Harry Foster
Reading: Revelation 2:8-11
WE are not told how John's Revelation to the churches was delivered to the Christians in those seven towns of Asia Minor. There can be no doubt that they were conveyed by hand, but what we do not know is whether they were all taken by the same messenger. If this were the case, then it would be interesting to know the reactions of the man concerned as he visited the different assemblies and observed from the human viewpoint those seven groups whose spiritual conditions were so vividly described by the risen Lord as He walked among them. [51/52]
What about the church at Ephesus? 'Oh,' the messenger might well exclaim, 'that is a thriving fellowship. They are very active and very orthodox -- one of the best!' After all, a mere observer would hardly discern that fatal lack of love to Himself which made the Lord wonder whether He would remove the lampstand. And what about Laodicea? Unless our imaginary visitor were a man of spiritual discernment, he would probably place this church in the highest category. The church members themselves boasted of their wealth and complete sufficiency. It is possible that their self-congratulations were connected with material affluence, but it may well have been that the whole set-up was seemingly wealthy in talent, popularity and outward success. 'What a wonderful church; they have everything,' we can imagine the visitor exclaiming, unless, of course, he was aware of Christ's scathing denunciation in their particular letter.
And what about the church in Smyrna? What indeed? Would our supposed messenger have answered that question with a contemptuous shrug of the shoulders or a pitying shake of the head? It was a poor little church, beset by a multitude of difficulties. If the bearer of the letters had read their contents for himself, he might perhaps have pointed out that even the Lord wrote so briefly and seemed to have little to offer them. His promises to the overcomers in the other churches had held out many amazing and thrilling prospects, while to those in Smyrna He merely gave the assurance that they would escape the second death. This seems rather a common place benefit in comparison with the morning stars, hidden manna and thrones proffered to the others.
Poor Smyrna! Yes, that is what men would and did say about them. That moreover is what they said about themselves. 'We are poor and we are in real trouble. For us the prospects are very poor,' might quite truly have been their sad verdict on themselves. Christ, however, would have none of this. Far from commiserating with them, He congratulated them. 'I know all about your tribulations, yes and your poverty too,' He said, 'BUT you are rich.' The conjunction is quite an emphatic one, showing that the Lord's verdict was another and an altogether different one. It is as though He said 'Not at all! It is rich that you are! Whatever others say, and whatever you yourselves feel, I, the Lord of the churches, say that you are the richest of them all.' This seems a reasonable enough exegesis of the four little words which have been placed in double brackets.
What is more, we must take note of the Lord's use of the present tense. He did not say that they used to be rich. That was what He implied about Ephesus. Alas! It may easily be the case with us that our vital spiritual experiences are limited to past history. There are few sadder things than that the Lord should have to say of a church, as through Jeremiah He did say to Israel: "I remember concerning thee, the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals", because of its departure from that first love. The Ephesians had once been rich in their love relationship with Christ, but they had frittered away that wealth. Happily Smyrna's wealth was not just a matter of past history. Nor was it merely a hope for the future. Thank God for His grace! Even the Laodiceans had the possibility of becoming wealthy: "I counsel thee to buy of me gold refined by fire, that thou mayest become rich". There is hope for the poorest of us that we may yet become spiritually affluent if we are prepared to pay the price of the refining fire. Smyrna, however, had Christ's riches as her present possession. So far as she was concerned, the Lord's clear verdict was that in her present condition she was then and there a spiritually wealthy assembly.
"Thou art rich!" I would love to be a member of such a church, especially to be an "angel" there (whatever that may mean). Nothing more wonderful could ever be possible than to be judged rich by divine assessment. Even more, perhaps, I would find it wonderful to have this said of me personally. I can imagine no deeper heart satisfaction in life than to receive a personal message from the risen Christ to say that He counted me among His wealthy disciples. All true lovers of the Lord must feel like this.
We must remember, however, the circumstances and trials of this rich church. The 'but' of contrast relates not only to human opposing judgments, their own or others, but to the cold hard facts. They were being sorely tried. They were really poor. Was this why they were so wealthy? Can it be that tribulation and deprivation are the necessary background to such a condition of spiritual affluence? Must we go through what Smyrna endured to acquire the riches which Smyrna possessed? We do not know, [52/53] but at least we may get some help in the matter if we consider more closely the actual condition of these wealthy saints. In what were they rich?
1. Christ was Everything to Them
There are many definitions of a local church, and many ideas as to its correct procedure. Here we keep to the simplest possible description, namely that it was composed of a truly born-again group of believers, gathered in such a way as to provide opportunity for the Holy Spirit to voice among them the timely message of the risen Christ. This was certainly true at Smyrna. Their life together was based absolutely on the Lord Jesus Himself. No mention is made of their activities, though we can be sure that they worked for Him; no mention is made of their doctrinal niceties, though since Christ was the First and the Last to them, we can be sure that they were Scriptural; and no mention is made of their failures or weaknesses, though doubtless they were far from perfect. It is as though Christ filled their whole horizon. He was the First and He was also the Last, and He was everything in between.
Some time ago we had in our home a doctor from Hungary. He himself had been in prison for his faith and his son had been shot. We tried to get him to talk about events in his land, but every time he smilingly changed the conversation to talking about our glorious Saviour and Lord. He knew tribulation and poverty, but he was rich. Much richer than those of us who wanted to be so sorry for him. Similarly we are not told what the tribulations were which beset the church in Smyrna; we only know that they loved to meditate on the Saviour who had been crucified for them and was now sharing His risen life with them.
