Rev 2:8 And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: 'The words of the first and the last, who died and came to life .9I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich) .....
Kind of a neat thing here, Smyrna means mryyh. Myrrh is the dried gum resin of a species of tree. It is unusual in that it needs to be crushed to give its fragrance. There is an irony here in that Smyrna was deeply under the heal of the Roman empire and being "crushed" yet it was giving off the sweet smell of the word and power of God leading to much martyrdom. It is believed this is where the text is the churches tribulation and poverty yet, they are rich. The church didn't have the huge ornate buildings in which to worship. they went to caves, hidden places, and catacombs, and always with someone watching for the Roman enemies approach. They were outcasts, persecuted by Rome and poor. Yet in the eyes of God, they were rich, in faith.
the poverty of the Christians were do to two things:
One, they were usually a lower class of society, at that time the range between the upper and lower society was wide. Second, there were mobs that woudl just suddenly attack and wreck homes...especially Christian homes. Wow what a test of faith. How would we hold up under that?
Blessings on all!
Calabash
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