10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet, 11 saying, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last,” and, “What you see, write in a book and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia: to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamos, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.”
12 Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands, 13 and in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band. 14 His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire; 15 His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters; 16 He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength.
17 And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, “Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last. 18 I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death. 19 Write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after this.
20 The mystery of the seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands which you saw are the seven churches. Revelations 1:10-20 (NKJV)
Jesus announces that He is the Alpha and The Omega. The church at Laodicea worked hard for God but was doing it out of duty not out of relationship with Him and He was calling them back to Him. God will reward us according to our works, but if we have works without relationship, we will not be acknowledged by God who is calling His church to a place of worship. Worship includes having God as first place in our lives, honoring Him, serving Him and putting Him before everything in our lives, including our families and our job. Priority number one is our devotion to God. In the story of Mary and Martha, Jesus told Martha that Mary had chosen the better thing, which was spending time with Him, worshipping and adoring and loving Him.
But this you have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. Revelations 2:6 (NKJV)
Jesus says that the people hated evil, specifically the deeds of the Nicolaitans, but, had left their first love. The word ‘Nicolaitan’ can be divided into two Greek words, nikos and laites. The word nikos refers to the dominance over a defeated foe and laites refers to the English word laity.
God hated the Nicolaitans because they dominated the laity. They were church leaders who lauded authority over God’s people and controlled them through fear and intimidation. This is nothing more than charismatic witchcraft. This is present even here in Barbados and has caused many to leave the Church or not to live up to their true potential. In addition, some are too afraid to leave. Among those who dared to leave, they are afraid to trust their new pastor and remain serving God, but are severely wounded. Many people today are severely wounded and cannot reach out to God as they should. They are even afraid to say “good morning” to their own pastors. The pastor’s calling is to serve the flock of God, to feed them and to watch over their souls, not to manipulate them. Pastors are called to raise the standard of the people they serve.
James, the brother of Jesus was an elder in the Church and Paul had to report to the elders (1 Peter 5:1-3). Eldership speaks of the spiritual leadership of the Church. This verse speaks of serving as overseers of the flock not as controllers of the flock or as lords over them. Rather, they were called to be examples to the flock in lifestyle, speech and deportment.
Jesus states that to him who overcomes, He will cause him to eat from the tree of life (Revelations 2:7). He then goes to the Church at Smyrna and His message contains no reproof, only encouragement. Yet, there are some things that we can learn from this message. Smyrna was a sea port and was described as one of the most beautiful cities in Asia Minor or present day Turkey.
Smyrna is translated as myrrh, a sticky, sweet perfume used to prepare the body for burial, so it is associated with death. Consequently, Jesus instructs the angel to say to this Church that He knows of their tribulations and that some of them will be thrown into prison and will suffer, even unto death, for 10 days, but that they will not be hurt by the second death (Revelations 2:8-11). Jesus also says that He knows what this church was doing for Him. We would think that because they were poor, persecuted and suffering tribulations that they had done something wrong, but in fact, Jesus’ message to the people at Smyrna is one of encouragement.
Myrrh was produced by crushing the plant. In the same way, the Church at Smyrna was crushed by much persecution, but like myrrh, it produced a sweet aroma. Therefore, know that when God is for us, no one can be against us. We should stop thinking about who is talking about us. Nothing goes unnoticed to the eye of God. He knows and He is there. Thus, Jesus tells this church that He knows of their suffering. We would think that after going through so much persecution, that Jesus would say that He had come to ease their pain; however, in verse 10, He tells them that they will suffer some more, but not to be afraid. Indeed, some would be thrown into prison and would be tested ten days. He then encouraged them not to be afraid, even unto death.
We sometimes wonder about the state of the Church in areas such as Pakistan where some Christians are martyred by beheading and we think that the Church there must be living in fear. We call these churches the suffering Church, but do not see them as the pure Church. However, they are seeing miracles that we do not see. There is genuineness and a deep spirituality and love for God among these people. After we have suffered a while, God will strengthen and perfect us (1 Peter 5:10). So we know that the Church that suffers is blessed and should not turn back. Paul tells the church of Thessalonica that they have gone through much persecution, but notes that their love for God abounds (2 Thessalonians 1:3-4).
We should not be afraid of persecution, or suffering, or pressure once we have decided to go after God with our whole hearts. Know that we are not just attracting God when we do this, but that hell has also heard; however, do not be afraid. Know that the attacks and the misunderstandings will come and we will be publicly criticized. Nonetheless, we must decide that we will not go back and be willing to assist our brothers who falter and look to turn back.
The devil will go all out in his limited power to discourage and hurt us, but we must not turn back. The pressure that some of us will go through, is to test us. Jesus tells the Church at Smyrna that He knows of their poverty (Revelations 2:9). Smyrna in fact had a very strong economy, but as money flowed, wickedness abounded as well, so that whenever an emperor died, a statue was made of him and he was made a god. The Christians however, refused to worship these gods and the populace would not do business with them, rendering them financially poor. However, Jesus tells the Church here that they are in fact rich. Other churches however, were financially rich, but far from God.
Jesus said blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness (Matthew 5:10-12). When God begins to move in this place and God begins to do the miraculous among us, we will be reviled. We must be prepared and should rejoice and be glad because our reward in heaven is great. Persecution and trials do not necessarily come because we have done something wrong.
[/column]
