the 7 denominations of the book of Revelation:
I feel people parse words when they say its wrong to belong to a particular denomination. I feel the way the book of Revelation describes the 7 churches is really describing denominations and not separate churches (in philosophical sense). Some major churches in existence now actually have different sects with in these churches that radically are different from other sects. One might be very Augustinian or Calvinist in their beliefs and another might be Arminian (*spelling). Is it really practical to get upset when some one says they are of a certain denomination as though there is not a biblical concept of denominations?
questions and comments?
I find the 2nd Assembly of Smyrna interesting [tho I have a comprensive study on all 7 of them].
It is said to come from the root word "myrrh"
Revelation 2:8
"And to The Messenger of the assembly in Smyrna, write!.................
4667. Smurna smoor'-nah the same as 4666; Smyrna, a place in Asia Minor:--Smyrna.
4666. smurna smoor'-nah apparently strengthened for 3464; myrrh:--myrrh.
Matthew 2:11
and having come to the house, they found
the Child with Mary His mother, and having fallen down they bowed to Him,
and having opened their treasures, they presented to Him gifts, gold, and frankincense, and
myrrh,
Mark 15:23 And they offered him wine mingled with
myrrh: but he received it not.
John 19:39
and Nicodemus also came -- who came unto Jesus by night at the first --
bearing a mixture of
myrrh and aloes, as it were, a hundred pounds.
Smyrna - Wikipedia
Several explanations have been offered for its name. A Greek myth derived the name from an
eponymous Amazon named "Σμύρνα" (
Smyrna), which was also the name of a
quarter of
Ephesus. This is the basis of
Myrina, a city of
Aeolis.
In inscriptions and coins, the name often was written as "Ζμύρνα" (
Zmyrna), "Ζμυρναῖος" (
Zmyrneos), "of Smyrna".
[2]
The name Smyrna may also have been taken from the
ancient Greek word for
myrrh, "smyrna",
[3][4][5] which was the chief export of the city in ancient times.
[6]
In the late 2nd century,
Irenaeus also noted:
Polycarp also was not only instructed by apostles, and conversed with many who had seen Christ, but was also, by apostles in Asia, appointed bishop of the Church in Smyrna…always taught the things which he had learned from the apostles, and which the Church has handed down, and which alone are true. To these things all the Asiatic Churches testify, as do also those men who have succeeded Polycarp.
[13]
Myrrh - Wikipedia
The word
myrrh corresponds with a common
Semitic root
m-r-r meaning "bitter", as in
Aramaic ܡܪܝܪܐ
murr and
Arabic مُرّ
murr. Its name entered the
English language from the
Hebrew Bible, where it is called מור
mor, and later as a Semitic
loanword[6] was used in the
Greek myth of
Myrrha, and later in the
Septuagint; in the
Ancient Greek language, the related word μῠ́ρον (
múron) became a general term for
perfume.
Smyrna means “sweet smelling” and comes from the root word for
myrrh.
The myrrh plant is found throughout the Middle East and was used in the manufacture of an aromatic ointment. When bruised and crushed, the myrrh gives forth a lovely fragrance.
Myrrh was used to embalm the bodies of the dead. Carefully the linens were prepared, and wound around the bodies of the loved ones, while myrrh was packed between the folds of the cloth. Thus was the body of our Lord embalmed!
After the death of Jesus, the women, who had loved and followed Him on earth, brought one hundred pounds of myrrh and aloes to the tomb. With what grief did they take that precious body and wind about it the linen cloths! With what untold tenderness did they lay it away in the bed of fragrant spices!
Thus myrrh is a type of suffering and death, and some in the church at Smyrna were to pass through bitter persecution, severe trials, and intense testings, as a picture of that which all of God’s called and chosen elect must also pass through. Their sufferings, however, instead of destroying them, would give forth the rich perfume of heaven, the life of the spirit!
In the Hebrew Bible
Myrrh is mentioned as a rare perfume in several places in the
Hebrew Bible. In
Genesis 37:25, the
Ishmaelite traders to whom
Jacob's sons sold their brother
Joseph had "
camels ... loaded with spices, balm, and myrrh," and
Exodus 30:23-25 specifies that Moses was to use 500
shekels of liquid myrrh as a core ingredient of the sacred anointing oil.
