Rich or Poor – Smyrna.
“And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: The first and the last, who was dead, and has come to life, says this: ‘I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich), and the slander by those who say they are Jews, and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.” – Rev 2:8-9.
This world has rich, rich people, rich poor people, poor, poor people and poor rich people. Rich, rich people have both the riches of Christ and the riches of the world. The poor rich people lack the riches of eternity. The poor, poor people have neither, and the poor rich people have little of this world’s goods but have secured the riches of eternity in Christ.
Commentators widely agree that the poverty in this passage is literal, while the riches are spiritual. The Smyrnaeans were poor in this world’s goods, but they were rich in the goods of the gospel, rich in the things of the Spirit. In practical terms, there is a big difference between poverty and riches. People who are born rich have an entirely different mentality than the average person. For most of us, nearly every decision we make is affected by financial limitations. We choose inexpensive cafes for lunch. We buy our clothes at K mart or Target instead of boutique stores. In our free time we go to a public beach instead of a tropical vacation at Hamilton Island. Every decision we make is constrained by our lack of unlimited money.
But the church at Smyrna discovered a different kind of riches, a kind that the rich rarely attain (Matt 19:24). Those who know Jesus are liberated from enslavement to money. They realize that the true riches of life are found in loving relationships. To have a clean conscience, to be able to forgive and to be forgiven is to be truly rich. It is far better to know the Word of God than to be able to rush from one empty round of entertainment to another.
The truest of all riches are found in Christ, not in material wealth.
Smyrna means “sweet smelling.” Prophetically, it was the era of Martyrdom, from about the end of the first century to 313AD when the tide was turned by the supposed “conversion” of the Emperor Constantine.
Smyrna was a bad time for Christians. The era of martyrdom when many lost their lives. Tertullian said, “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.”
I remember reading a story of someone who saw for the first time the pride of technological achievement of the American Air force, the SR-71, an incredibly fast and high-flying Reconnaissance plane. While the plane looks incredibly sleek when on the ground it leaks and must have drip pans under it. Not a good look for such an incredibly expansive machine.
However, once the plane got up to speed and reached its high cruising altitude it would expand, and the resulting heat would cause the dripping to stop. Not only that, but much of the plane was also constructed out of titanium, a metal that gets stronger as it heats up.
This story helps me understand the text. How can Christians be poor and rich at the same time? How is it that suffering and affliction are to be welcomed like riches (James 1:2)? I think Christians are a lot like the SR-71. In ordinary life they don’t stand out at all, they may even look like a bigger mess than the average secular person. It is when the trials and stresses of life show up that the real Christian begins to shine. Smyrna was a period of incredible trials for God’s people.
God doesn’t permit His people to go through trials to find out what they are made of. He already knows. But one reason He allows trials is so that WE can discover what we are made of. As we learn to stay close to God amidst trial, He redesigns us so we can fly higher and faster than we could possibly have imagined. If our lives were easier, we might never discover the rich fulfillment that comes from flying at God’s altitude.
Thank you I look forward to learning more about this often difficult book of the Bible
God bless you discovery and study.
Good analogy there with the SR-71.
Thanks Kara.