We're going to start off with a game today—because, well, I just think it'll be fun.
In the following pictures several different item, some items are real and some are made of cake? Can you tell which is real and which is cake?
Introduction
The cake picture game ties right in with the sermon. Revelation, the book we’re studying, is a divine vision that helps us see that things in this world are not always what they seem.
Sometimes you think something’s real—but it’s cake. And sometimes you think it’s fake—but it’s real.
We can’t always believe everything we see, hear, or are told. There's more going on beneath the surface.
Even when it comes to the news, there’s always bias—on both sides. Everyone has a point of view. We try to be objective, but there’s always a lens through which we see things.
Scripture tells us that we don’t wrestle with flesh and blood alone—we’re in the middle of spiritual warfare. Revelation pulls back the curtain to show what’s really going on. What we see with our eyes isn’t the full story.
Revelation was given to the apostle John around A.D. 95–96 to encourage Christians facing severe persecution under Emperor Domitian. These believers were suffering terribly, and Jesus was saying: There’s more going on here than what you see. Don’t give up hope. God is doing something big—something eternal.
In Revelation 1:19, Jesus says, “Write down what you have seen—both the things that are now happening and the things that will happen.”
So, this vision includes current events (for them), as well as future ones. And when we say “future,” we need to remember: that just means anything after A.D. 95—some of which may have already happened long ago from our perspective.
Of course, Revelation also includes things yet to come. But the danger is thinking it’s all about us or about the end times. It’s not just a code to crack. It’s a message for all God’s people through all time.
Let’s read Revelation 2:8–11, the message to the church in Smyrna.
Revelation 2:8-11
8 “Write this letter to the angel of the church in Smyrna. This is
the message from the one who is the First and the Last, who was dead but is now
alive:
9 “I know about your suffering and your poverty—but you are rich! I
know the blasphemy of those opposing you. They say they are Jews, but they are
not, because their synagogue belongs to Satan. 10 Don’t
be afraid of what you are about to suffer. The devil will throw some of you
into prison to test you. You will suffer for ten days. But if you remain
faithful even when facing death, I will give you the crown of life.
11 “Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand
what he is saying to the churches. Whoever is victorious will not be harmed by
the second death.
The people of Smyrna were suffering. The Christians in Smyrna were suffering. They needed hope so that they could endure. And Jesus reminds us, he he starts to offer them hope by reminding them who he is.
This is what he says. He says, "This is the message from the one who is the first and the last. The one who was dead but now alive." And so He's reminding them in a subtle way, Jesus is the first and the last.
They are suffering. It is real suffering. But He wants them to think of this in the context of eternity. What they are suffering is happening right now. But this is in within the context of eternity.
Jesus also suffered. Remember, it was an awful suffering that He had to go through in the passion. Being tortured, being betrayed, being crucified, awful torture. It was the worst form of torture and pain you could inflict upon the human body to be nailed to a wooden cross until you die. Jesus experienced that suffering.
And yet, Jesus was the first and the last. In other words, Jesus existed before time and he will always exist. That's a mind blowing expanse of time to think of. And yet in this one moment he experienced suffering. That doesn't take away the fact that He suffered, but it puts it in a broader scheme, a broader scale.
These people in Smyrna were suffering. But Jesus is saying this is upon a grand scale that you can't even comprehend. And there's going to be a time 10 billion years from now after you've been in glory in eternity for 10 billions of 10 billions of 10 billions of years. This moment of suffering is going to be forgotten. It's not going to seem as bad.
And Jesus also says He is the one who was dead but now is alive. And this is another reminder. Jesus went through suffering. He even died and yet he is now alive. And this is an important thing to remind the people in Smyrna because some of them may die in the suffering but they are going if they follow Jesus just as He is alive they also are going to be alive again. we realize.
He says, "I know about your suffering and your poverty, but you are rich." Again, this is part of how Revelation turns everything upside down. Because because when they looked at their situation, the church in Smyrna was suffering. They were being persecuted and they were poor.
Their poverty wasn't their fault. It's not like they made a bad decision and invested in the wrong stock or the economy went south and they lost all their money. They were poor because of persecution.
So here's the situation in Smyrna in the first century. There was not such a great distinction between Jewish people and Christian people as there is today. In the first century most Christians were Jewish people who believed that Jesus was the Messiah. And so Jewish people and Christian people were in the same community and they worshiped together and they worked together. They did business with one another.
But many of the Jewish people began to resent Christian people and thought they were heretics because they believed in Jesus Christ. And it wasn't just a theological dispute. They actually thought, "We can turn them into the Roman authorities and say that they are not legitimate Jewish people, but they're heretics, that they're atheists, that they don't believe in the Roman gods, and that they're doing all kinds of bad things." And they would turn Christians in and the Roman government would take Christian's property, take their businesses, take their money, and oftentimes the authorities would give some of it to their Jewish neighbors. This was a great betrayal that was happening. So Christians in Smyrna weren't poor because they'd made bad decisions. They were poor because they were persecuted. People they formerly thought of as friends and neighbors were persecuting them. And yet Jesus says, "You you are suffering and are impoverished, but actually you are rich." He turns it all upside down.
How can this be? How can they are rich when they have no money, and their homes have been taken from them and nobody will do business with them anymore because they are Christians?
Remember what Jesus said. He said, "Don't store up treasures on earth where rust corrupts it and moths eat it and where thieves break in and steal it. Don't store up treasures on earth. Store up treasures in heaven where neither rust nor moth nor thieves can destroy it. Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."
