And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Matthew 28:18-20
Church For All Nations
The final commission of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ before He ascended into heaven
Reaching every Nation with the Love of Christ Jesus
Image of
Jesus Christ
Letter to the Church at Smyrna
Revelation 2:8-11
The letter to the church at Smyrna was the shortest of all the seven letters but its content is very important, not only to the church in Smyrna but it is just as important to the church in our world today.
The letter firstly tells us to whom this letter was more expressly sent to, (The church at Smyrna.) To the angel of the Church in Smyrna.
A place well known by every merchant who traded with that great city. It was a city of great trade and wealth
Smyrna which is modern day Izmir in Turkey was an ancient Greek colony and was destroyed by the Lydians in
627 B.C. It was re-founded by Lysimachus one of the successors of Alexander the Great in 290 B.C.
From 195 B.C. onwards Smyrna maintained a firm friendship with Rome.
Due to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defense, and its good inland connections, Smyrna rose to prominence. Since about 1930, the city's name has been İzmir. Two sites of the ancient city are today within İzmir's boundaries.
Like many churches great trade and wealth has turned the hearts of the people away from Jesus to the ways of the sinful world. The Christian church in Smyrna started to be overrun by Mahomedism.
Secondly This contains the most wonderful and glories titles of our Lord Jesus Christ, “The first and the last, who was dead, and has come to life.”
“I Am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”
Revelation 1:8
Our Redeemer liveth, He is the first and the Last, He was the first, by Him all things came into being, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. John 1:3
V8. And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive;
The first and the last was an echo of 1:17f, 17 And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last:
18 I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, and have the keys of hell and of death. Revelation 1:17-18 Hallelujah. Praise the Lord!
4 Who hath wrought and done it, calling the generations from the beginning? I the Lord, the first, and with the last; I am he. Isaiah 41:4
And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. Revelation 21:6
V9. I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich), and the blasphemy by those who say they are
Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.
Our Lord knows when we are hurting or being persecuted but I want to reassure you all today that you will not have to walk that road alone, Jesus will always be there with you, strengthening each one of you.
Whether you feel hungry and thirsty along a dusty road, always remember the words that Jesus spoke to His disciples.
Jesus saith unto them, “My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.” John 4:34
As we have seen that a true Christian is one who can be seen as doing the work of our Lord, we can recognise them by the fruits that they yield.
You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they?
Matthew 7:16
The true Jew is one who is praiseworthy in God’s sight Romans 2:28f. The Jewish community in Smyrna, because of its slanderous attacks on the Christians, has shown itself unworthy of being called a Jew but it was entirely opposite, because of their opposition to the gospel, they belonged to the Synagogue of Satan, Revelation 3:9
The Lord said to Satan, “From where do you come?” Then Satan answered the Lord and said, “From roaming about on the earth and walking around on it.” Job 1:7
The Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from?” Then Satan answered the Lord and said, “From roaming about on the earth and walking around on it.” Job 2:2
Many Christians throughout the world are still facing vast persecution for their faith and desperately need our prayers. Don’t forget that we all belong to the family of God and as a family we are all brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus our Lord. They are your brothers and sisters who are dying for their faith, and we should all be heartbroken at their tortures and deaths, the thought of this should bring us all down to our knees in prayer for all our family who are facing persecution.
DO NOT FEAR! ‘Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’ Isaiah 41:10
Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life. Revelation 2:10
Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. James 4:7
Always remember that Satan is a coward, a liar and a murderer. Stand firm and proclaim the name of Jesus, let the love of Jesus shine though each one of you every day in all that you say and do.
V11. He who as an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes shall not be hurt by
the second death.
Today I ask you to open your hearts to what our Lord is saying to you all, we have now seen and understand the persecution that faced the first Christians and has continued throughout the age of the church and will increase prior to our Lord’s second coming.
Overcome the evils of this world with all of its lies and its temptations, do not fear what man can do to you and overcome all evil with good and you will be rewarded in heaven with the Crown of Life and shall not be hurt by the second death which is to be thrown into the lake of fire, an eternal separation from our God and Father.
Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. Revelation 20:14
Amen!
Next Sunday we will be looking at the church in Pergamum. The throne of Satan.
Mosaic of Saint Polycarp inside the monastery of Hosios Loukas
V10. Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.
Mosaic of Saint Polycarp inside the monastery of Hosios Loukas
Our Lord is strengthening His church and forewarning them of what is to come. Satan is the accuser and will go before the throne of God to accuse each one of us but don’t despair, Jesus paid the price for our sins and yours and my sins have been completely forgotten, God has thrown them all into the deepest part of the ocean.
When it says that God has forgotten our sins, it means that He chooses not to remember them.
In the 2nd Century AD, the Jews of Smyrna played a prominent part in the attack on Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna who was Martyred for his Christian faith and was bound and burnt at the stake, when the flames didn’t consume his body, so he was stabbed to death.
When it says that God has forgotten our sins, it means that He chooses not to remember them.
You are saved through grace; Jesus paid the price. We are cleansed by the precious blood of Jesus Christ. Hallelujah!