---

Let’s ask a question: where does idolatry begin?  Before you make any kind of idol.  Now if you lose your first love toward God then what happens?  What do you as an individual do?  You begin putting God off, right?  And you put God off when you sin and you don’t want to repent.  That is the beginning of idolatry.  And it begins in the mind.  Let’s come to Ezekiel 14.  Now later we know they had all kinds of idols.  Statues, crosses, steeples, churches built and filled with all kinds of mystic idolatry straight out of Egypt and Babylon.  So I bring this up as another view of losing your first love.  Now you may not have a cross.  You may not have a crucifix.  You may not have rosary beads.  You may not have a virgin Mary but if you have an idol in your mind then you are committing idolatry and you have something before God, which then is taking away your love of God.  Now there are a lot of people today who have that.  Just the way the world is with all the activities.  I mean just stop and think, all the activities that are done today on the Sabbath day, which keep people idolized in activities.  Sports, all kinds, whether you watch it or participate in it.  Sales, merchandising, whether you are part of it or whether you are buying.  All the activities of coming and going.  And all of those are idols which cut people off from God. 

Now let’s begin Ezekiel 14:1.  “Then came certain of the elders of Israel unto me, and sat before me.  And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their heart, and put the stumbling block of their iniquity before their face: should I be inquired of at all by them?  Therefore speak unto them, and say unto them, thus saith the LORD GOD; Every man of the house of Israel…”  Now who is spiritual Israel today?  The Church.  “…That setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumbling block of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to the prophet; I the LORD will answer him that cometh according to the multitude of his idols;”  Now does that not sound an awful lot like “If you don’t repent and do the first works, “I will come unto you and remove your lamp stand, or candlestick.”  Sounds to me an awful lot like it.  So I think that we could include there, idolatry began to creep in.  Now let’s finish here verse 5.  “That I may take the house of Israel in their own heart, because they are all estranged from Me through their idols” (Ezek. 14:1-5).

Now when that began to happen…let’s come back to Revelation 2…then God had to take action.  God had to take action, and He did.  Now how many of them in Ephesus really repented?  We don’t know.  But the candlestick at Ephesus has been removed.  No longer there.  Now then we’re dealing in something, which then we’re talking about a church which fought off all of the false prophets, all of the false doctrine.  They tried them, they tested them, they worked, they sacrificed.  They loved God and then something happened to where they lost their first love.  And it was so severe that Christ told them to repent.  That was totally different from the rest of the other churches.  Let’s read what He says in commending them back here, Revelation 2:6.  “But this thou hast [so they were commended of this], that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.”  Now we’ll answer that when we get to Pergamos, that the deeds of the Nicolaitans have to do with the hierarchical government coming from the top down.  So they hated that. 

The other part of it was the religious doctrines that came with the Nicolaitans, which was Gnosticism, coming into the Church.  So they hated that, but they were so busy fighting it that they wore themselves out, lost their first love, for which then Christ had to tell them to repent.  Now verse 7, “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.” 

Now as I mentioned before, the reason that I’m going through the seven churches leading up to Pentecost is because we find, according to what we have there in Matthew 13, that the whole plan of God is like a harvest.  And so in counting to Pentecost there are seven complete weeks you are to count to Pentecost.  So likewise we have seven churches here.  We could have had many more because there were many more churches.  So there’s a significance to the seven churches that we have. 

Next we come to the church of Smyrna.  Now this is a church that no one wants to belong to today.  But it will be reenacted again, because we find in Revelation 6, the fifth seal, that there is going to come a martyrdom today.  And very few people know it but Carl brought it to my attention, that there are Sabbath-keepers in the Sudan that are being killed because they are Sabbath-keepers.  So today there are those who are being killed for keeping the Sabbath.  We got an e-mail from a man who is in Serbia, and he cannot assemble on the Sabbath because his neighbors count the number that come into his house.  When they sings hymns they have to virtually whisper.  The only contact he has is with his computer.  So I hope we can serve people like that.  We don’t know where there are in the world those who are being killed and martyred for Christ. 

