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Greetings. This is Pastor David Bass at New Geneva Orthodox Presbyterian Church with a

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moment of truth, where we challenge you to think through an important issue of life and faith.

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And today, I'd like to challenge you to think about the poor, afflicted, beat-down church

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of Smyrna in Asia that we find in the book of Revelation in comparison with the fat cat church

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in America today. We last week looked briefly at the church in Smyrna as an introduction

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and saw that it was poor and afflicted and persecuted, but nevertheless, our Lord had his

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eye upon them, and he had his eye upon them for good. And he was going to bless them, promise them

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indeed that they would find life in him, even though they found death at the hands of their

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persecutors in this life. And I'd like to continue to look at that church too, because it's very

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important for application to the church around the world today, which is far more like the church in

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Smyrna than the church in America is today. The church in America, I submit to you, will get to

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this church as well. It's far more like the church in Laodicea than it is the church in Smyrna.

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Well, let's take up the text first of all, and then we'll have part two of the church in Smyrna.

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This is from the book of Revelation at New Geneva Orthodox Presbyterian Church. We are preaching through

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the book of Revelation now, and it's been a very instructive study for all of us, including myself.

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And if you'd like to join us, we invite you to do so. We meet for holy worship on Sundays at 10 a.m.

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at 101 4th Street on the corner of 4th and Boulevard, and we are presently in our worship services

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at 10 a.m. We are preaching through the book of Revelation. And one of those texts is from Revelation

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chapter 2, verses 8 through 11. And here they are. To the angel of the church in Smyrna write,

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these are the words of him who is the first and the last, who died and came to life again.

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I know your afflictions and your poverty, yet you are rich. I know the slander of those who say

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they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. Do not be afraid of what you are about to

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suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer

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persecution for 10 days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life.

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He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes will not

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be hurt at all by the second death. Oh, brothers and sisters, what a word of comfort to a poor,

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suffering, and persecuted church. Now, last week, we saw, I gave you, in contrast, just a flavor of

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some of the richest Christian preachers in America. Now, in comparison with this poor,

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suffering church in Smyrna, right, we saw that Kenneth Copeland headed the list, being worth $760

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million. We also saw other familiar ones we know about. Pat Robertson, valued at $100 million.

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Hal Lindsey, valued at $45 million. Joel Osteen himself at $40 million. And of course, we saw

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one of my favorite targets in the book of Revelation, John Hagee, himself valued at over $5 million.

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I wonder how our Lord would write a letter to them compared to the letter that he wrote to the church

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in Smyrna. Oh, one of the things I hope to hear when the Lord returns is, well done, good and faithful

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servant. I fight to be able to be faithful as well in days to come, even as the church in Smyrna was

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faithful. And we saw last week from verse 8, I pointed out to you, and my point was to the church in

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Smyrna, persecuted, poor, and imprisoned as you may be, know that he who is sovereign, raised to life,

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holds your life and destiny in his hands. Remember, we saw that last week, and what a precious promise

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that was to the church in Smyrna. And when we left off, then last week, we also saw from verses 9 and 10,

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and this would be my second point to make to you, to the church in Smyrna, persecuted, poor, and

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imprisoned as you may be, patiently endure with faith to the point of death, and the crown of life

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is yours. This is the promise of verses 9 through 10. And we saw what a contrast the poor persecuted

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church in Smyrna was compared to the elegant and prosperous city itself. And the streets were laid

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out in straight lines, paved with stones, lined with porticos. There were temples to the emperors

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Augustus and Tiberius, many well-endowed Jewish synagogues there as well. Ding, ding, ding, ding. That

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should set off alarm bells for us, because indeed, the Jews in Smyrna who persecuted the Christians

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were called a synagogue of Satan, were they not? Well, we also saw then that some of the churches

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might not take as much comfort in being so thoroughly known as the Smyrnians, but nevertheless,

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the church was well-known by our Lord Jesus Christ. He knows us all intimately. He knows all of our

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churches. He knows your church intimately and thoroughly, inside and out. That's another point

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we need to take away from these letters to the churches in Asia, because all through history,

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our Lord has known intimately every one of his churches, every one of those who claim his name.

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And we saw about the Smyrnians, then last week, we were in the midst of three points that our Lord

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knows about them. And we saw that, number one, they have tribulation. Number two, they have poverty.

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Indeed, they couldn't afford to buy media time on TBN, excuse me, or film lavish videos on end times

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to put up on YouTube, did they? They couldn't afford a luxurious cruise with Ligonier ministries

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to the Holy Land. They probably couldn't even afford the legal fees for the charges that they faced.

