Revelation Chapter Two, Smyrna

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

Our Lord moves on to the second church, Smyrna. Smyrna has since become modern Izmir in Turkey, having been renamed in 1930. Smyrna is located thirty-five miles north of Ephesus. Apparently one of its claims to fame archaeologically speaking is the temple of Athena that was built in the late 7th century BC.

While Jesus addressed Himself to Ephesus as He who holds the seven stars and walks in the midst of the seven lampstands, He reveals Himself to Smyrna as the First and the Last, and the One who was dead and came to life. The Lord used numerous descriptors in chapter one when He appeared to John, and He seems to allocate certain aspects of His appearance and revelation to the various churches. Rather than a physical aspect (being seen with the stars in His hand and walking amidst the lampstands) He reiterates His supremacy and salvific efficacy to Smyrna. When John finished describing Christ and fell at His feet, Jesus spoke, telling the apostle not to be afraid. He then described Himself as the First and the Last, and that He was dead, and was alive forevermore. These attributes seem to be our Lord’s focus when speaking to the church in Smyrna.

To Ephesus Jesus revealed Himself as absolute Lord of the angels and the church. He holds angelic principalities in His hand; they obey Him because He is their Creator and Sovereign. He is the center of the churches. His presence defines their meaning and existence. Now He speaks to Smyrna, declaring two things about Himself as well. First, He is the First and the Last. Before all things there was God. God has always existed. This is the embodiment of His enormous I AM statement to Moses. He is the self-existent One. He needs no frame of reference by which to exist or define Himself; nothing came before Him, and by attempting to comprehend this matter we could drown in our lack of understanding. Time is meaningless prior to creation. God simply is. Time did not mark off days, weeks, months and years yet. The stars didn’t give light, and there was no planet to rotate to effect a day/night cycle. There was only God.

Conversely, when we get back of everything and contemplate ultimate causality, we find deity. When the studious, conscientious person contemplates objective reality, behind cause and effect, the expanse of the universe and metaphysics we find God. He is the Last. The Ancient of Days, or the One whose goings forth are from everlasting, Micah 5:2. God transcends the material universe of time/space/matter and may only be understood in terms of the eternal. He is the Everlasting. God only exhales. What I mean by this is that you and I give and take. Our output is our time, energy, resources, thoughts and words. We take in air, water, sleep, food and the accompanying output of others. God takes nothing because He needs nothing. He is dependent upon nothing, but the provider of everything. He is the Last; He is the ultimate causality. In Him we have definition, purpose, and peace.

God incarnated as a Man, and as a Man died on the cross for the sins of mankind. In this He spoke truly. It is the first fundamental of the gospel, “that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,” 1 Corinthians 15:3. The next fundamental is also mentioned to Smyrna: “that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day, according to the Scriptures,” 1 Corinthians 15:4. His burial testified of His historical death. His resurrection attested to the fact that the Father accepted His offering for sin once for all time. The church of Smyrna needed to be reminded that Christ was put to death for our sin, and raised from the dead for our justification and righteousness.