♪[dramatic, triumphant
theme music]♪ ♪[music ends]♪♪ ♪[ethereal vocal music]♪ ♪[Middle-Eastern percussive
and orchestral music]♪ >>John Bradshaw: Izmir, the
third largest city in Turkey, Izmir is a beautiful
bustling coastal city of more than 3 million people. It's a port city, and it's
a tourist destination, especially as it's only
35 miles from Ephesus. But while Izmir
is a modern city with excellent shopping
and restaurants, it's a fascinating blend
of the new and the old. Back in time, Izmir
was called Smyrna. It was home to the second
of the seven churches addressed by Jesus in
the book of Revelation. The name Smyrna comes
from the word "myrrh," which was used as a
perfume, a fragrance, and is mentioned
throughout the Bible. Back in Genesis 37, when Joseph
was sold by his brothers into slavery, he
was taken to Egypt by a group transporting
spices and balm and myrrh. The woman in the Song of
Solomon described her beloved as "a bundle of myrrh." Myrrh, of course, featured
in the life of Jesus. The wise men brought
Mary and Joseph gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Myrrh featured in the
suffering of Jesus. While He was on the cross, they
brought Him something to drink that was mixed with myrrh. That was to dull the pain
He was experiencing. And when He died, myrrh was
used to embalm Jesus' body. An interesting thing about
myrrh, it's derived from trees, trees which grow in Africa
and the Middle East. It begins as a resin
that the tree produces when it's stressed--or wounded,
more to the point. Harvesters will make
cuts in the trees, and the trees will
then bleed the resin, which can then be utilized
in a variety of ways. When John wrote the
book of Revelation, Smyrna had developed
into an important city. Geography alone helps explain why Smyrna would have been
important to early Christians. Its location meant that
travelers from Greece and other places
would have come here. And Christians could
easily be sent from here, either internationally or deep
into the heart of Asia Minor. ♪[soft music]♪ This area, the agora,
which means "an open place," was the center of life
in ancient Smyrna. This part of the city
was largely destroyed by an earthquake in 179 AD, but it was then
rebuilt under the auspices of the Roman emperor
Marcus Aurelius. There was a huge altar
to Zeus right here, Zeus being the Greek equivalent
of the Roman god Jupiter. There was a large Jewish
community in Smyrna during the first century after
Christ, and that may well be the reason that Christianity
appears to have sprung up in the town really quite early. Perhaps the most famous
Christian from Smyrna was the bishop Polycarp,
who would suffer martyrdom for his faith in 153 AD. Ignatius of Antioch, another
famous Christian martyr, is said to have visited Smyrna
and written letters to Polycarp. Irenaeus, perhaps the most
prominent Christian theologian of the second century AD, was
probably a native of Smyrna. The message Jesus gave to this
church encompasses a period of intense trial,
suffering, and persecution for the Christian community. In the words of Jesus, "And to the angel of the
church in Smyrna write, "'These things says
the First and the Last, "'who was dead, and came to
life: "I know your works, "'"tribulation, and poverty
(but you are rich); "'"and I know the blasphemy of
those who say they are Jews "'"and are not, but are
a synagogue of Satan. "'"Do not fear any
of those things... "'"you are about to suffer. "'"Indeed, the devil is about to
throw some of you into prison, "'"that you may be tested, "'"and you will have
tribulation ten days. "'"Be faithful [unto] 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 shall not be hurt by
the second death."'" Considering the
theme of this letter, let's look at how Jesus
described Himself. He called Himself "the First
and the Last," basically repeating what He said
in Revelation, chapter 1, where He called Himself
"the Alpha and the Omega." Now, alpha and omega are
the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. And Jesus said, "That's me,
eternal. I was here before you got here, and I'll be
here long after you're gone." He wanted them to know,
especially in their extremity, that they were being
guided and watched by the divine Son of God. Jesus referred to
Himself as one "who was dead,
and came to life." You can see why He'd
say that to this church. ♪[solemn soft music]♪ Smyrna, the church that
would be bled, injured, but who through that injury
would produce a sweet fragrance and would honor God. In a moment, some of the
secrets of ancient Smyrna, including an insight
into the number 666. I'll be right back. ♪[music swells and ends]♪♪ >>Announcer: Travel back in time and visit the historic sites of
Revelation's ancient churches, where Christianity
grew against all odds, and learn how messages shared
by Jesus 2,000 years ago are also messages from
heaven for today. Call now for your free copy of "The Seven Churches of
Revelation: Messages for Today." Call 800-253-3000. That's 800-253-3000, or visit us online at
iiwoffer.com. ♪[Middle-Eastern
percussive music]♪ >>John Bradshaw: We're in Izmir,
Turkey, a busy modern city and the location of the ancient
biblical city of Smyrna. Jesus addresses
the church of Smyrna in the book of
Revelation and says, "I know your works, tribulation,
and poverty (but you are rich); "and I know the blasphemy of
those who say they are Jews and are not, but are
a synagogue of Satan." ♪[soft guitar music]♪ As with each of the letters
to the seven churches, Jesus says, "I know your works." He's saying, "I know more about
you than just your profession. I know what's really
going on in your life." Now, that's not ominous.
