written by
|
TABLE OF CONTENTS
(Clicking on these links will move you down this web page) | |
|
My Index to Revelation Scroll Number Three
The Pastor of the Church at Smyrna A Brief History of the Ancient City of Smyrna | |
Myrrh was used to honor Jesus Christ at His birth:
The wonderful smell of Jesus and how He loves you and I is revealed in the scroll of
the Song of Solomon-
Myrrh was offered, as a pain killer, to Jesus on the cross-
Has your reputation been attacked?
Why is this the third scroll of Revelation? The Lord ordered the Apostle John to write to
the angel of the church of Smyrna
(Revelation 2:8). John was an obedient Overcomer to God in writing this scroll in regards to
God's command to him. According to John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible in 1887,
"some think the present angel or pastor of this church, was Polycarp, the disciple of John.
Irenaeus, who knew him, says he was appointed bishop of Smyrna by the apostles. Here he suffered
martyrdom, and was buried- the large amphitheatre, in which he was put to death, is still to be
seen, and his sepulchre is yet preserved in this place...according to the Apostolical
Constitutions, the first bishops of Smyrna were Aristo Strataeas and Aristo the second, and
Apelles, of whom mention is made in (Romans 16:10)- and who is reckoned among the seventy
disciples and is said to be bishop of Smyrna before Polycarp- who succeeded Polycarp..."
In this scroll we see the Lord telling His Overcomers that He is eternally existent
(in verse eight). In verse nine He tells them He knows their suffering, poverty,
slander, and infiltration. In verse ten He tells them not to have fear of pain,
loss, and death due to persecution- it will be the supreme test of their faith.
The Lord encourages them to remain faithful to Him in martyrdom and He will give each
Overcomer eternal life with Him (I will give you the crown of life in symbolism).
In verse eleven He tells them that God the Holy Spirit deals with the churches.
Once again He reminds them that each Overcomer will inherit a place in Heaven
with Him (whoever is victorious will not be hurt by the second death in symbolism).
Let us take a brief look, along with some history, at the secular city of Smyrna
to the end of the first century A.D.-
The city began about 2000 B.C. as a Hittite city built around Mount Pagos. The city had a
beautiful bay and harbor and had been rebuilt by the Greeks under Alexander the Great. It
was a city of Ionia. How did Smyrna get it's name? There are two legends about this. One is
that Theseus, the builder of the city, named it after his wife, Smyrna. Another is that it
was named for the foundress of the city- an Amazon woman named Smyrna, who wore a high crown
on her head. That gave prescedent for a crown to be worn by the followers of Smyrna in worship
to the goddess Diana, also called Cybele. All were idol worshippers and this is how Smyrna got
to be known as the crown city.
Smyrna was the birthplace of Homer, the Greek writer, who lived in the Ninth or Eighth
century B.C. in the province of Ionia. What did he write? He wrote the Iliad and the Odyssey.
I read these two works in English literature when I was in school. There were several pagan
temples in Smyrna City- a temple to Zeus, a temple to Diana (Cybele), a temple to Aphrodite,
a temple to Apollo, and a temple to Asclepius. It had an outside ampitheater where games and
festivals were held and music was played. Smyrna was one of the most beautiful cities in Asia
Minor at the time of John. It had many flowers, hedges, and myrtle trees.
The modern Turkish name for Smyrna is Izmir in case you care to visit there or find it on a map.
What does the city's name mean? The name, Smyrna, means myrrh. Myrrh was manufactured there.
What was myrrh? It was a liquid that came through the bark of a small, thorny, flowering tree.
The liquid partially dried to form a gum on the outside bark of the tree. When it was
collected, it was yellow to reddish brown in color. An oil was distilled from myrrh gum that
was used to make some perfumes, ointments, cosmetics and incense. In the days of Moses it was
an ingredient in the holy anointing oil (Exodus 30:23). In New Testament times it had some use
in some medicines, one of which was a pain killer. It was also used in the embalming of dead
bodies (John 19:39). It was very expensive and smelled nice but had a bitter taste.
It was one of the expensive gifts that the wise men brought to baby Jesus at His birth-
"And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary His mother,
and fell down, and worshipped Him- and when they had opened their treasures, they presented
unto Him gifts- gold, and frankincense, and myrrh"
(Matthew 2:11).
