The Seven Churches of Revelation – Part 3 Smyrna
In Revelation 2 and 3, Jesus looks at His bride-to-be in our day, and then picks out 7 Churches way back in John’s day that represent the main identities of the Church in our day…I call these the “Seven Characteristic Churches” of Revelation. Five of the seven churches: Ephesus, Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, and Laodicea all so out of agreement with Jesus that they risk falling away unless they change. That means, according to Revelation 2 and 3, five-sevenths…seventy one percent… of the Church in the end times is out of agreement with Jesus and risks falling away unless she repents and changes her way of living!
If the Bride-to-be is willing to humble herself, listen to what the Spirit is saying, and repent, Jesus will help her “overcome.” Overcome what, Tom?! Overcome the tribulation, which comes next in the Book of Revelation. This is so simple. Many symbolize Revelation because it is so intense, they assume it must “mean something” other than what it clearly means: great trouble is coming! Jesus wants us to just take the main and plain meaning of His word and get ready. To get us ready, Jesus holds up two Churches for us to study. There are two Churches Jesus does not correct: the first is Smyrna…the Church currently being murdered or threatened with murder for their belief in Jesus.
Revelation 2:8-11 "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: 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. 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. 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." '
Jesus states that Smyrna is already undergoing tribulation, but that has given them great wealth. He is talking about TRUE wealth, which endures forever. Smyrna is wealthy in part because they are actually ready for what is coming to the whole globe. In fact, they are the first fruits of the tribulation. They are enduring the persecution in advance of what will soon envelope the whole globe. There is MUCH you can learn from Smyrna, because what Smyrna is undergoing is going to eventually spread out to the ends of the earth. Before we examine Smyrna’s mail fromm Jesus, let’s look at this promise of trouble going to all nations. This is one of the most established end time realities in the Bible:
Revelation 3:10 Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.
Now, to be “kept from” the hour of trial…some translations call this “tribulation,” does NOT mean to be raptured. This is actually quite clear in the Bible. The word the Bible uses for “kept” here is “tereo” (strongs G5083):
From τηρός teros (a watch; perhaps akin to G2334); to guard (from loss or injury, properly by keeping the eye upon)
This is the EXACT same word that Jesus uses when praying for His disciples in John 17, and is a very SPECIFIC promise for the brotherly love church that is doing the Key of David:
John 17:15 I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one.
Jesus does not want His Bride taken off the planet in the hour that the Great Commission would finally be completed. The great commission was given TO the Bride. Since God does not change, only the Bride can complete the great commission, and she will in great power:
Revelation 7:9-10 After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, saying, "Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!"
Revelation 7:13-14 Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, "Who are these arrayed in white robes, and where did they come from?" 14 And I said to him, "Sir, you know." So he said to me, "These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
The completion of the Great Commission is one of the most significant events explained in Revelation. Revelation is all about SALVATION. People will be getting saved throughout each step of Revelation. Tribulation is really light coming into the darkness and incrementally destroying evil. As this happens, light will shine brighter and darkness will get deeper. The difference is going to be dramatic on purpose, because those who really want truth, will choose Jesus. Revelation describes Jesus using the least intense means to reach the greatest number of people at the deepest heart level without ever violating the free will of anyone. Because the stain of sin is so dark and deep, the “least intense means” of shining light are still pretty intense.
This entire process, which includes events extremely offensive to lukewarm Christians, will result in both the betrayal of a large portion of the church that results in falling away, and the ingathering INTO the church of huge group that is currently outside of a relationship with Jesus. ALL of this happens in the context of TRIBULATION. Tribulation is an essential part of the process. Jesus warned His disciples to be ready for tribulation, because offense, which leads to betrayal would occur if a people were not ready:
Matthew 24:8-14 All these are the beginning of sorrows. 9 "Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name's sake. 10 And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. 11 Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. 12 And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. 13 But he who endures to the end shall be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.
The tribulation hits the CHURCH first. Judgment STARTS in the house of God:
1 Peter 4:16-17 Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter. 17 For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God?
Judgment is the same as tribulation. It is the sifting process at the time of the harvest. Back in the day, before we had big machines to process grain, there was a threshing process that separated the grain from all the stuff that wasn’t grain, called chaff. This was shaking the grain and tossing it up into the wind to see what got blown off. Jesus is going to do the same thing in the final years leading up to His return. He is causing the wind and the shaking. The true grain will remain on earth and establish His reign over all in partnership with Him. The chaff is going to be burned up. You really want to be ready for this sifting process, because the sifting is necessary for Jesus to eliminate the parts of His body that are not true grains:
Amos 9:9-10 "For surely I will command, And will sift the house of Israel among all nations, As grain is sifted in a sieve; Yet not the smallest grain shall fall to the ground. 10 All the sinners of My people shall die by the sword, Who say, 'The calamity shall not overtake nor confront us.'
This sifting, or threshing, process all happens in relationship to what happens in Israel, according to Amos and many others.
The whole earth is “Israel-centric.” This is a very important thing to understand in our hour of history. If you haven’t turned on the news in the last six months, Israel is on fire and so are the middle eastern nations surrounding it. Unlike Las Vegas, what happens in Israel and the middle east does not stay in Israel or the middle east…it always spreads out over the earth. Earth was created this way.
God put Adam and Eve in a garden in the middle east and told them to spread out from there having dominion over the earth:
Genesis 1:28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth."
