January 1, 2023 | Letter To The Church At Smyrna | Grace Valley Church, Dundas

faith that it's no far stretch of the imagination to assume he was having a mental break when he wrote this letter. But upon closer reflection, we can see that the imagery used in this book was done so simply by necessity.

The words that were given to John through the divine revelation of the Holy Spirit were so otherworldly, he really couldn't do anything but pile up all the mental imagery he could in order to get the message across. In Revelation 2:8-11, we're reading the words that were meant to encourage and comfort the heavily persecuted church at Smyrna. Starving, marginalized, beaten and completely rejected, these followers of Jesus knew exactly what it was to face the incredible temptation to conform and pay homage to the cultic emporer-leader of their time.

The most chilling words human beings can hear are: suffering is inevitable. It doesn't matter who you are or what you believe, this life will have suffering until we take our last breath. But here's the comfort, and it's the absolute truth: suffering is not permanent. It's not permanent and when you put your faith and trust in Jesus, the beauty of the eternal afterlife simply erases the ugliness and evil that we experience here on earth.

Tune in this week as Mark Hordyk sheds some light on this letter in Revelation and how it applies not only to the persecuted church, but to each and every human being on this earth.
~KT