Myrrh was an ingredient of
Ketoret: the consecrated
incense used in the
First and
Second Temples at
Jerusalem, as described in the
Hebrew Bible and
Talmud. An offering was made of the
Ketoret on a special incense altar and was an important component of the
temple service. Myrrh is also listed as an ingredient in the
holy anointing oil used to anoint the
tabernacle, high priests and kings.
Oil of myrrh is used in
Esther 2:12 in a purification ritual for the new queen to King Ahasuerus:
In the New Testament
Myrrh is mentioned in the
New Testament as one of the three gifts (with
gold and
frankincense) that the
magi "from the East" presented to the
Christ Child (
Matthew 2:11). Myrrh was also present at Jesus' death and burial. Jesus was offered wine and myrrh before the crucifixion (
Mark 15:23). According to
John's Gospel,
Nicodemus and
Joseph of Arimathea brought a 100-pound mixture of myrrh and aloes to wrap Jesus' body (
John 19:39). The
Gospel of Matthew relates that as Jesus went to the cross, he was given vinegar to drink mingled with gall: and when he had tasted thereof, he would not drink (Matthew 27:34); the
Gospel of Mark describes the drink as wine mingled with myrrh (Mark 15:23).
In contemporary Christianity
Because of its mention in the New Testament, myrrh is an
incense offered during some Christian
liturgical celebrations (see
Thurible). Liquid myrrh is sometimes added to egg tempera in the making of
icons. Myrrh is mixed with
frankincense and sometimes more scents and is used
in almost every service of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, traditional Roman Catholic, and Anglican/Episcopal churches.
Myrrh is also used to prepare the
sacramental chrism used by many churches of both Eastern and Western rites. In the Middle East, the
Eastern Orthodox Church traditionally uses oil scented with myrrh (and other fragrances) to perform the
sacrament of
chrismation, which is commonly referred to as "receiving the
Chrism".
Artemonius, p. 212, refers to the conjecture of Le Clerc, and after changing a few words presents it in this form: τί γάρ μοι καὶ τοῖς ἔξω; καὶ νῦν οὖν τοὺς ἔσω ὑμεῖς κρίνετε. There are here various changes of letters, by which the word κρίνειν, the most necessary of them all, is cancelled. If the meaning of Paul had been, what have I to do with those that are without? the Greek idiom would have required ἐμοί, not μοι. Τί γάρ μοι καὶ τοὺς ἔξω κρίνειν, viz. ἐστί; for what have I to do to judge those that are without? (Verbals [such as Bengel’s “externos judicatio”] govern the case of the verb, ex. gr.: Curatio hanc rem, taking charge of this matter.) Expressions very similar occur, ἱνατί μοι ζῇν, Genesis 27:46 : οὐ σοὶ, Ὀζία, θυμιᾶσαι, 2 Chronicles 26:18 : οὐκ ἔστι γὰρ χαίρειν, λέγει Κύριος, τοῖς ἀσεβέσιν, Isaiah 48:22 : ὄπως μὴ γένηται αὐτῷ χρονοτριβῆσαι, Acts 20:16 : πόθεν σοι ταῦτα ἐιδέναι, Hippolytus de antichristo, chap. 32. These remarks apply to the whole sentence; we shall now consider the words one by one.—καὶ) also, which intimates, that those, who are within, give me enough to do.[44]—ΚΡΊΝΕΙΝ, to judge) He judges, who is not mixed up with them, does not keep company with them.—οὐχὶ, do not ye?) From what is wont to occur in the Church, you ought to have interpreted my admonition, alluded to in 1 Corinthians 5:9, You judge your fellow-citizens, not strangers; how much more should I? You judge, will thus signify righteous judgment. But this may also be a previous [anticipatory], and, that too, a seasonable sting to the Corinthians, who were judging [bringing before heathen courts of justice] them that were within, while [though] they considered the saints removed [exempt] from judgments concerning things pertaining to this life, 1 Corinthians 6:1-3.
repeat the question.