Where did God put man to start this dominion? The middle east!:
Genesis 2:10-15 Now a river went out of Eden to water the garden, and from there it parted and became four riverheads. 11 The name of the first is Pishon; it is the one which skirts the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. 12 And the gold of that land is good. Bdellium and the onyx stone are there. 13 The name of the second river is Gihon; it is the one which goes around the whole land of Cush. 14 The name of the third river is Hiddekel; it is the one which goes toward the east of Assyria. The fourth river is the Euphrates. 15 Then the LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it.
Mankind was supposed to extend God’s government over the new earth from the area of Israel. Sin came into the garden and extended over the whole earth STARTING IN the middle east. Jesus came and paid the price for sin…he came to the middle east…and salvation went out from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth:
Luke 24:46-49 Then He said to them, "Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, 47 and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48 And you are witnesses of these things. 49 Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high."
Acts 1:8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."
This is how the world works. What starts in Jerusalem goes out, like a ripple from a stone hitting a pond, to the ends of the earth. The stuff you see in Jerusalem and the surrounding countries right now is PROMISED to touch the ends of the earth. Whatever you see in Jerusalem WILL happen around the globe in the same way, but to a lesser degree…both the good stuff and the bad stuff. The greatest revival will come to Jerusalem in the end time, but great revival will also touch the Church across the earth. Likewise, the Great Tribulation will be the worst in Jerusalem:
Zechariah 14:1-2 Behold, the day of the LORD is coming, And your spoil will be divided in your midst. 2 For I will gather all the nations to battle against Jerusalem; The city shall be taken, The houses rifled, And the women ravished. Half of the city shall go into captivity, But the remnant of the people shall not be cut off from the city.
but the same thing will touch EVERY nation of the earth:
Isaiah 24:1-13 Look! The LORD is about to destroy the earth and make it a vast wasteland. He devastates the surface of the earth and scatters the people. 2 Priests and laypeople, servants and masters, maids and mistresses, buyers and sellers, lenders and borrowers, bankers and debtors—none will be spared. 3 The earth will be completely emptied and looted. The LORD has spoken! 4 The earth mourns and dries up, and the crops waste away and wither. Even the greatest people on earth waste away. 5 The earth suffers for the sins of its people, for they have twisted God's instructions, violated His laws, and broken His everlasting covenant. 6 Therefore, a curse consumes the earth. Its people must pay the price for their sin. They are destroyed by fire, and only a few are left alive. 7 The grapevines waste away, and there is no new wine. All the merrymakers sigh and mourn. 8 The cheerful sound of tambourines is stilled; the happy cries of celebration are heard no more. The melodious chords of the harp are silent. 9 Gone are the joys of wine and song; alcoholic drink turns bitter in the mouth. 10 The city writhes in chaos; every home is locked to keep out intruders. 11 Mobs gather in the streets, crying out for wine. Joy has turned to gloom. Gladness has been banished from the land. 12 The city is left in ruins, its gates battered down. 13 Throughout the earth the story is the same—only a remnant is left, like the stray olives left on the tree or the few grapes left on the vine after harvest.
This is clear in the Bible, and friends, although few of the pastors seem to be talking about this, the signs of the times clearly indicate this is unfolding before our very eyes. I don’t drone on and on about this stuff to make new friends, or seem smart…I had more friends and a better reputation before I fell into this blessing of seeing the time. In fact, this message has cost me some friendships and gotten me a little ridicule. But it has made me one of the best friends of Jesus. He promised His friends to expect that THIS message would offend people who had their own plans for their time on earth, but would please God greatly:
Luke 21:12-17 "But before all this occurs, there will be a time of great persecution. You will be dragged into synagogues and prisons, and you will stand trial before kings and governors because you are My followers. 13 But this will be your opportunity to tell them about Me. 14 So don't worry in advance about how to answer the charges against you, 15 for I will give you the right words and such wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to reply or refute you! 16 Even those closest to you—your parents, brothers, relatives, and friends—will betray you. They will even kill some of you. 17 And everyone will hate you because you are My followers.
I have been called before more than one board of people for simply declaring the truth: that what is happening in the middle east is a HUGE indicator of what is rushing towards us like a freight train. According to Jesus, it is contending for this truth that gets you brought before the church boards first, and later the government forces. The Bible is CLEAR that this is coming to America, and by the signs of the times, it is coming soon. This REQUIRES advanced preparation to deal with it WELL and NOT FALL AWAY. That brings us back to Smyrna.
Jesus held up Smyrna as one of two churches that were ready for the tribulation. There are two ways to get ready for the Tribulation: 1. The Philadelphia way (night and day prayer as a community that opens heaven and protects the community from Great Tribulation). And 2. The Smyrna experience (getting a paradigm to endure persecution no matter the personal cost).
Both of these ways are about dying. Both churches learned to die to themselves in advance of people wanting to kill them. Philadelphia did it by trading the “good life” for complete commitment to night and day prayer like David (we’ll talk about that in a couple of days) they were ruined for the world by tapping into heaven as their main occupation, like David.
Smyrna was located in a place that choosing Jesus was the same as choosing death! They picked Jesus KNOWING it would kill them. Thus they were already prepared to endure the tribulation without giving into offense and falling away. You cannot kill what is already dead. If you die to yourself now…for real…you will stand in great victory when the antichrist threatens you with death if you don’t give in to his “brilliant” plan to make the earth fair.
Let’s break down the fourfold pattern for Smyrna that we looked at yesterday for Ephesus:
1. Jesus addresses Smyrna as “the First and the Last, who was dead, and came to life.” This is all about the fear of death, and being confident that Jesus knows exactly what it means to conquer death. Jesus is assuring them they have chosen well, by choosing Him despite the threat of death. True death is not the death of your physical body, but rather trying to live forever apart from the Source of Life, which is God. God is WAY more concerned that we don’t deny Jesus and suffer permanent death, than that we stay faithful to Jesus and suffer the death of our physical body.
