The Church in Smyrna
1.Read Revelation 2:8.
2.What does the name Smyrna mean?
Myrrh.
3.What was myrrh used for?
Embalming of the dead.
4.When does myrrh yield its fragrance?
When it is crushed.
5.Read Song of Solomon 4:16.
6.What does Smyrna represent?
The tribulation, the fire, the deep waters, the prisons through which every disciple of Jesus must pass.
7.Read John 16:33.
8.How are the saints able to overcome each difficulty through which he or she passes?
We are able to overcome tribulations because He, the Overcomer, is in us, is with us, and is helping us in every way.
9.Read Acts 14:22.
10.What two aspects of Christ enable us to overcome every tribulation?
His unchanging faithfulness ("the first and the last"); and the power of His resurrection ("which was dead, and is alive").
11.What two questions arise in our minds when we are undergoing severe testing?
Has Christ forgotten me?
12.Is it ever given to the saints to walk in dark places?
Yes.
13.To what promise does the suffering soul cling?
That Christ is not only the first but also the last.
Christ keeps what has been committed to Him, with the end in view of bringing us into glory in the Day of the Lord.
In faithfulness He finishes what He began in our life.
He is the Finisher as well as the Author of our salvation.
14.From whom should we flee?
From those who would, as did Peter to Christ, attempt to turn our eyes away from the cross of suffering. This voice is of Satan.
15.If we keep the word of Christ's patience, what will He provide for us?
Christ will make a way of escape for us so we may be able to survive throughout every difficulty and finally stand in triumph before the Son of Man.
16.What will happen as a result of our tribulations?
Our tribulations in the wilderness of this life are making it possible for our "last" (our end in Jesus) to be wonderful.
17.What fragrance comes from us before we suffer?
Our personality smells of self-seeking, personal ambition, trickery, foolishness, lust, fear, cowardice, instability, and everything else that is offensive.
18.What is true of the fragrance that comes from us after we suffer?
It is attractive, liberating, pure, reminding us of God, of Christ, of Heaven, of the holy angels, of Paradise, of eternal joy.
19.Why do we have no fear of suffering and death?
We have no fear because Christ is alive and victor over death and Hell, having led captivity captive. We are risen with Him. We are a part of His resurrection. Therefore we are indestructible.
20.Read Ephesians 2:4-6; John 14:19.
21.How can we conquer tribulation?
By faith in Christ's resurrection and faith in our participation in that resurrection.
22.Read Revelation 2:9.
23.How can we please Christ?
By being faithful in the small tasks He places before us each day.
24.Why can Christ understand our tribulation?
He understands in a special way because He also is a man, a person, a human being, and He was subjected to much dread and pain.
25.What does earthly wealth bring us?
Earthly wealth brings much sorrow, anxiety, concern, distraction.
26.What does heavenly wealth bring us?
Heavenly wealth brings peace, security, happiness, a bright future.
27.Is the conqueror wealthy?
Yes. Christ, the King, dispenses His wealth as He will to His conquerors.
28.What is true of many believers today?
They are claiming to be Christians but are careless and presumptuous concerning the Kingdom of God. They assume they can commit fornication and partake of the gods of lust, violence, money, occult practices, criticism, bitterness, and revelry, and still ascend the throne of righteousness in the Day of the Lord.
29.To what church do such believers belong?
The "synagogue of Satan."
30.How are true Christians revealed?
We are true worshippers of Christ and conquerors when we are keeping the commandments of Christ.
31.Read I John 3:7; Revelation 2:10.
32.Who overcomes our dreads, worries, anxieties, fretfulness?
Christ.
33.What will our tribulations in the world accomplish for us?
Our tribulations in the world will increase the gladness we will experience in the Day of the Lord.
34.How should we respond when the Lord allows Satan to cast us into prison?
When the Lord allows Satan to cast us into prison, into a situation in which we are denied the freedom to move about as we please, we are to be "faithful unto death." We are not to force an escape, or sin, or blame other people, or become angry with God.
35.What will we gain if we force our way out of the prison in which the Lord places us?
Our future will be unpleasant and barren.
