Would you take your Bibles, please, and open to Revelation chapter two? As Bernie mentioned, we'll be looking at the persecuted church, this church in Spurna. Church of Jesus Christ, believe or not, is being persecuted now more than ever before. I know that probably seems like an exaggeration, but I can assure you it's not. I may have exaggerated about an internment camp being a concentration camp, but Ruth, you should never contradict your pastor in public, but I'm not exaggerating about the number of people who will be killed for Christ around the world this year. There is a misconception that in the first two or three centuries of the church's presence and the Mediterranean world, the Christians were constantly persecuted, and that is not true. Now, they were persecuted a lot. In fact, in the first 100 years, there were 10 official Roman persecutions of Christians, but the majority of those persecutions were simply harassment, churches being closed, people being barred at mittens to the guilds or perhaps losing their job. Most of the people who were put to death were the leaders of the church, there were in those 10 persecutions three, however, where there were great numbers of people killed, and in three of those, we have the famous scenario of them in the arena, being put to death for the sport and entertainment of the Roman public. It was emperor Constantine, 325 AD, who brought those persecutions to an end, that it wasn't really that many people who died. Over those 300 years, we estimate that less than 300,000 people were put to death for Christ. That's a lot, but over 300 year period, it's pales into insignificance to the people dying for Christ today. During the medieval period or the early church period, there were no persecutions in the church, as Europe slowly but surely changed from the empire of Rome to what we call Christendom, but the Jews were persecuted by Christians quite violently at times. Between 633 and 1400 or so, the Islamic cheeks of the Middle East began what they called jihad, holy war. As they invaded the Holy Land and Asia Minor and North African Spain and Eastern Europe, and it took a long time to push back that Muslim wave and in the process, thousands and thousands, hundreds of thousands of Christians and Jews were put to death because they would not confess that there was one God, Allah, and Muhammad the Prophet. From 1096 to 1248, Christendom struck back in a series of crusades to take back the Holy Land, to recover their own kingdoms, these princes and bishops of the west, funded massive marches and crusades to the Middle East where both Muslims and Jews and Christians all three of them were killed in great numbers. During the Reformation period, moving into the 16th century, many Protestants were put to death by the Spanish Inquisition and the Roman Inquisition, and there were not a few Catholics who were put to death by Protestant princes and governors. The pilgrims, for example, fled from England in 1620 or so because they were tired of living under the persecution of James I and so they made their way to the new world where they would find religious freedom and safety to worship as they wanted to. And for many of us in America, that seems to be the end of persecution, at least in our history books, but it is not the end of the story. Persecutions have risen more in the 19th and 20th centuries than all the persecution combined prior to those dates, primarily for four reasons because missionaries have taken the gospel into pagan lands and been killed for it by the hundreds of thousands. And new converts and new churches in those places are often harassed, the churches burned, the clergymen murdered and they themselves mistreated by members of their own village and family. Then communism came along and the responsible we believe for as many as 50 million Christians who were put to death. And now we're experiencing the radical Islamic terrorism of ISIS and other groups who are targeting Christians in particular. It's a major problem. That's why I keep in my Bible this little flyer to pray for the persecuted church and I pray for them around the world in different countries every single morning in my quiet time. In fact, it is estimated that somewhere between 200 and 300,000 people will be put to death this year for their faith in Jesus Christ around the world. That does not include all the people who go to prison, who will be beaten and harassed, who will lose their property and their jobs or their families, and will experience other kinds of oppression and authorization because they believe in Jesus Christ. In comparison, the first 100 years of the church was about equal to the people who will die this year and next year it will be more. And the year after that more and more and more and more until Jesus comes again. We shouldn't be surprised that this Jesus said what happened. He said they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death and you'll be hated by all the nations for my name's sake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. Beyond guard yourselves for they will deliver you over to councils and you will be beaten in synagogues and you will stand before governors and kings for my name's sake to bear witness of me. And the gospel must first be proclaimed to all the nations and then they will bring you to trial and deliver you over. But do not be anxious beforehand what you are to say. But what say whatever is given to you with that hour or for it is not you who will be speaking but the Holy Spirit in you. Brother will deliver brother over to death and father is child and children will rise up against their own parents and have them put to death and you will be hated by all for my name's sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. And if the end of his life especially in the the Olivet Discourse and the Upper Room Discourse in the the three nights before his crucifixion, Jesus seemed to major on the topic of persecution. And he comes to this great climax in John 16. I have said these things to you to keep you from falling away. They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think that he is offering service to God by doing so. Holy war against Christ Church. Offering service to God by killing Christians. So it should not surprise us that when John in the midst of a persecution on the Olivet mosque in exile because he was a preacher of the gospel. As he wrote to seven churches, then one of the churches that Jesus would speak to was a church that was suffering persecution. The little church in Smirna to whom Jesus speaks in chapter two verses eight to eleven. And to the angel or the messenger of the church of Smirna right, the words in the first and the last who died and who came to life, I know your tribulation and your poverty with your rich. And the slander of those who say that they are Jews and are not, but are all a synagogue of Satan. Do not fear what you're about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison that you may be tested and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto 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, the one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death. It seems to us I'm sure because it seems to me this way. Odd. Then in an age where people are increasingly secular and less religious, that there would be such a persecution of the church. After all, we assume that people who don't have religion would hurt the church, but other religious people would be sympathetic to people of a different religion, but the opposite is true. That's what surprised me. It is not the secular people who persecute the church. They simply don't care about religion.
