ANNOUNCER: ON THIS
DAY OF DISCOVERY, AUTHOR AND CORNERSTONE
UNIVERSITY PRESIDENT
JOE STOWELL... EXPLORES A LAND RICH IN
BIBLICAL HISTORY: MODERN
TURKEY AND THE CITY OF IZMIR. HERE LIE THE EXCAVATIONS FROM
THE ANCIENT CITY OF SMYRNA. IN THE FIRST CENTURY
SMYRNA WAS A THRIVING PORT
CITY OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE, AND IN THIS COMMUNITY
A GROUP OF JESUS FOLLOWERS
CAME TOGETHER AS A CHURCH, ONE OF SEVEN CHURCHES
ADDRESSED IN THE BEGINNING
OF THE BOOK OF REVELATION, WRITTEN BY THE APOSTLE JOHN,
ONCE THE YOUNG DISCIPLE
OF JESUS CHRIST. REVELATION IS
A BOOK THAT, FOR MANY, SPEAKS OF A TERRIBLE FUTURE
FOR THE WORLD AND MANKIND, CULMINATING WITH JUDGMENT
AND GOD'S WRATH BEING
POURED OUT ON THE EARTH, BUT THIS FINAL REVELATION OF
JESUS CHRIST UNVEILS FAR MORE... THAN A FINAL WORLD WAR
AND COSMIC DESTRUCTION. IT ALSO REVEALS A YET FUTURE
TIME OF RESTORATION AND PEACE, A TIME WHEN SUFFERING
AND TEARS WILL CEASE. THE BOOK BEGINS BY REVEALING THE
HEART OF THE RESURRECTED JESUS
FOR THOSE HE'S LEFT BEHIND, WITH SEVEN PERSONAL LETTERS TO
SEVEN FIRST CENTURY CHURCHES... THAT STOOD IN CONTRAST
TO THEIR CULTURE, LOCATED WITHIN
THE BORDERS OF WHAT WE KNOW
TODAY AS MODERN TURKEY. THE SECOND LETTER IS
TO THE CHURCH OF SMYRNA. JOURNEY TO THE SEVEN
CHURCHES OF REVELATION,
THE LETTER TO SMYRNA, ON THIS DAY OF DISCOVERY. "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." THEN I TURNED TO SEE
THE VOICE THAT SPOKE, AND HAVING TURNED,
I SAW SEVEN GOLDEN LAMPSTANDS, AND IN THE MIDST
OF THE SEVEN LAMPSTANDS,
ONE LIKE THE SON OF MAN. "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). "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
WHICH 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 UNTIL 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." JOE STOWELL:
WE'RE STANDING AMONGST
THE RUINS OF ANCIENT SMYRNA, WHICH AS YOU CAN SEE IS TUCKED
RIGHT INTO THE MIDDLE OF THE
THRIVING TURKISH CITY OF IZMIR. BUT SMYRNA, IN ITS DAY,
WAS A THRIVING CITY, AS WELL. IN FACT, SMYRNA WAS KNOWN
AS ONE OF THE FINEST
SEAPORTS IN THE WORLD. IF YOU WERE TO TAKE A STRAIGHT
LINE WEST FROM SMYRNA, IT WAS
THE CLOSEST SEAPORT TO EUROPE. IN FACT, YOU'D END UP RIGHT
IN ATHENS, THE GATEWAY
