"Then Is Finished The Mystery Of God"

Chapter 9

To the Angel in Smyrna

Revelation 2:8-11

THE SECOND congregation to which the glorified Jesus Christ addresses himself is the one in Smyrna in the ancient Roman province of Asia. This city was located on a gulf of the Aegean Sea, about thirty miles north of Ephesus, and thus farther away from the Isle of Patmos, where the apostle John was then a prisoner. Smyrna had a temple of Tiberius Caesar and thus promoted emperor worship. It also had a considerable population of natural, circumcised Jews, who were opposed to apostolic Christianity. What is John told to write for the congregation in Smyrna? Let us read:

"And to the angel of the congregation in Smyrna write: These are the things that he says, 'the First and the Last,' who became dead and came to life again, 'I know your tribulation and poverty — but you are rich — and the blasphemy by those who say they themselves are Jews, and yet they are not but are a synagogue of Satan. Do not be afraid of the things you are about to suffer. Look! The Devil will keep on throwing some of you into prison that you may be fully put to the test, and that you may have tribulation ten days. Prove yourself faithful even to death, and I will give you the crown of life. Let the one who has an ear hear what the spirit says to the congregations: He that conquers will by no means be harmed by the second death.'"

These words, in Revelation 2:8-11, are without a word of faultfinding against the congregation in

Smyrna, not even because of its "poverty," its being materially poor. This material poverty was counterbalanced by their being spiritually rich. Better was it for the Smyrna congregation to be in such a condition than for them to be materially rich but spiritually poor, as was the case with the congregation in Laodicea. (Revelation 3:17) Jesus himself on earth as a man was materially poor; and his fleshly half brother James wrote to the spiritual Israelites of his day this corrective reminder: "Listen, my beloved brothers. God chose the ones who are poor respecting the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he promised to those who love him, did he not?" (James 2:5) Yes! And according to Jesus' words, the Smyrna congregation was rich in faith and in good works toward God. For this they continued to be heirs of the heavenly kingdom of God. It is therefore without point that the religious clergy of Christendom today reproach the remnant of spiritual Israelites among Jehovah's witnesses for being poor.

In what way the natural, circumcised unbelieving Jews of Smyrna blasphemed the Christian congregation there is not explained. Probably it was like the abusive blasphemy against the apostle Paul at Antioch of Pisidia and in Corinth. (Acts 13:45; 18:6) These blasphemers prided themselves on being Jews by fleshly birth and circumcision; but they had ceased to be real Jews. Why? Because they did not prove to be Jews inwardly, circumcised in heart; they had not become spiritual Israelites like the Smyrna congregation. Such unbelieving Jews attended the local synagogue, but they were not the synagogue of Jehovah God but the "synagogue of Satan"; their blasphemy bore out this fact. They resisted Jehovah God and his Messiah Jesus, and thus put themselves in a class with Satan, for the name Satan means "Re-sister." They were not in the new covenant that had been mediated by Jesus Christ over the sacrifice of his own perfect human life. (Jeremiah 31:31-34; Matthew 26:27, 28; Luke 22:20; 1 Timothy 2:5, 6) Like-

wise today, the remnant of spiritual Israelites need not mind being blasphemed by clergymen who merely claim to be spiritual Jews.

By the end of the first century the ancient congregation in Smyrna had undergone a great deal of "tribulation," doubtless in the form of persecution, this making their state of material poverty worse. But they were to go through still more. Yet, said the glorified Jesus, "do not be afraid of the things you are about to suffer." How were they to suffer still more? "Look! The Devil will keep on throwing some of you into prison." This would fully put them to the test. Especially so since the purpose of this was "that you may have tribulation ten days." (Revelation 2: 10) Ten literal days of tribulation or persecution, if concentrated, could be very severe and, apparently, enough for a lifetime; but likely "ten days" is to be understood figuratively, especially in its modern-day application. "Ten" being used in seven other places in the Revelation as a symbol of allness or completeness in an earthly way, "ten days" could symbolize all the days of the congregation on earth. At the longest, till the Devil is bound.

