The message to the church in Smyrna is a mere four verses in length. It describes a suffering church. The believers in Smyrna were very poor — likely because to be Christian was to be an outcast — and during the reign of Emperor Domitian was frequently fatal.
Smyrna was the home base of the Caesar cult that afflicted the church quite seriously in the latter half of the first century. Under Domitian (c. AD 95) it became a crime punishable by death to refuse to worship the image of the Roman emperor as “lord”. Many Christians, if caught were compelled to choose between “Caesar as Lord” or “Jesus as Lord”. To choose Caesar was reject Christ. To choose Christ most often meant to choose martyrdom.
Jesus message to the believers in Smyrna is to encourage them to stand strong in the face of persecution.
Don’t be afraid of what you are about to suffer. The devil will throw some of you into prison to test you. You will suffer for ten days. But if you remain faithful even when facing death, I will give you the crown of life.
Revelation 2:10 (NLT)
From a worldly perspective the believers in Smyrna were a sorry lot. Poverty stricken and suffering severe persecution, yet Jesus tells them “…but you are rich!” Apparently, there is a fate worse than physical death. Those who remain faithful even in the face of death Jesus says he will give the crown of life.
Whoever is victorious will not be harmed by the second death.
Revelation 2:11 (NLT)
Presumably then, those who choose not to remain faithful, but who reject Christ in an attempt to preserve their physical life, do so at the expense of eternal spiritual life. I understand that the motivation to preserve ones life is a strong force within our humanity. In light of eternity however, the amount of time we spend living out our physical life on earth is a mere blip of time. Seems to me it would be a very bad trade to exchange eternity with the crown of life from Jesus for a few more years of life on earth — even if those years turned out to be years of peace and prosperity. The believers in Smyrna were poor and suffering by human standards, but they had riches that unbelievers have no concept of, riches that exceed any riches this world has to offer.