The Church in Smyrna

I've asked Suzanne to come and do our reading, and she's leapt up and is going to come and do that now.

It is from Revelation chapter 2.

Revelation 2 · chapter mention

I'm reading from verse 8 to 11, and I'm reading from the New International Version of the Bible.

To the church in Smyrna, to the angel of the Lord in Smyrna, write.

These are the words of him who is the first and the last, who died and came to life again.

I know your afflictions and your poverty, yet you are rich.

I know about the slander of those who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.

Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer.

I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days.

Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor's crown.

Whoever has ears, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

The one who is victorious will not be hurt at all by the second death.

This is the word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

Thank you.

I just want to hold a moment with those words there.

He or she who has an ear, let him or her hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

Before I start, I just want to say I cannot think of a bigger challenge to the church.

Across our nation just now, but particularly here in Clevedon.

For us to really discern what it is the Spirit is saying to the church today.

And one of my prayers for this gathering has been that we might discern what the church is saying to the church together.

What we know is that, and we have been bombarded with statistics, we thank God for those churches which show the green shoots of growth.

But we are aware that in general the church in the West is in decline, even in America, interestingly, where we think of megachurches being the norm.

Somebody told me in the Episcopal Church, which is pretty well a busted flush in many ways,

the average size of congregation is now about 61, which wouldn't be a bad congregation in the UK.

But in America, not so much.

And not that I am trying to big up megachurches.

I am simply saying to you, I think, I pray that this may be a moment when together we might listen to God

and hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches.

So this evening we are looking at the church in Smyrna.

A church that was, well, let me show you some facts.

It's about between 30 and 40 miles north of Ephesus, which was the church that we looked at last week.

It takes about less than an hour on a coach to go from one to the other.

And what it was Smyrna back at the time of the early church is now the flourishing port of Izmir,

which is on the Turkish coast.

You can get on an airplane and fly for about three hours,

and as long as your plane is going in the right direction,

you will land at Izmir.

And Izmir is a big, bustling, modern port town

with a kind of headland, which has got sea on three sides of it,

and ancient Smyrna.

You can still visit it.

There's not much of it left.

There is, you know, some ruins of what they call the Agora.

But there's not an awful lot to see there.

There are the remains of what archaeologists think may have been churches.

It's an outstanding natural harbour.

It is only the third largest port, I believe, in Turkey,

but it has the best natural harbour

and allows ships to come and go at will without having to wait for,

not that there is a big tidal surge in the Mediterranean.

Commercially today and back then, it was very, very prosperous.

And we'll come back to that because Jesus tends to imply

that the church in Smyrna was made up of the kind of Smyrnian underclass,

the poor people.

Interestingly, the population of Smyrna was largely Jewish in the first century.

If you go there today, as far as I know,

there is not one synagogue left in Smyrna.

But back in the day, because it was commercially very viable

and it attracted a lot of Jews excellent at business

to go there and make their pile,

Sity was fanatically loyal to Rome.

I mean, this is very odd, isn't it, in a way,

because the Romans were an occupying army.

And I think it worked a bit like it worked for the people of Jersey

in the Second World War.

That as long as you did kind of poke the bear,

in other words, you didn't provoke the regime,

by and large, the Nazis would leave you alone.

And I think it was like that in Smyrna.

Obviously, being occupied has a tremendous kind of psychological drag

on a population.

And nobody likes it and nobody should like it,

but it is potentially livable with.

And as a city, I mean, this is just a kind of side thing,

it was known for the production of myrrh.

I don't know if this has any particular significance

as far as our study is concerned,

but our English word myrrh comes from an ancient Turkish word

which sounds very like myrrh.

And it's thought that the reason the town is called Smyrna

is because of the production of this very fine perfume.

Incidentally, I have no idea what myrrh smells like.

Does anybody know?

You can't buy it over the counter in boots, I know that.

I don't know what it smells like.

No?

You can buy it online.

You can buy it online.

What can't you buy online?

Thanks for the tip.

So, having thought a bit about the town,

let's just think about the church in Smyrna

from what little we know about it.

Please come on.

Try pressing the forward arrow on the computer,

see what that does.

There we go.

It was a small congregation.

As far as we know,

the numbers were pretty thin

at the turn of the first century AD.

We also know that it was persecuted and slandered.

Revelation chapter 2 and verse 9

Revelation 2 · chapter mention

were told that

the risen Christ says,

I know your afflictions, your poverty,

yet you are rich.