Now the martyrdom, let’s read it here and then we’ll go back and see the martyrdom was also there even beginning with the church which was called Ephesus.  So all these things go side by side.  Now let’s read it, verse 8.  “And unto the angel [or the messenger] of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive; I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich)…”  Now this is just the opposite of the Laodiceans, right?  Laodiceans say, “We’re rich and increased in goods, hurray, hurray, hurray.  Look at how God is blessing us.”  I bet the Laodiceans at that time looked over at the church at Smyrna and said, “Why, you know you’re not very clever.  You’re getting killed.  Why don’t you just tone it down a little bit?  Save your life.  Why don’t you do like we do?  We’ll just get along and go along.”  No they had a real zeal for God.  They were deprived of their property, of their lands, of their wealth.  But they were faithful unto death. 

He says, “But you are rich”.  “…And I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan.”  So now we come into an organized movement against the Church of God.  And who’s always against the Church?  Satan.  Now a synagogue means “a gathering together of those who serve Satan”.  And to say that they are a Jew does not mean that they are saying that they are literally of the line of Judah.  That’s one interpretation of it.  A greater interpretation, which applies and includes more than just Jews, because we have the Edomite Jews, we have the Ashkenazi Jews and things like this, which we know today.  But as you look out on the world scene today the synagogue of Satan includes also a lot of pagans and a lot of those who don’t believe in Christianity in any form.  So likewise was it then that because every Gnostic religion, whether pagan, whether Jewish, whether Christian, all claimed to be the ones who had the keys of salvation.  And so they were the ones then, the organized ones.

Now, let’s see here, just hold your place and let’s go to 1 John 2.  These were the ones who left the church of Ephesus.  They were tried, they were tested, they left and now then when they organized then they came back against the Church of God.  And they did what the synagogue of Satan always does.  They get the civil authorities involved. 

Now here, 1 John 2:18, “Little children, it is the last time: and as we have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists…”, who then all got organized into the synagogue of Satan.  “…Whereby we know that it is the last time.  They went out from us, but they were not of us…”  Why?  Because we tested them, we tried them and we found them false apostles, see.  “…For if they had been of or, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us” (1 John 2:18-19).

Now chapter 4.  Let’s see some of the things that they were preaching.  Verse 1, “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.  Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God…” (1 John 4:1-2).  And that’s the first thing that they began to change.  Now remember, whenever these false prophets come along, they begin to tinker with the Passover and then the nature of God.  The two of them go one-two.  And that’s what they were doing. 

“And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of an anti-christ, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.”  So by time we come to Symrna, now it’s organized.  “Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world.  They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them.” That’s what happened.  “We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us.  Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error” (vs. 3-6).

Now let’s come back to Revelation 2 again.  So here we have the organized synagogue of Satan coming.  Coming after the Church of God.  Verse 10, “Fear none of those things [don’t worry about a martyrdom] which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days…”  Now there are two ways of looking at this, as we will see.  Ten years, or ten different occasions of acute persecution.  “…Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.  He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death” (Rev. 2:10-11). 

Ok, now let’s look at the first martyr.  Something happens…let’s come back here to Acts 7.  There is a power that God gives to those who are in circumstances like that.  Such a great power to preach.  A great power to convict.  Let’s just pick up the last part of Stephen’s sermon, because this is what they had to do.  And brethren the time is going to come, now I don’t know if it’s going to fall on any of us or not.  It may or may not.  We don’t know.  I think God will spare a lot of those who are in advanced age.  God is certainly not going to put upon anyone more than he can bear.  But you see this is why we really have to know the word of God.  Look at what Stephen did here. 