Most of the Church is unprepared for this reality. We imagine that in a split second decision, with a gun to our head, we would not deny Jesus. This may be true, but the reality is, this is not what the antichrist will mostly do. Mostly, it will be the ongoing threat of death…the confiscation of all your wealth, imprisonment, threats against your family, the ruination of your kid’s future like college or marriage…that the antichrist will use to consolidate loyalty. This requires patient endurance, and strong trust in Jesus’ leadership, even though HE is invisible. Very real armies will enforce these penalties, and it will require a deep commitment to invisible Jesus to endure this patiently. MANY, according to Jesus (Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21), will betray Jesus by taking the mark of the beast so they can participate in the modern economy, BUT they will ALSO betray true Christians to the government for arrest in order to save their own skin.
In every totalitarian regime for the last 2,000 years, there is a true church that is loyal to Jesus, and a compromised church that has traded loyalty to Jesus for government protection. This was true in Nazi Germany, Russia, China, Rome…it is clearly beginning to shake out in the USA right now, in this hour, as many denominations cast off loyalty to Jesus and His word and are bowing to political correctness.
The government church is a satanic tool used to persecute true Christians and allow a government to still look like they are not violating the free exercise of religion. Those who are afraid of offending people more than they are afraid of offending God will first persecute the prophetic messengers in their own church organizations so they can keep the “chicken littles” from offending regular folks. This is fear of man. If they don’t repent, they will eventually offer those loyal to Jesus to government forces to save their own skin. It is the fear of man that drives them, not the fear of God.
This is a warning to whole communities. If you don’t hold your leaders accountable when the events of the day clearly match the prophecies of the Bible, they will eventually resist YOU if you plan to stay loyal to Jesus as the end times unfold. Any Church leader more worried about his or her ministry than they are worried about missing what Jesus is doing, is a compromiser. If you love them, you must address this. Love speaks TRUTH to authority…it does not remain silent when injustice occurs. Smyrna understood this. Look at what Jesus says next:
2. "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 commends Smyrna for continuing to care for the poor and suffering DESPITE the tribulation. This has cost them everything. They are the poorest in the community because of their loyalty to God, but God says “yes, you are poor for a minute, but forever you will be wealthy!” This is important to remember: heaven isn’t communist utopia. We aren’t all going to live forever in the same condition. Some of us will be great and some of us will be least. There are FIRST and LAST:
Matthew 19:29-30 And everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or property, for My sake, will receive a hundred times as much in return and will inherit eternal life. 30 But many who are the greatest now will be least important then, and those who seem least important now will be the greatest then.
I have heard more than one ignorant teacher say that Jesus would never hold one person up over another in heaven. These teachers are teaching deceit to the body. This will cost many greatness forever. Jesus will certainly reward every believer based on how well they loved Him. Unlike the world, where power, influence and wealth is mostly determined by who you know, Jesus has given ALL of us the ability to be great in heaven forever. It is the most generous system of wealth distribution that could ever exist and is entirely up to each person. If you want to be great forever all you have to do is stay faithful to teach AND do the truth:
Matthew 5:18-19 For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. 19 Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
If you resist, or help the government resist, a man or woman leading the Jesus’ Bride into wholehearted love for God by faithful declaring what is clearly coming and warning her how to be ready, you are choosing great loss. If you stand for truth no matter the cost, you are choosing great wealth. It is simple.
If you don’t stand yourself in FAITHFULNESS when you realize trouble is on the horizon and declare it to the rest of the family, you, too, will suffer great loss. The return of Jesus is not a spectator sport. It requires a response. This is what Jesus was telling Smyrna by calling Himself the first and the last and then connecting the faithfulness of Smyrna to His identity:
Revelation 22:12-13 "And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work. 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last."
There will be least AND great when Jesus shows up.
Revelation 19:5 Then a voice came from the throne, saying, "Praise our God, all you His servants and those who fear Him, both small and great!"
Many who spent decades laboring in the harvest fields will risk loosing their crown because they did not LOVE the day of Jesus appearing, and all the trouble that comes with it. This is the offense Jesus warned of. You must guard your heart against this in advance, or come into repentance if you find yourself NOT loving the events of His appearing:
Revelation 3:11 Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown.
Paul, who wrote a huge portion of the Bible, contended that even HE would not lose his faith and keep his crown, despite the tribulation he endured. It is only arrogance that would tell a man’s soul he didn’t need to guard against the same loss:
2 Timothy 4:7-8 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.
Jesus loves Smyrna’s faithfulness. Their experience has already proven they are ready. Let’s look at the next thing He tells her:
3. Jesus commends Smyrna to keep doing what they HAVE been doing. They are about to enter into greater trouble, but keeping the same heart posture will endure the trouble:
Revelation 2:10-11 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. 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." '
This is a massive prophetic revelation given to Smyrna. Smyrna, at the time Revelation was written, was the OLDEST of the seven Church cities, and was in the MIDDLE of the grouping of the seven churches. This is very important to understand why Jesus picked Smyrna. Smyrna represents the middle eastern, the oldest and most central, church of our day: the Copts in Egypt, the Syriac Christians, the Christians in Israel, and Iraq. Jesus was telling Smyrna that she would enter into tribulation EARLIER than the rest of the churches and endure it longer than the other churches. Every other church was expecting ONE WEEK of tribulation, according to the prophecies given to Daniel. Speaking of the end…called the “70th week” of Daniel… Daniel was told by God the antichrist would do this:
Daniel 9:27 Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; But in the middle of the week He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, Even until the consummation, which is determined, Is poured out on the desolate."
