He Who is the First and the Last - 7 Letters Series

Jesus promised that on the revelation of who He is, He will build His church and the gates of hell shall not prevail. This was not only a promise but a declaration of what will take place. Even tho the full force of evil shall try to oppose the Living God and all who choose to align themselves with Him, evil will never prevail. The battle has already been fought and won. As you listen be blessed, empowered and transformed in Jesus’ name!

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Transcript

00:00 Intro music and voice over.

Welcome to jesus loves the world podcast. For more information and free resources visit our website jesuslovestheworld.info Be blessed empowered and transformed in Jesus’ name! 

00:20 Preacher

Following on from last week’s sermon ‘He Who Holds the 7 Stars in His Right Hand and Walks in the Midst,’ we come to episode 2 of our 7 part series titled, the 7 letters. These are the 7 letters to the 7 churches in the Book of the Revelation of Jesus. 

Remember Jesus is speaking words which God the Father gave Him and the way of doing so is by His Spirit to the church of the time and throughout the ages.

Jesus promised that on the revelation of who He is, He will build His church and the gates of hell shall not prevail. This was not only a promise but a declaration of what will take place. Even tho the full force of evil shall try to oppose the Living God and all who choose to align themselves with Him, evil will never prevail. The battle has already been fought and won.

Let us look into the letter to the church in Smyrna. 

Revelation 2:8 “And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write, ‘These things says the First and the Last, who was dead, and came to life:

Jesus portrays Himself as the First and the Last. Using the same words that He identified Himself with to John at the beginning of this resurrected appearance to him. This is John’s response.

Revelation 1:17 And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, “Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last.

Now remember John had already seen the resurrected Jesus years earlier and watched Him ascend into heaven. Now in John’s time of trouble, isolation and persecution, there Jesus stood in all His majesty and splendour. His countenance shining like the sun in its full strength.

The first words that Jesus speaks is, ‘Do not be afraid.’ 

Let me make this very clear, fear is not from God. I’ll say that again. Fear is not from God, as He is love. 

So Jesus speaks His peace over John. 

The first and the last is also the exact same self identification that God used to reveal Himself to the Hebrew people. A time long before Jesus walked the earth as a man. 

Isaiah 44:6 There Is No Other God “Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel, And his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts: I am the First and I am the Last; Besides Me there is no God.

By using the exact same terminology, Jesus reinforces that He is the Eternal One. He is the eternal one who had taken on human form, died as a human and rose to life in a glorified body. 

This is the great gospel of Jesus Christ. The Eternal One who became the incarnate one,  experienced our reality of death and through His resurrection we can experience His reality of eternal life.

Jesus conquered death and evil to give life and goodness to all who are willing. 

Jesus in His death and resurrection stripped the grave of its power. It is in His resurrection power that He stands before His church and speaks, intimately, personally and powerfully.

Let us continue.

Revelation 2:9 “I know your works, tribulation, and poverty (but you are rich); and I know the blasphemy of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.

Jesus says, “I know your works, tribulation, and poverty." 

Jesus sees their situation. Not only does He know as He is the eternal, all knowing, all seeing, all powerful one but He also understands. He Himself had experienced the ultimate suffering of humanity, at the hands of humanity.  

He as a human subjected Himself to the full human condition. Born at a time of foreign occupation into an oppressive political and religious community.

The entire burdens and afflictions of humanity Jesus consumed on His body of flesh upon the cross.

To go deeper please listen to our podcast Surely His Suffering is More Than Enough.

Yes Jesus knows and understands. The resurrected Jesus is there with them through it all.

He knows their works, their deed, their efforts in adverse conditions. They are in economic poverty lacking in the things of this world.

In Jesus in His acknowledgement of their economic poverty He is identifying with them in their hardship. He knows the hardship that poverty brings in this unjust world. As the world systems of humanity favour the rich and are opposed to everything of God. Even to the point of denying His very existence.

So in this context Jesus speaks into their hearts and minds and declares they are rich. Changing the perspective of their immediate reality to that of eternity. Their wealth is eternal and cannot be taken away from them. The wealth of this world is fragile, fleeting and fickle. It can come and go in an instant.

The greater eternal poverty is to be poor in spirit. Those poor in spirit are those who do not have Jesus. It is those who have knowingly rejected Jesus that are eternally poor. In rejecting Jesus and their only pathway to salvation, they have chosen a destiny of eternal death and destruction. 

Yet those of the church in Smyrna have done the first work, they have received Jesus and His victory.

Their tribulation is the persecution they are subjected to. The verbal abused and resultant poverty.

Persecution is very real. Still to this day there are those who live in the constant pressure of opposition to being a disciple of Jesus. 