Verse 51, now this is not an ecumenical statement.  “Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy [Spirit] Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye.  Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which shewed before of the coming of the Just One; of Whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers: Who have received the law by the disposition of angels., and have not kept it.  When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth.  But he, being full of the Holy [Spirit] Ghost, looked up steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God…” (Acts 7:51-56).  So God gave him that last minute strength and inspiration because he knew what was going to happen. 

So they took him out and stoned him.  And his attitude was “…Lord, lay not this sin to their charge” (vs. 60).  So there’s a perfect example of loving your enemies right while they’re killing you.  Now that would be hard for me.  I know that would be hard for me.  But if God would give me the strength I’m sure He would do the same thing.  So we don’t know what it’s going to be for the situation coming down the road here, but let’s read some things here.

This is out of a book, “Revelation Illustrated and Made Plain” by Tim LaHaye.  But let me assure you that I’m going to bring you just some interesting informational things that he has historically.  Some of his interpretations are really way off base but he’s got something here concerning the persecuted churches, he calls it here. 

Smyrna.  He says, “This church age saw eight of the ten periods of persecution under Roman emperors.”  Now you need to understand.  Now I need to bring a sermon on this too.  I’ve got so much sermon material I don’t know what to do, and I’m not complaining because I have so much, but we are living in an age where knowledge will increase so we get it.  In September there is a full-blown meeting of the United Nations to develop it into a world government.  And it will lead to the same thing that these religionists did against the Christians in organizing the government to persecute and kill the true Christians.  So here are the persecutions that are listed:

• Nero                            A.D. 54-68

• Domitian                     A.D. 81-96 That’s when John was exiled, then he wrote the book of Revelation.

• Trajan                         A.D. 98-117

• Marcus Aurelius         A.D. 161-180

• Severus                       A.D. 193-211

• Maximinius                 A.D. 235-238

• Decius                         A.D. 249-251

• Valerian                      A.D. 253-260

• Aurelian                      A.D. 270-275

• Diocletian                   A.D. 284-305

And then all of this persecution wore them out.  And then Satan brought in his subversion of the Church and we will see what happened with Pergamos when we get there, because Pergamos is the key fulcrum in all of this concerning the doctrine in the Church. 

Now “Diocletian is considered the worst emperor in Rome’s history and the greatest antagonist of the Christian faith.  He led a violent attempt to destroy the Bible from the face of the earth.  Under his leadership many roman cities had public burnings of the sacred Scriptures.” ( Page 52, Revelation Illustrated…)

Now I want you to understand what a tremendous blessing it is that we the whole Bible.  Is God able to preserve His word?  Yes.  Even in spite of burnings and corruptions?  Yes.  So that He can give it to His true people that He calls?  Yes, all the way down through history.

“During the second and third centuries this persecution age saw hundreds of Christians brought into the amphitheater of Rome to be fed to hungry lions while thousands of spectators cheered.”  Now how many have seen the movie, “The Robe”, with Victor Mature?  Remember when it came down to being thrown to the lions.  I think that the producers of it did something which was very reflective of human nature.  It gave in the background those who were praying saying, “Oh no, why are we here being thrown to the lions…”, and all of this.  And someone blurted out in their prayer, “Lord you didn’t tell it would be this way.”  That has always stood out in my mind.  Do you remember that from the movie?  Now listen, be guaranteed of one thing.  It is never going to turn out like you figure, so that’s why you have to have faith, you see. 

“Many were crucified; others were covered with animal skins and tortured to death by wild dogs.”  You think of that the next time you watch A&E where it shows the wild dogs of Africa going after their prey.  Just think of Christians under animal skins.  “They were covered with tar and set on fire to serve as torches.  They were boiled in oil and burned at the stake…”  Now it is said of the apostle John that the reason that he was exiled, {to} the Isle of Patmos was because he was to be killed by being boiled in oil and they threw him in and he didn’t burn.  So they took him out and sent him the Isle of Patmos.  “…Burned at the stake, as was Polycarp in the city of Smyrna itself in A.D. 156.  One church historian has estimated that during this period, five million Christians were martyred for the testimony of Jesus Christ.” 

