In our last study we looked at the message to the church at Ephesus. We learned that though the Lord Jesus commended them for several things, He also warned them in no uncertain terms about the fact that they had lost their first love. He warns the church at Ephesus to repent or else they will face the consequences and be removed from their place.
In today's study we will look at the message to the church at Smyrna. Smyrna was a seaport city located approximately thirty five miles north of Ephesus. You may know that it is called Izmir in today's world.
So lets begin.
Revelation 2: 8-11
And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive;
9 I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan.
10 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.
11 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.
* - You will notice in verse 8 Jesus refers to Himself as " the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive;" - This is a repeat and corresponds exactly with what we read in our very first study in Revelation 1 verses 17 and 18 where it says: Fear not; I am the first and the last: I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.
Jesus is the first and the last, He died on the cross for our sins, rose again on the third day and now He is alive forevermore, at the right hand of the Father.
* - Jesus reminds the church in Smyrna that He sees what is going on in their situation. Verse 9 - I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan.
Jesus is fully aware of their sufferings, but He also notices their poverty. He tells them - " but thou art rich" - Why would he say that? Can a person be poor but rich at the same time? I think we all know the answer is yes. The song I'd Rather Have Jesus by Rhea F. Miller comes to mind.
When we have the Lord Jesus in our hearts and lives - we are the richest people alive. We do not care for the earthly riches of this world. The Bible says if we have food and clothes we are to be content. When we pass away, we leave behind all that the world has to offer. Our treasures are laid up in heaven. Wealth can never buy a home in heaven for anyone.
He goes on to say that some who say they are Jews are not Jews at heart but in reality are of the synagogue of satan. We can compare this to Christianity today. Many people will say they are Christians but their hearts are far from the Lord. Jesus says - By their fruits you will know them.
Matthew 7: 20 and 21 : Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
Our conduct and lifestyle ( what we do in the dark when no one is watching) tells a great deal about whether Christ actually lives in our heart or not.
* - Verse 10 starts out with some encouragement for those weary souls who are already struggling in poverty and now will receive word of more hardships to come. Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer.
I think if Jesus encourages us to not fear, then we can rely on Him. We can trust Him and not be afraid. Obviously the Saviour's plan is that He will walk with us and help us in and through our troubles and trials.
* - 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.
Jesus says that the devil will cause some of the people to be imprisoned. That is frightening....but we must remember that Jesus has said we are not to be afraid. He is with us.
* - ye shall have tribulation ten days: Why ten days? What does is mean? It could very well mean that the time of tribulation coming to the church of Smyrna will last exactly ten days - not nine days or eleven days ....no - ten days is what He says. From this, I think we can also learn that though Satan is the one who has thrown these people into prison and there is big trouble.....Jesus is still in control. He has His hand on the "timer" so to speak. This time of tribulation will not go on indefinitely. Jesus is the One who will decide when the trials and troubles must end. When Jesus says the ten days of tribulation are over - the trials will come to an end. Satan is not in control - satan only wishes he were in control and may pretend that he has control. We are safe in the care of Jesus loving arms so when they days grow long and dreary ....Keep your eyes on the Lord Jesus! He will carry you through! This reminds me of when my own Dad was suffering from cancer. It felt like a never ending trial. But the Lord was faithful and carried him through and kept us from despair. Now my Dad is in heaven with the Lord.
*- be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life The Lord Jesus teaches us here to persevere under extreme hardships and in difficult situations. He says : Be thou faithful unto death! We must determine that with God's help we will remain faithful to the Lord. Though we are persecuted we will not sit down or shut up - We will keep living our faith and keep on proclaiming the love of Jesus to everyone around us.
*- I will give thee a crown of life What is the crown of life? According to James 1:12 the crown of life is promised to those who love the Lord.
James 1:12 Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.
This ties in quite interestingly with what we learned in our study of the message to the church in Ephesus. They were instructed to repent for having left their first love - which I believe means to really love the Lord with our everything. So Jesus says we are to love Him and be faithful to Him to our last breath and He will reward us with the crown of life.
This is life eternal!
* - Verse 11 - He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.
We all have ears so the message that is given to the church at Smyrna is to each and everyone of us.
* - He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death. We need to be overcomers. Those who are overcomers by faith in the Lord Jesus and his finished work on the cross need have no fear of dying physically here because for the Christian, death means the door to heaven has been opened for him or her. Whereas the unbelievers portion will be unending torment.
What is the second death? The lake of fire - hell is the second death. We see that in Revelation 20 and 21.
Revelation 20: 14 -15 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
Revelation 21: 7-8 He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
After studying the message to the church of Smyrna all I can say to everyone reading this is to please...please make your salvation sure. Today is still time to turn to the Lord Jesus for the forgiveness of sin. Believe in the Lord Jesus that He died for you, that He is the only way to be saved, turn your life over to Him, repent of your sin and turn from it. Put your faith and trust in the Lord Jesus. He died on the cross to redeem you to God and to save each of us from hell. Come to Jesus today!