TO THE REST OF EUROPE. SO SMYRNA WAS AN IMPORTANT
CITY IN ITS DAY. SMYRNA WAS KNOWN FOR ITS BEAUTY
AND ITS ARCHITECTURE, AND ITS GORGEOUS FLOWERS
IN THIS ALMOST TROPICAL CLIMATE. BUT SMYRNA WAS KNOWN
FOR SOMETHING ELSE. ITS CITIZENS TOOK
PRIDE IN ITS HISTORY. IN 600 BC, THE LYDIAN KING
ATTALUS CONQUERED SMYRNA
AND ACTUALLY DEVASTATED IT, LEFT IT AS A HUMBLE,
TINY VILLAGE. THEN WHEN ALEXANDER THE GREAT
CAME THROUGH HERE, IN A DREAM HE
HAD A VISION TO REBUILD SMYRNA, AND REBUILT IT INTO ONE
OF THE MOST SPECTACULAR
CITIES OF ITS DAY. SO THE FOLKLORE AND ALL OF
ITS LITERATURE WAS FILLED... WITH REFERENCES TO DEATH
AND RESURRECTION, THAT WE ARE THE CITY
WHO ONCE WAS DEAD AND
HAVE NOW COME TO LIFE. AND IT'S THAT THEME THAT
JESUS CHRIST PICKS UP ON... WHEN HE WRITES HIS LETTER
TO EARLY CHRISTIANS
SUFFERING IN THIS CITY. THIS CLAIM TO FAME
THAT SMYRNA WAS THAT
CITY THAT ONCE WAS DEAD, BUT HAS BEEN RESURRECTED
NOW TO A FAR BETTER LIFE, WAS UNDERSCORED BY
THEIR MAJOR COMMODITY. SMYRNA HELD THE EXCLUSIVE RIGHTS
TO THE IMPORT AND EXPORT... OF THE VALUED FRAGRANT
SPICE CALLED MYRRH, ACTUALLY, HENCE
THEIR NAME, SMYRNA. MYRRH WAS NOT ONLY VALUED
FOR ITS FRAGRANCE, BUT IT WAS VALUED FOR ITS USE
IN BURIAL PROCEDURES. IN FACT,
THEY SOLD JUST COUNTLESS
AMOUNTS OF MYRRH TO EGYPT, WHERE THE EMBALMING PROCESS
WAS TO PRESERVE THE BODY FOR
ITS RITE TO THE AFTERLIFE, AND MYRRH WAS
A VERY KEY INGREDIENT. YOU KNOW, I WONDER IF WHEN
THE WISE MEN CAME TO CELEBRATE
THE BIRTH OF CHRIST, THAT THE FRANKINCENSE
AND MYRRH THAT THEY BROUGHT... WONDER IF THAT CAME FROM SMYRNA. AND I THINK, TOO, OF THE DEATH
OF CHRIST, WHERE THEY WRAPPED
HIM AND ANOINTED HIM WITH MYRRH. THAT PROBABLY CAME
FROM SMYRNA, AS WELL. SO NO WONDER JESUS CAMPS ON THIS
THEME THAT EARLY CHRISTIANS, WHO JUST MAY FACE DEATH
FOR HIM, WOULD BE RESURRECTED
TO A FAR BETTER LIFE. SO IT SHOULDN'T COME
AS A SURPRISE THAT JESUS
OPENS HIS LETTER BY SAYING, "I AM THE FIRST
AND THE LAST, THE ONE WHO
HAS DIED AND RISEN AGAIN." AND THEN HE SAYS TO THEM,
"I KNOW YOUR TRIBULATION." INTERESTING HOW ALL OF
THE LETTERS BEGIN WITH
THAT PHRASE, "I KNOW". IN REVELATION CHAPTER 1, IN
JOHN'S VISION, CHRIST IS SEEN AS
WALKING AMONGST THE LAMPSTANDS, SAYING THAT HE IS PRESENT
WITH THE CHURCHES. BUT HE'S NOT JUST PRESENT.
