Exhortation and Promise (verses 9b-11)

This was a church which had undergone real persecution. It would appear that maybe the ringleaders in their persecution—those who were after them the most, so to speak—may very well have been local Jews who prided themselves in their blood and in their heritage, but were not real Jews, according to Christ. Paul speaks about he who “is not a Jew who is one outwardly, Romans, chapter 2, verse 28-29 [“For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh; 29 but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God.”]. Now, were these some Jews who had all the “exterior” things down—all the things like circumcision and their blood lines and their heritage—but in spirit, they were not Jews at all? We know from secular history that there was a large population of Jews here in the City of Smyrna. Indeed, Jesus will refer to them here as a “synagogue of Satan,” [verse 9b]. They were such in their blasphemy, speaking against Christ and His followers.

So He calls upon these Christians here in Smyrna to not be afraid [verse 10], but to be fruitful, regardless of the things that they will face. Is suffering and persecution justification for quitting the church? Is suffering and persecution justification for not working for the Lord? No. It wasn’t for these ones; it isn’t for us either.

Verse 10reminds them of whom the real source of their trouble is—who the real source of their persecution is. And this is a point that is going to be made repeatedly throughout Revelation. Who is it? Who is the real source of their trouble and their persecution—their suffering? It’s, of course, the devil. He says, “the Devil is about to throw some of you into prison.” This is a term called “proleptic”—that is, it anticipates something that will happen [proleptic: refers to the principle of prolepsis, or anticipation, which is defined as the tendency of the writer to anticipate in earlier sections, by mere allusion, what he is only to explain at a later point]. It is already happening—it will continue to happen. It’s not the devil, himself. The devil himself doesn’t come and put them in restraints and take them to prison. He uses those who are willing to follow him. In this case, it would have been, perhaps, civil authorities. It was certainly these Jews whom we have talked about earlier.

There is a period of time mentioned here—a period of “ten days,” [verse 10]. This is simply symbolic for the time of their persecution. It is not a literal number and doesn’t mean that they will be in prison for “ten days.” But it represents a “period of time,” and it is a small period of time, no doubt, to impress upon them that the period of their suffering is miniscule compared to eternity.

The Lord urges them to, “be faithful.” Literally, here the Greek means “go on being faithful,” even in the face of suffering, of persecution, and yes, even unto the penalty of “death.”The promise of the Lord here is that He will give them an everlasting “crown.”The word “crown” here is the word used in the Greek for the “wreath of victory,” which runners and other participants in athletic games won when they won the race or contest. It was a victor’s crown. You will recall that this is used on more than one occasion by the apostle Paul. For example, as he wrote to Timothy, Paul anticipated a “crown of righteousness” that was “laid up for him,” and for “all” those who were faithful, 2 Timothy 4, verse 8 [“Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing”.].

The promise is made to the one who overcomes. He will receive that crown—that victor’s crown—and he will also not be harmed or hurt by what the Lord refers to here as “the second death,” [verse 11]. Now, what does He mean—what is He talking about when He talks about the “second death”? This will be a term which will be used several times in Revelation.

Let’s look in Revelation, chapter 20, verse 6: “Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.” Here this term, “second death,” is being used once again, but to what does it refer? Let’s look at verse 14 of Revelation chapter 20: “Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.” Also, look at chapter 21, verse 8, “But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”

Well, we see that the “second death” is the equivalent of being thrown into this “lake of fire and of brimstone.” It’s another way of saying that one who shrinks from the sufferings of persecution and physical death will be eternally separated from God’s fellowship and will be under God’s condemnation.

Elsewhere in the New Testament, the eternal destiny of the wicked is described as “death.” For example, as Paul writes in Romans 6, verse 23, he talks there about this very thing [“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”]. Now obviously, we’re not talking about—the Lord is not talking about—Paul was not talking about—“physical death.” No, He’s talking about a “spiritual death.” The unbeliever who comes to physical death will also experience the “second death”—an eternal separation from the fellowship and the blessings of God, as Paul says in 2 Thessalonians, chapter 1, verse 9 [“These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power.”]