We encounter another symbolic number in this passage. In verse 10 the Lord tells the Smyrna believers that they will suffer persecution for 10 days. Ten days doesn’t sound too bad, right? I mean, depending on the severity, one could endure it knowing that it will be over in ten days. After that, everything returns to normal and you have your life back. Hardly worth mentioning, right?
The number 10 meant something different to those who read this book in John’s time. They understood that it was not ten literal days. The number 10 came from a person counting fingers or toes. A child born with too many was odd, not right. A person who lost a finger was at a disadvantage for any manual labor or dexterity. They were incomplete. So completeness was symbolized by the number 10. Even today, we rate many things on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the ultimate score.
The persecution of the Smyrna ekklesia would be a benchmark. Persecution of other ekklesias would be measured and compared to the torment heaped on them. When talking about being mistreated, another ekklesia might say, “We suffered almost as much as the Smyrna believers!”
The number 10 meant something different to those who read this book in John’s time. They understood that it was not ten literal days. The number 10 came from a person counting fingers or toes. A child born with too many was odd, not right. A person who lost a finger was at a disadvantage for any manual labor or dexterity. They were incomplete. So completeness was symbolized by the number 10. Even today, we rate many things on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the ultimate score.
The persecution of the Smyrna ekklesia would be a benchmark. Persecution of other ekklesias would be measured and compared to the torment heaped on them. When talking about being mistreated, another ekklesia might say, “We suffered almost as much as the Smyrna believers!”
RSS Feed
