Revelation 2:9
9 I know[eido] thy[sou] works,[ergon] and[kai] tribulation,[thlipsis] and[kai] poverty,[ptocheia] (but[de] thou art[ei] rich[plousios]) and[kai] I know the blasphemy[blasphemia] of them which[ho] say[lego] they[heautou] are[einai] Jews,[Ioudaios] and[kai] are[eisi] not,[ou] but[alla] are the synagogue[sunagoge] of Satan.[Satanas] KJV-Interlinear
9 '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. NASB
‘I know.’
Jesus Christ is well aware of all of the circumstances of your life. He was well aware of the situations that those
in Smyrna, faced.
He was well aware of their works, the burdens they
faced in their day to day lives.
He was well aware of their tribulation, the burdens
and pressures and anguishing lives that they had to live.
He was well aware of their poverty. Due to the tremendous anti-christian attitude in Smyrna, most of the Christians were
poor, impoverished, and destitute.Many
were forced into a life of begging on the street, just to survive from day to
day.
Smyrna was a Caesar worshiping city. It had been pro-Rome for a very long time.
Furthermore, the general population worshipped a
mixture of gods, including Zeus, Apollo, Aphrodite, Asklepios,
and, Cybele.Since the Christians refused
to participate, then they were ostracized as elitist atheists, since their God
was invisible and no one could locate Him.
Being anti-caesar
worshippers, they were subject to arrest, confiscation of their property and
worse.
And to make things even worse for them, the Jewish
population in Smyrna, those who rejected Christ, plotted and planned the demise
of the Christians. It is those of whom Paul describes as, Jews who are not
really Jews, but followers of Satan, worshipping in Satan's synagogue.
Jews constantly persecuted Christians, or were the
cause of it, Rom 16:16; 1 Cor 16:20; 2 Cor 13:12; 1 Thess 5:26, Luke
12:51-53
And since it is Satan who is constantly plotting
against God, Christ, and therefore Christians, then those Jews (or anyone for
that matter) become disciples of Satan.
They are not the real chosen race of God, since they have rejected Gods
chosen savior, Jesus Christ. The real Jew is not one born genetically from
Abraham, but one who is reborn spiritually through faith in Christ.
Rom 2:28-29
28 For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly;
neither is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh.
29 But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and
circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter;
and his praise is not from men, but from God. NASB
The Christians of Smyrna,
had every reason to turn against God and collapse in their faith. Instead, they held on to their faith and for
that reason Christ called them ‘rich,’ because of their faith.
In contrast, the church in Laodicea which had
material wealth, but was poor spiritually, will not be so complimented.
Regardless of your circumstances in life, you have
nothing if you do not have spiritual resources in your soul. That means Bible
doctrine, learned, understood, and adhered to in your daily life.
God did not place you in this world to become a
part of this world, but to prepare you for your next life, which will be an infinite
and eternal life.
When life is good, it is easy to lose track of your
priorities and values.
When life is difficult, it is easy to give up on
your priorities and values.
The only thing that separates the winners in life,
from the losers, is Bible doctrine engrained in the soul as a result of a
genuine pursuit of ones spiritual life.
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