The Pulpit Commentary — Revelation — Section 79

in the blessed prospect of the crown of life, which assuredly should be theirs; rich in present knowledge, consolation, and hope; rich in the help and blessing they should impart to others. Poverty there might be and was in regard to this world'e wealth, but over against it was to be set, and doubtless they did so set ii, the wealth of the kingdom of God which they knew was theirs. Let us ask ourselves-Would we have sided with them in their estimate of the relative value of the two riches? Would we have counted the spiritual wealth they chose greater riches than all the glittering, present, and tangible treasures of the world? They made such choice. Pray for grace to do the same. II. THEm BORROWS. "Many sorrows shall be to the wicked," saith God; but once and again, and maybe yet again it will be so, many sorrows have befallen God's saints, even the most loving and faithful of them. It was so with the suffering Church at Smyrna. Their sorrows are described as : 1. Tri"bulati()'11,. Already the storm of persecution had burst and was beating :fiercely on the despised community that dared defy the pagan population, and the worship that was established in the city. Judging from what we know actually took place there and elsewhere at this period, there would be no lack of persecutors of all sorts in whom ~he deep hatred of the Christians, which had become all bat universal, would urge them on to the infliction of all manner of suffering which might well be, and could only be, described as " tribulation." 2. Powrty. In wealthy cities such as Smyrna, where buying, selling, and· getting gain was the all-absorbing occupation, and where success, which meant wealth, was, as elsewhere and as in our own day, all but worshipped, poverty was not merely odious, but even infamous. And in all probability the poverty of not a few of the Christians at Smyrna was directly traceable to the (act of their being Christians. They would be shunned and disliked, and it is easy to Sll8 how soon, under such circumstances, men who had been prosperous hitherto would fall into poverty. And the temptation to aba11don a faith which involved such results must have been very strong, especially when they could not but know that they would abandon their miserable poverty at the same time, and return to the prosperity which they had lost. Ah! if now Christ could only be served at the cost which the Christians at Smyrna had to bear, how many would come t-0 bis service? how many would continue in it? But Christianity has long ago found out a way to make the best of both worlds, though whether to the enhancement of her power and glory may be gravely doubted. 3. Slander. The strong word "blasphemy'' is employed,for the revilings of their enemies would, as such ever do, glance off from the Lord's servants to the Lord himself, and would become blasphemies-revilings against the Lord. What form these took, or on what they were based, we do not certainly know; but with the records of the New Testa.meat and of Church history in our hands, we may reasonably infer that they had to do with the relations of the Christians: (1) To the government of the day; accusing them of sedition and disloyalty, for which their persistent refusal to offer sacrifice to the emperor would afford plausible pretext. (2) To ,,society. Not a few of the popular g,mes and festivals, as well as more social gatherings, involved sacrifices to idols, and from these the Christians would stand rigidly aloof. Thus they would be regarded as morose, misanthropical, and in other ways odious. They would be, as they were, denounced as haters of the human race. (3) To morality. It was charged against them that their assemblies, which they were commonly obliged to hold at night, were for the vilest of purposes. There was no vice or crime which was counted too bad to charge them with. (4) To God. 'l'he Jews would say of them, as Christ forewarned. his disciples that they would, even as they had said it of him, that they were servants of Beelzebub (cf. Matt. x.). Hence any who slew them thought they did Goo. service. Such probably were some of the blasphemies which were spoken against them, and which they had to bear as best they might. Foul-mouthed Jews, "synagogues of Satan," and no true children of Abraham,. as they said they were, but were not, together with those of "the baser sort" amongst the heathen, would be quick to invent and spread these slanders, and to wound with worse than words if but they had the power. And they were to have it (ver. 10); for:.4. Their prospe.cts were ever darkening. Ve7.. interesting in the light of this letter is it to read what is told us of Polycarp, St. Johns own disciple, and who was, if not the very angel, yet an angel of the Church at Smyrna U> whom this letter w~ si;gt. We pos~ss a Jetter of h\s writi:r,ig, a descri_vtion of hi-, oa. tt. 1-29.] THl!l R11:VELATlON Ot ST. JOHN THE D:tvno. 85 ------------------------------ -- - character, and a detailed record of hie martyrdom. And this last so beautifully iUus• trates the prophecy, the charge, and the promise of this letter, that it is well worthy of our notice in connection with what is here said of the Church of which he was the beloved, the honoured, and faithful pastor, when he won the martyr's crown. In the year of our Lord 167 a cruel persecution broke out against the Christians of Asia Minor. Polycarp would have awaited at his poet the fate which threatened him, but his people compelled him to shelter himself in a quiet' retreat, where he might, it was thought, safely hide. And for a while he remained undiscovered, and busied himself, so we are told, in prayers and intercessions for the persecuted Church. At last his enemies seized on a child, and, by torture. compelled him to make known where he was. Satisfied now that his hour was come, he refused further flight, saying, " The will of God be done." He came from the upper story of the house to meet his captors,ordered them as much refreshment as they might desire, and only asked of them this favour, that they would grant him yet one hour of undisturbed prayer, The fulness of his heart carried him on for two hours, and even the heathen, we are told, were t.ouched. by the sight of the old man's devotion. He was then conveyed back t.o the city, to Smyrna. The officer before whom he was brought tried to persuade him to yield to the sme.ll demand made upon him. " What harm," he asked, " can it do you to offer sacrifice to the emperor?" This was the test which was commonly applied to those accused of Christianity. But not for one moment would the venerable Polycarp consent. Rougher measures were then tried, and he was flung from the carriage in which he was being conveyed. When he appeared in the amphitheatre, the magistrate said t.o him, "Swear, curse Christ, and I will set thee free." But the old man answered, "Eighty and six yea.re have I served Christ, and he has never done me wrong: how, then, can I curse him, my King and my Saviour?" In vain was he threatened with being thrown to the wild beasts or burned alive ; and at last the fatal proclamation was made, that "Polycarp confessed himself a Christian." This was the death-warrant. He was condemned to be burnt alive. Jews and Gentiles, the whole "synagogue ol Satan," here described, alike, hastened in rage and fury to collect wood from the bathe and workshops for the funeral pile. The old man laid aside his garments, and took his place in the midst of the fuel. When they would have nailed him to the stake, he said to them, "Leave me thus, I pray, unfastened; he who has enabled me to brave the fire will give me strength also to endure its fierceness." He then uttered this brief prayer: "0 Lord, Almighty God, the Father of thy beloved Son Jesus Christ, through whom we have received a knowledge of thee, God of the angels and of the whole creation, of the whole race of man, and of the saints who live before thy presence; I tha.nk thee that thou hast thought me worthy, this day and this hour, to share the cup of thy Christ among the number of thy witnesses I " The fire was kindled; but a high wind drove the flame to one side, and prolonged his sufferings ; at last the executioner despatched him with a sword." So did one of Christ's poor saints at Smyrna die, "faithful unto death," and winner of "the crown of life," and never to "be hurt of the second death." But if these were, and they were, the sorrows and sufferings that they had to endure, what sustained them? Note, therefore-- III. Timrn BUl'FOBTS. For it is evident such would be needed. The very word of the Lord t.o them, "Fear not," indicates how great the peril was of their being crushed and heart-broken under the tribulations through which they were called to pus. Despondency and despair threatened them. To meet this their Lord was ready with his aid. It was given in manifold ways. He did not merely say to them, "Fear not," but showed them abundant reason wherefore they should not fear. 1. And :first and chief: His own NamA "I am the First and the Last ••• alive" (ver. 8). Here, as throughout these letters, that aspect of our Lord's character ia turned to the Church addressed which it most needed to consider and lay to heart. It was so with the Church at Ephesus. They were reminded of the Lord's nearness to and knowledge of them and of his power and purpose to dispose of them according as their work should be. And now here, when he would . comfort ·and strengthen the fearful, he tella them that about himself w\lich could not but lift up their hearts, as doubtleaa it did. "1 am the First; • I.e. "I am at the head and beainning of all things; all war< . ordered and arranged according to the counsel of my will ; nothing comes by OMDO. ..i.. nothing has been left unprovided for. "And the Last;" i.e. "When meR and &a~ 86 Tlllil REVELATION OF ST. JOHN THE DIVINE. [cH, n •. 1-~.