HE'S INTENSELY AWARE OF WHAT
THEY'RE DEALING WITH, AND HE SAYS, "I KNOW WHAT TRIBULATION YOU'RE UNDER." THE WORD TRIBULATION THERE IS
THE WORD FOR AN ANCIENT TORTURE, WHERE THEY WOULD TAKE THE VICTIM AND LIE HIM ON HIS BACK, AND THEN PUT WEIGHTS
ON HIS CHEST, ONE UPON
ANOTHER UPON ANOTHER, UNTIL THOSE WEIGHTS
BEGAN TO CRUSH AND MAKE IT SO
HE COULDN'T BREATHE ANY MORE. WHAT A VIVID PICTURE. JESUS RECOGNIZES THREE WEIGHTS
ON THE CHEST OF THIS CHURCH. NUMBER ONE, THEIR POVERTY. NUMBER TWO, THEY'RE
SLANDERED AS A SUBCULTURE
BY THE JEWS IN THIS TOWN. AND NUMBER THREE,
HE PREDICTS THAT THEY WILL FACE
IMPRISONMENT AND EVEN DEATH. IT'S KIND OF A FOREBODING
WARNING, I WOULD SAY, BUT AT THE END OF THE LETTER
HE ENCOURAGES THEM TO PERSEVERE. LET'S THINK ABOUT THAT
CHALLENGE, THAT WEIGHT
OF THEIR POVERTY. TAKING A STAND FOR JESUS
CHRIST IN THE ROMAN EMPIRE,
AND PARTICULARLY HERE IN SMYRNA, OFTEN MEANT BEING CAST
INTO AN IMPOVERISHED STATE. YOU MAY LOSE YOUR JOB. YOU'D CERTAINLY BE KICKED OUT
OF THE TRADE UNIONS, BECAUSE YOU WOULDN'T WORSHIP
THE GODS OF THE TRADE UNIONS. YOU WERE SUCH
A DESPISED MINORITY THAT
EVEN IF YOU SET UP... A LITTLE KIOSK SOMEWHERE
TO SELL YOUR WARES, THAT... WHO'D WANT TO BUY
FROM CHRISTIANS? SO JESUS SAYS TO
THE BELIEVERS IN SMYRNA, "I KNOW YOUR TRIBULATION
AND YOUR POVERTY." THEN HE DOES SOMETHING
INTERESTING, PARENTHESES. HE SAYS, "(BUT YOU ARE RICH)." FASCINATING! IT'S ALL IN
THE DEFINITIONS, ISN'T IT? YOU KNOW, WE THINK BEING TRULY
RICH IS TO HAVE A BIG STACK OF
STUFF AND A HUGE BANK ACCOUNT. GOD SAYS THAT'S NOT TRUE
RICHES AND HE SAYS THAT IN
THEIR POVERTY, THEY'RE RICH. IT REMINDS ME OF MY ALL-TIME
FAVORITE STORY ABOUT JESUS
CHRIST IN LUKE CHAPTER 12, WHEN HE'S WALKING
THROUGH THE CROWD... AND THERE'S A MAN IN THE CROWD
WHO CATCHES THE EYES OF CHRIST, AND WHAT A PRIVILEGE, NOW JESUS
THIS MAGNATE RABBI LOOKS AT HIM
AND HE GETS TO TALK TO HIM. AND HE SAYS TO JESUS, "MASTER,
TELL MY BROTHER TO DIVIDE
THE INHERITANCE WITH ME." YOU KNOW, I'M THINKING LIKE
IF YOU GET ONE SHOT AT JESUS, THAT'S PROBABLY
NOT A GOOD THING TO SAY. I THINK IF I HAD
ONE SHOT AT HIM I'D WANT TO
SAY SOMETHING SO PROFOUND... THAT HE WOULD SAY,
"HMM, NEVER THOUGHT OF THAT. "LET'S HAVE DINNER
AND TALK IT OVER." BUT JESUS RESPONDED
TO THE MAN IN THE CROWD BY
MAKING AN AMAZING STATEMENT. HE SAID, "TAKE HEED
AND BEWARE OF GREED, "FOR A MAN'S LIFE CONSISTS
NOT IN THE ABUNDANCE OF
THE THINGS THAT HE POSSESSES." THINK THAT THROUGH. SO COUNTER-CULTURE