There are families who forbid their members from becoming a disciple of Jesus. If they choose to do so they will be pronounced dead, totally rejected and cast out of their community. Never to be in  contact with them again. Even to the point of their family denying their very existence and destroying all evidence of them.

Many are beaten, verbally abused, ostracised and put into prison, as a result of being disciples of Jesus. They suffer and still suffer persecution in all its evil forms.

Also in verse 9 Jesus declares, I know the blasphemy of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.

Remember when reading this text that the writer John is of Jewish blood. He has been exiled as a result of his testimony. John testified Jesus is the Christ, the promised messiah, the eternal one who came in human form from the tribe of Judah, of Jewish ancestry. 

So Jesus through John is not being anti-Jewish in his declaration that those who say they are Jews and are not are of the synagogue of satan. Far from it. Jesus is identifying with His church in Smyrna. He too was rejected by many from His own tribe. There were those of Jewish blood who knew He was the messiah, yet chose to reject Him. Not only reject Him as their messiah, but plot to kill Him and persecute anyone who becomes His disciple. 

So we read that in Smyrna, from their own community there those who say they are Jews and are not. They are opposed to everything pertaining to God and deny Jesus as their Messiah. They are knowingly deceiving the church saying they are of the same belief, yet they are not.

Satan deceitfully opposes the Living God and Jesus declares that there are those amongst His people who have chosen to align themselves with the work of satan. They have knowingly become  partakers of this evil, saying they are of God. 

They are not ignorant in this matter, as they willing chose to be aligned with satan, proclaiming to be aligned with God. This is the ultimate deception. 

Satan deceives, opposes the truth and propagates falsehood. Jesus is the embodiment of the truth and propagates only the truth.

Jesus brings encouragement. 

Verse 10 Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw 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.

Jesus states, Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. This is reminiscent of what He told His disciples before He went to the cross. Jesus brings His strength, courage and victory into the situation.

Reminiscent of the words He spoke to John and over every disciple throughout the ages before He went to the cross to claim our victory that He had won. 

John 16:33 These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

Jesus fortold to the church in Smyrna that the devil is about to throw some of them into prison and they may be tested. Interestingly He announces that it is the devil who will do this. 

The devil in this context means, slanderer. When Jesus walked the earth as a man He was falsely accused and slandered against. Jesus shows us in the text that those who knowingly falsely accuse God’s people are effectively alining themselves with the works of the devil. 

That is pure evil. Evil is not the result of bad choices made by humanity. It is rather that bad choices give power to it. The devil is the personification of the nature of opposing God. 

Bad things that happens that happen in this world are not from God. It is not His sovereign will for such things. It is important that we understand this. Violence, death, tragic accidents, oppression, betrayal, rejection, crime, wars, earthquakes, famine, sickness and such things are not from God, nor are they His will. They all come from the root of evil, not God.

Evil and the damage and chaos it causes is real. It was real at the time of writing to the church, in it is real as we read today.

Yet the good news is, evil and its causes are temporal. They are confined to the finite realm and will come under judgement and ultimate eradication. 

The life and renewing given by God is greater than the death and destruction of evil.

Jesus says regarding the physical imprisonment, that you may be tested. The devil through those enjoined in opposing God, want to tempt or make a trial of the disciples of Jesus. To entice them to knowingly lie about who Jesus is. Remember that is the devil's objective is to cause destruction, fear, doubt. 

The devil knows he is already defeated, yet continues to do what he does, deceive and falsely accuse. In future time he will have no place in God's new heaven and new earth. He and all who chose align themselves with him have been condemned to eternal damnation.

Jesus is encouraging them and revealing to His church, that the persecution and imprisonment from a world opposed to God, is for a limited time. 

The persecution is real, yet it is not victorious. 

Jesus’ promises are assured for He is faithful and true. He declares over His church, 'Be faithful even to the point of death.'  

When Jesus speaks it is so. Please listen to our podcast, At Your Word to discover more about the power of God’s word. 

The enemy may threaten death, but Jesus speaks life and faithfulness into the impending situation of His people. He confirms, 'I will give you life as your crown.'  

The one who overcame gives to those who will overcome. His victors crown of everlasting life.

Jesus concludes this letter with these words in verse 11. “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death.” ’

Whoever hears what the Spirit says to the churches. That is the first hearers and all the hearers for ever more. That is us today. This promise of being an overcomer and receiving His crown of life is for every disciple of Jesus. 

Regardless of our present situation and what forces that try to oppose God in us, we cannot be hurt by the second death. 

As the eternal one who Himself became human died and came to life again has promised. He is the First and the Last, who was dead, but now who is alive, declares and promises that He will give us His victorious crown of life eternal. 

Yes we are victorious in Him. Praise His mighty name!

19:40 Outro music and voice over. 

For more information and free resources visit our website jesuslovestheworld.info Be blessed empowered and transformed in Jesus’ name!