SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR
1/23/2015 10:42 AM
My Worship Time Focus:
More on Smyrna
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference:
Revelation 2:8a-8b
Message of the
verse: Before we begin to look at
the church in Smyrna I want to say that I missed a point from our last SD on
Smyrna that want to bring up now. When
we looked at the description of the glorified Christ as it was described in
verse 2:8c I neglected to bring up that the description was a part of the
vision of the glorified Christ that was seen in chapter one and verses
17-18. We will see the description of
Christ repeated in other churches as well and I hope that I will not forget to
bring that out as we go along.
The Church (Revelation 2:8a)” “The church in Smyrna.” This church is no where mentioned in the NT
other than here, but we can look at a verse in Acts that gives us an idea as
the time period in which it began: “Acts
19:10 ‘This took place for two years, so that all who lived in Asia heard the
word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks.”
This verse speaks of Paul’s ministry in Asia so we can believe that
Paul’s teaching to the Ephesians had spread throughout Asia so this church
would have been about forty years old when they received this letter that would
include all of Revelation’s.
I want to look at what the name Smyrna means, as it has a
lot to do with what was going on there as far as the great persecution that
they were going through. The word Smyrna
means or is translated in the Septuagint from the Hebrew as the word
myrrh. Now we see that word in different
places in the New Testament. “Mt 2:11
After coming into the house they saw the Child with Mary His mother; and they
fell to the ground and worshiped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they
presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Mark
15:23 They tried to give Him wine mixed with myrrh; but He did not take it. John 19:39 Nicodemus, who had first come to
Him by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds weight.”
Wikipedia has this to say about myrrh: “Myrrh
/ˈmɜr/ from the Arabic (mur), is the aromatic resin of a number of
small, thorny tree species
of the genus Commiphora,[1] which
is an essential
oil termed an oleoresin. Myrrh resin is a natural gum.
It has been used throughout history as a perfume, incense and medicine. It can
also be ingested by mixing it with wine.”
This word started out in the NT as meaning perfume and it
ended up meaning death. Now first of all
the myrrh must be removed from these small thorny trees and then it has to be
crushed in order to extract what is needed to be used. As we look at the church of Smyrna from this
view point we learn that it was Satan who was being allowed by God to crush
this church with persecution, and what came out was the sweet smell of them
being obedient and also loving Christ in a way that probably cannot be
duplicated without going through the persecution that they were going
through. The gloried Christ who see all
things as He walks among His churches smelled a sweet aroma from this suffering
church.
All of God’s Words that are found in His Word mean
something and one of the reasons I like listening and reading John MacArthur’s
books and his messages is that he breaks down the Word of God one book, one
chapter, one verse, and one word at a time, and this brings new meaning to the
study of God’s Word. With this said I am
reminded of my study of the Psalms a couple of years ago when there was another
word that, although it does not mean exactly what the word Smyrna means it is
does have some similarities. The word is
“worm” and it is found in the 22nd Psalm, a Psalm that speaks of the
crucifixion of Jesus Christ. The
following is an excerpt from my study of this Psalm and the word worm.
Henry
Morris Writes this about the “Scarlet Worm:” Bible & Science tape series
Henry Morris
Look at the 22nd Psalm. This is the great Psalm of
the crucifixion of Christ written 1,000 years before it was fulfilled. It
describes in great detail the sufferings of Christ on the cross. "My God,
my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" he cries out. Then down in verse
6...he says "But I am a worm (08438), and no man; a reproach of men, and
despised of the people." What did he mean by saying "I am a worm"?...This particular worm is different
from other kinds of worms. There are different kinds of worms, different
varieties, but this is a particular worm. It means more than just he is not a
man. Isaiah 52 says, "his visage was so marred more than any man, and his
form more than the sons of men." He was literally made corruption
personified; he didn't even look like a man there on the cross*; it is talking
about more than that here. He says "I am a worm and no man." This is
a scarlet worm and the reason it was called that was because it had the ability
to secrete a scarlet fluid which was used in making the scarlet dye that they
used in ancient days. As a matter of fact, when you find the word
"scarlet" in the bible, it's the same word. "Though your sins be
as scarlet," it's the same word exactly. The worm was identified with the
crimson color. The life
cycle of that worm is something like this: when the mother worm was ready to
give birth to the baby worms, she would find the trunk of a tree, a post or a
stick somewhere and then she would plant her body in that wood and she would
implant her body so firmly in it that she could never leave it again. And then
the young would be brought forth and the mother's body would provide protection
for the babies as long as they needed before they could get out and take care
of themselves. Then the mother would die, and in the process, the scarlet fluid
would stain her body and the body of the young and the tree and so on.
The Lord Jesus said "I am like that scarlet worm." He's making peace
through the blood of his cross; he's bringing many sons into glory through the
suffering. And this is a graphic testimony of the fact that eternal life comes
out of the suffering and death of the Son of God.”
I hope that this gives us another example of how
words from the Word of God can bring out more meaning as we study His Word.
The City (Revelation 2:8b): “The
city.”
As I listened to John MacArthur’s sermon on Smyrna he
noted that he could not determine when this city began as the area was prone to
earthquakes and also fires so the city was built on top of the remains it seems
many times. The city was very prosperous
and it actually still exists today as a city in Turkey. There was a deep harbor near the city and
mountains on which it was built. However
it seems that the city’s architect missed putting in the drains and at times
there would be a not so good smell in the city due to this. Smyrna was deeply committed to the worship of
the Roman emperors and they were one of the first to build a temple to these
leaders and made everyone who lived in the city worship him at least once a
year, something that did not sit well with true believers. There were also other temples to false gods
in this city, and I am sure that this too brought problems for believers.
John MacArthur concludes his commentary on this city by
writing “Smyrna was a noted center of science and medicine. Like Ephesus, it was granted the privilege of
being self-governing. It was also one of
several cities that claimed the birthplace of the poet Homer. As noted in the previous chapter, Ephesus’s
harbor eventually silted up and the city went out of existence. Smyrna, however survived numerous earthquakes
and fires and exists today as the Turkish city of Izmir.”
Spiritual meaning
for my life today: I suppose that
there are times in my life when the Lord has had to crush me as the myrrh is
crushed in order to get the pleasant aroma from me. None of these times are fun, yet I suppose
necessary to bring me closer to my Lord who was crushed for me and who became a
scarlet worm for me also
My Steps of Faith for Today: Not to lose my first love, but
to love the Lord with all of my heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to live in
the appreciation of His love for me.
Memory verses for the
week: 2 Peter 1:5-9.
5 Now for this very
reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and
in your moral excellence, knowledge, 6 and in your knowledge, self-control, and
in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, 7 and
in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness,
love. 8 For if these qualities are yours
and increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true
knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9
For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten
his purification from his former sins.
Answer to our last Bible
question: “The healing of the impotent
man at the pool of Bethesda.”
Today’s Bible
question: “Who said, ‘He must increase,
but I must decrease’?”
Answer in our next SD.
1/23/2015 11:52 AM
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