church of Smyrna

Lessons from Smyrna

/ Charles Cooley / Leave a comment
THE-GREAT-WHITE-THRONE-JUDGMENT

Remember, we will all face God’s Judgment

As we proceed through Jesus’ letters to the seven churches we come to the second church which is often known as the suffering church – Smyrna. Jesus wants to prepare His Church for facing persecution. That is what this letter is about because Jesus knows that all who will live godly will suffer persecution and we must be strong enough to go through it. We will begin with a video on the church of Smyrna.

One of the phrases used in this letter is “I know the blasphemy of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are of the synagogue of Satan”. Jesus dealt with this problem often during His ministry. Continue reading →

The Suffering Church

/ Charles Cooley / Leave a comment

As we proceed through Jesus’ letters to the seven churches we come to the second church which is often known as the suffering church – Smyrna. Jesus wants to prepare His Church for facing persecution. In Korea, American POW’s had an increased number of defections and the military discovered it was because the soldiers had not been adequately trained in how to face capture and torture. When I went into the service in the late 50’s, I went through many classes on how to resist enemy intimidation and captivity. That is what this letter is about because Jesus knows that all who will live godly will suffer persecution and we must be strong enough to go through it. We will begin with a video on the church of Smyrna. Continue reading →

To the Seven Churches – Smyrna

/ Charles Cooley / 1 Comment
calling for execution

Muslims calling for execution of Christian

“And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive; I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan. Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.” – Revelation 2:8-11

Jesus is dictating a letter to seven churches in Asia Minor through John. Historically, we know that there were more than seven churches at the time but, these were selected to represent messages to all churches in any circumstance. Smyrna is the second church selected by Jesus, and the only one identified as experiencing Continue reading →