36.What will we gain if we remain faithfully in prison?
The crown of life.
37.Read James 1:12.
38.What is the first aspect of the first resurrection from the dead?
The authority to eat of the tree of life.
39.What is the second aspect of the first resurrection from the dead?
The crown of life.
40.What does a crown signify?
A crown speaks of the authority and power of rulership.
41.By what power does the saint conquer all the enemies of God and man?
The unlimited eternal power that raised Christ from the dead and established Him forever at the right hand of God Almighty.
42.What two things was Paul seeking?
The power of Christ's resurrection; the fellowship of His sufferings.
43.What shall be true of us when we possess eternal life in abundance?
We shall be able to destroy all the works of Satan and walk in righteousness, holiness, and obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ.
44.What is the crown of life?
The authority and power to behave righteously and to bring our surroundings into obedience to Christ. The gaining of such authority and power is part of the first resurrection from the dead.
45.When will the authority and power of life, which are veiled now, be unveiled?
At the appearing of the Lord.
46.What is the most important attainment of the first resurrection, as far as we as an individual are concerned?
The occupying of the throne of our own life by Christ.
47.What does the first resurrection include?
The changing of the thrones that govern the peoples of the earth from the evil lords of darkness, who are ruling now, to the "saints of the most High."
48.What will be true, in the Day of the Lord, of the believer who has not enthroned Christ as absolute Lord of his life?
He will be a liability rather than an asset when Jesus appears.
49.What are some of the aspects of the resurrection from the dead with which we are familiar?
Being with Jesus forever, seeing our loved ones again, the rejoining of our spirit with our body so we can stand on the earth once again, the receiving of the glorified body, our ascension into the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.
50.What can we accomplish by keeping the joys of the resurrection ever before us?
We can escape the lust and corruption that are in the world.
51.When does the change of administration of the creation begin?
When the saint allows Christ to ascend the throne of his personality, putting down the saint's self-rule in the process.
52.When does the first resurrection from the dead begin?
The first resurrection begins now in the heart of the victorious saint.
53.What is true of us if we are not submitting to the lordship of Christ right now?
We are not part of the first resurrection.
54.What is essential to the life of victory in Christ?
We must love not our life to the death.
55.Read Revelation 2:11; 20:6.
56.What is the second reward to the overcomer of the church in Smyrna?
He will not be hurt by the second death.
57.What becomes true of the saint when he is crowned with the authority and power of eternal life?
He is free from the authority and power of the second death.
58.What is the "second death"?
The Lake of Fire.
59.Over what does the second death have authority?
Over all sin.
60.When will the great white throne judgment take place?
At the end of the thousand-year Kingdom Age.
61.Is the Lake of Fire an actual lake into which the doomed will be cast?
Yes.
62.Where is the Lake of Fire located?
Perhaps in the depths of the earth.
63.What is the maximum sentence that will be handed down from the great white throne?
Eternal separation from God in a lake of torment and darkness.
64.What assurance does the conqueror have in writing from the Lord?
He will not be harmed by the second death; the second death no longer has authority over him.
65.When does the second death cease to be a threat to us?
When we receive the crown of eternal resurrection life, which constitutes dominion over sin and death.
66.What will be true of each conqueror by the end of the thousand-year Kingdom Age?
He will be in a highly exalted state.
67.What will the Lord's kings and priests be able to do as soon as the new heaven and earth reign of Christ comes into being?
Behold the face of the Father.
68.What is the sentence that is passed on each conqueror?
He has been sentenced to glorification at the Lord's coming.
69.In our study, what has the conqueror gained thus far?
Access to the tree of eternal life, a crown of life, and
eternal escape from the authority and power of the second death.
These are three major aspects of the first resurrection from the dead.
70.To this point in our study, in what areas of challenge has the saint been victorious?
He has overcome false apostles. He has labored faithfully in the work of the Kingdom of God and yet has not lost his first love of prayer, praise, and holiness to the Lord.
He has been cast into the prison of tribulation and has been tested for a season.
He has remained faithful to the point of death.
He has refused to compromise with the world or to seek its support or understanding.