IMPRISONMENT

Since the apostle John was himself writing as a prisoner from the Isle of Patmos, the Smyrna congregation could well accept through him this exhortation not to be afraid of suffering further imprisonments at the hands of the Devil. Of course, the Devil would use human agencies to do the imprisoning, and those humans whom he used to cast them into prison and keep them there would be servants of the Devil. The Christians would be imprisoned, not for moral or political wrongdoing, but under false charges. Their being falsely accused is indicated by its being said that they are thrown into prison by the Devil. The name Devil means "Slanderer; False Accuser." Thus the members of the Smyrna congregation would be imprisoned in Christian innocence and would therefore

have a clean conscience, just like all the apostles when they were imprisoned on various occasions.

Imprisonments have featured prominently in the modern experiences of the remnant of spiritual Israelites among Jehovah's witnesses. In the year 1919 many members of the anointed remnant of spiritual Israelites emerged from the prisons into which they had unjustly been thrown during the course of World War I from 1914 to 1918. This included the then president of the Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, J. F. Rutherford, the secretary-treasurer of the same Society and two other members of the editorial committee of the Society, and three other responsible members of the Society, all of whom were involved in preparing and publishing the famous book The Finished Mystery, which was a religious commentary on the two Bible prophecies of the Revelation and of Ezekiel. All seven having been sentenced on June 21, 1918, on the false charges of political sedition and obstruction of the American military draft, for twenty years of imprisonment on each of four counts, they were denied the right to bail and were finally committed to the Federal penitentiary in Atlanta, Georgia. Along with them went an eighth well-known member of the Society, who was sentenced for ten years.

Belatedly, in March of 1919, bail was granted pending their appeal for a retrial by a higher court, and they were released. The United States government never did bring the case to trial again, and these eight members of the Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society were exonerated. Also, in 1920 the book The Finished Mystery was released from under ban and again began to be circulated in the United States and Canada.

However, the Smyrna congregation of the first century had been warned by the glorified Jesus Christ: "Look! The Devil will keep on throwing some of you into prison that you may be fully put to the test." (Revelation 2:10) Conformable to this, the imprisonment of members of the remnant of spiritual Israelites among Jehovah's witnesses did not cease after the

release of many of them in 1919. Rather, it increased on a grand scale, especially with the spread of Russian Communism, Fascism, Catholic Action, Hitlerite Nazism, and nationalism.

Already in the year 1926, in Germany, cases were brought into court against 897 active members of Jehovah's devoted people, this resulting in many of these being fined. During the year 1927 the number of these worshipers of Jehovah who were arrested in Germany rose to 1,169; and out of 353 of these legal actions that were disposed of there were punishments meted out to forty. The Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society found it necessary to establish its own legal department in its German branch to take care of all this legal work, for the arresting of these Christian witnesses of the Most High continued, by the hundreds.

This was all preliminary to the dictatorship of Adolf Hitler, which began in 1933. During the spring of that year there were 19,268 Christian witnesses of Jehovah active in the field in Germany. They refused to follow the Nazi dictator as their Fuehrer, their Leader, and to have any share in his political and military aggressions. Because of such absolute, undivided devotion to Jehovah God and his kingdom by Christ they were thrown into prisons and concentration camps by the thousands. Despite World War II (1939-1945) they maintained their Christian neutrality, many of them even to the death. When World War II ended, two thousand of them had perished in their places of confinement, and of those 8,000 who came forth from concentration camps two thousand were incapacitated. In many cases, shortly after these faithful witnesses of Jehovah got out of Nazi concentration camps they were put into Communist prisons and concentration camps in East Germany.

Imprisonments of Jehovah's Christian witnesses took place in other lands during this period. As never before these witnesses came out boldly for Christian neutrality toward worldly political and military con-

flicts. In Great Britain during the course of World War II, 1,593 youthful Witnesses were imprisoned for refusing to violate their Christian neutrality. Since military conscription in Britain then applied to young women as well as young men, 344 of those thus imprisoned for Christian neutrality were women. Imagine the total amount of their prison terms, over six centuries in length of time!

