Ruins of the Athena Temple in Smyrna - Image Courtesy Wikipedia
1.
Smyrna was ______ miles north of
Ephesus on the west coast of Asia. She was founded ca. 1,000 B.C. as a
G__________ colony. Destroyed in 600
B.C., she was magnificently rebuilt in _________ B.C. She was described as “the O___________, the
C___________ and the F___________ of Asia.”
Lucian referred to her F_____________ as the streets were laid out to
carry the prevailing W__________ winds.
It is said that these winds made Smyrna “as fresh as a grove of
T__________.” She was blessed with a
D___________ port which served the end of the main T_______ route that ran through all of Lydia and
Phrygia. Smyrna was a F_________ city
without any Roman army presence. They
had always S_____________ Rome regardless.
Smyrna was the very first place where Rome itself was W____________ as a
G______________. She was called
Roma. A temple to her honor was erected in
Smyrna in ________ B.C. This became
during the reign of A_____________ the epicenter of E______________
worship. There was here one of the
largest of all T____________, seating ____________. It was here that a mob of both P __________
and J________ burnt P______________ at the stake in 195. Smyrna was a great Roman city but the
P____________________ of the church of Christ.
This is why that she is forever known as the “S_____________ Church.” –
Source: J. T. Marlin, The Seven Churches
of Asia
2.
According to Hailey in Revelation – An Introduction and Commentary,
Mt. Pagas sits in the city and the A___________ sat on top, giving the
illusion of a C__________ from the magnificent harbor. Smyrna exported more goods than any city in Asia
save E____________. A temple to the dead
Emperor T____________ was built in Smyrna.
Smyrna claimed to the “The First.”
“First in B___________, First in L______________ and First in
L___________.” Jesus, however, asserts
that HE, not Smyrna is F_____________!
3.
This statement in 2.8 is also stated
in ____________.
4.
The W___________ of Smyrna is
contrasted by the P____________ of the church.
5.
The L____________ of Smyrna to
R____________ is contrasted by the L___________ of this church to
C________________.
6.
The worship of the R_____________ and
L____________ Christ is contrasted with the worship of D____________
E_________________.
7.
Jesus is now coming along this
persecuted church to offer C______________
a.
Hebrews 2.18
_________________________________________________
b.
Hebrews 4.15
_________________________________________________
c.
Romans 15.4
__________________________________________________
d.
II Corinthians 1.3 – 4 __________________________________________
8.
What does Jesus say He knows about
the church of Christ at Smyrna?
9.
In addition to the persecution of the
Romans, what other group threatened the church?
10. Per Webster 1828, blasphemy
means: “An indignity offered to God by words or writing; reproachful,
contemptuous or irreverent words uttered impiously against Jehovah. Blasphemy is an injury offered to God, by
denying that which is due and belonging to him, or attributing to him that
which is not agreeable to his nature.”
11. Strong says that blasphemy is “…a railing, vilification, evil speaking (against
God).”
12. This word is often rendered in the TR by a no longer used word,
calumny. Webster 1828 defines calumny as: “Slander; false accusation of a
crime or offense, knowingly or maliciously made or reported, to the injury of
another; false representation of facts reproachful to another, made by design,
and with knowledge of its falsehood; sometimes followed by on.”
13. The TR also defines this word often as “harm – averment.” This averment is an archaic legal term
meaning to “assert or verify in court.”
Blasphemy, therefore is literally “swearing harm to God.”
14. According to our text, what is the consequence of Jewish blasphemy? Who, therefore, is the real Jew and who is
not?
a.
John 8.44 ______________________________________________________
b.
Romans 2.28 – 29 ________________________________________________
