26 Apr 2013
Revelation 2:8
Revelation 2:8: “And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive;”
Smyrna represents the age of the martyrs (2nd and 3rd centuries AD). This was written to a church that was facing terrible persecution. Notice how Jesus describes Himself as one who “was dead, and is alive”. He is reminding the people at Smyrna that He, too, was persecuted, and He was also murdered – but death was not the end; after death is a resurrection. The people at Smyrna may have been facing death, but Jesus reminds them that death is not the end; a resurrection awaits.
That is something that we need to remember. Death is not the end. We may die peacefully, or in an accident, or we may even be murdered, but one way or another all of us will die (unless the Lord returns first). Even so, death is not the end. Jesus promised to raise us back to life, and He will. We need to hold on to that, and not weep like those who have no hope.