THAT OUR LIVES DO NOT
CONSIST OF EARTHLY RICHES. THEN HE TOLD THE STORY OF A RICH
FOOL WHO HE HAD SO MUCH... THAT HE HAD TO TEAR DOWN HIS
BARNS AND BUILD BIGGER BARNS, THREW A PARTY FOR HIMSELF
AND GOD SHOWED UP AND SAID, "THIS NIGHT THY SOUL
SHALL BE REQUIRED OF YOU." AND HE WASN'T A FOOL BECAUSE
HE HAD A LOT OF STUFF. JESUS SAID HE WAS A FOOL BECAUSE
HE WAS NOT RICH TOWARD GOD. I THINK THE BELIEVERS IN
SMYRNA WERE RICH TOWARD GOD,
THOUGH THEY WERE IN POVERTY. OF COURSE, BEING IMPOVERISHED
BECAUSE ONE DOESN'T DENY
THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST... WAS NOT LIMITED JUST TO
THE BELIEVERS AT SMYRNA. IN FACT, THROUGHOUT
ALL OF HISTORY THAT'S
OFTEN BEEN THE CASE. IN OUR OWN LIFETIME, BELIEVERS
IN RUSSIA WERE MARGINALIZED
AND IMPOVERISHED AS A CHURCH. I REMEMBER BEING IN RUSSIA WITH
A FRIEND OF MINE WHO IS A PASTOR
OF A LITTLE LOCAL ASSEMBLY, AND HE SAID TO ME ONE DAY,
"HEY, LET'S GO VISIT MY MOM." SO WE CLIMBED IN THE VAN
AND WE DROVE ABOUT AN HOUR, AND DROVE OFF THE MAIN
HIGHWAY DOWN A SMALLER ROAD,
THEN ONTO A DIRT ROAD, AND A COUPLE MILES BACK
THAT DIRT ROAD WAS THIS LITTLE
SHANTY TOWN, LITTLE HUTS ALMOST. HE PULLED UP IN FRONT OF
ONE OF THEM AND HIS MOM,
WHO IS A WIDOW, CAME RUNNING OUT TO SEE US
IN HER BABUSHKA, REDDENED
FACE SMILING AND REJOICING. I THOUGHT IT WAS
TO SEE MY FRIEND VICTOR, BUT AS WE WALKED INTO HER LITTLE HOUSE, IT ONLY HAD TWO ROOMS, I WALKED BY THE GARDEN SHE HAD
PLANTED AND NOTICED SHE HAD
A PIG IN THE STY OVER THERE, AND I SAID,
"OH, YOUR MOM'S GOT A PIG." HE SAID, "YEP, SHE RAISES
THAT IN THE SUMMER AND
EATS IT IN THE WINTER." THIS WOMAN HAD NOTHING. AND WE WENT IN AND SAT
DOWN AROUND THE LITTLE
PRIMITIVE TABLE, AND SHE SERVED US
SOME VEGETABLES. SHE WAS JUST BEAMING.
AND ALL SHE COULD TALK
ABOUT WASN'T VICTOR, ABOUT JESUS AND ABOUT
HOW MUCH SHE LOVED HIM AND
HOW MUCH HE MEANT TO HER, AND HOW SHE COULDN'T
WAIT TO GET TO HEAVEN
TO BE WITH HIM FOREVER. AND I KIND OF FELT SO CONVICTED. YOU KNOW, HERE, LIKE
MOST OF US, I HAVE A LOT. YOU KNOW, AFFLUENCE
HAS JUST FILLED UP MY CUP, AND HERE THIS WOMAN
HAD NOTHING, BUT I THOUGHT,
"SHE'S GOT EVERYTHING." AND I THOUGHT,
ALL SHE HAD WAS JESUS AND
THAT MADE HER TRULY RICH. THAT WAS LIKE
THE BELIEVERS IN SMYRNA. ALL THEY HAD WAS JESUS,
BUT THAT MADE THEM TRULY RICH. AND THEN I THOUGHT,
I HAVE SO MUCH THAT THERE ARE
TIMES I WONDER IF I NEED JESUS, AND THAT MAKES ME TRULY POOR. SO WHEN JESUS SAID TO
