# 2 - Letter To The Church At Smyrna Series

Letter # 2 – To the Church at Smyrna

Revelation 2:8 – “And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write, ‘These things says the First and the Last, who was dead, and came to life:”

The First and The Last

In the letter to the church at Ephesus, Jesus begins by introducing Himself with the phrase, ‘The First and the Last,’ meaning that He was always there from the beginning. In Revelation 1:8 Jesus says, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” Alpha and Omega are the first and last letters in the Greek alphabet, and Jesus was using these letters to connect with His audience (who would have been familiar with Greek) to say that He is both the beginning and the end, meaning that He was there right from the beginning of the creation of this world and will always be there until the end of it.

Let’s remember

When this world was created Jesus was there. This is in some way similar to the introduction of Jesus by the same Apostle John in his Gospel in Jn.1:1 – “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” By saying this, Jesus is making it clear He is all in all – He is the ultimate authority over the world and the church. Therefore what He goes on to way must be taken seriously.

Was dead and came back to life

In the same sentence, Jesus says that He is the One who was dead and came back to life. Jesus had just said that He was the first and the last, and now He goes on to say that He died but came back to life. He’s referring to His sacrificial death on the cross (while He was here on earth), to pay the penalty of the sins of the whole world. Not only did Jesus die, but He came back to life on the third day and will never die again.

Let’s remember

If Jesus did not rise from the dead, then our faith in Christ would be futile, we would still be in our sins, we would never rise from the dead, we’d be believing in a dead person, we would not be justified before God, there would have no hope beyond the grave for us. You can read all of this in 1 Cor.15:12-19. No other person who claimed to be God, or whom people look up to as God, ever came back to life – only Jesus did, and that’s why our faith is meaningful, we have forgiveness for our sins, we have hope beyond the grave, and so much more. The God we believe in, is alive and will remain alive forever more.

Revelation 2:9 - “I know your works, tribulation, and poverty (but you are rich); and I know the blasphemy of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.”

Jesus commences by telling the church at Smyrna that He is aware of a few things concerning them. Let’s look at them one by one.

1. I know your Works

Jesus begins by telling them that He was aware of their works, referring to the way they lived their lives to honour and glorify Him in every way. This is the same thing He had said concerning the church at Ephesus. In fact, of the seven churches, this was one of two churches that received only commendation with no criticism at all. The other church was the church at Philadelphia.

What about us?

Can the Lord look at us individually, as a local church, as a city-wide church, a nation-wide or as the global church and say that He is pleased with the way we live our lives?

2. I know your Tribulation

Jesus then says that He is aware of the tribulation they face, which must have been on account of their faith in Christ. This was also one on the commendations that the church at Ephesus received from the Lord Jesus. Even when it seemed like no one was concerned about the tribulation they were experiencing, the Lord says that He was aware of it.

What about us?

Do we face tribulation on account of our faith or do we live in such a way that no one knows anything about our faith, and therefore we never suffer persecution or tribulation? We don’t need to go searching for persecution or tribulation, but we don’t need to live in fear of it either, because the Lord promised that we who live for Him will suffer persecution, and He called those of us who suffer persecution for His sake, “Blessed.”