In verse 9 the Lord said to the church in Smyrna, “I know your tribulation.” The content of this epistle is nothing but tribulation, suffering, and persecution. To the church, tribulation is a test of life. The extent to which the church experiences and enjoys the resurrection life of Christ can only be tested by tribulation. Moreover, tribulation also brings in the riches of the resurrection life of Christ. The Lord’s purpose in allowing the church to suffer tribulation is not only to testify that His resurrection life overcomes death, but also to enable the church to enter into the riches of His life. Hence, tribulation is precious to the church.
The Lord said, “I know your tribulation and poverty, but you are rich.” The Lord did appraise this suffering church. The suffering church was poor in material things, but rich in the Lord with the riches of His life. Thus, the Lord seemed to be saying, “You are suffering tribulation and poverty, yet you are rich. You are poor physically, but you are rich spiritually. You are poor in earthly things, but you are rich in heavenly things.” Suffering persecution is the means to bring us into the riches of Christ. The more we are persecuted and suffer poverty, the richer we are in Christ.
In verse 9 the Lord also said that He knew “the slander of those who call themselves Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.” According to this epistle, the persecution came from religion, from the unbelieving Jews of the synagogue of Satan. The slander of the Judaizers toward the suffering church was their evil criticism of her. The Judaizers were Jews in flesh, but not Jews in spirit (Rom. 2:28-29). Merely being the seed of Abraham in the flesh did not constitute them true Jews. “Those who are the children of the flesh are not the children of God” (Rom. 9:7-8). Therefore, the Lord said that they “call themselves Jews and are not.” These Judaizers stubbornly insisted upon keeping their Judaistic system consisting of the Levitical priesthood, the sacrificial rituals, and the material temple, which were all types now fulfilled and replaced by Christ. Since the Church under the new covenant in God’s economy had no part in their religious practice, the Judaizers slanderously criticized her. In principle, it is the same today in that religious people slander the churches in the Lord’s recovery which seek the Lord and follow Him in spirit and in life and do not care for any religious system or practice.
The Lord said that those who call themselves Jews and are not are “a synagogue of Satan.” This term, a synagogue of Satan, is a terrible term. A synagogue was a place where the Jews worshipped God mainly by studying their scriptures, the Old Testament. However, due to their stubbornness in clinging to their traditional, religious concepts, they became one with Satan in opposing God’s way of life to fulfill His purpose. The synagogue was under the manipulating, maneuvering hand of Satan, for he was the power at the back of the synagogues at that time. The synagogues persecuted the Lord Jesus (Matt. 12:9-14; Luke 4:28-29; John 9:22), the apostles (Acts 6:9; 13:43, 45-46, 50; 14:1-2, 19; 17:1, 5-6), and the churches (Rev. 3:9). Therefore, the Lord called them the “synagogue of Satan.” Even when He was on earth, He considered the synagogues to be of Satan, as implied in Matthew 12:25-29 and John 8:44. Apparently they were worshipping God; actually they were opposing God. They persecuted and killed God’s true worshippers, yet they considered themselves to be offering service to God (John 16:2). When the Lord was on earth, the Jews could not deal with Him directly because at that time they did not have the right to kill the Lord Jesus by stoning Him. Instead, they utilized the Roman government to sentence Him to death and to crucify Him. In the same principle, the Jewish synagogues stirred up the Roman government to persecute the suffering church. Through all the centuries since then, religious people have followed in their steps, persecuting the genuine seekers and followers of the Lord in spirit and life while still considering themselves to be defending the interest of God. Religion always utilizes politics to damage the church. Religion has no power to cause physical damage to the Lord’s lovers, but it does use politics and the government to damage the church. Roman Catholicism and Protestantism, as well as Judaism, all fall into this category, becoming an organization of Satan as his tool to damage God’s economy.