18th April 2024 – Revelation 2:8-11
8 “And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: ‘The words of the first and the last, who died and came to life.
9 “‘I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich) and the slander of those who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. 10 Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life. 11 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death.’
With great fitness our Lord addresses Himself to Smyrna - in the throes of persecution and tasting death for the testimony of Christ - as the First and the Last, Who was dead, and is alive. As the conqueror of death He is able to give them a crown of life. It is this paradox of death and life which explains the seemingly contradictory parenthesis 'but thou art rich' which follows the reference to their tribulation and poverty. How can you be rich when you are poor? The simple answer to this is: Tribulation works! 'Our light affliction', says Paul, 'which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory'. This is why Christ can say to His beleaguered people, 'Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer' (10), for 'these things' will in the sovereign purpose of God be made to work glory for them. The fact is, there is a real sense in which we create our capacity for glory by the things that we suffer for Christ's sake. Our lives are vessels that are being shaped for glory by the way in which we react to the pressures and tensions of Christian experience. Something of this wonderful and awesome principle is seen in the blessed effects it has upon us even in this life. Spurgeon once said 'Suffering enlarges the heart by creating the power to sympathise. We ought to be grateful for occasional griefs if they preserve us from chronic hardheartedness'. We may use Paul's words about godliness (1 Timothy 4:8) in this connection, and say that tribulation and poverty are 'profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come'.
17th April 2024 – Revelation 2:1-7
“To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: ‘The words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands. 2 “‘I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you…
16th April 2024 – Revelation 2:1-7
“To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: ‘The words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands. 2 “‘I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you…
15th April 2024 – Revelation 2:1-7
“To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: ‘The words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands. 2 “‘I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you…
14th April 2024 – Revelation 2:1-7
“To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: ‘The words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands. 2 “‘I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you…
13th April 2024 – Revelation 1:17-20
17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last, 18 and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive for evermore, and I have the…
12th April 2024 – Revelation 1:12-16
12 Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, 13 and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash round his chest. 14 The…
11th April 2024 – Revelation 1:9-11
9 I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. 10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day,…
10th April 2024 – Revelation 1:9-11
9 I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. 10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day,…
9th April 2024 – Revelation 1:9-11
9 I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. 10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day,…