Polycarp (AD 70–155), the bishop of Smyrna, was urged by the Roman proconsul to publicly renounce his faith in Jesus or face execution for the amusement of the anti-Christian culture of the day. In response to the deadly ultimatum, the man of God said: “Eighty and six years have I served him, and he never did me any injury. How then can I blaspheme my King and my Saviour?” Thus, the fire was lit and Polycarp was burned at the stake.

This is just one example of countless saints who have chosen agony and over apostasy, death over denial of Christ, conviction over capitulation, and earthly loss over heavenly loss. Stories like theirs force us to ask ourselves weighty questions: Would I join them if faced with the same dilemma? Could I endure persecution without compromise? These are exactly the types of questions Christ asks his people to consider in our passage today—“Are you prepared to die for me?”

Manuscript

You may have heard the name, “Polycarp.” He was the bishop of Smyrna, the city Christ addresses in our letter this morning. Polycarp was a godly man who knew the apostle John personally. When he was urged by the Roman proconsul to renounce Christ in order to avoid execution, Polycarp said: “Eighty and six years have I served him, and he never did me any injury. How then can I blaspheme my King and my Saviour?”

“I have respect for your age,” said the official. “Simply say, ‘Away with the atheists!’ and be set free.” (Christians were called ‘atheists’ because they denied the Roman pantheon of gods.)

The aged Polycarp pointed to the pagan crowd and said, “Away with the atheists!” He was burned at the stake.

Picture that old man tied up in the centre of an arena, the stands full of blood-thirsty people demanding his death. Now, imagine, instead of Polycarp, it’s you. You’re tied up for your faith. You’re being booed by the masses. You’re being confronted by the powers-that-be. You’re being given an ultimatum: Renounce Christ or die. What choice do you think you’d make? Gun-to-your-head, knife-to-your-throat; Do you belong to Jesus or not? What do you say?

Polycarp is just one example of countless men and women who have chosen agony and over apostasy, death over denial of Christ, conviction over capitulation, earthly loss over heavenly loss. And, lest we think this is only a choice Christians of the past were forced to make, the Center for the Study of Global Christianity “estimates that there have been over 70 million Christians martyred in history. Over half of these were in the 20th century under fascist and communist regimes.”

According to Open Doors USA, a ministry dedicated to supporting persecuted Christians worldwide, “Today, in the 21st century, we are living in a time when persecution against Christian believers is the highest in modern history. … [and] is increasing at an alarming rate. Research … indicates that each day, a staggering 11 Christians are killed for their faith … .”

Every two hours—between the time you left home for church today and the time you get back—one of our brothers or sisters in Christ has been, in effect, put to the choice, if they’re given one at all, “Renounce Christ or die.” And they choose death.

Gun to my head, would I make the same decision? Would I choose faithfulness to Christ over an extended earthly life? Are we as a church family prepared to be martyred for the faith, should it come to that?

This is exactly the question Christ asks his people to consider in Revelation 2:8–11. Are you prepared to die for me?

A Matter of Life and Death

As if we didn’t already know it, follow Jesus is literally a matter of life and death. And he wants us to choose well; to, like Polycarp and the thousands like him, stand firm against persecution. And these four inspired verses are going to help us prepare to do just that.

“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 blasphemy by those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison, so that you will be tested, and you will have tribulation for 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 will not be hurt by the second death.’”

Revelation 2:8–11

Following Jesus is literally a matter of life and death, two contrasting themes that weave their way through this passage and are exemplified in the way Jesus describes himself: [2:8b]. Life and death, death and life. Opposites. Enemies. And the rest of this passage plays out that contrast as we’re presented with death as the cause for concern and life as the fuel for faithfulness.

Death: The Cause for Concern

Let’s look at the bad news first: death, the cause for concern. Death is the enemy that threatens. The Christians in Smyrna at the time this letter was written and delivered to their doorstep were experiencing all kinds of hardship.

First, it was present and future tribulation. Not only were they currently dealing with hardship but they’re told more is coming. How would you like to get that message (2:9a, 10d)? It was tough times when they got the letter and tough times were coming. Like the always-encouraging word to parents of young kids: “It gets worse when they’re teenagers.” Wow, thanks! Smyrna is facing present and future tribulation.