That's reassuring. Jesus is saying, whatever you're
facing, whatever challenges you've got going on
in your life right now, He knows, and He cares. The focus of the message
to Smyrna is the forecast of serious trouble ahead: tribulation, poverty,
suffering, and prison. This is why the church of
Smyrna is so often called "the persecuted church." If the time period covered
by the church of Ephesus is that of the first century
after Christ, the period of Smyrna covers
the following two centuries when the Roman Empire
subjected Christianity to fierce, even
brutal, persecution. It's important to remember
that the early Christians were not persecuted by
the Roman authorities because they worshiped Jesus. All the various peoples
of the Empire had their own religious
beliefs, gods, and practices. But what made the Christians
different was their refusal to add to their
religious devotion the worship of
the Roman emperor. Stephen Williams, a British
historian and the author of a biography of the Roman
emperor Diocletian, makes this statement: "It was scarcely enough
for Bishop Dionysius "to protest that Christians
were loyal citizens "who prayed for the
health of the Emperors. "What could the most reasonable
magistrate reply except to ask "why, in that case, they could
not demonstrate their loyalty "in the proper way
like everyone else? "Rome was tolerant, but it
was not a modern secular "liberal state which demands
very little of its citizens "beyond passive
compliance with the law. "Genuine loyalty could hardly
be divorced from worship of the genius of the Emperor in
the way that was laid down." We're going to come back
to Emperor Diocletian because the persecution that
took place during his reign was actually predicted by Jesus in His message to
the church at Smyrna. But that statement
by Stephen Williams, it reminds us of a Bible story, a story found in
Daniel, chapter 3, about three young Hebrew men. King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon
had assembled rulers and people from every province of his
empire to the plain of Dura to bow down and worship a
golden image made to symbolize the glory and power of his
person and his kingdom. The three young men,
officials of his court, refused to bow and were
condemned to death as a result. In the end, God delivered
them from the flames. And Nebuchadnezzar was forced
to acknowledge God's power over that of the gods
he worshiped. But what made Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abednego different from the others
in that assembly was that the others were willing
to worship the golden image <i> in addition</i> to the gods
they already had. Shadrach, Meshach, and
Abednego, by contrast, refused to worship any god but
the One found in the Bible, whose first
commandment declares, "You shall have no
other gods before me." This commandment is what
got Christians in trouble with the Roman Empire. No other gods except
the God of Scripture. And it made no difference
at all to the Romans that the act of worship of
the emperor was forced. Listen to the historian again: "What mattered to gods and men
was not a person's belief "but its expression in acts,
not his private silent vows "but his public oaths
and commitments. Jupiter saw your actions,
not your thoughts." But God, on the
other hand, says, "For the Lord does
not see as man sees; "for man looks at the
outward appearance, but the Lord looks
at the heart." Pagan worship focuses
on the exterior, what a person does publicly. But the God of heaven
looks on the heart. Forced worship doesn't
cut it with God. But with Satan and
false religion, force and manipulation
are common. ♪[soft piano music]♪ Here at the agora in Smyrna
is something fascinating that echoes in the book
of Revelation. On the walls here are
a number of graffiti, not in the vandalism sense
but in the original sense where graffiti were inscriptions
or figure drawings. Along with pictures,
there are isopsephisms, in which the numerical values
of the letters of a phrase add up to a certain sum. One example here is, "I love the girl whose
number is 1,308"-- which may be the name of Tyche. Now, Tyche was a goddess
to the people of Smyrna called "the protectress
of the city." The most well-known isopsephism
is found in Revelation, chapter 13, verse 18,
where it says, "Here is wisdom. Let him
who has understanding "calculate the
number of the beast, "for it is the number of a man: His number is 666"--the
number of the beast, or the antichrist,
of earth's last days. Like the church at Ephesus, the
first of the seven churches, it seems that the church of
Smyrna included false believers. Now, Jesus doesn't elaborate
on how the believers in Smyrna were dealing with the problem,
but His words make it clear that He was very aware
the problem existed. When Christ spoke of "those who
say they are Jews and are not," we should keep in mind that
according to the New Testament, "He is a Jew who
is one inwardly; and circumcision is
that of the heart." In the book of Galatians we
read, "And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, and
heirs according to the promise." So when Jesus speaks of
"those who say they are Jews and are not," He isn't talking
