It's him I look forward to being with through eternity. This has been Pastor David Bass at New Geneva Orthodox Presbyterian Church and we're looking at the book of Revelation, perhaps in ways you've never heard before, but we are now preaching through the book of Revelation as well and we're doing so in our worship services. We invite you to come to our blessed worship services and they are at 101 4th Street on the corner of 4th and Boulevard. Yes, New Geneva meets for holy worship on Sunday at 10 a.m. at 101 4th Street on the corner of 4th and Boulevard, looking at the book of Revelation, preaching through it.

And you can also then tap the rest of our sermons on this series by going to our website, which is dedicated to these messages, and you can either do our church website, which is newgenevaopc.org. That's all one word, newgenevaopc.org, or our website dedicated to these radio messages. That's omnispotestas.org, O-M-N-I-S-P-O-T-E-S-T-A-S.org, omnisprotestas.org. And you can resource all of these radio messages and sermons on the book of Revelation. Or you can call us for more information at area code 208-523-0196. That's area code 208-523-0196.