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Indeed, the Jewish synagogues were making regular accusations against the churches in Smyrna at

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this time. They were indeed synagogues of Satan. And we now take up a third point of tribulation that

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the church in Smyrna faced, and that they were slandered against. Slandered against. And it's not

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petty gossip, but lies and accusations so as to bring charges against them for prosecution. That's

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the idea of slander. Slandered, that is, lies propagated in front of a court official, a judge,

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perhaps, or a magistrate of the Roman Empire. This was rife in the life of the early church, too,

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not just in Smyrna. We see it very early in the book of Acts, for example, from Acts chapter 14.

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Now at Iconium, they, that is, Paul and Barnabas, entered together into the Jewish synagogue and spoke

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in such a way that a great number of both Jews and Greeks believed. But the unbelieving Jews

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stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers. An attempt was made by both

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Gentiles and Jews with their rulers to mistreat them and to stone them, unquote. Well, it not only

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happened in Iconium, but it also happened in churches like Smyrna. Church fathers like Justin

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Martyr and Tertullian wrote eloquent defenses to Roman officials, attempting to counter the false

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accusations of their accusers. So this would be characteristic all through church history.

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And the kind of things they would be saying, the church fathers, like Justin Martyr and Tertullian,

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they'd be saying, no, that their agape feasts, which were the Lord's Supper, a love feast,

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their agape feasts were not sexual orgies like they were in pagan religions. No, no, no. The Lord's

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Supper is far, far different than the so-called love feasts of pagan religions. And they had to

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protest and say, no, no, no. They were not cannibals eating the flesh and blood in the bread and wine

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of the supper. The Christians were not cannibals eating actual human flesh and blood. No, it was

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representational. It was sacramental in the bread and wine of the supper of the Lord. And they had to

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protest quite strenuously. Our forebearers, the church fathers, like Tertullian, like Justin Martyr,

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they had to protest strenuously that, no, they were not traitors to the empire, cursing the empire in

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secret ceremonies. No, no, no. They weren't doing that. Uh, they had open services of liturgy and

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prayer. And you could see, uh, in all of them that they prayed regularly for the magistrates of the

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Roman empire, for the health and wellbeing of the Roman empire, because when the Roman empire

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prospered, so did all men. And so did the church. Well, our Lord identifies a particular set of accusers

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here and they were the Jews who he says are not Jews. Our Lord is very explicit here. Non-believing

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Jews are not the true covenant children any longer. And we need to understand this in our own day as

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well. Non-believing Jews, Jews that do not embrace Christ and see him as their savior and see the

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church, uh, as their home. Non-believing Jews like this are not the true covenant children any longer.

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That has passed to a different people now under the new covenant. Well, the Bible lays out very

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clearly. Now, who is a Jew? Who is a Jew now? Well, one converted by the spirit. First of all,

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Paul is very strenuous about this in Romans chapter two verses 28 and 29, that a true Jew is one

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converted by the Holy spirit. Paul says, for no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly nor is

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circumcision outward and physical, but a Jew is one inwardly and circumcision is a matter of the heart

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by the spirit, not by the letter unquote. So a true Jew today, and this has to be strenuously

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maintained in the light of, uh, what is sometimes called, uh, then replacement theology.

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That is a lie that is being propagated in many circles today. No, one who is a Jew today, uh,

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is not one who's merely one outwardly nor is circumcision outward and physical pulses, but a Jew

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is one inwardly and circumcision is a matter of the heart by the spirit, not by the letter. Well,

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also then who is a true Jew now? Well, that circumcision then was accomplished at the cross.

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Paul also says in Colossians chapter two in him that is in Christ. Also, you were circumcised with a

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circumcision made without hands by putting off the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ.

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And you who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive

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together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses by canceling the record of debt that

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stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross, unquote.

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So our circumcision is now one of the heart, not of the flesh. And so then finally behold the true

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Jew under the new covenant. Who is a true Jew now? A synagogue of believers rather than a synagogue of

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Satan. Behold the true Jew under the new covenant. Now, Paul says, if you are Christ's, then you are

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Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise, unquote. The apostle Paul in Galatians chapter three

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asserts, if you're Christ's, then you're Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise. These are

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true Jews now. You are a true Jew, dear Gentile, converted by the spirit, right? Having been circumcised

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in the heart, you are a true Jew. You are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise.