about an ethnic identity but a spiritual identity. And the Bible is clear just how little Jesus
thinks of hypocrisy. For the same reason, in His message to the Christians
of Smyrna, Jesus is denouncing those who falsely profess
the Christian faith as blasphemers, as members
of the "synagogue of Satan." Those are strong words, and they apply as much to
professing Christians today as they did to
Christians of long ago. ♪[soft ominous music]♪ Jesus would go on to give the
church of Smyrna some bad news. There would be suffering. He even tells them how long that
suffering was going to last. ♪[upbeat music]♪ We'll look at that
in just a moment. ♪[music swells and ends]♪♪ >>Announcer: Travel back in time and visit the historic sites of
Revelation's ancient churches, where Christianity
grew against all odds, and learn how messages shared
by Jesus 2,000 years ago are also messages
from heaven for today. Call now for your free copy of "The Seven Churches of
Revelation: Messages for Today." Call 800-253-3000. That's 800-253-3000, or visit us online at
iiwoffer.com. >>John Bradshaw: It was
home to some of the most magnificent temples
in the ancient world, temples built to honor
Artemis, Hadrian, Serapis, and the Roman emperor Domitian. ♪[soft music]♪ And surrounded by rampant
idol and emperor worship, a small band of Christians
formed their own church in the city of Ephesus. Maintaining their faith in the
midst of this pagan culture was anything but easy. Today, only ruins remain of those once-spectacular
structures, but the story of Ephesus
lives on, continuing to hold both historical and
spiritual significance. Join us as we explore
the messages of Jesus to the seven churches
of Revelation and discover God's messages
to the church of the past and the church of today. "The Seven Churches of
Revelation: Ephesus," brought to you by
It Is Written TV. ♪[music ends]♪♪ ♪[solemn music with slow
yet dramatic percussion]♪ >>John Bradshaw: Up here
on Smyrna's acropolis, or the high point of the city,
the summit of the city, was the theater, which could accommodate
up to 16,000 spectators. Roman streets
ran through here, meaning it's
almost certain that Paul and his associates
walked these very grounds. And it was right around here that a man named
Polycarp was martyred-- not especially surprising given Jesus' message to
the church at Smyrna. ♪[soft music]♪ In verse 10 of Revelation,
chapter 2, Jesus says, "You will have
tribulation ten days." Now, what is Jesus
talking about here? When was this
prophecy fulfilled? In the symbols found
in Bible prophecy, a day represents a year. You'll find this expressed in
Numbers 14:34 and Ezekiel 4:6, in which years are
represented by days in predicting periods of
trial and adversity, which ultimately end with
triumph and victory. We see this day-year symbolism
demonstrated most powerfully in Daniel's prophecy
of the coming Messiah in Daniel, chapter 9, in which the angel Gabriel
says to the prophet, "Seventy weeks are
determined for your people and for your holy city." Some Bible translations
actually say "seventy weeks of years"
in this verse. That's because it's clear from
what this passage is predicting that years--and not
weeks--are in focus. Daniel 9:25 says that from the
issuing of the Persian decree to restore and build Jerusalem
till the coming of the Messiah would be 69 weeks
of years, 483 years. You can't get from this decree
to the time of Jesus the Messiah unless the weeks
described in this prophecy represent weeks of years. So when Jesus speaks to this
church of a future persecution lasting 10 days, this is
referring to 10 years. History tells us that
this persecution began during the reign of
the emperor Diocletian and that it was brought
to an end 10 years later by the emperors
Constantine and Licinius. Stephen Williams the historian tells us what happened
at the start as well as the conclusion
of this 10-year period: "The persecution was
launched at Nicomedia on the Kalends of March"-- "Kalends" is the
first of March-- "the Kalends of March, festival
of the god Terminus.... "Lactantius, who was
present, says it began "with a symbolic
act of demolition. "The newly built
church of Nicomedia, "which stood in full view
of the imperial palace, "was surrounded by the
Prefect, accompanied by "military commanders
and treasury officials. "The doors were forced, and
guards seized the ornaments, "church furniture, and whatever
else could be removed. "Volumes of the
scriptures were burnt. "Then a guards unit
advanced in battle order "with all the equipment
for besieging a city, "and within a matter of hours
had pulled the whole building "to the ground. "Diocletian and Galerius watched
the operation personally from the palace." The persecution that followed was some of the
worst persecution in all of human history. People were slaughtered.
Many were tortured cruelly. So many people were in prison.
The clergy were all in prison. Church property was
destroyed or confiscated. And every copy of the
Scriptures that could be found was burned. There was a lot of bloodshed. But then in February of 313 AD, 10 years after the
persecution began, the Edict of Milan was signed
that ended that persecution. Church property was returned.