Now if it be that many, that’s marvelous, but it just shows you that when you start adding up all of those who were killed at the reformation time.  Anyone who believes that only 144,000 are going to be in the first resurrection, you better get off your vanity kick and believe in God and the word of God, because that’s nothing but selfish vanity to be used to manipulate people to keep them under your control so that you can make sure that they feel their one of the 144,000.  Now I’ll talk about the 144,000 as we come down toward Pentecost.  There’s some very interesting things. 

In spite of all this it was a thriving church.  “Evidence of the supernatural nature of the Church can be seen in the fact that the Church reached its greatest numbers in proportion to world population during this period of persecution.”  Because something happens when, and I’m sure it’s God’s Spirit that does it, when other people would see them burned at the stake and killed and crucified, and slaughtered then God’s Spirit would be with some of those who were spectators and convert them.  You know that’s something to see all the innocent people lined up and slaughtered. 

“In addition to the establishment of churches in many parts of the world, this church age distinguished itself by it’s production of many hand-copied manuscripts of the sacred Scriptures and the translation of Scripture into many languages.  Early in this period, the Bible was translated into Syriac, in what is known as the Peshito manuscripts, which became the official Scriptures of the Eastern churches and from which translations were made into Arabic, Persian, and Armenian.  In the second century the Bible was translated into Latin in what is called the Old Latin Version.”  And this Old Latin Version went all the way to Ireland and to Britain.  I mean it’s amazing.  “This became the Bible of the Western churches for more than a thousand years and has been translated into many different languages.”

“The more the Scriptures were disseminated and used by the people, even in the face of persecution, the more the Church advanced in numbers until it was such a dominant factor in the Roman Empire that Christianity was established as the state church by Emperor Constantine in A.D.  312.” (pgs. 52-53).  Well, that’s where he starts getting off, see.  At that time then the Church was sent off into a place in the wilderness.  So this is a profound lesson for us.  We need to understand what this really is here. 

Now let’s go back and look at this.  Understand something that is very important.  Let’s come back to verse 9.  “I know thy works, and tribulation…”  Let’s understand the lesson from here.  Even though they were killed, even though they slaughtered and burned.  Realize that they overcame.  Realize that whatever means of death they were executed by, or in the future will happen too, that they were victors.  They overcame.  So the thing to learn from this is: if you are in tribulation Christ is with you and in you.  Did He suffer tribulation and trial?  Yes.  Paul said that he wanted to be counted worthy to share in the same sufferings as Christ.  And yes he did, he did.  That’s what these people did too.

“…And poverty…”  Learn the lesson:  never set your heart on riches or physical goods.  Never.  Because when you are the poorest materially you have an opportunity to be the richest spiritually.  So this is why when we are living in the age that we are now, if we’re all repenting Laodiceans, which I hope we all are, then we need to take the same lesson from the Church of Smyrna and learn it and apply it to ourselves.  You better be rich in Christ, and poor in this world, than rich in this world and poor in Christ.  So Christ knows the poverty.  Was Christ a rich man when He was on the earth?  No.  No He wasn’t.  So if you’re in poverty, Christ is there with you and in you.  “…(But you are rich)…”  That is if you die for Christ, if you’re martyred because of truth, if you give your live in however it may be then you are rich indeed.

Here turn the page to Revelation 6:9.  Let’s see the time of martyrdom that is going to be.  “And when He had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held…”  Now this is in vision.  “And they cried with a loud voice…”  This is the only way that God could show John that at the end time there was going to be another martyrdom of saints.  “…Saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost Thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?  And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet…”  That is remain in the grave, that’s what it’s talking about here.  “…Yet for a little season, until their fellow servants also [that is ministers, elders, teachers] and their brethren [those who are the flock of God], that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled” (Rev. 6:9-11).