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In fact, so egregious is the Jews' hatred and unbelief that our Lord calls them a synagogue of

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what? A synagogue of beloved people for whom prophetic clock has stopped, whose temple will

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be rebelled and whose promises will be fulfilled once the church is raptured? No, they are not that

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kind of synagogue. Are they a synagogue of co-equal covenant people whose promises and covenants

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run parallel, but on different prophetic timetables? No, that is not what Paul calls, or what the

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apostle John calls, our Lord calls through the apostle John, this synagogue of, right? No, they are a

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synagogue of Satan because they oppose God now by opposing and hating his son. This has to be remembered,

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dear listener, as we deal with then the variety of synagogues, this very synagogue that

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is rebuilding the temple. Now, it is a synagogue of Satan. They're a synagogue of Satan because

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they oppose God by opposing and hating his son, Jesus Christ. As our Lord puts it in John chapter 8,

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if you were Abraham's children, you would be doing the works Abraham did, but now you seek to kill me,

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Jesus says, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did,

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if they were two sons of Abraham, they would be listening to Jesus, and that's true of Jews

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today as well. Our Lord goes on to say, you are doing the works your father did. If God were your

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father, you would love me, Jesus says, for I came from God and I am here. You are of your father,

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the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires, unquote. So, our Lord virtually calls them

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a synagogue of Satan in his earthly ministry, and he definitely calls the unbelieving Jews

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of John's time a synagogue of Satan. What our Lord says here is perfectly consistent

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with what he said of them in his earthly ministry. What our Lord says here in Revelation is perfectly

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consistent with what he said of them in his earthly ministry, and this is not anti-Semitism. If indeed

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we are anti-Semites, so is Jesus. Jesus was not an anti-Semite. No, be wary of those that are

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hypnotized by all things Israel and end times. Be wary of those who are hypnotized by all things Israel

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and all things end times prophecies and supposed promises yet to be fulfilled. These are people

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who will lead you astray and indeed cause you to serve the beast. Jews do not need to just add a little

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Jesus to their religion to be right with God. No. As Paul says in Philippians chapter 3,

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Look out for the dogs. Look out for the evildoers. Look out for those who mutilate the flesh. For we

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are the circumcision who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence

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in the flesh, unquote, the Apostle Paul himself. Well, what can we expect then from those of the synagogue

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of Satan? Our Lord is very articulate, and he's very clear of what we then as believers can expect

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from the synagogue of Satan. Number four, you are not to fear the suffering to come. Our Lord says you

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are not to fear the suffering to come. The first and the last has his divine purpose to accomplish.

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You're not to fear the suffering to come. Our Lord exhorts and comforts the Smyrnians.

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Once more, the whole church has taken great comfort in these words over the millennia, too.

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And for the worldling, there's much to fear in what our Lord sketches is in store for the church in

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Smyrna. First of all, the devil will throw some of you into confinement, our Lord says. The children

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of their father instigating, that is, the Jews who are not Jews, they will throw some of you into

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confinement, into prison, right? Indeed, Christians have known the insides of jails and prisons for

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millennia now, too, haven't they? Once again, the church of the world, or I mean the church in the

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world, and the church throughout history, and the church today primarily are experiencing these

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kinds of sufferings. They have known of jails and prisons for millennia now. Does this mean we're

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evil? That we are those who do wrong? Hardly. Because our Lord then says, this is to prove your

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true mettle. That's the sense of that you may be tested. Another consistent motif throughout

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Revelation. Last week, we saw the Ephesians tested those calling themselves apostles, but were not.

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And this week, it is Christ who is the assayer who will test his own to prove them of gold,

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silver, and precious stones. And he's there to burn away the wood, hay, and stubble of their spiritual

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dross. Suffering is given not so much to make you glorious, but rather to bring forth the glory

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already there in you, insofar as Christ is in you. To this we are called, brothers and sisters,

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we are not to be raptured out of testing and trial, but we are to be shepherded through it so that what

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we are may be seen, silver, gold, and precious stones. And for Peter, for example, for what credit

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is it if, as he says in 1 Peter 2, for what credit is it if when you sin and are beaten for it,

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you endure, but if when you do good and suffer for it, you endure, this is a gracious thing in the

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sight of God. For to this you have been called because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you

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an example so that you might follow in his steps. We are destined to suffer, to bring forth the glory

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of Christ. We are not to be raptured out of it. Can you see how this would strengthen those in

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Smyrna, the words of our Lord, or anywhere else in the world throughout history? Many more than you

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might expect take great comfort. Do you see why the early church incorporated the reading of