And so what Jesus is saying here is that because they have suffered for the sake of God's kingdom and for Jesus Christ, they have made their bank accounts on earth may be empty but a their bank accounts in heaven are busting at the seams. Their suffering on earth is creating great deposits in heaven.
A lot of people would say, "Well, so what? There's still suffering on earth." But the idea within the Christian faith is we need to be focused on eternity and not on just what's happening right now. Because Jesus is the beginning and the end. And eternity spans from before time began till after time ends. It goes on forever. And the suffering that we experience in this life or the wealth that we experience in this life or the poverty, it lasts but an instantand then it is gone. But what remains for us in eternity is forever.
There are Christians in our world who are poor now whom we look at and feel pity for but in eternity they will be the richest people we know and that will last forever. There are many Christians who seem so wealthy now, who will be impoverished for eternity because they focused on what happena in this little tiny span of time we call life and didn't focus on eternity.
We need to be sure that we are investing in our heavenly wealth and less focused on our earthly wealth. And I want to point out that the poverty that Jesus is talking about here is not poverty that comes from making poor financial decisions, right? Because we spent our money on things and didn't manage it well in this life. That's not what he's talking about. He's talking about people who are poor because they've suffered persecution.
Verse 9b – “ I know the blasphemy of those opposing you. They say they are Jews, but they are not, because their synagogue belongs to Satan.”
There were many people in the world today who claim to be religious and outwardly look religious, but they were not. Today in our world just because someone goes to church or says they are Christian doesn't mean they are a true follower of Christ. Everything is not necessarily as it appears. We have to ask the question: Do they really follow Jesus? Do these people who claim to be religious truly follow Jesus live the way He calls us to live? Do they sacrifice the way He calls us to sacrifice?
Many who claim to be a follower of Christ actually oppose Christ and His Kingdom by their actions.
Jesus told Christians in Smyrna not to be afraid of what they are about to suffer. What He said to them applies to us too. We need not be afraid of suffering. And here’s why.
First, Jesus Has Already Overcome Suffering and Death
Remember who Jesus is – He is the one who
“was dead and now is alive forever.” We will live forever too if we follow Him. If we are faithful to Him in a kingdom where there is no more suffering and no more death. So we don't need to fear suffering because Jesus has already overcome it. Have faith!
Second, Jesus Is With Us During Our Suffering
We don't go through it alone. Remember Jesus is the one who walks among the lampstands (Rev. 2:1). In other words, He is walking among us. He is with us as we suffer and He holds the leaders of the church in his right hand. He cares about us. He is with us. He will never leave us or forsake us. And actually, contrary to what we usually think, suffering is a benefit to us. It is a chance for us to draw closer to Christ. It is a chance for us to deposit wealth in our eternal bank account. It is a chance for us to experience Christ walking with us in a very real and intimate way.
Third, Eternal Glory Awaits the Faithful
Jesus said in Revelation 2:10, "Be faithful even to the point of death, and it will give you and I will give you the crown of life."
Recently, I was sick. I had to go to a clinic up in Varnell. It was just seemed like it was just a cold, but it wasn't going away. And I felt terrible. Had no energy, sore throat. I got there and they did the evaluation on me and said, 'All right, we know what's wrong with you. We've got some medicine that will help make you better. We can either give you some pills and it'll take a couple of days or we can give you a shot and it'll go to work right away. Which one do you want?"
And I thought, give me the shot! And some people would say, "Well, why would you do that? I'd rather take the pills." Well, one thing I don't really like taking pills. They're annoying. You have to remember to take them. But a shot hurts. And it's that needle. And a lot of people are really scared of those needles. And I don't like them either. And yeah, it does hurt when they stick it in your in your arm.
But my thinking is that pain, it lasts for a few seconds and then the medicine goes to work right away and I start to feel better. I can take a little pain for a few seconds. Now, that seems like a a silly example and I don't want to belittle the suffering we face. But when you put earthly suffering in the scheme of eternity, then our suffering becomes so so small. It's here for a moment and then gone.
Suffering is temporary, but our reward from suffering is eternal. Jesus promises a crown of life, eternal victory, honor, joy for those who endure suffering and remain faithful. And when our faithfulness leads to more suffering, it means that we will have even more rewards in heaven.
Closing
There is always more going on than meets
the eye. God is working behind the
scenes. We must learn to trust Him and
to look with spiritual eyes and listen with spiritual ears. God is in control. And the Kingdom of Heaven is eternal and it
is breaking into our world. And Jesus is
with us.
As we close, I want to share
a responsive reading to remind us to listen and hear what the Spirit says to us
today.
All: The Spirit of Christ walks among us and
speaks to our hearts. Let anyone with
ears to hear listen to the Spirit and understand.
Leader: Even
when I feel alone, I am never forsaken.
People: Let anyone with ears to hear
listen to the Spirit and understand.
Leader: Even
when the world seems dark, God’s light is still shining.
People: Let anyone with ears to hear
listen to the Spirit and understand.
Leader: Even
when I don’t see the way forward, God is already making one.
People: Let anyone with ears to hear
listen to the Spirit and understand.
Leader: Even
when I am weak, His power is made perfect.
People: Let anyone with ears to hear
listen to the Spirit and understand.
Leader: Even
when I see only loss, God is working for redemption.
People: Let anyone with ears to hear
listen to the Spirit and understand.
Leader: Even
when I feel unworthy, I am called and dearly loved.
People: Let anyone with ears to hear
listen to the Spirit and understand.
All: There’s more going on than meets the eye. We must look with spiritual eyes and listen with spiritual ears—not just physical ones. Behind the scenes, God is doing more than we realize. Let anyone with ears to hear listen to the Spirit and understand.
No comments:
Post a Comment