{"id":9502,"date":"2020-05-28T20:00:50","date_gmt":"2020-05-29T03:00:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/?p=9502"},"modified":"2020-05-25T18:34:30","modified_gmt":"2020-05-26T01:34:30","slug":"revelation2_8-17","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/revelation2_8-17\/","title":{"rendered":"He’s Everything You Need"},"content":{"rendered":"

Revelation 2:8-17\u00a0 \u00a0Click here for Bible Verses<\/a><\/p>\n

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Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Revelation 2:8-17.\u00a0\u00a0 Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

Revelation 2:8 (NIV)\u00a0<\/strong>
\n8\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“To the angel of the church in Smyrna write: These are the words of him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 8:\u00a0 Smyrna was a wealthy port city, located about 35 miles north of Ephesus.\u00a0 Jesus describes Himself once again as \u201cthe First and the Last\u201d, meaning\u00a0Jesus existed before anything else in creation came into being, and He is the only One who will remain when everything else is gone.\u00a0 It all begins and ends with Jesus.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Jesus is also the one \u201cwho died and came to life again\u201d \u2013 more on that below.<\/p>\n

Revelation 2:9-11 (NIV)\u00a0<\/strong>
\n9\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0I know your afflictions and your poverty–yet you are rich! I know the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.
\n10\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Do 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 the crown of life.
\n11\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes will not be hurt at all by the second death.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 9-11:\u00a0 \u00a0The church in Smyrna was going through a difficult time, as they were being persecuted for their faith by a certain group who claimed to be the true Jews but whom Jesus calls \u201ca synagogue of Satan\u201d (v9).\u00a0 Based on Jesus\u2019 words, things were going to get harder before they got easier.\u00a0 More persecution was still to come.\u00a0 As Jesus says, \u201cthe devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days\u201d (v10).\u00a0 (\u201cTen days\u201d, according to some scholars, has been the subject of various interpretations.\u00a0 Some think it means a literal ten days; others think it means a general but limited period of time; others think \u201cten\u201d speaks to how complete and intense is the degree of difficulty that they will face).\u00a0 In any event, Jesus was right.\u00a0 On February 23, 155 A.D., approximately 60 years after the book of Revelation was written the church in Smyrna would face a heart-breaking situation when Polycarp, the pastor of the church in Smyrna, would be martyred for his faith.<\/p>\n

Thus, while sobering the church to the fact that a difficult road still lay ahead of them, Jesus also speaks words of comfort in the following ways:<\/p>\n