The antichrist will make a seven year peace covenant between Israel and her neighbors by promising to protect Israel…he is promising to be like God to Israel. Big mistake. In order to make this peace covenant, the antichrist, who is not from the middle east, would partner with 10 middle eastern countries in order to make the conditions just right to make peace in Israel. Daniel was told this in an earlier vision:
Daniel 7:24-25 The ten horns are ten kings Who shall arise from this kingdom. And another shall rise after them; He shall be different from the first ones, And shall subdue three kings. 25 He shall speak pompous words against the Most High, Shall persecute the saints of the Most High, And shall intend to change times and law. Then the saints shall be given into his hand For a time and times and half a time.
Daniel was told the arrogant, pompous, and lawless “11th horn” would cause regime change in three countries in order to make the conditions right for his plans for Israel.
One country…the USA …has partnered with Sunni Muslim countries in the middle east, called the Gulf Cooperative Council, or GCC including six states: Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and UAE, countries that have historically supported an organization called the Muslim Brotherhood. By partnering with the Muslim Brotherhood, a Sunni Islam organization committed to the establishment of a caliphate, The USA has used an event called the Arab Spring to uproot two other countries leaders: Egypt and Libya..that makes 8. We had already uprooted Iraq, and we are working on uprooting Syria, which has resulted in the establishment of a revival of the Ottoman Empire caliphate in Iraq and Syria (that makes 9). We now are actively supporting the Palestinian government, also Sunni, of Hamas and The PLO)…which makes 10. What has resulted is TRIBULATION for the Christians in the middle east. Even this week, Christians are being commanded to leave Mosul Iraq or suffer death by Saturday. All of their possessions have been stripped from the ones who have chosen to leave. Those who are staying are saying that they are unafraid of men who can kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Look at this quote from Mosul yesterday:
“Along with the rest of the city's estimated 25,000 Christians who had not already fled years of kidnappings, bombings and shootings, Sunni militants gave 36-year-old Fadi, his wife and son until Saturday to comply with a brutal ultimatum: convert to Islam, pay an unspecified tax, leave the city or die. "I'm staying. I already feel dead," Fadi, a teacher, told AFP by telephone moments before the deadline ran out. "Only my soul remains, and if they want to take that I don't have a problem," he added, giving only his first name. On Friday, Mosul's mosques called through loudspeakers for Christians to leave, after centuries of being part of the once cosmopolitan city's social fabric.”
Think about Smyrna for a moment. Jesus prophesied that Smyrna…the oldest and central church…the one already in a persecuted state…would be caught in the middle of that end time trouble and be given “10 days” tribulation instead of the 7 days…the week… everyone else was expecting. This meant that Smyrna would have 10 years of tribulation instead of the seven years every other Christian was supposed to be prepared to endure. Smyrna was ready by her simple location. It was this same location that the final trouble would originate in. Everything flows out of the center.
Location is very important in the end times. Remember, what starts in the middle east, spreads out over the whole earth. We can see this happening right now. What Smyrna already had to endure by simple geography, prepared her to enter into tribulation that most of the world is unready for. To choose to be an open Christian in the middle east is to choose persecution from the get go. Throughout the middle east, true Christians must hide their meetings to avoid arrest. Christians are killed throughout the middle east daily, for simply being Christians. To share your faith is illegal throughout the middle east.
The Arab Spring, which turned three nations tolerant of Christianity (Egypt, Libya, and Syria) into persecutors of Christians, started on December 19, 2010. According to Jesus, if this WAS the prophecy of Smyrna being fulfilled, this persecution would begin spreading out over the whole earth, from the middle east out. What has happened since December 2010? A quick check of Voice of the Martyrs website will tell you a lot. But just consider the headline news of the last 6 months:
1. Boko Haram has begun intense persecution of Christians in Nigeria to the south.
2. The Islamic state is now forcing Christians out of Iraq and Syria to the north.
Look at this quote from Voice of the Martyrs regarding Ethiopia, a MOSTLY Christian nation:
“Although Ethiopia is a predominantly Christian nation, Christians in Muslim areas often experience mistreatment and discrimination. In March 2011, Muslims burned more than 60 Christian churches and homes after the reported desecration of a Quran.”
Anti-christian activity is spreading into Europe. CBN is reporting the increase of Christian persecution and anti-Semitism on the rise in Eastern Europe with the burning of Churches, crosses, and synagogues. Drug cartels are increasingly targeting Christians in Mexico. Look at this quote from a Voice of Russia report in January of this year:
“Over 100 million Christians are currently persecuted all over the world. The shocking revelation was published by the human rights organization, Open Doors in its research paper "World Index of Persecution". Topping the ratings for cruelty towards Christians is North Korea, as well as Islamist extremists from Somalia, Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, the Maldives, Pakistan, Iran and Yemen. 50 countries were rated by the index, but today Christians are even being persecuted in Europe. “
What started in the middle east…the “Smyrna” of our day…on December 19, 2010, with the beginning of the Arab Spring, is going global in a ‘shocking’ way according to news outlets. Look for yourself. These facts and stories are EASY to find. Jesus said this is coming here…and to every nation of the earth. That is why every time Jesus spoke of His return He said “watch”, “pray”, and “Be Ready.” Are you watching? Are you praying like your life depends on it? Are you ready?