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Revelation in its liturgies, in its worship? And they just didn't go reading through it to plunder

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it for prophetic signs. Also of great comfort then to the church in Smyrna and any persecuted church,

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the duration of your tribulation is limited, our Lord promises them. The duration of your

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tribulation is limited. Almost all acknowledge that the 10 days is a symbolic number, a limited period,

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well in the sovereign hand of our Lord. Suffering will not be permitted beyond the measure of God's

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purpose. Why 10? Well, 10 is a fraction of another symbolic number. That is the thousand years of

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blessing and dominion that's promised in chapter 20 of Revelation. Remember there it says,

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also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God,

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and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads

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or their hands, they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. The duration of

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your suffering is limited. 10, the duration of your blessed dominion is limitless in comparison,

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a thousand. Wow. Then finally, our Lord comforts them when he says, when you are faithful to me unto death

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temporal, I am faithful to you unto life eternal. When the Smyrnaans or any other Christian is faithful

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to Christ unto death temporal, Christ is faithful to you unto life eternal. The church in Smyrna is

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exhorted with great comfort to remain faithful. Crowns were bestowed in the ancient world after

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great triumphs. Titus, after his conquest in Jerusalem, received a crown. Herod, after being granted

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Palestine by the emperor, was given a crown. Even athletes after races and fights received crowns.

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These are stephanoi, as the Greek word puts it, promised to the faithful under trial. Stephanoi.

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Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, James says, for when he has stood the test,

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he will receive the stephanoi of life, the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.

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Well, this positive promise of life is also affirmed then by referencing its negative. That brings me to

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point number three in verse 11. We see here in the church of Smyrna, persecuted, poor, and imprisoned

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as you may be, your faithful obedience will issue in dominion extending to the very life to come. Yes,

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that's in verse 11. Persecuted, poor, and imprisoned as you may be, O church of Smyrna, your faithful

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obedience will issue in dominion extending to the very life to come. Yes, our Lord concludes in verse 11

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of chapter 2, then inform with the exhortation to hear with a true understanding. He who hasn't

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heard, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches, that is us, the exhortation to hear with

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true understanding, dear listener. Then to this weak, poor, insignificant, unarmed, ragtag army,

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our Lord promises to the Smyrnians and consequently to us, the one who conquers, the one who conquers.

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We already know that this victory in conquering is a victory by the blood of the Lamb and the

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testimony of the saints. To the one who conquers, he will not be hurt by the second death, our Lord

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promises. There's again an allusion to chapter 20 following the great white throne judgment

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where we see, then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death,

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the lake of fire. And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown

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into the lake of fire. Well, what was stated positively moments ago, that is the crown of life,

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is stated negatively here. The second death, the destiny of all others, is not to be yours,

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O Smyrnians. One of my favorite euphemisms is drawn from texts like these. That is, all men experience

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one of two destinies. Either one is born twice and dies once. That is, he experiences physical birth

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and the new birth of the spirit, and he experiences only one physical death. Or else, one is born once

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and dies twice. That is, he experiences only physical birth and not a spiritual birth. And then

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he dies physically and spiritually eternally. That is the second death. Either you're born twice and

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die once or else, you're born once and die twice. Oh, yes. The church in Smyrna knew the first.

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How about you, dear listener? Oh, I pray that you experience two births and only one death.

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Well then, let us come to see then, indeed, how the church in Smyrna, see how the church in Smyrna

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is given this precious promises in the face of, in the very teeth of persecution and tribulation.

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Oh, dear listener, may this be ours too. It is not our destiny to be raptured out of tribulation,

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but it is our destiny to be ushered through it, to be protected, to be loved, to be seen as bringing

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glory to our Lord in suffering and persecution as well, as the church has, as our very Lord has.

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And we are to be like our Lord, like teacher, like student, like master, like servant. May we all be

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like our Lord in this regard and be prepared to suffer persecution, tribulation for 10 days,

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as was the promise, for a limited amount of time, as had been promised then indeed by our Lord,

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and not be disillusioned and broken when persecution comes because we aren't raptured out of it. No,

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we are meant to bear up through it and to conquer then by our, by the blood of the Lamb through

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persecution. This has been the pastor David Bass at New Geneva Orthodox Presbyterian Church.

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We meet for holy worship on Sunday at 10 a.m. at 1014th Street on the corner of 4th and Boulevard.

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Join us for worship at 10 a.m. at New Geneva. And you can call us for more information at

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area code 208-523-0196. That's area code 208-523-0196.