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The Almighty's New World Order
R.B. CRAIG
A Bible Study in Prophecy.
2
THE SECOND CHURCH
"SMYRNA"
POOR AND PERSECUTED, BUT RICH
Revelation 2:8-11 (KJB)
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  1. DESTINATION Smyrna was about forty miles north of Ephesus and was considered the safest seaport of its time. Alexander the Great personally planned the city, and it was called "the ornament of Asia" because of its beauty and splendor. Many Jews lived there, yet Smyrna was overwhelmingly pagan. On one end of the main street, the "street of gold," stood the Temple of Zeus, and at the other end stood the Temple of Cybele, "the mother of the gods." Smyrna was also the center of the emperor worship in the Roman Empire, boasting a temple to Tiberius Caesar.
"The second death" and "the lake of fire" in this passage are identical terms and are used of the eternal state of the wicked. It is "second" relatively to the preceding physical death of the wicked in unbelief and rejection of God; their eternal state is one of eternal "death (i.e., separation from God) in sins." John 8:21-24
The fact that the "second death" is not annihilation is shown by the comparison of Revelation 19:20 with 20:10.
The words "forever and ever" (unto the ages of the ages, cp v. 10, are used of God in chapter 1, verse 18; Rev. 4:9; Rev.10:6; & Rev. 15:7, of the glory of God as in Galatians 1:5 to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen., etc), and plainly mean ETERNAL in the sense of unending.
The suffering of the church at Smyrna was prophetic of the great era of persecution under the ten Caesars named above. The motives of the church were purified during this long and difficult period. Millions of Christians met cruel martyrs' deaths rather than renounce Christ or swear allegiance to Caesar as Lord.
When I visited the ruins of the great coliseum in Rome, I was shown the foundation where it was still stained with the blood of martyrs. This was a period of tremendous witness and heroic faith. Even the wicked Roman Empire was finally shaken by the testimony of these Christians.
The known characteristics of the conditions in the church at Smyrna indicate that the judgment seat of Christ will reveal this church to be one of the most outstanding local bodies of believers in all of church history.
1. Nero A.D. 64-58 ~ See (7) Festus Succeeding Felix.
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That alone speaks volumes about the persecution the church went through during this time of upheaval.
Revelation ~ Index1 ~ Church Of Ephesus ~ DUTY WITHOUT LOVE - Rev 2:1-7
2 ~ Church Of Smyrna ~ POOR AND PERSECUTED, BUT RICH - Rev 2:8-11
3 ~ Church Of Pergamum ~ COMPROMISE WITH THE WORLD-SYSTEM - Rev 2:12-17
4 ~ Church Of Thyatira ~ THE GREAT COUNTERFEIT - Rev 2:18-29
5 ~ Church Of Sardis ~ DEAD ORTHODOXY THE REFORMATION AREA Rev 3:1-7
6 ~ Church Of Philadelphia ~ REVIVAL AND EVANGELISM - 1750 -1925 A.D. - Rev 3:7-13
7 ~ The Church Of Laodicea ~ COMPROMISE AND APOSTASY Rev 3:14-22
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