I know the slander of those who say they are Jews

and are not,

but are of the synagogue of Satan.

Pretty dramatic words there.

I think you would agree with me.

I'm going to come back to

the whole issue of the early church

and slander in just a moment.

It's members were poor

in terms of material wealth,

but Jesus describes them as rich.

And we take from that

that this was a church

that didn't really have great resources,

but had a kind of rich spirituality,

a determination

to walk closely with Jesus

in a context

which it was very hard to do.

And I think

the reference to the Christians

being rich there

is a reference

to this kind of idea

that though

they were very short

on material resources,

they were spiritually

very rich.

It reminds me

a bit of

the story

of the

Hebridean revival

which took place

in 1949

in the Hebrides

where the church

was particularly small

and the group

that was playing

for revival

was even smaller.

And they were

kind of a bit like,

I couldn't really speak

for the Church of England,

but a bit like

the Church of England.

They're kind of

growing old together.

And this prayer group

in the Hebrides

is growing old together.

And then this remarkable thing

where this

dear old lady,

I won't attempt

her Scottish brogue,

basically said,

I think the Lord

is coming tonight.

This was after midnight

and suddenly

across the island

lights went on

in the crofters cottages.

They went outside

and people

were in the street

convicted of their sin

and seeking

God's repentance.

I think what that

tells you is that

although, you know,

I'm a minister,

obviously I'm in

the numbers game.

But actually,

what is really important

is what is

the spiritual quality

of what is going on

in your church.

You may be,

you know,

facing a terrible

bill to re-

you know,

build a church tower

or something horrendous

or replace the roof

or have the organ

refitted,

you know,

the things that

consume us

at local level

very often.

But actually,

what the Lord's

interested in

is what's the

spiritual temperature

in this church.

I made a reference

there to

Ephesians

Ephesians 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1

and verse 3.

If you've got your

Bible,

it's still in the

back bit.

Before Galatians,

sorry,

after Galatians

and before

Philippians.

And Paul makes

this extraordinary

assertion

to the church

in Ephesus.

He says,

praise be to the

God and Father

of our Lord

Jesus Christ,

not who will

bless us,

but who has

blessed us

in the heavenly

realms

with every

spiritual blessing

in Christ.

Does anybody

remember

that program

that used to be

on the

independent

television network

called

the Beverly

Hillbillies?

And basically

the storyline

was that

there were

these poor

folks out

in the

Midwest of

America

scratching a

living on

their small

holding

when suddenly

old Jake

sticks his

spade into

the ground

and up

through the

ground

comes Texas

gold,

oil.

Overnight

they go

from being

some of the

poorest people

in the United

States to

being some

of the

wealthiest

and like

wealthy people

they did

what a lot

of wealthy

people do

and moved

straight to

Beverly Hills

into this

huge mansion.

And the

early days

of the

Beverly

Hillbillies

in their

mansion

was

teaches you

something

if you

move into

a large

home

you need

to know

how to

occupy it

properly.

So these

people were

completely

confused

thinking that

the billiards

room was

their dining

room and

wondering why

it had been

designed with

nets in each

corner and at

the middle of

the table.

And so

they did

what is

understandable

to me.

They retreated

and they

basically just

lived inside

the kitchen.

And I say

that because I

think that

is a kind

of analogy

of what

happens not

just in our

churches but

to a good

many individual

Christians.

God has

blessed us in

the heavenly

places with

every spiritual

blessing.

And yet in

our walk

with God

metaphorically

speaking

do we just

live in the

kitchen?

What are

those spiritual

blessings?

I mean we

live in a

culture that's

very obsessed

with material

blessing.

What are

those spiritual

blessings?

Well God

has revealed

himself as a

God of grace.

that means

he loves

you even

though you

don't deserve

it.

Someone say

amen.

Someone say

thank you

Lord.

It means

that a

sinful soul

like you

can be

forgiven.

Someone say

amen.

Thank you

Lord.

It means

that we

can be

changed from

the inside

out.

You know

from reading

your magazines

and switching

on the

television and

watching the

advertisements.

There's an

awful lot

that will

promise that

if you take

this vitamin

or go on

this retreat

or do

that

you will

be changed.

God's

got a much

more

challenging

but ultimately

much more

successful

idea.

And that

is when

we give

our lives

to Christ

he fills

us with

his Holy

Spirit

and the

Holy Spirit

seeks to

change us

from the

inside out.