THE BELIEVERS IN SMYRNA, "YOU ARE POOR,
BUT YOU ARE RICH," WHAT A WONDERFUL STATEMENT
AND WHAT A WONDERFUL
LESSON FOR US TO LEARN. UNDERNEATH THE PLATEAU
OF THE EXCAVATIONS HERE
IN THE CITY OF SMYRNA... ARE THESE CAVERNS
AND ARCHES AND ROOMS, WHICH ARE ALL A PART
OF THE ONGOING EXCAVATION
OF THIS ANCIENT CITY. IN FACT, YOU MAY HEAR SOME
CLANGING AND BANGING IN THE
BACKGROUND AS THE WORK PROCEEDS. BUT BEING DOWN HERE
REMINDS ME OF THE SECOND
WEIGHT OF TRIBULATION... THAT WAS PLACED ON THE EARLY
CHURCH IN THIS ANCIENT CITY. AS JESUS SAID,
"I KNOW NOT JUST YOUR POVERTY, "BUT THAT YOU ARE
SLANDERED BY THE JEWS OF
THE SYNAGOGUE OF SATAN." THIS MADE LIFE VERY TOUGH
FOR THE EARLY CHRISTIANS,
THIS SLANDER. IT GIVES WHOLE NEW
MEANING TO THAT, "STICKS AND STONES WILL
BREAK MY BONES, BUT NAMES
WILL NEVER HURT ME," BECAUSE THESE NAMES REALLY
HURT THE EARLY CHRISTIANS. THE JEWS WANTED TO BE
DISTANCED FROM THE CHURCH. THE JEWS, INTERESTINGLY
ENOUGH, HAD A COVER WITH
THE ROMAN EMPIRE. THEY HAD AN EXEMPTION FROM
CLAIMING THAT CAESAR WAS LORD, SINCE THEIR ONE GOD
WAS THE GOD OF ISRAEL. THESE EARLY CHRISTIANS
THREATENED THAT EXEMPTION, BECAUSE THEY WERE
TROUBLE FOR ROME, SO THEY WANTED TO KICK THE
CHRISTIANS OUT OF THE SYNAGOGUE, AND IN SO DOING,
THEY SLANDERED THEIR NAME. SO THE SLANDER WAS
THAT THESE CHRISTIANS HAD
ORGIES IN THEIR GATHERINGS. THEY SAID THAT
AT THESE LOVE FEASTS... THEY ATE THE BODY OF CHRIST AND
DRANK HIS BLOOD IN COMMUNION, SO THE SLANDER WAS THAT
THESE EARLY CHRISTIANS WERE
CANNIBALISTIC IN THEIR FEASTS. THEY CALLED EACH OTHER BROTHER
AND SISTER, SO THE SLANDER WAS
THAT THEY WERE ANTI-FAMILY. IN THE STRUCTURE OF ROME,
THE FAMILY WAS VERY IMPORTANT, THAT THESE WERE PEOPLE WHO DID
NOT CARE ABOUT THEIR FAMILIES,
JUST ABOUT EACH OTHER. WELL, IT WAS THOSE KINDS
OF THINGS THAT CAUSED
ADDITIONAL PRESSURE... THAT MARGINALIZED
THE CHRISTIANS,
THAT ALIENATED THEM, THAT MADE THEM
A DESPISED SUBCULTURE. AND SO JESUS SAYS, "I'M WELL
AWARE OF YOUR TRIBULATION, "AND THE GREAT WEIGHT
OF THE SLANDER THAT
IS THROWN AGAINST YOU." SO JESUS WRITES TO THESE
SUFFERING FOLLOWERS OF
HIM AT SMYRNA... THAT HE KNOWS THE WEIGHTS
OF THEIR TRIBULATION, THAT HE KNOWS THE WEIGHT
OF THEIR POVERTY, THE WEIGHT OF THE SLANDER
HURLED AGAINST THEM. AND THEN HE ANNOUNCES THAT THERE
IS A THIRD WEIGHT YET TO COME. HE TELLS THEM THAT THEIR FAITH
WILL BE TESTED BECAUSE THEY WILL
BE THROWN INTO PRISON, AND SOME OF THEM WOULD DIE
FOR HIS NAME'S SAKE. THAT WASN'T GOOD NEWS.
