In speaking to the church in Smyrna, the Lord said of Himself that He is the First and the Last, who became dead and lived again; as the resurrected Christ, He is living in us and among us, and we as the church are living as He is, full of life and overcoming any death. […]
We need to Know that Jesus is the First and the Last, and He died and Lived again
To the church in Smyrna, the suffering church, the Lord introduces Himself as the First and the Last, who became dead and lived again (Rev. 2:8); the key to victory over persecution, suffering, and death is realizing who the Lord is, being under His care, and experiencing Him as our life and everything. The church […]
The Lord Knows our Tribulation, and He Knows Religion Opposes Christ and the Church
The Lord told the church in Smyrna not to fear the things which she was about to suffer (prison, persecution, tribulation, and even death), because He knows their tribulation and poverty, and to those who are faithful, He will give the crown of life (see Rev. 2:8-11). The church in Smyrna was a suffering church; […]
Entering the Fellowship of the Lord’s Sufferings for the Church to be His Testimony
This week in our deeper study and prayerful consideration of the seven epistles to the seven churches in Rev. 2 we come to the Lord’s speaking to Smyrna, the suffering church. In Matt. 16:18 the Lord uttered the greatest prophecy in the Bible, On this rock I will build My church, and the gates of […]
Enjoying Christ as our Love, Life, and Light to keep the Testimony of Jesus
In the Lord’s epistle to the church in Ephesus there are four main points – love (loving the Lord with the first love), life (enjoying Christ as the tree of life), light (shining as the Lord’s testimony), and the lampstand (bearing the Lord’s testimony); love, life, light, and the lampstand are four crucial words in […]
We need to Maintain the eating of Christ as the Tree of Life in the Church Life
At the end of the Lord’s epistle to the church in Ephesus He calls for the overcomers, promising them to eat of the tree of life which is in the Paradise of God (Rev. 2:7); today we as believers in Christ need to maintain the eating of Christ as the tree of life in the […]
Loving the Lord with the First Love, Being His Testimony, and Functioning as Priests
May we be those who are loving the Lord with the first and best love, those who are His testimony on earth today, and who function as priests in the church life! In His epistle to the first church, the church in Ephesus, in Rev. 2, the Lord appreciates some of the things she has, […]