I mean

you remember

don't you

that one of

the surprising

things about

Jesus was

that he

had it in

for the

Pharisees

and the

scribes

and because

of that

we've kind

of got them

written up

as the

baddies in

the Bible

but actually

they were

the respectable

religious

establishment

of their

time.

These were

people who

prayed five

times a day

okay maybe

they did it

in public

so that as

many people

as possible

could see

them.

These people

gave 10%

of their

income

plus free

will offerings

to the

local

synagogue

and to

the cult

of the

temple.

These were

not kind

of fringe

people

these were

people

who in

their own

way

kind of

laid down

their life

and Jesus

had to

say to

them

the trouble

with you

is

your religion

is all

about tick

boxes

said my

prayers

five times

a day

given my

tithe

tick the

box

tick the

box

but Jesus

said oh

very well

but you're

like whitewashed

tombs

you look

good on the

outside but

inside you're

full of

decay

and Jesus

didn't say

this but

but you

stink

so the

idea that

God has

blessed us

not that we're

striving for

yet more

God has

blessed us

says Paul

in Ephesians

with these

amazing

spiritual

gifts

and I

pray God

that one

of the

things we

might decide

maybe tonight

maybe while

this course

is going

on

maybe in

God's

right time

we will

come to

the

conclusion

that we're

sick of

living in

the kitchen

take a

look at

the

mansion

step

into it

smell it

enjoy it

so what

we also

know was

that this

church was

oppressed

by and

this is

violent

language I

feel and

remember last

week I gave

you a warning

that the

book of

revelation of

course is a

kind of

half volley to

conspiracy

theories I

mean I have

seen so much

written about the

synagogue of

Satan and

who they are

I was once

in a church

in Hitchin in

Hertfordshire

sitting on the

front row

innocently where

the preacher told

me that the

synagogue of

Satan was the

church of

England

all are

welcome

I've heard it

apply to

Freemasonry

I've heard

we had a

preacher come

in and

when I was

in local

church ministry

he was on

deputation from

the church

missionary

society

from Nigeria

and he

got in the

pulpit and

we're all

thinking you

know he's

going to give

us a talk

about how

he tends

cows in

northern

northern

a bit of

it

I mean

absolutely

laid into

the congregation

took the

church in

Smyrna as

his text

and absolutely

lambasted

Freemasonry

I was fairly

new in the

church I

got no idea

of people in

this church

Freemasons

or not

so I kind

of kept my

eyes fixed

firmly on

the floor

through most

of this

rant

one couple

left the

church

it was their

first time

there and

I think it

was a bit

strong for

them so they

just went

as it

happened

and then

at the

end of

it this

man

dear man

actually

retired to

Churchill

which is

not far

from here

is it

and his

name was

John

Daunton

and John

Daunton was

very upper

crust he

said to me

I rekt her

he said

would you

care to

come round

for a drink

he said

I think I

need to

discuss that

sermon

with you

I went

round to

his house

feeling I

was going

to get

both barrels

pours me

the biggest

gin and

tonic you

have ever

seen in

your life

and one

sip of

it nearly

put me

in the

intensive

care unit

and he

said to

me what

did you

make of

that sermon

rector

so I

was you

know what

do you

say I

was trying

to say

in principle

I agree

he said let

me stop

you there

he said I

think we

need more

preaching

like that

I tell

you I

just

breathed

out and

enjoyed the

gin and

tonic and

went home

what it

seems was

going on

in Smyrna

is that

there was

a group

of people

we don't

know how

many

synagogues

were there

but sounds

like these

people were

members of

a synagogue

and we

don't know

whether they

found Christians

a threat

or quite

what they

thought

but one

of the

things that

was abundantly

clear

was that

they were

persecuting

and oppressing

the church

of Jesus

so the

risen Christ

in the

strong

language

condemns

this

the synagogue

of Satan

in

chapter 2

and verse

10

we read

a warning

which must

have children

I mean

remember

this is

already

a persecuted

church

in a

very

Roman

context

and

in

verse

10

the

risen

Christ

says to

them

I

tell you

the devil

will put

some of

you in

prison

to test

you

and you

will suffer

persecution

for 10

days

be

faithful

even

to the

point

of death

and I

will give

you

the crown

of life

I think

I have

a vivid

imagination

but I've

often

thought

what if

you know

I found

myself

you know

out in the

Middle East

and was

kidnapped

by

terrorists

and put

in an

orange

jumpsuit

and there's

a video

of me

and there's

two guys

with great

big swords

standing

either

side

of me

and the

threat

was

what we

