The reference to the “ten days of tribulation” is found in Revelation 2:10, which says “Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.”
This verse was part of Jesus’ letter to the church in Smyrna. Smyrna was a city in Asia Minor that was an important commercial center at the time Revelation was written. The church there was suffering persecution and was about to face more intense persecution and suffering.
Jesus warned the church that some of them would soon be thrown into prison to “be tested.” This would result in having “tribulation for ten days.” The exact nature of what this suffering and tribulation involved is not specified. It could have involved beatings, deprivation, threats, or other intense hardships inflicted on Christian prisoners during a short, intense period of persecution.
The number “ten days” appears to be a symbolic number indicating a time of acute trial and hardship for the church, not necessarily a literal and exact period of ten 24-hour days. Here are some key factors to consider in understanding this phrase:
1. Tribulation as Testing
The tribulation is described as a time of “testing.” This indicates the tribulation they would face would try and prove the genuineness of their faith. It was not meaningless suffering, but a meaningful trial allowed by God to show their steadfastness. This is similar to how God tested Abraham’s faith and obedience by the command to sacrifice Isaac (Genesis 22:1).
2. Ten as a Number of Completion
The number ten in the Bible symbolizes completeness, fulfillment, totality. We see this in the Ten Commandments which represented the fullness of God’s moral law. The fact that the tribulation period here is ten days could symbolize that it represents a complete or full testing experience.
3. Parallel to Daniel’s Testing
An interesting parallel is how Daniel and his three friends were tested for “ten days” by eating the king’s food (Daniel 1:12, 14-15). This was a test of faith and obedience to God’s law. So the ten days here may relate to a similar period of intense testing and proving of their allegiance to Christ.
4. A Limited Time of Suffering
The ten days were a foreboding warning of persecution to come, and ten denotes a period of completeness. But the number still indicates a limited and set amount of time for this tribulation. The suffering predicted and allowed by God would only last for this intense but limited season before coming to an end.
This gave hope and encouragement that God was in control, and the suffering was not open-ended but bounded and measured for their testing and purification. Once the appointed time of tribulation was complete, God would bring relief.
5. Followed by the Crown of Life
Importantly, the promise was that if they remained faithful through the ten days of suffering, even to the point of martyrdom, afterward they would receive “the crown of life.” This eternal reward shows that temporal trials lead to eternal blessing and glory for those who suffer for Christ without giving up.
6. Parallels Other Mentioned Periods of Tribulation in Revelation
The “ten days” connect to other time periods mentioned in Revelation symbolizing times of trouble and persecution God’s people will face:
- 1,260 days – The saints are persecuted by the beast (Rev. 12:6). This is also described as “a time, and times, and half a time” (Rev 12:14).
- 1,290 days – A time of “abomination and desolation” before the end (Daniel 12:11)
- 1,335 days – Those who endure and make it to the 1,335 days are blessed (Daniel 12:12)
- Three and a half years – The holy city is tread underfoot, and the two witnesses prophesy (Rev 11:2-3). This lines up with the 1,260 days.
So the 10 days fits within the various time frames symbolizing times of intense tribulation God’s people must endure.
7. Not Necessarily a Literal 10-Day Period
While there may have been some specific situation or timeframe in view that early readers would have understood, most Bible scholars do not think the “ten days” should be taken as a precise, literal 10-24 hour day period. Rather, it serves as a symbolic indicator of a time of tribulation permitted by God to test and refine his people.
The number 10 signifies intensity and completeness in the testing, not necessarily chronological precision. So attempts to predict exactly how long this or other time periods mentioned in Revelation will last are misguided.
8. A Recurring Pattern of Tribulation and Reward
The church in John’s day faced persecution just as faithful followers of Christ face suffering and hostility in various times and places up through history and today. So this pattern of a period of tribulation followed by reward for those who overcome is not just limited to one specific future period but is applicable in many situations and times where God’s people must undergo persecution and trial.
The persecution would come in intensive “ten day” waves of “great tribulation” (Rev. 7:14), which believers must patiently endure if they want to receive their eternal reward from Christ the King.
9. Foreshadowed General Christian Suffering
So while this prediction had particular meaning for the actual church in Smyrna facing impending persecution, at the same time it foreshadowed the general path of persecution and trial the wider church and body of Christ would face at different places and times before the return of Christ.
The intense anguish of the “ten days” symbolized the experience of all churches and believers who would suffer for their faith to a greater or lesser degree before the end comes.
Jesus repeatedly promised His followers they would face persecution and suffering for their faith:
- “If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you” (John 15:20).
- “In this world you will have trouble” (John 16:33).
- “You will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me” (Matthew 24:9).
So the prophecy and promise made to the Smyrna church serves as a microcosm of the broader path of tribulation the global church would walk through on the way to their eternal reward.
10. Shows Christ’s Control Over Suffering and Rewards
A final implication of the ten days of promised tribulation is that it shows Jesus Christ is sovereignly in control both of the suffering believers will face and the rewards to follow. The persecution will come only as He allows it, for His purposes, and for His allotted time. And the reward of eternal life is only in His power to bestow. He controls both the temporary tribulation and the eternal triumph of the faithful. This gives hope that current sufferings are measured by God for ultimate good.
In summary, while specifics are limited, the “ten days of tribulation” predicted for the Smyrna church represent a foreboding but limited period of persecution, testing, and trial that Christ’s followers, both in that local church and more broadly throughout history, must undergo and “be faithful unto death” through in order to receive the crown of eternal life. It signifies complete testing unto the point of possible martyrdom. The unspecified duration also means believers in all times should be prepared for seasons of tribulation allowed by God to prove and refine their faith. By enduring with Christ’s help during the ten days of trial, the final reward is sure.
Other biblical passages shed further light on the principle of trials and tribulations faced by God’s people:
1 Peter 4:12-13
Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.
James 1:2-4
Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
Romans 5:3-4
Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope.
2 Corinthians 4:17
For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison.
Romans 8:18
For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
While “ten days” is likely symbolic, it points to an intense but limited period of tribulation predicted for the church in Smyrna and experienced by the broader Body of Christ throughout the ages leading up to Jesus’ return. The suffering will be followed by the crown of life for those who persevere by God’s power and grace.