Smyrna was ready, because they ALREADY lived in the epicenter of the world. What starts in the middle east, always spreads out over the earth. What you see there in the news today, IS coming here. Smyrna was ready from the start because in Smyrna they were ALREADY suffering simply by choosing Jesus. They knew how to count the cost because to follow Jesus there was to choose persecution. None of the other churches are identified this way. We need to learn from Smyrna and learn to die to ourselves now, while there is still time, and come into an understanding of Jesus’ end time plans that will guard us against offense.
Revelation 2:11 "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." '
If the Bride-to-be is willing to humble herself, listen to what the Spirit is saying, and repent, Jesus will help her “overcome.” Overcome what, Tom?! Overcome the tribulation, which comes next in the Book of Revelation. This is so simple. Many symbolize Revelation because it is so intense, they assume it must “mean something” other than what it clearly means: great trouble is coming! Jesus wants us to just take the main and plain meaning of His word and get ready. To get us ready, Jesus holds up two Churches for us to study. There are two Churches Jesus does not correct: the first is Smyrna…the Church currently being murdered or threatened with murder for their belief in Jesus.
Revelation 2:8-11 "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: 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. 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. 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." '
Jesus states that Smyrna is already undergoing tribulation, but that has given them great wealth. He is talking about TRUE wealth, which endures forever. Smyrna is wealthy in part because they are actually ready for what is coming to the whole globe. In fact, they are the first fruits of the tribulation. They are enduring the persecution in advance of what will soon envelope the whole globe. There is MUCH you can learn from Smyrna, because what Smyrna is undergoing is going to eventually spread out to the ends of the earth. Before we examine Smyrna’s mail fromm Jesus, let’s look at this promise of trouble going to all nations. This is one of the most established end time realities in the Bible:
Revelation 3:10 Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.
Now, to be “kept from” the hour of trial…some translations call this “tribulation,” does NOT mean to be raptured. This is actually quite clear in the Bible. The word the Bible uses for “kept” here is “tereo” (strongs G5083):
From τηρός teros (a watch; perhaps akin to G2334); to guard (from loss or injury, properly by keeping the eye upon)
This is the EXACT same word that Jesus uses when praying for His disciples in John 17, and is a very SPECIFIC promise for the brotherly love church that is doing the Key of David:
John 17:15 I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one.
Jesus does not want His Bride taken off the planet in the hour that the Great Commission would finally be completed. The great commission was given TO the Bride. Since God does not change, only the Bride can complete the great commission, and she will in great power:
Revelation 7:9-10 After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, saying, "Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!"
Revelation 7:13-14 Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, "Who are these arrayed in white robes, and where did they come from?" 14 And I said to him, "Sir, you know." So he said to me, "These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
The completion of the Great Commission is one of the most significant events explained in Revelation. Revelation is all about SALVATION. People will be getting saved throughout each step of Revelation. Tribulation is really light coming into the darkness and incrementally destroying evil. As this happens, light will shine brighter and darkness will get deeper. The difference is going to be dramatic on purpose, because those who really want truth, will choose Jesus. Revelation describes Jesus using the least intense means to reach the greatest number of people at the deepest heart level without ever violating the free will of anyone. Because the stain of sin is so dark and deep, the “least intense means” of shining light are still pretty intense.
This entire process, which includes events extremely offensive to lukewarm Christians, will result in both the betrayal of a large portion of the church that results in falling away, and the ingathering INTO the church of huge group that is currently outside of a relationship with Jesus. ALL of this happens in the context of TRIBULATION. Tribulation is an essential part of the process. Jesus warned His disciples to be ready for tribulation, because offense, which leads to betrayal would occur if a people were not ready:
Matthew 24:8-14 All these are the beginning of sorrows. 9 "Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name's sake. 10 And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. 11 Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. 12 And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. 13 But he who endures to the end shall be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.
The tribulation hits the CHURCH first. Judgment STARTS in the house of God:
1 Peter 4:16-17 Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter. 17 For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God?
Judgment is the same as tribulation. It is the sifting process at the time of the harvest. Back in the day, before we had big machines to process grain, there was a threshing process that separated the grain from all the stuff that wasn’t grain, called chaff. This was shaking the grain and tossing it up into the wind to see what got blown off. Jesus is going to do the same thing in the final years leading up to His return. He is causing the wind and the shaking. The true grain will remain on earth and establish His reign over all in partnership with Him. The chaff is going to be burned up. You really want to be ready for this sifting process, because the sifting is necessary for Jesus to eliminate the parts of His body that are not true grains:
Amos 9:9-10 "For surely I will command, And will sift the house of Israel among all nations, As grain is sifted in a sieve; Yet not the smallest grain shall fall to the ground. 10 All the sinners of My people shall die by the sword, Who say, 'The calamity shall not overtake nor confront us.'
This sifting, or threshing, process all happens in relationship to what happens in Israel, according to Amos and many others.
The whole earth is “Israel-centric.” This is a very important thing to understand in our hour of history. If you haven’t turned on the news in the last six months, Israel is on fire and so are the middle eastern nations surrounding it. Unlike Las Vegas, what happens in Israel and the middle east does not stay in Israel or the middle east…it always spreads out over the earth. Earth was created this way.
God put Adam and Eve in a garden in the middle east and told them to spread out from there having dominion over the earth:
Genesis 1:28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth."
Where did God put man to start this dominion? The middle east!:
Genesis 2:10-15 Now a river went out of Eden to water the garden, and from there it parted and became four riverheads. 11 The name of the first is Pishon; it is the one which skirts the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. 12 And the gold of that land is good. Bdellium and the onyx stone are there. 13 The name of the second river is Gihon; it is the one which goes around the whole land of Cush. 14 The name of the third river is Hiddekel; it is the one which goes toward the east of Assyria. The fourth river is the Euphrates. 15 Then the LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it.
