Revelation 2:8-9; The Church in Smyrna (3)

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Revelation 2:8-9 And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive; I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I knowthe blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but arethe synagogue of Satan.

Jesus demonstrated that He is God because He has the power to heal the sick, to cleanse the leper, to give sight to the blind, to let the deaf hear again, to let the lame walk. He had the power to calm the storm. He had power over nature and He had power over evil spirits.

Jesus shed His blood on the cross to wash away our sins. Jesus died and three days later rose from the dead, conquering death for us. The resurrection is victory over death. When Christ arose from the dead, death has lost its sting. As in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive (1 Cor. 15:22)! Jesus says, “Because I live, ye shall live also.” (John 14:19) As the old saying teaches, “He came to pay a debt He didn’t owe because we owed a debt we couldn’t pay.” (Anonymous)

This is the good news we would like to share with you.

Jesus Christ entered human history in the fullness of time, born of a virgin – the seed of a woman (Gen. 3:15). The seed of man is tainted with the curse of sin. The curse of sin, the Bible tells us, is death. Death is the greatest impasse for mankind. Man is born to die. None can escape. Ten out of ten dies. 

But for the Christian, we are born-again to live forevermore. When a Christian dies, the Bible says, he is asleep. One day, when Christ returns, he will awake again! Every Lord’s Day, when we come for worship, Christians rekindle the hope of eternal life in our hearts!

Smyrna was a wealthy city, a city of commerce second only to Ephesus. Symrna is modern-day Izmir, a major seaport on the gulf of the Aegean Sea, located 70 kilometers from Ephesus like the distance from Singapore to Kulai, an hour’s drive away. 

The messenger from the Lord is commanded to write to inform this church the diagnosis and give treatment for the desired outcome. This church was pronounced to have a clean bill of health, no ailment detected. A thriving, healthy, witness for the Lord despite the physical hardship that the Christians there were called to endure. What a witness for His glory!