It's religious people who persecute the church and that is what we're finding that we're not really an increasingly secular world. Not even as we think in the West and increasingly secular country, but America and Europe and around the world, people are coming more and more committed to some kind of religion. The world is not moving away from God but moving towards other gods and therein lies the conflict. In his book called A Reason for God, Tim Keller writes the following, bear with me as I quote him, we have come to a cultural moment in which both skeptics and believers feel their existence is threatened because of both secular skepticism and religious faith that seemed to both be on the rise in a significantly powerful way. We have neither the Western Christendom of the past, nor the secular religious society that was predicted for our near future. We have something else entirely different. Three generations ago, most people inherited rather than chose their religious faith that that is not true anymore. People are now opting for a non-religious life or for a non-institutional life that allows them to personally construct their own spirituality or for the orthodox to be highly committed to some religious group that expects members to have a conversion experience. Therefore, the population is paradoxically growing more religious and less religious at the same time because doubt and belief are each on the rise are political and public discourses on matters of faith and morality had become deadlocked and deeply divided. Keller goes on to say that the religious people say that those secular humanists are introducing all kinds of godlessness and violence and evil into the world and the people who prefer a privatized personal relationship with god, whom we call secular, but they're not. They're saying all those religious fanatics, they're trying to force their religious ideas down. Everybody's thrown in a press them and both groups feel threatened by the other. It leads to conflict. Keller says it is widely believed that one of the main barriers to the world pieces religion and especially the major traditional religions with their exclusive claims to superiority. It may surprise you that though I am a Christian minister, I agree with this. Religion, generally speaking, tends to create a slippery slope in the heart for each religion informs its followers that they have the truth and that others are threat to that truth. And so what happens is this, we devotedly perform our religious duties as we think god expects us to, whether we are Muslim or an evangelical Christian. We marginalize the other person. We are ignorant of them and therefore fearful of them. We demonize them and then the next step is conflict. Keller says there are three popular choices to how to handle this. Number one, condemn all religion. Shane people into not being religious at all but being spiritual or number two, outlaw all religion. Refuse to allow people to go to a synagogue or a cathedral or a mosque or a temple or a synagogue and to worship god according to their conscience. Make that illegal like the Soviet Union tried for many, many decades or drive Christianity inward until it becomes privatized religion. You believe in god, you believe in Christ but you must keep it to yourself. You cannot bring god or his will into the public discourse into the public square. And Keller is right to say although these three different courses are concurrently being tried in our world, none of them will work. Religions will cause conflict
because Christ causes conflict and that leads us to this little church. The church in Smyrna town 25 miles from Ephesus where a small group of believers we think was being persecuted by both the Roman government and their Jewish neighbors. And here is how this letter unfolds. Remember that all these letters have seven parts for the most part but the exception of two. And this is one of the exceptions. First of all there is the identity of the speaker, Jesus Christ the one drafting this letter for John to write down. And to the angel of the church of Smyrna write the words of the first and the last who died and came to life. Now all of these identifications at the beginning of these seven letters are drawn directly from chapter one and John's vision of Christ. Look if you will in chapter one verses 17 and 18. When I saw him I fell at his feet like I was dead. And these letters right hand on me and said fear not. I am the first and the last the living one. I died and behold I am alive forever more and I am the keys of death and hate. Now here's Christ saying to a church under persecution some of whom will be killed. Don't worry. Don't be afraid. I was persecuted. I was put to death. I've raised myself to eternal life and I'll do the same for you. Do not be afraid. He commends them for what? For suffering persecution. For being loyal enough to Jesus Christ to make people angry about it. I know your tribulation in your poverty but you are rich. And the slander those who say that they are Jews and are not but are a synagogue of Satan. He says there's three things I know that's happening to tribulation poverty and slander and I am proud of you for your willingness to bear these things for my name's sake. Usually there follows in these letters some rebuke or admonition but none here. Jesus has nothing for this church that he wants to rebuke them for. They're not perfect but Jesus Christ feels that undergoing such persecution is enough. They are being faithful and he commends that. He does give them an exhortation. Two