Mankind was supposed to extend God’s government over the new earth from the area of Israel. Sin came into the garden and extended over the whole earth STARTING IN the middle east. Jesus came and paid the price for sin…he came to the middle east…and salvation went out from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth:
Luke 24:46-49 Then He said to them, "Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, 47 and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48 And you are witnesses of these things. 49 Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high."
Acts 1:8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."
This is how the world works. What starts in Jerusalem goes out, like a ripple from a stone hitting a pond, to the ends of the earth. The stuff you see in Jerusalem and the surrounding countries right now is PROMISED to touch the ends of the earth. Whatever you see in Jerusalem WILL happen around the globe in the same way, but to a lesser degree…both the good stuff and the bad stuff. The greatest revival will come to Jerusalem in the end time, but great revival will also touch the Church across the earth. Likewise, the Great Tribulation will be the worst in Jerusalem:
Zechariah 14:1-2 Behold, the day of the LORD is coming, And your spoil will be divided in your midst. 2 For I will gather all the nations to battle against Jerusalem; The city shall be taken, The houses rifled, And the women ravished. Half of the city shall go into captivity, But the remnant of the people shall not be cut off from the city.
but the same thing will touch EVERY nation of the earth:
Isaiah 24:1-13 Look! The LORD is about to destroy the earth and make it a vast wasteland. He devastates the surface of the earth and scatters the people. 2 Priests and laypeople, servants and masters, maids and mistresses, buyers and sellers, lenders and borrowers, bankers and debtors—none will be spared. 3 The earth will be completely emptied and looted. The LORD has spoken! 4 The earth mourns and dries up, and the crops waste away and wither. Even the greatest people on earth waste away. 5 The earth suffers for the sins of its people, for they have twisted God's instructions, violated His laws, and broken His everlasting covenant. 6 Therefore, a curse consumes the earth. Its people must pay the price for their sin. They are destroyed by fire, and only a few are left alive. 7 The grapevines waste away, and there is no new wine. All the merrymakers sigh and mourn. 8 The cheerful sound of tambourines is stilled; the happy cries of celebration are heard no more. The melodious chords of the harp are silent. 9 Gone are the joys of wine and song; alcoholic drink turns bitter in the mouth. 10 The city writhes in chaos; every home is locked to keep out intruders. 11 Mobs gather in the streets, crying out for wine. Joy has turned to gloom. Gladness has been banished from the land. 12 The city is left in ruins, its gates battered down. 13 Throughout the earth the story is the same—only a remnant is left, like the stray olives left on the tree or the few grapes left on the vine after harvest.
This is clear in the Bible, and friends, although few of the pastors seem to be talking about this, the signs of the times clearly indicate this is unfolding before our very eyes. I don’t drone on and on about this stuff to make new friends, or seem smart…I had more friends and a better reputation before I fell into this blessing of seeing the time. In fact, this message has cost me some friendships and gotten me a little ridicule. But it has made me one of the best friends of Jesus. He promised His friends to expect that THIS message would offend people who had their own plans for their time on earth, but would please God greatly:
Luke 21:12-17 "But before all this occurs, there will be a time of great persecution. You will be dragged into synagogues and prisons, and you will stand trial before kings and governors because you are My followers. 13 But this will be your opportunity to tell them about Me. 14 So don't worry in advance about how to answer the charges against you, 15 for I will give you the right words and such wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to reply or refute you! 16 Even those closest to you—your parents, brothers, relatives, and friends—will betray you. They will even kill some of you. 17 And everyone will hate you because you are My followers.
I have been called before more than one board of people for simply declaring the truth: that what is happening in the middle east is a HUGE indicator of what is rushing towards us like a freight train. According to Jesus, it is contending for this truth that gets you brought before the church boards first, and later the government forces. The Bible is CLEAR that this is coming to America, and by the signs of the times, it is coming soon. This REQUIRES advanced preparation to deal with it WELL and NOT FALL AWAY. That brings us back to Smyrna.
Jesus held up Smyrna as one of two churches that were ready for the tribulation. There are two ways to get ready for the Tribulation: 1. The Philadelphia way (night and day prayer as a community that opens heaven and protects the community from Great Tribulation). And 2. The Smyrna experience (getting a paradigm to endure persecution no matter the personal cost).
Both of these ways are about dying. Both churches learned to die to themselves in advance of people wanting to kill them. Philadelphia did it by trading the “good life” for complete commitment to night and day prayer like David (we’ll talk about that in a couple of days) they were ruined for the world by tapping into heaven as their main occupation, like David.
Smyrna was located in a place that choosing Jesus was the same as choosing death! They picked Jesus KNOWING it would kill them. Thus they were already prepared to endure the tribulation without giving into offense and falling away. You cannot kill what is already dead. If you die to yourself now…for real…you will stand in great victory when the antichrist threatens you with death if you don’t give in to his “brilliant” plan to make the earth fair.
Let’s break down the fourfold pattern for Smyrna that we looked at yesterday for Ephesus:
1. Jesus addresses Smyrna as “the First and the Last, who was dead, and came to life.” This is all about the fear of death, and being confident that Jesus knows exactly what it means to conquer death. Jesus is assuring them they have chosen well, by choosing Him despite the threat of death. True death is not the death of your physical body, but rather trying to live forever apart from the Source of Life, which is God. God is WAY more concerned that we don’t deny Jesus and suffer permanent death, than that we stay faithful to Jesus and suffer the death of our physical body.
