Faithful Unto Death: What the Suffering Church of Smyrna Says to Us Today

The voice of a Savior who looks at a people being crushed and says: I know. That word matters. Jesus identifies himself to this church as "the first and the last, who died and came to life" (Revelation 2:8). This is not an abstract theological title. It is a direct, personal word to people who are watching their possessions be seized, their reputations be destroyed, and their lives be threatened. Jesus is saying: I am eternal, I have been where you are going, and I have come out the other side.