things fear not be faithful. He says do not fear what you're about to suffer. Behold the devil is about to throw some of you into prison that you may be tested and for ten days you have tribulation. Be faithful unto death and I will give you the crown of life. Do not fear imprisonment. Be faithful even unto death. They will suffer tribulation and sufferings and imprisonments. Poverty and so forth. But perhaps also martyrdom or else he wouldn't say be faithful even unto death. Then there's usually a warning to the church to do something or pay the consequences but none here. Jesus does not fear their apostasy. There's nothing to be warned of except fear itself. And then a promise. In this case a double promise. Be faithful unto death and I will give you the crown of life. The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death. You will receive the crown of life and heaven you will not go to hell the lake of fire the second death because you have experienced suffering in this life. You will not suffer forever because the crowns of earth have crushed your head brought death upon you. You will receive the crown of life in heaven. The final statement, he who has an ear let him hear with the spirit says to the churches. You know all of these seven messages nowhere does Jesus Christ speak as simply as clearly as bluntly as he does here. He's speaking to people who are about to undergo death. There's no euphemisms here. There's no cutting corners. There's no voiding the obvious. Jesus says there's two adversaries here and you're caught between them. Christ and the devil. There are three forces converging against you. Rome who sends you under tribulation. The city of Smyrna and all its wealth that drives you to poverty. The Jews who slander you and bring you into reproach. You will face these events. Tribulation, poverty, slander and even martyrdom. You go to prison. You may not come out and there are two destinies that hang in the balance here. Life in heaven or an existence in hell. You know if you were going to talk to someone that came to you this afternoon said my friend tomorrow I'm going to be put to death. What would you say to them? I think it would be interesting that most of the things that I'm concerned about day in and day out and perhaps 90 percent of the things that I appreciate every Sunday I wouldn't really want to talk to them about. No. I want to talk about heaven and hell. I want to talk about death and resurrection. I want to focus on Jesus Christ and faith in him and I wouldn't worry about anything else because this is the eleventh hour for them. And that's how Jesus approaches this church. Notice that he does not promise them that he will eliminate or even shorten the persecution but he does promise to be with them and to raise them from the dead if they should die for his sake. The message of the letter to Smyrna is that simply this. The church is always the product of the push and the pull of the culture in which it lives. I want you to remember that. There is no listen folks. This is one of the struggles a pastor has for the first 10 years he comes out of seminary. He has this idealistic picture of what his congregation is going to be. It's just like in the textbook but it just never happens because his church isn't born in a textbook. It's born in a place like Smyrna or Matthews in Asia Minor or in Charlotte, North Carolina. It is not a place that can be defined simply by sociology or politics or some kind of theological perspective. It's a people, as one commentator said, where geography is important to them is Christology. Here is this little church in Smyrna, a marvelous place to live, a lot like Charlotte, North Carolina. They called themselves the resurrected city because they were destroyed by a fire about 700 years before Christ and they lay in ruins for 300 years and then they were rebuilt into what became known as the glory of Asia, beautiful city, a major commercial city of about 25,000 people, a big city in ancient times. People in Smyrna were materialistic, they were wealthy and they were very devoted to commerce. They had a large Jewish population who'd come there to do business and there was a large synagogue there. The Jesus calls the synagogue of Saintin. They were most of all the center for emperor worship. As is true in every ancient city in the world, they had a god or goddess who protected their city and Smyrna, it was Day of Roma, the goddess of Rome. There every year citizens had to burn incense to an image of the Caesar and say Caesar was Lord and if they didn't, well then all sorts of bad things happened. Only the Jews were exempted from that but not the Christians. About 65 years after this letter was written, a leading clergyman in the town named Polycarp was brought before the mayor of that town, Antonius Pius, his critics who were Jews, said this Polycarp confesses that he is a Christian. This is that teacher of Asia, the father of the Christians, who destroys our gods, he teaches multitudes not to sacrifice nor to worship. Antonius Pius said you have one choice and one moment to make it. You can reveal Jesus Christ and live or confess Jesus Christ and be burned at the stake. Listen to Polycarp's answer. Revile Christ? 80 and 6 years have I served him and he never did me wrong. How can I now blaspheme my king that saved me? You threatened me with a fire that burns for a moment in as soon extinguished for you know nothing of the judgment of God to come and the fire of eternal punishment reserved for the wicked like you but why do you delay?