Now let’s come to Revelation 12, and see how to overcome in circumstances like that.  Revelation 12, this shows that the martyrdom is coming again when Satan is cast down from the battle in heaven.  Verse 9, “And that great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world…”  And boy is it set up today.  Oh, it is unreal.  “…He was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.  And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night” (Rev. 12:9-10).  That’s what they had there in the organized movement of the synagogue of Satan.  Satan leading it, Satan inspiring it, giving it power, giving it strength. 

Now notice verse 11, “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony…”  And God is going to require a testimony from us.  We’re going to be brought up.  There’s going to come a time when it’s going to be illegal to say the name of Jesus Christ.  It’s going to be illegal to use the scriptures.  Matthew 10 shows that we’re going to be brought before councils and judges.  We’ll see that in just a minute.  “…The word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.”  Why?  Because they trusted in Christ.  Christ was with them through this.  In it in everything brethren. 

“Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them.  Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.”  So that’s when the persecution begins.  “And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child” (vs. 12-13).  Coming after the Church in no uncertain terms.  And listen, you can trust me on this, if not trust your government…they know all about you, whether you answered the census form or not.  They can monitor every phone call, every fax, every business transaction.  They have the global positioning satellites that can find every human being on earth within a 100 square foot area.  So when the persecution comes…that’s why God has to intervene.

Now everyone wants to go to a place of safety.  I do brethren.  You do.  But let’s be realistic.  Not everyone is going to get there.  So those that go are carried by “…two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent” (vs. 14).  And I want to tell you something.  There are going to be a lot of Protestants who expect that they’re just going to be just miraculously whisked off in a Rapture, but they’re going to be standing there when the tribulation begins.  And they’re the ones, if they have anything to do with Christ, as well as with the Church of God, that are going to suffer the martyrdom.  They are going to be killed.  Why?  Because the Bible says, “He who seeks to save His life shall lose it.”  That’s what they’re doing.  And so have a lot of people in the Church of God.

Now notice, verse 17, “And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.”  Quite a battle.  So it’s going to happen again.

Let’s close by going to Matthew 10, here now please.  So don’t worry about the doctrinal battles we go through today.  Aren’t those mild compared to blood, guts, and gore, and lopping of heads, and the stabbing in the stomach, and crucifying and burning?  Yes.  So don’t disparage of the doctrinal wars. 

Let’s begin in verse 16.  “Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.  But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues; and ye shall be brought before governors and kings [and governors could also mean judges] for My sake, and for a testimony against them and the Gentiles.  But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak.  For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you” (Matt. 10:16-20). 

Now here’s how desperate it’s going to get.  “And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death.  And ye shall be hated of all men for My name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved” (vs. 21-22).  Very profound.  Now when that happens, when that happens, then we have to understand this…

Let’s come here to verse 32.  This is what happened to the church at Smyrna.  “Whosoever therefore shall confess Me before men, him will I confess also before My Father in heaven.”  So doctrinally they don’t have to be pure.  As a matter of fact many of the things that the martyrs go through, they just have a love and zeal for God, and God inspires them to give the conviction and warning to those that arrest them.  But whosoever shall deny Me before men, him will I also deny before My Father which is in heaven” (vs. 32-33).  And you don’t want that to happen.  

Now notice verse 34, “Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.”  And at the end it is going to be…{missing words on tape}…which is coming down tremendously with all of the events of the book of Revelation.  So the end-time fulfillment of the church in Smyrna is going to be just gigantic.  “For I am come to set a man at variance against his father and a daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.  And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household” (vs. 34-36).

But here is the key.  “He that loveth father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.  And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after Me, is not worthy of Me.  He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for My sake shall find it.”  That’s why it was said to the church at Smyrna, “Fear none of the things which come upon you”, because you will live indeed.  So that was quite an age at that time.

Well, we did get through it.  The tape is still going but I don’t think there’s enough room for the addresses so we’ll have to listen for another tape for that.