Most of the Church is unprepared for this reality. We imagine that in a split second decision, with a gun to our head, we would not deny Jesus. This may be true, but the reality is, this is not what the antichrist will mostly do. Mostly, it will be the ongoing threat of death…the confiscation of all your wealth, imprisonment, threats against your family, the ruination of your kid’s future like college or marriage…that the antichrist will use to consolidate loyalty. This requires patient endurance, and strong trust in Jesus’ leadership, even though HE is invisible. Very real armies will enforce these penalties, and it will require a deep commitment to invisible Jesus to endure this patiently. MANY, according to Jesus (Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21), will betray Jesus by taking the mark of the beast so they can participate in the modern economy, BUT they will ALSO betray true Christians to the government for arrest in order to save their own skin.
In every totalitarian regime for the last 2,000 years, there is a true church that is loyal to Jesus, and a compromised church that has traded loyalty to Jesus for government protection. This was true in Nazi Germany, Russia, China, Rome…it is clearly beginning to shake out in the USA right now, in this hour, as many denominations cast off loyalty to Jesus and His word and are bowing to political correctness.
The government church is a satanic tool used to persecute true Christians and allow a government to still look like they are not violating the free exercise of religion. Those who are afraid of offending people more than they are afraid of offending God will first persecute the prophetic messengers in their own church organizations so they can keep the “chicken littles” from offending regular folks. This is fear of man. If they don’t repent, they will eventually offer those loyal to Jesus to government forces to save their own skin. It is the fear of man that drives them, not the fear of God.
This is a warning to whole communities. If you don’t hold your leaders accountable when the events of the day clearly match the prophecies of the Bible, they will eventually resist YOU if you plan to stay loyal to Jesus as the end times unfold. Any Church leader more worried about his or her ministry than they are worried about missing what Jesus is doing, is a compromiser. If you love them, you must address this. Love speaks TRUTH to authority…it does not remain silent when injustice occurs. Smyrna understood this. Look at what Jesus says next:
2. "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 commends Smyrna for continuing to care for the poor and suffering DESPITE the tribulation. This has cost them everything. They are the poorest in the community because of their loyalty to God, but God says “yes, you are poor for a minute, but forever you will be wealthy!” This is important to remember: heaven isn’t communist utopia. We aren’t all going to live forever in the same condition. Some of us will be great and some of us will be least. There are FIRST and LAST:
Matthew 19:29-30 And everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or property, for My sake, will receive a hundred times as much in return and will inherit eternal life. 30 But many who are the greatest now will be least important then, and those who seem least important now will be the greatest then.
I have heard more than one ignorant teacher say that Jesus would never hold one person up over another in heaven. These teachers are teaching deceit to the body. This will cost many greatness forever. Jesus will certainly reward every believer based on how well they loved Him. Unlike the world, where power, influence and wealth is mostly determined by who you know, Jesus has given ALL of us the ability to be great in heaven forever. It is the most generous system of wealth distribution that could ever exist and is entirely up to each person. If you want to be great forever all you have to do is stay faithful to teach AND do the truth:
Matthew 5:18-19 For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. 19 Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
If you resist, or help the government resist, a man or woman leading the Jesus’ Bride into wholehearted love for God by faithful declaring what is clearly coming and warning her how to be ready, you are choosing great loss. If you stand for truth no matter the cost, you are choosing great wealth. It is simple.
If you don’t stand yourself in FAITHFULNESS when you realize trouble is on the horizon and declare it to the rest of the family, you, too, will suffer great loss. The return of Jesus is not a spectator sport. It requires a response. This is what Jesus was telling Smyrna by calling Himself the first and the last and then connecting the faithfulness of Smyrna to His identity:
Revelation 22:12-13 "And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work. 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last."
There will be least AND great when Jesus shows up.
Revelation 19:5 Then a voice came from the throne, saying, "Praise our God, all you His servants and those who fear Him, both small and great!"
Many who spent decades laboring in the harvest fields will risk loosing their crown because they did not LOVE the day of Jesus appearing, and all the trouble that comes with it. This is the offense Jesus warned of. You must guard your heart against this in advance, or come into repentance if you find yourself NOT loving the events of His appearing:
Revelation 3:11 Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown.
Paul, who wrote a huge portion of the Bible, contended that even HE would not lose his faith and keep his crown, despite the tribulation he endured. It is only arrogance that would tell a man’s soul he didn’t need to guard against the same loss:
2 Timothy 4:7-8 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.
Jesus loves Smyrna’s faithfulness. Their experience has already proven they are ready. Let’s look at the next thing He tells her:
3. Jesus commends Smyrna to keep doing what they HAVE been doing. They are about to enter into greater trouble, but keeping the same heart posture will endure the trouble:
Revelation 2:10-11 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. 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." '
This is a massive prophetic revelation given to Smyrna. Smyrna, at the time Revelation was written, was the OLDEST of the seven Church cities, and was in the MIDDLE of the grouping of the seven churches. This is very important to understand why Jesus picked Smyrna. Smyrna represents the middle eastern, the oldest and most central, church of our day: the Copts in Egypt, the Syriac Christians, the Christians in Israel, and Iraq. Jesus was telling Smyrna that she would enter into tribulation EARLIER than the rest of the churches and endure it longer than the other churches. Every other church was expecting ONE WEEK of tribulation, according to the prophecies given to Daniel. Speaking of the end…called the “70th week” of Daniel… Daniel was told by God the antichrist would do this:
Daniel 9:27 Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; But in the middle of the week He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, Even until the consummation, which is determined, Is poured out on the desolate."
