THE SMYRNA ERA

The Bible is about one-third prophecies, and of these almost ninety percent of the prophecies are for these last days. This is because of the principle of duality in biblical prophecy where one aspect of a particular prophecy had been fulfilled and another aspect has yet to be fulfilled until the end times of which we are currently in now. This dual principle is clearly seen in 1 John 2:19, 'They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us.' Not only were defections and heresies prevalent in the early centuries following the death of the first apostles, they are equally prevalent now in these days just before the return of the Lord Jesus Christ.

After the death of John at the close of the first century AD, his faithful disciple Polycarp succeeded him in preserving the truth of God handed down from the Apostles. Polycarp turned many from heresy to the true church of God. He presided over the Church for over fifty years and was finally martyred by being burnt at the stake at Smyrna in AD 155.

Polycarp's successor, Polycrates, carried on the work of the true church of God with zeal and courage inspite of mounting opposition from detractors loyal to the Bishop of Rome in observing the Passover according to Scriptural manner.

During the Smyrna Era, the term Ebionites - meaning paupers - came into existence. These are the poor and destitutes who constitute the true and faithful disciples of the Lord. Christ commended them in Revelation 2:9, 'I know your works, tribulation, and poverty (but you are rich); and I know the blasphemy of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.' This false church, started by the Samaritans, grew so strong that it was able to influence, and later dominate the Roman government.

The prophetic proclaimation of tribulation for 'ten days' (Rev 2:10) was actually a ten year period (based on the principle of using the day-for-a-year principle of Numbers 14:34) inflicted from 303-313 AD under the rule of the Roman Emperor Diocletian. It was during this period of the beginning of the Dark Ages that the pastors and deacons of the church turned to worldliness and compromises on the truth taught by the early apostles. According to church historians, some ten thousand died as martyrs in Britain - many tragically after much torture.

According to church history, there were three splinters during this period. The first group accepted the original apostolic teachings to the letter, including the Nazarenes of the Pella area, later named as Ebionites. The second splinter was somewhat Pharisaical, rejecting the teachings and writings of the Apostle Paul. The third splinter group adopted the Gnostic doctrine, and became the liberals.
The Gnostic liberals were skilled at twisting the meaning of Scriptures in their preachings to justify their action or inaction through the use of allegory. The warnings in Matthew 24:4, 11 & 24 about deceptions and false prophets/teachings were meant not just for the Smyrna church, but also for the Laodicean church of these last days. The duality of biblical prophecy shows that these liberals are upon us again - coming full circle at the close of this present age. It is simply amazing that after all these centuries, their spirtual descendants are still around!

The growth of sects and false doctrines like the doctrine of the trinity were spreading indirectly under the patronage of the Roman Caesar, Constantine. Before his victory at the Battle of Mulvian Bridge outside Rome, Constantine was said to have a vision of the first two letters of the name of 'Christ' (in Greek are "X' and "P") and heard a voice telling him that he would conquer with this sign. Despite being a sun worshipper (sunday as holiday), Constantine issued the Edict of Toleration which gave Christianity legality in the Roman Empire. This ended the ten years of severe persecution against the true church and gave rise to false Christianity which ultimately enshrined in Roman Catholicism.

In AD 325, Constantine convened the ecumenical council of Nicea to resolve doctrinal differences between the various Christian denominations. As sun worshipper, he decreed that Sunday as a public holiday be kept throughout the Roman Empire instead of Saturday which is the actual Sabbath. Such 'mariage of convenience' between the Church at Rome and the state (Roman Empire) was initiated by Constantine and decreed as state religion for political reason - unification of the empire. Hence, anyone who objected were persecuted and forced into exile.

Faced with such decree, the true church of God had no choice but to flee. Revelation 12:6 prophesied, 'Then the woman (church) fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, that they should feed her there one thousand two hundred and sixty days.' According to the biblical principle of prophecy of the day-for-a-year principle, the Church was to be in the wilderness for 1,260 years from AD 325 until AD 1585. The rest of the Smyrna Era saw many true disciples migrated to the north and east into Armenia and Cappadocia. Some even went to the west, far and away from the influence of the authority in Rome. The end of which ushers the church into the Pergamos Era.