In today's study we will look at the message to the church at Smyrna. Smyrna was a seaport city located approximately thirty five miles north of Ephesus. You may know that it is called Izmir in today's world.
So lets begin.
Revelation 2: 8-11
And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive;
9 I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan.
10 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.
11 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.
* - You will notice in verse 8 Jesus refers to Himself as " the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive;" - This is a repeat and corresponds exactly with what we read in our very first study in Revelation 1 verses 17 and 18 where it says: Fear not; I am the first and the last: I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.
Jesus is the first and the last, He died on the cross for our sins, rose again on the third day and now He is alive forevermore, at the right hand of the Father.
* - Jesus reminds the church in Smyrna that He sees what is going on in their situation. Verse 9 - I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan.
Jesus is fully aware of their sufferings, but He also notices their poverty. He tells them - " but thou art rich" - Why would he say that? Can a person be poor but rich at the same time? I think we all know the answer is yes. The song I'd Rather Have Jesus by Rhea F. Miller comes to mind.
I’d rather have Jesus than silver or gold;
I’d rather be His than have riches untold;
I’d rather have Jesus than houses or lands;
I’d rather be led by His nail-pierced hand
When we have the Lord Jesus in our hearts and lives - we are the richest people alive. We do not care for the earthly riches of this world. The Bible says if we have food and clothes we are to be content. When we pass away, we leave behind all that the world has to offer. Our treasures are laid up in heaven. Wealth can never buy a home in heaven for anyone.
He goes on to say that some who say they are Jews are not Jews at heart but in reality are of the synagogue of satan. We can compare this to Christianity today. Many people will say they are Christians but their hearts are far from the Lord. Jesus says - By their fruits you will know them.
Matthew 7: 20 and 21 : Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
Our conduct and lifestyle ( what we do in the dark when no one is watching) tells a great deal about whether Christ actually lives in our heart or not.
* - Verse 10 starts out with some encouragement for those weary souls who are already struggling in poverty and now will receive word of more hardships to come. Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer.
I think if Jesus encourages us to not fear, then we can rely on Him. We can trust Him and not be afraid. Obviously the Saviour's plan is that He will walk with us and help us in and through our troubles and trials.
* - 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.
Jesus says that the devil will cause some of the people to be imprisoned. That is frightening....but we must remember that Jesus has said we are not to be afraid. He is with us.
* - ye shall have tribulation ten days: Why ten days? What does is mean? It could very well mean that the time of tribulation coming to the church of Smyrna will last exactly ten days - not nine days or eleven days ....no - ten days is what He says. From this, I think we can also learn that though Satan is the one who has thrown these people into prison and there is big trouble.....Jesus is still in control. He has His hand on the "timer" so to speak. This time of tribulation will not go on indefinitely. Jesus is the One who will decide when the trials and troubles must end. When Jesus says the ten days of tribulation are over - the trials will come to an end. Satan is not in control - satan only wishes he were in control and may pretend that he has control. We are safe in the care of Jesus loving arms so when they days grow long and dreary ....Keep your eyes on the Lord Jesus! He will carry you through! This reminds me of when my own Dad was suffering from cancer. It felt like a never ending trial. But the Lord was faithful and carried him through and kept us from despair. Now my Dad is in heaven with the Lord.
*- be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life The Lord Jesus teaches us here to persevere under extreme hardships and in difficult situations. He says : Be thou faithful unto death! We must determine that with God's help we will remain faithful to the Lord. Though we are persecuted we will not sit down or shut up - We will keep living our faith and keep on proclaiming the love of Jesus to everyone around us.
*- I will give thee a crown of life What is the crown of life? According to James 1:12 the crown of life is promised to those who love the Lord.
James 1:12 Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.
This ties in quite interestingly with what we learned in our study of the message to the church in Ephesus. They were instructed to repent for having left their first love - which I believe means to really love the Lord with our everything. So Jesus says we are to love Him and be faithful to Him to our last breath and He will reward us with the crown of life.
This is life eternal!
* - Verse 11 - He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.
We all have ears so the message that is given to the church at Smyrna is to each and everyone of us.
* - He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death. We need to be overcomers. Those who are overcomers by faith in the Lord Jesus and his finished work on the cross need have no fear of dying physically here because for the Christian, death means the door to heaven has been opened for him or her. Whereas the unbelievers portion will be unending torment.
What is the second death? The lake of fire - hell is the second death. We see that in Revelation 20 and 21.
Revelation 20: 14 -15 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
Revelation 21: 7-8 He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
After studying the message to the church of Smyrna all I can say to everyone reading this is to please...please make your salvation sure. Today is still time to turn to the Lord Jesus for the forgiveness of sin. Believe in the Lord Jesus that He died for you, that He is the only way to be saved, turn your life over to Him, repent of your sin and turn from it. Put your faith and trust in the Lord Jesus. He died on the cross to redeem you to God and to save each of us from hell. Come to Jesus today!
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