Jesus: The Way of Victory

Introduction:

Jesus in the book of Revelation

Jesus in His churches

Jesus as the Alpha and Omega/first and last. This pictures Jesus as the Creator, Redeemer, and Judge of the wicked - cf. ; ;

Jesus as the one who holds the keys of death and Hades

Jesus as the one who reverses wrongs, establishes what is right and brings restitution and judgment

Jesus Died/Brought to Life Again

The contrast and reversal of a situation is found in is this: Jesus died and then is the One who has come back to life.

Jesus suffered and died.

His resurrection was vindication of a wrongful death and His Sonship.

We are called to be faithful to the confession we have made of who Jesus is - ; ;

We confess that Jesus died

We confess that Jesus came back to life

The fact that Jesus came back to life implies:

Suffering is not permanent

Joy can come through pain

Life comes through death

The fact that Jesus died and came back to life gives confidence to saints because He is the first One who conquered.

Jesus is the Lion of the tribe of Judah who conquered -

Jesus is the Lamb who had been slain. There is a vivid reminder of what Jesus endured and how He is now stronger and victorious over His death -

Jesus was slain (past tense) -

With Jesus’ resurrection, it is clear that death is not defeat. Death brings glory. Death brings honor. Death brings hope. Death brings victory!

Jesus Became Poor/We Are Made Rich

The second contrast, or a reversal, of a situation is mentioned in .

Jesus knows the suffering and faithfulness of the saints in the church at Smyrna. He knows that they are in poverty -

This might be a reference to their social status.

Jesus says that even though they are poor, in reality, they are rich!

In spite of their poverty-stricken social and economic status, these church members are part of the kingdom of God -

These saints are physically poor, but spiritually rich!

No one is able to become spiritually rich apart from Jesus the Anointed One. Jesus left the glories, riches, and position of heaven to become poor -

He became poor for our sake. Paul says Jesus took the form of a servant and humbled himself -

Through His poverty, we might become rich and share in His inheritance!

Jesus Suffered/Persecution from Satan

One of the great messages of the book of Revelation is “do not fear” -

Suffering, pain, tribulation are usually reasons that we might feel like quitting. We may be overwhelmed with fear of losing our life.

Jesus does not promise to make the suffering go away. In fact, He tells them what is about to happen: imprisonment, even death.

But it’s with that message of “do not fear” that He does promise victory—the crown of life.

To cross the finish line, we must endure the hardships of the marathon.

The contrast and development that Jesus offers is one from suffering to comfort.

Jesus is able to speak words of comfort and hope like no one else.

He sympathizes and shows empathy. He Himself knows what it’s like to experience the suffering that Satan uses to test the faithful - ; ;

He knows what we have experienced -

Therefore, when He encourages us to be faithful and to patiently endure tribulation, He is perfectly qualified to say such things.

Jesus also acknowledges the source of these tribulations and persecutions.

They are not from God

They are from servants of the devil, Satan. The slanderer.

The synagogue of Satan slanders and falsely accuses the saints of God -

The devil is the one who will be throwing some into prison -

While the devil will level the persecution against the saints, it is Christ who will give the crown of life -

“I will give you the crown of life”

Jesus Gives Life/Overcome the Second Death

The saints at Smyrna had been suffering at the hands of Roman persecution, the pawn of the devil. They were facing death at the hands of evildoers. Their blood had been spilled -

Yet, in the midst of death and persecution and suffering, Jesus promises life. Jesus will right the wrongs of the evil one -

The one who overcomes and conquers and is victorious will not be hurt by the second death -

Instead, they are given a crown -

Later in the book of Revelation, the second death is pictured as the place of fire and brimstone, the lake of fire -

There is a day of judgment where we will give an account for our deeds - v. 13

The second death is eternal condemnation in the lake of fire - vv. 14-15

But those who conquer—their name is found in the Lamb’s book of life!

The worst thing someone can do is kill us in this life.

But they will never be able to remove our name from Jesus’ book of life!

Jesus is the One who will give us the crown of life!

If we overcome the sufferings of this life, no one can hurt us in eternity!