And what as to the United States of North America? In the early 1930's the persecution of Jehovah's witnesses began to get more intense. Pursuant to this

fact, J. F. Rutherford, president of the Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, spoke over a chain of radio stations, with WBBR as the key station, on the subject "Jehovah's Witnesses: Why Persecuted." This was on Sunday, May 1, 1932. Shortly afterward, on Sunday, May 22, 1932, an organized band of Jehovah's witnesses invaded the persecution "hot spot" of Bergenfield, New Jersey, to carry on their Kingdom witnessing work from house to house. If and when arrested, they were instructed to say they were Jehovah's witnesses, refusing to give their personal names until the due time came in the courtroom before the judge. This course was courageously followed.

At first, it not being foreseen how numerous the cases would at last become in the United States, statistics were not kept of the number of arrests and imprisonments. However, in the year 1934 the number increased to 340; in 1935 to 478; in 1936 to 1,149; and so on. As in Germany, it finally became necessary for the Watch Tower Society to establish a legal department at its Brooklyn (N.Y.) headquarters to handle all these cases of arrest and imprisonment, for preaching "this good news of the kingdom," from house to house on all days of the week including Sunday.

Military conscription in peacetime was instituted in September of. 1940 in the United States, and on Sunday, December 7, 1941, the country was plunged into the vortex of World War II. This called upon the American witnesses of Jehovah who were subject to the draft to maintain their stand for absolute Christian neutrality. Their faithfully doing so resulted in the imprisonment of thousands of them for terms of several years each. Since military conscription has never been revoked in the United States, the matter of Christian neutrality has continued to be an issue. To this day there are hundreds of Christian witnesses of Jehovah who are serving prison terms because of holding fast to their Christlike neutrality respecting the military conflicts of this bellicose world.

Statistics could be produced here with regard to imprisonments of these Christian witnesses of Jehovah both before and after World War II. Truly the victorious Lord Jesus Christ did not say pointlessly to the congregation in ancient Smyrna that the Devil would keep on throwing some of them into prison and that they would have tribulation ten days. (Revelation 2:10) Particularly from the year 1935 C.E. onward the modern-day remnant of anointed members of God's spiritual congregation began to be joined by a "great crowd" of persons who dedicated themselves to God and got baptized but whose hopes are not heavenly, but simply to dwell forever in the coming earthly paradise under God's Messianic kingdom. All these, too, have faithfully met the issues of the times and have suffered being thrown by the Devil's agents into prison, and undergoing much tribulation. From the standpoint expressed in Hebrews 10:32-34 the anointed remnant have suffered sympathetically with these imprisoned ones of the "great crowd."

"Keep on remembering the former days in which, after you were enlightened, you endured a great contest under sufferings, sometimes while you were being exposed as in a theater both to reproaches and tribulations, and sometimes while you became sharers with those who were having such an experience. For you both expressed sympathy for those in prison and joyfully took the plundering of your belongings, knowing you yourselves have a better and an abiding possession." — Hebrews 10:32-34.

"THE CROWN OF LIFE"

Under such sufferings great is the reward for faithfulness, even to the death if necessary. The faithful "great crowd" will get its appropriate reward on earth, but, in order to strengthen the anointed remnant of his Kingdom joint heirs, the Lord Jesus Christ said to the Smyrna congregation in the face of its tribulation: "Prove yourself faithful even to death, and I will give you the crown of life." — Revelation 2:10.

Many of the anointed remnant have proved faithful to Christian principles under tribulation even to violent death. Although not all will suffer finally such a violent death, they must prove faithful to the end of their earthly days. For doing so, they are sure to receive "the crown of life." The word "crown" here does not mean "topmost" as if to refer to the highest form of life in heaven, immortality with the divine nature, but refers to a prize as a reward for Christlike faithfulness. They are in a contest for victory over this world. Even though in this fierce contest they may lose their earthly life violently at the hands of the Devil's agents, their Devilish enemies will not wipe out their lives forever. In due time God through Christ will crown them with heavenly life. So they have no reason to fear death.

