Revelation 2:10
Bible verses · Also called: Rev 2:10, Revelation 2.10, Be thou faithful unto death, Be faithful unto death, Crown of life, Church in Smyrna
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Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.
The text is the New Korean Revised Version (1998), shown under a licence from the Korean Bible Society. Wording may differ slightly from the Korean Revised Version and the Revised New Korean Standard Version. Read in the Korean Revised Version
The words addressed to the church in Smyrna: "Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life." The verse calls believers to be prepared for martyrdom under persecution. In the Korean church it is widely used to encourage church officers at their ordination and in their service, though questions have been raised about this application.
Context
Chapters 2–3 of Revelation contain letters from the risen Christ to seven churches in Asia Minor. The letter to the church in Smyrna (2:8–11) is one of only two letters that contain no rebuke, offering only comfort and encouragement. Christ says that he knows the tribulation and poverty this church is enduring and the blasphemy of those who say they are Jews, and he foretells that the devil will cast some of them into prison, where they will have tribulation "ten days." Verse 10 is the command and promise given at the close of this prediction. Smyrna is present-day İzmir in Turkey and is well known as the city whose bishop, Polycarp, was martyred there in the second century.
Interpretation
- Faithfulness even to martyrdom: The common interpretation is that "unto death" (Greek achri thanatou) means not "as zealously as one possibly can" but "up to the point of death"—that is, do not abandon the faith even if it costs your life. Likewise, pistos (rendered "faithful") is closer in sense to fidelity or trustworthiness.
- "Ten days": Interpretations include reading the phrase as a symbol of a short, limited period; as an actual brief period of persecution; or as a reference to the ten persecutions of church history.
- The crown of life: The image is that of the wreath given to the victor in an athletic contest, and many hold that it refers to eternal life itself.
Questions Concerning Application
In the Korean church this verse is frequently used to exhort church officers to devote themselves to the work of the church. Some critics argue that this turns words originally meant to urge believers to keep the faith under persecution into a demand for ever greater amounts of church service and zeal, and the issue is sometimes raised in connection with burnout among church workers. Others hold, however, that applying the verse as a principle of remaining faithful to the end in one's assigned office does not conflict with its context.
In the Korean Church
It is one of the verses most often used at ordination services for elders, gwonsa (exhorters), and deacons. It is also frequently cited in commemorating the martyrs of the Korean church, such as Ju Ki-chul, who died in prison during the Japanese colonial period after refusing Shinto shrine worship.
Related Passages
- Revelation 2:8–11
- 2 Timothy 4:7–8
- James 1:12
- Matthew 10:28
See also 6
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