Have your will. Bring what you wish and see what Christ will do. They let the fire but it wouldn't catch and so after three different times of trying to light that fire they simply thrust him through with a sword. This Polycarp who died in the very city to whom this letter was written. Now listen, we often think that Rome was a very pagan place where religion meant nothing but that is not true. Rome was a deeply religious place profoundly religious and they believe that the gods had prospered them and made them the great city of the greatest empire ever and whenever someone did not worship those gods those gods would become offended and bring their wrath upon that city for those infidels. Late in their history as things began to go wrong as they began to lose battles as they were plagues and droughts and urban sprawl that they could manage in disease and rebellions they came to the conclusion that the gods were unhappy with them so there must be some culprit in the Roman society who's brought these gods to that point and the Jews says it's the Christians. They say there's only one god. They will not offer incense to Caesar and confess that he is Lord. They will not visit the temples and participate in the religious holidays that make up our annual calendar and so as one historian said a matter of no little matter that any conscientious emperor could ignore. It was not because they hated Christianity that they put the Christians at death is with that they love their gods and Christians threaten their gods and I say to you wherever Jesus Christ goes I don't care if it's into the Muslim culture if it's over to India right in the middle of that one day in Hindus or to communist China or to secular America as we like to call it when he says there is no other god that my father and no way to god accept to me he is going to cause a fight people simply are not going to take this lying down they will bring every element of pressure against those Christians until they change that message well for us now for us there's nowhere the way to heaven but maybe for you there's another god after all there are many ways to god and many gods in the world and they're all basically the saying when you get through the details and the world can live with that message problem is Jesus Christ won't you'll notice he mentions three things that affect these people tribulation poverty slander tribulation from Rome because they had the power they bore the sword they locked you in prison they took away your property they took away your citizenship and made you a galley slave or they simply put you in a death poverty that was the job of the smurners they excluded you from the guilds refused to give you a license to practice your profession or your business they shut down your shop they starve you out the major support that you had to leave the city or slander the Jews who pointed the Christians and said they have only one god ignoring the fact that so did they but they had compromised and they tolerated the gods the Jesus would not same today folks it's the same today nothing's changed there's going to be communist or fascist or jihadist muslims who are putting to that people putting them prison torturing them giving them tribulation because they won't come off of this idea that Jesus is the only way to have it it could cost you your job promotion in the company wealth and an easy life among suburban Americas it could be impoverishing for you to stand up for Jesus Christ and certainly no one bears the slander in America that Christians do we are the progenitors of all that is evil and the believers and all that's bad everything would be fine if those Christians would either shut up or die it's all around us we must never forget the fact that despite our government's efforts to make America secular America is more religious than ever the only problem is they just have more gods than they used to have and therefore more conflict and that is true around the world I want you to know the Islam is increasing in leaps and bounds so is Hinduism Confucianism and Buddhism are are growing so were the Mormons and the Jehovah's Witnesses and animistic folk religions and new age spiritualities watch Oprah for one day and see that that's true and Christianity is out growing them all and those gods are in conflict and they're coming to a point a great battle spiritually called Armageddon towards the end of time in which all who adhere to Jesus Christ will pay the price it could all change if Jesus Christ would change his message but he cannot for that is the truth I am the way the truth and the life no one comes to the father except through me and those are fighting words so what do we do with this little message message to the Mormons and message to us well I think there are some implications let me mention them to you briefly first of all that's why we showed this video you and I must expect and prepare ourselves and our children for the reality that we will suffer for Jesus Christ the Bible says so and this little letter Jesus uses the Greek word ellipsis twice it doesn't have anything to do with suffering from a bad income or a lost job or being unpopular with your friends or or cancer or cerebral palsy or whatever it is it's a word used only in the Bible for those who suffer because they are citizens of the kingdom of God in this world you have tribulation Jesus said you have Philipsis to take courage I have overcome the world secondly we cannot avoid persecution tribulation and suffering because faith in Christ draws us into this thing with Christ we know Paul says two things with Jesus the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings when we say I have been crucified with Christ is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me we are entering into the life of the cross the life of suffering now resurrection later in glory forever and we need to be like the early church who in Acts chapter five when they were persecuted they rejoiced that they were considered worthy to suffer for the name of Christ it's an honor to suffer you suffer for something in this life better for Christ than for something silly thirdly we must be certain that we suffer for the right cause not because we're obnoxious or overly opinionated tactlessly blunt rude prejudice politically radical or a proponent of some cause long dead and not of God we should suffer because we desire to live God the in Christ Jesus that's what Paul said indeed all who desire to live God