I MEAN, THERE WERE NO,
LIKE, EXECUTIVE PRISONS... OR NICE PLACES WHERE
THEY LOCKED UP CHRISTIANS. TO BE IMPRISONED PROBABLY MEANT
THAT YOU WOULD BE THROWN INTO
A RAT-INFESTED DUNGEON... FULL OF HUMAN EXCREMENT,
VERY LITTLE LIGHT AND
CERTAINLY NOT MUCH FOOD. AND TO DIE, WELL, YOU'D BE
THROWN TO THE WILD BEASTS... IN A PUBLIC ARENA
WHILE THE CROWDS CHEERED, OR YOU'D BE BURNED AT
THE STAKE OR SOME OTHER
HORRIFIC WAY TO DIE. AND SURE ENOUGH,
THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT
HAPPENED TO THESE BELIEVERS. IN FACT, SOME OF THE FAMOUS
MARTYRS OF THE CHURCH WERE
MARTYRED HERE IN SMYRNA. THE MOST FAMOUS OF THEM
WAS POLYCARP, THE BISHOP OF
THE SECOND CENTURY CHURCH. POLYCARP LIVED LONG AND
DISTRIBUTED SCRIPTURES. HE GUARDED THE CHURCH
AGAINST HERESY. HE'S ONE... ONE OF OUR
MOST FAMOUS HEROES. HE HAD A DREAM ONE NIGHT
IN HIS OLDER AGE OF HIS
PILLOW CATCHING FIRE, AND HE TOLD HIS FRIENDS
THE NEXT DAY THAT HE THOUGHT
THAT WAS GOD WARNING HIM... ABOUT BEING BURNED
AT THE STAKE FOR HIS FAITH. AND SURE ENOUGH, THE PROCONSUL
OF THIS AREA OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE
SENT GUARDS A FEW DAYS LATER... TO GET POLYCARP AND BRING
HIM BEFORE THE PROCONSUL. POLYCARP WELCOMED THEM IN
AND HE HAD HIS SERVANTS
PREPARE A MEAL FOR THEM, SAID, "JUST WAIT.
LET ME FEED YOU." AND HE SAID,
"COULD I HAVE ONE HOUR TO PRAY?" AND HE WENT APART
AND PRAYED FOR AN HOUR, AND IN THAT PRAYER THERE WAS
SO MUCH ENERGY AND PASSION... THAT THE GUARDS HEARD IT
AND THEIR HEARTS BECAME GUILTY, FOR WHY WOULD WE...
WHY WOULD WE EXTINGUISH
A LIFE AND A MAN LIKE THIS? BUT FAITHFUL TO THEIR DUTY,
THEY HAULED HIM BEFORE
THE ROMAN LEADER. THE ROMAN LEADER, LOOKING AT
THIS OLD MAN, HIMSELF WONDERS, "HOW CAN I PUT
THIS MAN TO DEATH?" AND HE PLEADS WITH POLYCARP
TO DENY HIS FAITH AND POLYCARP
MADE THAT FAMOUS STATEMENT. HE SAID, "I HAVE SERVED
MY MASTER FOR 80 AND 6 YEARS.
HOW CAN I NOW DENY HIS NAME?" SO THE PROCONSUL, IN ANGER,
SAID, "I'M GONNA THROW YOU
TO THE WILD BEASTS." HE SAID,
"YOU CAN DO WHATEVER YOU WANT.
I WILL NOT DENY JESUS CHRIST." SO THEY STACKED UP
THE WOOD AND MADE A STAKE
TO BURN POLYCARP TO DEATH. NORMALLY THEY WOULD
NAIL PEOPLE TO THE STAKE
SO THEY WOULDN'T MOVE. POLYCARP SAID,
"YOU DON'T NEED TO DO THAT. "JUST TIE MY HANDS.
I WILL NOT MOVE." AND THEY LIT THE FIRE. LEGEND HAS IT THAT A WIND
CAME ALONG AND LITERALLY SWEPT
THE FIRE AWAY FROM POLYCARP... LIKE A SAIL FULL OF WIND
AND HE DIDN'T DIE, AND SO THE GUARD COMMANDED
ONE TO GO AND STAB POLYCARP. AND INDEED,THEY DID AND HE DIED
THERE FOR JESUS CHRIST, JUST AS
CHRIST PREDICTED WOULD HAPPEN. BUT JESUS ADDED A LITTLE
NOTE IN THE LETTER. HE SAID, "THESE TRIBULATIONS
WILL ONLY LAST FOR TEN DAYS," WHICH WAS A METAPHOR IN THOSE DAYS OF JUST A SHORT TIME. AND THEN HE SAID,
"AFTER THESE ARE OVER, I HAVE