want you

to do

to the

screen

is

disown

the name

of Jesus

and worship

the true

God

Allah

I've

often

thought

to myself

if I

was in

that

situation

what

would

I

do

and I

imagine

that

those of

you with a

more vivid

mind

have wondered

what you

might say

if you

were threatened

to the

point of

death

and the

risen

Christ

takes a

rather

kind

of

a

sort

of

tough

line

on this

he said

you know

you need

to be

faithful

even

to the

point

of

death

we

have

absolutely

no

idea

quite

what

happened

to the

church

in Smyrna

in the

immediate

aftermath

of this

letter

from the

risen

Christ

has

probably

delivered

to the

church

in Smyrna

sometime

around

about

100

AD

what we

do know

is

that

Roman

governors

through

to about

150

AD

persecuted

the church

quite

seriously

and the

threat

was

and it

probably

would have

been

the threat

to these

Christians

in Smyrna

was

you must

bow your

knee to

the emperor

and declare

him as

god

you probably

know this

those of you

know your

Roman history

that the

emperor

Caesar

declared

himself to

be a

god

and asked

people to

worship him

I mean you

can read the

great story

of Daniel

if you want

to read

another

amazing story

of

faithfulness

even

unto

death

these

were

tough

times

for the

church

and

Jesus

said

don't

worry

about it

because

you're

going to

suffer

some

more

and it's

going to

last for

ten days

seems a bit

arbitrary

but

that's what

the word

says

and just

remain

faithful

throughout

that time

and the

other thing

that Smyrna

is really

remembered

for

is something

which

I hope

you

don't

think

is a

Terry

help me

nothing

doing

on here

anyway

here's

my point

it was

served

by one

of the

early

fathers

of the

church

that is

by that

I mean

not somebody

who had

children

but somebody

who was

recognised

as a

there we

go

his name

was

wonderful

name

wasn't it

Polycarp

and I'm

going to

tell you a

little more

about him

and in

particular

the fact

that he

was obedient

even unto

death

and the

story of

his

martyrdom

is

impressive

I think

I hope

you'll

agree

with me

so

why do

when you

get older

you find

it difficult

to turn

pages

over

does anyone

say amen

to that

no

so

church

historians

Chadwick

in particular

came up

with

here we

go

here we

don't go

Terry can you

get the

next slide

up

what's

going on

here

it's going

green

anyway

so what

they put

together is

the six

slanders

aimed at

the church

right

at this

time

there were

six major

complaints

that

its opponents

made to the

church

the first

one

and you've

probably heard

about this

was cannibalism

they

misunderstood

the Lord's

supper

the service

of holy

communion

the

Eucharist

whatever

you choose

to

and all

this

talk

about

consuming

the blood

and body

of Jesus

kind of

was hyped

up by the

church's

opponents

who accused

the church

of cannibalism

the second

thing

was that

the church

had what

they called

agape

feasts

which

simply

translated

means love

feasts

and so

the accusation

was that

these were

lust-filled

orgies

and they

weren't

just in case

you ever get

an invite

to one

so

they were

just a kind

of meal

together

where people

remembered

all that

Christ had

done for

them

the third

thing they

were accused

of was

family

disruption

the reason

for that

was that

becoming a

Christian

would divide

you from

the rest

of your

family

so the

people who

opposed us

said this

is what it

does

you become a

Christian

you wreck

family life

actually I

think Christians

it's only a few

people on the

planet today

who stick up

for family

life even

though I

don't think

we're very

well heard

the fourth

thing is

really

mystifying

the early

Christians

were charged

with atheism

and the

reason for

that is

kind of

understandable

and that

was

Christianity

rejected

any images

for worship

or idols

so because

they didn't

use those

kind of

helps to

worship

it was

assumed

that they

must be

atheists

the fifth

thing is

they were

disloyal

citizens

that was

the

accusation

they were

thought to

be

revolutionaries

because

they would

not bow

the knee

to the

name of

Caesar

and therefore

were thought

to be

people who

were in

grave danger

of carrying

out

insurrection

and finally

they were

accused of

being

destructive

why was

that

because

they used

rather graphic

language about

the end

times and

what would

happen

we could

read some

of that

in the

Revelation of

St John

that awful

things are

going to

happen so

they were

accused of

being destructive

people

if I might

just take a

moment to

talk to you

about

Polycarp

you see

he lived a

long life

he was 86

years old

when he

died

he was a

leader of

the church

in Smyrna

and one of

the earliest