What was the nature of the struggle? Well, it was certainly material tribulation (2:9a). At least part of the hardships these people were enduring was financial strain or ruin. Perhaps they’d lost jobs, had property vandalized, or possessions stolen. Whatever the details, they were in poverty. Add to that a coming imprisonment (2:10b). The church in Smyrna was enduring material tribulation.

There was also relational tribulation (2:9c). There were people in the city who considered themselves Jews—God-fearing children of Abraham and inheritors of the promise. As we’ve seen in our study of Matthew, those zealous, self-righteous people were, at times, the harshest critics of Christ and his followers. 

And that seems to be the case here. There were religious people in Smyrna who, perhaps in the name of Yahweh, are slandering Christians. Perhaps, like those who would eventually rat out Polycarp to the pagan officials in the city, calling them atheists and claiming their disloyalty to Caesar because they claim “Jesus is Lord.” Again, whatever the case may be, they were hated, plotted against, and whispered about. The believers were experiencing material and relational tribulation.

And these hardships clearly evidence spiritual tribulation. Today, just as then, our battle is not against flesh and blood. Whatever trials we endure today, there’s a spiritual war going on behind them. So it was in Smyrna (2:9d, 10b). The people causing the relational hardship, those claiming to be Jews and slandering the Christ-followers, they’re just puppets of Satan. Ultimately, it’s the devil at work. Satan may be using people and circumstances, but this is spiritual tribulation more than anything else.

And all of this hardship—material, relational, and spiritual—it all culminates in fatal tribulation (2:10e). The potential for martyrdom is there. Jesus is calling these Christians to remain faithful even to the point of given up their lives. It may not come to that point, but that’s how convicted they have to be, because it also might. 

And that’s how convicted we have to be as well. The author Hebrews writes, “You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin” (12:4). That’s the same for most of us. And we thank God for that. But that doesn’t mean we don’t experience persecution all the same. Sure we do. Some may have been passed up for jobs because of our faith or we passed on a job because of convictions. That’s material hardship. Some have experienced relational fallout because of our allegiance to Christ. And, we remember it’s all spiritual tribulation.

But, like Jesus says to the church in Smyrna, there’s more coming. And, I think more than anything, we as a church can see the writing on the wall, can’t we? We are about to suffer. We will be tested. It doesn’t take a stretch of the imagination to believe that there will come a day soon when we may even be cast into prison.

We look outside the windows of our church and see a culture that is unmoored from objective truth, they have no king and everyone is doing what is right in their own eyes, they’re belly is their god, and the true God seems to have given them over to the lusts of their hearts. The culture we live in, perhaps like first century Smyrna, is in a tailspin of depravity. And the more it veers away from righteousness, the more it determines to call evil good and good evil, the more the faithful church is going to stand-out and garner opposition. Darkness hates light and as our world gets progressively darker, the church will shine brighter and will be hated harder.

This isn’t fiction. Tribulation is coming: Material, relational, spiritual, and, who knows, maybe even fatal. This is cause for concern, is it not?  We are about to be tested. The question is, will we endure with faithfulness, no matter the cost? Jesus is calling out to us today and saying, like he did to Smyrna, “Do not fear what you are about to suffer.” And we say, how can we not?

Life: The Fuel for Faithfulness

This is where we transition to the good news, from death, the cause for concern, to life, the fuel for faithfulness. How was Smyrna to endure all that trial and testing? How can we do the same? Well, I think there are three things in the text that Jesus calls the people of Smyrna, and us, by extension, to remember.

First, remember the temporal nature of present testing (2:10d). This ten days could refer to an undisclosed amount of time or it could refer to ten literal days. Any way you understand them, however, it ends. It’s a period of time that finishes. So, the people will endure trials, but not forever. It’s easier to endure pain if you know it’s going to end. Jesus is giving Smyrna that gift. The present testing is temporal.

Some may say, hang on, it’s not so temporal for those who endure until death! That seems relatively long-lasting! But is it? For the Christian, is physical death ongoing hardship? No! And that’s what he’s saying in 2:10f. Crowns were given to athletes as a symbol of victory through self-sacrificial training and competition.

