For most of us, martyrdom is an unfamiliar word, but for those who have been raised in a non-Christian culture, it is even more foreign. Certainly the word “martyrdom” is not a word that we often encounter in our everyday life; we feel detached and aloof from the word, for it is quite surreal for us to imagine our actual martyrdom. Nevertheless, chapters 2 and 3 of the Book of Revelation discuss this martyrdom, and from its Word we must establish the faith of martyrdom in our hearts—that is, the faith with which we can be martyred. Roman emperors were the Empire’s absolute rulers of their peop ..read more

Verse 8: “And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write, ‘These things says the First and the Last, who was dead, and came to life:’” The Church of Smyrna was founded while Paul was ministering the Church of Ephesus. According to the above passage, the members of this church were rather poor, who, because of their faith, were antagonized by the Jews in their community. Just how persecuted this church was by the Jews can be seen by the martyrdom of Polycarp, an overseer in the age of Church Fathers. The saints of the Early Church faced constant persecution by the Jewish believers who rejected ..read more

Verse 14: “And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write, ‘These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God:’” Our Lord came to this earth and obeyed God the Father to the point of His death to fulfill the will of God. In other words, He obeyed any command with an “Amen” if it was the Father’s will. Our Lord is the faithful servant of the Kingdom of God the Father and the true witness who testified of Himself as the Son of God and the Savior. Our Lord is the God of the creation of the beginning.   https://www.bjnewlife.org/ https://y ..read more

The faith of the Church of Laodicea was one that deserved to be vomited out by the Lord. The Lord therefore counseled it to buy from Him gold refined in the fire so that they may become rich in their faith. This lukewarm faith can also make its appearance among the righteous of this age. Because they received their faith for free, they do not realize just how precious their faith is. God thus spoke His Word of rebuke and counsel to the righteous, to give them faith that is like gold refined in the fire. We can also find out from the passage that the Lord wanted all the seven churches in Asia t ..read more

Through the Word of Revelation 4, we can find out what kind of God our Jesus is, and with this knowledge our faith is strengthened. When the knowledge gained through the Word changes into faith and is planted in our hearts, we can fight and overcome Satan with strong faith in the Lord when the time of His return gets near and the Antichrist emerges and threatens us. We are nurturing our faith now so that we can prepare for the trials of the first three and a half years of the Great Tribulation. If we meet that day without this nurturing, we will certainly lose our faith. But if we prepare soli ..read more