“Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor’s crown. Revelation 2:10

INTRODUCTION

This is the second part of the series on God’s messages to the churches. In the first part, we saw clear evidence of how God loves us too much to leave us as sheep without direction. He watches over us and checks out our intentions and actions and calls us to order when He sees us going astray.

Through a series of letters, God sent messages to seven of the first generation Christian churches.

His letters were divided into three parts. The first gave a diagnosis of their spiritual condition. The second gave a description of the symptoms of their spiritual ailments as well as its causes, effects, and progression.

And the third gave the prescription made for ailment to address what was described. All the letters were to give clarity to the situation the churches were passing through at the time, and to ensure that He, as the All-knowing, Alpha and Omega God, was aware of everything that happened to them, including the choices they make in response.

But here’s the beauty of the let­ters. Each letter was addressed to a church, and concluded with a warning to “whoever has ears.”

It is that conclusion which makes the letter applicable to the church in these latter days. In fact, not the church as an entity, but the church as each believer – you, me, and every single person that professes the name of Christ.

In this edition, we come to the second letter, addressed to the second church SMYRNA. As has been stated in the preceding paragraph, the message of this letter is for every believer. You might not have gone through the ex­perience described, but it will surely come to pass.

For Jesus said “Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also” – John 15:20.

Jesus went through the Smyrna experience, and so must we who are His followers today. Therefore, take this letter for clarification: if this experience is already in your past, or for preparation if the experience lies in your future.

The warning is that “whoever has ears let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” – Revelation 2:11. And as the Bible emphasises: “My son, – or my daughter, pay atten­tion to what I say; turn your ear to my words.” – Proverbs 4:20

SPIRITUAL CONDITION

History tells us that Smyrna was a commercial and wealthy city. It played host to visitors from different parts of the world who were there along trade routes and engaged in an endless stream of buying and selling.

The busy commerce also rubbed off on the entertainment, academic, social, cultural, and spiritual land­scape of the city.

New drama, dance, philosophy, fashion, worship style, and many other new things found their way to other towns and cities through Smyr­na. We can relate to that can’t we?

TO BE CONTINUED!

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By Dr. Joyce Aryee, the author