I
know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are
rich), and the blasphemy by those who say they are
Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.
~ Revelation 2:9 ~
Behold, I will
cause those of the synagogue of Satan, who say that
they are Jews and are not, but lie – I will make
them come and bow down at your feet, and make them
know that I have loved you.
~ Revelation
3:9 ~ |
Looking at these
verses, there are false assumptions that lead people to the
erroneous view that Yeshua is calling the ‘pre-believing’
Jewish people in Smyrna ‘non-Jews’ and members of a
synagogue of Satan. Two words in these verses, “Jews” and
“Synagogue,” are especially confusing to many who read this
portion. We’ll consider both of them.
"JEWS"
The argument here is that
this verse is saying that these Jews are only Jews in the
flesh and not truly Jews in the spirit (these would be
“Christians”.) In this verse, the fact that these people say
that they are Jews but are really not means that they
identify themselves merely according to their fleshly
origin. This interpretation of the passage may seem to make
sense, but should be rejected because Yeshua states here
that these people are not Jews. Holding to this
interpretation would mean that only those who are born-again
children of God should have the touted title of Jews,
regardless of their ethnicity or parentage. This is not
possible according to God’s Word.
In the Bible in general, and the New Covenant in particular,
Gentile believers are never specifically called Jews. When
this discussion is brought up, Romans 2:28-29 is usually
used to ‘prove’ that Paul calls all born-again believers
“spiritual Jews.” What is usually overlooked is that in the
context of these verses, beginning in Romans 2:17, Paul is
speaking to physical Jews, and he is actually teaching them
that only the born-again Jews (not born-again Gentiles) are
“spiritual Jews” (in God’s sight). However, in saying that
only born-again Jews are spiritual Jews, this doesn’t mean
that Paul is thereby declaring non-believing Jews to be
non-Jews, not at all. And though he strongly teaches that
Jewish believers and Gentile believers are equal in the
sight of God, Paul still refers to non-believing Jews as
“Jews” throughout his writings (See 1 Cor 9:20; 10:32 etc).
Also, Paul makes it clear in Romans 11:14 that Gentile
believers in Yeshua are still non-Jews:
I’m writing to you who are
Gentiles.” He doesn’t write "to you who were
Gentiles," but to you who "are Gentiles." For even though
they are children of God, and enjoy every spiritual blessing
that God has for all His children in Yeshua, they are still
physically non-Jews.
We read of the Ephesian believers’ strengths in Revelation
2:2:
I know
your deeds and your toil and perseverance, and that
you cannot tolerate evil men, and you put to the
test those who call themselves apostles, and they
are not, and you found them to be false.
|
We see the same
grammatical structure in Rev 2:2, as we see in Rev 2:9 &
3:9: those who say they are
apostles and are not and
those who say they are Jews and are not. As
the self-proclaimed apostles were not actual apostles, so
the self-proclaimed Jews were not actual Jews. As it happens
today as well, these were merely Gentiles who called
themselves Jews, perhaps thinking that there is some
spiritual validation in having the name “Jew” (which,
according to Scripture, there is not, for in Yeshua alone is
all our righteousness and complete validation before God).
"SYNAGOGUE"
The word “synagogue” in
this verse is also confusing for many readers. “Synagogue”
is a transliteration of the Greek word meaning a gathering
place or assembly. But many assume that in Scripture a
synagogue always refers to a place of worship for
non-believing Jews, but not a place for believers to gather
to worship. This is not the case. In James 2:2, the Greek
word “synagogue” is used for a place where believers gather
for worship. This word is generally translated “assembly” in
many English translations, but in the Greek it is the word
synagogue nonetheless. Apparently, and as a result of the
anti-Jewish bias that developed from the Church fathers,
most translators today do not want to ‘confuse’ English
readers by translating the Greek word “synagogue” as
synagogue, lest they think that believers went to a
non-believing Jewish synagogue for worship, so the word
“assembly” is used instead.
As an aside, the use of “synagogue” as a place where
believers go to worship and honor Yeshua reminds us that
this is a fulfillment of prophecy: In Genesis 28:3 we read,
May God
Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and
multiply you, that you may become a company of
peoples. |
The rabbis translated
this phrase, a company of peoples,
into Greek as a “synagogue of peoples”. And in Genesis
35:11:
God
also said to him, “I am God Almighty; be fruitful
and multiply; a nation and a company of nations
shall come from you, and kings shall come forth from
you." |
So besides
a nation (Israel), God
promised a “synagogue of nations” alongside of Israel! And
again in Genesis 48:4:
and He
said to me, "Behold, I will make you fruitful and
numerous, and I will make you a company of peoples,
and will give this land to your descendants after
you for an everlasting possession." |
So here too God would
make a “synagogue of nations”! How appropriate for a
believing congregation made up of Messianic Jews and
Messianic Gentiles to be called a “synagogue” of Yeshua!
But too often for many non-Jewish believers, the word
“synagogue” merely refers to a non-believing Jewish place of
worship, and so they would therefore see the word
“synagogue” in Revelation 2:9 and 3:9 as having a negative
connotation. But the word doesn’t merely mean a “Jewish”
place but an “assembly” place. Thus the phrase
synagogue of Satan in
these verses might better be translated as “an assembly of
Satan” and thereby refer to an assembly, a cult of Gentiles
calling themselves Jews, (i.e., today Mormons also call
themselves “Jews”) who were persecuting the believers made
up of both Messianic Jews and Messianic Gentiles. Satan had
this legalistic cult of Gentiles, who called themselves Jews
though they were not, spiritually deceived. Individuals and
groups like this are acting as his agents against the true
Messianic faith even while they give actual Jewish people a
bad name!