Tag Archives: Revelation

The letter to Smyrna: The death of Polycarp

6 Replies

lettersSmyrna is the only city of the seven that is still a major city today. Izmir (its modern name) has a population of over 3 million. It’s been an urban city for over 3500 years, with archaeological ruins dating back 5000 years.

Smyrna competed with Ephesus and Pergamum for the right of being called the most important city in Asia. No city could claim a closer tie with Rome, however. The Roman politician Cicero called Smyrna one of Rome’s “most loyal allies.” Eleven cities in Asia competed for the right to build a temple to Tiberius, but it was Smyrna that was chosen.

An example of the persecution the church faced is the account of the martyrdom of Polycarp in the second century. Here’s how I tell the story in Letters from the Lamb:

When the soldiers arrived to arrest Polycarp, he insisted that a table be spread for them and that they enjoy a feast, while he prayed in the next room. As Polycarp was led toward the stadium, his captors encouraged him to save himself by saying “Caesar is Lord” and offering a bit of incense. He politely told them that he would not do as they advised. The stadium was packed when they arrived, for the enemies of the Christians knew that Polycarp was a leader in the church. The magistrate who tried Polycarp again urged him to save himself: “Swear the oath, and you’ll go free. Revile Christ!” Polycarp replied: “Eighty and six years have I been his servant, and he has done me no wrong. How then can I blaspheme my King who saved me?” When the Roman official warned Polycarp that he would be burned at the stake, Polycarp replied: “You threaten that fire which burns for a season and after a little while is quenched: for you are ignorant of the fire of the future judgment and eternal punishment, which is reserved for the ungodly. But why do you delay? Come, do what you will.” So they burned Polycarp at the stake, with many of the Jews gathering wood for the fire, even though it was the Sabbath. Polycarp died with words of praise upon his lips. Such was life for a Christian in the province of Asia soon after the writing of the book of Revelation. Polycarp’s name was the 12th in a list of martyrs from Smyrna and Philadelphia; his story, though more dramatic than most, was not an uncommon one in the province of Asia.

(Letters From The Lamb, pp. 65-66)

Reading the story of Polycarp helps prepare us for reading the letter to the church in Smyrna.

Sample pages from Letters From The Lamb

Leave a reply

21st Century Christian has graciously posted some sample pages from our book on their website. I’ve embedded those pages here. If you want to read them, I suggest that you click on the link that says “fullscreen.” Enjoy!

Letters From the Lamb Sample Pages

The letter to Ephesus: To the conqueror

2 Replies

letters

Each of the seven letters ends with a promise to the one who “overcomes.” What does it mean to “overcome” in the book of Revelation? We can go back to the throne room scene in Revelation 5 to get the answer to that question. When John is weeping because no one is worthy of opening the scroll, he is told: “Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed (overcome). He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.” The word is the same in Revelation 5 as it is in the letters to the seven churches. Christians are being called to overcome as Jesus overcame. And how was that? Through faithful witness, being faithful to the point of dying for his faith. Jesus triumphed through death; the Asian Christians are being called to be willing to do the same. The world calls to them to overcome through military strength or political action. Jesus calls to them to overcome by a willing sacrifice of love for the sake of the kingdom of God.

(Letters From The Lamb, p. 53)

To the Ephesian conquerors, Jesus promised to undo the curse of Eden. He would let them eat of the Tree of Life. Adam and Eve were kicked out of the Garden so that they wouldn’t be able to eat of the Tree of Life. Jesus promises the Ephesians that those willing to face martyrdom will come to have what Adam and Even once had. They will eat of the Tree of Life and live forever.

The letter to Ephesus: A love lost

3 Replies

lettersThe Ephesian church was told by Paul in Acts 20 that they would be troubled by false teachers, some of them arising from within the church itself. Paul wrote to Timothy (who was ministering in Ephesus) and spoke to him time and again about the false teachers that were and would be attacking the church (1 Timothy 1:3; 4:1; 6:3-5; 6:20-21; 2 Timothy 2:14-17; 3:1-5; 3:12-13; 4:3-4). Apparently the church paid attention, for Jesus lauds them for their resistance to false teaching. But he has a criticism. In Letters From The Lamb I wrote:

Jesus recognizes that the Ephesian church is a hardworking, faithful church, yet he accuses them of having abandoned their first love. It seems that in their zeal to oppose false teaching, they had forgotten all about the foundation of their faith, which is love. Paul had encouraged these very Ephesians to live “speaking the truth in love.” Apparently they focused on “speaking the truth” and forgot about the love. They had protected the gospel, but had failed to protect those to whom the gospel was addressed. They had lost sight of the very core of the message of Christ.

(Letters From The Lamb, p.51)

Without love, the truth ceases to be truth. Without truth, there can be no true love. We need both. We must resist false teachers, but never at the expense of love.

Jesus warned the Ephesians that they were about to lose their lampstand. In Revelation, the lampstands represent the churches; if Jesus removes their lampstand, it means they are no longer his church. We can be hardworking guardians of doctrine like the Ephesian church, but if we lose our love, we lose our right to be called a church of Christ. Christ’s church is a community of love. If that doesn’t define us, we’ve lost our right to exist.

The letter to Ephesus: Compromise on the horizon

6 Replies

lettersThe first letter in Revelation chapter 2 is the letter to the church in Ephesus. Ephesus competed with Pergamum and Smyrna for the bragging rights as most important city in the province of Asia. It was also a center for emperor worship. In our book, I wrote:

The emperor cult was prominent in Ephesus during the first century. Archaeologists have unearthed an especially large temple to Domitian, the emperor who banished John to Patmos. The temple was designed to establish Ephesus as the world center of worship for Domitian, featuring a 27-foot-tall statue of the emperor which was visible by all who arrived by sea or by land. The head and forearm of the statue are on display today in the museum at Ephesus; the forearm alone is six feet long. In this city where the Roman ruler was worshiped as the god of gods, any who refused to say “Domitian is Lord” would run the risk of imprisonment and death. We read in the book of Acts that Paul almost lost his life in Ephesus at the hands of the supporters of the goddess Diana; now the Ephesian Christians were in danger from worshipers of another false god.

(Letters From The Lamb, pp.47-48)

It was this worship of the Roman Caesar that was going to lead Christ’s church to an inevitable collision with the Roman authorities. Some would have argued that Christians could pledge loyalty to the Roman empire and still remain true to Christ. But this attitude of compromise was deadly, at least in a spiritual sense. The Ephesian church would resist this false teaching, but at a high price. We’ll look at that in the next post.