To return His love, the church (the bride of Solomon in typology), is wonderfully in love
with Jesus and loves His spiritual presence and odor. Here is a part of that biblical
narrative-
my lover tried to unlatch the door, and my heart thrilled within me. I jumped up to open it.
My hands dripped with perfume, my fingers with lovely myrrh, as I pulled back the bolt...
(Song of Solomon 5:4-5)...His cheeks are as a bed of spices, as sweet flowers- His lips
like lilies, dropping sweet smelling myrrh
(Song of Solomon 5:13).
This sweet smell of Jesus stands in sharp contrast to the smell of demons who smell like manure.
Myrrh was there at the birth of Jesus, at the ministry of Jesus, and at the crucifixion of
Jesus. Here is how it was used at His crucifixion:
...and they gave Him to drink wine mingled with myrrh- but He received it not
(Mark 15:23).
Do you know what happens to grape juice after it ferments? It turns to alcoholic wine. Do you
know what happens to alcoholic wine after it ferments further? It turns to vinegar. Do you know
what happens if you mix bitter tasting myrrh with vinegar? You have a nasty tasting pain killer. Here are a couple of other biblical accounts:
They gave Him vinegar to drink mingled with gall (myrrh)- and when He had tasted thereof,
He would not drink
(Matthew 27:34). Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar- and they filled a sponge
with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, and put it to His mouth. When Jesus therefore had
received the vinegar, He said, it is finished- and He bowed His head, and died
(John 19:29-30).
Here is what is revealed in the scroll of John-
And there came also Nicodemus, which at the first came to Jesus by night, and brought
a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about an hundred pound weight Then took they the body of Jesus,
and wound it in linen clothes with the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury...
(John 19:39-40).
Revelation 2:8 as the first and the last.
Was there any association between myrrh and the church at Smyrna, the persecuted church? I think so. How? Let us
observe how the bitter taste of myrrh related to the bitter taste of persecution and death.
The church folks in Smyrna were losing their jobs, their money, their homes, their families,
their friends, and their lives. They were tasting that bitter taste. Since myrrh was used in
the embalming of dead bodies there may be an association to the deaths they had to endure in
martyrdom for the sake of Christ.
How could God encourage those folks in their sufferings and death? Christ, who is the eternal
God, reminded them that He had tasted the bitterness of death for them, and was risen again.
Even though they had to experience the bitterest deaths for His sake, they would be raised
again as He was and live with Him for ever.
Because myrrh was associated with a sweet smell, so were the martyred saints a pleasing smell
to Christ. Each one was valuable to Him and would be highly honored in Heaven. Knowing this
gave the suffering folks of the church at Smyrna a hope and helped their faith so that each
one could be an Overcomer.
Is myrrh valuable today? Myrrh was valuable and highly esteemed by the ancients but is not so
today. It appears that myrrh had it's time and place back then when it was needed by God the most.
If yes, then live as so no one will believe it
From God's point of view, the martyrdom of His Overcomers helps spread the faith. The devil
hated them and caused them a lot of trouble. For many years Rome had the emperor worship law.
This law demanded that every individual under Roman jurisdiction worship the Roman emperor as a
god. Refusal to do so meant that such an individual was a law breaker and criminal and could be
brought before a Roman governor for a test. Sometimes, the test consisted of a question asked
of the accused whether or not he or she would worship the Roman emperor as a god. Any Christian
Overcomer could not agree to that because it would violate the first and second commandments
out of God's ten commandments (Exodus 20:3-5). Upon refusal the governor could sentence God's
Overcomer to death. His or her family could be made slaves and their house, money, and personal
possessions confiscated by the state.
|
As of January 7, 2024
Polycarp answered- eighty six years have I served him, and He never once wronged me, how
then shall I blaspheme my King, Who has saved me? At the stake to which he was only tied,
but not nailed as usual, as he assured them he should stand immovable, the flames, on their
kindling the wood for burning, encircled his body, like an arch, without touching him; and
the executioner, on seeing this, was ordered to pierce him with a sword, when so great a
quantity of blood flowed out as extinguished the fire. But his body, at the instigation of
the enemies of the Gospel, especially some (unsaved) Hebrews, was ordered to be consumed in
the pile, and the request of his friends, who wished to give it Christian burial, rejected.
They nevertheless collected his bones and as much of his remains as possible, and caused
them to be decently interred. His sepulchre was preserved in Smyrna. It is believed that
he died there in the year 168 A.D."