Jesus is not saying, “if you don’t endure to death you don’t get the life.” No, all believers get eternal life based on their faith in Jesus. Jesus is saying, however, “if you endure to death you get life quicker!” That reward of life is waiting on the other side. He’s using it as the most gorgeous and infinitely motivating carrot on the stick there has ever been! As Paul says, “To live is Christ and to die is gain” (Phil 1:21). There is hardship, persecution, tribulation. Yes. But, remember its temporal nature, even that which leads to death.

Second, remember the nature and knowledge of Christ. In the face to persecution, who are we committed to? We’re committed to him who has experienced tribulation until death. He’s not asking us to endure something he himself has not endured. And he sees our suffering and sympathizes with us (2:9a; Heb 4:15). 

And, more than that, we’re reminded at the outset of this passage that he conquered the grave (2:8b; 1:18). There’s a sense in which we are most like Christ when we’re suffering persecution until death. And we’ll be most like Christ when, like him, we raise glorified. We need to keep in mind that we follow Jesus, through suffering, to glory. It’s the same path he himself took and we must be prepared to likewise walk it.

Is there hardship, persecution, and tribulation? Yes. But, remember the nature and knowledge of him who we serve. Keep your eyes locked on Jesus, know he knows, and know he’s endured the same for our sake.

Third, remember the wealth and deliverance that awaits (2:9b). They were in poverty, but Jesus calls them wealthy in faith. Wealthy in what matters. As we’ve already seen, a crown of life awaits them (2:10f). Perfect deliverance. 

Then go back and re-read 2:11. Here Jesus expands the scope of his message explicitly from the believers in Smyrna in particular to Christians in general, those who are, as Andrew reminded us last week, overcomers (see also 1 John 5:4–5).

Listen up, Christians! Understand that whatever happens in this life, whatever you have to endure while remember the nature and knowledge of Christ, remember that the second death can’t touch you. Apart from those in the generation alive when the Lord himself return for his church, all believers will experience the first death, some to martyrdom, some to old age, some to cancer, some to car accidents. The first death will be experienced by almost all believers. The second death, however, the eternal lake of fire, will not be experienced.

By nature of our second birth through faith in Christ, Christians avoid the second death. We who are in Christ are overcomers. When facing persecution we must remember the wealth and deliverance that awaits us.

You may have heard it said: “That person is so heavenly minded they’re no earthly good.” That statement is wholly unbiblical. In fact, the only way we can be earthly good is to be heavenly minded.

If we want to be a people who stand as a bulwark against the waters of depravity in our culture, we must have our head in the clouds. We must have a biblical understanding of this matter of life and death. We must remember that, no matter what’s coming—only the Lord knows—it’s temporal in nature. We must remember who Christ is—his nature and knowledge. And we must remember what awaits us—wealth and deliverance. 

What can this world do to us? Take our money? I’m rich in Christ and will be for eternity. Take our building? Christ went to prepare a place for me in heaven. Smear my reputation? I’m a child of the Most High. Laugh and mock me? The Lord will vindicate his servants. Kill me? Fine, send me home. I’ll just raise again.

Live with life in your sights!

The only way we can endure this life and death situation is to be heavenly minded. Live with life in your sights!

Eternal life. The crown of life. No second death. And when we are that heavenly minded, when we live lives with true life in our sights, a life that can’t be taken away, a life that demands we loosen our grips on this temporal, pain-ridden life, it makes us unstoppable. Live with life in your sights, brothers and sisters.

On February 8, 1555, the day before he was burned at the stake in front of his cathedral, John Hooper was visited in prison by his friend Sir Anthony Kingston. Sir Anthony urged him to change from his Protestant beliefs and accept the Roman Catholic doctrine which was being enforced by Queen Mary. 

“Consult your safety,” he said, “life is sweet and death is bitter, and your life hereafter may do good.” 

Hooper replied, “I thank you for your friendly counsel. True it is the death is bitter and life is sweet, but alas! Consider that death to come is more bitter and the life to come is more sweet. Therefore, for the desire and the love I have to the one, and the terror and fear I have of the other, I do not so much regard this death nor esteem this life; but have settled myself, through the strength of God’s Holy Spirit, patiently to pass through the torment and extremities of the fire now prepared for me, rather than to deny the truth of his Word.”

God help us live like Polycarp, like Hooper, like the apostles, and like countless men and women even today. May we be so heavenly-minded that we are actually earthy good. May God help us live with life in our sights.

---

---