Revelation 2: 8-11

⁸ And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive;

Jesus identifies himself as the First and the Last, which was dead and is alive. This body of believers are being reassured by this introduction for the trail they are about to face where they will be thrown into prison, tried and then put to death. Jesus is the first and the last, and he is the risen savior.

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.

It is said there was a group of unbelieving Jews of the time of these letters that were persecuting the church as Smyrna and Philadelphia. It’s no small thing that this is included here since the end time Christians will face persecution like this where they will be put into prison, tried and then put to death. It probably won’t be the same people doing this persecution of the end time saints, but the instructions to endure are the same.

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.

Jesus instructs us to “Fear none of those things” and if Jesus tells us not to fear, he will also give us the ability. So many people avoid this whole book of Revelation because of fear…..so how are these same people going to hold up when these events outlined in this book happen? I wonder how a Christian is going to make it in this 7-year period if they don’t know what’s coming, why it’s coming, what Jesus is going to do about these events, what the believers need to do, what the promises are the believers can rely on…. and basically how to endure. God is allowing this all to happen, and we have to trust that our father is sovereign, and he knows what’s best for us.

Luke 11:11 11. If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? 12. Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?

If God allows us to lose our lives for our belief in Jesus, you better believe God has something better than this life for us….he has eternal life for us, with him. Reading Revelation and learning about how Jesus will be revealed to the world who rejects him and to the children who receive him as Lord and Savior builds your faith in the process where God’s righteous judgment falls upon the world.

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.

How do you overcome and what is the second death? Overcoming is holding on to the words of your testimony….. your faith in the saving power of Jesus’s blood, unwavering and unshaken to the end. The second death is defined in Revelations 21:8

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.

If you have Jesus and hold on to your testimony even unto death, you won’t experience the second death…. instead you’ll experience eternal life with Jesus.