SOMETHING SPECIAL FOR YOU." SEE, I THINK LIFE IS A LOT
LIKE A FEATURE-LENGTH FILM. WE FREEZE FRAME IT IN
SMYRNA WITH THE POVERTY
AND THE SLANDER, THE IMPRISONMENT AND
THE DEATH OF THESE CHRISTIANS. IF THAT'S ALL YOU HAVE,
YOU'RE IN TOTAL DESPAIR. WHY WOULDN'T YOU DENY
THE NAME OF CHRIST? AH, BUT THERE'S MORE,
AND JESUS CHRIST IS
THE EXECUTIVE PRODUCER. AND AT THE END OF THE FILM, THERE IS GREAT REWARD. AND JESUS ADDS THAT
AT THE END OF THE LETTER. SO JESUS IS
THE EXECUTIVE PRODUCER OF
THE FEATURE-LENGTH FILM. I DON'T KNOW WHAT
WE'D CALL IT, MAYBE LIKE,
"SUFFERING IN SMYRNA," BUT IN EACH ONE
OF THESE LETTERS, HE GIVES THESE
CHRISTIANS A SNEAK PREVIEW
OF WHAT IS TO COME, OF THE END OF THE FILM,
THE END GAME. AND TO THE BELIEVERS AT
SMYRNA HE SAYS, "TO THOSE
OF YOU WHO OVERCOME," OR TO THOSE OF YOU WHO
ENDURE, "I WILL GIVE YOU
A CROWN OF LIFE." THAT WAS A VERY SIGNIFICANT
STATEMENT FOR PEOPLE IN SMYRNA, BECAUSE THE CROWN WAS THE SYMBOL OF THE CITY OF SMYRNA, PROBABLY TAKEN FROM THE FACT
THAT UP ON THE ACROPOLIS
OVERLOOKING THE CITY... WERE THEIR EMBATTLEMENTS, AND IT
WAS IN A SHAPE OF A CROWN. SO THE CROWN WAS ON THEIR COINS. CROWNS, IN THOSE DAYS,
WERE WHAT PEOPLE GOT IF THEY
WON A VICTORY IN THE GAMES, OR AT GREAT FESTIVITIES
EVERYBODY WOULD WEAR
A GARLAND OF A CROWN. A CROWN IS WHAT EMPERORS WORE. AND THESE CHRISTIANS
HAD NO CROWNS. THEY WERE NEVER
INVOLVED IN THE FESTIVITIES.
THEY NEVER WON THE GAMES. CERTAINLY, THEY WEREN'T
IN THE EMPEROR'S COURT. THE FACT THAT THEY NEVER WORE
CROWNS WAS A VISIBLE SYMBOL... OF THEIR DISENFRANCHISEMENT
WITH SOCIETY. BUT JESUS SAID, "HANG IN
THERE AND AT THE END I WILL
GIVE YOU A CROWN OF LIFE." AND THEY DID HANG IN THERE. FOR THEM IT WAS NOT, "GAME OVER." FOR THEM IT WAS,
"GAME ON. HERE WE COME." AND I THINK THEY MUST HAVE
BELIEVED WHAT PAUL WROTE,
PAUL HIMSELF A MARTYR, WHEN HE SAID,
"FOR ME TO LIVE IS CHRIST AND
TO DIE, THAT WILL BE GAIN." SO JESUS TOLD THEM,
"OVERCOME AND GREAT IS
YOUR REWARD IN HEAVEN." YOU KNOW,
I GUESS IT WOULD BE EASY TO
LOOK AT THESE LETTERS LIKE... THESE WERE BELIEVERS
LIVING IN A FAR DIFFERENT
WORLD 2,000 YEARS AGO, BUT ONE THING THAT STRIKES ME
AS I STUDY THESE LETTERS... IS HOW RELEVANT
THEY ARE TO US TODAY. TAKE, FOR INSTANCE, THE CHURCH
AT EPHESUS. THEY STOOD TALL. THEY DID NOT COMPROMISE IN THE
MIDST OF ALL OF THAT PRESSURE
AND THEY HAD A GREAT CHURCH. BUT THE PROBLEM WAS THEY DID... DID ALL THE CHURCH THINGS, AND FUNCTIONED IN CHURCH WORLD
FOR ALL THE WRONG REASONS. IT WASN'T BECAUSE THEY LOVED
JESUS CHRIST AND THAT THIS
WAS THEIR OPPORTUNITY... TO WORSHIP CHRIST IN THEIR WORK
AND THAT THE LOVE OF CHRIST
MOTIVATED THEM TO DO THIS. HOW EASY IT IS FOR US
TO GET CAUGHT UP IN THAT, LIKE
I'M A DEACON, I'M AN ELDER. I SING IN A WORSHIP TEAM,
I DO THE DRAMA. I WELCOME PEOPLE,
I DO SMALL GROUPS. IT'S JUST MY OBLIGATION.