The church was recognized again. And the 10 days--or 10 years--
of persecution were over. Jesus had promised
His suffering saints, "Be faithful [unto] death, and I will give you
the crown of life." Paul wrote to Timothy about
the "crown of righteousness, "which the Lord,
the righteous judge, "shall give me at that day:
and not to me only, but unto all them also
that love His appearing." In a foreshadowing of what was
promised in earth's last days, many people proved
faithful unto death, and their Savior's reward
awaits them at the resurrection of the righteous dead
when Jesus returns. The apostle Paul says
that when Jesus returns, "The trumpet will sound, and the dead will be
raised incorruptible." Jesus closed His message
to the church of Smyrna with the promise,
"He who overcomes shall not be hurt by
the second death." The book of Revelation
talks about two deaths. The first one is the death
that's going to come to all of us, unless you're
alive and translated at the return of Jesus. But that first death
is temporary. And it's of far less
consequence to the Christian than is the second death, the one from which there
will be no resurrection. The book of Revelation talks
about the second death in one of the very last
chapters of the book, where it describes the
kinds of people who, unrepentant without having
found faith in Jesus, cannot be saved
and will be lost forever. "But the cowardly, unbelieving,
abominable, murderers, "sexually immoral, sorcerers,
idolaters, and all liars "shall have their part
in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone,
which is the second death." Jesus' message to the persecuted
faithful of the church of Smyrna was that if they
proved victorious, if they were among
the overcomers, even if they should suffer, they at last would escape the
second death awaiting the lost. Now, there's no doubt
someone's wondering why Jesus just didn't
shield His people from this kind of trouble. But clearly there's
something more important than avoiding terrible hardship. It's God's plan for us
to develop faith in Him to the extent that
no matter what happens, we'll trust Him anyway. That we'll say, like Job, "Though He slay me,
yet will I trust in Him." That we "count it all joy when [we] fall into various
[temptations]," as James wrote. ♪[soft music]♪ God wants us to
develop faith in Him that trusts Him no matter what. It's easy to overlook, but persecution is not
extinct in our world today. It still happens, even in our present
supposedly enlightened age. But before Jesus comes back,
it's going to get much worse. According to the
book of Revelation, just like in Daniel's time,
an image will be set up, not literally but spiritually,
and all the world will be forced to bow down
and do it reverence, and all but a faithful remnant, who "keep the
commandments of God, and have the testimony
of Jesus Christ," will be swept up in
this terrible trial. We might learn a lesson from
the experience of Polycarp, who it's said was a disciple
of the apostle John before becoming a church
leader and theologian and the bishop of Smyrna. Now, in this case, "bishop"
means "a church leader," rather than denoting
an affiliation to any particular denomination
we'd recognize today. It was a difficult time
to be a believer in Jesus. Christians were being
mercilessly persecuted. Polycarp was convinced to
hide to safeguard his life. But his location was discovered, and he was urged to deny Jesus
in order to save himself. But his answer was, "Fourscore and six years
I have been serving Him "and He has done me no wrong. How then can I blaspheme
my King who saved me?" The elderly man was executed
for his faith in Christ. ♪[soft pensive music]♪ You know, everywhere
you turn there's evidence that things are rapidly
wrapping up for Planet Earth, and the book of
Revelation indicates that there are going to be
some challenging times. God is calling on His
people, no matter what, to be like myrrh under
pressure, to be fragrant. In fact, that's a key message
of the book of Revelation, which was written right here
on the island of Patmos by a man who was under arrest
for crimes he did not commit. That was a terribly
difficult trial for John, and yet he was fragrant
for Jesus through it all. So what's confronting you?
And what might confront you? God's call to you is that
no matter what the pressure, whatever the difficulty, you can be fragrant
for Jesus always. ♪[music ends]♪♪ >>John: Thank you for
remembering that It Is Written exists because of the kindness
of people just like you. To support this international
life-changing ministry, please call us now at
800-253-3000. You can send your
tax-deductible gift to the address
on your screen, or you can visit us online at
itiswritten.com. Thank you for your prayers and
for your financial support. Our number again is
800-253-3000, or you can visit us online at
itiswritten.com. >>John: Let's pray together now. Our Father in heaven,
You call us to discipleship, to faithfulness in
following Jesus. Well, that's something
we cannot give, but we ask that You
would do it in us. We<i> can</i> give You our will, and we pray You'll take it
and make it Your own. Let Your Spirit fill us and
Jesus live His life in us, so that no matter
what the trial, we can be like myrrh,
fragrant under pressure. Father, right now there's
somebody going through a difficult time.
Be that person's strength. There's somebody facing
something they just believe they cannot possibly
get through without You. Be that person's strength. Then we look forward to the
day when Jesus comes back, and the trials of this world will be a distant,
forgotten memory. Let that day come
soon, we pray, and we thank You in Jesus' name. Amen. Thanks so much for joining me. I'm looking forward to
seeing you again next time. Until then, remember: "It is written, 'Man shall
not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds
from the mouth of God.'" ♪[dramatic, triumphant
theme music]♪ ♪[music ends]♪♪