the lives in Christ Jesus will be persecuted while evil people and imposter will go from bad to worse deceiving and being deceived we can take flak over whom we voted for our interpretation of the civil war our opinion about civil rights or the bill of rights about mothers against drunken driving or gun control or a global warming or whatever the cause is but it's not we're suffering for the thing that's we're suffering for is only Jesus Christ in his kingdom I think of those little children last year and some Iraqi village who were taken out into the center square of their little village all their moms and dads and grandparents were surrounding them I believe there were 19 of them if I'm not mistaken the ISIS man went behind each one of them put a pistol right here and said deny Christ or die in front of your parents and every single one of those children confessed Christ and died in front of their family they were suffering for a noble cause and not something that was worthless fourthly we need to start seeing the church with a different set of eyes you know you and I see the church like we've been taught to theologically ecclesiastically politically there's the white church and the black church and the conservative church and the progressive church and there's the reformed church and the non-reformed and the Calvinistic and the Armenian and but you know what we're coming to an age where there's only one church the church that suffers for Jesus Christ for the church can never be defined by its theology by its sociology by its politics it can only be defined because its life is united to that of Christ it's the Christ life in the church that makes it the church and that is a life of the cross bearer the one who's suffered for all of our sins that we might go to be with God I hope that you will strive with me it won't be easy because it's the way I think in the way you've been taught to stop being sensorious and unkind towards other people whose theology may not be the same as ours they may be wrong and we may be right I don't know could be the reverse but they're willing to suffer for Christ alongside us and that makes all the difference in the world we have solidarity with the church that's persecuted you look at the Republican party today they're probably going to lose the election day Hillary Clinton because they're busy devouring one another one large ego against another rather than closing ranks brothers and sisters please I beg you in something that really matters the kingdom conflict let us not devour one another but band together in solidarity with Christians I don't care where they come from theologically or ecclesiastically or willing to die for Christ let us be one with them and finally we need a clear vision here and now of what is at stake and that is heaven or hell we're called here to finish well do not fear be faithful unto death we can't do that on our own let's be honest I am afraid and I'm not wanting to volunteer for death certainly not one that's torturous but it could happen I can be arrested for one I preach we could show up here one day on those doors locked and I'm sitting in a prison cell somewhere and I'm given the choice to back off or tell the truth
and I won't be able to do that unless I have the grace of Jesus Christ in me and the love of the brethren surrounding me and neither will you the love of God the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit maybe that's the benediction for the new testament church because of all they would need to face to be faithful to Christ I don't want to be trivial in this illustration and I'm not trying to be humerus but it does illustrate what I want to say a few years back my alma mater was playing in a football game from the national championship and they were too touchdown underdogs the Miami Hurricanes were so confident that they would win that they sent out flyers be a forehand inviting people to a celebration party because they would be the national champions but behold before they knew it it was overtime it was tied then they scored a touchdown to go ahead and looked like it was over but Ken Dorsey if you ever watch the video of that game I'm sure none of you do I'm the only one who looks at that Ken Dorsey went around to his team players and he said just like this stay focused stay focused stay focused this isn't over yet and indeed it wasn't a penalty a touchdown and the goal line stand for four plays in a row and all of a sudden those invitations were to a party that wasn't going to happen all because Miami which was the better team did not stay focused to the very end and they lost it all that's what Jesus Christ is saying don't to be afraid be faithful to the end stay focused or as he would say elsewhere in revelation here is the call for the endurance of the saints those who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus Christ stay focused lit by faith appropriate the grace of God love one another and we will survive this persecution and rise again and more than that the church will grow but if we lose our focus we lose everything like that that's pray father we want to thank you for the great promise you give us in the great commission low I am with you always even to the end of the age it is true we're fine this out as we as we've entered into the book of revelations we study it more and more that you are never more present and more powerful with your people than when they are suffering for the sake of your kingdom we know you will be with us that you will not leave us or forsake us our fear is that we will forsake you because we become afraid strengthen us by your grace give us a faith that is that of an overcome as you say time it again to these churches help us to remain constant even in and through death that we might inherit the crown of life and reign with you in heaven there are some here this morning Lord who do not have a faith in Christ they serve other gods and I pray this day they would have come to the conclusion by the help of your spirit that they are in a losing religion on the losing side they must repent of those sins that idolatry their own self worship put their faith in Jesus Christ and follow him nothing is more sacred than human life nothing more precious to you than our lives lies that you will protect and preserve even through martyrdom for those who are faithful to you give us the faith to be faithful the grace to be strong we need this and we ask it for Jesus sake and in Jesus name amen