Deathlessness, immortality will be their reward. This is to be understood from the closing words of the glorified Jesus Christ to the Smyrna congregation: "Let the one who has an ear hear what the spirit says to the congregations: He that conquers will by no means be harmed by the second death." — Revelation 2:11.

Only in the Revelation to John is this expression "second death" used. It denotes an everlasting death without any possibility of a resurrection. In Revelation 20:14, 15; 21:8 it is given a symbol, in these words: "And death [inherited from sinner Adam] and Hades were hurled into the lake of fire. This means the second death, the lake of fire. Furthermore, whoever was not found written in the book of life was hurled into the lake of fire." "But as for the cowards and those without faith and those who are disgusting in their filth and murderers and fornicators and those practicing spiritism and idolaters and all the liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulphur. This means the second death."

One's being written in the book of life means everlasting life for that one. One's being hurled into the symbolic lake of fire means everlasting death, "second

death," for that one. Satan the Devil will be punished with everlasting death, for he is subject to the second death and will be "harmed by the second death." And so too will his demon angels. — Revelation 20:10.

Those who are unable to be "harmed by the second death" are unmistakably pointed out to us. After the account of the binding and abyssing of Satan the Devil and his demons, in Revelation 20:1-3, we read: "This is the first resurrection. Happy and holy is anyone having part in the first resurrection; over these the second death has no authority, but they will be priests of God and of the Christ, and will rule as kings with him for the thousand years." (Revelation 20:5, 6) Hence those described in Revelation 20:4 can be called happy and holy, for of them the apostle John writes: "And I saw thrones, and there were those who sat" down on them, and power of judging was given them. Yes, I saw the souls of those executed with the ax for the witness they bore to Jesus and for speaking about God, and those who had worshiped neither the wild beast nor its image and who had not received the mark upon their forehead and upon their hand. And they came to life and ruled as kings with the Christ for a thousand years."

It is because these Christian conquerors are faithful even to death and are not "harmed by the second death" that they have a resurrection from the dead. By God's power exercised through Christ they come to life again in the resurrection, in "the first resurrection." It is a resurrection to life in heaven as spirit creatures, that thus they may be able to be heavenly priests of God and of the Christ and may reign with Christ for a thousand years. Concerning their resurrection and as respects the body with which they will be brought back to life it is written:

"So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption, it is raised up in incorruption. It is sown in dishonor, it is raised up in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised up in power. It is sown a physical body, it is raised up a spiritual body. If there

is a physical body, there is also a spiritual one. It is even so written: 'The first man Adam became a living soul.' The last Adam [that is, Jesus Christ] became a life-giving spirit." — 1 Corinthians 15:42-45.

A person's being a spirit creature does not in itself mean that he is not liable to the "second death," everlasting destruction. Satan the Devil and his demons are spirit creatures, but they will experience the "second death" by being hurled into the symbolic "lake of fire." (Revelation 20:10; Matthew 25:41) Consequently, the Christian conquerors will not only be resurrected from the dead as spirit creatures but will also be clothed upon with incorruption and immortality in their resurrection. In proof of this the apostle Paul describes further their resurrection by adding:

"The trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised up incorruptible, and we [the apostle Paul and fellow Christians] shall be changed. For this which is corruptible must put on incorruption, and this which is mortal must put on immortality. But when this which is corruptible puts on incorruption and this which is mortal puts on immortality, then the saying will take place that is written: 'Death is swallowed up forever.'" — 1 Corinthians 15:52b-54.

Because of being clothed with incorruption and immortality, they will never be able to be "harmed by the second death."

Thus this wonderful promise of Revelation 2:11 signifies that the Christian conquerors who listen to what the spirit says to the congregations will take part in the "first resurrection," the resurrection that is "first" in time of occurrence, in quality and in importance. Since they will also be granted to "eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God," they will be privileged to enjoy this total immunity to the "second death" in the heavenly "paradise of God," for all eternity to come. What a grand reward for being a conqueror faithful even to death!