The antichrist will make a seven year peace covenant between Israel and her neighbors by promising to protect Israel…he is promising to be like God to Israel. Big mistake. In order to make this peace covenant, the antichrist, who is not from the middle east, would partner with 10 middle eastern countries in order to make the conditions just right to make peace in Israel. Daniel was told this in an earlier vision:
Daniel 7:24-25 The ten horns are ten kings Who shall arise from this kingdom. And another shall rise after them; He shall be different from the first ones, And shall subdue three kings. 25 He shall speak pompous words against the Most High, Shall persecute the saints of the Most High, And shall intend to change times and law. Then the saints shall be given into his hand For a time and times and half a time.
Daniel was told the arrogant, pompous, and lawless “11th horn” would cause regime change in three countries in order to make the conditions right for his plans for Israel.
One country…the USA …has partnered with Sunni Muslim countries in the middle east, called the Gulf Cooperative Council, or GCC including six states: Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and UAE, countries that have historically supported an organization called the Muslim Brotherhood. By partnering with the Muslim Brotherhood, a Sunni Islam organization committed to the establishment of a caliphate, The USA has used an event called the Arab Spring to uproot two other countries leaders: Egypt and Libya..that makes 8. We had already uprooted Iraq, and we are working on uprooting Syria, which has resulted in the establishment of a revival of the Ottoman Empire caliphate in Iraq and Syria (that makes 9). We now are actively supporting the Palestinian government, also Sunni, of Hamas and The PLO)…which makes 10. What has resulted is TRIBULATION for the Christians in the middle east. Even this week, Christians are being commanded to leave Mosul Iraq or suffer death by Saturday. All of their possessions have been stripped from the ones who have chosen to leave. Those who are staying are saying that they are unafraid of men who can kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Look at this quote from Mosul yesterday:
“Along with the rest of the city's estimated 25,000 Christians who had not already fled years of kidnappings, bombings and shootings, Sunni militants gave 36-year-old Fadi, his wife and son until Saturday to comply with a brutal ultimatum: convert to Islam, pay an unspecified tax, leave the city or die. "I'm staying. I already feel dead," Fadi, a teacher, told AFP by telephone moments before the deadline ran out. "Only my soul remains, and if they want to take that I don't have a problem," he added, giving only his first name. On Friday, Mosul's mosques called through loudspeakers for Christians to leave, after centuries of being part of the once cosmopolitan city's social fabric.”
Think about Smyrna for a moment. Jesus prophesied that Smyrna…the oldest and central church…the one already in a persecuted state…would be caught in the middle of that end time trouble and be given “10 days” tribulation instead of the 7 days…the week… everyone else was expecting. This meant that Smyrna would have 10 years of tribulation instead of the seven years every other Christian was supposed to be prepared to endure. Smyrna was ready by her simple location. It was this same location that the final trouble would originate in. Everything flows out of the center.
Location is very important in the end times. Remember, what starts in the middle east, spreads out over the whole earth. We can see this happening right now. What Smyrna already had to endure by simple geography, prepared her to enter into tribulation that most of the world is unready for. To choose to be an open Christian in the middle east is to choose persecution from the get go. Throughout the middle east, true Christians must hide their meetings to avoid arrest. Christians are killed throughout the middle east daily, for simply being Christians. To share your faith is illegal throughout the middle east.
The Arab Spring, which turned three nations tolerant of Christianity (Egypt, Libya, and Syria) into persecutors of Christians, started on December 19, 2010. According to Jesus, if this WAS the prophecy of Smyrna being fulfilled, this persecution would begin spreading out over the whole earth, from the middle east out. What has happened since December 2010? A quick check of Voice of the Martyrs website will tell you a lot. But just consider the headline news of the last 6 months:
1. Boko Haram has begun intense persecution of Christians in Nigeria to the south.
2. The Islamic state is now forcing Christians out of Iraq and Syria to the north.
Look at this quote from Voice of the Martyrs regarding Ethiopia, a MOSTLY Christian nation:
“Although Ethiopia is a predominantly Christian nation, Christians in Muslim areas often experience mistreatment and discrimination. In March 2011, Muslims burned more than 60 Christian churches and homes after the reported desecration of a Quran.”
Anti-christian activity is spreading into Europe. CBN is reporting the increase of Christian persecution and anti-Semitism on the rise in Eastern Europe with the burning of Churches, crosses, and synagogues. Drug cartels are increasingly targeting Christians in Mexico. Look at this quote from a Voice of Russia report in January of this year:
“Over 100 million Christians are currently persecuted all over the world. The shocking revelation was published by the human rights organization, Open Doors in its research paper "World Index of Persecution". Topping the ratings for cruelty towards Christians is North Korea, as well as Islamist extremists from Somalia, Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, the Maldives, Pakistan, Iran and Yemen. 50 countries were rated by the index, but today Christians are even being persecuted in Europe. “
What started in the middle east…the “Smyrna” of our day…on December 19, 2010, with the beginning of the Arab Spring, is going global in a ‘shocking’ way according to news outlets. Look for yourself. These facts and stories are EASY to find. Jesus said this is coming here…and to every nation of the earth. That is why every time Jesus spoke of His return He said “watch”, “pray”, and “Be Ready.” Are you watching? Are you praying like your life depends on it? Are you ready?
Smyrna was ready, because they ALREADY lived in the epicenter of the world. What starts in the middle east, always spreads out over the earth. What you see there in the news today, IS coming here. Smyrna was ready from the start because in Smyrna they were ALREADY suffering simply by choosing Jesus. They knew how to count the cost because to follow Jesus there was to choose persecution. None of the other churches are identified this way. We need to learn from Smyrna and learn to die to ourselves now, while there is still time, and come into an understanding of Jesus’ end time plans that will guard us against offense.
Revelation 2:11 "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." '
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