The devil may have had a few army generals in Smyrna, but these verses today say clearly that Satan had his throne in Pergamum, which was a more demonic place. There were many temples of idol worship and several animal idols there, one was in the form of a snake!

In many places, believers are being persecuted daily because of their faith in Jesus. We pray for those who suffer and we praise God that He is with us through every form of suffering. But what is the 10 days given in these verses as the time of the suffering?

Twice in these few words, we have the declaration from The Lord that He knows! He is the all knowing, all aware, Sovereign Lord. Many verses confirm that for us. But often when we have difficulties in our daily lives it is so easy to forget what He has said.

Our Bibles begin with In the beginning God…. Whole sermons have been preached on that simple phrase. Most of us as believers would consider that our God was the first: The first being. Much of the Bible tells us that He is the everlasting and eternal one. He just is!

The first phrase in this verse is a good one. Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit is saying today to individual christians everywhere. How sad it is that many believers are taught that the Spirit has retired to Heaven and does not speak to mere mortals today.

Many churches today started because a few people wanted to spend time praying and worshiping together. Whether that developed into a whole movement or a denomination is not the issue here. But churches, prayer groups, study groups all began because two or three joined together in the name of Jesus.

The first letter dictated by God to John was to the church in Ephesus where the Apostle Paul had done so much good work. These verses are an encouraging beginning to the writings of John. They are also an encouragement to all of us to remember that God sees EVERYTHING.

The Holy Spirit who spoke to John that day was very clear in his instructions. And the vision that John saw was also clear. The next few verses describe in detail what John saw. John was under the influence of Holy Spirit at that time, and fell as though dead.

John was in prison on Patmos, and could have been sad and frustrated that he was not out in the world sharing the love of Jesus and praying for miracles for others. But his isolation turned out to be a very special time of revelation because he used it wisely.

This verse contains quotations from two Old Testament prophets. It is always interesting to see how the Bible holds together in what it tells us. John must have known the scriptures and as he spent hours alone, he had ample opportunity to consider the way Jesus fulfilled so many prophecies.