IT'S MY DUTY. I'M A CHRISTIAN. THESE ARE
THE KIND OF THINGS THAT I DO. WELL, IF YOU READ THE LETTER
TO EPHESUS, JESUS IS NOT
IMPRESSED WITH THAT. IN FACT, HE SAYS, "I'LL TAKE
THE POWER OF YOUR CHURCH AWAY... "IF IT'S JUST DUTY
AND HABIT AND PROJECT, "AND IF YOUR WORK FOR ME
IS NOT AN ACT OF WORSHIP
AND A RESPONSE OF LOVE." SO WE'VE GOT TO GO
TO SCHOOL ON THAT. MAYBE THE REASON WHY
SO MANY OF OUR CHURCHES
SEEM TO BE SO POWERLESS... IS BECAUSE WE'RE DOING CHURCH
FOR ALL THE WRONG REASONS. THAT COULD BE. OR I THINK OF THE CHURCH
AT SMYRNA AND THE PRESSURE
THAT THEY WERE UNDER, I THINK OF THEIR
IMPOVERISHMENT, FOR INSTANCE, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE PEOPLE
TODAY WHO DECIDE THEY ARE
NOT GOING TO BREAK... THEIR COMMITMENT TO JESUS
CHRIST AND TO HIS KIND OF
INTEGRITY TO KEEP THEIR JOB. BECAUSE THEY DON'T
CHEAT ON CONTRACTS, BECAUSE THEY DON'T GO
TO THE STRIP CLUBS WITH
THEIR FRIENDS ON TRIPS, BECAUSE THEY REFUSE TO
COMPROMISE THEIR COMMITMENT
TO JESUS CHRIST, SOMETIMES THEY'RE DEMOTED. SOMETIMES THEY LOSE THEIR JOB. IT'S EASY FOR US TO BECOME
ALIENATED TODAY... FOR OUR STAND
FOR THE CAUSE OF CHRIST IN
THE MARKETPLACE, ISN'T IT? IT'S A LOT OF PRESSURE,
BUT WILL YOU STAND? I EVEN THINK OF THE SLANDER. INTERESTINGLY, OUR WORLD, THE WESTERN WORLD IS MOVING KIND
OF INTO THIS NEO-PAGANISM... VERY SIMILAR TO
THE WORLD IN WHICH THESE
EARLY CHRISTIANS LIVED, WHERE OUR CLAIM FOR CHRIST
THAT HE IS THE ONLY WAY, OUR STAND FOR LIFE,
OUR STAND FOR HUMAN SEXUALITY
HAS PUSHED US TO THE MARGINS, AND WE'RE OFTEN CALLED
NAMES AND DESPISED AND
REJECTED BECAUSE OF THAT. CHRISTIANS AT SMYRNA TOOK THEIR
STAND BECAUSE THEY KNEW GREAT
WAS THEIR REWARD IN HEAVEN. I THINK EVEN OF CHRISTIANS ALL
OVER THE WORLD TODAY WHO ARE
IMPRISONED FOR JESUS CHRIST. WE'VE KIND OF GOTTEN
A HALL PASS ON THAT KIND
OF THING IN THE WEST, BUT THERE ARE LITERALLY TENS OF
THOUSANDS OF CHRISTIANS RIGHT
NOW, AS YOU ARE WATCHING THIS, WHO ARE SUFFERING
IMPRISONMENT FOR CHRIST, AND MANY WHO ARE PAYING
THE PRICE OF MARTYRDOM. SO THIS IS NOT OLD-SCHOOL STUFF. THIS IS EXTREMELY RELEVANT. IT'S THE SAME JESUS
WHO LIVES TODAY, LIVES IN OUR
HEARTS, LIVES IN OUR MIDST, THAT WOULD WRITE LETTERS
EXACTLY LIKE THIS TO US. WE'LL ALL HAVE TO ANSWER
THE QUESTION PERSONALLY: ARE WE WILLING TO STAND,
KNOWING THAT GREAT IS
OUR REWARD IN HEAVEN?