bishops in

the church

you have to

decide whether

that's a good

thing or a

bad thing

but that's the

way they

recognised his

leadership

he wrote

an extra

canonical letter

that means

a letter

that's not

in the

Bible

to the

Philippians

which is

still

we still

have

translations

of that

that can

be read

he was

a wise

and brave

leader

in a

world

where

sadly

persecution

was the

order of

the day

and he

was martyred

for his

faith

no

there we

go

when he

was 86

years old

he was

called before

the local

court

and told

that he

had to

disown

the name

of Jesus

and

worship

polycarp

said

to the

judge

or the

chair

of the

tribunal

christ

has served

me well

for 86

years

i don't

think

i'm going

to give

up now

alongside

his

martyrdom

that what

they did

was

they tied

him to a

stake

built a

bonfire

around it

and lit

it

and

amazingly

according

to the

stuff we

have

and this

is backed

up by

the

historian

eusebius

as well

eusebius

not a

portuguese

football

player

but

somebody

who

was a

historian

in the

early church

eusebius

backs it

up that

the fire

just remained

in a circle

around him

he's

completely

unharmed

by it

and so

he got

to the

point where

they stabbed

him

and they

actually killed

him by

stabbing him

in the

neck

i think

they stabbed

him 32

times

and he

died

and he

died a

hero

of the

christian

faith

in the

modern

church

if you're

interested

he's

remembered

in the

modern

church

on the

26th

of

january

obviously

roman

catholic

church

is quite

big on

remembering

saves the

anglican

church

a bit

more

a bit

not

more

a bit

and on

the 26th

of january

is the

day when

the church

gives

thanks for

the life

and martyrdom

of polycarp

and then

how did

this happen

is the

patron saint

of earache

sufferers

and

that seems

to me to

be entirely

eccentric

and i've

no idea

why that

would be

but nevertheless

apparently it

is

so there

is in

christ's

words for

smyrna

and the

first thing

is we're

told that

jesus

described

the risen

christ describes

himself as

the first

and the

last

rather

graphic

talk

for

the

consistent

sovereignty

over the

church

throughout

the ages

whatever

the

circumstances

the risen

christ says

that he

is aware

of their

afflictions

still can't

get this

to work

terry

and i

think i'm

going to

give up

on it

if you

can't

function

it

from up

there

right

okay

if i

just

fainted

so

the

risen

christ

system

i know

your

afflictions

and your

poverty

and he

knows

about the

slander

of the

synagogue

of satan

that i

think is

christ's

way of

saying

that

where the

church

finds itself

persecuted

jesus

is in

the midst

and is

with us

and some

of you

will know

because some

of you in

this church

have had a

hard time

i know

that and

some of

you have

discovered

that in

a hard

time

having

jesus

close to

you

is

maybe

what you

would say

was the

primary way

that kind

of got

you through

a tough

time

it's

mirrored

isn't it

in the

23rd

psalm

psalmets

are very

often read

at funerals

which is a

bit late

for at

least one

person

present

you remember

that verse

it's a

wonderful

verse

i treasure

this

verse

yea

though i

walk

through the

valley

of the

shadow

of death

i will

fear

no evil

why

because the

psalmist

says

thou art

with me

listen to

me

the presence

of god

in the

lives of

the whole

christian

history

and the

lives of

all the

christians

who have

ever

stalked

the

planet

has been

that those

who hold

on to

christ

through a

difficult

time

prevail

someone say

amen

someone say

we love

that

so what

does the

risen christ

say to

them

you're about

to find

out

one he

says

chapter 2

verse 10

don't be

afraid

i mean

we could

spend the

whole evening

looking at

how the

bible

is very

intent

on making

it clear

to the

followers of

god

in the

old testament

the followers

of jesus

in the new

that we

needn't be

afraid

i'm told

never counted

personally

that the

phrase

or derivative

of the

phrase

do not

be afraid

occurs in

scripture

365 times

once a

day

though you

might be in

trouble for

24 hours

in a leap

year

second

there is

in christ's

word is

there's worse

to come

i mean i

don't know

how you read

what's going

on in the

world around

us just

now

but am i

the only

person in

the house

who thinks

that it

might have

to get

worse before

it gets

better

and i've

no idea

what that

worse might

look like

what it

might feel

like what

it might

mean for

us what

it might

mean for

our

children

and our

grandchildren

and if

you're old

enough your

great

grandchildren

and christ's

word to

them is in

the light of

there's worse

to come is

be faithful

hang on in

there

be faithful

to the point

of death

we talked